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Originally Posted by demonrail666
It's a case of either 'another reason why the FA Cup is so special' or yet more ammunition for those who think too many teams now see it as a distraction so field second string sides (albeit still usually better than their full strength lower league opposition). No player makes FA Cup success a condition for moving to or staying at a club. Lower league clubs are now more than ever motivated by promotion to the next league or avoiding the drop to the one below. At the top level, CL qualification and the prem title is all (even the UEFA cup is generally seen by clubs as too great a strain on resources to really encourage them to participate) while those at the bottom half of the prem are in full on survival mode just trying to stay there. So for those, too, the FA Cup becomes a distraction. It's a competition that evokes more innocent times that've since been replaced by the logic of hard business. Every fan wants their side to win it but I suspect most would sacrifice it if they felt it hindered their chances in other areas. Seeing West Ham edge ever closer to the end of season relegation battle, I was quietly relieved when MU knocked us out, knowing we could ill afford the juggling act with our squad that'd be necessary to fight two battle fronts given how difficult we're finding it with just one. Or am I just being horribly cynical?
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All the major league teams who lost had their best squads out so I don't think the managers were looking at it like a distraction.
For me it seemed like the 'smaller' teams had the bite and certainly more will to win and it showed.