Fabio Capello took in his first game as England manager on Saturday night when he watched Aston Villa take on Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup. Capello, who has managed with great success in his native Italy and in Spain, must have been wondering what the fuss was all about.

Just about everywhere else, domestic cup competitions are a distraction from the stresses of the league and Europe, and an opportunity to blood youngsters. The sight of two full-strength teams going for it must have seemed alien to a man who is already trying to get his head around a football culture where players organise £4,000-a-head Christmas parties with booze and lap-dancers.

Earlier last week, Reading striker Dave Kitson's comments about his side being not that bothered about the FA Cup caused predictable uproar among the gatekeepers of all that is right and holy in English football. Most vocal, of course, were the BBC, who were not pleased that someone had the nerve to insult the famous old tournament, incidentally the only football competition that the broadcaster can now afford to show. Away from Broadcasting House, managers, players and commentators were sagely nodding their heads in broad agreement with Kitson.

‘Anyone who doubts this trend for staying away from cup competitions need only watch the highlights from the third round, where banks of empty seats were on show.’

Crowds can't be bothered, either. Football tickets are expensive as it is, so who wants to stump up a further £40 to watch their second-string team take on lower-league opposition? Anyone who doubts this trend for staying away from cup competitions need only watch the highlights from the third round, where banks of empty seats were on show for the cameras. Indeed, the highest attendance of the day was 41,289 at the London derby between Chelsea and QPR - and even this was 1,000 seats off a sell-out.

When Manchester United pulled out of their defence of the FA Cup in 2000 to compete in the first FIFA Club World Championship at the request of the FA, many fans and commentators claimed it would be the end of the competition. But in reality the death knell had been sounded many years previously. Football's ills are frequently laid at the door of Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB and the billions of pounds that have poured into the game, but as a result the FA Cup is just not worth bothering with economically.

No team outside the Big Four have won the FA Cup since 1995. That's 12 seasons of monopoly and this is supposed to be the cup of romance, the tournament with a legacy of upsets and Goliath getting his come-uppance. The third round is usually accompanied by grainy footage of Hereford beating Newcastle or of Sutton beating Coventry, but what great giant-killing moments have occurred in recent years that can be added to this hall of fame?