Chilco I 100% agree with you. Just to play Devil's advocate and to show those in disagreement that I can see both sides here, there is something else Puel could have done. He could have played 5 or 6 of those who played on Wednesday. We may still have lost. We may have won. They may have added to their fatigue, leading to injury or future injury. He made the right decision, in my opinion.
The only decision I'd question at all really was playing Lewis in goal. He's not had the best start to his first team career and there was always a chance we'd concede a few yesterday, which may affect him. Not sure that was smart. Otherwise I have no complaints.
I don't understand how people have such little logic. It's the arguement about cup vs League. This game didn't matter to us. Not simpy because it was the fa cup, but because it was only the 4th round and we are already in the league cup final! The league has to come before the fa cup because of our EFL cup run. Big games in the league coming up that are certainly winnable. Whereas even if we played our best team against arsenal we may well lose.
I'm ecstatic and grateful that we are at Wembley, but we could lose the final, and I happen to believe that professional sport is about competing, you should never just throw in the towel. Liverpool are out as are most of the top 12 in the PL, it is an opportunity wasted if all we are doing is keeping players fresh for Swansea on Tuesday IMO. Why couldn't we try and win the FA Cup as well?.
As you know, I'm with Beddy on this one. To me, one more game and then do all the 'resting' you want against Swansea.
Again, with the benefit of hindsight, and bearing in mind the looming Wembley trip, is there anyone who isn't secretly (or openly) delighted that we didn't get out of our Europa League group?
Alex McCarthy is injured and Stuart Taylor is about as much use as a traffic cone. Fraser needed down time after his heroics on Wednesday. And Lewis did OK in the 2 games against Norwich, apart from conceding the penalty. Why not play him?
Totally disagree. Are we going to be relegated whatever the result at Swansea? Hopefully not. Are we going to qualify for Europe regardless of the result against Swansea? Very unlikely. So, for me this was a hugely more important game. A half decent side could have won that game.
Beat Arsenal, who were beatable IMO and two kind draws and we could've been in the semis. Maybe i'm being greedy, but I HATE losing.
I am quite philosophical about last nights game. I am not sorry we lost as we have already paid a heavy price for the number of games we have had to play. We don't have the sort of squad that the top six clubs have that enable them to field strong second teams and we still have along haul to the end of the season. I would rather we now get back to regular PL games and try to establish a settled side that is not continually disrupted by changes. I agree with those who have praised Sims' performance last night but we were leaderless on the pitch. I do hope that the five goal defeat has affected player confidence. Finally I have seen flashes of brilliance with Cuco but I am left concerned that despite the opportunities Isgove who was by ne means the youngest in the side last night has not progressed and maybe will not now.
yesterday you said you agreed with me when I suggested that the Swansea game could have been irrelevant in his decision and Puel chose to rest players because of Wednesday's efforts. Now, you throw the Swansea game back into the mix.... I suggested you didn't really get what I was saying and this proves that. Just humour me for one minute and forget we have a game on Tuesday. Is it understandable that the manager decided to rest those players who were involved in such an emotionally and physically, energy sapping game as Wednesday clearly was? If that is understandable (and to me it is) then the next game and whether we have a game mid-week is irrelevant. If the scientists told him that the players needed that rest straight away, then rest them straight away, which is what he did. Forget Swansea Forget the next game. Forget Cup or League fixture.
Just to add, I think this is just your personal preference of Cup over that league game... my view is nothing to do with that at all. It is just understanding reasons for his decision.
I don't think we did throw in the towel. We took a chance, and got beat (granted, a bit more severely than we'd have liked). If the side we put out had beaten the side Arsenal put out yesterday, fans and pundits would have accused Wenger of throwing away the F.A. Cup. The point being that every club - including Saints, including Arsenal - has to manage their resources coming off the back of a midwinter fixture pile up.
I don't want to make it seem this is a huge issue but, as you ask, because he'd already made one bad mistake in his short first team career and there was always a risk this team might take a beating against Arsenal. Harry Lewis has now played 3 first team games, made a howler in one (that probably cost us a win) and conceded 5 in another. That could harm his development. It may not but I'm not sure I'd have taken the risk. I would have been tempted to protect him at this stage in his career. We're already playing a shadow side. Why not play Taylor?
It would actually have taken a bit more than a "half decent side" to have beaten yesterday's opponents. And that's before they brought Sanchez on. With the injuries we have, a full strength Saints side might still have lost.
