Legod Third Coming

Ah. Here's my take on your second point: QPR Manager = Redknapp Chris Samba agent = Willy Mackay by any chance? Just a wild guess...

I'm willing to bet the answer is irrelevant as the CL didn't exist when it was called the Rumbelow's Cup - might be wrong. I'm not a football historian.

I can't be arsed with this debate again... Journalist has contacts. Contacts give stories. Contacts are: 1. Player. 2. Agent. 3. Football Club PR. They don't make anything up. They report what someone tells them. Someone with a motivation.

Correct. Which is why they didn't join Wigan right? We're agreed. Because we finished higher than Wigan they joined us. So they joined a team higher up the football league than a cup winner.

Did they? Says who? Of course playing a game rather than being on the bench might also come into it. But I can't believe many agents take a check of who won last year's Capital One/Rumbelows/Milk/Coca-Cola/Worthington's Cup before they have a little shufty at the EPL table do you? Seriously?

Mainly yes. League position dictates budget. Budget dictates salary. Pretty simple.

Bookies make mistakes. They under-rate us and our manager. What price we are makes not one iota of difference to where we will finish. I don't expect us to finish 4th, but if we are trying to do so, I understand and support that decision totally.

The same bookies who went 9/1 after Arsenal got thumped by Aston Villa? Never wrong bookies. Cue Card 10/11 favourite - third. As I know to my cost. I backed us at 16/1 to win the Championship. We missed out by one fecking point.

How much money do we get for winning the Capital One Cup? And how much would we get from one season in the Champion's League? I don't make the rules but I did get a B at O-Level maths and know that £30,40,50, 60m? is worth a bit more than whatever we have just missed out on tonight... This isn't deviating at all from common sense. It's looking at the reality of the modern game and understanding that Arsenal are a club with no debt who spent £40m on Ozil. If we could sneak into 4th place it would be absolutely incredible.

Haha! Good chuckle at that - touché... You know the point I make. One 4th place finish will not make this club. But unlikely to do us too much harm wouldn't you agree? Set the tongues wagging at UEFA. Ooo look at them, who do they think they are? The next Porto? The new Schalke? Maybe. Maybe not. But a darned sight easier to persuade Shaw and JPW to resist the lure of Arsenal's agents... No harm in being more ambitious than joining the illustrious ranks of Leicester City...

I don't believe they're mutually exclusive either but the depth of our squad makes it incredibly tough to do both - that's what tonight proved. There would have been anarchy if Shaw picked up a knock in a game like tonight, I'm sure. What I find quite strange is this same mentality that we had when we were a different club with different ambitions. I don't believe our Chairman views cups as the measure of success for this club. Everything he says, everything he does is focused on making us a competitive club in this league - really competitive. I don't doubt he has sat MP down and mapped out his ambition to qualify for Europe (or more). I don't know whether he'll succeed or fail but it's incredibly exciting to be a part of a club that has serious aspirations.

Not what I said. I said they club may well be targeting a 4th place finish and if they are, they have 100% my support in that. What's obvious from tonight is that we place a higher priority on the league than the COC. And I still have no idea who won it last year, nor care...

I have no idea where we will finish, but I'm happy to take the same view as Arsene Wenger. We don't have the depth of squad like Chelsea, Citeh and United to play a second string team that is easily better than most other teams' first 11. We appear to be prioritising the league over the COC. I don't have a problem with that because it spells our ambition. We might have targeted the Cup, won it and finished 7th and lots of fans would say we'd had a good season. But given a choice, I'll take 4th and the financial impact of that every time... So my point is, there are (I am sure) lots of fans like me who would love a cup win but value CL qualification far more highly than the cup success.

You think Arsenal and Spurs fans would prefer to win this cup than finish 4th? Knowing that winning this cup means jack ship in the scheme of things, whereas finishing 4th means competing at the highest level possible and providing a financial platform for the club that will, eventually, result in much more success? Football is a financial business. I loved a day out at Wembley for the JPT - FWIW I think it reminded us fans we COULD win, be winners. But I loved more going from playing Leyton Orient to coming away from Anfield with three points, Lambert turning out for England, and seeing the likes of Shaw and JWP STAY with this club and play for this club. But each to their own...

We can beat them and will. I don't hold any truck with that argument postulated about it being tough to win the Cup. Truth is we're putting CL qualification as an objective higher than some tin pot trophy. Who won the Capital One Cup last year? Exactly...

The problem with you unbelievers is that every time Cortese delivers what he promised you go looking for more proof the earth is still flat. We're on the up old boy. Enjoy it!

Speak for yourself! I want a trip to the fecking NOU CAMP not north London...

Doesn't matter. If he sold a couple of hundred thousand shirts and got us some coverage. That is the ONLY reason EPL clubs buy Asian players...

His vision is really first rate. He played one superb cross pass tonight that I don't think a lot of other players would even have seen, let alone hit. I'm annoyed about tonight but if it helps bring players like him and Chambers through to the first team, we're doing the same as Arsenal and I can't fault that too much...

So factually, we are sixth (six points off the top, 1 point from second). Factually we have the best defence in the EPL. Factually only Roma have a better defence in the whole of Europe. I'm over it thanks.

We've won more trophies than Arsenal or Spurs in the last 5 years. FACT!

In a false position? Funny, I thought the reason we were where we are was we had the second best defence in the whole of Europe??

Personally, I don't see why we shouldn't target higher than 7th. What's wrong with aspiring? We've proven we're a match for the club in second (we beat them at their place). We got a point at Old Trafford (ok they're not so hot this season as in season's past). I DETEST playing a second string team in any game but I sympathise with a manager who has to try somehow to see who else is good enough to challenge for the first team...

What I want is players who really make a point when they get their chance and he hasn't. He's better than tonight (agree it's tough when you haven't been playing). The point I was making is that he gave away a poor and unnecessary free kick which combined with my other points led to a sloppy goal...

I'll tell you how. First Jack Cork - what the hell has happened to him? Shadow of the player from last season. Terrible worthless foul to give away. Fox, who exactly was he marking on the free kick? Kelvin - love him but ROOTED to his line on the header across. If he comes out and lifts his arms up - guess what - he's taller than everyone else in the box!! Which is why he don't play much at this level... The second goal happens when you're all out for the equaliser.