Europa League - some positive perspective...

[Ade's folks are ok really]

Before I begin, I am of course very aware that we still need some sort of result against CSKA to ensure we drop into this competition.

We'll probably all agree that in seasons past, the Europa League has been a ballache of a competition, but for me not so much due to the Thursday night fixtures, but more the lower level of opposition and the travelling that comes with it during the group stage fixtures.

However, to offer a different perspective, we probably all also had a (small) surge of interest once the CL teams dropped into it and the ties started to feature the likes of Napoli, Inter, Roma, Villarreal, Seville, Sporting, Ajax, PSV, Schalke, Dortmund etc.

Suddenly, for a tournament that is constantly spouted as a waste of time, there were some very tasty looking ties on the horizon!

For me, Poch and the fans should not be so quick to dismiss the Europa and stop seeing it as some sign of abject failure. There are plenty of chances for glory nights at home still.

So in an attempt to be positive after last night (it's a struggle I know!), let's look at things this way…

1. We now go straight into the knockout phase, no laborious trips to the arse end of Estonia or Cyprus playing in front of tiny crowds on shocking pitches;
2. We can hopefully still use it to give the likes of Winks, Janssen, Onomah some needed game time and rest those needing a break such as Kane & Dembele;
3. The ties now have a decent air of worthiness about them;
4. We are only 4 ties away from a major european final;
5. WE ARE ONLY 4 TIES AWAY FROM A MAJOR EUROPEAN FINAL;
6. If we're honest, we have a damn sight better chance of lifting that trophy than we did the CL;
7. I can still dream of a victorious European final against Moaninho and Utd!!
8. …Dare I remind us all, in a Prem League season that is tougher than ever, this is a guaranteed route back into the CL. Surely winning 5 ties, however tricky they might look on paper, the opposition should be easier than overcoming Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Emirates Marketing Project and United over the course of the season!!??

So come on Poch, don't bail on it yet. Take it seriously. Let's restore some European pride to our great club and embrace the challenge. Ok so it's not the elite comp, but we blew that. We've got a lifeline that is Europa and however murky and grey that particular rainbow appears to be, the pot at the end of it still shines brightly!

 

[Lemonade Money]

I'd love to give the EL a good go, but judging by the teams put out in the previous two seasons, that ain't happening.

 

[Lemonade Money]

And I'd quite like to stay in europe longer than the goons, so I can ram all the brick I'm getting today back down their throats.

 

[Daisuk]

Will we play Europa league matches at Wembley as well? If we get there, that is.

 

[paxtonwolf]

Will we play Europa league matches at Wembley as well? If we get there, that is.

Think the club said they will decide if it becomes relevant, which we are now a draw away from being.

Would be nice to have one more European night at the old lane though

 

[Libero]

Look at the teams likely to qualify and those that will drop into from the CL, including us and it is so winnable it is untrue. Lets get some silverware back in the club and win this trophy. Its 4 two legged ties to prepare for that we could win before playing a final in Stockholm.

As it stands qualifiers: Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, APOEL, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Saint Etienne, Zenit, Dundalk, Austria Vienna, Roma, Genk, Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Schalke, Krasnodar, Fiorentina, Qarabag, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Osmanlispor, Villarreal.

CL dropouts: Ludgorets, Beskitas, Borussia Monchengladbach, PSV, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon, FC Copenhagen, Lyon

No disrespect to all of those teams mentioned but we have been in the Europa League from the start with bigger names and sterner tests.

If we drop into it then we should be going all out to win it.

 

[Libero]

Think the club said they will decide if it becomes relevant, which we are now a draw away from being.

Would be nice to have one more European night at the old lane though

Go back to White Hart Lane. We won't get the crowds at Wembley for the Europa so i hope they make the right choice for the team as opposed for the finances and nonsense that UEFA dictate

 

[Modric THFC]

Our second string players aren't good enough to win this competition or get as far as the quarters even.

Every year on here someone pops up with "its a trophy, we can win this".

