Should we take the FA Cup seriously?

themanguydude

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If it means we don't get top 4, then no we shouldn't take the FA Cup too seriously.
 

MissKatie

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I'm sure the BBC will remark on the "romance" of the FA cup but sadly for so many it seems to have fallen in the estimation of so many of us.

Personally I'd LOVE to win it as I think once a player has won a cup, they'll want to push on and win more. I know it'll always have an asterisk in the record books but can you imagine any Liverpool supporter caring about that now they've won the league?

I feel with the form we've been in for the previous few years, we feel like a cup team anyway so having a win would really make a difference. I mean come on, us winning the FA cup AND Europa League sounds like a successful season no?
 

Josh 76

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We aren’t good enough to turn momentum on & off again.

We’re getting 5 subs & water breaks - we should be pursuing the Top4 & FA Cup wholeheartedly. European competition has been removed till the end of the season & they’ve had 2 months off, time for excuses is up - play to win in every game.
This
 

Pav1878

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Jeez, we have a big enough squad, with good enough players who have just had three months off to be able go for all three.

Tired of all this talk about prioritizing when we've all just had a massive break!
 

londonredmaniac

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Course we should. It's mental to suggest otherwise.

That being said we have to use the squad to some extent. There are a few players that are coming back from long term injury and games are coming quickly.

I don't think we should be making 10 changes...
 

McGrathsipan

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There are only 7 league games left, possibly 3 FA Cup games. The Premier League will be over by the time of the final. The Europa League matches won't be on until domestic football is finished.

Why wouldn't you take it seriously? The players aren't going to be tired. Fail to see the logic here, 3 games from a trophy, one against Norwich.

Why would it have an asterisk? No games were compromised, you would have won it fair and square.
This asterisk is a load of shite as If somehow a trophy is harder to win.

In fact away cup ties with no fans is not as tough is it. No masses of cnuts shouting at you.

We should of course take it seriously as it's what we have to play for. Were not in the hunt for the big trophies like we used to be. We need to take what we can get if we can. Build a side used to being in the mix.

Take it seriously and go and win it.
 

Globule

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Penna, I love the FACup.
But I have always loved United fans for lack of bias and objectivity.
Can you disagree with the statement:

“any trophy won after lockdown lifted is nowhere near as valid as a normal trophy win.”
I think that is fair.
Personally, I don't necessarily agree with that. I think the league is hit more because of the lockdown because the gap alters so much. If you have played all the tough teams at home already prior to the lockdown, having the reverse fixtures behind closed doors gives you an advantage that wouldn't normally be there. Similarly, if you had an injury crisis back in march you could have been in trouble, but the break has allowed those players to recover. It upsets the natural progression of a league season and creates an imbalance in the system of playing each team home and away.

For cup tournaments it feels a little different because what's happened before doesn't really matter as much. Home advantage is essentially gone, but all teams still in the competition are in the same situation.

And I'm not making that distinction purely because of who won the league. It's been inevitable that they'd win it for some time so I don't think the league win really merits an asterisk. However, there's a lot more at stake on the rest of the table. For example, Sheffield United are in poor form now, but who's to say what would have happened without the lockdown. If they don't get into Europe, it's hard not to think the lockdown massively hurt them.
 

Member 113277

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If we win the FA Cup it will mean just as much to me as the EPL to Liverpool supporters.

Remember when we beat Palace in 2016? Fantastic feeling.

It's not our fault Covid19 emerged, its not through our doing that the rules were changed, so everyone is on the same playing field, literally and in a cup competition one could argue it's much less affected than a season long league - not that I'd bother.

I really hope we win it, I really hope we win the Europa League.

Great clubs develop winning mentalities and want to win everything.
 

Zambara

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I really think it would add a lot to the season, even if we make top 4, to win it.
 

Offside

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We’re 3 wins away from a record equalling tally. More history than Liverpool have been making this season. The top 4 thing is absolutely embarrassing to me it makes little difference if we’re 4th or 5th when we’re miles off the league anyway and not going to win the CL. We have Europa as a route into the CL anyway. FA Cup should be taken as seriously.
 

Nikelesh Reddy

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Listen, I absolutely love the FA Cup. I think it is an amazing competition and I enjoy it every year.

But tbh, I’ve only just found out we are in it this year. On one hand lifting that trophy would be amazing, but it is also obvious that any trophies won from after we come back will not really mean as much. We wouldn’t be proper FA Cup winners for the season as the trophy will always have a massive asterisk next to it.

How does everyone else feel? I’d give my left testicle to win the trophy normally... this year just would feel off.
We aren’t in a position right now to even ask this question.Every trophy counts right now and we should grab every chance of lifting some silverware.I don’t agree about the trophy having a asterisk next to it...We will still be legitimate Cup winners if we win the trophy.Just because there won’t be any supporters inside the stadium,we cant begin to think that winning it doesn’t matter any more...
 

