Europa League - Blessing in disguise?

[st albans fox]

Is there a list of likely EL qualified teams for next season ..... 

[Dr The Singh]

This thread is so depressing

[Deeg67]

19 minutes ago, Dr The Singh said:

This thread is so depressing

So if the finish of our last two PL seasons.

[Chrysalis]

Much better chance of getting to knockout stage, what grinds me about the Europa is that CL rejects join it which makes winning it difficult.

 

The money difference between this and CL isnt as big as people think due to coefficient lowering CL money and the likelihood of further progression in this.

[shade]

9 hours ago, Sharpe's Fox said:

People have been cucked by this bottlejob side. Imagine getting off on failing.

Yes yes, we bottled the FA CUP with 130+ years on our shoulders, we bottled a 38 game season by challenging for the top 4 twice in a row and a horrendous Injury list and far, far, far less strength in depth than the competition.

[AmyLGK]

9 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Man I love Kasper so much 😅

[RowlattsFox]

1 hour ago, st albans fox said:

Is there a list of likely EL qualified teams for next season ..... 

So far I think it's Frankfurt, Leverkusen, Lazio, Juventus/AC Milan, Braga, Marseille, Monaco/Lyon, Sociedad/Betis/Villarreal and then obviously champions League drop outs. And West Ham 

[bfox]

EL -> EL, FA Cup. Still have to consider that progress and a great season. I hope it's enough to keep hold of BR and players. 

[Hammo]

It would be interesting to know the feelings of Atalanta fans. They are effectively our equivalent in Italy and have just lost a fourth Coppa Italia final in a row (including two in three seasons) after winning it for the one and only time back in 1963 yet have ensured qualification for the Champions League for the third season running.

 

Are they happy with their lot? Or would they rather have won a trophy?

Edited 20 May 2021 by Hammo

[Guest Bert Fill]

9 hours ago, Kierzz said:

The disappointment is that we will probably lose a key player now and that's probably going to be Tielesman....

We were probably going to lose a key player or two either way. It’s clearly the model we’re following (and probably the only realistic one).

 

I’ve been thinking about this, and I’m not sure qualifying/not qualifying for the Champions League actually makes a blind bit of difference to players staying or leaving.

 

What are the reasons for players leaving?

Money

Trophies

To play for a ‘bigger’ club

To improve as a player

Personal circumstances

 

Money: We can’t compete on money either way. If a player is moving to get more money they’re moving whether we’re in the CL or not.

 

Trophies: Only a handful of clubs across Europe can pretty much guarantee trophies, and if a player has the chance to (and wants to) join Real Madrid, PSG, Bayers or Man City, us being in the CL ain’t gonna change their mind.

 

To play for a ‘bigger’ club: Even Leicester in the CL isn’t going to compare with the global superbrand clubs. Not ever. If a player wants to play for Man Utd or Barcelona because they’re Man Utd or Barcelona, us being in the CL isn’t going to change that.

 

To improve as a player: We’ve got this one. We have an excellent and highly-regarded coach, a state of the art training facility, and a proven (and improving) record of developing players.

 

Personal circumstances: If someone wants to move for these reasons - I don’t know, they want their kids to go to school in France, or they fancy living somewhere sunny, or they just want to go back home, us being in the CL isn’t going to stop them.

 

TLDR: The clubs that are going to nab our best players are going to nab them whether we’re in the Champions League or not. We ain’t gonna get the glittering big name history of Liverpool, Man Utd, Real Madrid or Barcelona, the nailed-on trophy winning of Man City, PSG or Bayern, or the money of any of them (also Chelsea) by being in the Champions League.

[jerry]

14 minutes ago, RowlattsFox said:

So far I think it's Frankfurt, Leverkusen, Lazio, Juventus/AC Milan, Braga, Marseille, Monaco/Lyon, Sociedad/Betis/Villarreal and then obviously champions League drop outs. And West Ham 

Not a bad line up. Look forward to seeing some of those at the K P 😷

[snoopy87]

9 hours ago, Bert said:

We only lost two games out of eight in the league after European games this season. Also there’s no difference playing champions league Wednesday premier league Saturday than Thursday Sunday. 

This. Never understood the Liverpool or Man Utd fans complaint with this when it is essentially the same turn around period. Just an excuse English clubs use to hide their deficiencies against a supposed lesser club in a lesser competition

[andy peake]

10 minutes ago, Hammo said:

It would be interesting to know the feelings of Atalanta fans. They are effectively our equivalent in Italy and have just lost a fourth Coppa Italia final in a row (including two in three seasons) after winning it for the one and only time back in 1963 yet have ensured qualification for the Champions League for the third season running.

 

Are they happy with their lot? Or would they rather have won a trophy?

From my experience in Italy the cup is not as big a deal there as the fa cup is here. So they’re probably rather it that way round.

[hejammy]

Yesterday a Chelsea fan said this exact same thing to me... "oh its probably a blessing in disguise for you because of your small squad" and I thought you patronising shite. For me the best scenario would be for us and Liverpool to win and Chelsea to draw/lose and see them pushed down! The elitist nonsense is really annoying. But then I read this thread and just think..... 

