| Archive for forum.sports-pro.co.uk A discussion forum devoted to people who want to talk about sports and sports betting! People without a sense of humour need not apply!! |
| value seeker |
Is it important to do well in the Carling Cup?Todays topical issue. |
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
yes | ||||||||
| Solerina |
No. | ||||||||
| Owl of Minerva |
Maybe | ||||||||
| MT VESSELS |
Not sure | ||||||||
| Darren |
Anyone who says 'no' will support a top four team.
Anyone who says 'yes' will not. I say yes, because at the end of the day, I want to see my team at Wembley and in contention for a trophy. I couldn't give two hoots what it was. I didn't get into football to hope my team finished 4th. I got into football because of the joy of winning, the hope/expectation, and the feeling of gloating on the odd occasion I was able to. 1995 was amazing, I went into school and could gloat to all the Man Utd fans. Some perspective is needed on why people became football fans, and in my opinion, fans of the top 4 have become so detached from the general fans (in particular, the lower leagues) that it's all taken for granted. |
||||||||
| value seeker |
We have never been to New Wembley ,so Im sure our supporters wouldnt mind a day out.
Saying that if Torres was to play tonight which is highly unlikely and he broke his leg . Im sure the radio stations phone ins around merseyside and nationally would be saying what a , ,Benitez was to play him! |
||||||||
| Solerina |
Could break his leg in training or in any game VS but i see what you're saying. Surely Leeds are value tonight with LFC likely to have 11 changes from the champions league/league team. I notice you're behind in you football value bet threads, betting with your heart a lot of the time instead of your head 
|
||||||||
| value seeker |
Not a good start to footy bets ,dont think its that though,wasted a few bets on Johnson must admit ,but not chasing losses to make a profit ,its a long season and time is on my side. 
|
||||||||
| Solerina |
I you didn't do Liverpool bets you'd be around even or maybe in profit. I see you've waded in again tonight, you've backed 3 different players to score tonight of which 2 are center halves 
Leeds might be at League 1 but they're probably up to championship standard and are very confident at home. Liverpool's second string will have a mix of reserves and first squaders with splinters up their **** from sitting on the bench. Hardly the nucleus of a team that will need to settle from the start against a club desperate to get back in the big time. |
||||||||
| value seeker |
If you looked at my footy bets over the last year or so ,dont do a lot of liverpool bets,just feel early season you can get value in scorers ,until they start scoring,Benny is a prime example ,his price has gone down faster than AJ when he was in the opposing box in his time with Everton. Liverpool are not value tonight,hense not taken the 8/11 Agger is the nearest thing to Hanson we have seen and can bring the ball out of defence and start an attack ,sometimes shooting himself.from long range. Kyrgiakos plays like the old centre half but goes up for set pieces ,he could rattle the Leeds defence. Ngog is the only one of the youngsters half decent and 9/4 anytime is too big. If he gets the nod as expected to play up front with Voronin. |
||||||||
| Machiavellian |
Of course it is.
What the plastics think of the competition is of no concern to me. |
||||||||
| The_Pilgarlic |
If he is no better than this you haven't got a chance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXoVvj54F9k 
|
||||||||
| ngreggors |
What he said. I fancy Leeds to win tonight. |
||||||||
| MT VESSELS |
Must admit i enjoyed our day out at Wembley against Leicester.
I did have a bet on Matty Elliott to score first and Leicester to win 3-1 in singles and a nice juicy double. So when we were down to 10 men and equalised i was on cloud nine and forgot about the bet then when we went 2-1 down with 10 mins to, my pocket started cheering for Leicester. Leicester were in the Premiership those days and the attitude of some their fans was laughable. Who the hell are you, shouted at kids and families who were there for a day out. Obviously Leicester being such a massive club 
Still it was a great day out. You cant beat a Wembley day out. MT jnr |
||||||||
| Death n Taxes |
on a similiar point would you rather support a club that spends 10 years in the premiership finishing between 17th and 8th every year or team that in the same period starts in the premiership is relagated then wins the playoffs is relagated again and wins the champioship to be promoted again in the same period.
