Spurs & Villa follow Megson's lead

[Athers]

Tottenham (vs Shakhtar): Gomes, Gunter, Huddlestone, Dawson, Chimbonda, Jenas, Zokora, Parrett (Bostock 89), Bentley, Giovani (Bent 69), Campbell.

with an even weaker team promised for the 2nd leg

Aston Villa have left eight regular first-team players out of the squad to face CSKA Moscow in the Uefa Cup second-leg match in Russia on Thursday.

Gareth Barry, Brad Friedel, Emile Heskey, James Milner, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Carlos Cuellar and Stiliyan Petrov are all excluded.

Manager Martin O'Neill said he wanted to focus on the Premier League.

I doubt these managers of media-love will get the same stick in the press as Megson, but seems everyone is at it fielding really weak teams in Europe now.

Unless people can find some evidence of English teams fielding weak teams before our run last year.

[hisroyalgingerness]

Harry was sulking today because he's in a cup final this sunday and playing midweek. trade, harry?

[jimbo]

Doubt their fans will kick up as much fuss as our lot did as well. Spurs had better beat United by at least 3 goals now after resting all those players!

[BWFC_Insane]

Hmm.

Think Megson's decision in regards to Lisbon has been proven to be the correct one beyond all question and doubt now.

[Puskas]

Hmm.

Think Megson's decision in regards to Lisbon has been proven to be the correct one beyond all question and doubt now.

Eh?

How? Simply because a couple of other people did it?

Remind me how we did against Wigan with our rested players - isn't that the criterion with which to judge it?

[fatshaft]

Hmm.

Think Megson's decision in regards to Lisbon has been proven to be the correct one beyond all question and doubt now.

Utter rubbish. Were you at that Wigan game?

[potter1989bwfc]

Wow, STOP, not just against Wigan, against a TEN man Wigan team...

[TANGODANCER]

We keep on throwing up the Wigan game as if the Whites are incapable of ever having an off-day (Everton?) and then coming back and playing decent football. It's long done and dusted, so's the EUFA Cup, let em die. Shxt happens.

[Hoboh]

We keep on throwing up the Wigan game as if the Whites are incapable of ever having an off-day (Everton?) and then coming back and playing decent football. It's long done and dusted, so's the EUFA Cup, let em die. Shxt happens.

Wern't that after yet another break?

[officer_dibble]

Villa fans should be gutted there

What will they remember

4th place in the premiership or a Uefa Cup final

Spurs, do have more pressing concerns

But Villa? Disappointed with O Neill

[potter1989bwfc]

Villa fans should be gutted there

What will they remember

4th place in the premiership or a Uefa Cup final

Spurs, do have more pressing concerns

But Villa? Disappointed with O Neill

Money...

[BWFC_Insane]

Villa fans should be gutted there

What will they remember

4th place in the premiership or a Uefa Cup final

Spurs, do have more pressing concerns

But Villa? Disappointed with O Neill

The Villa fans I know would all far rather finish in the top 4 than with the UEFA cup.

I think it comes down to the possibility of getting in the champions league, using the money well and cementing themselves as a regular top 4 team.

That thought probably entices more than the possibility of a one off chance at the UEFA cup. I can understand MON because they have had a very long season.

However, they should get 4th anyhow unless they collapse!

[Worthy4England]

Villa fans should be gutted there

What will they remember

4th place in the premiership or a Uefa Cup final

Spurs, do have more pressing concerns

But Villa? Disappointed with O Neill

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

[potter1989bwfc]

Aston Villa fans have been left fuming after paying more than £1000 to travel to Moscow for Villa's Uefa Cup second-leg game against CSKA Moscow, only for boss Martin O'Neill to take a reserve team to the Russian capital. (Daily Mirror)

[Puskas]

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

It's also making the assumption that by fielding a weakened team in the cup and resting your players, you have a better chance of doing well in the league - something I have yet to see demonstrated.

[BWFC_Insane]

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

It's also making the assumption that by fielding a weakened team in the cup and resting your players, you have a better chance of doing well in the league - something I have yet to see demonstrated.

Yes you can obviously ignore the three times we've done it as a club and stayed up in the premiership!

[Worthy4England]

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

It's also making the assumption that by fielding a weakened team in the cup and resting your players, you have a better chance of doing well in the league - something I have yet to see demonstrated.

No - it's making the assumption that by not playing the first team, you are mitigating their risk of injury which isn't incorrect.

[seanworth]

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

It's also making the assumption that by fielding a weakened team in the cup and resting your players, you have a better chance of doing well in the league - something I have yet to see demonstrated.

