TV's FA Cup coverage is a turn-off

You only have to look at the advertising campaigns and sepia-tinted opening credits to know that the BBC and Sky love to milk that old cliche, the "romance" of the FA Cup. If I'm not mistaken, that romance springs from lower-league, ideally non-league, clubs upsetting the natural order, whether by giantkillings or upsetting the pyramid simply by earning the right to face one of the big boys.

So how does that tally with the games the broadcasters choose for live coverage? On Wednesday, as Havant and Waterlooville beat Swansea City 4-2 to set up a trip to Anfield, BBC viewers were being bored by Manchester City 1 West Ham United 0 (and the clubs meet again in the league on Sunday in a game live on Sky).

"Football's very unpredictable," a BBC spokesperson said. "We can't be psychic. Everyone was surprised by the Havant result, it's always difficult knowing where the surprises will be." Well, one thing you can guarantee is that there won't be a surprise when two medium-sized Barclays Premier League clubs meet, whatever the score. The chance of a shock at Eastlands on Wednesday was zero per cent; the best you could hope for was that it would be mildly entertaining.

Havant's trip to Anfield, the tie of the round, will not be on live television. The BBC and Sky had already decided on the live games before Wednesday's replay - because the police and FA insist on early warnings, the spokesperson said. Apparently, then, they can't deal with organising a match with nine days' notice if the kick-off has to be moved a few hours forward or back to accommodate the cameras.

So which fourth-round matches will we be tuning into next weekend? The BBC, which had first pick, will show Mansfield Town versus Middlesbrough, Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic versus Chelsea. Sky's solitary tie is Sheffield United against Manchester City.

The Mansfield tie, sure. But the others? As in previous years, the BBC, which has the lion's share of the rights, is revealed to be paying lip service to the romance of the Cup, when in reality it is nakedly chasing ratings and slathering itself in the big Premier League clubs it wishes it could afford to show live every week.

The BBC aren't interested in the wish-fulfilment of teams such as Havant - they care more about fulfilling their own wishes - large audiences watching Manchester United. Who cares if the result is a foregone conclusion as long as it's one of the Big Four on the box. Another £150,000 broadcast fee to United for the fourth round, then. They really need the money, after all.

Is there a bit of snobbery, too? Perhaps Havant versus Swansea might have been OK on BBC Two or on a Saturday or Sunday lunchtime, but in the midweek evening BBC One prime-time, part-timers and a Coca-Cola League One side aren't really the done thing, are they? Let's play safe with Sven rather than take the risk that Swansea go 2-0 up and everyone's switched over to Relocation, Relocation by half-eight.

Of course, the broadcasters have a duty to provide programmes that people want to watch; but wouldn't the viewing figures for Liverpool v Havant, or Liverpool v Swansea, have been larger than they will be for Wigan versus Chelsea? Don't viewers tune in to the FA Cup for potential shocks and for novelty, not for weakened Premier League teams going through the motions against each other and not much caring about the result?

The big clubs do well enough in this competition already without extra coverage and television money. There's a strong chance we'll watch the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the semi-finals and Final, so do we really need to see them in the early stages in ties that have all the romance of a drunken nightclub snog?