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Shack Attack

FA Cup - Two last points before we move on

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Two points from me and then I''m going to forget about Saturday for good and look forward.

 

We should be able to win a game of football against a Championship side withouth Grant Holt. It may seem like an age ago but there was a time earlier in the season when we won three Premier League games without him and but for a couple of poor finishes would have got a result at Old Trafford. He has responded to that spell magnificently and his performance against Swansea a couple of weeks back was that of a man brimming with confidence. But we shouldn''t forget those performances without him earlier in the season and sometimes I think some of us fans get a little carried away with this whole ''talisman'' thing to the detriment of the rest of the squad. The reason we have have had so much success this season is because there is no star man in our team. Talk of a talisman undermines this in my view. However....

 

........if you are serious about winning a game it makes no sense to leave that man who looked so confident and full of menace against Swansea. Not to mention leaving out Andrew Surman who has probably been one of our best performers over the last six weeks or so. I have seen it mentioned on this thread that maybe we should leave any thoughts of winning the FA Cup until we are an established Premier League side but that shows a certain ignorance about how football works for me. We are fourteen points clear of the bottom three with just thirteen games to play. Even if we were to establish ourselves (and I''m not even sure I know what that means. I''m sure Blackburn and Bolton would have seen themselves as established Premier League sides prior to the start of this season) will we ever be this safe again? If we can''t have a crack at winning the FA Cup when we''re as safe as we are now when can we? When we''re ''established'' in fifteenth place like Aston Villa and are only seven points above the bottom three?

 

The reaction to one defeat has been quite extreme from some but I think what you might be seeing is a realisation from some that if we are not going to have a go at winning the FA Cup now then we probably never will. I can''t speak for everyone but as a man in his mid-thirties who can still remember every FA Cup final from the 1980s and the longing I had for my team to be involved that upsets me a little.

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I don''t really care about losing on Saturday, we underperformed yes, but I don''t understand all the fallout about it. If you say to me Premier League survival or FA Cup, 100% Prem survival. I think that''s got to be are aim and whatever happens in the other tournaments happen. It''s not like Lambert though, let''s just lose to Leicester. He played a fairly strong team in my opinion, leaving Surman and Holt out could prove to be a wise move come Saturday we are playing United and them two are both pretty fresh.

I agree about Holt, the selling point and probably the reason behind are success is purely because the team spirit, on the pitch we have loads of performers and I think that as a team everyone has contributed to this brilliant season. Ruddy, Pilkington, Martin and Holt have been the top performers but everyone has contributed.

I think this Leicester game has been a prime example of the fickleness of certain Norwich fans, and I think that''s what lets us down. Surely we love every single Norwich player at the moment, who have worked so hard and achieved so much for the club these last few seasons. I do anyway.

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[quote user="YellowLittle1"]I think this Leicester game has been a prime example of the fickleness of certain Norwich fans, and I think that''s what lets us down. Surely we love every single Norwich player at the moment, who have worked so hard and achieved so much for the club these last few seasons. I do anyway.[/quote]

 

Yes, fickle sums it up.

 

I agree that the team against Leicester could easily have been a starting XI for us in the Prem, so should have been able to win.  But Lambert''s decision to have Holt and Surman not even on the bench says everything about his attitude to the FA Cup.  It''s no coincidence that probably 4 out of the team''s 6 worst performances under Lambert have come in Cup competitions  However safe we as fans may feel about the Prem, Lambert is clearly not willing to take any chances. 

 

Also, as Lambert knows very well, a couple of good results in the Prem and the moaning will all disappear.

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Bang on YL1. Just an opinion but can''t understand all this reaction. FA Cup or Prem? No contest

As the op has had his final say. Lets move on ffs

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[quote user="Shack Attack"]

Two points from me and then I''m going to forget about Saturday for good and look forward.

 

We should be able to win a game of football against a Championship side withouth Grant Holt. It may seem like an age ago but there was a time earlier in the season when we won three Premier League games without him and but for a couple of poor finishes would have got a result at Old Trafford. He has responded to that spell magnificently and his performance against Swansea a couple of weeks back was that of a man brimming with confidence. But we shouldn''t forget those performances without him earlier in the season and sometimes I think some of us fans get a little carried away with this whole ''talisman'' thing to the detriment of the rest of the squad. The reason we have have had so much success this season is because there is no star man in our team. Talk of a talisman undermines this in my view. However....

