FA Cup Semi Final - who do you fancy?

[a bell maul]

It's funny though isn't it? There some of us were defending Martinez saying that success in the cups was significant this season....we were getting told "no, it's unimportant lad". Now those same people are looking to rest up the team for PL games in the run up to the SF.

Odd that isn't it?

What's odd is your ceaseless and tiresome propensity to twist every thread to fit your narrative. It's a free world of course so carry on - but perhaps you should get out a little more?...

 

[davek]

What's odd is your ceaseless and tiresome propensity to twist every thread to fit your narrative. It's a free world of course so carry on - but perhaps you should get out a little more?...

Good post mate.

 

[carlos21]

Good post mate.

How are you tonight mate.

 

[steken1]

Play the women's side. Half of them are better than horrenderson anyway

 

[Saint Domingo]

It's funny though isn't it? There some of us were defending Martinez saying that success in the cups was significant this season....we were getting told "no, it's unimportant lad". Now those same people are looking to rest up the team for PL games in the run up to the SF.

Odd that isn't it?

Wouldn't be if Martinez hadn't botched the league campaign. Evertonian's prioritising our only chance of achieving anything this season? What's odd about that? We could be where Leicester or Spurs are, there was a chance to do something in the league this year, that's what fans were saying earlier in the season when you were banging on that there's no difference between 5th and 17th to excuse our poor league form.

 

[bluestevon]

Sadly mate, all this now looks to be moot.

That Derby midweek is going to swing the tie (whoever it is) in the opposition's favour.

I dont see us as anything other than up against it now.

The League have seen to that and the FA will no doubt compound it with a Saturday KO.

You do realise that United and West Ham both play a midweek game the same day as us mate, yeah ours is the derby, but they are both actually still in the fight for a CL place, so trying to make out it's an advantage to those two is bs.

As for the shouts to rest our first team, sorry but utter bs, it's a Derby and we absolutely slaughtered Moyes for doing exactly that with a QF the next game, now we are trying to condone it, utter bs, rotate some players to keep them fresher, but going into a derby playing a joke team should never be regarded as being ok

 

[davek]

Wouldn't be if Martinez hadn't botched the league campaign. Evertonian's prioritising our only chance of achieving anything this season? What's odd about that? We could be where Leicester or Spurs are, there was a chance to do something in the league this year, that's what fans were saying earlier in the season when you were banging on that there's no difference between 5th and 17th to excuse our poor league form.

That's a re-writing of recent history on here. Nobody had given up on the league games before the victory over Chelsea (quite rightly, as we can pick up some points and get a reasonable finish to the season). However, some who were taking the line that Martinez needed to get top 8 or whatever are now seemingly suggesting it's ok to soft pedal on the league games and preserve strength for the SF game. That's where the inconsistency lies.

 

[Ashtonian]

That's a re-writing of recent history on here. Nobody had given up on the league games before the victory over Chelsea (quite rightly, as we can pick up some points and get a reasonable finish to the season). However, some who were taking the line that Martinez needed to get top 8 or whatever are now seemingly suggesting it's ok to soft pedal on the league games and preserve strength for the SF game. That's where the inconsistency lies.

The season is over league wise though and has been for a while. In order to get somewhere we needed to beat west ham and instead we aren't getting back 11 points on them. So the fa cup is all we have left.

 

[davek]

You do realise that United and West Ham both play a midweek game the same day as us mate, yeah ours is the derby, but they are both actually still in the fight for a CL place, so trying to make out it's an advantage to those two is bs.

As for the shouts to rest our first team, sorry but utter bs, it's a Derby and we absolutely slaughtered Moyes for doing exactly that with a QF the next game, now we are trying to condone it, utter bs, rotate some players to keep them fresher, but going into a derby playing a joke team should never be regarded as being ok

Yeah, I wrote that before I knew United and West Ham also had midweek games arranged (it wasn't on the BBC fixtures page at the time, though our rearranged game was).

In light of that, my attitude has changed toward the derby.

 

[Hong Kong Phooey]

David Gold and the West Ham websites all saying we're hoping Man United go through as we're afraid of facing them.

LOL.

I hope we face West Ham at Wembley I really do.

 

[Tubey]

The referee selection for this game will be fascinating. Regardless of who we play, the higher ups will either want a London derby or the "big draw" that is Manchester United in the final of the competition.

 

[davek]

The season is over league wise though and has been for a while. In order to get somewhere we needed to beat west ham and instead we aren't getting back 11 points on them. So the fa cup is all we have left.

I disagree. And I'm surprised that so many are suddenly seeing the PL matches as inconveniences when, for them, they were all must win games for an underfire manager to prove he's worth keeping.

So I suppose what I'm asking is whether this change in attitude means that further league defeats now cant be used as a stick to beat the manager with given that 'the season is over'?

 

[davek]

David Gold and the West Ham websites all saying we're hoping Man United go through as we're afraid of facing them.

LOL.

I hope we face West Ham at Wembley I really do.

They're going to get an almighty slapping.

I think they believe that they get to play 10 men all the time against Everton.

That gargoyle is in for a rude awakening if they face Everton at Wembley.

 

[Tubey]

I disagree. And I'm surprised that so many are suddenly seeing the PL matches as inconveniences when, for them, they were all must win games for an underfire manager to prove he's worth keeping.

So I suppose what I'm asking is whether this change in attitude means that further league defeats now cant be used as a stick to beat the manager with given that 'the season is over'?

It's not difficult to understand...

Martinez goosed the league, so it is now not as important as the best we can do realistically is finish 9th or something.

So while they still technically matter, the only thing he has left to get some credibility out of a disastrous campaign is to win the cup.

That doesn't mean the cup is more important than the league - it just means at this point the league has been butchered so badly that it's a write off for the second season running.

 

[neil999]

Yeah, I wrote that before I knew United and West Ham also had midweek games arranged (it wasn't on the BBC fixtures page at the time, though our rearranged game was).

In light of that, my attitude has changed toward the derby.

would you still make changes for the derby? i still think we could change 3/4 players without a big impact