From an Everton supporters point of view....

[chrismpw]

I have seen debate in the world football thread and on twitter about this....

Is the Europa Conference league a 'joke' and 'tin pot'? (remember, it replaced the tournament we still bang on about almost 40 years later)

Are West Ham 'small time' for celebrating their win?

Honestly, it blows my mind.

Happy when we win any match ... but if ran the club I'd avoid the competition or refuse to enter it. Its done its job this year of distracting and stretching a fairly good club from challenging the usual sky brands and stop them challenging the safe selling clubs for the top.

As a competition it's a runners up to the runners up to the runners up league entirely fabricated for TV companies to collect money from the game. It was described by some blot reporter on the BBC as a "major European trophy" this morning. There have been no major European trophies in my eyes since the European champions Cup became a league for runners up.

To me it's an irrelevance with no gravitas. I don't usually describe things as a "joke" but thus would fit the definition pretty well. I'd be embarrassed if we were in it to be honest.

 

[greener]

Looked to me like the WHU fans were having "fun".

I have a vague memory of that, as compared to desperate relief.

 

[barneygumble]

Look at what it means to West Ham, Moyes, the fan base.

Look at Roma last season, the thousands of fans in the streets of Rome, how much it meant to Mourinho.

I’ve never seen us lift a trophy, and I refuse to believe there are fans who’d turn their noses us at Everton in a final, a European one at that, where we could win a trophy.

Starved of success, I don’t reckon there’s been any better moments in the last 20 years than Young Boys, Nuremberg, Lille etc, where we’ve all been able to see us competing in Europe, and in our droves.

I’d give anything to win any trophy and it’s realistically the best shot we’ve got (if we ever qualify).

 

[GP_Monty]

Exactly, the clue is in the name; cup winners cup was for "winners"

So is the Club World Cup but it's still a jarg trophy for gimps.

 

[barneygumble]

Happy when we win any match ... but if ran the club I'd avoid the competition or refuse to enter it. Its done its job this year of distracting and stretching a fairly good club from challenging the usual sky brands and stop them challenging the safe selling clubs for the top.

As a competition it's a runners up to the runners up to the runners up league entirely fabricated for TV companies to collect money from the game. It was described by some blot reporter on the BBC as a "major European trophy" this morning. There have been no major European trophies in my eyes since the European champions Cup became a league for runners up.

To me it's an irrelevance with no gravitas. I don't usually describe things as a "joke" but thus would fit the definition pretty well. I'd be embarrassed if we were in it to be honest.

Realistically, did you think West Ham could challenge for the Top 4 this season? If not then all you’re saying there is sacrifice a trophy for a run at the league to try and qualify for… the Europa League.

Feels to me like Moyes has sacrificed the league to focus on getting West Ham their first pot for nearly 45 years… their reward remains the same, and now they benefit from being seeded in the group.

All I want is success for the club; and if we’re moaning about 3rd tier competitions, I’m assuming you’d rather we don’t enter the league cup?

If you’re fortunate to have seen us win it all, then you’re lucky, but don’t turn your nose up at trophies of any level, especially given we’ve spent the past 2 seasons clinging to our top flight status!

 

[Drico]

I have seen debate in the world football thread and on twitter about this....

Is the Europa Conference league a 'joke' and 'tin pot'? (remember, it replaced the tournament we still bang on about almost 40 years later)

Are West Ham 'small time' for celebrating their win?

Honestly, it blows my mind.

That kind of "too cool for school"/fingers in the ears "la-la-la" attitude is why we are now eclipsed by clubs like West Ham United, Aston Villa, and Brighton and Hove Albion.

West Ham now have more European trophies than we do. That's not a Man City sportswashing project that led to another of our "records" going. It's the pornlords outplaying Bill Kenwright and co. And a significant section of our fanbase who always took aggressive solace in withdrawing from competition by denying the reality around them. "Oh, look, Bill on the Jumbotron". Clap, clap, clap.

 

[chrismpw]

Realistically, did you think West Ham could challenge for the Top 4 this season? If not then all you’re saying there is sacrifice a trophy for a run at the league to try and qualify for… the Europa League.