The first gives the pleasure of consistent top flight football but the has much bigger highs and lows. As an everton fan we haven't won anything sine 1995 whilst we have had receent cupp final and european football we haven't won anything whereas for teams like WBA have won the champioship and the joy that comes with that.i wouldn't want to be relegated but i would like to win something.!!!! I do wonder whether excluding champions league teams from the carling cup would make it more interesting and give a better target for the second tier premiership teams |
||||||||
| Papa 3 |
That surely is a defeatist attitude, most Everton supporters, I think, want to beat the "best" in the premiership, not an abridged version of it, and are capable of doing it. Aspiration is far better than dilution. The Premier League is one tier, the best teams that have attained that status by trying. |
||||||||
| ngreggors |
As a supporter of two teams I have experienced both. Constant Premier League mediocrity as a Spurs fans and the ups and downs (from Southern League, to Conference, to League 2, League 1, League 2, League 1 (for 3 years) and now back to League 2) as a Cheltenham Town fan. |
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
as I am currrently xperiencing the "pleasure" of an attempt to get out of whatevertheycalltheseconddivisionthesedays I can say that I prefer steady top flight exitence with the odd season in the top 4 a/6 and a trip to wembley every so often.
by a mile. |
||||||||
| Machiavellian |
The Championship is moribund. In my experience, trips to Prem grounds are not all that fun.
I love any chance we get to go to lower league teams away in the cup. |
||||||||
| MT VESSELS |
Have had a bet on Beckford 1st Goal
MT jnr |
||||||||
| lewijay |
Surely any Trophy is important to all the clubs who have the chance to win them, the problem is the financial gains of CL football dictate that the top 4 to 6 clubs and some even lower down have had to rotate.
I think i remember a manager in bottom half of the PL saying he had to switch his team as getting 3 points on a Saturday was far more important than getting to the 4th Round of the League cup. Obviously down to the riches that the league can bring and the fact that this is what would probably keep him in his job in the end! I think some fans should start viewing things the same and not be so demanding. I support Liverpool and it breaks my heart everytime we go out of any cup or lose any game for that matter. So as a fan it is important to be seen competing at all levels, likewise i do also enjoy seeing the reserves and subs getting a bit of time to shine. I think the game this evening will be quite a tight affair and i twould not surprise me if Leeds were to do a number on us. The first 20 mins will be crucial along with set pieces (not Benitez' forte!). I hope we can get out a team that will win the tie. An optimistic 2-1 for the Reds from me
|
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
I can understand manu,chelsea,liverpool and arsenal playing fringe players in the carlin cup; if you look at how many games they will play in a season it makes sense to blood young players and keep their fringe players involved in this least imprtant of the 4 competitions hey are in
but for no-one else does this apply; playing twice a week (bearing in mind all the sports science going into diets,recovery regimes, etc etc) shouldnt be beyond players, and i suspect most of hem would rather play mid-week than train finally playing weakened teams cheats the fas who go to watch. |
||||||||
| millsy |
Very good question - it's one I've pondered, and discussed with other fans as we (WBA) have yo-yo'd over the last few seasons. Not sure I actually have an answer for you either! It's a tricky one, I think it depends on which week you ask as to what I'd say - I'd rather we were playing in the PL but we've done well in the Championship for the past few attempts and as a season ticket holder it's been good to see the number of goals and wins, as opposed to the odd result here and there and plenty of drubbings in the Prem. I do wonder what fans of the likes of Bolton and Blackburn think, who will generally be safe but not challenge for Europe - esp when the football isn't so easy on the eye - would they swap safety for a bit of excitement? Saying that relegation is an awful feeling. I do think I value the style of football, win or lose you've nearly always had a decent game to watch at the Hawthorns over the last few years. |
||||||||
| The_Pilgarlic |
Getting relegated is a failure. The inability to sustain a position in the hierarchy for whatever reason and comes inevitably at the end of a miserable season when few games have been won with little opportunity for celebration.
