Disrespecting the cups

[Martin Carruthers]

Would they not have gone down anyway though? Appreciate probably impossible to answer!

[TopDeck113]

Totally agree with the main poster. We lose momentum and also is there any empirical evidence whatsoever that a cup run harms your league form?

1969. Leicester reached the final losing to Man City but got relegated.

2013 Wigan win the cup and get relegated

1990.  Poor league form... Manager under intense pressure with even their fans singing about him being on the dole...  Then Mark Robbins ignites a Cup run that ends with them lifting the trophy in a replay....  Manchester United and their previously under threat manager then dominate English football for the next two decades.


Edit
Something that one of their centre backs throughout that Cup run should know only too well.

[Rico]

Not only do they disrespect the cup, they disrespect the fans by churning out these weakened teams. There are only 3 trophies to play for each season, and to win the FA cup only takes 6 games and the memories of that cup run will last forever. All that has happened now is that defeat has become another infamous blot on our history. The FA cup is part of our glorious history and in my view should never be disrespected. In years to come very few will remember where Aston Villa finished in the 2017/18 season, but they would have remembered a cup win. I didn't like Steve Bruce before yesterday, that team selection did nothing to change my mind.

[Ads]

Only six games. Yet we haven't won 6 in a row in 61 years. Maybe it's not quite so easy and even less easy these days.

[old man villa fan]

If we think we cannot compete with PL teams and give them a good game in later rounds, what chance have we got of staying up if we get promoted.

[tony scott]

If we aren't going to field a full team why enter the competition

[BC Villain]

The devaluation of the FA Cup is one of the saddest things to happen in sport.  A competition with so much heritage and history is now looked upon by chairman, managers, players and even now some fans as being a nuisance we could all do without because either staying or clambering aboard the Premier League gravy train is too important.  The likes of Sky and BT brainwashing us into thinking all we're interested in is the Premier League.  And what for?  So we can finish seventeenth or higher?  Funny that Lincoln getting to the quarter finals last season didn't hinder them getting promoted.

The game really has been corrupted by greed.

[OzVilla]

Totally agree, other than Christmas Day or your birthday, FA Cup Fianal day was THE most exciting day of the year growing up as a kid. I can still recite all the finals and scorers from every final through the 70's, 80's and 90's.

Now I honestly couldn't tell you who played in the final last year.

 

[CT]

If we aren't going to field a full team why enter the competition

Exactly. If we continue to make excuses about the extra games and that we've more important things to worry about, then don't enter it. If we actually don't want to be in the FA Cup, don't waste everybody's time.

[ez]

It could be an indication of how much pressure is on Bruce from on high to get promotion.

[dave.woodhall]

We can beat ourselves up all we like but the fact is that what we did yesterday is done by virtually every club in the top two divisions, even those who realistically have nothing to play for. Blame the FA, blame the Premier League, blame the TV companies and blame the clubs for letting it happen but that's modern football and we have to either accept it or move on.

[wittonwarrior]

What has been allowed to happen is only a small group of teams particularly in the fall cup  now generally win the pots notwithstanding the league.  No matter my dislike for them would love bristol city to win the league cup

[SoccerHQ]

It could be an indication of how much pressure is on Bruce from on high to get promotion.

I think so. Given some of the tweets coming out of the club after the Brentford game I reckon SB was given a stern word and so we've seen better results and performances in the last two and taking no chances yesterday.

He got to thr FA cup final four years ago and Hull could easily have won given they were 2 up against Arsenal so he can get a team through rounds and Hull were newly promoted that year.

[Dave P]

I don't think we disrespected the cup yesterday at all. There was only two selection decisions I would have made differently and they were Elphick instead of Bree (being a centre half by trade and needing minutes) and RHM instead of Onomah (to play two up front).

We were let down by senior pros yesterday such as Taylor, Thor, Hourihane and Onomah (senior in that he has been a first team regular).

[tomd2103]

As Dave said, I guess it is something we just have to accept no matter how bitter the taste left in the mouth is.  For us to go out the way we did yesterday is really disappointing as there's now no excitement about the draw tomorrow and no prospect of a tie that will capture the imagination.

It might get to the point where serious questions have to be asked about cup competitions if they aren't already.