Every year our second string plus a few first teamer cant even get to the last 8.

The last 7 attempts in the Europa/Uefa:
15/16 knocked out in the last 16
14/15 knocked out in the last 32
13/14 knocked out in the last 16
12/13 knocked out in the last 8
11/12 knocked out in the Group Stage
08/09 knocked out in the last 32
07/08 knocked out in the last 16

1 quarter final in 7 attempts.

Our players and Poch don't care about this competition. They aren't gonna go out and beat teams who are motivated and rested and who see this competition as the highlight of their season.

 

[r-u-s-x]

Look at the teams likely to qualify and those that will drop into from the CL, including us and it is so winnable it is untrue. Lets get some silverware back in the club and win this trophy. Its 4 two legged ties to prepare for that we could win before playing a final in Stockholm.

As it stands qualifiers: Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, APOEL, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Saint Etienne, Zenit, Dundalk, Austria Vienna, Roma, Genk, Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Schalke, Krasnodar, Fiorentina, Qarabag, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Osmanlispor, Villarreal.

CL dropouts: Ludgorets, Beskitas, Borussia Monchengladbach, PSV, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon, FC Copenhagen, Lyon

No disrespect to all of those teams mentioned but we have been in the Europa League from the start with bigger names and sterner tests.

If we drop into it then we should be going all out to win it.

did you think we would win our group? But I agree, also the cup is beautiful.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

I think Poch will play a team that fits in with his/levys objectives. ie If top 4 looks a goer we will be weaker, if its a goner we'll be stronger.....adjusted round by round (like last season)

 

[Libero]

did you think we would win our group? But I agree, also the cup is beautiful.

I thought that we had a good chance but then so did all the other teams but then I wanted a group where we could win it as opposed to being a runner up which is all we would have been playing for if we had got Bayern, Real Madrid, Barca etc.

I wasn't meaning to dumb those teams that will be in it, just more make the point that we have had a higher calibre field before and done quite well so why not embrace it in a season that gives you in theory, a slightly better chance of winning it.

 

[jaysea67]

...
1. We now go straight into the knockout phase, no laborious trips to the arse end of Estonia or Cyprus playing in front of tiny crowds on shocking pitches;

...
As it stands qualifiers: Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, APOEL, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Saint Etienne, Zenit, Dundalk, Austria Vienna, Roma, Genk, Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Schalke, Krasnodar, Fiorentina, Qarabag, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Osmanlispor, Villarreal.

 

[Libero]

Indeed!!!!! Guaranteed to draw them now if we fall into it!

 

[Modric THFC]

I thought that we had a good chance but then so did all the other teams but then I wanted a group where we could win it as opposed to being a runner up which is all we would have been playing for if we had got Bayern, Real Madrid, Barca etc.

I wasn't meaning to dumb those teams that will be in it, just more make the point that we have had a higher calibre field before and done quite well so why not embrace it in a season that gives you in theory, a slightly better chance of winning it.

The calibre of field is exact same as ever.
Look at the finals over the last few years.

2016 - Sevilla v Liverpool
2015 - Sevilla v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
2014 - Sevilla v Benfica
2013 - Benfica v Benitez's Chelsea
2012 - Atletico Madrid v Bilbao
2011 - Porto v Braga
2010 - Atletico Madrid v Fulham
2009 - Shaktar v Bremen
2008 - Zenit v Rangers

We got to one quarter final in these years!

The same team always end up in the final. Two teams with nothing else to play for in the season.
Poch will not be giving up the league run in february. We will play our usual selection in these and go out.

It really doesnt matter about the other team in it.

I honestly think we could enter our second string in the Fa Trophy and not win that because they wouldn't be motivated.

 

[Libero]

The calibre of field is exact same as ever.
Look at the finals over the last few years.

