Quote Originally Posted by MacAdder View Post
I am not sure you read my quasi-lighthearted thread "All in all... a good day out" but if you did you would realise my tone and the reasons for it regarding Sundays game and as I said in it, I didn't really want to debate it in any detail, for one thing I don't have the time but also because I've learned it best not to take watching City too seriously for health reasons.
However, seeing as you have put the time in with feeling then it is only right I should reciprocate.

It is fair to say that my views don't differ hugely from yours except from the fact that I have accepted that the game has moved on from those eighties you allude to and accepted the reasons that money has changed attitudes to the things we have always held dear, i.e. the domestic cups.
It's a fact that mediocre players are earning a fortune and don't seem too bothered whether they even play, let alone win!

Your main beef (I think!) is that we fielded a weaker team but I'm not so sure NW did.
Most played the week before in a tough match against Villa with the exceptions of Huws and Halford who he needed to have a look at for the run in, plus Richards and Lambert who not long ago people were praising.
Truth is NW WARNOCK HAS A JOB TO DO. TO KEEP US UP (WITH SOME LITTLE ADDITIONAL TASK OF GETTING MONEY FOR THE DROSS AND STRENGTHENING THE SQUAD WITH THAT CASH).
I SUSPECT HE DIDN'T REALISE HOW TOUGH A JOB HE WAS TAKING ON, whether it be the lack of quality or for some reason them not willing to pull in the same direction... he still has work to do!
Our exit from the cup is not solely down to NW playing a bunch of seconds.
It's much more complicated than that.

Also, my apologies for yet another faux pas :homer:. Of course it was a year later (for 'years' read 'months' or '46 games') but my point for that time is clear.
The Championship was/is Big time, League 1 was/is nowhere.
Following the Stoke S/F playoff game, the reality is we would still be in the wilderness (where mighty Sheffield United have been for some time!).

I also take your point about a winning team, feelgood factor and confidence but a run in the cup can also be an unwelcome distraction as Wigan, Portsmouth among others, will testify.

P.S. Sorry about the Caps lock!
I was wondering what that was all about .

Regarding the bit I've highlighted - apologies to him if I've got this wrong, but I'm fairly sure I heard Warnock say that the missing players would have been available if we had been playing the wurzels on Sunday. Also, I'd say that, although our weakened team formed part of the reason for it, my "main beef" was more to do with City's attitude to cup competitions in the five years following our League Cup Final appearance and the way so many of our fans are happy to accept what I wouldn't say is a let's hope we lose attitude on their behalf, but it's not far short of one.

Here's a scenario for you, say it had been Cardiff v Swansea on Sunday and the BBC had insisted on a 10.30 am kick off for television coverage, what do you reckon the crowd would have been? Also, say we had fielded the sort of side we did against Fulham, while the jacks picked their strongest team and ended up winning 3-0, what do you think the reaction would have been like on here, on other social media sites and in the local media?