The decision to rest ten players against Morecambe (1 Viewer)

[Ned]

I am so, so angry at this decision. It is just totally inexpicable.

Since we were relegated in 2001, as you are all painfully aware, it has been nine seasons of mid-table tedium. At no stage have we had a mathematical chance of getting in the playoffs with two games of the season remaining. There has simply been no success in the league, nothing to cheer for at all.

However, there's been some good times in the cups. Seeing the Sky Blues beat Man Utd at Old Trafford was a dream come true, and Blackburn home and away a couple of years ago was fantastic fun as well.

The fact is that the most likely scenario for us this season is that we will finish mid-table, not particularly close to the play-offs or relegation. As far as I'm concerned, the cups are the only opportunity the fans get to witness any excitement as a Coventry fan. I had a season ticket at Highfield Road and the Ricoh Arena for ten years, have since moved to another part of the country and then lived abroad. But I'm moving back to the UK in a few weeks and I was looking forward to the possibility of seeing us take on a big team in the League Cup, and maybe get a result.

I don't care about following Coventry's results in the league anymore. What's the point? A few years ago, if I wasn't at an away game I'd be listening to the whole match on Internet radio somehow. At the end of last season, I found myself not finding out the Sky Blues' result until several days after the match. I have been ground down. There is nothing to cheer for. Why would I care about whether we finish 14th or 15th?

Which is why it upset me so, so much when I saw that Boothroyd had made ten changes for tonight's match, enormously reducing our chances of progressing in the competition and possibly getting an interesting draw in a future round. The benefits of this decision are negligible. Concentrating on the mid table battle ahead. Great.

I started losing interest in Coventry City when Eric Black was sacked to make way for Peter Reid at the end of the 2003/04 season. Tonight is another huge nail in the coffin of me caring about this club. As far as I am concerned, the season is now as good as over until the FA Cup Third Round, but even then it's likely we'll rest players for that game.

Clubs need to understand that fans want Romance with a big R. Obviously I will never support any other club, but tonight is the least I have ever cared about the fortunes of Coventry City. They are a bunch of total idiots who do not deserve my support.

 

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[CovInEssex]

Hello and welcome to Sky Blues Talk.

You talk like an intelligent glory supporter, although i'm sure your not.

His decision to rest 10 players was down to Aidy focusing on the league this season.

The league is far far greater in importance then any cup, you don't get into the £100M+ Premier League by winning cups.

 

[missandreamoore]

wow, i thought i was the most violently opposed and yet still loyal fan but it appears that you win the crown!

My friends were surprised at how unenthusiastic i was at Boothroyd's appointment and yet game 2 in and he's made a huge mistake. Clearly he wants to focus on the league and has underestimated the power of a good cup run.

Let's hope this is his only mistake of the season....

 

[gouldberg]

I'm not sure the League Cup is the 'big' cup run many teams want. It's the FA Cup that teams seem to contest, and we genereally do well in that competition in terms of drawing a bit of attention to ourself and toughing it with a big team at one point.

I think really that the League is the one this year. The teams that have come down arn't as strong as normal, and the side we have is pretty decent. The League Cup could well have been the distraction that may have cost us wins in the coming weeks. I genuinly believe we have a shot at a top-half finish this year in the Championship, as long as we perform well consistantly and don't get distracted by other things (one of the reasons i'm against signing Marlon King). We went out at this stage last year after an opening day win, so that may cause concern, but i don't see us having the dreadful runs we had last year.

Be patient and i'm sure things will get better. This may have been a blip or it may just have been getting a nothing game out of the way without risking any injuries/suspensions.

I honestly couldn't care about the League Cup so early in. If we'd have sneaked into round 3 or 4 then yeah start going full strength but too much can happen this early in for it to be worth risking. FA Cup and much more importantly the League need to be our priorities, so hopefully Aidy was planning ahead.

 

[Jimthor]

If anyone's got the radio on or any way of hearing Aidy's post-match comments i'd be interested to hear what he has to say.

The only radio in the house is in the other room where people are watching the telly. And i've not got the dosh to fork out for a Sky Blues Player subscription yet this season!

 

[CovInEssex]

If anyone's got the radio on or any way of hearing Aidy's post-match comments i'd be interested to hear what he has to say.

The only radio in the house is in the other room where people are watching the telly. And i've not got the dosh to fork out for a Sky Blues Player subscription yet this season!

You not got one on your phone mate?

Thats where i had to be reminded of earlier, haha!

 

[IrishSkyBlue]

So what was the team who played crap?

 

[SkyBlueKay]

C.Doyle
McPake
Hussey {Christie 31}
Wood
Grandison
Clarke
Bell {Clarke-Harris 68}
Baker
McIndoe
Platt
O'Donovan

Subs Not Used: Quirke, Thomas, Bigirimana, Grogan

 

[gouldberg]

Wayyyyy Cyrus Christie played!! I went to school with him He was the year below though.

