The magic of the FA Cup was never more apparent than when mighty Manchester United played at Exeter.

The end result was probably inevitable but Exeter gained lots of plusses from the two games - not just their players but nine or ten thousand travelling supporters, who will never forget their day out at Old Trafford among a total crowd of 67,000 and those who managed to get tickets for the replay.

The Exeter players and management came out with a lot of credit for the way they handled both occasions.

But probably the most significant thing of all is that Exeter's debts, which previously not even a combination of Michael Jackson, Darth Vader or Uri Geller had been able to improve, were cleared.

And a more significant result for people in another part of the country was when Exeter beat Grimsby Town in the first round - a minor upset, but not that big. After all, Exeter are near the top of the Conference and Grimsby are now sadly in what is now known as League Two.

The Mariners are about 125 years old and I had two fantastic seasons there before joining Saints.

Over the years there have been many changes in the boardroom and when I was invited up there last September to open the dining suite in my name, I was very impressed with the present chairman, John Fenty, who apparently gets his jacket off to help with jobs around the ground like painting the stand etc.

He has brought his business acumen into the club, which is as well run as any in the lower divisions. He has a good solid pro in Russell Slade as a manager whom he allows to get on with the football side.

But there is a problem.

Back in April, 2002, the club lost 55 per cent of its income overnight without warning following the collapse of ITV Digital and NTL.

This amounted to approximately £2.5m and the compound effect of that over two years, of course, was double because they had virtually no chance of reducing football contracts which had been entered into on the strength of the promised TV money.

Faced with the difficulty of cutting costs over the next two seasons, the only saving grace would have been a cup run and a tie with a club like Manchester United, which Exeter earned at their expense.

Grimsby are now faced with a tax bill of about £500,000 and total debts of about £700,000 - with interest accruing on a day-to-day basis.

The club had intended to pay a £330,000 instalment of the tax debit in 2003 via a promised loan extended to all ex-First Division clubs from the Football League. However, the League apparently reneged on that promised loan in December, 2003. The taxman isn't too helpful either and consequently a fighting fund has had to be set up at Grimsby which I have been happy to assist with.

One answer is for the club to go into administration but this involves an automatic deduction of ten points which could lead to relegation, which would bring the unthinkable end to a long career in League football.

This is only one of many clubs hit by the collapse of ITV Digital.

It's so sad in these modern days when we hear of huge amounts of money involved at the highest level and it shows even more how our 92 clubs are very much divided into the 'haves' and 'have nots'.

It also emphasises the necessity for a club to stay in the Premiership and the difficulties at this time of year, particularly for managers trying to strengthen their team to stave off relegation. Players think twice about joining a club which may go down. Directors don't want to pay big contracts which could ruin the club in the lower division.

So I'm sure the audience watching the replay at Exeter this week on TV would include many Grimsby-type supporters who were thinking 'It could have been us.'

But I'm also sure the community in Grimsby will rally around and I would hope the business people in particular realise how important it is to keep the club in the League.

When I was young I used to play for Gateshead when they were a Football League club, as were the likes of Workington and Accrington.

People all around the world heard their names each Saturday when the football results were read out.

If you ask youngsters today where those towns are, unless they are genned up on geography, they wouldn't be able to tell you.

They've still got a football team, but they are no longer part of an elite 92.

The Grimsby Supporters' Trust have set up a fighting fund and the symbol on their letter heading is a King Arthur-style fist coming out of the sea holding a fish.

Their motto is "In Cod we trust."

Let's hope they're all still dining out in the Football League restaurant for many years to come.