The FA Cup.

[flybo]

I want Villa to win the FA Cup so bad

[levico]

Having listened, was struck by his views on medals vs memories. Maybe he was just being honest but his ambitions are hugely limited. It does look that whilst he is in charge we will never win anything and his only ambition will be to keep us in the PL.

Maybe that's the reality we will all just have to come to terms with. Matbe that's good enough.

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Every year we get upset when there are weakened teams picked in the cups. And every year our lowest gates are in the cups.

How many did we get for Bradford last year?

That was a semi-final.

[MarkM]

Every year we get upset when there are weakened teams picked in the cups. And every year our lowest gates are in the cups.

Maybe the crowds are low because of the weakened teams? I'm not going because i'm fed up of watching our stiffs in cup games. If you remember I said that to you after the Spurs LC game. If the club don't take it seriously then they can't expect me to spend my hard earned.

Obviously this. I'm not paying my hard earned to watch a hot potch side that clearly aren't bothered

I will be there as its the FA cup!

Why would anyone not want to be at VP for one of the best days in the calendar is beyond me! The missus is also comming to this one as its a special day

Cup game on a saturday at 3pm! can't wait

[eastie]

So Mark Regan was shit-stirring? Blimey, there's a turn up and no mistake.

I posted the link on previous page to the interview with Tom Ross - it's just under 5 minutes long.

[kippaxvilla2]

So our new aspiration is as quick an exit as possible from all competitions involving winning silverware and finishing 15th in the Premier League.  My cup runneth over.  I cannot contain my excitement at what the 2nd half of the season has in store for us lucky fans.  Lescott will surely sign tonight.

No, you appear to be reading your own miserablist thoughts into what was said.

Lambert said that cups are something Premier League managers could do without, which is almost certainly true given the enormous pressures put on them to remain in the PL and finish as high as possible to maximise revenue.
He hasn't said he will give up on the FA Cup, and experience and previous teams he has put out should tell you that he will play a strong (well, as strong as he can given our squad!) team against Sheff Utd, maybe resting those that are carrying knocks or have just returned from injuries.

And obviously our aspirations aren't to finish 15th because he has already said that cups are something he could do without because they distract from getting results in the league.

So what's our aspiration then Dave?  No manager is going to say I want to finish as low down the league as possible.  Survival is the aspiration now.

And no matter how it is interpreted, it doesn't set a great tone for getting through the next round does it.  And I am not calling for Lamberts head either, I just don't like the general tone it is setting.

Let me put it another way - if they went out on Saturday would he lose any sleep over it?

[dave.woodhall]

Ron Saunders didn't lose any sleep over it in 1981. It's a fact of life that until you get within sight of Wembley nobody in football is overly bothered about cups.

[kippaxvilla2]

We are though.  Well at least I am.  It still represents our best chance (as stupid as that sounds) along with the League Cup of winning something.

[ciggiesnbeer]

So our new aspiration is as quick an exit as possible from all competitions involving winning silverware and finishing 15th in the Premier League.  My cup runneth over.  I cannot contain my excitement at what the 2nd half of the season has in store for us lucky fans.  Lescott will surely sign tonight.

No, you appear to be reading your own miserablist thoughts into what was said.

Lambert said that cups are something Premier League managers could do without, which is almost certainly true given the enormous pressures put on them to remain in the PL and finish as high as possible to maximise revenue.
He hasn't said he will give up on the FA Cup, and experience and previous teams he has put out should tell you that he will play a strong (well, as strong as he can given our squad!) team against Sheff Utd, maybe resting those that are carrying knocks or have just returned from injuries.

And obviously our aspirations aren't to finish 15th because he has already said that cups are something he could do without because they distract from getting results in the league.

So what's our aspiration then Dave?  No manager is going to say I want to finish as low down the league as possible.  Survival is the aspiration now.

And no matter how it is interpreted, it doesn't set a great tone for getting through the next round does it.  And I am not calling for Lamberts head either, I just don't like the general tone it is setting.

Let me put it another way - if they went out on Saturday would he lose any sleep over it?

I dont see what tone has been set. Some old local journo warbling on about how the game is dead and the FA cup being the ultimate prize for football and bemoaning how strong the league is. Lambert just agreeing with the old codger as he tries to find a graceful way to leave the press room.

[Richard E]

Ron Saunders didn't lose any sleep over it in 1981. It's a fact of life that until you get within sight of Wembley nobody in football is overly bothered about cups.

Whereas I go into my worst post-defeat sulk of the season when we get knocked out of the FA Cup.

[Dave Cooper please]

Our aspiration is surely to finish as high as possible and maybe win something.

The reality, on the other hand, is we have had to undertake a drastic overhaul of our spending with the subsequent squad you see before you now. Almost every other manager in the PL, if they were being honest, would rather at least one and probably both of the cups were taken away. The very big clubs because they need the Champions League, the next tier because they would dearly like to be in the Champions League, the clubs scrambling at the bottom because they want to stay in the Premier League and the rest because their Chairmen are telling them to finish as high as possible or they might get the sack.
That's the reality, and as much as any manager can burble on about the traditions and magic of The Cup, the teams they will field next weekend will tell their own story.

Besides, as others have said, once you listen to the interview it's yet another bit of poor reporting and a very leading question.

[eastie]

Ron Saunders didn't lose any sleep over it in 1981. It's a fact of life that until you get within sight of Wembley nobody in football is overly bothered about cups.

Back then we were chasing the title though and  I can understand that to a degree - he also put out his strongest cup side against Ipswich if I remember correctly .

I think the fa cup is still seen as a major thing for most of us of an older age but certainly in the last 20 yrs it seems to have lost its glamour and I can see why some younger fans may see the premiership as the be all and end all .

[dave.woodhall]

Ron Saunders didn't lose any sleep over it in 1981. It's a fact of life that until you get within sight of Wembley nobody in football is overly bothered about cups.

Whereas I go into my worst post-defeat sulk of the season when we get knocked out of the FA Cup.

Me too, but we're not modern fans.

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I am not bothered by the game this weekend, the same as I wouldn't have been bothered to get excited about playing Bradford in the 3rd round of the League Cup for instance, or Blackburn for the 100th time in a few years. The fact the later two were semi-finals helped.

I want to win the cup, but I cannot say my heart will be racing with excitement at the prospect of going on Saturday.

[Dave Clark Five]

The FA Cup is our only chance of winning anything this year. I am disappointed that the Manager does not seem to accept that. Anyway, let's hope we get through so we can look at the diminishing numbers of people who think it is not worth playing for, as each round passes.