Football Supporters’ Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke has called for the game to come together to restore the “magic” of the FA Cup.

Saturday’s third-round ties failed to produce a shock and instead attention was primarily focused on the low attendances at many of the games.

Wigan’s all-Premier League match against Hull particularly stood out, with the Latics’ 4-1 victory watched by only 5,335 fans at the DW Stadium – more than 13,000 down on their average attendance in the top flight.

More fans were at Dean Court to watch Bournemouth’s League Two game against Northampton.

Sheffield Wednesday’s defeat by Crystal Palace at Hillsborough drew a crowd of 8,690 compared with 22,373 for a league game, while Middlesbrough’s tie with big-spending Manchester City saw only 12,474 of its nearly 35,000 seats occupied.

In all, 17 of the day’s 23 ties featured reduced attendances, with only Plymouth’s meeting with Newcastle and Reading’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool showing substantial increases from their league crowds.

Saints’ attendance of 18,786 against Luton was just over 2,000 down on the club’s League One average of 20,600.

With Luton bringing 3,107 supporters, there were about 15,700 Saints fans at St Mary’s.

That means more fans turned up to watch a non-league team than were attending Championship games at St Mary’s for large parts of last season.

At Portsmouth, their crowd of 11,214 for Coventry’s visit was over 7,000 down on their Premiership average of 18,929.

Yes, that’s right, Saints are attracting around 1,700 more fans for their third division home fixtures than Portsmouth are for their Premiership ones!

The winter weather undoubtedly played its part at the weekend, while the recession may also have dissuaded fans from shelling out for an extra match.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez blamed the snow and ice for keeping fans away, saying: “With such atrocious conditions, I would not blame anyone for not taking the risk to come.”

His opposite number Phil Brown, though, reflected on a greater malaise.

The Hull manager said: “A lot of people talk about the FA Cup still having its magic but, when you look at the size of the crowd, it was a poor turnout.”

And that view was echoed by Clarke, who believes the country’s premier cup competition has fallen too far behind the Premier League in the eyes of clubs, managers and fans.

He said: “The FA and all of the clubs that had reduced attendances will be disappointed.

“For many football fans, particularly those of my generation, the FA Cup still has a kind of magic.

“I suspect the weather may have had quite a significant effect but the problem is now, at the top of the game, staying in the Premier League is the be all and end all.

“We think that’s a great pity. We’d like to see some of the magic restored."

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