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Big games in the League in February. FGR and Barnet away on Trophy dates, Bristol Rovers home in between (and Braintree at Home) .

Do we really want to still be in the Trophy - February looks very important for promotion! It's not just what team we play but the importance of the matches that will be moved to midweek in a crowded March/April.

Being a Town fan i want us to Win every game we go into , so i guess the answer is YES !!

Can`t say for sure, would not be the end of civilisation as we know it

I want us to do well and win it but through playing mainly yoof and reserves. Unlikely I know....

Like most I want Town to win every game.

Play to win! League is far more important though.

If we don't sacrifice first team players yes.The trophy could be good for giving youngsters a chance

The flip side is what if team we are due to play are still in the trophy???

I can't believe that Fgr could still (AGAIN) be moved to a midweek game!

FA Trophy - Practice games for fringe and youth players please - sorry, this has got to be a season where the be all and end all is promotion, and if we have a cup run, please let it be in the real one - the FA Cup, where we could draw some REAL revenue from a larger league team, if possible, to bolster a promotion run.

The trophy games ruined our promotion run last year, leading to postponements, suspensions and back log of games which was no good leading to a play off situation.

Count them as reserve run-outs rather than full squad games.

I wonder how our promotion rivals will treat the games ??

Unless some have larger squad numbers than us??

I hope we get Barnet away in the 1st round and play a 2nd XI.

We can 'concentrate on the league' without having to lose to someone I've never heard of and they can stay in it!

surely the title should be 'DO WE STILL WANT TO BE IN THE TROPHY'?

answer to both titles is the same anyway - no & no & no & no & no

Last night we had Bignott, Hannah, Neilson, Pittman, Paddy, Winfarrah, Humble, Doig and Walker who didn't start or feature. We have enough there with a sprinkling of youth and Brown will be ready for the first round for a run out to field a semi decent side. If we win great, if we don't then it's no big deal

Quoted from acko338

FA Trophy - Practice games for fringe and youth players please - sorry, this has got to be a season where the be all and end all is promotion, and if we have a cup run, please let it be in the real one - the FA Cup, where we could draw some REAL revenue from a larger league team, if possible, to bolster a promotion run.

The trophy games ruined our promotion run last year, leading to postponements, suspensions and back log of games which was no good leading to a play off situation.

Count them as reserve run-outs rather than full squad games.

I wonder how our promotion rivals will treat the games ??

Unless some have larger squad numbers than us??

We don't have a reserve side so any side would have to include squad players. Certainly some of the squad who aren't getting regular games could be utilised such as Walker, Winfarrah, Humble. Inevitably whatever 11 we put out will include an element of first choice players.

NO
I think you are all missing the main issue here, which is the games take place on a Saturday and the further we progress the more league fixtures are postponed because the FA trophy takes priority over league games.
So if the fringe.youth players win, its another league game that has to be rearranged in the week. Look at last year the other teams were less than helpful when agreeing a new date
So our starting 11 could sat in the stands on a Saturday watching the fringe players, when we should be playing a league game.
Also has financial impact, small gates on a Saturday for a FA Trophy, reduced attendances midweek for league games.

I for one would not be bothered if we lost in the first round of the Trophy.

Let's forget about the Trophy and just concentrate on winning this league,

Plus getting a big club in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

Quoted from The Yard Dog

NO
I think you are all missing the main issue here, which is the games take place on a Saturday and the further we progress the more league fixtures are postponed because the FA trophy takes priority over league games.
So if the fringe.youth players win, its another league game that has to be rearranged in the week. Look at last year the other teams were less than helpful when agreeing a new date
So our starting 11 could sat in the stands on a Saturday watching the fringe players, when we should be playing a league game.
Also has financial impact, small gates on a Saturday for a FA Trophy, reduced attendances midweek for league games.

Or they could also all be sat at home doing absolutely nothing because the team we were suppose to be playing are still in the FAT. Resulting in no gate on a Saturday & reduced attendances midweek.
Play to win & deal with the consequences.

