To try and improve it, I would make the Championship teams enter at Round 2 rather than Round 3. What makes the FA Cup special is all the David v Goliath stuff... it's ridiculous that when 700+ teams enter the competition, the 64 teams left at the 3rd Round stage include 44 that have got byes and haven't had to play a game
As it is, there are plenty of decent League Two and Conference sides that could create an upset... and they have to knock each other out in Rounds 1 and 2, just so we can have mediocre Championship teams fast-tracked to the third round. I mean, who honestly wants to watch the Plymouth v Hull or Barnsley v Blackpool games drawn today, when you could have an extra League Two v Premiership clash instead?
|