18th September 2002: Worthington
Cup - so we've drawn the mighty Wigan Athletic (well, they are top
of division two) at the JJB Stadium, and the Football League are executing
their usual intransigence and double-standards yet again.
After doing it to us last year with that farce in playing Charlton
and Millwall twice in two days due to the FL pandering to their then-best-buddies
ITV Digital (funny how things change!), they're now insisting that
we play Wigan 48 hours after our Premiership game against Blackburn.
And yet Ipswich, who play in the UEFA Cup that week (another ridiculous
situation but let's not go into that one now), are allowed to move
their game.
If the League are trying to promote the Worthington Cup and get top-flight
teams to field their best sides, can they not show a little flexibility
rather than blaming the Premiership? I've been the first to criticise
Premiership teams for not fielding their strongest eleven in the competition
in the past, but I would whole-heartedly support Megson should he
decide to rest players for that game. The Premiership is much more
important. I cannot believe the short-sighted stubbornness that the
idiots at Connaught Place are exhibiting - come on guys, you're not
exactly coming from a position of strength!!
The annoying thing is that Albion are one of the Premiership clubs
who more than likely would like to progress in the competition and
maybe repeat what Leicester and Blackburn have done in the past. |
