There are a 125 matches per season. I'd prefer it if there was no group stage and just knockouts from the get-go, but starting with 64 teams (which would ensure the same number of matches). Seed teams in the first round and then a free-for-all.
I don't follow it when United aren't in it, so that's quite a number of seasons not following it. However, if every tie was a knife edge knockout I'd be much more likely to watch as a neutral.
This would be quite the antithesis to the Super League as the big teams would face upsets more often, so hardly likely. But would the rest of you be more interested in watching non-United matches with this format?