 

........if you are serious about winning a game it makes no sense to leave that man who looked so confident and full of menace against Swansea. Not to mention leaving out Andrew Surman who has probably been one of our best performers over the last six weeks or so. I have seen it mentioned on this thread that maybe we should leave any thoughts of winning the FA Cup until we are an established Premier League side but that shows a certain ignorance about how football works for me. We are fourteen points clear of the bottom three with just thirteen games to play. Even if we were to establish ourselves (and I''m not even sure I know what that means. I''m sure Blackburn and Bolton would have seen themselves as established Premier League sides prior to the start of this season) will we ever be this safe again? If we can''t have a crack at winning the FA Cup when we''re as safe as we are now when can we? When we''re ''established'' in fifteenth place like Aston Villa and are only seven points above the bottom three?

 

The reaction to one defeat has been quite extreme from some but I think what you might be seeing is a realisation from some that if we are not going to have a go at winning the FA Cup now then we probably never will. I can''t speak for everyone but as a man in his mid-thirties who can still remember every FA Cup final from the 1980s and the longing I had for my team to be involved that upsets me a little.

[/quote]

 

Shack, the only explanation that makes sense (and is backed up by what Lambert said immediately before and after, and by his team selection) is that he doesn''t think we are yet safe from relegation. And I am fine with that. Months ago someone posed a simple either/or question. FA Cup final or PL survival? One couldn''t have both. I voted for PL survival. And would do again.

 

What has confused and bothered fans (especially those of us running out of time to see Norwich City in an FA Cup final) is, as you say, not only that we look safe, but it is hard to envisage circumstances in which Lambert then would think a cup run would not be counter-productive. Any lower and we really would look in danger of relegation; any higher we might be thinking seriously (as opposed to jokingly) about Europe.

 

Perhaps the one good thing to come out of this will be an end to any more posts (so common over recent weeks) accusing anyone who thought we were not safe of being terminally. Lambert doesn''t think we are safe, and he plainly isn''t dim...

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Safety is something you can''t guarantee until the maths says otherwise.So many fans cling to this mystical ''40 points'' to be safe, despite the fact that on a number of occasions it''s gone above this, and also the fact that even if this did guarantee safety, there''s also no guarantee that we''ll get 5+ points from our remaining games.Logic and form may suggest completely differently, and it''s certainly much more on the side of caution and pessimissm to assume we may struggle, but when you consider the risk relegation poses, then it''s something that has to be taken more seriously than simply claiming we''re safe and making a potentially disastrous assumption.In regards to being an ''established'' premiership team, I see that as being a team that''s not stuck in a relegation dogfight, with a squad capable of coping with injuries to ''big'' players whilst still allowing rotation and chance of a cup run. At the minute I don''t see us as being there. League wise we''re in a great position and so far have avoided the problems at the bottom of the league, but if we got a number of injuries such as those that have beset Arsenal this season, we don''t have the quality of players to cover our options. Some already seem to think that Holt is irreplaceable and pivotal to any success, so just imagine if we had 3-4 players like Holt get bad injuries leaving our ''squad'' players like Lappin and Wilbraham to perform - not quite so simple now is it?Until PL can strengthen the squad in the summer, it''s potentially risky to embark on an advanced cup run, and PL clearly sees it this way and has acted accordingly. I''m just amazed at the fuss this has caused. 2 seasons ago we were desperate to just get out of League 1, and now apparently being secure in the Prem isn''t enough - we want the FA cup as well! Seriously, we need to walk before we jump...

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[quote user="Indy_Bones"]Safety is something you can''t guarantee until the maths says otherwise.So many fans cling to this mystical ''40 points'' to be safe, despite the fact that on a number of occasions it''s gone above this, and also the fact that even if this did guarantee safety, there''s also no guarantee that we''ll get 5+ points from our remaining games.

[/quote]Correct me if I am mistaken Indy, but I believe it has only been exceeded once, and that was when West Ham were relegated with 42 points.As far as I can see it, we are safe.  Relegation would entail a run of results far worse than any during Lambert''s tenure at the club, and that is the galling thing about the attitude of some fans for me.  I would have loved to see us still in the cup, but defeat is not what bothers me, it''s the attitude that has gained traction after the game that we should be worried about relegation still.  I''m sorry, but if we are relegated this season then it will be an unbelievable shock now, the odds must be extremely high.  I''ll eat my proverbial hat.