2016 - Sevilla v Liverpool
2015 - Sevilla v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
2014 - Sevilla v Benfica
2013 - Benfica v Benitez's Chelsea
2012 - Atletico Madrid v Bilbao
2011 - Porto v Braga
2010 - Atletico Madrid v Fulham
2009 - Shaktar v Bremen
2008 - Zenit v Rangers

We got to one quarter final in these years!

The same team always end up in the final. Two teams with nothing else to play for in the season.
Poch will not be giving up the league run in february. We will play our usual selection in these and go out.

It really doesnt matter about the other team in it.

I honestly think we could enter our second string in the Fa Trophy and not win that because they wouldn't be motivated.

Well that's a failing of the management then if that is the case. If you look at the finalists - Sevilla, Liverpool, Benfica, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Zenit, Shakhtar and Porto are all big players on the european stage. They generally play in one of the competitions every single year and yet only two of those I mention are in the Europa this time.

The field in theory is less elite than it has been is my point and to that end should be, in theory, an easier path if we want to take it seriously. Why the players wouldn't want to progress and have a chance of winning a major trophy is beyond me and I don't believe it either. The reason we have been eliminated has been because we haven't been good enough against the team we have lost to.

Look at who we have lost to in recent years, Dortmund, Benfica, Fiorentina, Basle (Pens), Shakhtar, PSV (Pens), Sevilla. Two of those went on to win the competition and Dortmund can be widely considered as one of the top 6 teams in Europe and we lost two ties on penalties. Hardly an example in not being motivated.

 

[scaramanga]

fudge the wafer cup. Concentrate on the league and use it to give the kids a run out.

 

[Denmark Spur]

Think the club said they will decide if it becomes relevant, which we are now a draw away from being.

Would be nice to have one more European night at the old lane though

https://twitter.com/x/status/801555905762496512

 

[balesleftboot]

Of course we should give this a go as we should have done last year. Throwing away the chance of silverware for what? the battle to finish 4th and enter a competition you're never going to win. It's one thing if the clubs owners only think of the money, but the fans too?

Come on , what is being a football fan about? I want us to try and win EVERY tournament that we enter. We were a club that once won alot of silverware, those Glory Glory nights. Not let's abandon all else, screw the fans over, as long as we get the cash influx of finishing in the top 4 it doesn't even matter if we perform pathetically once we are in the Champions League.

 

[Jordinho]

Of course we should give this a go as we should have done last year. Throwing away the chance of silverware for what? the battle to finish 4th and enter a competition you're never going to win. It's one thing if the clubs owners only think of the money, but the fans too?

Come on , what is being a football fan about? I want us to try and win EVERY tournament that we enter. We were a club that once won alot of silverware, those Glory Glory nights. Not let's abandon all else, screw the fans over, as long as we get the cash influx of finishing in the top 4 it doesn't even matter if we perform pathetically once we are in the Champions League.

How do we stand a better chance of doing that? More money and several years of it.

 

[DubaiSpur]

How do we stand a better chance of doing that? More money and several years of it.

Ah, Sevilla, that oil-rich European heavyweight that won five UEFA Cups/Europa Leagues in ten years while still finding the time to qualify regularly for the CL.

Fact is, you either give a damn about winning cups or you try your hardest to throw them away without fail so you can try to finish 4th every season, seemingly ad infinitum (because there will *always* be a reason the squad isn't *strong enough* to compete in all competitions if you really want to use it). Poch, for all his positives, has considerably blackened his record here by unfailingly choosing the latter over the past two seasons, even after being shown how close glory is by managing to get to the League Cup final in his first year here.

And the trouble with constantly trying only to finish 4th is that, if you're Wenger, you manage it - if you're anyone else, you might not. And what happens when your sole objective (to the extent of throwing away the chance at progression in the *Champions League*, the competition this club has tried so hard to get into over the years) is one that you ultimately fail to meet?

@Ade's folks are ok really , I admire the spirit with which you've composed your post. But I sadly don't think we'll give a damn about this competition, despite our status as a club extremely capable of winning it - a status we've held for many, many years now.