3rd round. Who do we want? We get Reading

[TWG85]

Can't argue with the selection, personally. Can see the sense in every game chosen (Everton vs Hull is probably arguable). I don't know what people were expecting.

It's all about ratings, at the end of the day.

[Jasper]

What happened to the, "magic of thr FA Cup"? No non-league side considered.
Chelsea v Chesterfield must have been a banker for live coverage. Oh sorry and Salford aren't left in, that would have been an absolute definite.

[TWG85]

What happened to the, "magic of thr FA Cup"? No non-league side considered.
Chelsea v Chesterfield must have been a banker for live coverage. Oh sorry and Salford aren't left in, that would have been an absolute definite.

They probably think they've got their bases covered on that with City-Swindon, Jasper.

[pershoreharrier]

Are there any other ‘extended highlights’ options still be be selected and our game shifted?

I don't know about everyone else but when I saw we would be on TV as an extended highlights package against Halifax I foolishly thought that might be 10 minutes of the game - not the approx 4 minutes we actually got. Disappointing indeed.

With the games currently selected it appears the so called 'magic' has gone and the obvious games to attract the advertising revenue have taken over. I reckon even if we beat Reading and faced a Premiership team in the next round we would somehow be overlooked for a full Premiership tie.

[TWG85]

Are there any other ‘extended highlights’ options still be be selected and our game shifted?

I don't know about everyone else but when I saw we would be on TV as an extended highlights package against Halifax I foolishly thought that might be 10 minutes of the game - not the approx 4 minutes we actually got. Disappointing indeed.

With the games currently selected it appears the so called 'magic' has gone and the obvious games to attract the advertising revenue have taken over. I reckon even if we beat Reading and faced a Premiership team in the next round we would somehow be overlooked for a full Premiership tie.

Well both sides have only got one all premier league tie each. You'd be stupid to not take the opportunity if you were BBC or ITV, not getting live league games. And it's guaranteed big viewership.

United & Arsenal were always going to get chosen with their fanbases and going against clubs with great history, you've got a big, hostile London Derby, Leeds-West Ham gives ITV a premier league game, you've got the most high-profile club in England going against lower league opposition...

There's no absence of logic in those picks.

[Murphy]

Don’t rule out a couple of Red Button games folks.

[Sheffield Harrier]

Oh well. Shame from a financial point of view but I don't mind being Saturday at 3pm. Worst case now is some kind of move to a Sunday for a half-hearted highlight package.

[Flashheart]

I can understand four of these games being selected, but selecting Hull-Everton is an absolute pi££take. Not even a remotely interesting tie, and neither is Forest-Arsenal. I’ve spoken to a couple of Toffees fans and even they can’t understand why they’re on the tele.

The other three non-league matches plus Liverpool v Shrewsbury and Tottenham v Morecambe are all far better games for television. The rich looking after the rich as usual.

As someone else has stated, you would have thought Chelsea v Chesterfield would have been a certainty, especially as it seemed to be mooted as ‘tie of the round’.

Absolutely sickening and abhorrent for non-league clubs to be excluded like this.

[garthrockett]

Predictable.
Gives me another reason not to watch the apalling BBC coverage if I have no vested interest in proceedings.

PS: When's the St Albans game being shown?

[ograzebrook]

F*ck em

Lets fill Aggborough and get their attention for the 4th round.

Then we can turn their coverage offer down....or not

[Sheffield Harrier]

They are expecting Liverpool and Chelsea to put a cricket score past their opponents so don't see value in it.

Clearly, there is a decent chance Hull could beat Everton which they will deem a shock. Sadly, a fair few Premier league sides don't take the competition that seriously. It isn't as much of a shock when a Championship side beat a Premier League second string.

I do feel as if, generally, the national coverage given to non-league clubs is much better than it was 20-30 years ago.

[tonythescout]

Shocking choices apart from the Swindon game which deserves it.
Saying that we were overlooked back in 2014 at Sunderland.
Hopefully we can operate Aggborough at full capacity over 6000 and no doubt we will sell out.

[Krasnyi]

Magic of the cup? Yeah right.

If the BBC ask us to switch to Sunday at 4 we should tell them to piss right off.

[garthrockett]

Seems a long time ago now when Steve Lee used to regularly present 2 minutes of a Harriers match on Monday's BBC Midlands Today.
(He liked Aggborough......I won't go into the reasons.)

[HarrierN2]

It's £85,000 per club. That'd make a massive difference for a 6th tier club that has progressed through 5 games to get to this round. And pretty much nothing to a lot of the clubs who are being televised.

Why anyone would be interested in a lot of the chosen ties is utterly beyond me, particularly as most Premiership clubs don't take the competition even remotely seriously until they make it through to the semi-final.

The choice of games pretty much sums up everything that's wrong with football and the world in general.

And I'm usually very positive.