Soccer World: Should Wembley be used for the FA Cup semi-finals?

I know there are bills to pay, it is the home of English football and it is a rare chance for some teams to experience Wembley, but should the stadium be used for the FA Cup semi-finals?

There seem to be a multitude of reasons why it shouldn't be used, all ignored in the FA's quest to pay off the mountainous debt accrued in building the thing.

For starters there is the symbolic reason – Wembley should host the Cup final and that is all. Hosting the semis there takes away some of the magic of the final and for some supporters of teams who regularly progress far in the competition it takes the gloss of a trip to the ground. Supporters shouldn't be moaning about another trip to Wembley, but for some teams that will be the case. They'll still place plenty of focus on the FA Cup semi-final betting, but some of the gloss has come off.

The old argument used to be that Wembley gives more fans the chance to watch the game. This is also redundant as the greedy FA only give a small allocation to each club with the rest going to the 'football family' (often sold on by touts) or worse, the frequently empty Club Wembley section.

England now boasts enough stadiums to more than accommodate a semi-final, the Emirates, Old Trafford, and St James' Park to name just three – not excluding Cardiff after their excellent spell hosting major Cup finals. In fact they would probably offer more tickets for real supporters rather than roast beef munching, wine quaffing corporates.

You also have the practical concern, which we have this year, of fans travelling down to the game. Four northern teams will be expected to make their way to London over the weekend, not an easy task I can assure you! Throw in Liverpool's Sunday game with Arsenal as well as the London Marathon and you have a situation where the city's transport and Policing network are stretched to the limit - needlessly.

Some supporters may say that they would prefer an extra chance to play at Wembley and while I can understand that to a point, there can be no doubt some of the shine off the Final is taken off by playing at the same ground just a month previously.

All of these factors point to hosting the semi-finals a neutral venue. But, sadly, like everything in modern day football money rules all and the FA's desperation to raise as much cash as possible means Wembley it is, despite the difficulties it poses for the fans who once again are a secondary consideration to cash.