It was a dramatic night of Cup football on Wednesday evening when Grimsby Town of League 2 humbled arguably the richest club in the World, in a pulsating penalty shootout ending to their EFL Cup tie with Manchester United.

The Grimsby players held their nerve to win the shootout 12-11 after Man U had come back from being 2 down to draw 2-2 in normal time.

Grimsby had already made a great start to their league 2 campaign by currently standing 4th in League 2 with three wins & two draws from five games played.

Their win against mighty Man U will be remembered for ever by the Grimsby supporters & I'm sure it will set the club up well for the rest of the season.

The atmosphere around the club will be electric & the confidence will be sky high. Players & supporters will be very happy & fully united.

Lots of clubs do not give the cup competitions priority nowadays which is a surprise when you can see what a great result can do for a lower league club.

When the FA Cup begins I would like to see Notts give that competition the up most priority because a good cup run can make a massive difference in lots of ways as well as a massive financial reward

The thing is @Robbie this could end up in a Catch 22 situation. IF Notts are on a Good run and are pushing for a Playoff place, Promotion to League 1 will take priority, on the other hand if Notts are at the other End of League 2 Table then Survival will on the Coach and Players minds when the F.A Cup comes around. So I guess Notts in midtable will be the Best Position and a Home Draw against the Likes of Forest, Derby or Leicester would Bring The Fans To The Lane.

I see your point @Wheelbarrow repair man The thing is, Grimsby are fourth in the league. They've had a big payday. They have been trending top on social media & they have been talked about throughout World Football. I don't hear anything about priorities from their fan base at the moment. They are celebrating a famous victory.

They will be remembered for being the first tier four club to beat Man Utd in a Cup match in front of a packed blundell Park. The penalty shootout has had half a million views on U tube already.

The way things are with Notts at the moment, a good cup run may be the highlight of the season unless we start getting the results. I think a an extra £200K + coming into the club from a plum FA Cup tie would be welcome.

It would be Great if Notts managed to have a Half Decent Cup Run @Robbie . The Trouble is the Magpies never seem to get the Rub of the Green in Cup Competitions, regarding Top Opposition, I think it was when Notts were drawn away at Liverpool and at Home to Manchester City in the League and FA Cup Rounds were the last Premier League Teams the Magpies played.

@Wheelbarrow repair man I understand meeting a top six PL club in the 3rd Round, there will be an element of luck involved, & Notts have to get through two rounds before they can meet a PL club.

I think the quicker these players can gel together & the quicker Paterson can identify his best starting eleven is dependant on more game time which the cup competitions can give him as well as the league games.

The Case for Prioritising a Cup Run?

How about glory and the standing and respect of the club.

We enter only 3 competitions so why can't we take all of them seriously and try to go as far, or as high, in each of them as we can?

As you can tell, I'm a traditionalist here. I believe too many lower league clubs became infected and influenced by behaviours of the elite teams - resting players, picking your games and priorities, poo-pooing the domestic cups to chase the dollar. Teams down the league copied these behaviours without ever checking if their fans were on board with it.

Even now success in the cups is cloaked only in the language of money. To hell with that, I want to get to cup QFs for the respect and the glory. Those victories over Newcastle and Everton and the QF at Leeds were what made me a ardent Notts fan. I remember those great games under the lights not the money that was earned from them. I love the fact we made the FA Quarter-finals in 84 and 91, giving our best against the eventual winners in both cases, Everton and Tottenham. Again, as a fan, I don't give two hoots about the money - let Palmer take care of that, it was about the thrill of the run, the respect for the club and all the memories created.

I still think all of that is the reason to have cup runs.

Edited August 28Aug 28 by theAnticlough