If anybody was in any doubt that television rules the roost when it comes to football, they only have to take a look at the forthcoming FA Cup 5th round ties.
With eight ties to be spread over four days, only one is to be played at the time with a designated 15:00 hours kick-off, clearly, nobody fancied showing the fixture between AFC Wimbledon and Millwall, with the full running schedule confirmed as being:
Friday Feb 15
• QPR v Watford (19:45)
Saturday Feb 16
• AFC Wimbledon v Millwall (15:00)
• Brighton or West Brom v Derby (12:30)
• Newport County v Manchester City (17:30)
Sunday Feb 17
• Bristol City v Wolves (13:00)
• Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace (16:00)
• Swansea City v Brentford (16:00)
Monday 18 Feb
• Chelsea v Manchester United (19:30)
As can be seen, the plum tie of the round, at Stamford Bridge, between us and Manchester United won’t actually kick-off until the draw for the quarter-finals has been made live on BBC1.
The magic of the cup tarnished by the demands of the armchair fan.
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