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The point that we are not safe yet is a fair one.   It is not inconceivable that we have a bad run, unlikely, but the stakes are high.  Very high.  The approach taken by our manager is a belt and braces one, in that until we are mathematically safe, he won''t relax the momentum.  This is the reason we are successful under PL. He focuses on being successful.    The fact we didn''t win on Saturday I am sure was a surprise and disappointment to him.

 

 

Of all the arguments for and against the cup match,  the most telling one is that the team put out was supposed to win.   It didn''t and we should move on.  To castigate the manager is wrong and we should accept he is acting in the best interest of the club in resting players and making sure key players would be fit for the next important match - arguably the biggest of the season against MU.

 

 

At the beginning of the season I spent alot of time on here trying to fight the people who appeared to be so negative about our prospects.  It seems I am in at the other end of the season arguing the opposite!   Perhaps people are now too positive about where we are and should reign in their ideas about our status, until it is certain.  

 

 

I think the moral of the story for me and all of us is that we should try to be realistic in our assessments of where we are at any given moment.   We are eighth and doing great, but that should not cloud our judgement.    It has been a funny two or three weeks in many ways.  Completely out played by Sunderland - then going to a perhaps more difficult place and us completely out playing Swansea - then the cup match.    That shows something of the ups and downs of football - if - and I say - if we have a bad run and don''t pick up any points in the next three or four games and one or two of the bottom three clubs start a revival -  then things wouldn''t be quite so clear cut.

 

 

 

It''s so easy for us fans to get carried away with things - why don''t we all try to understand the manager''s philosophy and accept that the club is going in the right direction and any get behind everything the manager is doing.   After all, PL will have probably learnt alot about some of his players on Saturday - some good and some bad - and we should all put it down to experience - whether we spent alot taking half the family with us on Saturday  or not.    I don''t think  he deserves some of the criticism that has come his way.   After all he has done for the club - if he starts getting the feeling that the fans aren''t behind him - he might think right, they don''t appreciate what I''m trying to do, I''ll go somewhere where they do.   Don''t get me wrong, I think and hope he will be here for a long time, but we should be careful!! Managers like him don''t come along very often!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lambert is probably the best manager we have had in living memory so i take my hat off to him and accept that he calls the shots. That said i was disappointed saturday especially as we put out a far weaker side than we did against Burnley in the third round, now that does confuse me as our points tally between Burnley and Leicester has been significant. For me 35 pts puts us virtually safe in a season when probably 36/37 will be enough to stay up. I have a season ticket so clearly want us to stay up but at the same time i paid my £25 and hoped for a better performance in the cup.

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Sorry if I''m belabouring this, or it looks like something aimed at you YC (I''m also a YC in Rotherham), but since when does leaving 2 players out consitute a ''far weaker side''?Neither Ruddy nor Naughton played against either Burnley or WBA, Whitbread, Ayala and Tierney are all injured, so realistically we played the best we had available at centre half and left back, with Martin hardly being a poor player at RB and having played there against both WBA and Burnley.In midfield, Surman didn''t play against WBA, and the exact same midfield 4 we played against WBA also played against Leicester - the difference being that we played 5 in midfield against WBA with Crofts the additional midfielder, whereas we used a midfield 4 with an additional striker against Leicester.Holt was subbed off in both WBA and Burnley games, of which Jackson played against Burnley and again we had the 5 man midfield against WBA.In reality the majority of the team that played against both WBA and Burnley, also played against Leicester, with the major change being Morison for Holt and the defensive changes at CB that we had no choice about.So arguably a single player change (considering Surman also didn''t play against WBA) in the form of Holt, and suddenly the side goes from being ''Strong'' against WBA and Burnley, to ''Significantly Weaker'' against Leicester!I know Holt is good, but this is getting ridiculous. If Lambert is going to be faulted for his team selection against Leicester, then the same people complaining, should also criticise the choices against WBA and Burnley, where the likes of Ruddy, Naughton and Surman either didn''t play at all, or only played against one of them. Even Holt was subbed off in both previous games and we subsequently scored after he left the pitch on both occasions! Apparently it''s fine for PL to leave players like Ruddy and Naughton out against our previous opponents, but he does it against Leicester and there''s an outcry.I''ll say this for the final time - Grant Holt is not solely responsible for us winning or losing, nor is the choice to leave Surman out, and to suggest that not selecting these two players makes are team ridiculously weak in comparison is simply ludicrous...

