Dark Munster

Not to mention MP would probably play 3 or 4 donkeys in the league cup final and FA cup quarter final.

For once I have to agree.

Thread closed. I wish.

Liverpool have CL qualification as a top priority (even an outside chance of winning the league). We have nothing important to play for in the league. HTH

No one said we would. But anyone with half a brain knows we would have had a much better chance of at least drawing, especially if we'd rested a few key players against Hull.

Defeat when you play your strongest team and try your best = disappointed but not angry Defeat when you don't play your strongest team (with no relegation etc. to worry about) = f**king pissed off HTH

We played with passion against Hull. To answer the OP's question, this ^. Plus a public apology from MP, and for him to pay out of his pocket the expenses for the 900 or so fans who made the long journey up north to watch that shite. His bonus for finishing 8th should cover it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/fa-cup/10640607/Sunderland-v-Southampton-FA-Cup-fifth-round-live.html "Everything that is wrong with the modern day FA Cup came together in one utterly dreadful encounter at the Stadium of Light. "Sunderland made nine changes to their team, and Southampton five. You could perhaps forgive the Mackems, with a League Cup final coming up and a hellish Premier League fixture list over the next few weeks as they attempt to avoid relegation. But what exactly are Southampton protecting? Safe from relegation, unlikely to compete for European places in the league, and with a quality starting 11 capable of having a really good go at winning this competition. You know, winning a cup, winning a medal? Remember that? "Weakened team, limp performance, Sunderland's keeper Ustari had one save to make in the first half, and Rickie Lambert missed from a yard with what will no doubt become a YouTube sensation, but that was it. Now, presumably, the Saints can fully focus on the really important business of finishing midtable in the Premier League. "

Shame, Jos (and the other donkeys) don't deserve that. The full fury should be directed at MP, and MP alone.

Respect, St Marco. All those defending MP and the team selection should read this.

We now have a better chance of finishing above Newcastle.

Yes. Against Hull.

Of course, but that's not the point. We would have had a much better chance of winning/drawing. The team that played against a none-too-shabby Hull first team on Tuesday put in a performance that was light years ahead of the weakened one playing against Sunderland's reserves.

Bollocks. http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?48998-Our-match-of-the-season-is-next-Saturday

I can. He should've rested Fonte (and many others) against Hull. Agreed with the rest of your post.

Sunderland fan 1: Lack of respect for us as opponents aside, I think they have a right to be ****ed off that their team isn't taking the cups seriously. They are the ideal side to be going for it in the cups - not going down, not going to finish top 6, decent side on their day. This would be be our best season in decades if we were comfortably ninth while having these cup runs, and conversely we'd be unhappy if we're in that position and not genuinely challenging for trophies we had a realistic chance of winning Sunderland fan 2: Agreed. Not going out to win the cup is shocking for a club like Southampton who are totally safe and have no other trophy to play for. Shows a lack of respect for the competition and the fans. We had a reasonable excuses for playing a weaker team, they didn't. Their next game isn't for 8 days. Can't argue with any of that.

NA had promotion or PL survival to worry about. So yes, it's just down to Poch.

I beg to differ. Mods, how about a poll? Should the starting 11 against Sunderland have started against Hull, and vice versa?

Sunderland had every reason to rest 9 players: they are fighting for their PL lives.

Fonte was injured - Debatable, but even if true he wouldn't be if he (along most of the others) had been rested in the meaningless Hull match. Our midfield has played 3 times in a week - see above. Wanyama was starting every game over Cork - Cork is currently playing brilliantly; big Vic is still finding form after a long lay-off (and was hauled off at half time after playing crap in his first game back). There is no excuse for any downgrades for this match.

Post 54:

This. Excuses given so far: - Some of the poor darlings were too tired to play Tuesday and today. Fine, then play today's team against Hull (who cares if we lost) and play the strongest (and freshest) 11 today in the match that has any meaning. Many of us were arguing for this before Tuesday. I was concerned when I saw Tuesday's starting 11, and dismayed when I saw today's. It was all so predictable. - The 11 selected today should have been strong enough to see off a weakened Sunderland. They didn't did they? Yes, we had some of the first 11 in the team, but there were enough donkeys to drag the whole team down, from Kelvin who booted virtually every ball into touch, to a midfield without JC and MS that couldn't string 2 passes together. With this selection MP didn't guarantee a loss, but he did greatly increase the chances. Who can argue that Tuesdays team would've had a much greater chance of winning? We're not going to win the Cup anyway. Wigan won it last year. Citeh and Arse/Liverpool have bigger fish to fry. Looks who's in the last 8, Sunderland, some lower divisions teams ... including bloody Wigan. - We should concentrate on finishing 7th instead of 8th. The league is more important than the Cup: we may even finish ahead of Manure! F**k off.

Yes indeed. And MP should pay each of them from his own pocket.