Europa Conference League

[Ruairi77]

man, how ridiculously complicated have they made european competition?
Maybe just league champions play in the champions league.
a few runners up spots in the Europa league
and bring back the ECWC.

Instead you have the team that finishes 4th in the domestic league going in to the champions league but losing and playing third in a Europa league unless their country co-efficient is above 4 then you play second place Europa conference but not on Tuesdays where the league runners up from the season before play the league winners from next season to partake in the 2027 Champions league third place playoff.

 

[mmmmsnouts]

I wouldn’t turn my nose up at this at all, it’s European games, good experience for the players, great trips for the fans, and a chance at a trophy we desperately need.

More like dodgy Thursday nights in 7000-seat grounds in Albania, I think

 

[ClausThomsen]

One thing I read is that the knocked out teams of the CL who go in the Europa League, will then when knocked out of the Europa League, enter the Conference League. So you'll still get all the big clubs winning it.

The only teams who drop in direct from losing in the Champions League are teams in the First Qualifying and Preliminary rounds - big clubs don't often play those games. After that the highest profile clubs dropping in would be those who finish 3rd in the Europa League group stages.

If one of the bigger sides ends up in it then things are likely going bad enough that they aren't going to win anything - and the only prize on offer is direct entry to the following years Europa League so it's not that appealing.

 

[barneygumble]

No.
In all honesty the league and FA cup are the most important things. I used to like the european competitions until the were turned into enormous bloated runners up leagues and runners up to the runners up leagues. I simply don't hold any interest in those manufactured shows.

But if we win the League Cup we get in it, and if we win the FA, we get in the Europa, so you can’t really avoid it.

Should breeze through a group and then you can focus on it come February when it restarts.

Go for every competition for me.

 

[barneygumble]

More like dodgy Thursday nights in 7000-seat grounds in Albania, I think

Find me the issue here please?

50p beers and probably sunshine, on the Med? Boss.

 

[Chris O'Connor]

I can see some PL sides using it to give young players a run out, which Everton did in the Europa League years ago, It's useful for the kids to gain European experience, and definitely a positive for the fans to enjoy an adventure into Europe, but largely detrimental to the first team's prospects for meaningful progress the following season. I'm all for winning the league cup but this is a heavy price to pay. They should qualify it slightly and give the league cup winners the choice of entering it or not, perhaps instead obliging the side that finishes bottom of the league to go in their place - an incentive for those relegated not to be rock bottom?

Thinking in terms of domestic trophy comparisons, there are similarities to that football league competition the league one and two sides enter with some of the premier league's reserve teams, in many ways this is just Europe's very own version. To those in the lower divisions, to the likes of Tranmere or Accrington this minor trophy is still a cup and a chance of a day out at Wembley, but winning it brings little prestige and noone notices.

 

[Chris O'Connor]

Sounds like a competition where the lucky teams either won't qualify or get knocked out early to me, possibly any 'bigger' side used to better will treat it with absolute contempt and field a reserve team even in the final, that is if they've already qualified for the champions league or Europa. As the league cup final invariably is between two top six teams anyway, in effect the 7th and 8th in the league might be lucky enough to get to play the champions of the rock of Gibraltar.

A competition to try and let virtually everyone compete in Europe

 

[Chris O'Connor]

Assuming as usual both finals are contested by teams from the top six then the solution is to make absolutely sure we finish in the top six ourselves, as it does make the Europa League a far better slimmed down competition. If you don't make the top six in this scenario then there's a massive price to pay for seventh or eighth, and it's possibly far better finishing ninth.

 

[Chris O'Connor]

It's a big disincentive to winning the league cup, you should be able to win something without being burdened with the thankless task of competing in such a hopeless mishmash of a poor man's Europa competition of losers.

It would mess up the following year big time, seriously inhibit making progrees to qualifying for 'proper' European competitions and massively negatively effect our league campaign.

On the whole with this attached the negatives to winning the league cup almost outweigh any positives, the administrators have given us a lesson on how to ruin a perfectly good domestic competition.

Why do EUFA keep ruining things? I thought with Mr Corruption Platini gone, things might improve.

 

[chrismpw]

But if we win the League Cup we get in it, and if we win the FA, we get in the Europa, so you can’t really avoid it.

Should breeze through a group and then you can focus on it come February when it restarts.

Go for every competition for me.

But its a meaningless competition to win, thats why not.

If you win the league Cup you're (normally) the best that year over two legged knockout.
If you win the FA cup you're the best that season in sudden death knockout.
If you win the league you're consistently the best.
If you won the European Champions Cup you beat all the other champions.
If you won the cup winners cup you beat all the other good cup teams.

The uefa cup was for the best of the runners up - 2nd place teams - carried z bit if kudos and interest.

Now we need jets of flame and rousing music to convince customers that a monotonous league consisting mainly of also rans is as good as the European champions cup.

We need the same to tell us those not good enough to be runners up might bide their time in endless league games until one of the failures in the runners up competition drops out to patronisingly show them how to play. Yawn.

Now they're suggesting a league below even this. There's no kudos, there's no gravitas, there's no history. I doubt there'll even be flame jets. Its for more TV customer's money. This is why its meaningless to win.

Meanwhile the rest of the world bleat about the environmental impact of needless travel and the climate reels in its wake.

 

[bigjonny]

More like dodgy Thursday nights in 7000-seat grounds in Albania, I think

Sounds good to me.

 

[Big Neville Southall]

As crap as it is, I want us to win it.

 

[barneygumble]

But its a meaningless competition to win, thats why not.

If you win the league Cup you're (normally) the best that year over two legged knockout.
If you win the FA cup you're the best that season in sudden death knockout.
If you win the league you're consistently the best.
If you won the European Champions Cup you beat all the other champions.
If you won the cup winners cup you beat all the other good cup teams.

The uefa cup was for the best of the runners up - 2nd place teams - carried z bit if kudos and interest.

Now we need jets of flame and rousing music to convince customers that a monotonous league consisting mainly of also rans is as good as the European champions cup.

We need the same to tell us those not good enough to be runners up might bide their time in endless league games until one of the failures in the runners up competition drops out to patronisingly show them how to play. Yawn.

Now they're suggesting a league below even this. There's no kudos, there's no gravitas, there's no history. I doubt there'll even be flame jets. Its for more TV customer's money. This is why its meaningless to win.

Meanwhile the rest of the world bleat about the environmental impact of needless travel and the climate reels in its wake.

Mate, I’m 28 and I’ve never seen us win a trophy.

If you’re telling me in 18 months time I’m in Macedonia watching us lift a European trophy, I’m snapping your hand off.

 

[Lloydystark]

So is is there another European cup up for grabs?

 

[Nymzee]

Bit late for April Fools surely.