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Well the thread is about having two last points before we move on but some seem to need several bites of the cherry! lol. It''s ok but when you''ve made your point over and over again the clue is in people not taking it, understanding it, or agreeing with it but its just opinion on both or all sides. What I don''t think the argument has anything to do with is not having faith in Lamberts abilities to put all his efforts into his stated aims, he''s 100% reliable in that. It''s not about anyone wanting "rid of" Morison - people have wanted to understand whats going on that young mans head. It''s not been about Holty being our saviour either.

For my two bites worth I''ll say that I''ve learnt two things from the weekend:-

One, that we will wonder whether we will ever have the ambition to compete wholeheartedly in a cup competition. For some the PL is all, others that we can have both - that our position in the table shouldn''t overly worry us, but others that an injury could cause a catastrophic failure to secure 5 more points, we''ll never know now. For some it''s a plain and simple financial decision, that the FA Cup winnings doesn''t stack up to a high finish in the PL. For some no matter how much other clubs and the FA have debased our favourite club competition with semi-finals played at Wembley too (where''s the magic of Wembley gone?) the glamour that beguiles us still remains. Perhaps it is all about the long term plan and this I believe, that three seasons in the Prem secures an increase in seating at Carrow Road - we continue onwards towards becoming a BIG club. That goal for the Board is all and it is PLs mission in life.

The second thing I''ve learnt is that the club will be duplicitous with us and has no qualms about taking our money on any terms. The Club removed all references and articles to Paul Lambert''s comments pre and post match, that his goal was the security of Premiership survival. Instead a NEW article was put up on the Club website stating his belief that we could really go for the win against Leicester. History is what the last person standing writes and so can anyone following my post with an opposition, I''m done with it, on to Manchester United.

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It wasn''t a weakened team that is right, but we have a team that has rotated all year. We have had fresh players coming in this season which has led us to our current position.

 

It is a good point of when will we be in this position again. Either it will be fighting of relegation (which will be the next few years with our current finances, youth system etc) or pushing for Europe. Well forget Europe that is so so so many light years away the only route there would be with the cup. But I would say we are along way off a genuine attempt to win a cup.

 

We do not have the depth of squad that can compete at the high levels the premiership requires and to the extent of a cup run that can include playing in the final. Yes it can happen, but I would rather we had had 4-5 seasons in the premiership, built up experience in our current team, the young under 21 players then mid 20''s being at the peak of there performance. We have had a number of amazing cup runs in our history and in the 70''s and 80''s had some amazing experiences. I remember the semi final loss against Sunderland, the year we should have booked our FA Cup final experience.

 

We will ahve a tough year next year with three weak teams going down this year, unless qpr can collapse, and some teams coming up with some good £££. West Ham for one, so really we want to see some weak teams come through. Can Soton stick it, can a surprise in the play-offs really happen with a minnow coming up? The next few seasons will be building years, Stoke have now just risen enough from the championship to now look at these competitions and utilise the squad. As was said there are teams in this league who are weak and this year we have topped that league, next year will be tough again. But bring it on.

 

The cup competitions are for our subs, squad to get settled into competitive football, recover from injuries until we are in a position of strength to think we can go all the way. The next few seasons we will be able to put up very good players in our cup team which will have a few changes from our league team at times. This season will be remembered for one thing premiership survival. It is the right thing to be remembered for.

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My point would be that this match wasn''t a straight choice between avoiding relegation or having a good cup run but rather that we could have had both.

I''m not saying we would have gone on to win the cup but it was our best chance of progressing further than we have in many years.

I''m not sure about the weakened team mantra but for whatever reason the team did not perform and as fans many of us (old school?) feel very disappointed.

Of course staying in this league is the most important thing at this time but a good cup win would have given us momentum / feel-good factor going into the Man Utd game.