[smudger63]

1 hour ago, Deeg67 said:

So if the finish of our last two PL seasons.

This season is not finished yet.  Were Chelsea all that really, the other night.

They scored from a needlessly given away corner and s needlessly given away penalty. 

They lost at home to Arsenal the week before and to us in the Cup final.  There is absolutely no reason why a decent Villa team with Grealish back, and playing for the first time in over 12 months in front of their own fans, that Villa can't at the very least get a draw.  I'm more concerned about us doing our bit and beating Spurs.  If we do that i think we will finish above Chelsea, because i just dont see Chelsea beating Villa away from home on Sunday

 

[splinterdream]

Firstly, if we finish 5th then despite the disappointment we can say we've had another good season, fa cup winners and we are a top 6 club, knocking out sours and arsenal, we should be able to attract decent players to our club. If youri or any other player wants to leave then so be it, it'll be because we don't pay enough wages or our location and you can't change that, we have to sell high and move on. Finishing top 4 for us in reality is over achieving tbh with our squad, we need to stop bringing in players and not using them, having players on the bench such as praet and under and them not getting a game when we need fresh players, attacking players is insane.

 

I'm looking forward to the summer, new team, new players and challenges whatever they are, let's get that new stand built. 

[KrefelderFox666]

13 minutes ago, hejammy said:

Yesterday a Chelsea fan said this exact same thing to me... "oh its probably a blessing in disguise for you because of your small squad" and I thought you patronising shite. For me the best scenario would be for us and Liverpool to win and Chelsea to draw/lose and see them pushed down! The elitist nonsense is really annoying. But then I read this thread and just think..... 

I would much rather Liverpool miss out but that isn't happening. Got no problem with Chelsea, especially since the ESL stuff where they were one of the few to come out with a bit of integrity (only a bit but more than Man U/Liverpool).

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

2 minutes ago, KrefelderFox666 said:

I would much rather Liverpool miss out but that isn't happening. Got no problem with Chelsea, especially since the ESL stuff where they were one of the few to come out with a bit of integrity (only a bit but more than Man U/Liverpool).

What integrity did they come out with?

Claiming you didn't know what you were signing up for was pathetic.

[Koke]

I enjoy the Europa League. I think we will dominate our group again. Hopefully our squad isn't ravaged by injuries. Slavia Prague are farmers, they can get in the bin.. if we meet again next season I'm convinced we will beat them.

Edited 20 May 2021 by Koke

[String fellow]

1 hour ago, Dr The Singh said:

This thread is so depressing

Agreed. If the football authorities had done the decent thing and docked points off the 'big 6' this season, then this thread probably wouldn't even be necessary.

 

[Jimmy Lad]

11 hours ago, Collymore said:

Premier League

FA Cup

Europa League?

 

The Europa League has to be the next big trophy we can realistically have a chance of winning so that's be optimistic and be blessed we're in it. 

 

Yes, I know we can still qualify for the EL by getting knocked out of the CL early but you can easily end up in no man's land and we've done that before already.

 

How about going 'all gun blazing' for the EL next season especially if it's obvious we're not having a top 4 challenge. 

 

imagine in 2014 if a time traveller told you by 2022 you'd have done the Premier League, FA Cup, Europa League and reached the champions League Quarter Final by 2022! 

 

 

 

 

 

We would possibly drop into the EL anyway after falling out of the CL... with £60m burning a hole in our back pocket!

[jerry]

21 minutes ago, splinterdream said:

Firstly, if we finish 5th then despite the disappointment we can say we've had another good season, fa cup winners and we are a top 6 club, knocking out sours and arsenal, we should be able to attract decent players to our club. If youri or any other player wants to leave then so be it, it'll be because we don't pay enough wages or our location and you can't change that, we have to sell high and move on. Finishing top 4 for us in reality is over achieving tbh with our squad, we need to stop bringing in players and not using them, having players on the bench such as praet and under and them not getting a game when we need fresh players, attacking players is insane.

 

I'm looking forward to the summer, new team, new players and challenges whatever they are, let's get that new stand built. 

Agree and good to have some positivity or would we rather be like Derby Forest or Stoke for instance.

 

[Koke]

Honestly imagine if we won the ****ing Europa League. It'd be such a huge achievement. Remember the euphoria of winning the FA Cup ? Yeah times that by 3 that's how I would feel if we won the EL.

[ARM1968]

4 minutes ago, Koke said:

I enjoy the Europa League. I think we will dominate our group again. Hopefully our squad isn't ravaged by injuries. Slavia Prague are farmers, they can get in the bin.. if we meet again next season I'm convinced we will beat them.

Farmers with guns kill foxes mate. It’s what they do. 

[KrefelderFox666]

14 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

What integrity did they come out with?

Claiming you didn't know what you were signing up for was pathetic.

The fact they were one of the more hesitant to join and one of the first to pull out. It was clear that clubs like Liverpool and Man U were drivers who probably pressured some of the other clubs in. No denying that clubs like Man City or Chelsea could have stood up against it from the start but to me, they came off better than some of the others. And we won't mention Real or Barca...