I'm not getting to excited or carried away...

[davieG]

It comes with being in Division 3 which is the embarrassing thing.

We have to embrace the embarrassment!

[Salieri]

I'd take it. Seriously. And who am I to judge? But I am quite disappointed in the fans who want to go out of this and don't care about, Granted if it promotion or Johnstone's Paint Trophy, Promotion wins every time, and If it was a case of Johnstone's Paint Trophy messing up the league campaign I want out of the Trophy but I think we should go for it, If we hit problems throughout the campaigns we'll review it then.

But some fans just want out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for the sake of being out of it.

We've pretty much got two teams so this Johnstone Paint thingy is quite handy imo. Think we should use it to play all the players on the fringe of the team (Weso, Kish, Adams, Dickov et al) plus throw in a couple of youngsters maybe. It will give them match practice and if any of them do particularly well then a starting berth in the league may beckon.

[Lovejoy]

I know it's an old cliché, but if we win our home games and avoid defeat away, then we'll be in with a good chance.

[Ultra]

Nope - I (maybe 'we') want out of them all to prevent injuries occuring that impact on our League performances. These competitions are pointless frippery - irrelevant bling to our season, a season that will be long and hard-fought.

People just want success in the Piss-Pot Cup because they want to be able to impress their work colleagues and class-mates...but no one gives a toss about it.

We aren't going to win the big two cups either, the most we get out of it is the possibility of a scalp of a club from a team higher up in one round. Villa was fun last season - but irrelevant. Chelsea robbed the club of a player for the rest of the season and saw us playing Hume and Hayles in his place. That is simply a nonsense and losing key players to such vanity doesn't bear contemplation.

So if we were drawn at home to some nondescript village side in the first round of the FA Cup, would you want us to lose? The "logic" behind your argument suggests that you would.

And if the franchise can go for and achieve success on two fronts (league AND JPT?), why the hell can't we?

[Daggers]

So if we were drawn at home to some nondescript village side in the first round of the FA Cup, would you want us to lose? The "logic" behind your argument suggests that you would.

And if the franchise can go for and achieve success on two fronts (league AND JPT?), why the hell can't we?

This is only worthy of a retort when a nondescript village side makes it to the first round proper.

There is no value in the trophy Franchise won.

[Ultra]

This is only worthy of a retort when a nondescript village side makes it to the first round proper.

There is no value in the trophy Franchise won.

Plenty of village sides will make it to that stage, so the scenario I describe is not totally unlikely.

Franchise gave their fans the chance to enjoy a day out at Wembley.

Don't we deserve the same, bearing in mind the number of times we went there when it was still an antiquated slum?

[Daggers]

Franchise gave their fans the chance to enjoy a day out at Wembley.

Don't we deserve the same, bearing in mind the number of times we went there when it was still an antiquated slum?

You speak of it as a gift, something bestowed on the footballing cognoscenti of Milton Keynes.

I neither 'deserve' or desire a trip to the new Wembley to see my team play in a Mickey Mouse trophy. You might - that's your call. I'll be content to dance around like a twat at the away section at Crewe on the 2nd of May. I want nothing more or less than promotion and see indulging in frippery as plain daft - a point of view shared by Pearson in his latest interview.

[Ultra]

You speak of it as a gift, something bestowed on the footballing cognoscenti of Milton Keynes.

I neither 'deserve' or desire a trip to the new Wembley to see my team play in a Mickey Mouse trophy. You might - that's your call. I'll be content to dance around like a twat at the away section at Crewe on the 2nd of May. I want nothing more or less than promotion and see indulging in frippery as plain daft - a point of view shared by Pearson in his latest interview.

I don't see the JPT as being any more or less "Mickey Mouse" than the league we're currently in. I'd prefer not to be in either, but unfortunately the antics of your idol Mr Holloway played a large part in ensuring that's where we are.

I remember our last three Wembley visits, under a manager who unlike many of his Premier League counterparts believed it was possible to compete successfully on more than one front. He proved it could be done. So did Paul Ince last season.

They're proven winners. I'd like to think that Pearson is made of the same stuff.

