As landmark moments go, the demise of Football Focus is not that big a deal. Sure, it has been broadcast by the BBC for over half a century, but its audience has shrunk for all manner of reasons. The younger audience coveted by the BBC simply does not sit at home watching television at Saturday lunchtime, for example. One of the less significant contributing factors to Football Focus's increasing irrelevance is that the time when there was one tranche of matches for it to focus on has long gone. In times gone by, you would watch Football Focus as preparation for the blanket of three o'clock kick-offs. Now, of course, the fixtures—particularly the elite fixtures—are scattered across the weekend. This is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you get a weekend when, for some reason, there is a dog's dinner of a schedule.
Having Premier League matches on the same day as an FA Cup semi-final is acceptable. But to have a big Premier League game broadcast live at the same time as that FA Cup semi-final just feels wrong. Arsenal versus Newcastle United kicks off at 5.30pm on Saturday, 15 minutes after the first whistle of the Manchester City-Southampton match at Wembley. The City-Saints semi-final is live on the BBC, so, in terms of viewing figures, it will blow the Premier League game, on Sky Sports, out of the window. But the clash is another example of how broadcasting and fixture scheduling across all competitions are chipping away at the lustre of the great old competition.
If the fixture clash on semi-final weekend is unfortunate, the scheduling of the FA Cup final itself remains lamentable. Last season marked the first year of a six-year deal that means the final is staged on the Saturday before the last weekend of the Premier League season. That deal was another dagger to the history and tradition of the competition. The lifting of the FA Cup should be the peak of the domestic season's climax, simple as that. But the fact that the Premier League continues after the final could have serious implications.
If City beat Southampton in the semi-final, their Premier League trip to Bournemouth, scheduled for May 17, will have to be rearranged. City's home fixture against Crystal Palace has yet to be rearranged. If City reach the final, they will almost certainly then face a Premier League match three or four days later, in addition to their last Premier League match on May 24. There is a chance City will need to win both of those games to win the Premier League.
So, what does Pep Guardiola do for the final? If his team faces three matches in nine days, he has to think carefully. And you could have the ridiculous situation of Pep resting players for an FA Cup final because there are more important games ahead. With the depth of squad Guardiola has at his disposal, resting players would not greatly lessen City's chances of winning another FA Cup. Anyhow, it might not be relevant as Tonda Eckert's excellent Southampton could well pull off a surprise at Wembley, but whoever is in the final on May 16, they should be enjoying the crowning day of the domestic football season, not a support act for the Premier League's last performance.
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