Luton – An Air Of Disappointment

The FA Cup 3rd round is always an occasion that I’ve looked forward to, with the elite clubs, including us, starting their campaigns.

Much has been said in recent years, about the magic of the FA Cup diminishing with some of the bigger sides using the ties to play fringe and young players.

But this year, I think it is fair to say a little bit of that magic has returned.

Over the weekend, we saw Cambridge United shock Newcastle and return south with a win, Kidderminster shock Reading and then draw a plum home tie against West Ham United.

We’ve also seen teams of a small stature take large quantities of fans to away ties, one example being non-league Chesterfield taking 6,000 supporters to Stamford Bridge to see their side take on the current European Champions.

Therefore, I have to admit that I was a little embarrassed at just how small the crowd was at Kenilworth Road yesterday with the attendance being declared as a mere 4,834 with 330 of them coming down from Yorkshire to support Harrogate.

So much for the magic of the cup!

But what would have annoyed me more was that if Luton had ben given a plum draw, in the 4th round, far more than the 4,504 Hatters who attended the game would be claiming they were at the game if tickets for a plum tie were limited.

I guess, Sunday lunch, for some, is too much of a distraction!

COYH’s