I think the major disagreement here is whether continuing in the cup would have a detrimental effect on our chances of staying in the premiership this season. Poyet seems to have fielded 6 players which some of us feel should have had 1st choice players there instead, and whilst we should be able to rotate our squad a bit and still been competitive, there is no doubt that this made the game more of a gamble. Question is, is this acceptable or not? Keeping calm with each other because we all love the team and want the best from them, how much did the team selection effect the quarter final and our chances of staying up?
I'm in the "love Gus but he fucked up" camp because any time you field anything but your best side you are lengthening the odds, not the certainty, that you will win. I cannot accept that players who are athletes cannot play a game a week competitively, and I also think that you cannot save them for 'more important games' in case of injury or suspension because you'd never play your best players at all. It's two extra games, not three because the final is after the season finishes, but even so they live to play football, how do you keep a player happy if he's being rested on the bench?
I think morale would have been much higher if we'd won, tired legs would feel fresher and the crowd would have been a mighty force against Palace. Our odds of winning would have shrunk, whereas I think they've grown. It was a gamble by Gus in my opinion, but his logic seems flawed to me, he gambled everything on a 2nd string team winning which makes no sense at this stage of the season. To answer my own question I think his team choice worsened our chances of a semi final, and also worsened our chances of staying up.
Mind you, I think it's because the Pillsbury Fuckin Dough Boy got one over on us again that has really got us all wound up.