Football Diary
by Patrick O'Connor
LAST weekend saw one of the biggest events in the English football calendar, the third round of the FA Cup. This is when the minnows are mixed up with the giants as 64 clubs do battle to see who will eventually win through to the final at Wembley Stadium in May.
This time the draw produced only one shock - League One Leeds beating the holders Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Even that wasn't as big as a surprise as it might appear at first glance. Leeds were a major power in Europe and the Premier League only a few years ago before they succumbed to financial meltdown. They are quite clearly destined for a return to the big time - they currently stand eight points clear of third place in League One and possess a strong, talented squad.
United on the other hand face a League Cup semi-final against neighbours Manchester City this week and still see the Premier League and Champions League as their main priorities. They rested several key players and those that did play grossly underperformed.
So in terms of upsets the third round was a major disappointment. What was also disappointing were the attendances with many clubs well below their league average. This was never more apparent than at Wigan where their fixture against fellow Premier League outfit Hull attracted a measly crowd of 5,335 compared with their league average of 18,463.
Sunderland faced non-league Barrow who brought several thousands supporters with them but the gate was still only 25,190 compared with their league average of 40,551.
Only 11,214 people paid up to watch cash-strapped Portsmouth at home to championship club Coventry - nowhere near enough to make a sizeable contribution to a hefty wage bill they can't meet at the moment!
There are several contributory factors, one being cost with the third round coming only a few days after the Christmas fixtures when clubs played twice in three days.
If you were a supporter who regularly follows your team, home and away, that's a lot of dosh to fork out, especially after your other Christmas spending on things like presents, food and drink. So, if your side has unattractive opposition, the Cup might just be the game to miss out on.
Another negative ingredient was the weather, with England currently experiencing plenty of snow and freezing conditions. Undersoil heating is the norm for most clubs in the top two divisions now, but there's no under-terrace heating, and the chilly conditions can still encourage some supporters to stay at home - warm and dry.
Travelling at this time of the year can also be a nightmare. Stoke City's home game against non-league York City kicked off 30 minutes late. The bus carrying the York team took five hours to make the journey because of traffic jams on the motorway, road accidents along the way and heavy snowfall.
The York manager Martin Foyle said: "We left York at 10.15am, which should have given us ample time. But it was one of those days when everything was against us. We had to change our route because of accidents and then the snow came down."
The rest of Europe considers us mad. Currently enjoying a winter break are Austria (until February 12), Belgium (January 15), France (January 13), Greece (back this week), Holland (January 17), Poland (February 27) and Turkey (January 23).
Perhaps the biggest factor in the poor attendances is that the Premier League clubs are obsessed with the Premier League which leads them to play weakened teams in the Cup and that devalues the competition.
But their squads are so strong these days (hence the massive wage bills) that even understrength teams can usually cope with whatever is thrown at them. Fewer shocks means less interest. This once mighty competition could do with a few major upsets over the next few rounds.
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