The Run-in...

[Mr_B]

Its a trophy we could win, never understand Spurs fans who would rather finish among the runners up ( top four) then actually try and win a trophy.

'
we're not in the 80's anymore, yes its a trophy but there's little prestige from winning it and the sheer amount of matches involved to get to the final means we can give up on finishing in a decent league position which should be our priority as opposed to traveling to the arctic circle to play nobody teams. I'm old school and not a fan of the whole finishing 4th situation either but compared to the farce that is the europa, its the best target to take this team forward

 

[parklane1]

How close have we ever actually come? I would rather write off the League Cup and the Europa League, and focus on the FA Cup and qualifying for the CL, the latter of which may actually lead to more success in the future.

I would argue that by being so 'ambitious' and saying 'no, we want to win the EL and LC, along with the FA Cup and coming 4th', we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Concentrating fully on 2 competitions is much more likely to deliver the silverware you so desire both in the short- and long-term.

We should write nothing off its not as we win a lot of trophys, and I do not consider coming among the runners up ( top four) winning anything.

 

[parklane1]

'
we're not in the 80's anymore, yes its a trophy but there's little prestige from winning it and the sheer amount of matches involved to get to the final means we can give up on finishing in a decent league position which should be our priority as opposed to traveling to the arctic circle to play nobody teams. I'm old school and not a fan of the whole finishing 4th situation either but compared to the farce that is the europa, its the best target to take this team forward

Speak for yourself, and once again its a myth that there are a lot more games to play to win it, there is roughly the same in the CL.

 

[Pandy]

We should write nothing off its not as we win a lot of trophys, and I do not consider coming among the runners up ( top four) winning anything.

Coming in the top 4 is not winning something. But by getting into the CL you get more money, attract better players, and then have a legitimate chance of winning the EL/FA Cup/LC - hell maybe even the title itself - in future seasons. We went through that cycle once and put together a fantastic team that came fourth or was one point off for about 4 seasons running.

Do you really think VDV would have come here from Real Madrid if we weren't in the Champions League?

Get in the CL again and we can start having a proper crack at Europe.

There is nothing noble about trying to compete in four competitions and failing miserably in each one.

 

[Pandy]

No doubt, I would love to win the EL.

If we're thinking about it strategically, with so many quality teams dropping in from the CL, so many poxy group-stage away ties in the arse end of nowhere, and so many intense two-legged knockout ties, the chances of us actually winning (let alone reaching the QFs) the EL, are basically nil.

That is, until we have a bit of quality.

 

[parklane1]

Coming in the top 4 is not winning something. But by getting into the CL you get more money, attract better players, and then have a legitimate chance of winning the EL/FA Cup/LC - hell maybe even the title itself - in future seasons. We went through that cycle once and put together a fantastic team that came fourth or was one point off for about 4 seasons running.

Do you really think VDV would have come here from Real Madrid if we weren't in the Champions League?

Get in the CL again and we can start having a proper crack at Europe.

There is nothing noble about trying to compete in four competitions and failing miserably in each one.

So me might as well give up on two of them seems to be your choice, we will have to disagree over that. The game is about glory and winning things not finishing among the runners up ( top four).

 

[mudshark]

The game is about glory and winning things not finishing among the runners up ( top four) money.

fixed that for you

 

[Neymar]

The game is about glory and winning things not finishing among the runners up ( top four).

it is about glory, but not solely winning things. if it was just about winning things, we could make our own friendly tournaments and win those.

glory comes from one-upping your rivals and bragging rights. in the past you could get these bragging rights by winning cups. unfortunately in modern football, the bragging rights seems to be in top 4 finishes moreso than cups. and so, because football is about glory, i think we should be prioritise top 4.

its quite obvious that the real footballing acheivment is in top 4 finishes more so than domestic cups now. arsenal have had the bragging rights over us simply because they have been finishing in the top 4. liverpool and southampton will be absolutely devastated this season if they miss out on top 4. i doubt they feel the same because they didnt win the fa cup or league cup.

