I've noticed that there are only 2 pages for the Millwall vs Saints match thread with just a few hours to go! I think this shows the real level of interest that Saints fans have for the FA cup this year - I consider it a distraction from the league campaign personally, what do the rest of you think?
How many threads do you need? Chance to rest injured players, chance to try stuff out, but I think this game is important to improve team confidence. Nothing worse than a run of losses whatever the match. If we win this one, we will have won 3/4 which sounds good even though two are cup games.
I like the FA cup it just feels like a normal weekend in the Championship with less coverage as I find ITV a poor television station. Same goes for ESPN as Sky or BBC are not allowed to even show highlights later on of it.
What I meant Fran, was that there are only 2 pages of replies to the match thread, it is usually getting towards double figures - I agree it is nice to win as it breeds confidence, but it seems to me that the cup is not viewed as being of any real importance this season.
I think it's a very winnable tie, get a decent draw next round, and all of a sudden it's 1/4 finals and one game from Wembley! Also important for winning mentality to win this game after Monday I think.
Personally, I would love to see a return to the days when the FA Cup is perceived by all involved with the game as the greatest domestic cup competition in the world, bar none. Literally any team registered with the FA has a chance of winning it, however infinitesimal that chance might be. To lift the trophy at Wembley used to be the stuff of dreams, second only to winning the League Championship. I fully appreciate that promotion has to be the absolute priority this season, but if you watched that Fenners interview with Nigel the other day, you could see that he has enough of the romantic in him to want to win the Cup, almost as much as he wants to get to the Premier League.
I pretty much agree with all of that chilco, get to the next round and draw a good team at home, and it all changes slightly, and the excitment grows. I have never been to an FA cup final, and would love to have the chance. But yes, promotion has to be the priority for me and probably all Saints right now.
Most important thing that the cups provide are the opportunity to see some of the youngsters and new additions in action. The game itself? Would be nice to progress far enough to draw a big side, but won't be too excited about the competition unless we get a couple rounds deeper.
Well, that's answered my question, up to 260 posts on the match thread so I guess there is still plenty of interest in the cup.
We will be disinterested if we go out. We care when in it, but act never really bothered when we go out.
