Has the FA Cup lost its magic?

The term 'the magic of the cup' has always been associated with the FA Cup, but over the past decade or so, has the magic been starting to wear off? 

There is no doubt the FA Cup still holds a special place in the hearts of football fans, not only in England, but around the world. It still remains the most exciting and entertaining domestic competition on the planet, or so we are continuously reminded by pundits on television every time a game is broadcasted.

However one of the main reasons for the FA cup losing its 'magic' in recent years, in my view, is the venue for the semi-finals. Historically, the semi's have been held at Villa Park and Old Trafford (at least when I was younger), meaning the show piece event was always the final at the magnificent Wembley Stadium. In recent years, the semi finals have been held at Wembley, meaning the prize of playing at the home of football came before teams even managed to reach the final. This makes the wonder and excitement for the finalists playing at Wembley become almost fruitless and less meaningful.

As well as the venues for the semi finals, the television coverage of FA Cup football is, to be brutally honest, dreadful. The coverage by ITV and ESPN isn't the issue however. If you see the kind of coverage the Premier League gets every week, you start to understand why the FA Cup is now well and truly behind. The amount of cameras in every Premier League ground on match day is astounding, compared to only one, most of the time, during FA Cup matches.
Clearly some of the smaller grounds involved on FA Cup weekends may not be able to accommodate a lot of cameras, however, even the bigger grounds in the Championship and Premier League do not (unless live on TV) have more than one camera. It's as if coverage of football has gone back 20 years on FA Cup weekends.

Finally, the most crucial reason for the recent demise of the FA Cup is the prize at the end of it. I don't mean the iconic and magnificent trophy you receive in the Royal Box after either.
For winning the FA Cup or even just getting to the final, you achieve qualification for the Europa League. I have a lot of time for the Europa League and believe English teams do not take it seriously enough, the Spanish hold it in a very high regard for example.
However, with the Europa League being the 'ultimate' prize for winning the FA Cup, this puts the competition on a par with the Capital One Cup (League Cup) as the winners of that also gain Europa League qualification for next season. Again I have a lot of time for the League Cup, but there is no doubt that the FA Cup has always and should always remain the premier cup competition in the country. And with the enthralling season the League Cup has had this year, this puts the FA Cup further in the shadows.

The FA have to find a way of keeping the FA Cup the most prestigious club competition in the world, however, I believe in order to do this, it will take cooperation between them and the Premier League. This is because in my opinion, that the coveted 'fourth place' in Premier League, leading to Champions League qualification, should be scrapped. This then means that the winners of the FA Cup subsequently gain qualification for Europe's premier club competition, with the runner up still gaining Europa League qualification. This, of course, could cause problems as, what if a team in the top 3 in the Premier League wins the FA Cup, as they already have Champions League qualification? Well the solution is easy, fourth place in the Premier League gains that final qualification place.

There is no doubt winning the FA Cup will always be special, but giving clubs the opportunity to play in the Champions League as well as lift that famous old trophy would give the competition a much needed revamp and bring the 'magic of the cup' back.

Newcastle's French revolution gathers pace

Newcastle have a history of signing some of France's very best talent. However, with the Magpies on the verge of signing their eleventh French squad member, is the influx of cheap French players going to harm the clubs future prospects? 

French footballers gracing the sacred turf at St James' Park has not been unfamiliar in the past, with David Ginola, Laurent Robert, Olivier Bernard and Charles N'Zogbia all donning the famous black and white in the past 20 years. But are there too many now crossing the Channel to find a new home in Newcastle?

The Magpies have a very proud history of producing young English talent, that in some cases have gone on to represent England and score for their country in major competitions. The likes of Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne and more recently Andy Carroll, are all products of the youth academy, which illustrates the past effectiveness of our youth policy.

With the England national team now not being the force it once was, there are increasing pressures on Premier League clubs to produce top young English talent, to keep the standard of the national game at a high level. With teams such as Newcastle now looking abroad more often to sign talent, there is an increasing decline of English players in Premier League starting XI's.
There is no doubt that Newcastle will continue to produce young English players, with the likes of Adam Campbell, a promising young striker, coming through the ranks. A lad that is due either a loan move or more of a first team chance. Also not forgetting Steven Taylor, who remains a crucial part of United's first team, another recent academy success.

I would love to see young English talent at Newcastle, but there appears to not be enough coming through currently. To be able to bring in young English talent from elsewhere costs an arm and a leg, these days and there is no better example than our very own Andy Carroll, who, after scoring just 11 Premier League goals up to January in the 2010/11 season, was sold to Liverpool for a massive £35m in that January transfer window. This may have been excellent business from Newcastle, but this, along with others, is a prime example of the price Premier League clubs have to pay for young English talent, that isn't even proven at the highest level. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Stewart Downing (Liverpool) and Jack Rodwell (Manchester City) all went for near enough £20m. Henderson and Downing have failed to live up to the pressures that come with such a huge fee, making a mockery of English football. Rodwell has only recently moved to Eastlands but the lack of first team opportunity (which he was getting at former club Everton) may have a detrimental affect on his future development.

Therefore, is there any wonder why clubs such as Newcastle, who have smaller budgets, seek abroad for cheap, but talented players? No, in fact its completely logical, on and off the field. The additions of Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Yoan Gouffran, Massadio Haidara and reportedly Toulouse central midfielder Moussa Sissoko this month, all together are said to have cost Newcastle around £17m. A remarkable price for five high class footballers. Therefore, if the signings help us avoid relegation, and push on next season, I don't care where they are from.

There is no doubt nurturing young English/British talent through the youth system is a priority and with these new signings, it may mean our current crop of young players such as Adam Campbell, Sammy Ameobi, Gael Bigirimana, Shane Ferguson, James Tavernier etc, can now start their proper education in the game, whether that be in the reserve side, or going out on loan to a lower league club, as their exposure to the first team may have come too soon, although done them no harm.

Finally the Newcastle hierarchy have acted and enhanced the squad, which should have been enhanced back in the summer, meaning we can now focus on pulling away from the relegation battle and build for next season.