When Manchester United drew Derby County at home in the third round of the 2018 FA Cup, fans around the country moaned at the prospect of another televised United game.

The Old Trafford side’s previous 58 FA Cup ties stretching back to January 2005 had all been televised, to the point that it seemed a given the streak would continue.

However, it seems this time around the broadcasters decided enough was enough.

Instead, BT Sport has Norwich v Chelsea, Nottingham Forest v Arsenal and Brighton v Crystal Palace, while the BBC will show Liverpool v Everton, Hereford/Fleetwood Town v Leicester, West Ham v Shrewsbury Town, and BBC One Wales will show Newport County v Leeds.

With United’s last untelevised FA Cup game taking place over a decade ago, the starting XI from their match against Exeter is a perfect illustration of that fact.

Gerard Pique has since left to join Barcelona, winning four Champions League titles, a European Championship and a World Cup, while Phil Neville has retired to the punditry sofa/commentary booth.

It’s fair to say people were in shock.

But there are still some cracking ties on show, not least Chelsea’s trip to Norwich.

Who knows, in 10 years you might be talking about a decade of Norwich City broadcasts coming to an end.

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