Pathetic cup efforts... again!

Hard to say it more neatly than that.

 

I agree Pards could have done no better, 5th was beyond my wildest hopes for last seeason. I just don't really see the point in high finishes, just think, our entire efforts last season amount to 3 or 4 trips to the continent for a 90minute game of football, and nothing more in all probability. It's just a shame really.

Wasn't ironic mate I'm just genuinely one of those few fans who think football is all about winning trophies. The reason i was so happy to finish 5th last year was that it increased our chances of a trophy by 50%. (Turns out it actually decreased them). Let's face it, playing a full strength team in every cup game, we would still be mid-table at worst in the prem, and I'd rather do that and have a 5% chance of a trophy than finish 6th year on year and have a 0% chance of winning a trophy.

 

That's not the choice though.

Pardew has been clear on this. His priority is the Prem, the FA Cup, the Europa League and the League cup in that order. In this particular year, and given the draw, that meant we relinquished our shot at the league cup fairly easily. It doesn't mean we have 0% chance of winning a trophy. It means the trophy we win is less likely to be the league cup than the others

I respect the view that winning trophies is important, even more important than the league. I have less respect for the view that we should put all our efforts into winning the least respected trophy, because that's all we're goo enough to win.

I'd rather take our best shot at winning a respected trophy (by which I mean the FA Cup of the Europa league) and to finish high enough up the table to have a chance of winning them again next year.

 

Both of these for me.

The lads out there last night put in a decent shift, Man U had as many first team/squad players in their team as ours and it was a good game to get people like Tiote, Cisse and Colo up to speed.

I thought Tav's was fantastic. As was Ferguson when he came on. Vuckic had one moment where i think he bamboozled everyone who was watching and slid his shot just past the post but bar that was pretty non-existant.

Would always rather qualify for Europe through the league than by winning this cup. The only critism I have is Cisse should have come on at half time.

 

A problem I have with putting all our eggs in the CO cup basket is that if we start slipping towards the lower half of the league, then for a start we won't be able to keep / get decent players in the next window and morale would plummet. It is much easier to shake of the loss of one cup game than it is to see the team doing badly in the league when you see the table week in / week out for 38 games. It would end in a downward spiral at this point of our development. These cup games can be used as experience gainers for the fringe players so that in a season or 2 they are at a higher level and able to win these sorts of games. Not that we were far of last night mind you!

 

Another point on this regarding all those unhappy with the team selection at Old Trafford, and this is a serious question...how many of you that wanted HBA & Cabaye to play would have slated Pardew for picking either of the above if one of them broke a leg and was out for the season?

I reckon a fair few would be saying something along the lines of "why has he picked of our strongest team for a cup which is low on our list of priorities this season". It's important to remember that these players aren't machines (Tiote aside), they're human beings and not just game time but travelling and mental pressure also takes it toll. We have a small squad and for the best part Pardew has managed that squad well so far this season.

I've also said previously that this is only Pardew's second ever time at managing a team in a European competition, it's a tough juggling act and Pardew will make mistakes, but so far any mistakes that have been made by him this season are barely note worthy.

 

I don't buy that argument at all – this could happen in any game at any time, and that's a risk with playing any player so you could make the case for keeping them wrapped in cotton wool indefinitely.
What's the use in having good players if we're too afraid to play them?

This fear says more about our lack of confidence in the wider squad, beyond a clutch of first team stars – and as you say the squad is small and the percentage of genuinely influential players within that is smaller than it should be.

I understand your point of view on it fully, and it's one of those things where Pardew would be damned either way. But that really comes down to whether you want him to go all out for the win or you subscribe, along with the club, to the idea of priorities of competition.

If you see progressing in the Capital One or any of the cups as irrelevant and inferior that will inevitably inform your view of how the manager approaches it. Would I pick cup success at the expense of league relegation? Absolutely not, but I don't believe that's the choice.

I'm 100% sure we could have played our strongest 11 and in doing so would have beaten United, perhaps yielding a less troublesome tie in the next round. I maintain that it's a shame we're not still in it to win it...

 

Yes, injuries can happen at any time in any game. Yes there is a risk for a player to get an injury at any game he plays.

However, playing games in quick succession increases the risk of injuries happening. The human body needs time to recover, and even with all the new technology in place, they are still humans and running 8-10kmetres of ground at fast speeds for 90minutes , 3 days of rest is not quite enough, and that's not including training and all that. Yes , they could escape unscathed despite playing 3 games in 7 days, however that is a risk Alan Pardew isn't prepared to take. Bear in mind also that there are alternatives in the squad as well, and firstly, we weren't that far from winning, which if happened AP would've been praised. In hindsight everything seems to fall into place, but the reality is AP picked a team that could've won, but didn't execute well enough. On the other hand, had AP picked his strongest 11 are there any guarantees we would have beaten them?

Beating United would've meant facing Chelsea the next game, not exactly troublesome-free is it? That said, even if it were a weaker team, or even if it were Chelsea that we beat, in the next round we'll still be facing a strong team again... Getting past United didn't necessarily mean we would've won the League Cup, and if we weighed the various factors, the league is definitely a priority, and based on the past years (Blackburn last year), playing starters doesn't necessarily guarantee qualification.