The Dilemma

[joe_c]

No thanks

Ive never seen us win it 😠 but wouldn't be good for us

That is possibly the maddest thing I have ever read here.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

The sole purpose of a sporting club is try and win trophies.

You can add FA cup winners 2015 to the roll of honour.

You can't add avoided relegation for another year.

As one of those who can remember winning the FA cup being just as big a thing as being crowned champions, and who need to see us win it "to complete the set."  I'd take it in a heart beat and take my chances next season.

I think a more likely dilemma would be how much slack would Lambert get next season if we stayed up and won the FA cup by "winning ugly" as we've done this season on the rare occasions we've got a result.

If we got relegated, we would lose those half-decent players we've got, and won't be challenging for another cup for a long time.

I'd rather we stayed in the Premier League, which gives us the cash to build a better team, which gives us a better chance of winning cups in future years.

If we go down, then our status as a "big club" is diminished, and with a disinterested owner, there's no guarantee we'll come straight back up.  And we won't win next years FA Cup or League Cup from the Championship.

[silhillvilla]

It's all very short - termism .
Maintaining our PL preserve is the be all at present.

[PeterWithesShin]

If we could guarantee it would be only one season in the Championship most of us would take the cup. Problem is there is no guarantee of coming straight back up.

[Drummond]

The purpose of entering competitions is to win them, not to avoid being the worst.

Therefore the FA Cup has to be the option to choose.

[Small Rodent]

Can we add Cleverley scoring the winning hat-trick to the Dilemma?

[silhillvilla]

If we could guarantee it would be only one season in the Championship most of us would take the cup. Problem is there is no guarantee of coming straight back up.

If it was GUARANTEED we would come back of course. I would love a season in the championship knowing we are going to get promoted as I suspect it would be a superb season and right good laugh.

[FranzBiberkopf]

The cup please.

For purely selfish reasons, it would pretty much complete the set I've seen us win (EC, League champs,League Cup).

I'd rather win something NOW, rather than live on the promise of "if we stay up, we can build and possibly,just possibly win something in the future".

Face facts - the FA Cup, devalued as it is, is still the biggest thing I can see us winning.

[caustic_hollow]

Never in a million years!

[Drummond]

Never in a million years!

57 actually.

[Villa in Denmark]

It's all very short - termism .
Maintaining our PL preserve is the be all at present.

To what end?
Perpetual mid-table mediocrity?

No thanks.  I'll take the glory where I can find it, because lets face it, the chances of replicating the high points of my youth are somewhat slimmer than  Valdmir Putin getting voted Man Of The Decade in Kiev.

Something approaching the warm glow of a semblance of success of my twenties.

The problem with jam tomorrow is.

1. There's no bloody fruit to make it from.
2. The bread that was ear-marked to be enjoyed with said jam is already mouldy.

[Damo70]

The sole purpose of a sporting club is try and win trophies.

You can add FA cup winners 2015 to the roll of honour.

You can't add avoided relegation for another year.

As one of those who can remember winning the FA cup being just as big a thing as being crowned champions, and who need to see us win it "to complete the set."  I'd take it in a heart beat and take my chances next season.

I think a more likely dilemma would be how much slack would Lambert get next season if we stayed up and won the FA cup by "winning ugly" as we've done this season on the rare occasions we've got a result.

If we got relegated, we would lose those half-decent players we've got, and won't be challenging for another cup for a long time.

I'd rather we stayed in the Premier League, which gives us the cash to build a better team, which gives us a better chance of winning cups in future years.

If we go down, then our status as a "big club" is diminished, and with a disinterested owner, there's no guarantee we'll come straight back up.  And we won't win next years FA Cup or League Cup from the Championship.

I totally agree with Mr Sexwhale.

[Dave Cooper please]

Look at Wigan now- be interesting to ask their supporters what they would choose in hindsight.

I did this, okay so I only know one Wigan fan so it's not exactly a representative sample, but the answer was that basically he would have taken that day out and watching his team win the Cup over everything that has happened since. Maybe it's because he "only supports Wigan" (his words) and being in the Premier League was a bit of a bonus anyway, while many Villa fans see us as a club that should never, in any circumstances, be below the top division?

[john e]

I bet there's no half and half scarves in the championship

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Look at Wigan now- be interesting to ask their supporters what they would choose in hindsight.

I did this, okay so I only know one Wigan fan so it's not exactly a representative sample, but the answer was that basically he would have taken that day out and watching his team win the Cup over everything that has happened since. Maybe it's because he "only supports Wigan" (his words) and being in the Premier League was a bit of a bonus anyway, while many Villa fans see us as a club that should never, in any circumstances, be below the top division?

Precisely, has it gotten to the state where our ambitions are no better than the likes of Wigan?

If I supported Wigan or Portsmouth, I'd take the FA Cup every time; but I don't - and winning cups whilst staying in the top league should not be a dilemma at all for a club of our size and status.

Furthermore, if we did go down, Lerner will find it impossible to find a decent owner - the same sort of clowns who look at Leeds, will be eyeing us up.