Europa League 2012-13 - QF: Basel (SUI)

[Park Lane James]

If we won the Europa League this season and didn't qualify for the CL for the next ten years, I'd look back more fondly at the memories of the 2010/11 CL campaign. Destroying the reigning European Champions at the Lane. Beating AC Milan in the San Siro. Seeing the likes of Real Madrid grace the turf of White Hart Lane. I felt this was where we belonged. This was the club we had been under Bill Nic, the club we can be again.

Are you fudging kidding me? That season the Champions League has yielded nothing valuable IMO - a few memories and a bit of money for the club. Great. But winning the Europa League will bring with it more than any bank account increase - maturity of the players. How many of our players have actually won a trophy? Hardly any really. Winning trophies is what matures players, and that experience will help the a hell of a lot more than merely participating in the Champions League ever will. You don't get a trophy for coming fourth place - just ask Arsenal fans.

 

[jimmyb]

The man's said it:
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8610854/
Andre Villas-Boas says Spurs' priority is a top-four finish

He might say that a top four finish is more important - and I would agree with him - but he absolutely doesn't say that that aim will likely be harmed if we continue to take the Europa League seriously. Quite the opposite.

 

[paxtonwolf]

Are you fudging kidding me? That season the Champions League has yielded nothing valuable IMO - a few memories and a bit of money for the club. Great. But winning the Europa League will bring with it more than any bank account increase - maturity of the players. How many of our players have actually won a trophy? Hardly any really. Winning trophies is what matures players, and that experience will help the a hell of a lot more than merely participating in the Champions League ever will. You don't get a trophy for coming fourth place - just ask Arsenal fans.

Couldnt agree more James. For those that were there, beating Inter at the Lane was one of the top highlights of their time watching Spurs, but I will 100% guarantee, that if we reach the final and win it, those fortunate to be in Amsterdam will rank that night higher.
As you rightly say winning any trophy helps the players improve their winning mentality, especially a European trophy

 

[SteveAWOL]

Are you fudging kidding me? That season the Champions League has yielded nothing valuable IMO - a few memories and a bit of money for the club. Great. But winning the Europa League will bring with it more than any bank account increase - maturity of the players. How many of our players have actually won a trophy? Hardly any really. Winning trophies is what matures players, and that experience will help the a hell of a lot more than merely participating in the Champions League ever will. You don't get a trophy for coming fourth place - just ask Arsenal fans.

I also don't understand how some fans think that finishing 4th in the league is more glorious an achievement than winning a first European trophy in 29 years. Yes the Europa League is a bit of a mess of a competition but aside from actually winning the Premier League or Champions League (neither of which we are likely to do in the near future unless we can discover a couple more Bales and Vertonghens) the Europa League is the next most prestigious piece of silverware we could have in our trophy cabinet.

Plus there's no guarantee that we will be able to sign a world class striker even if we qualify for the CL, as we discovered in the summer of 2010 when the transfer window passed by without any major activity until that fortuitous deadline day deal for VdV. Whilst the last time we did actually manage to sign a top class forward was when Berbatov left Leverkusen, who had played in the Champions League 5 times in the previous 6 seasons, for us a club which had no CL pedigree whatsoever at the time.

 

[Wriggly]

Are you fudging kidding me? That season the Champions League has yielded nothing valuable IMO - a few memories and a bit of money for the club. Great. But winning the Europa League will bring with it more than any bank account increase - maturity of the players. How many of our players have actually won a trophy? Hardly any really. Winning trophies is what matures players, and that experience will help the a hell of a lot more than merely participating in the Champions League ever will. You don't get a trophy for coming fourth place - just ask Arsenal fans.

amen.

 

[billyiddo]

Are you fudging kidding me? That season the Champions League has yielded nothing valuable IMO - a few memories and a bit of money for the club. Great. But winning the Europa League will bring with it more than any bank account increase - maturity of the players. How many of our players have actually won a trophy? Hardly any really. Winning trophies is what matures players, and that experience will help the a hell of a lot more than merely participating in the Champions League ever will. You don't get a trophy for coming fourth place - just ask Arsenal fans.

how many players finish their careers with winners medals? not many and even less finish their careers with European winners medals

look at Robbie Keane after we won the League Cup ffs - in tears of joy at winning a trophy that some supporters don't seem to have the time of day for. winning the Europa League would be huge for everyone at the club and quite possibly be the highlight of some of these players careers. look at Falcao, possibly the most sought after striker in the world who has won the thing 3 times now and is probably a very big reason why he has stayed at A.Madrid - people want to stay in a team that is winning trophies

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

Are you fudging kidding me? That season the Champions League has yielded nothing valuable IMO - a few memories and a bit of money for the club. Great. But winning the Europa League will bring with it more than any bank account increase - maturity of the players. How many of our players have actually won a trophy? Hardly any really. Winning trophies is what matures players, and that experience will help the a hell of a lot more than merely participating in the Champions League ever will. You don't get a trophy for coming fourth place - just ask Arsenal fans.

