Scribble wrote:
Galverion wrote:
Will not be Arsenal anyway....although I see they played a reserve team against Forest
Wenger is foolish. The FA Cup is the only thing Arsenal can realistically win. No wonder my Arsenal pals have wanted him out for the past 7 or 8 years...
Still, not our problem ! We are into the 4th Round draw, and Arsenal are not
Arsenal most definitely have a chance of winning the Europa cup thingy, whatever it’s called.
But all these Prem teams and some championship teams, playing second string teams deserve to get shit results, underestimate the opponent at your peril.
I don't think it's so much the clubs "underestimating their opponents," and more the managers prioritizing the league for fear of the sack. It's the managers who make the call, and I can only imagine that so many are choosing to play weakened teams because it is by achieving the clubs league objectives - title, promotion, avoiding relegation - that a manager is judged by the club, media, and many fans, rather than on a good cup run or even winning the cup. During the season, and at the end of it, their league position is deemed by most to decide whether a manager is succeeding, and not progression in cup competitions.
Look at Arsene Wenger - they've won the FA cup 3 times in last 4 seasons but all he's had for those 4 years is people saying he's lost it and should resign. And Mourinho's United won 2 cups last season but overall it was deemed a poor season because they finished 5th.
I personally don't agree with it, as I think trophies are something always to be sought after and cup comps taken seriously, but it's definitely the case that managers fear the sack more for underperforming in the league than in the cups, and so most are hoping to scrape through early rounds with weakened teams, while some are even
deliberately throwing the cup games in order to leave complete focus on achieving the clubs targets in the league.
Yeah, I get that, I just think it’s arrogant of the “bigger clubs” to think they can field a second string side and still probably get a result, so I find it bloody hilarious when it goes tits up and causes huge embarrassment to everyone at that club and their supporters, who most definitely will be feeling the humiliation