'The Magic of the Cup'

One interesting thing about cliches is that their very deadness is often a clue to something else going on. There is no cliche in TV sport which is used as much at this time of year as 'the magic of the Cup'. It is part of the crazy boosterism which makes sports presenters the estate agents of television. But it is also so far removed from the truth that it tells us something interesting.

We all know that the FA Cup will be dominated by the Big Four, just as the Carling Cup (three out of four semi-Finalists) and the Premier League (top three places) are. We also all know that this is just a transitional phase in the history of English football, as we move from a long history of English domestic leagues to an inevitable Super-League of a few top European clubs. Anyone who watched Arsenal outclass Keegan's new Newcastle or a much-depleted Chelsea outplay Wigan could see the difference. Now there are only two chances of a real surprise. One, if the big club play virtually a reserve side, as Arsenal did against Tottenham or as Liverpool did against Havant. Everyone ges on about 'the magic of the Cup' because Havant only lost 5-2 to a team without Reina, Carragher, Gerrard and Torres, ie without the only players that Liverpool have at the moment who any of the other top teams would want to buy (in the words of Mark Lawrenson). The second chance of an upset is if one of the Big Four has a major Champions League game coming up in a few days and hold back for that AND have a few injuries/suspensions from their fixture-clogged weeks in the spring, when they are fighting for three or four trophies.

So, apart from Havant conceding only five goals against a Liverpool without their best players, what was the other great surprise this weekend? Derby losing to Preston? Hardly. Derby beating anyone (even Havant) would be a bigger surprise. Sheffield United beating Manchester City, ie a team that was in the premiership last season beating one of the teams outside the Big Four? Not quite. Now the only surprise left in the FA Cup is that if anyone else beats a full-strength member of the Big Four.

The reason the cliche about 'the magic of the Cup' kept getting wheeled out is because we know the opposite is true. The days of Hereford beating Newcastle are over. There are 4-6 top clubs who will eventually leave the domestic league to play every week with the big boys from Italy and Spain. They will do it because the money makes sense. The game is going global. What price 'the magic of the Cup', then? we won't hear it so much for one very good reason: Lineker and Hansen will (if the BBC can afford the TV rights) be in Milan or Barcelona talking about the big match, while Mansfield play Middesbrough back at home. Which channel will be fighting to show that? The more people talk about the 'magic' of the past and show us sepia images of Jimmy Greaves and Dave Mackay, the more you can be sure that that history is on the way out. The future is with the big money across the channel. That's what the cliches tell us.