 

[bishbosh]

When I logged onto the internetweb this morning I was extremely disappointed to see the defeat to Morcambe. After reading the team selection I was a bit happier, but I still find it difficult to stomach being knocked out of the League Cup in round one. I think Aidy will be vindicated in his decision when we are in with a chance of a play-off spot with 2 games of the season to go.

However, this is only the second match of the season and surely a winning mentality is a good habit to have, things would surely be in a bad way if the players are already tired. I primarily want a good league position without a doubt , but by the same token it would be nice to get a couple of cup games or at least not be beaten by a lower league side in round one.

 

[Ned]

Hello and welcome to Sky Blues Talk.

You talk like an intelligent glory supporter, although i'm sure your not.

His decision to rest 10 players was down to Aidy focusing on the league this season.

The league is far far greater in importance then any cup, you don't get into the £100M+ Premier League by winning cups.

Two points.

It's not a choice of either doing well in the League Cup or getting promoted. Resting all these players tonight has a negligible effect on our chances against Watford at the weekend, given how early in the season it is. You're implying that by actually trying to get somewhere in the cups you're writing off any chance of doing well in the League, and that's just not true. Plenty of Championship teams with a better chance of getting promoted than us played their strongest teams tonight and got through.

Secondly, it utterly depresses me that football fans look at things in such an unromantic, percentage-based way. For me, a huge part of the appeal of supporting a small football club is the chance of achieving something glorious against the odds. If I was given a choice of either a) getting promoted, followed by immediate relegation, thus having the money from the season in the Premier League and parachute money putting us in a stronger position than now, or b) winning one of the domestic cups this season, I would definitely choose winning the cup. I can just about understand the moneymen running the club going with a), although the concept of it still disgusts me a bit. But what I can't stomach is the fact that I know that most fans would go with the first option as well. You've all bought into Sky's marketing nonsense that just being part of the 'greatest league in the world' is the ultimate nirvana for a club of our size.

God I'm disillusioned.

Where has the romance gone?

 

[smileycov]

Sorry Ned, but your talking out your Blow Hole (IMO)
you have already admitted not following the club of late, we have been dreadfull last few seasons, but we feel we are at last in a position to start moving forward I am dissapointed we lost, however We all trust Aidy and the league is our priority. Hussey got injured tonight, what if that happened to Clingan,Carsley,Eastwood or someone else we are trying to build a winning team around. No one takes this cup seriously until the semi's. only the very "small" clubs crow about winning in this. we are bigger than that.I take offence at the "sky marketing" dig, i wanna see my club in the best league in the world, beacuse thay are my club and we deserve to be there.Not beacuse i wanna see a bit of dosh come in when we go back down. Please, give Aidy a chance see the side against watford saturday he is getting it right.

PUSB

 

[SWSkyBlue]

I agree with a lot of the comments made, winning games breeds confidence so to make so many changes was in my mind the wrong decision. Yes, we want to get to the Premier league but let's not forget a good cup run can bring in muchneeded extra finance, plus the winners get into Europe!

 

[SkyBlueMania]

Ned,
I think that the fact that you are highlighting is in fact the problem with the club. The highlights of my ten or so years as a Coventry fan shouldn't be victories in the league cup, I don't care about the competition at all. The fact that we have all given up on any success in the league is why the achievement of reaching the quarters of the league cup has become so vital to our season. I think Aidy is trying to turn that on its head. He's saying forget the league cup, we're not wasting our time with something that will have no benefit on the club in the slightest. We're going for the big one, the league. I know it's hard to swallow that we are out of the competition that has given us joy over the last few years, but i really think we have to sacrifice it to ever give ourselves a chance of getting out of this league! It's too much of a distraction for players and fans a like.

 

[TrevorsathisPeake]

Given us joy maybe with the victory at Old Trafford,but we havent realy done well in it.Not scine reaching the semi- final against Forest in 1990.

 

[Disorganised1]

But the game against West Ham is still talked about with the Gary Thompson 'hat-trick'
Memories - good or bad - happen regardless of the opposition, the competition, or the league position.
I can understand the concept of resting players and giving others a tryout, but 10 changes ?

 

[ccfc luke]

Whatever people think about the starting eleven for the game, i believe that with the players we had were good enough to beat morcambe. Just look at the players we had (bar the keeper) i think we still should of won and that is maybe what Boothroyd was thinking.

 

[smileycov]

Whatever people think about the starting eleven for the game, i believe that with the players we had were good enough to beat morcambe. Just look at the players we had (bar the keeper) i think we still should of won and that is maybe what Boothroyd was thinking.

i agree, we should have won with that side, aidy did no wrong imo. bring on the hornets

 

[Sky Blue Luke]

i agree, we should have won with that side, aidy did no wrong imo. bring on the hornets

This.

I was very happy with that 11 when it came through, should of been more than enough to beat Morecambe (no offence)

 

[Ned]

Well done Aidy. It's this stage of the season when you really reap the benefits of resting players in the Carling Cup.

 

[SkyBlueMania]

haha, i think we owe you an apology Ned