Carling Cup.........

[Arthur Whittle 0]

Now we are playing with the big boys and staying in the Premiership is the number one objective, do you think its worth a punt on trying to progress in what could be an achievable goal in getting a great Run in the smaller cup competition or should we go the Premiership big guns way and field a second team?

[morty 0]

Worth a punt? No.And by that I mean the league is the number one priority, cups are a luxury. I''m not so sure we could risk first team players. If it fitted in with the grand scheme, and we were doing well in the league, then sure, why not!I think we''ll field fairly weak teams in the cups.

[pete_norw 0]

[quote user="morty"]Worth a punt? No.

And by that I mean the league is the number one priority, cups are a luxury. I''m not so sure we could risk first team players. If it fitted in with the grand scheme, and we were doing well in the league, then sure, why not!

I think we''ll field fairly weak teams in the cups.
[/quote]

Agree there we don''t want to do a Birmingham here.

[alysha 0]

To be honest, I''m not sure as I see both sides of the debate. On one hand, getting a good cup run can breed confidence which can benefit performances in the league but on the other hand, a cup run can create fatigue as well as the obvious risks with player injuries - off the top of my head you only have to look at Jamie Mackie at QPR, luckily their midfield was vital in getting goals for them, if not his loss would have been detrimental to their season. I think in cup games, Lambert will make some changes and give certain players a run out whilst still being competitve and wanting to win. The league will always be in the main priority though.

[scrappy33 0]

Ask Birmingham if it was worth it.

[Muddy funster 0]

Two words to that......Milk.....Cup..........

If you need me to add four numbers to that as well 1985!

[Nolly 0]

With arguabely a better and bigger squad this year, you would imagine our cup teams to be stronger, but certainly not to include the first team regulars

[pete_norw 0]

[quote user="Nolly"]With arguabely a better and bigger squad this year, you would imagine our cup teams to be stronger, but certainly not to include the first team regulars[/quote]

But only if we were allowed to get away with that, and not get the media repeating the Blackpool and Wolves saga, and would the F A not say anything about it   

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

[quote user="pete_norw"]

[quote user="Nolly"]With arguabely a better and bigger squad this year, you would imagine our cup teams to be stronger, but certainly not to include the first team regulars[/quote]

But only if we were allowed to get away with that, and not get the media repeating the Blackpool and Wolves saga, and would the F A not say anything about it   

[/quote]

 

The weakened squad rule only applies to the Premier League (it is the Premier League''s rule not an FA one). Norwich played weakened teams in the cups for the last two years and I can''t really see any changes this year.

[mikewalker 0]

The league is your Bread & Butter

The FA cup is a big portion of haddock chips peas and massive glass of coke for fluids.

The league cup is supermarket own-brand tinned curry.

 

[BroadstairsR 0]

[quote user="mikewalker"]

The league is your Bread & Butter

The FA cup is a big portion of haddock chips peas and massive glass of coke for fluids.

The league cup is supermarket own-brand tinned curry.

 

[/quote]

 

I suppose that makes the Champions League champagne and oysters.

What would the World Cup be then? Tripe and chips?

 

Seriously, I think Lambert wll play it as he sees it at the time, and this would depend upon the venue, the opposition and just what our position is in the league at the time. Some players might appear to need resting too.

For all it''s lack of prestige, it is a money-spinner in the latter rounds. 

[Crafty Canary 547]

PL wants to win every game so he won''t be entertaining weakened sides. When we played Poulton rovers in the FA Cup 2 seasons ago did he play a weakened team ? Did he f**k. I''m sure PL regards winning as a habit that has to be re-experienced as often as possible. We''ll go for it on all fronts as we should. No point entering a competition if you don''t intend to try to win it.

[Ivana_rubyatitz 6]

[quote user="crafty canary"]PL wants to win every game so he won''t be entertaining weakened sides. When we played Poulton rovers in the FA Cup 2 seasons ago did he play a weakened team ? Did he f**k. [/quote]He did when we played Blackburn in the Carling Cup last season though.

[i,coopius 0]

the thing is that a ''weakened team''  is a relative term. if you look at the likes of the big four of five, their ''weakened teams'' could and do beat half the premier league. with the 25 man squad rule, we''ll probably have around 30 pro''s on our books and this means that even resting 4-5-6 ''key'' 1st team players there are still a lot of options for lambert to chose from without putting out a ''weak'' team, certainly not against half the championship and lower.the decisive time will come when we are up against a premier team - will they be playing their first choice players (unlikely); how close, and against who are the surrounding games; if they are against one of our close rivals (ie IF! we are in a relegation fight) would we gain a significant psychological edge by victory. Also how far along in the competition is the match - he''s is going to risk less in round three than the semi finals obviously.basically i believe pl will see each match as a separate entity and pick the best players he feels he can, without risking too much. with the squad we have now this isn''t such a gamble as it would have been even last year

[BroadstairsR 0]

Nb. Less league games next season, smaller league. We need a cup run to plug the mid-week gaps. 

[pete_norw 0]

[quote user="pete_norw"]

[quote user="morty"]Worth a punt? No.

And by that I mean the league is the number one priority, cups are a luxury. I''m not so sure we could risk first team players. If it fitted in with the grand scheme, and we were doing well in the league, then sure, why not!

I think we''ll field fairly weak teams in the cups.
[/quote]

Agree there we don''t want to do a Birmingham here.

[/quote]

Having second thoughts, we could play the reserves in the cup matches?