FA Cup

[floyd__streete]

Absolutely agree with you Victor. Shame on Coppell - a man who won the FA Cup as a player and managed an unfancied club like Palace to a final. If I wanted to go and see the fringe players play I'd go to a reserve match. The FA Cup is the second most important competition we compete in after our league fixtures, and I wish that our management would treat it with the respect it deserves.

[SLAMMED]

Cardiff fans on the buses to Swansea today
I wonder if we will get a Police escort like this to the game?

http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f217/ ... earmy2.flv

they still went protected incase of snipers in the hills

[Deathy]

Cardiff will be up for the game, last season at Ninian and that...

...we'll probably stroll up, send out some school kids on their christmas holidays and get walked over...

Yep. Save your money and get your nuts waxed.

[loyalroyal4life]

well done to whoever actually predicted we would get them away.


As for the game, our kids will give them a good game but cant see us winning it and dont care tbh

[Barry the bird boggler]

Couldn't imagine a crappier tie than this one for Reading (let's face it any side from the same division away is a crap tie). We will field the usual mixture of youth and experience while Cardiff will no doubt field their strongest line up.

We'll probably go out but at least it will be fighting.

For the record I think we've only played Cardiff once before in the FA Cup, in that game at Molineux in 1927 so some "revenge" would be nice - particularly as they made the final last year!

[AF1]

Mine and AF1's trains booked £20 return

oh yeah

[loyalroyal4life]

Who will we get in the third round?

Cardiff away I have a funny feeling.

Come on kids! Who do you think! The winner gets a year's supply of donkey biscuits.

Well done, got a prediction on tonights game too?

[Harry Carry]

LOL @ Histons reaction when they got drawn against Swansea.

[Ian Royal]

Absolutely agree with you Victor. Shame on Coppell - a man who won the FA Cup as a player and managed an unfancied club like Palace to a final. If I wanted to go and see the fringe players play I'd go to a reserve match. The FA Cup is the second most important competition we compete in after our league fixtures, and I wish that our management would treat it with the respect it deserves.

Completely disagree. We don't lose a lot by bringing in the second string to play in cup games. We've gone out to Man Utd , Liverpoll twice, Chelsea and Arsenal in the last 4 - 5 years. We're unlikely to have gotten any closer to beating them with the first team. We've also gone out to Birmingham the season we got promoted iirc, Spurs last season and Stoke this season in games we gave a good account of ourselves and could have won.

It provdes invaluable experience to young players and provides those currently waiting their turn to show what they can do and get up to a much better level of readiness to step into the team if required.

Had we repeatedly gone out to weak opposition you may have a point. But we haven't, so you don't.

[rabidbee]

If Doyle were to rupture his achilles in an FA Cup match and miss the rest of the season, how many fans then would say they valued the cup as much as the league? I'd like us to play stronger teams, but I accept the reason why we don't. And, frankly, I think the league will always be the priority.

[Barry the bird boggler]

We have a strong squad of players. We have been able to compete with any team whatever side SC puts out - this is proven again and again in the cup ties we've had in recent seasons so what does it matter who plays?

Expect something like

Federici
Golbourne
Pearce
Murty
Ingimarsson
Matejovsky
Gunnarsson
Convey
Henry
Long
Lita

Subs

Anderssen
Mooney
Karacan
Kelly
Church

depending on fitness and suspension

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Absolutely agree with you Victor. Shame on Coppell - a man who won the FA Cup as a player and managed an unfancied club like Palace to a final. If I wanted to go and see the fringe players play I'd go to a reserve match. The FA Cup is the second most important competition we compete in after our league fixtures, and I wish that our management would treat it with the respect it deserves.

Completely disagree. We don't lose a lot by bringing in the second string to play in cup games. We've gone out to Man Utd , Liverpoll twice, Chelsea and Arsenal in the last 4 - 5 years. We're unlikely to have gotten any closer to beating them with the first team. We've also gone out to Birmingham the season we got promoted iirc, Spurs last season and Stoke this season in games we gave a good account of ourselves and could have won.

It provdes invaluable experience to young players and provides those currently waiting their turn to show what they can do and get up to a much better level of readiness to step into the team if required.

Had we repeatedly gone out to weak opposition you may have a point. But we haven't, so you don't.

IMO:

Playing a "weaker" team in the FA Cup is more annoying than playing a "weaker" team in the League Cup. Our FA Cup exits recently have been Spurs, Man Utd and Birmingham - the latter two games being games that I believe we would have won had we played a stronger team.

It's also worth noting that in 06/07 (as Sidwell admitted) a lot of the squad we sure we'd stay up once we beat West Ham 6-0 on New Years Day. We had also gained 43 points by the game before the 5th round game (a total that has guaranteed safety in every seasonj in recent memory).

In 05/06, we were 18 points clear of 3rd with only 16 games remaining going into the Brum game at home.

It galls me that over the last 3 years, with the quality of the squads, we haven't had a full tilt at the FA Cup as who knows when the next time we will be in such a strong position.

[floyd__streete]

For the record I think we've only played Cardiff once before in the FA Cup, in that game at Molineux in 1927

Wrong. Legendary replay at EP in Jan 98, penalties, Cardiff fans missing their train home and generally running amok.

If Doyle were to rupture his achilles in an FA Cup match and miss the rest of the season, how many fans then would say they valued the cup as much as the league? I'd like us to play stronger teams, but I accept the reason why we don't.

He might do the same in training, should we wrap in him cotton wool? Weak excuse.

[Baines]

Agree with Floyd.

The FA Cup used to be fukking great to watch and genuinely exciting. Now it's shit, and following a team that doesn't care about it is one of the reasons why.

[Dirk Gently]

Agree with Floyd.

The FA Cup used to be fukking great to watch and genuinely exciting. Now it's shit, and following a team that doesn't care about it is one of the reasons why.

Yep, have to agree completely with that.

[readingbedding]

FA Cup is treated as a minor distraction these days.
Its glory days went with the end of the 80's.
Good for the tiny clubs getting a nice payday and their fans, but it's seen as a pain in the backside for most other clubs.

We'll reach the Final this year.

[readingbedding]

Agree with Floyd.

The FA Cup used to be fukking great to watch and genuinely exciting. Now it's shit, and following a team that doesn't care about it is one of the reasons why.

Yep, have to agree completely with that.

Manchester United and the FA are to blame, other clubs just followed suit, but at least they played in the match.

[floyd__streete]

LOL @ Histons reaction when they got drawn against Swansea.

Yep! Cut to Histon dressing room, a dozen or so lads staring up in open-mouthed silence - murked

[Stranded]

LOL @ Histons reaction when they got drawn against Swansea.

Yep! Cut to Histon dressing room, a dozen or so lads staring up in open-mouthed silence - murked

Surprised there hasn't been more complaints about the naked guy standing in the doorway at the back of the dressing room...

[loyalroyal4life]

honestly promotion challenge or run in the FA CUP........


doesnt really add up