The FA Cup Third Round, so the narrative goes, has lost some of its sheen in recent years, tacked as it has been onto the end of the increasingly busy festive period and with so many of the matches involving those teams in the bottom half of the Premier League or the upper reaches of the Championship having the air of unwanted additions to the campaign.
Attendance figures are often highlighted as an indicator of reduced interest in the competition, unfairly in many ways but not a problem this coming weekend as the cup will be played behind firmly closed doors.
For Marine and many others that is, of course, a real shame, but one positive spin-off is the number of games that are being made available on a free-to-air basis.
Across BBC platforms there are eight live ties being shown and, in addition to those matches not being shown on the Beeb or BT Sport, a further eight can also be viewed on the FA Player, registration for which is free.
Marine have had a huge response to their ‘virtual’ tickets for the Spurs tie while Chorley are running something similar for the visit of Derby County (a game that looks set to go ahead despite the Rams first-team having to miss out due to a coronavirus outbreak) and supporters of both Newport County and Cheltenham Town are raising funds for their respective clubs in lieu of missed matchday revenue.
A good weekend for the competition on balance. Neutrals will have enjoyed the Crawley v Leeds tie and the build-up at Marine. Lots of stories, even in unusual circumstances like at Villa on Friday night.
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