Before our second round tie at Scunthorpe and ahead of Tuesday night's Carling Cup third round tie at the City Ground in Nottingham, I have read a lot of debate on Social Media sites and Newcastle United forums about how seriously we should take the Carling Cup this year.
We HAVE to take it seriously. Why?
First and foremost, we have not won a domestic trophy in a ridiculous 56 years. 56 YEARS! Who are we to turn our backs on a tournament that offers a trophy at the end? Of course there are no guarantees and to go all of the way we need the luck of the draw and some luck on match days, but when you consider that seven different sides have won this tournament in the past ten years it is not altogether unrealistic. 22 different teams have won the trophy in its 50 year history and sadly we are not one of them.
One of the main arguments that I have read against us taking this competition seriously is that we should be focussing on the league and that we have a thin squad. Despite our fantastic start to the season (we sit in fourth place as I type) I think we all know that a top four (or even top six) finish is a pipe dream and will not happen. We have the quality to finish 7th but our lack of bodies means that we could finish anywhere from 6 to 16th! So lets have a crack at this!
Forest are in the Championship relegation zone after a difficult start to life under Schteve McClaren – they might be looking to rest players in this one as they look to revive their awful league form. Then again they might also view this as an opportunity to revive their season. Either way we have more than enough to win the game.
I was encouraged by Pardew’s strong selection at Scunthorpe and I would go with much the same here – the vast majority of the players who have been stating games this season supplemented by the players who have shown real promise – Marveaux for example. Hatem Ben Arfa may also be in contention, which would be fantastic.
A good run could give us a great day out at the new Wembley Stadium. I have attended every game that we’ve played at Wembley in my life time (sadly that is not too many games!) and, despite the fact we haven’t won any of them, I had a fantastic time.
And finally, Europe. The Europa League has its knockers but I would love to see us playing European football again. I had some amazing trips abroad during our many European years and would love to travel to watch the Mags again.
Come on lads, lets have a go.
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Comments
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Posted by Manny on 09/19/2011
I agree. I think we should give the Cup a serious effort. We're sitting 4th right now which is very impressive. But I'm afraid we're only headed down. Going for the cup could be risky given our lack of depth everywhere except midfield. It would just be nice to see our name in the running for something....anything.
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Posted by julio laker on 09/19/2011
Of course we should take it seriously, 100%. I don't think that our second string is necessarily our weaker string though. They could probably give the current first team squad a run for their money such is the competition in the squad. Sammy, Marveaux, Ferguson...quite exciting really and I'd happily see them displace the first team regulars if they can put up a good display in the cup.
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Posted by Darren Grant-Hall on 09/20/2011
On the other hand, if we go for the League cup the competition does finish considerably earlier then the premiership. If we throw the F.A. cup (as much as i'd love to win that) Accept mid table mediocrity go for the cup.
Plus, if we were able to win a cup, maybe we'd be able to attract a slightly higher standard of player?
Posted by Ian on 09/20/2011
I agree too. To start with, should we win it all, it offers us the chance to play in europe next season. I would have thought even Ashley and Llambias would see that as a plus.
Of equal importance though, is the fact that the supporters pay good money (often over the odds when visiting lower division grounds - and when playing at Chelsea) and I think that it is only fair that we field our best side and try and win each game. We don't pay 50% of the price of the admission, so why should we field a half strength side?. HTL.
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Marc Duffy is a National Account Manager in the alcoholic drinks industry - a career in alcohol was obviously the natural step after following Newcastle United for all of his 32 years. Marc blames his father for his obsession with Newcastle United - since attending his first game at the age of 4 Marc has endured many ups and downs, and despite the lack of silverware remains positive that a trophy will be won at some point in his lifetime! (Wait, does the Intertoto cup not count?) Follow Marc on Twitter @MarcSDuffy
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