At least the semi's are being played at club grounds this time. That was pathetic last year, staging it at Cardiff. The FA were clearly embarassed at the spectacle of swathes of empty seats in the Millennium Stadium for the Arsenal v Blackburn game, hence the Old Trafford / Villa Park venues this time round.
Mind you, I gather Wembley will be staging the semi's when it eventually opens in 2014, or whenever they've said.
The FA Cup has often given me a semi. The victories versus Liverpool in 1983 and probably more so the victory in 1984 because I was there. However, the Case goal at Highbury gave me a full-bloodied sti....... hang-on, have I mis-understoof this thread?