Sometimes, it’s very hard to accept what is happening to our beloved national game of football. Yes, I am a grumpy old git but I am old enough to remember when FA Cup semi-final day was one of the most important dates on the national sporting calendar. And having been to a few semis myself, I can tell you that the atmosphere at these games is the most electrifying I have ever witnessed.

This year, with the return to Wembley at the end of the rainbow, the lure should be even greater. But as Watford and Manchester United prepare to do battle on Saturday at Villa Park, and Chelsea and Blackburn on Sunday at Old Trafford, the dreadful spectacle of the past few seasons is going to be repeated. I’m not talking about hooliganism or violence, I’m talking about the spectacle of empty seats. Only Manchester United have sold out their allocation of tickets which is nothing short of a national disgrace. And I don’t blame the fans or clubs at all. I blame the FA.

The governing body are fast becoming a national joke. What kind of nonsense is it to expect Chelsea fans to travel to Manchester on a Sunday with half the major roads undergoing weekend works and rail prices sky high (not to mention a Tube strike on Sunday to welcome back the Chelsea fans who do make the journey?) Why are Blackburn fans, (who only have to make a short hop over to Manchester) being priced out of the game. It’s okay for the FA bigwigs who sit in plush offices in trendy Soho and who sip champagne in executive boxes at the game. It’s not okay for a loyal Blackburn fan who earns a modest salary and wants to see his team in the biggest game the club has had for years to have to fork out up to £55.

And even more absurd is the FA’s intention to stage all the semis at the New Wembley from next season. This has been tried before in the early 'nineties and all it does is make the quarter finals the semis as getting to Wembley is the real dream for most fans.

This is a clear case of ‘things were better in my day’. You knew where you were on semi-final day (not days). Both games were played on Saturday at 3 p.m. and whichever grounds were chosen, they were heaving with anticipation. But of course, the smell of the TV money is too pungent for the FA so they bow to the demands of the men in suits and in doing so they stick two fingers up at the people who matter, the fans.
The very fact that the FA are based in Soho tells us all we need to know about their aspirations. The area is brimming with trendy advertising and PR agencies, which is basically what the FA has become. And that’s why English football is no longer what it used to be, working-class theatre, but instead a corporate exercise in money making. And to take the argument to its logical conclusion, that is why the national team is a standing joke, because no English youngster with talent can get into a Premiership side because the money men have filled the league with expensive designer goods.

I hope the fans who do make the semis enjoy the games. But I fear the invisible men and women on those empty seats are telling us much more about the state of the beautiful game.