Here's my take on it all:
Fans need to wake up, it's not the 1980's anymore! The FA Cup and Carling Cup are simply not what they used to be, and the bigger teams view them as more of an annoyance to their league and CL hopes. We as fans may not like it, and it's sad for British football, but it's the truth! These cup competitions only become SLIGHTLY relevant if a team hasn't won anything for a long time (like Arsenal - and even then Arsene Wenger doesn't seem arsed about getting knocked out of them early, cause he is then able to focus on top 4 more so than the other teams which is why he achieves it every single year)! And this is crucial to Arsenal's long-term growth and stability!
IMO you should only take the cups remotely seriously if you've got the squad, otherwise it can do serious damage to your league form, as proven numerous times - look at Liverpool last year, won the Carling Cup and got to the FA Cup final but finished 8th in the league as a result, and watching Pool last year it's obvious the cups had an effect! United and City can take them somewhat seriously cause they've got the squad, but even then they chose not to the vast majority of the time because they view them as a hindrance. E.g. the last time United won the FA Cup was in 04, and if they wanted to win it again they could have EASILY, but they simply just cant be arsed with it anymore cause it's a s*** competition! They only field their full strength team in the cup when they're playing a City or something.
So yeah, they are distractions until you reach the semis, and once you reach the final stages in April/May you try to rest your players in the league game, which has proven to be costly to league form. No matter how much you try to sugar coat it the likelihood of you doing well in the league are MUCH better if you're not in any cups - which lets face it is the most important thing! So the sooner you are out the better!
I say this because there are ACTUALLY no benefits for winning the cups! Absolutely none....contrary to what we may want to believe! It's a nice little bonus but nothing else! Barely any prize money, and you don't get into the CL for winning them. I know you get into the Europa but that's a rubbish competition too! It's all about the CL cause that's where the money's at and that's where the big players want to play! If you got into the CL, then great, go all out for the cups, but sadly that's not the case. Mid table/average players may enjoy winning the FA Cup, cause that's all they might ever have the chance to win, but quality players like Bale and Fellaini aren't gonna decide their fate on if their team wins the FA Cup this year, they just want CL, and clubs need to dictate to what their big players want otherwise they end up leaving and that's when you're screwed! Even the likes of Birmingham and Portsmouth have won cups recently FFS, and where did that get them? Relegation! There's just no benefit to these s***ty cups anymore, and it's all the FA's fault for not making them desirable/rewarding enough to win!