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There was a record FA cup crowd for the stadium, over 26 thousand.  You can argue that it was the pricing of the tickets, but in Norfolk at least it appears that there is an appetite for cup football.  Having been raised on a regular diet of cup semi-finals and a final, I share sparrows disappointment - the draw is so open, and this was so winnable, especially when you consider that Leicester were using a number of "squad" players.  That said, it is a squad game these days.  However - If Holt had been on the bench, at least he would have been an available option.  As it was, come 60 minutes when we needed a change and a goal, we were left with a talented striker returning from a long-term injury, who needs to regain match fitness, and a hard working target man who has scored 2 goals in 32 games.  Not really the same options as a player who has scored 10 premiership goals this season, and who tore Swansea apart.I don''t think that the priority for Lambert was avoiding relegation when picking the side.  He picked a team he thought would win the match while still resting players, but in reality the midfield couldn''t compete for whatever reason, the early goal knocked us cold, and Leicester dealt with the slippery pitch better.  We never really got going - if we had, no doubt we would all be claiming the tactical genius of the boss.The 3 million you get for winning the FA cup is the same as 4 league places I believe ?  Could it be that if there was a sense of priority, that is what it was ?

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My view is; Norwich have never won the FA Cup.  This year we had a great chance to progress yet we hardly tried against a team who play in the league below us. 3 days after being knocked out I still don''t understand what happened. I can accept a defeat when every effort is made - but that simply didn''t happen on Saturday.

 

Steve Morison will be lucky to be on the bench after his half-hearted display. Whatever happened to Paul Lamberts desire for players who will (quote): "put their shoulder to the wheel" ? Observing that Arsenal have banished Ashavin to their reserves, I know where I''d like to see our No.5 operate until he rediscovers his mojo...

 

 

 

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Have picked up on this post late and do not wish to prolong the argument about Saturday''s performance any further, but, one thing still puzzles me and I''m sure somebody will put me right!Why is the game against the mighty MU considered so important and the FA cup-tie considered less so?I understand the logic of league points being at stake, but realistically considering that MU are at the top of the table and reigning champions, while we are a newly promoted side, there surely is not much expectation of gaining even one point.We, as fans, would certainly hope and expect some success, but the experts and odds are not in our favour.Surely putting out our strongest side against Leicester and risking having to field a slightly weaker team against MU would have served us better and not upset so many paying supporters. I can now forsee future home cup matches being played in a half-empty stadium(regardless of the opposition), which would be a sad state of affairs.

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[quote user="Orford65"]Why is the game against the mighty MU considered so important and the FA cup-tie considered less so?[/quote]Many reasons, but here''s a few:1) League points are at stake, and even a single point against Man Utd is another point closer to safety2) Morale - A win would be a huge boost for our players, particularly with a relatively rough run-in, and again, even a point would do far more for our team spirit and general morale would, than getting a win against a Championship side in a cup game.3) Putting a weak team out against Man Utd sends a very negative message to the other clubs in the league, and when you consider that Blackburn have managed to take 3 points off them, it shows that a good performance on the day can get the points, whereas putting dross out removes that chance.4) Man Utd have a EL fixture in midweek, and even if they rest a few first team players, they''re still likely to field a strong team meaning potential injuries ahead of our game and also a couple of ''big'' players being rested against us, which again gives us a better chance to take the points if we play our best XI5) Any performance like the one against Leicester is going to upset paying fans, but it''s one thing to assign lower importance to a game, but another thing entirely to run scared of the big boys and deliberately play a weak team against them.I could go on but I''m sure you get the point. The cup holds romance and a potential trip to Wembley, the league holds our future and potential success as a club going forwards, and I''m also sure that getting a good result against Man Utd will do more for the team than beating Leicester would have...

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[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="Orford65"]Why is the game against the mighty MU considered so important and the FA cup-tie considered less so?[/quote]
Many reasons, but here''s a few:

1) League points are at stake, and even a single point against Man Utd is another point closer to safety

2) Morale - A win would be a huge boost for our players, particularly with a relatively rough run-in, and again, even a point would do far more for our team spirit and general morale would, than getting a win against a Championship side in a cup game.

3) Putting a weak team out against Man Utd sends a very negative message to the other clubs in the league, and when you consider that Blackburn have managed to take 3 points off them, it shows that a good performance on the day can get the points, whereas putting dross out removes that chance.

