By Panos Bletsos

In stark contrast to the Biblical tale and several football-related clichés we learned to cherish as kids, Goliath is alive and well, still dominating the English game. With the exception of modest Wigan Athletic, who could hardly be described as giants, no other Premier League side fell at their first FA Cup hurdle against lower opposition two week’s ago. Is there something wrong with this picture?

Over the decades football became the most popular among team sports largely thanks to its innate element of the unexpected. Because no matter the names, no matter the caliber of the sides playing each other, at kick-off one could never predict the winner unmistakably. And that is exactly what the oldest club competition in the world stands for. Year in, year out, ever since its inauguration in the distant 1871, fans have been packing the stadia in the hope and expectation to witness an FA Cup moment of magic, to watch Goliath being beaten by David.

Less Upsets, Less Tickets Sold

But that has not been the case in this season’s third round ties so far. Besides holders Manchester City, dumped out at home at the hands of cross-town rivals and national champions United in a 3-2 classic, and Blackburn Rovers, downed by a 95th minute Jonás Gutiérrez goal at Newcastle United, the only real upset saw Wigan go down 2-1 against Paolo Di Canio’s Swindon Town, currently fourth in the fourth tier and a staggering 53 league places below the Latics last Saturday’s opponents. However, Wigan have never really been that successful in the competition, their best ever run ending in the quarterfinals back in the 1986-’87 campaign.

There is a general sense among British media that the FA Cup is gradually losing its magic. As The Guardian points out, there was a collective fall of more than 12% in attendances throughout the 32 games, with the total number of tickets sold down by more than 80,000 compared to the league average of teams playing at home. And while the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal suffered no major casualties, some of their Premiership rivals did: Everton allocated 18% less tickets, Fulham 20% less, Newcastle United 37% and West Bromwich Albion reduction was as severe as 50 per cent! And this slump is not just about results becoming increasingly predictable.

Giant killing has of course been one of the key ingredients of the FA Cup throughout its rich history. Lower tier, even non-league sides, such as Sutton United, Worcester City, Hereford United, Yeovil Town, Altrincham and Bournemouth have all enjoyed their day in the sun in the past. And some of those shocks are still too fresh to be forgotten.

Famous Scalps

In 1992 Welsh outfit Wrexham of the fourth division came back from an Alan Smith goal down to beat Arsenal, at the time English champions, by two to one.

Eleven years on in 2003, Nigel Jemson (at 42 still active today!) netted an 89th – minute header to earn Football League side Shrewsbury Town a famous victory over five-times winners Everton by the same 2-1 scoreline.

In January 2005 the mighty Manchester United, title holders at the time, stumbled to a frustrating 0-0 draw against lowly Exeter City of the Conference National, before eventually sealing qualification thanks to a 2-0 away replay win.

As recently as in 2008 League Championship outfit Barnsley beat seven-times Cup winners Liverpool 2-1 in their own back yard and even went on to prevent Chelsea from defending their title (1-0).

And then January 2010 saw not one, but two of England’s finest go down with a bang: Manchester United collapsed 1-0 in Old Trafford against Leeds United, before Liverpool, up 1-0 until four minutes into added time of their replay against Reading, went on to suffer one of their most humiliating home losses in living memory (2-1).

Back to present day action, QPR, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton may not be qualified yet, but have at least taken their last-64 round ties to home replays. They are therefore favourites of progressing to the fourth round which could thus feature as many as 17 top flight teams. The draw has already thrown up an enticing clash between Liverpool and Manchester United, who were slaughtered by media and fans alike back in 1999, when they unprecedentedly snubbed the competition to compete in the inaugural Club World Championship in Brazil.

A Question of Priorities

The FA proudly announced that total 3rd round attendance rose to 581,949 with an average of 18,185 per game, the biggest turnup in 31 years, expressing its optimism that the 2011-’12 tournament “could turn out to be one the best”. Each and every football fan hopes it will. However, these times are hard for romantics. Besides the glory of it all, reaching the Wembley final yields the runners-up a handsome USD 1.4 million. At the same time, a single place up the Premier League ladder is roughly worth 1.25 million. With the two worst placed teams in the Premiership already out of the FA Cup, which direction would you say the rest of the sides fighting for survival would turn to?

The FA Cup Third Round continues on January 17 and 18 with the FA Cup Fourth Round fixtures set to start on January 27.