TO REST or not to rest?
That was the biggest question to come out of the weekend’s FA Cup fifth round ties after Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini copped a blast following his side’s 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea.
The Chilean was accused of disrespecting the competition after virtually fielding a reserves team, with five young players handed debuts.
The rationale was clearly to to keep his first team stars fresh for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Dynamo Kiev and Sunday’s Capital One Cup final against Liverpool.
Only time will tell if the decision was successful but we do have some sympathy for Pellegrini and believe the various governing bodies responsible for the fixturing should share some of the blame.
Pellegrini told the Daily Mail: “One of the most important things we must do in England is to try to help English teams which are playing in the Champions League.
“I cannot take the risk to not recover the players who have a long flight on Monday or have one more player more injured. I think we did the correct thing. The best decision for our club.
“We were forced to do it (put out weakened team). We knew it would be difficult to continue in the FA Cup. If we play (the Cup tie) on Saturday it would be better for us because we have to play for England in the Champions League on Wednesday, so it is better for England (if we play on Saturday).
“We have an option for the first time in our club to try to reach the quarter-final of the Champions League.”
Perhaps the side was a little too ‘weakened’ for the liking of some but it shouldn’t be forgotten City – whose best team had lost their two previous Premier League matches – were beaten by a very good Chelsea outfit that realistically only have the FA Cup left to play for this season.
Had City been drawn against any of the other remaining sides, it may well have been a much closer contest and the response to Pellegrini’s selection nothing like as strong.
And let’s be honest, clubs – even in the lower divisions – have been fielding weakened teams in both domestic cup competitions for several years now, it’s nothing new.
What would City fans be saying if Sergio Aguero, Joe Hart, David Silva or Vincent Kompany had played, got injured and been forced to miss the vital Champions League tie and important Premier League games?
As Pellegrini said: “If one team respects all the cups it’s this team. That’s why we are in the final of the Capital One Cup. Today we couldn’t because I think we have more important things at this moment.”
How do City fans feel? Will Pellegrini be fully justified if his team advances to the last eight in the Champions League and/or win the Capital One Cup final? Or did he make too many changes for the match against Chelsea?
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