From Dan O'Hagan, match commentator and summariser. What about: Middlesbrough v Aldershot. Macclesfield v Wigan Reading v Sheff Utd Or indeed NCFC v Luton? All giant-killing possibilities and all featuring lower league clubs who could benefit from the appearance money slightly more than Stoke and Citeh!!
Entirely agree I like watching FA Cup games but just cannot get excited about Stoke v Man City so will give it a miss and do something else for a couple of hours.
I don't like the fact that United have had every FA cup game televised since 2005. Why? Yes, they are a big team but there are 91 other professional football clubs in England and Wales as well as many other non-league football clubs that qualify for the 3rd round and further. Just look at Bradford and Swansea in the Capital One cup! Being in the top four doesn't guarantee good football. Also, fans watch other teams apart from United. It irritated me that United v West Ham was ITV for the 3rd round (it was called the game of the round) then they showed the game AGAIN in the replay!
Agreed. This whole 'magic of the cup' is captured in the sort of ties in the OP. Having both Manchester teams in action - both v Prem opposition is simply another (top 4 based) tedious weekend at the office.
Wasn't so bothered about the original tie being shown. It was all Premier League and it was Man Utd and West Ham, two sides the media are obsessed with, so it was more a case of when, rather than if, the match would be on TV. What bugged me was showing the replay on ITV 1. ITV never show replays of cup games on ITV 1, usually they end up on ITV4, but because this was Man Utd it went on the main channel.
I tried watching a bit, but I find Man City and Stoke a little boring to watch. Turned it on sky sports to watch snooker shootout instead, far more exciting. But I agree ITV should have picked a lower league team to show on tv.
Most lower league clubs only get one/two shots maximum per season at this giant-killing malarkey. Man Citeh and ManUre are on TV virtually every single weekend, ffs. Then there's all the extra European coverage - if they manage to qualify from the group stages! The world DOES NOT revolve around four football clubs, ITV and ESPN
Like you said, they could do with the extra money more than a rich club. It's like ITV picked them just to show a ''premier league'' game, where as I'd rather watch a team in league 1 or 2 try and cause an upset.
I remember when the Beeb used to show the FA Cup games, they used to pick a non-league team and follow them until they were knocked out, then follow their conquerors and so on all the way through!
the whole point of most of the early rounds is the cup upset, that is why the fa cup is so loved by the fans if not the premiership teams. although perhaps glad now they didnt decide to show in this round a non league side playing against a premiership side ...