Feels to me like Moyes has sacrificed the league to focus on getting West Ham their first pot for nearly 45 years… their reward remains the same, and now they benefit from being seeded in the group.

All I want is success for the club; and if we’re moaning about 3rd tier competitions, I’m assuming you’d rather we don’t enter the league cup?

If you’re fortunate to have seen us win it all, then you’re lucky, but don’t turn your nose up at trophies of any level, especially given we’ve spent the past 2 seasons clinging to our top flight status!

The league Cup has history, plus we've never won it so yes, I'd like to get that under our belt.

What we're describing here is the Simod Cup or the FA trophy of Europe. 30 years ago we'd all be laughing at it as utterly worthless. Today we have the might of advertising and Sky (even the bbc) to big it up and brainwash everyone into thinking its something its not. I guess the people working there are not old enough to remember proper European competitions so to them its novel and new.

Great West Ham ... you won a competition in which none of the half decent sides in Europe competed. Sure its more than we've managed - but honestly if it were us and i were running the club I wouldnt even put the vase in a trophy cabinet.

 

[BNJ1878]

Happy when we win any match ... but if ran the club I'd avoid the competition or refuse to enter it. Its done its job this year of distracting and stretching a fairly good club from challenging the usual sky brands and stop them challenging the safe selling clubs for the top.

As a competition it's a runners up to the runners up to the runners up league entirely fabricated for TV companies to collect money from the game. It was described by some blot reporter on the BBC as a "major European trophy" this morning. There have been no major European trophies in my eyes since the European champions Cup became a league for runners up.

To me it's an irrelevance with no gravitas. I don't usually describe things as a "joke" but thus would fit the definition pretty well. I'd be embarrassed if we were in it to be honest.

But West Ham have earned about 15/20m from this, and have a minimum of 5m for qualifying for the Europa.

Not massive money, but it certainly helps.

With the spending restrictions in place to protect the already wealthy, clubs need to use every avenue to try and close the gap.

 

[ArtetaMoney]

Lad I’m still out celebrating us winning the Sydney Cup.

 

[chrismpw]

But West Ham have earned about 15/20m from this, and have a minimum of 5m for qualifying for the Europa.

Not massive money, but it certainly helps.

With the spending restrictions in place to protect the already wealthy, clubs need to use every avenue to try and close the gap.

Maybe unfashionable but I just don't look at the money side. To me the win is the trophy, the sporting achievement and the historical record. Prize money should NOT be a part of it, otherwise you get the situation that we're in ... the same sides compete every year and boring predictability.

The gap will never be closed unless an oil state gets involved .... not even our pocket billionaire helped that - the gap is just too big now - and if any club came close to encroaching on the sky brands then ffp is there to stop it.

It will all boil over in the next few years when the mercenaries run over en masse to the Saudi leagues such that the prem, then the european leagues dry up to be something more akin to cash strapped but more interesting and less predictable football of the 80s. I await that day.

 

[the golden visionary]

It's a tin-pot trophy in a made-up competition.

I would go on a 3 day bender if Everton won it.

All competitions are made up

 

[MACCA75]

Saying it replaced the Cup winners cup is a stretch.
If you finished 2nd and won the cup then you went into the Cup winners cup.

This is a competition for those that finish 7th in the Prem. And such is the comparative strength of our league then English sides should win it every year. I’d rank it slightly below the League Cup.

 

[Bluebonic]

Any fan who wouldn't celebrate their team winning a European trophy is basically following the wrong sport?

 

[Han]

I will celebrate it rather than telling people we are a big club and unable to win anything for decades.

 

[John BCN]

You're right.

We defeated titans such as UCD, Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard.

Go Everton.

No problem with West Ham celebrating winning a European trophy. I would love to be in their position now. But the Cup Winners Cup in the 80s was a far more important tournament than the Conference, ranking above the UEFA Cup in terms of qualification. In 84/85 as well as Bayern, it featured Barcelona, Roma and future European Cup winners Steau Bucharest and Porto.