Europa League?

[neo2020]

Look, I know we haven't won silverware since before I grew pubes but all I'm saying is, think what would actually happen if we DID get into the Europa league:

We'd play a game every 3 days with a squad that can barely cope with 1-2 injuries in a PL campaign.

This would leave us with two options
1) Try to compete in the Europe League, meaning that our performance in the league would suffer badly.
2) Play a youth team in the Europa League, which makes you wonder why you'd like to be in it in the first place.

I maintain that we would better off NOT qualifying for it if we can't get a CL spot this year in order to focus all our efforts on getting that CL qualification. The good thing about the CL is that even if we played a team of under-12s, we'd still get a huge amount of cash just for being in it + it's not as many games as the EL.

 

[Brennan]

Look, I know we haven't won silverware since before I grew pubes but all I'm saying is, think what would actually happen if we DID get into the Europa league:

We'd play a game every 3 days with a squad that can barely cope with 1-2 injuries in a PL campaign.

This would leave us with two options
1) Try to compete in the Europe League, meaning that our performance in the league would suffer badly.
2) Play a youth team in the Europa League, which makes you wonder why you'd like to be in it in the first place.

I maintain that we would better off NOT qualifying for it if we can't get a CL spot this year in order to focus all our efforts on getting that CL qualification. The good thing about the CL is that even if we played a team of under-12s, we'd still get a huge amount of cash just for being in it + it's not as many games as the EL.

The first part of that is a myth really, and the second part is not necessarily true either.

We'd have to finish 3rd to guarantee a decent amount of cash, otherwise you have to qualify like we've failed to do before.

Also, if you finish 5th in the league and qualify for the Europa then you have the exact same amount of games as you do in the Champions League (if you finish 4th in the PL). The only time you play a match or two more is if you qualify via the League Cup or the fair play league.

So really, the CL or EL would have the exact same impact on our squad assuming we qualify via the league placings. The only difference is that you get £10-15m more from playing in the CL over the EL. Unless we got through to the knockout stages of the Champions League (fat chance).

 

[neo2020]

The only difference is that you get £10-15m more from playing in the CL over the EL.

The only difference? That's 2-3 Jelavices/Mirallases. Not sure that's a small difference for a club that doesn't have a pot to piss in...

 

[Brennan]

The only difference? That's 2-3 Jelavices/Mirallases. Not sure that's a small difference for a club that doesn't have a pot to piss in...

I said it's the only difference because it's the only difference

If somebody gave me a choice between qualifying for the CL or qualifying for the EL and winning a trophy, i'd take the latter all day long.

In the grand scheme of things £15m is not going to make us catch up with the Sky four, not even close. And £15m may pay for three players like Jelavic, but it won't pay their wages, or the inevitable wage increases that players who have just qualified for the Champions League would want.

That extra income from the CL gets eaten up rather quickly, it's the knockout stages where the real money is made. The idea of a team like us qualifying for the CL and somehow kicking on and becoming more competitive doesn't really have any weight. Look at Spurs, they haven't really progressed since their 2010/11 involvement in the CL and they reached the quarter finals !

 

[Brownie]

Only our teams don't take it seriously because of the monetary value of placings in the Premier League. The rest of Europe tries to win it. From a business point of view you can understand clubs prioritising whatever brings in more money, but as a fan, how can you not want to see the kind of games that come out of it? It's like you're waiting for that little bit more money, then maybe we can sign these players, then maybe we can qualify for this competition... why not just enjoy the games that are happening now?

 

[Brennan]

Only our teams don't take it seriously because of the monetary value of placings in the Premier League. The rest of Europe tries to win it. From a business point of view you can understand clubs prioritising whatever brings in more money, but as a fan, how can you not want to see the kind of games that come out of it? It's like you're waiting for that little bit more money, then maybe we can sign these players, then maybe we can qualify for this competition... why not just enjoy the games that are happening now?

Players who will go to another team if they're that good thus leaving you back at square one anyway.

I just want us to win a trophy competing against teams at our level, don't care which it is.

 

[slimspek]

I would love to be any of the european competitions. It's exciting to be playing other european teams even if they're not all massive like barca or juventus. However without proper squad depth it would really damage our premier league position and we probably wouldn't be able to focus on the FA cup which is our most realistic chance of silverware

 

[Rook]

Wish Europa league kicked out the C-League group stage flunkies and changed the format to a traditional knockout tourney. There is no reason to have a 5 team group stage in which 3 from the group qualify unless you always want this tourney to play a distant 2nd fiddle to the C-League. If it was straight knockout then the Europa goblet would make for much more exciting footie in Sept-Oct as IMO the C-League group stage matches are just as mindblowingly dull.

 

[Brennan]

Wish Europa league kicked out the C-League group stage flunkies and changed the format to a traditional knockout tourney. There is no reason to have a 5 team group stage in which 3 from the group qualify unless you always want this tourney to play a distant 2nd fiddle to the C-League. If it was straight knockout then the Europa goblet would make for much more exciting footie in Sept-Oct as IMO the C-League group stage matches are just as mindblowingly dull.

The Europa is 4 per group with 2 qualifying ?

 

[andy4efc]

the format is silly,silly,silly...i'd go back to straight knock out...at least then its different to champs league

The onyl bad thing about the Europa is teh fact CL teams acn just drop into it, pathetic really. Other than that, it's a good competition.

 

[andy4efc]

The Europa is 4 per group with 2 qualifying ?

Yeah, Dont think he's realised that it changed when the Europa league came in. To be honest, i liked teh UEFA cup format, it was unique and something other than teh CL.

 

[Neiler]

If only.

That 3rd one hurts my eyes!

*Reviews infractionable offences.

 

[formerly manx toffee]

Players want to play in Europe.

 

[Deloodid]

i think to make teams take it serious, the winner should get a place in the champions league.

 

[alpha1]

Never understood this personally, i'd celebrate it and i wouldn't laugh at anybody celebrating winning it.

I would celebrate ANY cup final victory so I'm with you fella.
Do we not as Everton fans bask in the glory of that European Cup Winners' Cup final victory? Hell, the majority of us remember the night against Munich as the greatest game ever witnessed at Goodison!
On that basis I would welcome European nights back at the ground and would seriously consider going all out for the UEFA cup given the chance.The buzz it creates is amazing and it certainly beats watching the others do it on tv!
Teams are measured on honours, not league positions. Trophies are honours, no matter how unimportant they may seem.
We aren't quite good enough to get in the European Cup so I would be more than happy to finish top ten and bag a bit of silverware. After all, it has been 17 years since we had some and if we keep limiting our chances by only taking the premier league and FA cup seriously then it will probably be another 17 years before we win something.
Unfortunately that's where we are just now - a team that won't win the league so must go for the cups instead.