Good afternoon.
I’m finding the attitude of some Tottingham fans laughable. And that’s as generous as I’m going to get. Tell me, just what is your position on cups these days? I mean do they still hold any appeal at all?
I was recently accused (no really it happened, some boys pointed at me, said something then pegged it) of being some dreadful type who expected to win every game 5-0. An immediate gratification merchant.
This was in response to the fact that I dared to acknowledge the truth that watching our Yoofsters and second stringers I find [A] largely boring [B]Not very good value for money.
The kids so far have scraped past less than mediocre opposition in the Europa Cup and been a pivotal element in being dumped out of the Carling Cup.
So if we forget about my feeble attention span and ignore my miserly approach to life, tell me this and tell me true. What value do the cups actually have to you these days?
Here’s the poll.
[poll id=23]
I wouldn’t have said it was a second string team. but a decent blend of youth, bench warmers needing games and players coming back from fitness. Why would you play the same eleven from the weekend? No manager with a squad like ours would do that! Unfortunatly as much as I want to see us win with what ever team we put out in all games, this is what happens when you are no longer a cup team and playing your strongest team to achieve a top four spot. Admittedly the Champions League is a cup but a lucrative one that also attracts the best players to your club. Having said that I would like to see UEFA place the winners of the Europa League into the Champions league qualifying round. undoubtedly making the competition more valued and making league places 5th/6th worth fighting for!
Harry, Harry, Harry, you’re in deep danger of being a hold out dinosaur. We want Champions league, not chump cups. The lure of playing great clubs in great cities is far far bigger than Stoke in a wet Tuesday playing for a piece of tin that might net the club £10 at a push.
I quite like the fact that we don’t have to take the CC too seriously, it would have been nice to get through, but not at the expense of risking a well-worn away from home collapse against one of the perenial props of the premnier league.
Of course, I say this in the sure and certain knowledge that should we trip up at any venue hosted by a team with W in it, you will of course remind us of why you like to play our best players in every match and run them into the ground and thus give up all hope of returning to the only place worth being.
Mate – it’s HHs sort of blinkered thinking that has probably been shared to some extent with Spurs decision makers that has seen continually hit that glass ceiling.
Arsenal fans can be accused of the same in the past, although Arsene’s plan seems to be backfiring / unravelling in a big way this season – due to some really perplexing decisions re: transfer window / long term contracts
I agree completely, whilst it’s a nice short term gain / thrill and day out to Wembley for the fans – we have to keep our eye on the big picture and long term as well – and this is exactly what is happening within ‘Arry’s approach to the Europa League / Carling Cup
Arsenal’s team are unravelling because of their failure to win cups-ask their fans, CL qualification, big stadium and flowing footie clearly isn’t enough. Were we not the same fans who said after the 5-1 thrashing,they’ve got it wrong, sliverwear in any guise is sliverwear?
:daumen:
And silverwear as well, bldooy dosocksya, madit!
Yup, both for me too…
As you comment above H, it’s great they are getting a go, but we should be looking to bring young players on for 20 mins at the end of games or 1 or 2 starters at most when surrounded by top players. GDS / Pav etc should really be stepping up to the plate in these games, otherwise we might as well play the kids. I’d have liked mostly a first team, maybe resting Modric, Bale, King, Adebayor. It’s a shame we have so many injuries at the moment, as we could have played a 2nd 11. Players like Hudd, Kranjar, GDS, Pav should be enough to win these games, but when they are low on form (and probably interest) they can not be mixed with kids and expected to beat what is a solid team away from home..
I imagine most, like me, will be somewhere in the middle. We want to win the games, but would we have won so convincely against the bin dippers if we would have fielded a strong line up against POAK? Probably not. You can’t have it all ways, we have injuries at the moment, so our secound XI isn’t as good as it could be. 3 points v Wigan is a must!
I don’t think Levy would appreciate a 10,000 crowd in the next cup round.
1) We need to be established in the CL before we can get a suitably sized squad to challenge on all fronts. By doing so we will create competition for the big games – not a perceived demotion for the likes of Pav, Gomes and GDS;
2) Are we saying we should have kept “those-whom-we have sold” merely to populate the lesser competitions? No;
3) The League and the FA Cup for me. Next year I want a CL, League and FA Cup challenge. We’ll need some of these yoofsters – and some rising stars from lesser clubs not much money.
4) Add to that a stadium of which to be proud and I’ll be as happy as a new season ticket holder could be.
Carling Cup…pah. It would have got in the way if we had progressed. A&E and Kaboul playing. Didn’t like that one bit.
So, in a nutshell, I won’t pay as much (important – that “as much”) to watch the lesser lights in lesser competitions.
Still like watching on TV though!
How many eight hundred quids do ‘Spurs want from me?
Bruxie has summed it all up for me, much better than I could have. I don’t usually post but I would have voted had either option represented how I felt.
In the past I’ve commented on things like Internationals getting in the way of leagues (my response was dump the league cup to reduce fixture clogging), Winter Breaks (dump the League cup and shufty up either side of christmas, then play all your internationals in four weeks) and finally questioning why premier league clubs got to play in the league cup when they had split from the league (as it was)
While I crave the silverware I’m afraid the League Cup doesnt hold any historical or sentimental significance compared to the FA or EUFA so If asked to pick one competition to sit out of, it would be my first pick. I dont think I even got particularly bothered with it till the semi finals the year we won it, and that was largely because I was one of those of the Martin Jols team won it mindset.
On the otherhand, I don’t want to see youth teams at first team prices, I don’t want to see a Spurs team put out expecting to lose. I like seeing kids come through the ranks and into the first team, but in ones and twos where they are in a fair fight, not en masse when its men against boys.
So I dont know which one to vote for. Could you add ‘I want Spurs to win every game they play and it will burn a whole in my heart should they lose, except if its the carling cup when if they win yay but if they lose, meh’?
I agree Bruxie, Focus on the league this year to get back in the top four, where we belong and where we can build further on our squad.
However I hope we put a good focus on the FA cup this year (and in all years in future!) – it is our cup after all.
Keep the carling cup for the brummies, fulhams and stokes of this world…
When’s the next year ending in 1? :hae: