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CL Qualification vs Cups - The Neverending Story

all the champions league is about now is money. Nothing else. About 4 teams can win it realistically. The way the competition has skewed the clubs across europe means its really lost its excitement. I hate leicester but im so glad they made it through.

On a side note. If we end up in the Europa do we need to do well? only we need to keep Englands points up dont we?

fighting for 4th is just crap. I really hope we can do well in the FA Cup or the Europa. To win a trophy. Would be nice.
 
parklane1 said:
Indeed, its really called the 3rd of the losers.
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That it is. Sadly the way 'The Modern Game' is 4th is a prize. The European Cup was for Champions only, and the Champions League probably has at least 3 times more 1st, 2nd and 3rd losers in it. I miss jumpers for goalposts.
 
lurker of old said:
second-rate domestic trophies that most fans couldn't give a flying fig about these days.

Speak for yourself... I would be delighted to win any domestic trophy... that is Glory and prestige, 4th is just 4th.
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Domestic atrophy more like. Because both the FA Cup and the EFL trophy have become entirely second-rate competitions almost entirely devoid of whatever magic they once possessed.

In every round bar the final these competitions are routinely traduced by the whole of the PL plus any Championship club withjn even a cat-in-hell's chance of promotion. It's clear that these clubs use them solely to give a run out to their second-string in order to prevent muscle atrophy. And in turn they are watched by an ever-dwindling minority desperate enough to be duped by second-rate performances for a second-rate trophy.
 
Don't take this as an attack on you @Spur of the moment but I could not agree less.

Football is about winning trophies not who qualifies for the CL the most, and it is as simple as that for me. Somewhere along the line the media have convinced fans that the only way to win those trophies is to qualify for CL and thus generate enough revenue to compete for a trophy :confused:. And this qualification should take precedence over competing for trophies o_O.

I understand the club has to compete financially, I am not naive about that, but this is not a game of who is the richest. It is football and the glory is to be had on the pitch, not in the bank or boardroom.

I also understand the domestic cup competitions mean less now to most. However this for me is to the detriment of the game as a whole. When did it become more important to be a rich club than a successful one. In the last 11 years Seville have won 9 trophies including 5 Europa leagues. I'd take that over 9 CL qualifications every day.
 
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I'm early 30's, and am glad I got to enjoy at least a little bit of being a football fan before the top 4/CL gonads. I don't think i'm joking when I say I prefered being a fan in the 90's even though our teams were often mediocre at best. The 91' Semi final v Arsenal, the FA Cup win that followed, the League Cup win's in 99' and 08'. They're the highlights for me. Not the fight for 4th place, to qualify for a tournament we are never going to win. It's all complete gonads, a big cup tie would used to generate better atmosphere in the grounds than any other game, now some teams are playing cup ties to half empty stadiums. At least we manage to near enough sell out whatever the fixture.
 
I understand why we need to get that top 4 berth, from a financial perspective.
But there is no feeling like actually winning a trophy and I'd love us to give the FA Cup a serious shot.
Every year I look forward to the draw for the 3rd round to see who we will be playing in January.

EDIT : I just looked it up and the 2nd round matches are this weekend, after which the draw for the "3rd round proper" is made. I had however forgotten that the draw has now moved to a Monday night and usually as part of the One Show or something equally non-football related. This year it's on BT Sport and BBC Two (7pm, Monday 5 Dec). I suppose at least it's now back in a football programme context, But the decision to move the draw out to early Monday evening, instead of straight after either Saturday or Sunday games, is also chipping away at the magic of it all.
Nostalgia.
 
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Spur of the moment said:
Domestic atrophy more like. Because both the FA Cup and the EFL trophy have become entirely second-rate competitions almost entirely devoid of whatever magic they once possessed.

In every round bar the final these competitions are routinely traduced by the whole of the PL plus any Championship club withjn even a cat-in-hell's chance of promotion. It's clear that these clubs use them solely to give a run out to their second-string in order to prevent muscle atrophy. And in turn they are watched by an ever-dwindling minority desperate enough to be duped by second-rate performances for a second-rate trophy.
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Whilst what you're saying about attitudes towards these Cups is probably true, does this not bother you at all as a football fan?
 
Glenda's Legs said:
I understand why we need to get that top 4 berth, from a financial perspective.
But there is no feeling like actually winning a trophy and I'd love us to give the FA Cup a serious shot.
Every year I look forward to the draw for the 3rd round to see who we will be playing in January.

EDIT : I just looked it up and the 2nd round matches are this weekend, after which the draw for the "3rd round proper" is made. I had however forgotten that the draw has now moved to a Monday night and usually as part of the One Show or something equally non-football related. This year it's on BT Sport and BBC Two (7pm, Monday 5 Dec). I suppose at least it's now back in a football programme context, But the decision to move the draw out to early Monday evening, instead of straight after either Saturday or Sunday games, is also chipping away at the magic of it all.
Nostalgia.
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For decades it was Monday 12:30 on radio 2 - live from Queen Anne's Gate
 
Rorschach said:
Don't take this as an attack on you @Spur of the moment but I could not agree less.

Football is about winning trophies not who qualifies for the CL the most, and it is as simple as that for me. Somewhere along the line the media have convinced fans that the only way to win those trophies is to qualify for CL and thus generate enough revenue to compete for a trophy :confused:. And this qualification should take precedence over competing for trophies o_O.

I understand the club has to compete financially, I am not naive about that, but this is not a game of who is the richest. It is football and the glory is to be had on the pitch, not in the bank or boardroom.

I also understand the domestic cup competitions mean less now to most. However this for me is to the detriment of the game as a whole. When did it become more important to be a rich club than a successful one. In the last 11 years Seville have won 9 trophies including 5 Europa leagues. I'd take that over 9 CL qualifications every day.
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Sky and the like have brainwashed fans into believing that the most importent thing is not actually winning things as long as you finish in among the losers ( top four).
 
Spur of the moment said:
Domestic atrophy more like. Because both the FA Cup and the EFL trophy have become entirely second-rate competitions almost entirely devoid of whatever magic they once possessed.

In every round bar the final these competitions are routinely traduced by the whole of the PL plus any Championship club withjn even a cat-in-hell's chance of promotion. It's clear that these clubs use them solely to give a run out to their second-string in order to prevent muscle atrophy. And in turn they are watched by an ever-dwindling minority desperate enough to be duped by second-rate performances for a second-rate trophy.
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Sadly true. Also this is everything that is wrong with football 2016.
 
parklane1 said:
Well i bet there will be the usual race for tickets IF we make a final from those who can not give a flying fig. And then the usual bitching and whineing when they can not get one.
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Aha! You see, in a way you have unwittingly put your finger on my very point. Many fans have indeed lost interest in the competition until it comes to the final, when their willingness to kid themselves that this is after all a prize worth winning only serves to betray the underlying truth that if they really believed this they'd have attended in much greater numbers in the earlier rounds.

However I will concede that our relatively healthy domestic cup attendances would suggest this applies less to Tottenham fans than to most, thanks mainly to our special history in cup competitions.
 
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