Quoted from MrsMariner

Or they could also all be sat at home doing absolutely nothing because the team we were suppose to be playing are still in the FAT. Resulting in no gate on a Saturday & reduced attendances midweek.
Play to win & deal with the consequences.

Exactly! I have made this point before.

Quoted from Youngy

Last night we had Bignott, Hannah, Neilson, Pittman, Paddy, Winfarrah, Humble, Doig and Walker who didn't start or feature. We have enough there with a sprinkling of youth and Brown will be ready for the first round for a run out to field a semi decent side. If we win great, if we don't then it's no big deal

Throw in Hamish Watson (possibly) to lead the line:

                                Macca

Bignot          Humble          Doig           Winfarrah

          Walker          Brown         Paddy

                           Nielson

                   Watson         Hannah

Not perfect, but not too bad. (Wouldn't risk Pittman)

I'd be happier if we go out in the 1st round - this season may be our best chance to get out of this
(expletive deleted) league with its (even stronger expletive deleted) referees.

PH might get headhunted by a big club like Scunthorpe when they discover Robins is cr@p by the
end of the season.... (sneaky2)

The FAT should not be on our priority list.

It depends what our ambitions are. If we have ambitions of going for the title then we must do our best to get knocked out in the first round by playing the youth team. We struggled last season and we have an even smaller squad this year. We played 10 games from the 1st of April to the 1st of May last season. I am begging you Mr Hurst, please don't go for the trophy.

Quoted from 1739

It depends what our ambitions are. If we have ambitions of going for the title then we must do our best to get knocked out in the first round by playing the youth team. We struggled last season and we have an even smaller squad this year. We played 10 games from the 1st of April to the 1st of May last season. I am begging you Mr Hurst, please don't go for the trophy.

But we were well away from auto promotion in April but still able to rest players for our last away game in the league so I dont think it made one iota of difference to our final position.

I've no worries about cheering on a "2nd XI" team to Wembley per se.
Many fringe players need game time anyway so I hope we progress.

However there's also potential fixture backlog/clashing to consider.
There was another thread that went into great detail about it all.
If I remember correctly, rounds 1 and 2 are etched into the calendar (no conflicts) anyway so no issues til round 3 ?

Quoted from The Yard Dog

NO
I think you are all missing the main issue here, which is the games take place on a Saturday and the further we progress the more league fixtures are postponed because the FA trophy takes priority over league games.
So if the fringe.youth players win, its another league game that has to be rearranged in the week. Look at last year the other teams were less than helpful when agreeing a new date
So our starting 11 could sat in the stands on a Saturday watching the fringe players, when we should be playing a league game.
Also has financial impact, small gates on a Saturday for a FA Trophy, reduced attendances midweek for league games.

I assume by " fringe youth players " you mean 1st and 2nd year YT players. It could be good to " blood" some of these players but the downside is that if they come against a seasoned ex professional and get played of the park. This could put their development back months and even damage their confidence. It is a fine line between bringing a player on and exposing him to some of the extreme harsh realities of professional football.

Simple play some yt and players not near the first team..

If we get knocked out in round one then so be it.

Dont even think of playing first teamers imo.

Quoted from rancido

I assume by " fringe youth players " you mean 1st and 2nd year YT players. It could be good to " blood" some of these players but the downside is that if they come against a seasoned ex professional and get played of the park. This could put their development back months and even damage their confidence. It is a fine line between bringing a player on and exposing him to some of the extreme harsh realities of professional football.

Well it was generally said in the Lincs Trophy that some of the older professionals inclusion helped to bed in the youngsters.
Personally I thought it was too strong at the time (by risking injury) but can appreciate the logic.
I don't think we can go with 11 youth teamers in the Trophy anyway can we ?

In any case to your point, I think it depends how you look at it.
You could well be right but the counter argument is they'll have to get used to the tough realities of professional football anyway and could even benefit from a negative experience.
I guess you're probably right however, although they're gonna have to show resilience (if they want a future) at some point.

