With a string of bad luck for Gianfranco Zola's London side, this season doesn't look quite as promising for West Ham as everyone expected at the end of last season, when the Hammers finished in the top half of the table. Indeed, things just go from bad to worse, and the club have been forced into sending emails to season ticket holders offering discount offers for their Sunday match against Arsenal in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

After a promising 1-1 draw on the 20th December against old rivals Chelsea, we must question whether the problem in selling tickets for a repeat of the final which West Ham won 30 years ago lies in the loss of prestige seen in the FA Cup. The obvious loss of respect in the oldest cup competition in world football is largely down to Big Four managers such as Alex Ferguson of Manchester United (who last year were dished just desserts after fielding a team of reserves in their semi-final defeat against Everton), and the many of Chelsea over the last 4 years. Even Martin O'Neill of Aston Villa, whose blind single-mindedness saw him consciously throw away the chance at trophies in the Uefa and FA Cups in recent years, has not helped.

Surely, if we are to reverse the decline of the FA Cup, the winner of what used to be the most loved and viewed Cup final in the world should be awarded a place in the Champions League qualification stages?