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Manchester United only show weakness and ineptitude by disregarding the cups

By on August 26, 2014

In many ways, winning the FA Cup used to be even bigger than winning the league. Winning the FA Cup signaled you were a top club – one of the best. But as of late, the FA Cup, and many to all other cups have been disregarded by the top clubs. Viewed as a hassle and unwelcome distraction to their league and Champions League campaigns, the very top English clubs have began to more and more field their reserves, or at least second squad, in the FA Cup, Capital One Cup, and Europa League. That is why recent Capital One Cup winners have included Swansea City and Birmingham City, while Sunderland, Bradford City, Aston Villa, and Cardiff City have all been recent finals. Cup success had become recently a one-off success for lower level clubs.

In the end top level clubs often end up winning after coasting through and then finding themselves suddenly in the Semifinals, at which point they give it their best shot to win the cup title, yet all to often they suffer early elimination. Or rather, their reserves do. Tonight goalkeeper David De Gea was Manchester United’s only resemblance in starting eleven against MK Dons in the Second Round of the Capital One Cup of that in their weekend draw with Sunderland. And while the likes of Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, and Shinji Kagawa, all United subs and occasionally starters when needed, should hardly have lost 4-0 to Dons, a League One side – honestly it was a shocking performance from United – it shows just how much United disregard the cups.

But this, especially recently, might mean Louis Van Gaal is missing out on something. With just one point from their opening two Premier League fixtures, both if which they should have won, Champions League qualification is a distant hope while Europa League qualification will be a struggle. So why not chase the cup titles, use it as a success to then prepare them for a fighting chance at Champions League qualification once more? And with cup success now, it could soon add up to automatic Champions League qualification in two years time. Both the winners if the FA Cup and Capital One Cup qualify for the Europa League, while the winner of the Europa League now sees themselves given Champions League qualification, what is looking to be automatic, for the next season. United may not go for the domestic cups as a way into Europe, but at Leary focus in the Europa League and it will be a lot easier for them to get back into the Champions League elite. Van Gaal seems to be completely disregarding what is an arguably, and most likely, an easier route to take.

League success is much more popular with the fans, but if Van Gaal can lead them into the Champions League by the 2016/2017 season that will be sooner than expected – and United fans frankly will hardly care how they did it. But currently, Van Gaal is focusing all his strength on possible Champions League qualification via a top four finish that seems an increasingly distant dream. Yet he still has time to take the other route. If he falls short of the top four but qualifies for the Europa League this season, which he most likely will with at least a small bit of success or luck, and he can then focus more on that the following season as a route to UCL football. But currently, after tonight, it does not seem as if he is eyeing cup success, which will also bring a feeling of success back to the club and in the worst case buy him some time. 4-0 to Dons hardly suggests anything of the sort.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.