Fans call for summit meeting over gates

Saturday's third-round ties failed to produce a shock and instead attention was primarily focused on the low attendances at many of the games.

Wigan's all-Premier League match against Hull particularly stood out, with the Latics' 4-1 victory watched by only 5,335 fans at the DW Stadium – more than 13,000 down on their average attendance in the top flight.

Sheffield Wednesday's defeat by Crystal Palace at Hillsborough drew a crowd of 8,690 compared with 22,373 for a league game, while Middlesbrough's tie with big-spending Manchester City saw only 12,474 of its nearly 35,000 seats occupied.

In all, 17 of Saturday's 23 ties featured reduced attendances, with only Plymouth's meeting with Newcastle and Reading's

1-1 draw against Liverpool showing substantial increases from their league crowds.

The winter weather undoubtedly played its part, while the recession may also have dissuaded fans from shelling out for an extra match.

Wigan chief Roberto Martinez blamed the snow and ice for keeping fans away, saying: "With such atrocious conditions, I would not blame anyone for not taking the risk to come. But I am pleased with the fans that were in the ground."

Opposite number Phil Brown, though, reflected on a greater malaise. The Hull manager said: "A lot of people talk about the FA Cup still having its magic but, when you look at the size of the crowd, it was a poor turnout."

That view was echoed by Clarke, who believes the country's premier cup competition has fallen too far behind the Premier League in the eyes of clubs, managers and fans.

He said: "The FA and all of the clubs that had reduced attendances will be disappointed. For many football fans, particularly those of my generation, the FA Cup still has a kind of magic.

"I suspect the weather may have had quite a significant effect but the problem is now, at the top of the game, staying in the Premier League is the be all and end all, and we think that's a great pity. We'd like to see some of the magic restored.

"I think what the FA should do is have a summit session with all of the groups – the managers, the clubs, the supporters etc – and see what needs to be done to restore the FA Cup to where many supporters want it to be.

"You can't see it in isolation from the whole financial structure of the game and the way that staying in the Premier League becomes the only thing that matters for a lot of clubs and a lot of managers.

"It would be an awful shame if it just continued to decline so it just became very much a third-rate competition with very low attendances that nobody was really interested in."

Clarke also believes team selections in the cup are playing a part in devaluing the competition, with a lot of Premier League managers choosing to rest a number of their first-team stars.

"A lot of supporters have no idea what team their manager is going to turn out," he added. "You can scarcely blame supporters for not shelling out money if it looks like the manager isn't taking the game seriously.

"Years ago that never happened because people saw the cup as being a competition, if not exactly on a par with the league, certainly not all that far behind it."

Some clubs, however, are still treating the competition seriously with West Bromwich Albion assistant manager Eddie Newton commenting after their 2-0 win at Huddersfield, which attracted 13,472 fans: "Promotion back to the Premier League is our main aim but the players want to go as far as they can in this competition.

"We have every respect for the FA Cup and that showed in the strong line-up we picked today."