fans 'cheated' yet again

[Les 0]

yet another season where we fail miserably at the first hurdle,ok, I know it was Man Citeh, but listening to commentary todayeven the guys on Radio Norfolk seem to think we''re better off out of it, why???The fans deserve a decent cup run, not the same lame old excuses of ''the league is more important. We could at least try to progress a couple of rounds andthe minimum is to go down in a game fighting.Rant over until next season.OTBC

[Katie Borkins 1]

The league is more important.

[Les 0]

it is important, yes, but we could at least try to get past one round. Not going to do that much harm.

[Cantiaci Canary 610]

Let''s go for the cups when we are truly established. An injury to Wes or Mbokani etc would have been devastating (especially in a game against MCity).

We also play Stoke and Bournemouth (both away) within a week so I think today was entirely understandable.

[mbncfc1 0]

Could be worse, could be villa have you seen the reaction of the fans after their game today

[Well b back 3,653]

[quote user="mbncfc1"]Could be worse, could be villa have you seen the reaction of the fans after their game today[/quote]

What happened after game ?

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="Les"]The fans deserve a decent cup run....[/quote]Why do we? [:^)]

[ricardo 8,109]

To be quite honest Les, I''m very happy to be out of it. Once it was clear that Man City weren''t playing a much weakened team there was little point in extending ourselves too much. Had we been playing a team on a par or lower than us we would probably have gone for it but as far as I''m concerned its a blessing in disguise. It''s sad to have to look at it in that light but the FA isn''t what it used to be. We now have one thing to aim for and no distractions and that can only be a good thing.

[6088m canary 4]

Modern football at its best (worst).

Scrape survival in the Prem and attempt to slowly build the club into a mid-table side....too good to go down, nowhere near good enough to win the league.

The cups are about the only thing Norwich will ever have a chance of winning. Whhy hot have a good go?

This isn''t necessarily directed at today''s game but in general. No real shame in losing to one of the best sides in the country when they put out a near full strength XI.

If the likes of Millwall, Pompey etc can make it to the final then no reason at all that we can''t.....one year anyway!

[Chippy Minton 10]

Cup run = 1, possibly 2 more matches = a few extra ££''s plus possibility of injuries.

Survival in premier league = £m''s and the possibility of becoming an established top level club and the opportunity to have a crack at the FA cup in a couple of years.

You choose!

[mbncfc1 0]

during the game the villa fans got in an argument with micah richards when wycombe scored, then after the game the fans where shouting at them getting on the team does contain alot of swearing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8of_X2_ZMg8 

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]Let''s go for the cups when we are truly established. An injury to Wes or Mbokani etc would have been devastating (especially in a game against MCity).

We also play Stoke and Bournemouth (both away) within a week so I think today was entirely understandable.[/quote]

It''s only "understandable" if there''s real evidence that prioritising the league in this way actually delivers benefits. It''s far from obvious to me that there is any such evidence. We have just put together our best run of results over the holiday season when games came thick and fast, building the confidence that comes with winning and developing momentum. Is it really beneficial to portray this weekend as a sort of break from the real business? The real business is winning football matches, not writing some off as irrelevant.

[mbncfc1 0]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8of_X2_ZMg8

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="Chippy Minton"]Cup run = 1, possibly 2 more matches = a few extra ££''s plus possibility of injuries.

Survival in premier league = £m''s and the possibility of becoming an established top level club and the opportunity to have a crack at the FA cup in a couple of years.

You choose![/quote]

There''s no issue about what''s more important. The question is whether taking this attitude to Cup games increases or decreases the chance of getting to where we want to be. 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,073]

the league is more important.....but why?, strictly financially??.

what will happen in the summer if we stay up?. We''re not expanding our stadium, our academy is the highest grade now, which leaves transfers.

yes there is an increased TV deal coming into play next season, but everybody else will benefit from it too, we''ll just be subjected to the same dissappointing transfer window that we had last year (and are seemingly having now), with the usual excuses that "nobody wants to live in norfolk".....

[ricardo 8,109]

[quote user="westcoastcanary"]

 The real business is winning football matches, not writing some off as irrelevant.

[/quote]Because in the context of this season and what Premiership survival means, this game was largely irrelevant.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Les"]yet another season where we fail miserably at the first hurdle,ok, I know it was Man Citeh, but listening to commentary todayeven the guys on Radio Norfolk seem to think we''re better off out of it, why???The fans deserve a decent cup run, not the same lame old excuses of ''the league is more important. We could at least try to progress a couple of rounds andthe minimum is to go down in a game fighting.Rant over until next season.OTBC[/quote]Did you go?

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="westcoastcanary"]

 The real business is winning football matches, not writing some off as irrelevant.