Can't agree with that unfortunately. Winning the Europa League won't be a springboard for success if we don't also qualify for the Champion's League. In fact, I think it would have the direct opposite effect.

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

how many players finish their careers with winners medals? not many and even less finish their careers with European winners medals

look at Robbie Keane after we won the League Cup ffs - in tears of joy at winning a trophy that some supporters don't seem to have the time of day for. winning the Europa League would be huge for everyone at the club and quite possibly be the highlight of some of these players careers. look at Falcao, possibly the most sought after striker in the world who has won the thing 3 times now and is probably a very big reason why he has stayed at A.Madrid - people want to stay in a team that is winning trophies

And then he went to Liverpool. Had we qualified for the Champion's League that season would he have left? Probably not. Same applies to Berbatov the same year.

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

I also don't understand how some fans think that finishing 4th in the league is more glorious an achievement than winning a first European trophy in 29 years. Yes the Europa League is a bit of a mess of a competition but aside from actually winning the Premier League or Champions League (neither of which we are likely to do in the near future unless we can discover a couple more Bales and Vertonghens) the Europa League is the next most prestigious piece of silverware we could have in our trophy cabinet.

Plus there's no guarantee that we will be able to sign a world class striker even if we qualify for the CL, as we discovered in the summer of 2010 when the transfer window passed by without any major activity until that fortuitous deadline day deal for VdV. Whilst the last time we did actually manage to sign a top class forward was when Berbatov left Leverkusen, who had played in the Champions League 5 times in the previous 6 seasons, for us a club which had no CL pedigree whatsoever at the time.

As soon as the Champion's League was made up of teams that weren't winners of their domestic league, as soon as the Champion's League sucked up any meaningful money to be earned, as soon as the Premiership financially became more rewarding than the Uefa Cup and as soon as the CWC was removed all together then only two things matter now. Winning the league. Winning the Champion's League. The nostalgia in me thinks winning the FA Cup is still worthwhile, but my head tells me that nostalgia is almost always foolish. I'd rather win trophies than not, but I'd rather compete at the highest level on a regular basis with great players that are a joy to watch than be a mid-table also ran that had the odd success in a cup.

 

[billyiddo]

And then he went to Liverpool. Had we qualified for the Champion's League that season would he have left? Probably not. Same applies to Berbatov the same year.

the League Cup is not quite a European cup competition is it? Keane was nearing the end of his career and offered a last chance shot at being in the Champions League and potentially in for the Premier League title (i believe Liverpool had finished 2nd the season prior?) Berbatov was wanted by United, the 2nd biggest club in the world

let's not forget either we had Ramos in charge at the time and things weren't looking good going in to the following season after finishing the league just inside the top 10(?) we certainly looked a world away from being involved in the hunt for the CL places again - so although it's a fair(ish) point you make about them both leaving - it's hardly a comparable situation to what we could possibly find ourselves in next season ie just missing out on CL football but winning a European cup, i believe that is the type of situation which players would be happy to stick around in as it shows not only that we are close on the league front but we also have a winning mentality in Europe - and that there is potential going in to the next couple of seasons.



take at look at the big name players which A.Madrid have managed to hold on to without CL football since they won their Europa Leagues as an example of a similar set of circumstances

 

[Armchair Expert]

As soon as the Champion's League was made up of teams that weren't winners of their domestic league, as soon as the Champion's League sucked up any meaningful money to be earned, as soon as the Premiership financially became more rewarding than the Uefa Cup and as soon as the CWC was removed all together then only two things matter now. Winning the league. Winning the Champion's League. The nostalgia in me thinks winning the FA Cup is still worthwhile, but my head tells me that nostalgia is almost always foolish. I'd rather win trophies than not, but I'd rather compete at the highest level on a regular basis with great players that are a joy to watch than be a mid-table also ran that had the odd success in a cup.

Ask Swansea fans if they thought winning the League was a silly distraction in their battle for midtable.

