TyldesleyLatic

To be honest I know of a few blokes who have been there as tourists & got a kickin off some locals but when I went I didn’t have any problems.
We were gonna watch Krakowia who played whilst we were there but got advised that it’d be advisable not to
In my brief time watching England abroad I also spoke to plenty of fellas about their trips & there were some horror stories about Poland. One particular lad who’d been all over the shop (who was a city fan & who my brother-in-law [also a city fan] was aware of as someone more than willing to get “stuck in”) said he’d never set foot in the country again as a football fan & that Krakow was worst of all
IF latics were to get in europe a nice leisurely trip to Belgium, Holland, France, germany or Scandanavia wouldn’t go amiss first time out

Bangor?[/quote]
Not on the first date.

Prestatyn?[/quote]

Or just give her a cheap Rhyl?[/quote]

Crap puns aside ;) former Latics mon Greg Strong is the gaffer at Rhyl – They’ve also been knocked out of the Welsh Cup & got booted out of the WPL a couple of years ago so Latics won’t be playing them :P

I’d take anywhere in Europe to be honest even if it is just for one game although the quicker & cheaper to get there the better as I’m not taking out a second mortgage to go to some 3rd round qualifier in Kazahkstan [sic] or the east coast of Russia
Krakow is a nice city to visit as a tourist but I’m led to believe by many that it’s a nightmare as a football fan.

If Chelsea beat Bucharest then from what I can see the only options open to the FA are 2 of those already mentioned:
1) cancel a Premier league game (FA Cup takes priority with fixtures)
2) have the replay on of the semi-final dates (the stadium would still more than likely be full for the midweek semi-final anyway)

I’m far from our Bobby’s biggest fan but (taking his first season as a starting point) hasn’t Latics end of season points tally increased every season he has been in charge.
Whether this trend will continue this season remains to be seen but I’d call an increased points tally a sign of progress

Now you are just being pessimistic.

Games are played on the pitch not on paper.[/quote]

Me pessimistic? That’s slander that is!!

1) The team selection argument I don’t think is hard to understand. I don’t expect everyone/anyone to agree with it but there’s nothign not to understand in saying that if a manager makes it clear they won’t be doing everything they can to win the game then I won’t pay to watch it. I don’t agree with it
2) No I don’t think he’s using mind games. Latics got to the quarter final of the carling cup the other year & played Arsenal & he did exactly the same then. Bobby has nailed his colours to the mast on cup team selection over the last 3 & a half years & I can’t see him changing now
3) If he thought that mixing the team up to the extent that I think he will would beat a champions league chasing side then I would be asking serious questions as to why he doesn’t play that side every week!! :huh: :huh:
4) I’m sure Dave Whelan would love Latics to get to Wembley & said as much before Latics game against Bradford in the capital one cup but it didn’t stop Bobby putting out a weakened side (albeit against much weaker opposition). I also think that as much as Dave Whelan would love a trip to Wembley & there’s no doubt that the further a club gets in the cups the more money it gets, Whelan is also aware that it is buttons compared to the TV money a top flight club will receive next year & Martinez uses the argument that playing his strongest side in the cups will have an adverse reaction on league performances & results. he trusts his managers judgement
5) You are right in that the only person who knows is the manager himself but I can only go off what he has stated
6) What I am saying is that there is a reason as to why a lot of the players who are likely to start on Saturday are not in the starting premier league XI & that is because they aren’t as good. Again as with point 3) if Martinez thinks they are more capable of getting a result than his 1st choicers I’d ask why he hasn’t been playing them more often. so in answer to your question if Bobby had a different selection policy I would be going

Calm down ya mard @r$e get!! ;)
I’m not sure how I brushed over what you said (presuming you mean the “name your team” bit) when I said “My starting XI wouldn’t be a whole lot different to the one which started against Liverpool” and would have thought that “Saturday(s) performances of the likes of McCarthy, McArthur, Di Santo & Boyce can be put down to off days. Same of Caldwell if I’m honest. Al Habsi has consistantly under-performed & needs dropping IMO” was pretty self-explanatory.
However, if you need it spelling out in black & white I would go for the following team:
GK – Robles (dunno if that’s how you spell his name)
RWB – Boyce
LWB – Beausejour
CH – Figueroa
CH – Scharner
CH – Alcaraz (to get his match fitness back – I’d have no issue putting Caldwell in)
CM – McCarthy
CM – McArthur
RAM – Di Santo
CF – Kone
LAM – Maloney

You’re right, I think that team would probably get “bummed by upper premier league opposition” as you put it but IMO it stands more chance of getting a positive result than the one we’re possibly more likely to see:
GK – Robles
RB – Stam
LB – Figueroa
CH – Alcaraz
CH – Golobart
RCM – Espinoza
CM – McArthur
LCM – Fyvie
RAM – Gomez
CF – Henriquez
LAM – McManaman
To me a line up like that just screams “we’re not bothered about the cup” & I think it’s wrong. At the end of the day though it’s Bobby’s choice & a manager lives & dies by his decisions, just that my original reason for posting was that a) you can criticise the performance of Saturday & even certain players but also acknowledge that it is still our strongest side & b) as much as I love Wigan Athletic if a manager treats any competition as less of a priority as another then I will treat it as less of a priority when it comes to deciding what i spend my money on & I won’t go