Europa League - some positive perspective...

[Baleforce]

I think its worth keeping our arm in if we qualify for it, we're not in great shakes in the league so having another route to CL would be prudent, we can obviously shift priorities later down the line depending on league position

 

[Jordinho]

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.

Finishing 3rd/4th in a two and half team league. It's not comparable to qualifying from the PL.

If we were in a semi final we obviously give it a go, but not earlier than that unless we were way ahead of 5th place, but too far off 1st for it to be a realistic possibility. Or lost in mid table.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

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.

Do people really think Poch is making decisions like this unilaterally (if indeed such a decision has been made)? If there is a policy to prioritise top 4 over everything else, then that will have been agreed with Levy/the board - or directed by Levy/the board.

For the record, I hope that we do now finish 3rd in our group and play EL and take it seriously. I would love us to win this, or the FA Cup. But if we treat it with a lower priority , I doubt that will solely be Poch's decision.

 

[Mr_B]

The only positive to the europa is now the carrot of CL qualification, yes its a cup but I would put the FA cup above this tinpot tournament, I was watching Fehenrbace and some team from ukraine play this morning in a typically uninspiring europa game and thinking this is light years away from the CL, look at southampton with only 3 wins in the league, no coincidence they're playing on thursday nights.

 

[parklane1]

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

Good idea, lets fudge off all our chances of winning a trophy ans concentrate on finishing among the runners up. That's what we have been doing since " rent a quote" threw the game by naming a team full of kids, reserves in the EL a few years back. After all that's what we did last and we got into the CL and look how that has gone. We made a awful start and went into the game against Monaco knowing that we needed to win, so what happens we leave three of our best players on the bench ( having already had two ruled out because of injury)

What's the fudging point on passing up on trying to win some silverware, just to be a also run in supposedly the only thing worth playing in. fudging madness.

 

[parklane1]

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.

To much sense in that for some.

 

[parklane1]

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

That excuse is wearing and getting old. imo

 

[jaysea67]

As it currently stands the last 32 of EL would be:
SEEDED: Fenerbahçe, APOEL, Anderlecht, Zenit St Petersburg, Roma, Genk, Ajax, Shaktar Donetsk, Schalke, Fiorentina, Sparta Prague, Osmanlispor, Besiktas, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Copenhagen, Lyon
UNSEEDED: Manchester United, Olympiakos, St-Étienne, AZ Alkmaar, Astra Giurgiu, Athletic Bilbao, Standard Liege, Sporting Braga, Krasnodar, Qarabag, Southampton, Villarreal, Ludogorets, Rostov, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon

Teams in bold are definitely qualified to the pot shown
Teams in italics have definitely qualified their seeding is unknown.

 

[Rorschach]

fudge it, we should go all in for this and give the old girl a send off to remember. We are not going to win the league anyway, so come on Poch get your Seville DVD's out and do what they did.

 

[Jurgen the German]

I would play the kids until when and if we get to the last 8. Too many times we've got the last 16 and it has at least a small impact on our league form.

Would love to win it but I'm realistic and can't see it and would rather go all guns blazing for the FA Cup, which I think is a far more achievable trophy to win.

 

[AdamB]

As it currently stands the last 32 of EL would be:
SEEDED: Fenerbahçe, APOEL, Anderlecht, Zenit St Petersburg, Roma, Genk, Ajax, Shaktar Donetsk, Schalke, Fiorentina, Sparta Prague, Osmanlispor, Besiktas, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Copenhagen, Lyon
UNSEEDED: Manchester United, Olympiakos, St-Étienne, AZ Alkmaar, Astra Giurgiu, Athletic Bilbao, Standard Liege, Sporting Braga, Krasnodar, Qarabag, Southampton, Villarreal, Ludogorets, Rostov, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon

Teams in bold are definitely qualified to the pot shown
Teams in italics have definitely qualified their seeding is unknown.

How do seedings work?

 

[scaramanga]

Good idea, lets fudge off all our chances of winning a trophy ans concentrate on finishing among the runners up. That's what we have been doing since " rent a quote" threw the game by naming a team full of kids, reserves in the EL a few years back. After all that's what we did last and we got into the CL and look how that has gone. We made a awful start and went into the game against Monaco knowing that we needed to win, so what happens we leave three of our best players on the bench ( having already had two ruled out because of injury)

What's the fudging point on passing up on trying to win some silverware, just to be a also run in supposedly the only thing worth playing in. fudging madness.

I'm not advocating playing weakened teams in the CL, just in its departed cousin.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

How do seedings work?

You put them in compost add some water and then put out in a cold frame till the weather gets warmer.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

I would play the kids until when and if we get to the last 8. Too many times we've got the last 16 and it has at least a small impact on our league form.

Would love to win it but I'm realistic and can't see it and would rather go all guns blazing for the FA Cup, which I think is a far more achievable trophy to win.

This for me, keep trying to finish in top 4, Man Cuty took a few times to get out the group stages of champs league and they have far larger resources then us. Though I echo echo what people have been saying in other threads about our team setup not looking so fluid this season.

 

[jaysea67]

How do seedings work?

EL group winners plus the 4 best 3rd place teams from CL groups are seeded. The CL teams are ordered by points, GD, etc gained from CL group.

 

[parklane1]

I'm not advocating playing weakened teams in the CL, just in its departed cousin.

I know what you are advocating, i just disagree with it.