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What do you think? Should we save players for Derby part II and risk Cup upset OR play our (*at least near) best team for both and take our chances?

Personally I'd take the risk of going out of FA Cup and rest most of the first team.

I agree.

Our 2nd string should beat scunthorpe and, more importantly, I want to go to Wembley!!

id defo play fringe players. if benjani, vieira and the like cant handle scunthorpe then they shouldnt be playing in the prem.

ireland needs games under his belt so id play him. i dont consider him a fringe player by the way.

Mike J wrote:id defo play fringe players. if benjani, vieira and the like cant handle scunthorpe then they shouldnt be playing in the prem.
ireland needs games under his belt so id play him. i dont consider him a fringe player by the way.

That's another good point. Although I fear that with our fringe players we actually might struggle to beat them.

I`d play Barry if Vieira`s fit for swamp. Give Sweep a run out for fitness levels. Petrov and Benjani. Sly at LB. Boyata for more games. Ned for experience at CB. Zab cos he never gets hurt and fill the rest in with kids. Forgot give Stevie a run out.

without a doubt we need to rest Bellers, Tevez, NDJ imho.

beyond that...we might give whomever our LB is a match off -- they might be likely to take it off if they are on the pitch, so might as well make it official.

Lastly, i might even put Taylor between the sticks and let Shay chill the fucl out for a bit, but that's a somewhat dangerous idea. Still, we will need a really fresh and focused Shay to go through to the final, so if i thought it would help i'd sit him down Sunday.

cheers

I'd add Kompany, Barry and SWP to the restees as well.

DoomMerchant wrote:without a doubt we need to rest Bellers, Tevez, NDJ imho.

beyond that...we might give whomever our LB is a match off -- they might be likely to take it off if they are on the pitch, so might as well make it official.

Lastly, i might even put Taylor between the sticks and let Shay chill the fucl out for a bit, but that's a somewhat dangerous idea. Still, we will need a really fresh and focused Shay to go through to the final, so if i thought it would help i'd sit him down Sunday.

cheers

NO.

That's one thing I would NOT do. Don't trust Taylor at all.

Some of the players need games imo; SWP, Ned, Ireland, Robinho. Also the back 4 haven't played together very often & are trying to learn a new system which was 5 yards too narrow v rags leading to Valencia getting too much space. We can practice it a bit v Scunthorpe ready for Tues. Some of the players can be rested after an hour.

I'd just drop Bellamy and de Jong. Maybe take Tevez off at half time, or start with Robinho instead.

I'd hate a defeat in this, knowing that if we don't get through on wednesday, we don't have a second bite at the apple.

Rest bellers, De Jong and Tezez on the bench, start Ireland, ned, Vieira boyata and last chance saloon for robhino.

Rest the best, and not just for the semi.... some congested fixtures coming up and the priority is top four.

Obviously some fans don't feel that way and giddiness is running riot, but FA Cup AT THE MOMENT is 3rd on our list.

If we can beat Boro away with that team, one or two additions should easily do the same to Scunny.

Fucking semi next week is giving me the runs and its only thursday.

Definitely rest Bellamy, Tevez, De Jong and Barry. Vieira should play if fit to get some match fitness, maybe sub him after an hour. I'd play richards as RB, Boyata and Neddie in the middle, Sly on the left, then Vieira in front of the back line, SWP and Zabba in midfield, Ireland behind the strikers that would be Robinho and Benjani (oh God...). Tevez to come on for the last twenty minutes to keep him sharp, same for Barry maybe, but I'm not sure. Kompany to come in Vieira's place after an hour or so, too, or maybe Weiss if SWP or Ireland get tired.

That'd be my plan provided that everything goes in our favour. Bellamy on the bench, ready to come on if needed, but hopefully not.

Fuck the FA Cup for the moment. We're 90 minutes from a final. No way should any of this coming Wednesday's starting XI be risked at the weekend. Imagine Tevez did a hammy, or Bellers his knee.

No, we need to prioritse Wednesday and make sure we have everyone available. The likes of Ireland and Ned need 90 minutes so give them a run out. Maybe SWP too.

--------------------------------------Taylor----------------------------------------

Vidal-------------------Boyata---------------------Onuoha-------------Sylvinho

---------------------------------------Vieira---------------------------------------

Wright-Phillips---------------------Ireland-------------------------------Petrov

------------------------Benjani---------------------Robinho----------------------

play same team that beat them 5-1 in the carling cup

I think Taylor in goal and Vidal as RB might be a bit extreme, xavi ;) But I do agree with your idea of completely resting who has to play on Wednesday, bar those who need match fitness like Stevie, SWP and Ned.

Give Weiss a run!

Voted for resting players as I believe we can stay strong. Going on what Bobby did at Boro there is plenty of scope for including players who didn't play and may not play next Weds, whilst still keeping up a strong side. The following could play:

Boyata - rest Ned's leg for OT if required
Robinho for Tevez
Petrov for SWP if still suffering
Benjani for Bellamy
Vieira for Barry
Ireland in there somewhere too

Sylvinho could also feature, but I'm assuming DeJong can run through brick walls every day! That lot on the bench in case it all goes tits up.

'Resting' one of the best goalies in the world (and our current captain) for Taylor is pure insanity. How tired can a goalie get?

Pick the team for Wednesday...That game is crucial...Give them ALL a rest. Unless there are players like Ireland or Vieira who need a run out.
Even with the injury list, we have a big enough squad to deal with Scunny. It is a great chance to ask some of those kids if they are good enough.

The one thing we will need on Wednesday apart from skill is fresh legs and fresh minds. The whole point of building a big squad was because of situations like this.

Play the strongest team we can.
We have a big enouh squad for it.
If we have our sights on the treble or at least a cup double we cant take any risks along the way and have to make sure we are going to beat them.
Getting Scunny is about as easy as we could have wished for so we should grab the chance thats been presented to us.
We have enough coming back to stuff them rag cunts next week even if we pick up a few injuries against Scunny.