If we do make it to Wembley, you can choose whether or not to go, but I reckon at least 40000 of our fans would make the trip. Some of them may even be tempted to regain the faith, which on yesterday's evidence is beginning to wear disturbingly thin.

With the losses that our chairman is being forced to underwrite this season, the financial rewards of a decent cup run (whatever the competition) should not be lightly spurned.

Incidentally Leeds (and previously Forest) have adopted an "only concentrate on the league" strategy in past seasons, and it hasn't worked.

[Daggers]

I don't see the JPT as being any more or less "Mickey Mouse" than the league we're currently in. I'd prefer not to be in either, but unfortunately the antics of your idol Mr Holloway played a large part in ensuring that's where we are.

I remember our last three Wembley visits, under a manager who unlike many of his Premier League counterparts believed it was possible to compete successfully on more than one front. He proved it could be done. So did Paul Ince last season.

They're proven winners. I'd like to think that Pearson is made of the same stuff.

If we do make it to Wembley, you can choose whether or not to go, but I reckon at least 40000 of our fans would make the trip. Some of them may even be tempted to regain the faith, which on yesterday's evidence is beginning to wear disturbingly thin.

With the losses that our chairman is being forced to underwrite this season, the financial rewards of a decent cup run (whatever the competition) should not be lightly spurned.

Incidentally Leeds (and previously Forest) have adopted an "only concentrate on the league" strategy in past seasons, and it hasn't worked.

As I said, you have your opinion and I don't agree with it.

[act smiley]

I can understand that completely, but isn't just a tiny bit of you a bit embarrased that were in this!!!??

Surely its more embarassing to be knocked out in the first round of something like this?

[lildave3]

I must say, I don't agree with the Daggers style '**** the cups' route. I love a good cup me.

[Fez of Mahrez]

I must say, I don't agree with the Daggers style '**** the cups' route. I love a good cup me.

Agree. When it comes down to it, each game should be the priority because fans have shown up expecting 100% effort. I would not be happy to see us go into the Fulham match (or, admittedly to a slightly lesser extent, Hartlepool) half-heartedly. We are in this league because of our poor performances last season in the league but now we're enjoying the winning mentality.

I'm not sure I'd even want to have traded in the Forest, Villa and Chelsea games from last season for survival. I'll remember those Stearman, Clemence, Campbell and Cort goals for the rest of my life (as well as the agony of Stoke) and that's what you go to football for.

Come what may, each game means everything. If we can beat Fulham on Wednesday, come Thursday morning I guarantee there's no way I'd sacrifice that chance. Our squad is big enough to cope with one or two injuries anyway.

I realise it isn't exactly up for debate anyway which is fair enough.

[Thracian]

Winning is the holy grail for sportsmen. Whether it's the training ground six-a-side, the card game on the coach or the next football fixture.

It's what you're there for and if the next match is a cup match against the local takeaway then that should be the priority and where 100% effort is focused.

It's not even a debate for me. To focus on winning is an attitude of mind that is paramount at a football club. Every player you sign should be a winner and it should be reflected in every part of his background and personality.

The very idea of playing any game for its own sake or simply for enjoyment is something for the schoolyard. It has nothing to do with being a professional sportsman. For them, wanting to win should be as much an instinct and a necessity as the breath of life.

[MC Prussian]

Three games into the new season and it does feel comforting, indeed. But then again, we're three games into the season and have 43 more ahead of us. One can only hope that with a decent run in League One as well as in both Cup competitions, the success will see more people regaining their faith in the team and the organization as a whole. Yes, it's been way too long since we had a decent side and yes, this one could be the start of something similar - albeit on a different (league) level.

Four away games now will certainly put the squad to an enormous test and I'd really like to see them getting something out of it. At least show Fulham what we're made of. I can live with a loss there. The three others, however, are a different piece of cake. Hartlepool away in the JPT should be doable, but we've never played them before, so anything can happen. Colchester can be beaten away, but are no easy opposition, either. I expect three points at Cheltenham.

That's it for the moment. Good day and good luck!

[Corky]

It's nice to be desperate for the final whistle, to leave the ground happy after a victory, and I've done it three times in two weeks.

I'm not getting excited yet, but it's pleasant to look at a league table for once and to see a young team full of passion.