Reading fans have been having their say on Paul Ince's rotation warning ahead of the FA Cup third round clash with Watford.
Speaking after the 1-0 defeat to West Brom on Monday, the two-time Cup winner revealed that he was 'not going fully' for the competition this year, but insists he will not direspect the fans either.
A contentious talking-point amongst Royals fans on social media, some agree that it is not a priority this season, but others are miffed that they are paying a regular price to watch fringe players.
Take a look and make up your own mind.
Unwanted distraction and extra games that we seriously don’t need. Imagine playing the first team and picking up more injuries, we have zero resources to bring in replacements.
— Royals Stu (@RoyalStu1871) January 4, 2023
Players looked knackered on Monday. Absolutely no problem with 11 changes for me. Cup runs are nice, but our squad is simply not big enough to prioritise it this season imo. If the kids can get us through a round or two then we can re look at it.
— Trenchy (@AdamHumphries96) January 4, 2023
Spot on from Ince imo. The Cup is frankly pointless to us this year, survival is where it's at.
— Kieran Campbell (@10000miles_away) January 4, 2023
I’m expecting changes and I’m not too fussed but I do like an FA Cup run and the money is decent. The fixture schedule after the cup game isn’t too bad and there’s a good amount of recovery time for once so I expect at least 7/8 first team players to start or feature
— Luke (@Luke1871_) January 4, 2023
Not surprised with his approach. Be nice to get through but no big crisis if we go out as staying up was always the top priority. Watford will probably view it the same way although priority for them was I'd assume promotion and not just staying up. Lucky them!
— Becky Trotman (@beckytrotman) January 4, 2023
On Facebook, Alison Clarke said: "Good.. give those that need match time a go... league has to be our priority this season."
Phillip Overson commented: "I’m disappointed that as someone who won the FA cup as a player Ince sees it as an inconvenience now. A decent cup run could boost the club’s league form and make us a few quid. He joins the long list of former Reading managers who didn’t take the competition seriously."
Paul Evans believes "this is why nobody bothers going" but Gary Chamberlain came back with "why play your main players and risk getting injured in a competition that we will never win?"
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