There likely is no 100% way to demonstrate the premise to be correct or incorrect for that matter. You obviously believe that it really doesn't make a difference and that our squad was big enough to play 2 games a week for multiple weeks without any negative effect. In fact if we had won the Uefa games there might in fact even be a positive effect.

Other people think differently including quite a few professional managers as it turns out Megson is not alone. Even though Martin O'Neal, Megson, and Rednappp might disagree with you that still doesn't make your belief wrong. However maybe you should concider the other belief at little more seriously than you have though, and not just from a selfish fans perspective. Oh and before you jump on the selfish, we are all selfish fans to one level or another. I think it impossible to not be. We have certain expectations and wishes as a fan, which are not always in touch with reality. At the end of all this I still think we should move on, and hopefully we will be able to put the theory back into action during the next season or two when hopefully we are back in the Uefa cup. Oops there I go possibly being selfish again.

[BWFC_Insane]

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

It's also making the assumption that by fielding a weakened team in the cup and resting your players, you have a better chance of doing well in the league - something I have yet to see demonstrated.

There likely is no 100% way to demonstrate the premise to be correct or incorrect for that matter. You obviously believe that it really doesn't make a difference and that our squad was big enough to play 2 games a week for multiple weeks without any negative effect. In fact if we had won the Uefa games there might in fact even be a positive effect.

Other people think differently including quite a few professional managers as it turns out Megson is not alone. Even though Martin O'Neal, Megson, and Rednappp might disagree with you that still doesn't make your belief wrong. However maybe you should concider the other belief at little more seriously than you have though, and not just from a selfish fans perspective. Oh and before you jump on the selfish, we are all selfish fans to one level or another. I think it impossible to not be. We have certain expectations and wishes as a fan, which are not always in touch with reality. At the end of all this I still think we should move on, and hopefully we will be able to put the theory back into action during the next season or two when hopefully we are back in the Uefa cup. Oops there I go possibly being selfish again.

Add in Sam Allardyce who claims to have collated evidence to demonstrate the point!

In fact find a manager who thinks their team can play 50 plus games using a squad of 16 players without rotation competing in the top league!

[seanworth]

As with the Bolton situation, the incorrect assertion is that be weakening the team, you're swapping position "x" in the Prem, for "a cup final". The UEFA cup final is still 4 matches away, after this round, from which you have to win at least 2. So the reality is they've swapped a theoretical "4th place in the Prem", for a real 5 games left to play before they get anywhere near buying tickets for a final.

It also uses the assumption that by playing their full side that they would necessarily have won.

Just as an aside, if they both won this round, they meet in the next - so you can't use the argument for both that by weakening the team they're missing out on a cup final - one of them logically isn't going to reach the final, as they'll go out next round if not this.

It's also making the assumption that by fielding a weakened team in the cup and resting your players, you have a better chance of doing well in the league - something I have yet to see demonstrated.

There likely is no 100% way to demonstrate the premise to be correct or incorrect for that matter. You obviously believe that it really doesn't make a difference and that our squad was big enough to play 2 games a week for multiple weeks without any negative effect. In fact if we had won the Uefa games there might in fact even be a positive effect.

Other people think differently including quite a few professional managers as it turns out Megson is not alone. Even though Martin O'Neal, Megson, and Rednappp might disagree with you that still doesn't make your belief wrong. However maybe you should concider the other belief at little more seriously than you have though, and not just from a selfish fans perspective. Oh and before you jump on the selfish, we are all selfish fans to one level or another. I think it impossible to not be. We have certain expectations and wishes as a fan, which are not always in touch with reality. At the end of all this I still think we should move on, and hopefully we will be able to put the theory back into action during the next season or two when hopefully we are back in the Uefa cup. Oops there I go possibly being selfish again.

Add in Sam Allardyce who claims to have collated evidence to demonstrate the point!

In fact find a manager who thinks their team can play 50 plus games using a squad of 16 players without rotation competing in the top league!

Well for that matter I would have to assume Ferguson etc etc also believe the same which is why they have such large clubs to begin with. It is not just because they can afford them, they believe it necessary in order to play competitively on a week in week out basis.

I also think most of these fans bitching also deep deep down also believe this. They are mainly upset because last season was Bolton's chance to possibly win some silverware, and European at that. I can understand this, and those opportunities don't come around every year. This is why the issue is so contentious with so many fans. I can see both sides, but still wish we could just move on, and hopefully if the opportunity comes around again we will be sitting 6th to 10th in the table (like Mr. O'Neill stated today), so that there are no excuses not to go for it.