If you are happy to except that but then have the expectation to immediately have success and return to where you have just fallen from then fair enough but it's a dangerous game to be playing IMO and personally I'd rather settle for sustaining a position in the highest league possible. |
||||||||
| Death n Taxes |
I suppose you have to ask yourself the question what has been the high point of the last ten years. For everton probably the FA Cup semi final Win over Utd to make it to wembley. For WBA winning the Championship. But then also as you say you can spend a season in the championship with the pleasure of winning 2/3 of your games or a season in the premiership winning say 10. There is the low pint of relagation but then we had the low of losing the FA cup final. I would still rather support my club for what it is than change allegance but I am tempted to adopt a second club lower down the leagues to maybe have the pleasure of winning something. I grew up in Southport and often went to see them including an FA trophy semi final win. I now live in Altrincham (I can see their ground from my house) and may adopt them. I certainly plan to take my son there when he is old enough to want to go. |
||||||||
| alansouthcoast |
Sour grapes again from someone whose team is outside the top four. I doubt you are any more passionate about football than myself, or anyone supporting a top four club on here. As for the Carling Cup, yes I consider a good run essential for Chelsea. It is still a major trophy to me, and has been since the final was a home and a way affair back in the early days. I get miffed when big clubs put out reserve teams, even if I can understand why its done. |
||||||||
| MT VESSELS |
You must have been a bit miffed with Newcastle's team selection last night then. MT jnr |
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
yes I was, and the result shows the muddled thinking of our football club winning is a habit; how good for morale at NUFC would a run to the semis or the final of this competition be? blunderland put out a strong side and won; they will be crowing if they get a good ru in this competition |
||||||||
| Darren |
I dare say in the list of passionate football fans on here, I would be low down the list as to be honest, I don't give two hoots compared to how I used to be. Everton, to me, doesn't mean even half of what it used to ten years ago. While disregarding the fact that what I wrote was obviously not going to apply to every single person on the planet, what I said has absolutely nothing to do with sour grapes apart from the fact that the game I got into as a kid is no longer the same. (I note that you disregarded that bit, and focussed on the top 4 bit) Bitter about football nowadays? Yes, I suppose so. Bitter about Everton? Nah. |
||||||||
| alansouthcoast |
Darren, my view is the majority of fans are still passionate about football, and the top four are no different. Football has changed over the years, just as it changed between my generation and my fathers. The players in sixties were certainly viewed as the chavs of today.
I focussed on the top for bit, as that was the mainstay of your post. Both your first and last lines were dismissive of fans of the top four. |
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
I think there is a bit of inverse snobbery towards the top 4, and man city may also get it soon if it has not started already.
Because the attitude at (say) Arsenal seems to others to be that finishing 4th in a competition is "beter" than winning another one. Sky (of course) are all for the top 4 and they pander to this; the cups are a sde line as far as they are concerned. the FA to their eternal shame have allowed the FA Cup, the greatest of all competitions in my view, to go downhill a lot of this is predicated on the (utterly false, im my view) belief that players cannot cope with 2 games a week and that "squad rotation" is therefore important. Show me a footballer who would rather not play, and who would prefer to train? There may be some money-based oafs who would choose it, but I bet Roonay would rather play every game than sit and watch. the remedy is oto make winning the thing. i know it wont happen but the champions of each country in uefa should play in a knock out 2 leg until the final competiton, every game played ona wednesday. it is only in the knock out stages that the so-called "champions" (they arent) "League" (it isnt) gets interesting. but for the arsenals and liverpools, the TV money from those dull group games is far more valuable than an appearance int he carling cup final. |
||||||||
| dogsaver |
i used to be a lot more passionate about football, but after the last few years of blind refs i think i have probably changed,being born in north london we hated arsenal ,but i only knew about half a dozen arsenal fans untill they won the double,then they came out of the woodwork,these days if i watch match of the day and arsenal play well i enjoy watching them ,providing its not against spurs ,but as far as the carling cup they more things that your team competes in the more chance you have of seeing them play ,so i think its good | ||||||||
| Binge |
I'm just about to set off from my hotel to stroll down to Villa Park to watch a game that I would love to win for the obvious boost to morale it would bring. However being a realist.............
