Some weird things have been happening to the FA Cup of late, with fifth-round replays being arbitrarily abolished and the final being played at Tottenham’s home ground last season. Nothing will make football followers of a certain age feel quite as seasick, though, as contemplating this weekend’s third-round programme.
That word is a bit of a giveaway there, because the FA Cup third round never used to be a programme – it used to be a fixed point in the football season and perhaps the most eagerly anticipated one at that. It would probably be wise to keep the nostalgia to a minimum here, but for the benefit of younger readers, this is what used to happen.
Related: Plan to scrap FA Cup fifth-round replays brought forward to this season
Related: The Knowledge: heavy FA Cup upsets and long-distance journeymen
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