Is there any point in entering the cups?

I ask this question in all seriousness because, for some years now. it seems to have been the consensus of opinion among supporters that they couldn't care less about the cups, that the league is the be all and end all. It's the same for Newcastle as it is for Sunderland. Token efforts and an early elimination, followed by cries of "well, it's a blessing in disguise."

Radio Newcastle recently held a poll on this question, asking listeners to rate the importance of the FA Cup on a scale from 1 to 10. I believe the average was about 3.

There is no obligation to enter the cups. In all cases the secretary has to send in an entry form. Is it really worth going on with this, when fans, players and officials clearly don't regard cup games as being of any importance?

 

Seeing as it's the only way for us to get some silverware , I rank the cup as very important.

 

Imagine the uproar if we didn't enter it, it think its more a case of we have to than we want to

 

I think that the small injury prone nature of our squad and the fact that we have been fighting against relegation or looking for promotion is why some fans are not to fussed about a cup run

 

I personally would love us to win one of the cups. ERspecially the FA cup. I can remember the atmosphere when
we reached the final 2 years running. Good times.

 

The FA Cup is still considered the most prestigious domestic cup competition in Europe, defo want to be in it

 

Stupid question really, for teams like us its the ONLY chance we're going to have of winning silverware, because lets be honest without serious investment these days nobody can challenge for the title really... with the odd exception of course.

The werent really an option for us this season anyway and its better that we went out early because we havent got the squad for it, but next season hopefully we can push on, sign more players and have a good cup run.

 

there's lots of points to entering,the majority covered by the posts on here.

 

I was very diasappointed to be knocked out when we were. I would gladly sacrifice a couple of placings in the league (provided we still stay up) for a good cup run.

The League Cup is considered a 'lesser' competition and I feel that's where we should be giving the likes of Ranger, Ferguson, LuaLua etc. some pitch time but the FA Cup? The FA Cup still holds a great importance I feel, not just for the reward of Europe at the end, it's the only competition where (theoritically) ANY club in the country can win it, that's the joy of the competition. We should be showing we are among the best clubs in England and aiming to at least make it to the last 16 each year!

Players seem to struggle to fire themselves up for the competition, at least the spoiled ones that are used to facing top-flight opposition every week but since winning the EPL is realistically out of our reach, THIS is the trophy we should be going for.

The problem is that there is no real fear of failure so we tend not to turn up. We're not favourites to win the cup so if we put in bad performances and get knocked out, no big deal. FA Cup winners get £1m (last time I checked). If we put in bad performances in the league, we go down! Each place higher in the league is worth about £1m and relegation is a major financial set back. Looking at these figures, it makes sense for the club to focus more on the league than the cups, follow the money.

Sad but true, club owners don't need glory, just financial success. The league brings that, the cups (for larger clubs at least) do not.

 

I think for every fan the cups are not the be all and end all, although they are the ONLY realistic chance of silverware. I don't mind either way, I wasn't particularly bothered about Stevenage knocking us out but more bothered that they beat us full stop. Looking at it from a sensible angle, the league is the only place where a club can gain and progress due to the financial merit each position brings aswell as the attractiveness of higher places for prospective new players.

League = Progress
Cup = A good bit of fun

 

It's a good chance to see young players get games in the early stages, at the very least.