 

[Modric THFC]

it is about glory, but not solely winning things. if it was just about winning things, we could make our own friendly tournaments and win those.

glory comes from one-upping your rivals and bragging rights. in the past you could get these bragging rights by winning cups. unfortunately in modern football, the bragging rights seems to be in top 4 finishes moreso than cups. and so, because football is about glory, i think we should be prioritise top 4.

its quite obvious that the real footballing acheivment is in top 4 finishes more so than domestic cups now. arsenal have had the bragging rights over us simply because they have been finishing in the top 4. liverpool and southampton will be absolutely devastated this season if they miss out on top 4. i doubt they feel the same because they didnt win the fa cup or league cup.

Bragging rights? What a load of gonads.
Glory is about winning with style.
Its not about a dingdong waving contest at the office.

 

[parklane1]

it is about glory, but not solely winning things. if it was just about winning things, we could make our own friendly tournaments and win those.

glory comes from one-upping your rivals and bragging rights. in the past you could get these bragging rights by winning cups. unfortunately in modern football, the bragging rights seems to be in top 4 finishes moreso than cups. and so, because football is about glory, i think we should be prioritise top 4.

its quite obvious that the real footballing acheivment is in top 4 finishes more so than domestic cups now. arsenal have had the bragging rights over us simply because they have been finishing in the top 4. liverpool and southampton will be absolutely devastated this season if they miss out on top 4. i doubt they feel the same because they didnt win the fa cup or league cup.

Sorry mate but that is rubbish.

 

[parklane1]

Bragging rights? What a load of cobblers.
Glory is about winning with style.
Its not about a dingdong waving contest at the office.

tickle my balls with a feather, I personally could not give a brick about the Arse or what they do. My only concern is what happens with Spurs and that means going out and trying to win things not finish among the runners up ( top four). Seems to me that there are some Spurs that are more worried about what the Arse do or not do then support their own team.

 

[Maltese Falcon]

'
we're not in the 80's anymore, yes its a trophy but there's little prestige from winning it and the sheer amount of matches involved to get to the final means we can give up on finishing in a decent league position which should be our priority as opposed to traveling to the arctic circle to play nobody teams. I'm old school and not a fan of the whole finishing 4th situation either but compared to the farce that is the europa, its the best target to take this team forward

This is exactly it. It is no surprise that teams that get to the finals often come from Portugal and Spain where it is a few good team against the also rans. The likes of Sporting Lisbon have maybe half a dozen difficult games a year with the rest being cannon fodder where they can actually afford to rest key players for the European games. Therefore the amount of games involved to get to the EL final is actually an advantage to them - diametrically opposite to the situation in England.

I would hazard to predict that no EPL team will win the EL as long as it retains the same format.

 

[Jordinho]

I must have imagined Chelsea winning it two years ago, reaching the semis finals of both domestic cups and finishing the league strongly. You just need a bit more than just a first XI and you need a manager who can rotate them.

 

[DubaiSpur]

I must have imagined Chelsea winning it two years ago, reaching the semis finals of both domestic cups and finishing the league strongly. You just need a bit more than just a first XI and you need a manager who can rotate them.

1) Chelsea can hardly be called just 'a bit more than just a first XI'. Thick squad filled with options, and to be honest I think the only hope an English side has of winning the EL is precisely to have that sort of squad: continental teams get mid-season breaks and fewer cups to compete in, which gives them an immeasurable advantage compared to our lads who slog through Christmas and New Year's day and then are expected to just power on regardless.

2) That's why I wanted Rafa so much We probably do have that sort of manager, but again, he probably will never have the sort of squad that Chelsea had. This isn't just my dislike of Levy's attitude towards backing his managers and not racking up 65 million pound profits, it's just a statement of fact: even if Levy changes his ways (as he did for Harry to a tiny, tiny extent), we'll likely still fall short due to the reasons prescribed above. All in all, it's just the nature of the competition and English participation in it that precludes a club like us from doing well in it while also competing for the league and the cups.