TOBW - I too have fond memories of FA cup final morning and switching between ITV and BBC's non-stop pre-match shows - it's a cup final knockout, the road to wembley etc etc - all in the days when you had to get up and press a button on your TV to change over. We had three TV channels - BBC1, BBC2 and ITV and both BBC1 and ITV showed the game live, followed by highlights of the Scottish cup final if memory serves.

There was also the "magic" of the cup - which of us "d'un certain age" will forget Ronnie Radford's goal for Hereford?
Sadly that seems to have gone. There is not only a massive gulf between the Davids and the Goliaths, even if a David does beat a Goliath, it's usually because the beaten team bears little resemblance to the one that will play Man U the following week.

Back in those days, the price of relegation was some different teams to play next season and maybe losing a player.

Thanks to SKY money however, that's all changed and the price of failure/success is multi millions and potential oblivion for relegated teams.

The demise of the FA cup is sad, but City's role in that demise is minuscule.