 

[Armchair Expert]

Can't agree with that unfortunately. Winning the Europa League won't be a springboard for success if we don't also qualify for the Champion's League. In fact, I think it would have the direct opposite effect.

So I guess you be feeling pretty down if we win the Europa then?
Would you bother watching the final, or would you just be seething that we should have conserved our energy to try and win the fourth placed trophy?

 

[Kenyan Spur]

So I guess if we get CL football next season, we should rest our players in that to give us the best chance of qualifying again the following season?

=D>

Very well put.

If we want to play in the CL, we have to play the extra games, and still aim for CL qualification.

So what is SO different in playing in the Europa League.

We need to do both.

 

[thejazzman]

IIRC correctly AVB has actually stated that he's been trying to get the players used to playing more than one important match in a week. Great point above about the maturity gained from winning a trophy; it seems obvious to me that the concentration levels need to win a European trophy, not to mention the experience of in-game management/strategy, will serve us well whether we qualify for the champions league or not, but especially if we do.

 

[Kenyan Spur]

Listen, as soon as we made it through to the knockout stages I looked at the corresponding fixtures we'd be playing the same weeks. The quarter finals stood out a mile as the most difficult - Everton and Chelsea. I thought we'd be fine the previous round, and the semi-final isn't too bad. Never did I imagine we'd lose to Fulham. That changed my thinking. The prospect of blowing another big lead became very real. The prospect of Bale leaving became very real. I honestly don't think some on this board truly understand what a player Bale is. We'll never see his like again at Spurs.Never. I'd just love to get at least one more season out him before he does his Madrid thing - This guy could help us win the friggin league! He's that good. We must keep him. To keep him we must be in the CL next season.

I'm tried and I rest my case. I've made my point.

Are you serious. :-k

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

Listen, as soon as we made it through to the knockout stages I looked at the corresponding fixtures we'd be playing the same weeks. The quarter finals stood out a mile as the most difficult - Everton and Chelsea. I thought we'd be fine the previous round, and the semi-final isn't too bad. Never did I imagine we'd lose to Fulham. That changed my thinking. The prospect of blowing another big lead became very real. The prospect of Bale leaving became very real. I honestly don't think some on this board truly understand what a player Bale is. We'll never see his like again at Spurs. Never. I'd just love to get at least one more season out him before he does his Madrid thing - This guy could help us win the friggin league! He's that good. We must keep him. To keep him we must be in the CL next season.

I'm tried and I rest my case. I've made my point.

Look.....does being in the CL help you keep your best players......if you don't know the answer phone Arsne Wenger

 

[Bonsaiboy]

Can't agree with that unfortunately. Winning the Europa League won't be a springboard for success if we don't also qualify for the Champion's League. In fact, I think it would have the direct opposite effect.

=D>

Some people just get it and some don't.

All trophies are equal but some trophies are more equal than others.

I've got this friend called Jeremy. He won the Pontins snooker championship in the 2nd week of June in 1989, and he's convinced that it is just as worthwhile as the Snooker World Championship itself.

"A piece of silverware is a piece of silverware!" He always says as he holds up his 2 inch Aluminium trophy.

There's no reasoning with him.

 

[AdamB]

Can't agree with that unfortunately. Winning the Europa League won't be a springboard for success if we don't also qualify for the Champion's League. In fact, I think it would have the direct opposite effect.

Agree - CL football attracts players and helps retain your current lot....and thats even before getting on to the massive financial upside from getting into the CL compared to winning the Europa

Hope we rest some players on THurs and then play our best 11 vs Everton and Basel away, given there's a free weekend after the away leg

 

[Wriggly]

=D>

Some people just get it and some don't.

All trophies are equal but some trophies are more equal than others.

I've got this friend called Jeremy. He won the Pontins snooker championship in the 2nd week of June in 1989, and he's convinced that it is just as worthwhile as the Snooker World Championship itself.

"A piece of silverware is a piece of silverware!" He always says as he holds up his 2 inch Aluminium trophy.

There's no reasoning with him.

This is the kind of supporter we have on this board. It's like an infestation.

 

[Spursalot]

=D>

Some people just get it and some don't.

All trophies are equal but some trophies are more equal than others.

I've got this friend called Jeremy. He won the Pontins snooker championship in the 2nd week of June in 1989, and he's convinced that it is just as worthwhile as the Snooker World Championship itself.

"A piece of silverware is a piece of silverware!" He always says as he holds up his 2 inch Aluminium trophy.

There's no reasoning with him.

Your mate is an idiot.


All trophies are not equal. However a trophy is far superior to no trophy.