JPT - The good, bad and ugly

The JohnStone's Paint Trophy starts tomorrow with a home tie against York. Are you excited? Do you think its a waste of time? You'd rather us win a corner in a reserve game than a match in the JPT?

It seems several of us are in two minds as to whether this cup is a waste of time or an opportunity. Here's a summary of the Pros and Cons:

The pros:
- Going on a cup run would build confidence and momentum

- Extra games means our still very new team gets more time to gel. We'd rather make mistakes and learn from them in the cup then in the league.

- The 'no more than 5 changes from the last league game line-up' rule ensures games will be competitive.

- Even though winnings may be small, revenue from several home ties could be good. Remember we only play north east teams in the first two rounds, so a win tomorrow tonight could lead to a home cup tie against the likes of Sheff U, Doncaster, Bradford, Chesterfield or Scunny. From the third round its ties against northern teams, so we could still draw against a local rival. Attendances might be low in the early rounds, but should we get to the 3rd and 4th round (Northern Quarter and Semi-finals), interest would pick up.

- A two legged semi-final, with a trip to Wembley around the corner, could see us draw a very big home crowd.

- A day out at Wembley is always fun and a share of the ticket sales is up for grabs even if we lose.

- Getting to a final and lifting a trophy would cement several young red fan's life time allegiance.

- This is a cup we could realistically win.



The Cons
- Getting to the latter stages could be a distraction from our league campaign

- More games = more injuries

- Fixture build up could lead to very tired players in the later stages of the season. The no more than 5 changes rule could make resting players difficult.


Personally I hope we give this a go, the attendance will be low tomorrow night, but it could turn into something exciting and after 8 years of relegation fights I think we've all earned a bit of excitement for a change


What do you think? Should we go for it or not?

 

I'm going to the match tomorrow night and am hoping to see a number our squad (eg. Cole, Hemmings, McHale, Boakye-Yiadom, Bree) get an extended run out.

 

100% agree

A player could get injured any time during training. So doesn't worry me one bit.

I want us to win every game (thats what being a football fan is all about isnt it)

Ill be there tomorrow and would love to see how many change there mind if we were to get to Wembley

 

You've sold it to me. Looking forward to it now. Great post.

 

Wilson's post match comments under he isn't looking to make changes for changes sake so should be a positive outcome.

I've often thought how up would I be for Wembley and a JPT final? I'd go not least as no London game this year and a real chance of a trophy.

6th place come May or final appearance? What would you take here and now?

 

6th place without a doubt, I'd also take 1st and a cup final win

I don't believe tomorrow night will affect our league campaign due to us having 10 days rest after the game before our next match, so we might as well go for it against York.

If we win and then draw Sheff U in the second round Danny would have to take it serious and then after stuffing the blunts we're in the 'area' quarter-finals and all of a sudden everyone is thinking we could win this.

 

Well summed up. Personally I think the pro's far outweigh the con's so I am hoping we win Tuesday, and go on a run in both the league and cup to breed a bit more confidence in both the players and supporters.

 

I'm in two minds about whether to travel across from Manchester. Really can't decide.

What with the Donny game postponed and not being able to make the MK Dons game I may just make the effort.

If we lose I'll be mad.

 

Play-offs without any hesitation. The league has to be a priority this season and if the JPT starts to get in the way I know what I would sacrifice.

 

No interest in it at all.
It's just another game that's a drain on supporters finances hence the reason it will be poorly attended.
Looking at it from a different prospective it's more game time to allow the squad to develop and also fine tune areas where we appear to be struggling.