Here's the thing .............If you want Town to lose in the FAT then i wouldnt expect you to go to any of the FAT matches because that wouldnt make any sense . At a guess , if drawn at home , the crowd would be 1000 ? therefore a third of Towns loyal support want us to progress? If we get to the Semi then i would guess at 4500? i think you know where this is going........................

Also the money gained however small is helping keep the club afloat

Quoted from fleabag1970

Also the money gained however small is helping keep the club afloat

A good point that maybe applies to the MP highlights thread too.

It will good to see what team Barnet put out on Saturday against Wycombe I'm sure Martin Allen will put a strong team out against Wycombe who are top of League 2, he will say go out and do a job on them.

I personally want to see us out of the FA Trophy don't think its going to happen but PH has shown he wants to go far in all trophies and its been a issue in the past but for me i would like to see what teams from Barnet all the way down to Torquay in 12th with two games in hand do in the FA Trophy and FA Cup because all teams are capable of at least play offs from 1st to 12th could go on a run that Mansfield or Luton have done.

Quoted from jonnyboy82

Simple play some yt and players not near the first team..

If we get knocked out in round one then so be it.

Dont even think of playing first teamers imo.

Disagree. Gotta play the shop and let him take ever penalty and free kick around the box. Shoot on site policy for him......../

When is the draw btw??

I dread to think the reaction on here if the Shop was injured playing an FAT game.He should be kept under wraps for the league and FAC only.

Quoted from jonnyboy82

Simple play some yt and players not near the first team..

If we get knocked out in round one then so be it.

Dont even think of playing first teamers imo.

Can you show me an eleven plus subs that consists purely of YT and players not near the first team?

Quoted from 120797

Well it was generally said in the Lincs Trophy that some of the older professionals inclusion helped to bed in the youngsters.
Personally I thought it was too strong at the time (by risking injury) but can appreciate the logic.
I don't think we can go with 11 youth teamers in the Trophy anyway can we ?

In any case to your point, I think it depends how you look at it.
You could well be right but the counter argument is they'll have to get used to the tough realities of professional football anyway and could even benefit from a negative experience.
I guess you're probably right however, although they're gonna have to show resilience (if they want a future) at some point.

Fair point but it could completely destroy a young forwards confidence if he came up against someone like McNulty!

I simply think we have to try and win this competition, no am not deluded and haven't forgotten just how important gaining promotion is, before anyone starts. It is just that it brings in vital revenue to the club if we were lucky enough to get to wembley again, and as the club have just published the accounts for last season we can all see that the club is losing money hand over fist right now, and that was on the back of a fairly successful season. We simply need the money it could bring in. Another plus point is that it will give valuable playing time for some of the first team squad and a little chance to rotate/rest one or two but wholesale changes NO, not for me. A winning mentality is a must to breed confidence and this competition could help with that . Anything that can raise the profile of the club is crucial and a wembley appearance and a trophy will do that. There are no guarantees to promotion and while we are all desperate for this we have to face facts, only two teams out of realistically 7 or 8 are going to achieve this. Try and win the thing town.

Quoted from rancido

Can you show me an eleven plus subs that consists purely of YT and players not near the first team?

I said play a team of yt and fringe players not playing at the minute.

Mckeown
walker
Humble
Doig
Bignot
Winfarrah
venney
mclaughlin
neilson
hannah
pittman

subs to be any you want from the current first 11.

This competition needs no importance from us and should be treated accordingly.

The fa cup and the league is our bread and butter

a simple no from me, too many games, too few players, too many injury prone. simply not important enough in my book. not even bothered if we go out next round; a repeat of all those back-logged games last year? no thanks

You are all (most) missing the point. If we are still in the Trophy in February, even without a replay it will mean 3 very important Saturday league games postponed and moved midweek. Barnet and FGR away would be better played on a Saturday when we have not played Tuesday Saturday on the trot for a few weeks!