Back in November we had a good old-fashioned giant killing with non-league Northwich Victoria deservedly slaying a Charlton Athletic side 76 places above them in the league pyramid courtesy of a well-taken goal from a part-time barman. Then the tournament started to come nicely to the boil with Leeds United deposing Premier League champions Manchester United on their own patch, fellow “big four” club Liverpool losing a home replay to Reading and Arsenal strong armed out of the tournament a round later at Stoke City. So far, so stuff-of-FA-Cup-legend.

But since Leeds United were eventually dumped out of the cup by Spurs – albeit after a replay – proceedings have taken on a depressing air of inevitability. It would take a brave man to bet against Chelsea retaining the trophy, although Aston Villa will provide a stern test in the semi-final and are bound to be keen to make up for their no-show against United in the recent League Cup Final. Perhaps the only “magic” left in the tournament comes in the shape of Portsmouth, belying their league form and financial woes to waltz through to the semis. So what can we done to revive the famous old tournament?

Giving the cup winner a Champions League spot has been a much-touted suggestion over the last couple of years, but this would hardly break the monotony of the same elite band of clubs winning it and, in any case, a place at Europe’s top table should be earned over a whole season of league games, not a handful of knockout ties. Removing the bye top-tier clubs get to the third round could bring back more shocks – chuck the big boys in at the first round stage and see how they get on with two extra games. This increases the chances of the clashes the fans really want to see too, a hitherto unheard of bunch of part-timers taking on Chelsea on their muddy excuse for a pitch. Home advantage could automatically be given to the lower-ranked side too – there’s far more chance of an upset on their own patch. Premier League clubs could also be forced to field a certain amount of under-21 home grown players, further levelling the playing field and helping the national team’s cause in one fell swoop.

Of course, all this is just conjecture and far too sensible for the FA to even consider, but wouldn’t it be nice to see some real magic at the business end of the tournament for a change and not just the hysterical over-exaggeration of ITV’s finest?

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