The best FA Cup for years, or the worst? Does the absence from the semi-finals of the “big four” - and 15 of the other 16 Barclays Premier League clubs - make a refreshing change to the final stages of the oldest cup competition in the world? Or has the 2007-08 competition descended into farce as team after team prefer to concentrate on the league?

For the first time since Everton lifted the FA Cup in 1995, a club from outside the big four will win the trophy and most fans who do not support any of those Goliaths could not be more pleased.

Dave Kitson, the Reading striker, said in January: “We are not going to win the FA Cup and I could not care less about it, to be honest.”

It is the most delicious of ironies that, this year, his club might well have had a chance of winning it. And when Reading's dismal season of struggle is long forgotten, and even Kitson may be having difficulty recalling what exactly happened away to Sunderland or Blackburn Rovers, fans of either Barnsley or Cardiff City will be reminiscing about playing in the FA Cup Final as if it was yesterday.

Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, said that, as a Premier League club safe from relegation, Portsmouth had a duty to try to win the Cup and he has been rewarded with a semi-final place, his first visit to Wembley as a manager and a chance to win the first significant honour of his long managerial career. He deserves it simply for taking the competition seriously.

Television:

No guarantee viewers will be turned on by romance of Cup

Unfortunately for the TV companies, romance does not guarantee large viewing figures. The absence of the big four clubs and their vast armchair followings is expected to hit ratings for the FA Cup semi-finals. The BBC audience for Barnsley's win over Chelsea on Saturday peaked at 9.2 million, which compares favourably with the 7.8 million who watched Middlesbrough versus Manchester United almost exactly a year ago. However, the Chelsea versus Tottenham Hotspur tie in 2007 (5.7 million viewers) drew more than last Sunday's matches between Middlesbrough and Cardiff City (4.5 million) and Bristol Rovers and West Bromwich Albion (4.9 million).

The FA's international contracts will not be affected by the absence of favourites such as Manchester United because the domestic and international TV deals are secured in advance.

But for the viewers who snoozed through last year's Cup Final, something other than one more predictable stalemate between members of the big four will be welcome. The commentators, too, are looking forward to something fresh.

“These successes have been earned by bold play and players rising to the occasion,” Martin Tyler, of Sky Sports, said. “You just look at Brian Howard, of Barnsley, who was at Chelsea, and Peter Whittingham, of Cardiff, who was at Aston Villa. These people can play football.

“If we were not going to get any quality in the last two rounds, I would be concerned, but look at what Barnsley have done. The FA Cup has restored some of the democracy that the game needs. The country will enjoy watching this to its totally unpredictable conclusion.”

The clubs: Poorer relations have chance to get hands on windfall

On a practical level, the line-up for this year's semi-finals means that the riches that usually swell the already well-stuffed coffers of big clubs this time of year will go instead to less well-off sides. According to the FA, each of the four clubs have earned at least £800,000 so far through the prize fund and broadcast payments alone, on top of gate receipts. They each stand to generate about £2.8 million through these if they win the competition. They will also benefit from the staging of the semi-finals at Wembley, which will allow more of their fans to see the matches - and pay for tickets.

Cardiff City will be more grateful than the other three for the positive effects of a financial windfall. They face the prospect of administration if they cannot satisfy creditors. But none of the clubs were talking about money yesterday, preferring to bask in the glory that is at the heart of an FA Cup run. “Even before the draw was made, it didn't really matter who we got,” Kayode Odejayi, the Barnsley forward whose goal knocked out Chelsea, said. “We're just all looking forward to playing in a semi-final at Wembley and we don't fear anybody.”

“It's great for the club, the fans, the players and for me,” Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, said. “We get great support and we will do in the semi-finals.”

Tony Mowbray, the West Bromwich Albion manager, was in the minority in turning his attention elsewhere. “We're delighted for our fans that we're going to Wembley, but my focus now turns to Wednesday [against Crystal Palace],” he said. “If you take a poll, they'd all rather we were playing in the Premier League week in, week out.”

The sponsors: 'Our profile has been raised more than we could imagine'

The FA Cup's lead sponsor should not be depressed about the absence of the big four from the competition that bears its name. “If E.ON's main markets were in the Far East it would be a disaster,” Greville Waterman, a director of 141 Sport & Entertainment, said. “As it is, they should be jumping up and down, because this has rekindled public interest in the competition in the UK and has given them a wonderful tool with which to go to the market - ‘a Cup for everyone.'”

E.ON agrees. “We bought into sponsoring the FA Cup because of all the history, tradition and giant-killing that go with it,” Simon Breakell, of E.ON, said. “This weekend epitomised what the FA Cup is all about and shows why it is the greatest cup competition in the world. To have teams outside the Premier League, never mind the big four, is fantastic. It's absolutely what we sponsored it for. The global audiences that come with the FA Cup are a bonus, but we support the competition from the first kick. Last year, Chelsea versus Manchester United was a perfect first Cup Final at the new Wembley, but this weekend has been the icing on the cake of a great second season for us.”

Club sponsors have also benefited - for an investment considerably lower than the £11million per annum that Chelsea receive from Samsung, they will have their name in the public eye for another nationally televised live match and at least one Wembley showpiece. “The impact is immeasurable,” John Baddeley, a partner at Wake Smith & Tofields, the firm of solicitors that sponsors Barnsley's shirts, said. “Our profile across the region has increased more than we could have imagined.”

The fans: Novelty factor and Wembley effect could ensure full house

The Wembley factor is expected to mean that none of the four FA Cup semi-finalists will fail to sell out their ticket allocations. West Bromwich Albion were there last year for the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs final against Derby County and will be keen to wipe away the bad memories of that day. Barnsley last visited in 2000, the final year of the “old” Wembley, losing their play-offs final to Ipswich Town. Portsmouth have not been back to Wembley since the 1939 Cup Final and Cardiff City, who became the only club to take the trophy out of England when they beat Arsenal in 1927, have never come close to a repeat.

Walking up Wembley Way will be a novelty for most of those attending and means that sales of programmes and other souvenirs will be greater than if fans of, say, Chelsea or Manchester United were visiting for an occasion that has become almost a regular part of their calendars. None of the four sets of fans involved this year is at risk of “trophy fatigue”.

So Wembley officials are privately bullish. There will be empty seats, of course, but they will mainly be the well-padded ones in the Club Wembley areas, whose members may decide that at least one of the semi-finals is not a glamorous enough occasion for their presence.

Those fans who do go to Wembley can be relied on to enjoy themselves, judging from the raucous scenes at Oakwell after Barnsley's victory over Chelsea, while The Hawthorns and Ninian Park are also noisy and passionate arenas on their day. Most interesting will be whether the 20,000 who regularly cram into Fratton Park can recreate the atmosphere on a grander stage.

Semi-finals

Barnsley v Cardiff

West Brom v Portsmouth

— Ties to be played at Wembley April 5 and 6

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• TheGame

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football