It works both ways, could have gone full strength last night and then lost at the weekend and then everyone would be saying we should have rested players last night. In truth both sides put out B Teams with the odd exception and then put out A team players later in the match. It's the way that every single top 6 side approaches the competition in fact it's true of pretty much the entire EPL. It's just the way the competition is viewed now. I remember as far back as Rafa's first season when we reached the final, it was players like Pongolle and La Tellec who were playing the earlier rounds in the competition. I don't agree with Reds who say 'he ho, it's better were out of the comp to focus on the league' but that I think is a measure of how the League Cup is viewed these days, the fact they have now scrapped extra-time all together further downgrades it. We've won it more than any other club so to go out in the first round for 3 consecutive years is disappointing but the truth is, if we win at the weekend it'll be forgotten pretty quickly (rightly or wrongly).
Yeah I know, I understand all that, but I'm saying this game was different because 1. It's early in the season and 2. It's Chelsea at home.
Chelsea at home will always be a big game no matter what competition it is. We had an opportunity to progress to the next round while knocking a rival out at the same time.
The quarter finals are usually mid December. The first semi is usually start of January. The second semi is usually end of January. If we were still in the competition then but flying in both the league and Europe then maybe that would be the time to make some changes. But in September? In the first round we enter? No, not in my opinion.
It's like putting all your eggs in one basket. If we get beat on Saturday we're going to look a bit daft. Even if we do beat Chelsea, I still don't buy into all this 'klopps a genius' nonsense that some are saying. It would be a massive three points but the league isn't won in September and we still have a long way to go.
It's all about this stage of the season and in my opinion we should have gone all out to make sure we're in the next round. It's January/February time where you can evaluate where you're at and start prioritising competitions.
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