Liverpool FC Forum

[jacdaniel]

“Winning the FA Cup wouldn’t have made any difference – it was never about an individual result. It was always about taking a review of the season in full.

“The Carling Cup and The FA Cup don’t generate the revenue" 


Well Ian Ayre has just said this.  Qualifying for Europa League and even winning two cups won't be considered a success anymore.
Its all about finishing in the top 4 for the money.

With that in mind,  should the new manager just play the kids in the cups?  The likes of Suso, Sterling, Flanno, Coady etc.
Why bother trying to win them anyways?  It won't make a difference to the company.. right?

Also, what kind of message are we sending to any potential new manager?  I find it appalling that we've gone on record and said that a cup double wouldn't save a manager from the axe.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

more than a bit frustrated i`ve gone right off them tbh, first we had one of them going on about that game 39 $*i*e and now the oldest trophy in football, a trophy that was the genesis of the modern game now means nothing?
teams were competing for that trophy in this country while they were playing at being cowboys in the states.

[supersub]

I ask all season ticket holders not to tick the box for the automated cup ticket scheme..................they don't matter so don't pay for it

[jacdaniel]

more than a bit frustrated i`ve gone right off them tbh, first we had one of them going on about that game 39 $*i*e and now the oldest trophy in football, a trophy that was the genesis of the modern game now means nothing?
teams were competing for that trophy in this country while they were playing at being cowboys in the states.

Me too, the whole stats based approach... 4th or nothing.. collective thinking.. 

just can't see their methods working over here. 

If what Ian Ayre is saying is accurate, we could have several people doing the roles that Kenny / Comolli were in.  Who could ever be held accountable?

[NorfolkRed]

Has anyone actually said the cups mean nothing?

It shouldnt be a question of what is most important. We should be challenging in both league and cup and i dont think it unreasonable for the owners to want that.

Plenty of sides have put good cup runs together, Portsmouth springs to mind. FA cup final and relegated wasnt it? Definitely not a success.

Not saying we're anywhere near that but we are no nearer to winning the league after this season. We need 4th (or possibly even 3rd this season) not as an end but as a means to an end. We eed better players to challenge for the title and we're much more likely to get them if we can offer champions league football.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

i wont be going to another cup game while these are in charge, whats the point? the manager would be a divvy if he put out a good side.
glad i never went down to wembley now, lot of money to spend on a meaningless competition, feel sorry for those who went down there 3 times last season.

[Thommo's perm]

i wont be going to another cup game while these are in charge, whats the point? the manager would be a divvy if he put out a good side.
glad i never went down to wembley now, lot of money to spend on a meaningless competition, feel sorry for those who went down there 3 times last season.

Dont worry about it mate
Beating the bitters was worth it

[supersub]

i wont be going to another cup game while these are in charge, whats the point? the manager would be a divvy if he put out a good side.
glad i never went down to wembley now, lot of money to spend on a meaningless competition, feel sorry for those who went down there 3 times last season.

Dont worry about it mate
Beating the bitters was worth it

beating the bitters, winning the league cup and having a good old knees up with old friends was worth it but no more; my money is staying in my pocket(except for the wedge they will take off me for my season tickets)....leave the cups alone..any future manager would be a fool to risk players in competitions that will get him the sack if he succeeds in them.

[stmichael]

Has anyone actually said the cups mean nothing?

It shouldnt be a question of what is most important. We should be challenging in both league and cup and i dont think it unreasonable for the owners to want that.

Plenty of sides have put good cup runs together, Portsmouth springs to mind. FA cup final and relegated wasnt it? Definitely not a success.

Not saying we're anywhere near that but we are no nearer to winning the league after this season. We need 4th (or possibly even 3rd this season) not as an end but as a means to an end. We eed better players to challenge for the title and we're much more likely to get them if we can offer champions league football.

