Cup Games???

Are we out of all the cups now??
I bloody well hope we are.

we currently sit 6th position in the league and have 2 games in hand over most teams and 3 games in hand over a few other teams.

I feel that these cup games take our eyes off the league and I have always said that games in hand is never as important as points in the bag. Didn't we have a few games in hand over most last season aswel?

Hope we catch up on these games and sit at the top of the league and keep rolling with confidence.

We haven't started the FA Trophy yet - Preliminary Round is on 18th October, away to Taunton Town.

Cup runs mean money and could put cash in the bank which would be much needed if promotion were to be achieved!

It's all about finding that balance I think. The 2012/2013 season was ridiculous in terms of the amount of cup games and replays we had to play. The prize money was superb obviously but I think our squad was running on empty by the time we got to the play-offs.

Personally I'm not too concerned about our Cup run this season, although it would have been nice to have gone a little further in that Word Cup. Let's see what happens in the FA Trophy next Month but IF we finish as Champions in April, then I think we can forgive an up and down cup run.

IMO the Word Cup & Southern League Cup (whichever we chose to enter) are totally meaningless competitions that could ultimately cost us the league/promotion this season, due to cancelled fixtures we are already 4 games & 9 points behind league leaders Stratford Town & playing catch up in terms of games played is a risky strategy. We now need to be pro-active in re-arranging our league games that have been cancelled ASAP to ensure we enter the calendar year 2015 in a prominent  league position so that when other sides have to cancel games because of inclement weather we can get ours played on our 3G pitch to ensure we are leading the table both in terms of points gained and games played at the end of March thus ensuring we are in prime position for the run-in next April.

KPT1950 wrote:IMO the Word Cup & Southern League Cup (whichever we chose to enter) are totally meaningless competitions that could ultimately cost us the league/promotion this season, due to cancelled fixtures we are already 4 games & 9 points behind league leaders Stratford Town & playing catch up in terms of games played is a risky strategy. We now need to be pro-active in re-arranging our league games that have been cancelled ASAP to ensure we enter the calendar year 2015 in a prominent  league position so that when other sides have to cancel games because of inclement weather we can get ours played on our 3G pitch to ensure we are leading the table both in terms of points gained and games played at the end of March thus ensuring we are in prime position for the run-in next April.

Stratford have been lucky inasmuch as they got knocked out of the FA Cup at the same stage as us but so did their scheduled league opponents as well so they were able to play whereas we didn't have that luxury. All of our fixtures have now been rearranged and hopefully in the new year our 3G pitch will come into play but that won't help with postponed away games.

Merthyr Imp wrote:We haven't started the FA Trophy yet - Preliminary Round is on 18th October, away to Taunton Town.

Who will we play if we win at Taunton (or a replay!) in the next round ?

Cirencester Home 1st Nov.

KPT1950 wrote:
We now need to be pro-active in re-arranging our league games that have been cancelled ASAP .

It seems we have been - the away match with Bridgwater scheduled for last Tuesday had already been rearranged for Tuesday 21st October, and the home game with Evesham postponed from yesterday is now to be played on Tuesday 4th November.

* Bridgwater fixture subject to neither team being involved in an FA Trophy preliminary round replay.

One problem is that for various reasons, gates for midweek games are somewhat down from Saturday matches and thus there is a reduced income through the turnstiles, food and bar outlets, 50-50 etc.
I agree that league progress is the main objective but as I see it, much more income needs to be accrued when it comes to progress (and Cup runs can bring in money).
I understand that the then managers were told before the end of last season that there would not be any extra money for players' wages if promotion was achieved.
So, the club have to look ahead long-term and hope that the stadium improvements, including the new function hall, will produce more income. In the short term, we seek promotion but it will throw up certain problems.
We mustn't think that the funding for the Cigg-e stadium means that the club is awash with cash. This money is for specific improvements. Businesses reply on cash-flow. With a lack of recent home games and four away (three in The Word Cup), things can't have been easy this month - outoings and not too much income, as far as I see it.
I usually get accused by some of being pessimistic but we have to see clearly and not through rose-tinted glasses.

I tend to agree that cup games this season have been more of a distraction than anything, though they have given a game to some players who are not first-choice for league games and that should continue with the FA Trophy.
The priority this season has got to be promotion to the SL Premier but, if/when we achieve that, it will not be reasonable to be looking immediately for further promotions as we have become accustomed to doing since the club was re-formed. That is when we would, instead, need a good cup run to spark local interest and bring in some big gates and, hopefully, some more fans who will stay interested.
The board have achieved great things, as the very welcome newsletters make clear, but revenue-raising through a steadily increasing fan base is vital if we are to capitalise on the ground improvements and make further headway.

Not much to say this week Hirwaunman?....or was this an Aberdare Wikileek that was censored by the CIA, MFI or Google?....Boz

Boz - I was practising my stunned silence in readiness for the Shortwood result tonight.

Good one...Shaolinman....I think a week in the monastery is needed by all concerned....what was a draw felt like a loss tonight....Boz