4) Man Utd have a EL fixture in midweek, and even if they rest a few first team players, they''re still likely to field a strong team meaning potential injuries ahead of our game and also a couple of ''big'' players being rested against us, which again gives us a better chance to take the points if we play our best XI

5) Any performance like the one against Leicester is going to upset paying fans, but it''s one thing to assign lower importance to a game, but another thing entirely to run scared of the big boys and deliberately play a weak team against them.

I could go on but I''m sure you get the point. The cup holds romance and a potential trip to Wembley, the league holds our future and potential success as a club going forwards, and I''m also sure that getting a good result against Man Utd will do more for the team than beating Leicester would have...
[/quote]

1) We are are safe, even if we didnt pick up a single point from here on in we still in all probabilty would not get relegated and getting anything from Man U would be considered a bonus but not expected.

2) Getting into the last 8, 1 game away from Wembly beating a team in league lower to us wouldn''t be considered as a moral booster? Playing Man U on the back of a win as opposed to losing would of course be better, in what possible way?

3) Never was suggested we would field a weaken team against Man U I think the poster is only commenting on possible injuries etc.

4) See point 3

5) Again see point 3

Please see point one, we are not going to get relegated we sent out the completely wrong message (right one if your Leicester) with the team selection and attitude towards the Cup which I suspect filtered down to the players hence the lack of do or die attitude from the team and in my humble opinion what''s with idea that we couldn''t possibly play our strongest side in both games (please see point 1), because after all they were only 8 days apart.

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Agree with Ernie,We will not be relegated.A (potential) Quarter Final against Bolton/Millwall/Everton/Blackpool at home would mean a (potential) trip to Wembley for a FA Cup Semi Final. What more of a morale boost can you ask for?Theres no reason why we couldnt have played our strongest side against Leicester and then against United.I believe this is the best chance we have had at a major trophy for sometime, and will be the best chance that we have for sometime.

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[quote user="CDMullins"]I believe this is the best chance we have had at a major trophy for sometime, and will be the best chance that we have for sometime.[/quote]Completely agree with this.

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[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]If PL seriously wanted to win this game he would have put on extra strikers (as he has done many times before) and not simply replaced them.[/quote]Then that begs the question, why take Burnley and WBA seriously?

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Easy to say we''re safe when there''s no pressure on us as individuals isn''t it?Even if the possibility of everything going pear shaped is extremely small at this point, do you honestly think the PL and the rest of the management team can afford to relax right now with the stakes being so phenomenally high? They simply took the safest option in order to guarantee safety, as it just isn''t worth the potential risk - again, no matter how small it may be.All we potentially need is a couple of bad injuries to some key players and suddenly it''s a very different ball game, where one loss can lead to another and before you know it we''re in a dogfight.I genuinely don''t think this is likely to be the case, and I''m sure PL doesn''t either, but he simply can''t afford to gamble even slightly here.I also think that frankly the cup competitions are becoming shadows of their former selves, particularly to premier league sides, and it appears that the FA cup may soon join the league cup and UEFA cup (sorry Europa League...) as being seen as ''tinpot'' trophies not worth competing for...These days it''s all about the Premiership and Champions League, sad as it may be, but that''s how it''s going, and when premiership survival is worth 10 times more financially than the FA cup, you can somewhat understand the logic from the business brains that control football.It''s not about tradition or romance but about money, plain and simple, and whilst we all might like a Wembley final, it pales in comparions to staying and performing in the Prem, something which is paramount to the club - especially in the current economic climate.