Rightnr

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Good decision, Ole. It seems he's clear the priority is the PL (and EL if we have to). We should still win.
 

Untd55

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Are they seriously doing this asterisk rubbish? What is the point? You are either the champion or you are not. Liverpool are Premier League Champions regardless, and whoever wins the cups are the cup winners.

Anyway, we need to focus on the Premier League for top four. Might as well switch focus if we are still in the FA Cup and cannot get top four, though.
 

TMDaines

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Feels like an overlap between people putting asterisks on trophies and being believers in a link between 5G and coronavirus.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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I'm sure everyone would rather us to get that CL spot. However, now that we're in semi, we should just take it seriously.
 

CM10

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We should, yeah. We have a second chance of qualifying for the Champions League with Europa after the main season ends so we should at least attempt to challenge on all fronts.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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Who we playing?
Are you asking for prediction?

Chelsea, City & Arsenal if I have to make prediction who will go through and we'll get Chelsea in semi to let Ole does the quadruple against Lampard and Arsenal will make a shocking victory against City and we will have classic FA Cup match again between United & Arsenal in final.
 

Inigo Montoya

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Are you asking for prediction?

Chelsea, City & Arsenal if I have to make prediction who will go through and we'll get Chelsea in semi to let Ole does the quadruple against Lampard and Arsenal will make a shocking victory against City and we will have classic FA Cup match again between United & Arsenal in final.
OK, Can I have next week's Lotto numbers too, Please?
 
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Right now we can't afford to pick and choose our trophies; we just aren't good enough. Prioritising competitions is for teams challenging on all fronts; those going for the title and the Champions League, when of course the F.A. Cup is less important. It also something to build upon, being the first trophy won by both Sir Matt and Fergie. It would be great for Ole to win the cup.
 

Robertd0803

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Listen, I absolutely love the FA Cup. I think it is an amazing competition and I enjoy it every year.

But tbh, I’ve only just found out we are in it this year. On one hand lifting that trophy would be amazing, but it is also obvious that any trophies won from after we come back will not really mean as much. We wouldn’t be proper FA Cup winners for the season as the trophy will always have a massive asterisk next to it.

How does everyone else feel? I’d give my left testicle to win the trophy normally... this year just would feel off.
Yes. Winning trophies is a good habit to get in to and being in high pressure games will only benefit a team thats growing.

Plus would you want City or Chelsea winning another trophy?
 

Red Keane

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Yes, its the only competition where literally every single team in the English Football Pyramid (i.e. every single senior club in England and the biggest senior club in Wales) all compete in. Hence why I prefer to see any team that wins the Premier League (ideally United of course) to also win the FA Cup and thus undisputingly prove to be the "Champions of England". It's also why I am no fan of seeing Premier League & Championship Clubs put out weak teams in this competition (1).

Likewise there is a real need to overtake Arsenal's record tally as well...

(1) Hence why I want to see Manchester United improve their Bench & Second XI, so that we can put out Second XI's that are more than capable of winning the Domestic Cups.
 

Red00012

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It’s a bit of a wind up I get it but I think he knows the answer to should we take 2 games seriously to get into the biggest cup final comp in England ...
 

jderbyshire

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We need to maintain that culture of regularly lifting trophies.

Otherwise you end up like Spurs.
 

lsd

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We should take it seriously but City will win it regardless
 

Sandikan

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It’s a bit of a wind up I get it but I think he knows the answer to should we take 2 games seriously to get into the biggest cup final comp in England ...
In fairness the thread was written when we had more than that left.

But it's still an idiotic premise either way.
 

12OunceEpilogue

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The way we fannied around at Carrow Road could do some harm to our freshness, we'll see about that in the coming games, but we now have a maximum of two games between us an a great trophy. We should definitely make a serious push from here for this cup.
 

Gandalf Greyhame

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Ideally, you'd like to compete for and win everything, but we have only one dependable striker, one proper left winger (who's out of form) and only two creative midfielders (one of whom has been out for months and the other has just been run into the ground two days before a crucial league game). Compared to City, Liverpool or Chelsea, we have very few players who can score or create a goal and it would be madness to risk them to injury in a cup game.

Each league game is crucial at this stage, and since we're currently sixth in the table, we might want to prioritise a CL finish so we stand a chance of getting Sancho and keeping Pogba. Bruno being knackered might come back to haunt us against Brighton, yet.
 

Redlyn

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Definitely. Top 4, EL, FA Cup. That makes for a really good season. We can still save this clusterfeck of a season and we should do our best to do so. Rotation is required and we should prioritize the league but still take the others seriously.
 

Berbasbullet

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We need that winning habit, would do wonders for our EL campaign.