[/quote]Because in the context of this season and what Premiership survival means, this game was largely irrelevant.[/quote]

WHY was it irrelevant? Because you don''t get PL points for winning or drawing it? But what if by thinking of it as irrelevant you actually decrease your chances of getting points from your next league game? 

[ricardo 8,109]

[quote user="westcoastcanary"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="westcoastcanary"]

 The real business is winning football matches, not writing some off as irrelevant.

[/quote]Because in the context of this season and what Premiership survival means, this game was largely irrelevant.[/quote]

WHY was it irrelevant? Because you don''t get PL points for winning or drawing it? But what if by thinking of it as irrelevant you actually decrease your chances of getting points from your next league game? 

[/quote]The two things don''t necessarily follow. What reall y matters is playing Premier League football next season. Anything likely to detract from that is an encumbrance.When we are looking to sign players in July, what do you think is likely to offer the greater attraction. "Another year in the top league" or "although we were relegated we had a nice visit to Wembley"?

[Branston Pickle 4,169]

I don''t see how people can feel particularly cheated by today - the pisspoor performance the other year vs Luton? Yes - but Man C are in Champs League with individual players valued at more than our entire squad. AN made it perfectly clear that the league is our priority and we all knew he''d be using the squad, so I really can''t see the reason for any complaint.

[HazzaJet 275]

The league is by far more important to us than the cup at the moment. What would you prefer - a Norwich team that survives every cup round or the Premiership? We need to be fully focused on the league, as do all the teams around us. If the team manages to get back to the strength of the squad of the early 90''s, then that''s when we should do better. In my opinion there was nothing embarrassing about this result

[Katie Borkins 1]

[quote user="mbncfc1"]during the game the villa fans got in an argument with micah richards when wycombe scored, then after the game the fans where shouting at them getting on the team does contain alot of swearing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8of_X2_ZMg8 [/quote]

Nothing sounds quite as neanderthal as swearing in a Birmingham accent.

[vos 176]

I felt cheated as I did not consider this to be a competitive match. Man City barely raised a sweat and just stroked the ball about and we looked embarrassingly poor. We gave them far too much respect and starting a home cup tie with a five man defence, who were all over the place, provides little confidence for our next two games. We created no cohesion at all in moving forward, not helped by some appalling passing and simply a lack of quality. Jerome basically received no support, again, and unless we change tactics there is little point in spending millions on another striker.

I find it slightly amusing to listen to all the hype re more TV money if we stay up. I can assure you it will make no difference at all to the quality of the football and its entertainment value. It will just be a case of paying out more to players who are already grossly overpaid, plus their agents. AND you will still have to queue for 10/15 minutes to go to the toilet at halftime.

[Inch High 0]

Sadly as pointed out this season is about "MONEY", there is a pot of gold at the end of the season but you have to be in it to win it. A cup run would have been too much of a distraction.

[morty 0]

Who in this thread, whining, actually went?

[westcoastcanary 173]

ricardo wrote: "What reall y matters is playing Premier League football next season. Anything likely to detract from that is an encumbrance."

With respect ricardo, you are missing my point. You assume that taking the FA Cup game{s} seriously "is an encumbrance" and must "detract from" our chances of playing PL football next season. I''m asking you to justify that assumption. You don''t seem to take into account that it might actually be damaging to our chances.

[Mr Grumpy 0]

It actually makes me really angry that the inbalance in rewards between PL and FA Cup, and the arrogance of the PL for planning fixtures next mid-week means that we have no real choice but to effectively withdraw from the competition. What is the point of a football club, if not to create memories and fantatic experiences of joy and despair? Looking back over the years of following this club, so many of the matches that stick in the memory the longest are the cup runs. Milk cup semi and final, an amazing FA Cup quarter final v Southampton, the experience of 2 FACup semi finals etc. I totally agree with the way the club have approached this game (and most other cup games in the last few years) but it''s really sad for younger fans especially who may not get to experience a cup run for the foreseeable future.

[morty 0]

Yup, thought so....

[Mr Grumpy 0]

I went. Not sure of the relevance though.

[ricardo 8,109]

[quote user="westcoastcanary"]ricardo wrote: "What reall y matters is playing Premier League football next season. Anything likely to detract from that is an encumbrance."

With respect ricardo, you are missing my point. You assume that taking the FA Cup game{s} seriously "is an encumbrance" and must "detract from" our chances of playing PL football next season. I''m asking you to justify that assumption. You don''t seem to take into account that it might actually be damaging to our chances.

[/quote]I don''t think I am. We have one of the weaker squads in this league, we cannot afford injury to key players, extra cup games are therefore a pointless diversion. Losing a cup match to one of the favourites is hardly a confidence shaker. I''d swap it for a point from them in the league game in a heartbeat.