You started off fairly well Kiwi, then you threw in sarcasm. I'll copy and paste my reply to Swansea, then add some.
"I don't know how old you are Swansea, but teams use to field full teams in Cup comps, since the Euro comps come in coaches have fielded weakened teams cos of the money, ie, players not as good as the first 11 / 14 team, if they were, they'd be in the first 11, wouldn't they
Here's how it works.........a team wins the league Cup making money along the way, they get into Europe where they make even more money, and have Silverware in their cupboard; same for FA Cup.
Here's our losses, we gain no more money cos we're out of the cup, we don't get into Europe to make more money and we ain't got the Silverware, plus, the fringe players who lost the cup game don't get to play again untill the FA Cup comes around, or 1 or 2 are lucky through suspension or injury.
Coaches who play a weakened team are not really interested in winning the Cup (Prem teams started it cos of the money in Euro comps) that's why they put out a weakened team........if they truly wanted to win the Cup they'd play their strongest 11, wouldn't they.
If you personally wanted to win a comp, or be successfull at something, would you give it your all, or go into it half heartedly cos you don't care either way?"
"We could finish 1st or 24th, and nobody is even going to care about this game."........Oh yes they will, some don't forget so easy when the league performances take a tumble, as has happened to us on many many occasions in past, and when promotion is gone, some reminisce about the season as a whole.
A player gets into first team by coming up through the ranks, just like everyone else in life. He makes it cos he's good enough, has a winning mentality and good attitude; if he ain't good enough, he doesn't make it or gets sold.
Totally agree, a coach can utilise his players as he sees fit......how many coaches have we had since we left the Premiership cos they didn't know how to, or didn't utilise their players properly, and professionally. I can also name a couple who held grudges against certain players, which is why they weren't utilised at all. One of'em, Redders, who so many fans thought was a super duper coach, is now coaching a ladies team.
Cup games should be played with the same winning mentality and attitude like league games. There's no guarantee on promotion whether we play a full team or a weakened team in Cup games. Cup games are not training grounds for coaches to see what players have got, if he treats them as such then he isn't doing his job as a coach properly cos his winning mentality and attitude aren't there, and he's also disrespecting the Cup comp; if he wants to know how players are progressing, then he should be watching the development, U23's and U18's squads as well, that's why they're chief coach.
For the first 5 games in league we showed a winning mentality with great attitude and enthusiasm, even against Swansea, we needed to keep that mentality, attitude and enthusiasm going, and taking it to the next level. Vere away from the winning mentality and there's a price to pay, there are exceptions to every rule of course.
The FA Cup use to be the most famous, and watched cup game around the world. Since the Euro comps have started, the big prem teams, and other teams have turned it into a joke, same with League Cup. These teams prefer the Euro comps to their own comps, that shows a total disrespect for our own cup comps, British football, and the fans who pay their hard earned to go watch their team play. Fans travel, and go to games to watch a good game of football, to see their team win, or at least see their team fighting hard if they lose. The fans pay their money, they deserve better.
The Don coached the best team in world in the 60's and 70's, cos he had a winning mentality, a great attitude, a love of the game, and he respected all cup comps. Those were the days he was coaching 14/15 internationals, going for the L1 title, The League Cup, The FA Cup, The Charity Shield occasionally, and playing in Europe; and he did it playing first team players. That's also why we got the reputation of being the best in world at the time.