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No one can ever guess lamberts team selections and I don''t have a problem with the team he selected apart from maybe Holt could have been on the bench as the game was crying out for a player like him to come on at one all and if that would have happened we probably Would have won. But that aside the team he put out let everyone down. Next point I agree that if we are sat on 35 points at this point of the season we should go for it. All this established prem stuff is rubbish there are probably only 6 est clubs now the rest are in danger of dropping down a league. If we stay in the league five years and are sat on the same point this time of the season will we go for a cup? My only criticism of Lambert over all this is him going on about how the man u game is more important than the f.a cup game the day before the leicester game. What sort of message does that send? It tells me Lambert has never really taken the cup seriously and probably never will. That guts me because I firmly believed we had a chance and it was our best chance in years to get to wembley. What Lambert has done has been outstanding but if he won us an fa cup and got us European football he would without doubt become our greatest ever manager. All the game is about is money and finishing "as High as possible" the board and management don''t care about the cups and half our fans don''t. Only a few of us still dream of it but because there is not much cash in it then it probably won''t happen. Look forward to trying to push for a "top ten finish" year after year. Lastly because the cup is no longer being taken seriously I''ve decided I''m no longer gonna buy a ticket for a cup game again . Of course if we get to a semi finals I will be there but like a said its not being taken seriously so that won''t happen. The dream of seeing city at wembley is over for now for me. I''m trying, struggling but have no choice in dreaming of finishing a league place higher than the previous season like the rest of you so we get that extra million pound I dreamed of . Money, money ,money.... greed , greed, greed. It won''t be long I''m sure I will fall out of love with this greedy game and I''m sure I''m not alone.....

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My guess is that privately, PL may be realising he miscalculated on the Leicester game.   Probably, in his own mind, he was doing the right thing, protecting certain players and yet still putting out a strong team.    Unfortunately, the team didn''t deliver - which happens, sometimes.   If the team didn''t deliver what PL expected, no doubt there will have been a rocket in the dressing room.  Certain players have not come out of the Leicester game well, so PL will have learnt from that.   

 

 

 I''m only guessing, of course,  but I think things may be different another year.  Lets be realistic, we only won two matches to get to Saturday''s stage. It will be in PL''s thinking that as a premiership team we should probably getting to at least this stage every year. So there will be other years.  I''m disappointed, we''re all disappiointed, but there are sound, logical reasons for the team selection on Saturday.  I just think the players failed to rise to the occasion.  I don''t think PL is to blame for that, whatever ''perceived messages'' he may or may not have put out.   

 

 

 

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[quote user="Bryangunnshairline"]No one can ever guess lamberts team selections and I don''t have a problem with the team he selected apart from maybe Holt could have been on the bench as the game was crying out for a player like him to come on at one all and if that would have happened we probably Would have won. But that aside the team he put out let everyone down. Next point I agree that if we are sat on 35 points at this point of the season we should go for it. All this established prem stuff is rubbish there are probably only 6 est clubs now the rest are in danger of dropping down a league. If we stay in the league five years and are sat on the same point this time of the season will we go for a cup? My only criticism of Lambert over all this is him going on about how the man u game is more important than the f.a cup game the day before the leicester game. What sort of message does that send? It tells me Lambert has never really taken the cup seriously and probably never will. That guts me because I firmly believed we had a chance and it was our best chance in years to get to wembley. What Lambert has done has been outstanding but if he won us an fa cup and got us European football he would without doubt become our greatest ever manager. All the game is about is money and finishing "as High as possible" the board and management don''t care about the cups and half our fans don''t. Only a few of us still dream of it but because there is not much cash in it then it probably won''t happen. Look forward to trying to push for a "top ten finish" year after year. Lastly because the cup is no longer being taken seriously I''ve decided I''m no longer gonna buy a ticket for a cup game again . Of course if we get to a semi finals I will be there but like a said its not being taken seriously so that won''t happen. The dream of seeing city at wembley is over for now for me. I''m trying, struggling but have no choice in dreaming of finishing a league place higher than the previous season like the rest of you so we get that extra million pound I dreamed of . Money, money ,money.... greed , greed, greed. It won''t be long I''m sure I will fall out of love with this greedy game and I''m sure I''m not alone.....[/quote]

Couldnt agree more, I dont think you will see the sort of crowds we have had in future cup games and as you say I dont think I''ll bother going again let alone taking half the family with me.  But what the hell all those extra millions for finishing a place or two higher I have to say is dam exciting, far more than say a trip to Wembly.

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Agree Ernie. I cannot afford to get season tickets for all the family so to us the game was as important if not more than the Man Ure game. I also spose that if you are one of the 22k season ticket holders and are lucky to see Norwich every other week then its not so important. Went to Burnley and it was great doubt if I will bother with the cup though next year unless we have a 100 points first .

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I would like to add I''m an exiled fan (7 hour round trip to carra rd) I''m a season ticket holder aswell. But like I said before I won''t be going to a cup game again. I will be shocked if the club sell out a cup game at carrow rd in the future.

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