We're not playing well at the moment, injuries mean we have very little options in certain positions on the field and this is frankly one game I don't think we need right now (still think our season was de-railed by the never ending saga of trying to play the 4th round replay in last year's FA Cup against Arsenal. And after all the postponements we lost 4-0! Ultimately we didn't capitulate until the last 4 games of the season but that period around that replay killed the momentum we'd built up.) So tonight, if we lose we lose. Wednesday on Saturday is the much bigger game. |
||||||||
| Owl of Minerva |
I'll never forget in my first year at uni, I made friends with a lad who was your standard posh public schoolboy. We went to the pub with a few others to watch Arsenal vs Newcastle. He had told me before the game that he was an Arsenal fan. Then 5 mins into the game he turns to me and, no joke, says "Just to make sure, are Arsenal the team in the red?"
|
||||||||
| MT VESSELS |
Reminds me of that sketch in The Fast Show where John Thompson plays that Arsenal fan who watches the game with a picnic basket on his knee and hasnt a clue about football. FAN If Bergkamp keeps this form up, Holland have gotta be worth an each way bet. [pause] JT I'm sorry, but, er, Bergkamp plays for Arsenal, not for Holland. [slight pause as FAN looks incredulous] FAN He plays for both, you ,. JT Don't- ha-ha-ha-ha! Don't be daft! No- now, what if the Gunners got into Europe, and had to play Holland? What would he do, then? What side would he play for, then? Uh? A-ha! Sussed! [JT waggles both his index fingers at FAN who rolls his eyes in disbelief] MT jnr |
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
I think liverpool will be paying more attention to it after tonight 
|
||||||||
| alansouthcoast |
Liverpool and Chelsea have now both put in a shocker this week. It will make Sundays match interesting for sure. |
||||||||
| gromero |
It's only important if you can fluke it passed the quarters with easy draws and putting out weaker sides, then it becomes very important. If you manage to draw Chelsea or Arsenal then it becomes very very very very very important and a 5 - 1 drubbing will go down in history as a great sporting moment.
But, if you draw a proper team early on and they beat you, then who cares, it's only a two bob trophy. |
||||||||
| geordie_racer |
thats what is wrong with football today imho i would love us to win it |
||||||||
| value seeker |
yes.a bit pissed off to lose again to a London club,but it was expected when the draw was made and its turned out that way.
Still never been to New Wembley and just the FA Cup left 
|
||||||||
| lewijay |
They played ok though VS, so not too disheartend overall. I don't think there is any shame in losing to that Arsenal team and i felt Liverpool gave a good account of themselves.
It would have been nice to go a little further but as you said there is always the FA cup for a trip to Wembley! |
||||||||
| Papa 3 |
They say that practice makes perfect, Ryan Babel should practice a lot more or put in for a transfer, the original hype on this player has deteriorated to a less than average player. If he could use both feet we may have got a draw to go to extra time. Babel and Lucas, at least, need to be replaced imo. 
|
||||||||
| Gorg_George |
Replaced or put out there misery. | ||||||||
| gromero |
Two bit pointless trophy played for by kids...
I might change my mind in a few hours though
|
||||||||
| Papa 3 |
Doesn't have the expectation of the unexpected as does the FA cup, but it is a trophy that deserves respect in as much as it puts money in the coffers, entertains, most of, the fans. What it doesn't need is the crass ignorance of that expletive Wenger, his 1st four letters of his 1st name describes him accurately. Most managers shake hands after the game, even if they don't mean it, but this french penis is the cream of gob worms. Last night I thought that Shaun Wright-Phillips was a star and played to his potential.
|
||||||||
| Gorg_George |
One word for ARSEne. French. | ||||||||
| lewijay |
I agree that he performed very well. I believe City will win this Trophy this year, a small return of a trophy but great for their morale. I like city fans as they are a bit angry but enjoy the game being played well too. As for Arsene Wenger great manager but idiot as a personality imo, not much between him and Benitez in the pig headiness stakes. |
||||||||
| alansouthcoast |
Chelsea paid the price for giving some of the newcomers a chance. We had to play them sometime though so last night was the best bet. Villa could be the dark horse in this competition now. Hughes needs to win it with City to save his job, in my opinion. Down to the semis but still all to play for.
As for Wenger, se said after Sundays game " Drogba did nothing " If he thinks that then he hasnt a clue. Failure to shakes Hughes hand afterwards shows Wenger for what he is. |
||||||||
| kickingkyle |
Fergies got the right idea, been playing the kids all season. I cant wait for 2 years time if some of them are still there. Im genuinely excited about the prospects of some of the young players. | ||||||||
| Rochesterlad |
Looking back at the quarter final draw,i expected Villa to beat Portsmouth,then up with either Chelsea,Man Utd or Arsenal in the semi.. A major result Villa getting Blackburn!!! 
|
||||||||