The turn of the year is always special. My mind has already begun wandering to warmer days later in 2016 with the excitement of the Euros, the tension of the Ryder Cup and, of course, the Rio Olympics.

However, the first huge sporting institution of any year is always the FA Cup third round, the biggest day on the football calendar... err, well, at least this weekend.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the FA Cup. I love it like a cousin that I used to be close to but have drifted apart from. When we meet at family events now, it feels familiar and nice but you soon remember that we drifted apart for a reason, it’s not the same.

My formative years would have been far poorer had Mickey Thomas not lashed one into the top corner to hand Division 4 strugglers Wrexham victory against champions Arsenal in 1992.

'What shop would John Motson work in now if Hereford’s Ronnie Radford hadn’t fired that rocket in to beat Newcastle'

What shop would John Motson work in now if Hereford’s Ronnie Radford hadn’t fired that rocket in to help beat Newcastle, or non-league Sutton toppled top-flight Coventry, winners the previous year?

Had IT worker Tim Buzaglo not popped in a 15-minute hat-trick at West Brom, then I doubt anyone would even know where Woking is.

However, as with video cassette tapes, Argos catalogues and Mark Lawrenson, the world has moved on and the FA Cup is becoming, at best, an irrelevance and at worst a downright nuisance - at least to those teams with higher priorities in the league or Europe.

The biggest game in Britain this coming week is Liverpool v Arsenal, on Wednesday night, in the Premier League. Don't get me wrong, Exeter v Liverpool on Friday should be fun, but it’s not even close.

The second biggest game is probably Tottenham at home to Leicester, but not Sunday’s televised Cup tie, those teams will probably feature more fringe than the Edinburgh Festival. Nope, I mean Wednesday’s Champions League play-off between the same clubs at the same ground.

In the grand scheme of things these days, and sadly, unless you are so marooned in mid-table in your division that you have nothing else to play for, then these FA Cup ties simply aren't that important.

It doesn’t even really help cash-strapped clubs. Third Round winners receive £67,500. It’s the same amount for getting on the telly. That’s barely enough to pay Emmanuel Adebayor to not play for you for a week.

So how do you solve a problem like the FA Cup a good 20 years after the gloss began to come off the world's oldest competition? Look away now, purists, you’re not going to like this.

Get rid of extra-time and replays, give lower-ranked teams the choice of where a tie is played and increase the prize money on offer to keep the bigger clubs interested.

In my dream world, Gills, say, could be drawn against Man Utd and choose whether to play at home, splitting the lower capacity gate receipts equally while retaining home advantage, nicking a draw and winning on penalties, or play at Old Trafford, recoup more from the gate but, let’s be honest, probably get mullered.

My most revolutionary change of all? Double-up games between sides drawn together who are in the same division. Imagine one Spurs v Leicester game, with full-strength, fresher teams, three Premier League points AND a place in the next round of the Cup at stake for the victor. I won't hold my breath, but I hope the FA make it happen.