I believe in the magic of the cup. When I’m on my deathbed, I’d like to look back at the day Palace lifted a major trophy. Remembering that good run in the premier league might not cut it.

But what the people want is Premier League status. Is there anyone who would swap the current revival if it meant that Puncheon goal had won us the FA Cup last May?

It is a balancing act. If we had won the FA Cup last season, we would not have had the squad at the beginning of this season to cope with the Europa League and with Pardew making a mess of things, we could have been in an even worse position by Christmas. At the end of the day, all that really matters is the 140 Million you get for staying in the Premier League. In the long term we could end up winning Cups on a fairly regular basis by staying in the Premier, who knows, because of the vast riches on offer

Its a good question - would probably agree with you.
Things could be much worse though - we could have lost the final and gone down this year. All the time we are the the top flight we have the money to potentially win the cup another year.

"It feels much better than it ever did, much more sensitive." John Wayne Bobbit

The question was asked last year "win the cup at the cost of the league?"

Well in the end we didn't win the cup and we played like a bunch of divs in the league for several months afterwards.

I was salivating about the cup but frankly now I'd be happy to go out in round three every year if we can make progress in the league and improve our infrastructure along the way.

Edited by Part Time James (24 Apr 2017 3.41pm)

Coventry City won the cup a while ago. Now? They're about to be relegated into League Two.

I'm no fan of how the Premier League seems to suck all the air (and money) out of the domestic game but, while it continues to do so, I want Palace to be part of it.

We have much more chance of winning a cup with a squad put together on the back of Premier League moolah, than do, say, Coventry, on the back of money-spinning away games at Cheltenham, Yeovil, Crawley and Morecambe.

We don't do possession; we do defense and attack. Everything else is just wa**ing with a football.

I am turning down winning the cup for the long-term greater good of the club of Premier League status. Had we won the cup but been relegated, which was your "Sophie's Choice" premise, then we'd have a shiny bit of silverware for a cabinet while the club was dumped back into the monkey s***-fight that is the Championship.

Think of all that could go wrong in that scenario: we lose a bunch of our best players - and probably the manager - as they trigger transfers to Premier League sides; we don't make it back before the parachute payments run out; we lose American investment as we're no longer on worldwide telly; we don't get the ground redeveloped and we're right back in an uncertain financial future.

How is any of that worth the fleeting kudos of the cup win that will bring with it the trials of Europa League fixtures on top of the clogged, leg-sapping Championship schedule?

You think Coventry is delving back too far? Ok, Wigan.

FA Cup winners and relegatees - and now about to drop into League One unless they can beat playoff contenders Reading and Leeds while 'Appy 'Arry coincidentally fails to get Birmingham a single point.

The club will not suffer long term effects for not having won the FA Cup. Relegation from the Premiership, at this point in our recovery from administration, is an existential crisis.

We don't do possession; we do defense and attack. Everything else is just wa**ing with a football.