UEFA Europa Conference League - Alkmaar, Legia and Zrinjski

[LeeB]

The Inter-Toto was a qualifier which is why no one remembers it with any great excitement. I have little doubt that the vast majority of us enjoyed winning the League Cup more in 94 and 96 than we did finishing 2nd and 4th around the same.

Exactly

[PeterWithesShin]

I'd rather win trophies. I doubt anyone reminisces about seasons we made a tidy profit on the bank balance, they sure as fuck do about 75, 77, 81, 82, 94 and 96.

Again, completely missing the point...

It really isn't.

[LeeB]

I was at both wins and they're the absolute highlights of my bear 40 years watching us, without a shadow of a doubt.

[Dogtanian]

I'd rather win trophies. I doubt anyone reminisces about seasons we made a tidy profit on the bank balance, they sure as fuck do about 75, 77, 81, 82, 94 and 96.

Again, completely missing the point...

It really isn't.

Ah yes, you're arguing against the "finishing high in the league is better than winning a cup" point that literally nobody has made... 

[dave.woodhall]

It doesn't have to be either/or.

[PeterWithesShin]

Ah yes, you're arguing against the "finishing high in the league is better than winning a cup" point that literally nobody has made... 

"I know we all want a trophy. But if that comes with a 14th place finish, it's too big a price to pay."

"I disagree, who remembers the intertoto wins? League position and aspiring to the big boys cup is where it is at."

[Dogtanian]

Ah yes, you're arguing against the "finishing high in the league is better than winning a cup" point that literally nobody has made... 

"I know we all want a trophy. But if that comes with a 14th place finish, it's too big a price to pay."

"I disagree, who remembers the intertoto wins? League position and aspiring to the big boys cup is where it is at."

Yep, '...if that comes with..'

You're oversimplifying what I've said by ignoring all of my reasoning, hence missing the actual point.

[PeterWithesShin]

It wasn't you that said those. So no, i'm not missing the point as I wasn't replying to you.

[Dogtanian]

It wasn't you that said those. So no, i'm not missing the point as I wasn't replying to you.

Except I did say the first thing..

But it's cool, you can win if you want! 

[PeterWithesShin]

Is that because you don't like winning things? 

[edgysatsuma89]

On the 5th place getting CL football:

'Two places are reserved for the two countries with the highest coefficient score in current season.'

So previous seasons don't matter, and:

'The total points earned by every nation’s clubs - with bonus points for reaching certain stages plus match-related points - are divided by the number of sides in European competitions.'

So the advantage of having more teams in European competitions is weighted out.

[pauliewalnuts]

Considering how much we drone on and on about our one European trophy won so far, it's surprising to see the thought of winning another one brushed away if it might impact our league performance.

We finished 11th the year we won the European Cup.

I wonder how many people were saying "Ah, it's all well and good, but look at the league table) this time 41 years ago.

And I know, football has changed, top four yada yada yada, but this it is so long since we won anything at all, and this is a prestigious European competition - one which, if you win it, guarantees you entry into the Europa League the next season anyway!

[Smithy]

Ah yes, you're arguing against the "finishing high in the league is better than winning a cup" point that literally nobody has made... 

"I know we all want a trophy. But if that comes with a 14th place finish, it's too big a price to pay."

"I disagree, who remembers the intertoto wins? League position and aspiring to the big boys cup is where it is at."

Yep, '...if that comes with..'

You're oversimplifying what I've said by ignoring all of my reasoning, hence missing the actual point.

I think you're both right.  It's about winning trophies, that's the most important thing. Definitely. But also, sometimes missing out on a trophy can be better for the team in the longer term.  I doubt there's a Villa fan alive who now wishes they could go back and win the play-off final against Fulham, for example.  It's not saying it's exactly the same thing, obviously, but I can see the logic in arguing that you'd take a champions league place via the league, ahead of winning the Europa Conference, IF it kick-started a process that meant the team would be stronger and more competitive for the next four or five years and beyond.

Would you sacrifice a chance of winning a trophy if it significantly increased your chances of winning the next 20 trophies we competed for, domestically and in Europe? I'm not sure I would, personally, but I can totally see the logic for those that would.

All that said, Emery strikes me as the sort of manager who would rather have a European trophy on his CV than a top 4 league finish.

[algy]

I spent some time earlier looking at some Juventus forums (I know, it's a slow day) to see what they were saying about the Conference League next year.

Their general line of thought seems to be that if we got drawn against them, we would win, we're the strongest team in the competition, and with Emery, we've practically got it won before a ball is kicked.

I agree with that and there is nothing wrong with overconfidence. I am NOT cancelling my hotel in Athens.

Screw it, you're right.  Booked a (cancellable) hotel in Athens.  I ain't missing out on this one like I missed out on the last one*.


* admittedly I was less than 3 weeks old at the time, so maybe it was justifiable that I wasn't taken to Rotterdam, but still ...


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For the record, I accept both sides of the argument about league vs cups, and think we should just come to a compromise and we just decide to win everything.

[Flamingo Lane]

I'd never swop 1970/71, the season we missed out on promotion from the old third division (finishing third), but reached the League Cup final, which we lost to Tottenham, for one where we went up but didn't reach that final.