Considering where we were 18 months ago, I said at the time that it would possibly take 3 years minimum to get anywhere near top 4 let alone "challenge for the league". In terms of performances people can't say we didn't progress this season. In terms of results we didn't get what we deserved in a lot of games, especially at home.

Sacking a manager after one season of underachievement isn't going to get you anywhere. Even spending £100m is no guarantee of getting top 4, especially as everyone knows that the players brought are worth nowhere near that collectively. The signings last summer were effectively brought to stabilise the club and brought with a view to the new squad rules coming in. They improved the squad as a whole but not the first team. This summer we have to go out and buy 3 quality player to go straight into the team.

We're essentially the exact opposite to what we were in 2008/9 when we had an exceptional first eleven but not much of a squad.

[Boxscarf]

How any owner or member of staff can come out and say "a cup double wouldn't have saved the manager from the sack". It appears our owners are more concerned along with Arsenal football club of money making, winning trophies like the FA Cup and Carling cup are good trophies to win and I always enjoy watching those cup finals, irrespective of who is playing and I get very excited when we make the final. Yes this previous FA Cup final was an anti-climax for us, but it was great to have gotten to two cup finals in one season. While I still back FSG and believe they'll make us a force to be reckoned with, I get the impression that money making is as important to them as trophy success. Yes Champions League football is importanrt for any club, it makes your club a lot of money, it makes your club a more attractive proposition to the World's best players and it is the best cup competition in Europe, but that doesn't mean to say we should be neglecting the FA Cup or Carling cup, those are trophies as well and all trophies should be welcome in our cabinet and our manager and players should be aiming to bring in as many trophies in a season as possible.

[roberto green]

Whether or not we like it or not, 4th place matters more than the domestic cups now, sure it's a great day out to the finals but does winning a cup generate the revenue to attract the top players or top sponsorship to improve year in year out....No

Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Man city and even Spurs if you ask them what there targets are it will be to get the top 4 minimum, we need to move on and get with the times,  as much as it saddens me footbal has changed and we can either go in to a season looking to win the mickey mouse cup and not move forward or start putting foundations in place with a new look modern vision,  and yes it's all about business now but a good business will bring success.

[Penguins]

But what they are saying that the league comes 1st which we can all agree on. That is the bread n butter and should not be sacrificed for the cups.
League comes 1st simple as.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

imagine someone telling the yanks that they were devaluing their world series rounders competition? they would hit the roof.
unless the price drops dramatically you`d have to be a mug to go and watch a cup game at anfield.

[roberto green]

Whether or not we like it or not, 4th place matters more than the domestic cups now, sure it's a great day out to the finals but does winning a cup generate the revenue to attract the top players or top sponsorship to improve year in year out....No

Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Man city and even Spurs if you ask them what there targets are it will be to get the top 4 minimum, we need to move on and get with the times,  as much as it saddens me footbal has changed and we can either go in to a season looking to win the mickey mouse cup and not move forward or start putting foundations in place with a new look modern vision,  and yes it's all about business now but a good business will bring success.

[Boxscarf]

But what they are saying that the league comes 1st which we can all agree on. That is the bread n butter and should not be sacrificed for the cups.
League comes 1st simple as.

1st place in the League counts, not 4th place. If we want Champions League football then we should do so trying to win the League title, not trying to scrape into the top four. That in itself shows a complete lack of ambition. When Benitez was our manager and was getting 4th place, 3rd place and even 2nd place that wasn't good enough for us. People used to post "if you are 1st you are 1st, if you are 2nd, you are nothing". Now it appears that supporters are dumbing down expectations faster than the Government are at dumbing down GCSE and A-level examinations. When Shankly said the league title was our bread and butter, he meant in terms of winning it, not finishing 4th to qualify for Europe. 4th next season would mark significant progress, that's not an achievement. Winning trophies is the ultimate achievement of a manager and a club. Nobody remembers 4th place or 3rd or 2nd, they remember 1st and that's what we should be aiming for.