kirsikka
UTC Legend
Upsets between teams in the same division happen in football, that's one of the things that makes it so interesting. More rarely but still common enough to be acceptable, giant killings happen. For the purposes of this that's any team getting knocked out by a team from a lower division. Again that's football, especially cup football, but they should be far more few and far between for each individual club.
Since we got promoted to the PL, our cup record now includes these results:
2019/20 - Burton 2-0 - Out to a League One side in League Cup
2017/18 - Wigan 3-0 AFCB - Out to a League One side in FA Cup
2016/17 - Millwall 3-0 AFCB - Out to a Championship side in FA Cup
2016/17 - AFCB 2-3 Preston - Out to a Championship side in League Cup
That's four so called giant killings in almost as many years. This isn't news to anyone but for those pointing the fingers at the players, who rightly should be ashamed of themselves, I think this consistent record of underachievement against allegedly inferior opposition has to the be blamed squarely on the management.
When a team screws up once or twice you blame the players on the pitch. When they screw up consistently then you blame the management who picked them and prepared them.
EH is a sacred cow that nobody is looking to sacrifice, far from it, but that doesn't mean he should be immune from criticism. The performances in the cup have often been utterly shocking, even in some of the games when we weren't knocked out. I understand the theory of disjointed sides not playing well together except some of our opponents have also made large scale changes. Who prepared them on the training ground though?
I don't doubt for a minute it won't change and come January we'll do the same thing again for the FA Cup. It's the biggest letdown and disappointment of AFCB's PL era for me. All those years I dreamt of a cup run, never really thinking PL was a realistic target, and now we have a team that should be capable of it and we're throwing it away every season.
Before anyone says it, I understand the desire the prioritise the PL. I can even accept it if we put out a team that makes a fist of the cup games. However, when the same capitulation keeps happening then there must be some kind of alternative middle ground.
Since we got promoted to the PL, our cup record now includes these results:
2019/20 - Burton 2-0 - Out to a League One side in League Cup
2017/18 - Wigan 3-0 AFCB - Out to a League One side in FA Cup
2016/17 - Millwall 3-0 AFCB - Out to a Championship side in FA Cup
2016/17 - AFCB 2-3 Preston - Out to a Championship side in League Cup
That's four so called giant killings in almost as many years. This isn't news to anyone but for those pointing the fingers at the players, who rightly should be ashamed of themselves, I think this consistent record of underachievement against allegedly inferior opposition has to the be blamed squarely on the management.
When a team screws up once or twice you blame the players on the pitch. When they screw up consistently then you blame the management who picked them and prepared them.
EH is a sacred cow that nobody is looking to sacrifice, far from it, but that doesn't mean he should be immune from criticism. The performances in the cup have often been utterly shocking, even in some of the games when we weren't knocked out. I understand the theory of disjointed sides not playing well together except some of our opponents have also made large scale changes. Who prepared them on the training ground though?
I don't doubt for a minute it won't change and come January we'll do the same thing again for the FA Cup. It's the biggest letdown and disappointment of AFCB's PL era for me. All those years I dreamt of a cup run, never really thinking PL was a realistic target, and now we have a team that should be capable of it and we're throwing it away every season.
Before anyone says it, I understand the desire the prioritise the PL. I can even accept it if we put out a team that makes a fist of the cup games. However, when the same capitulation keeps happening then there must be some kind of alternative middle ground.
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