FA Cup is becoming as much of an irrelevance as Carling Cup

Not only did the Leeds United striker bloody Sir Alex Ferguson’s nose last weekend, he also saved the reputation of FA Cup third-round day, traditionally one of the most evocative occasions on the football calendar.

Leeds’ victory at Old Trafford served up the story of the season so far, but just because one of English football’s sleeping giants briefly awoke from their slumber, it would be wrong to assume that everything in the garden is rosy.

Thanks to public and professional indifference, the FA Cup is becoming as much of an irrelevance as it’s much-maligned sibling, the Carling Cup.

The fans don’t want to watch it, as underlined by the crowd of 5,335 at Wigan against Hull (a drop of 71.1 per cent from the Premier League average at the DW Stadium) and the fact that ten of the 11 top-flight clubs hosting home third-round ties suffered a fall from their average gate.

Frankly, though, who can blame them when the clubs they support are fielding ever-weaker sides in an attempt to prioritise events in the Premier League?

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez made six changes to his starting line-up; Hull manager Phil Brown went one better with seven.

With that in mind, is it any wonder supporters of both clubs thought twice before shelling out close to £30 for a ticket to watch a glorified reserves game?

Changes are needed if the FA Cup is to reclaim its position at the pinnacle of the English game, and the Football Association should start by lobbying for the competition’s winners to claim a Champions League place at the expense of the side finishing fourth in the league rankings.

It would not be a popular move. The Premier League would resist it on the grounds that it was encroaching on their territory, UEFA would be against it as it might mean a Portsmouth rubbing shoulders with the elite rather than a Manchester United, and the Big Four would be aghast at the threat to their financial and footballing stranglehold.

There would also be criticism of the arbitrary nature of cup competitions. An FA Cup winner could qualify for the Champions League courtesy of a succession of victories over lower-league sides, while a team that has slogged its way to fourth position in the league would miss out despite a season of sustained success.

But surely that’s a small price to pay for the double prize of a strengthened FA Cup and a challenge to the current Champions League cartel.

If the FA Cup is to continue to mean anything beyond an occasional upset and a May day out at Wembley, there has to be an incentive for the leading clubs to take it seriously from the outset.

At the moment, there isn’t, and if you’re a Bolton or a Blackburn, it’s easy to see why you would put all your eggs in a Premier League survival basket.

Dangle the carrot of Champions League qualification, though, and things might change.

Suddenly, the FA Cup would become an opportunity rather than an annoyance, and hopefully games like Sunday’s at Old Trafford would become much more prevalent than Saturday’s non-event 30 miles up the road at Wigan.

OWEN COYLE has been criticised for his decision to swap Burnley for Bolton, but sadly the days of loyalty in football management are long gone.

Why? Primarily because the days of clubs showing loyalty to their managers have disappeared too.

Earlier this summer, Alan Irvine rejected the chance to be considered for the vacant managerial position at West Brom because he wanted to remain at Preston.

His reward? The sack when Preston found themselves on a lengthy losing run at the end of last month.

Billy Davies moved heaven and earth to get Derby County promoted to the Premier League when they had no real right to be there a couple of seasons ago. His prize for his efforts?

Dismissal when the Rams were out of their depth at a higher level.

Coyle was flavour of the month before he decided to head for the exit door at Turf Moor, but he wouldn’t have been forever and it’s easy to imagine a situation where Burnley’s upward trajectory turns sharply in a downward direction.

Would the Clarets have stood by Coyle then? Unsurprisingly, the Scotsman didn’t hang around to find out the answer.

THIS week’s Racing For Change recommendations have caused a few waves, with the biggest headline accompanying plans to swap traditional fractional odds for decimal prices.

So 100-30 will become 3.3- 1, and a great deal of romance and intrigue will be lost forever.

All sports have to change with the times, but is the great British public really incapable of working out fractions?

I canvassed the sports desk to find out, and sadly the results weren’t great.

One half understood fractions, one third couldn’t work them out, and the other third couldn’t decide either way!

ANOTHER year, another world title for Phil Taylor.

And another shrug of the shoulders from large sections of the sporting media.

Taylor’s performance in this year’s World Championships was typically superb, yet his achievements continue to be denied the acclaim they deserve.

No other sportsman or woman is as dominant in their chosen sphere as Taylor, and few can call on 15 years of unparalleled success to confirm their status as an all-time great.

Whatever you think of darts – and some will continue to argue it is a pastime rather than a sport – Taylor’s brilliance is indisputable.