FA Cup. It's a trophy. That's what football was invented for. To win things. Although I wouldn't want us to splash millions on players like Pompey did...
And if you spend the parachute payments wisely you'd expect to be challenging for promotion again. I fully expect Wigan (if they go down), QPR and Reading to be pushing for automatic promotion.
If you mess it up like wolves and Blackburn by pissing around with managers then it's your own fault. Both with the right managers should have at least been in the playoffs.
Martinez said he doesn't even mind going down didn't he? If they go down, they go down, if they happen to stay up, they stay up is his attitude.
I hope if we do end up going up next year that we won't be battling for survival all season as that would just be annoying, as a fan.
You fully expect Wigan to push for promotion if they go down!!! Do me a favour mate, they will never bounce back.
I'm comfortable with the possibility of our doing a West Brom, and bouncing between the two divisions for a while until establishing ourselves in the Premier League. Don't spend silly money and endanger the future. Just steady, incremental gains over a few seasons. Plus, there are worse things than being in the Championship, which has been damned entertaining the last two seasons.
Therefore, I'd like a nice silver pot and a place in the history books.
Very different situation now to 1983
Back then the FA Cup was THE major football trophy, probably even bigger than the European Cup in terms of world coverage. The old first division wasn't the goldmine it now was.
Back then given the choice of relegation or cup glory it would have been a no brainer. FA Cup every time.
Now it would be the other way round. The Premier League is far more important, especially since the blazers started buggering around with the FA Cup. Playing semi finals at wembley, 5:15 kick offs, so many ways the competition is now a shadow of what it was. I may not even watch it this afternoon - in fact I didn´t realise it was today until I saw it mentioned on the box last nights.
Back in 1983 the build up was massive, at least a week before the game, from the crack of sparrow fart on the day, and for a few days afterwards. For us to have been part of that was unbelievable.
We are in Wigan's EXACT position. Is the FA Cup more important or is Premier League survival the be all and end all?
Personally I would take the FA Cup and relegation but I think Wigan are thinking the exact opposite.