4th or no Europe at all?

[The Equaliser]

The players need the experience of European football, so it's a massive YES to Europa. The problem of course is that you need a half decent sized squad to cope with playing both Thursdays and Sundays. They should do away with the tiresome group stage and make it a straight knock out competition which would increase the interest in it all round.

 

[TX Bill]

Meh.

Fourth is a dream and we won't get it.

Let's not forget when our loan players go back we turn into mid-table at best, and that isn't me being all depressed after the game today, it is a fact.

Our squad in the summer consists of Kone as our only striker, Mirallas, McGeady and an ageing Pienaar as our only wide players and only one defensive-minded midfielder in the entire squad who can be relied upon.

Add your traditional massive list of injuries and we will no doubt see Osman in 35 games again next season.

And let's not have the "but Martinez has loads of money in the summer" rubbish. We all know he won't have (why? because for the last 10 years it's been that way) and will possibly have 5-10m before having to sell a big name to generate funds.

Any type of European competition would heavily screw us over in the league, but obviously if we could sneak a fourth it would at least, possibly, open up the chance of the manager having some funds to invest in the squad.

Great post Sunshine !!

 

[AndyZ]

Europa League has little appeal to me. Would without question impact our league performance. Little financial benefit. I vote pass.

 

[dholliday]

I don't watch football to see us get prize money.

sig-material!

 

[TheFinnFan]

Lets just take the FA Cup and deliberately drop out of euro places, eh? Xx

 

[efcfanwirral]

I have absolutely no interest in the Europe League. I don't remember who won it last year and can't even be bothered to google it to refresh my memory.

I wouldn't object to the club being in the thing provided we were not going to take it seriously. Its for blooding kids and trying things out. It the League Cup only with more games.

Said this already today but....if this is the way football is now, what's the point? Only 5-6 teams have a real chance of getting into the champions league (and no I don't believe we are one of them). So why do the other teams bother starting a season apart from financial survival if the CL is literally all that matters? The league cup is now 'a joke' while there are serious questions over the fa cup this season as it's not really providing viewers with big games til now, will have a very poor semi final (for casual fans anyway) at this rate and a smaller team won last year.

Modern football is a mess. We are not good enough for champions league, to pin all our hopes on that (and as said earlier, losing the qualifier or finishing bottom of the group), would essentially mean our seasons are pointless and as fans, we've completely lost touch with what it means to follow football

European nights make a season interesting. Fighting for 4th and finishing 7th again (if miracles are performed in the loan market again) won't leave us with those sorts of memories.

We are not one of the big clubs who can just focus on champions league football whatever has happened in the past. It's arrogant to look down on one of the only competitions we can realistically have a chance in (and I don't really believe that but a lot more chance than the CL)

Finishing last in the champions league group will earn more money than winning the Europa league.

Money which will go nowhere near the squad, if that is what football is all about as I said above teams like us should just not bother

 

[Toffeelover]

Exposure to European football would be good for the club, getting our name on the map.

 

[BigBlueBen]

A thin squad being stretched even further by a ridiculous amount of matches against mediocre teams in obscure places? Unappealing. The thought of finishing so low that we don't end up in the above scenario after the season we've had? Even more so. Just get there and throw it away in the group stages.

 

[AndyZ]

Exposure to European football would be good for the club, getting our name on the map.

Europa League gets little exposure or fanfare though. Like someone else mentioned, I couldn't tell you who won the Europa League last year. I have no idea how Spurs, Swansea, or Wigan are faring in the competition. It just doesn't get the press coverage that the Champions Leagues does. The whole competition is an afterthought.

 

[Axlswhk]

Money which will go nowhere near the squad, if that is what football is all about as I said above teams like us should just not bother

don't get me wrong, I want to see us win trophy again. But with a chairman like ours, it's equally important we get our basic sorted out, and right now our basic is finacial stability and secondly having the investment to build a better squad. What other way to have this investment other than champions league?

Our last trophy was the FA cup, what happen after that? We couldn't build on it due to the lack of financial stability and we suffer for the next decade. Cup wins is a short term satisfaction. Money from champions league gives us financial stability that enable us to build better squad for the long term future.
I'll take a cup win and champions league qualification if you'd allow me.

 

[toffeejack]

Okay Swansea and the barcodes league campaigns have suffered with Europa football, but to turn it down
for the holy grail of a champions league berth would send us in a self perpetuating cycle of under-achieving...

its effectively footballs version of the chicken and the egg scenario

Remember every place higher is more money for us and a 5th or (6h finish) depending on city has got to be good in the long run and help us become stronger.

swansea are 10th atm after a pretty mare season. they wouldn't have expected to finish any higher realistically. and they don't have a squad comparable to ours.

 

[alpha1]

If we have any aspirations to calling ourselves a "big" club we MUST be competing in Europe, whatever competition that may be in.
My answer is ALWAYS play for a European spot.

 

[BoysInBlue]

I recall us playing in the Europa in 2007/2008, doing quite well (got to the last 16, lost on pens to Fiorentina in March) and we still managed to combine playing in the Europa with finishing 5th in the league that season.

So it's a bit of a myth that being in the Europa would automatically affect our league form.

Plus we have a bigger, stronger squad now than we did in 2007/2008. Still not perfect and could be better, but better than it was back then.

 

[toffeejack]

I don't watch football to see us get prize money.

this all over

 

[toffeejack]

Europa League gets little exposure or fanfare though. Like someone else mentioned, I couldn't tell you who won the Europa League last year. I have no idea how Spurs, Swansea, or Wigan are faring in the competition. It just doesn't get the press coverage that the Champions Leagues does. The whole competition is an afterthought.

fine, if we're in europe next year and i see you posting in the match thread i'll constantly ask you what you're doing in there. players like playing in europe, it's only really in england people turn their noses up at it. it's become a bit of a joke because of what UEFA have done to it, but is by no means an afterthought.