The "FA Weakened Team Cup" seems to be what it's all about among the big clubs these days.

Not sure why Leeds see themselves as a big club though, unless the policy is to mirror the arrogance of their delusional fanbase.

They aren't big enough or good enough to be fielding reserves in the FA Cup.

I think you're the only delusional one if you think it's only "big teams" that put out weakened teams.

Don't have to be a big team to field a weakened team, just have more important targets whether that be promotion, relegation or Europe.

I can understand teams with bigger aims fielding weaker sides. what I don't get are mid table premier league sides doing it. if I was a west brom, everton fan etc i'd be livid if my team did that

Rather than deflecting attention on to what other far bigger clubs than Leeds might be doing, I'd be focusing upon why I'm not livid about my team effectively throwing an FA Cup fixture and why I've become such a pathetic excuse of a fan who is satisfied with a defeat against non-league opposition.

Yeah I agree, some of those teams in that 7th-13th gap really should be doing more in the cup.

your determined to get a bite today

No, it's a reasonable question.

Once upon a time, you would have been livid over such a result.

But not now.

No passion whatsoever.

Just a detached shrug.

I'd guess at the start of the season winning promotion would be top priority by some distance. Second would be a good cup run.

If we finish third and fail in the playoffs, then any cup run which distracts us would not be worth it.

We've had a good cup run already in the league cup, the fa cup clashes with a more key part of the season. In reality Leeds couldn't have won the cup. Promotion is a very real possibility

I;m not unhappy about the result. I love the cup and this is the beauty of it.
i'm really not happy about the team. he could have picked a stronger one and rested people. i'm also not happy he has, as you say, thrown it.
the proof of the pudding will be the next two games, Blackburn and Huddersfield away. win both and he's, almost, justified it. lose both and he'll look an idiot.
maybe I'm just getting older. and a voyeur!

Ateotd promotion is the bigger prize by a long shot and far more realistic to achieve. If we were lingering down in 13t/14th with little chance of the playoffs but a nice gap away from relegation (as Leeds have been in recent seasons) then I'd have been disappointed with the result as a nice cup run would be a bonus.

It's a long season and there's a good chance Leeds' will be extended by at least 2 (hopefully 3) games, the less games the better. Jansson picked up a yellow card in the Cambridge cup game and thus missed the Barnsley defeat, we might've gotten something out of that game if he played and that could prove the difference after 46 games.

I actually backed Monk today with his "approach in terms of changes" it was WHO came in i disagreed with though Vann is better than Mckay Wilks & Stokes are better than Whitehouse & id have had O'kane or Vieira in CM with Phillips because Grimes is garbage.
Sutton deserved it we were p!$h poor & agree with Tad next 2 Away games are more important.

Agree on Grimes he's been awful since he joined.

I see no beauty or magic in any cup competition when results are determined by an utter lack of disrespect, appetite and motivation for winning, which surely ought to be the very essence of any sporting contest.

You're welcome to that crap.

I fully agree with your stance on this but then, that's the money driven greed machine that is the football world of today. and you can see why the clubs field weakened teams (even if you don't agree) when Champions league football is worth many millions in revenue, finishing top 4 is almost a must these days for the elite clubs.

Then you have promotion and relegation teams fighting over many more millions for premier league status, that is sadly far more valuable than a few grand and a nice cup run. Many of us will remember the days when the FA cup was the pinnacle of the season (in many ways like the CC) but it hasn't been that way for a good 20 years or more now.

The point about mid table premiership teams is a good one though, i see no reason why these clubs are not making a cup run a priority... if i was a fan of said clubs i would be pretty upset if we bombed out playing the reserves.

All this said, we are still likely to see two big premiership sides fighting it out in the final as usual.

for me the champions league has ruined domestic football.certainly in England.
big clubs, huge clubs, are more concerned with finishing fourth rather than trying to win anything.