UEFA Europa Conference League - Alkmaar, Legia and Zrinjski

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't consider it a major trophy.  Clearly it would be nice to win it and West Ham fans certainly enjoyed it, but there's no way I'd class a third-tier Euro competition as a major trophy. 

Whether you do or not, it is one. That's a simple fact.

Didn't realise there was a definition.  Even so, if the majority of people (outside of Villa and West Ham fans) don't think it is then it doesn't matter what you believe is fact or not.

Well, it just is. Lots of Man City fans don't think the FA Cup is a major trophy either.

Look at how many Arsenal fans were on their way home whilst their team were lifting the FA Cup after beating us?

I'd rather not look at anything which happened that day.

[chrisw1]

I don't consider it a major trophy.  Clearly it would be nice to win it and West Ham fans certainly enjoyed it, but there's no way I'd class a third-tier Euro competition as a major trophy. 

Whether you do or not, it is one. That's a simple fact.

Didn't realise there was a definition.  Even so, if the majority of people (outside of Villa and West Ham fans) don't think it is then it doesn't matter what you believe is fact or not.

Well, it just is. Lots of Man City fans don't think the FA Cup is a major trophy either.

I doubt there's a single UK based Man City fan who thinks that.

[VillaTim]

It's nothing like the Intertoto. Why do people keep saying that?

The official entry spot for English clubs into the Conference is winning the League Cup. So from the very first step of the 2 competitions they are nothing alike.

the tournament is designed for lower ranking UEFA nations to have a go at winning something - think Malta, Faroes, Kazaksthan etc . I don't think it was ever meant for the bigger nations to take it so seriously but they have

[pauliewalnuts]

It's nothing like the Intertoto. Why do people keep saying that?

The official entry spot for English clubs into the Conference is winning the League Cup. So from the very first step of the 2 competitions they are nothing alike.

the tournament is designed for lower ranking UEFA nations to have a go at winning something - think Malta, Faroes, Kazaksthan etc . I don't think it was ever meant for the bigger nations to take it so seriously but they have

That much is true. It definitely wasn't designed for the likes of Roma or West Ham to win it.

[Pat McMahon]

Got mine through on email. Although as I'm now in Krakow May need to ask politely of the hotel staff to see if they'll print for me otherwise relying on phone version. Assume we'll need passport ID at the ground. Or it's a licence for chaos at future games.

Where were you in Krakow tonight? I bumped into Steve Gough and some of his mates in a bar on the main square.

My mate in Warsaw says they sometimes check ID, but not consistently. It depends on the game and chance of trouble.

Cheers. Didn't arrive until late evening and an early start for a trip to Auschwitz today so stayed local to our hotel. Hopefully see more of the town tonight.

Blimey I was in Auschwitz yesterday too. Arrived in Warsaw an hour ago. Have a good trip

[pauliewalnuts]

I'd recommend reading The Escape Artist by Jonathan Friedland if visiting Auschwitz.

[PeterWithesShin]

The Intertoto was a mini qualifying competition, this is a proper cup competition. In 2001 three sides qualified from the Intertoto, by 2006 eleven sides were qualifying from it.

[Dave]

It's nothing like the Intertoto. Why do people keep saying that?

The official entry spot for English clubs into the Conference is winning the League Cup. So from the very first step of the 2 competitions they are nothing alike.

the tournament is designed for lower ranking UEFA nations to have a go at winning something - think Malta, Faroes, Kazaksthan etc . I don't think it was ever meant for the bigger nations to take it so seriously but they have

Which is nothing like what the Intertoto Cup was. The Intertoto was originally dreamt up so that there was a competition happening to allow sports betting to continue over the summer.

Toto is even the German term for the football pools.

[achilles]

I'd recommend reading The Escape Artist by Jonathan Friedland if visiting Auschwitz.

A brilliant read!

[VillaTim]

It's nothing like the Intertoto. Why do people keep saying that?

The official entry spot for English clubs into the Conference is winning the League Cup. So from the very first step of the 2 competitions they are nothing alike.

the tournament is designed for lower ranking UEFA nations to have a go at winning something - think Malta, Faroes, Kazaksthan etc . I don't think it was ever meant for the bigger nations to take it so seriously but they have

Which is nothing like what the Intertoto Cup was. The Intertoto was originally dreamt up so that there was a competition happening to allow sports betting to continue over the summer.

Toto is even the German term for the football pools.

interesting , i didn't know that

[PeterWithesShin]

I don't think it was designed for clubs from small nations to win it. It was maybe partly done to give them a chance of a bit of a run but the fact the major nations all have a team in it, and that teams from the Europa drop into it, means that the odds of a small nation winning it are all but zero. By the QF stage any true minnows have gone.

[Sexual Ealing]

It's nothing like the Intertoto. Why do people keep saying that?

The official entry spot for English clubs into the Conference is winning the League Cup. So from the very first step of the 2 competitions they are nothing alike.

the tournament is designed for lower ranking UEFA nations to have a go at winning something - think Malta, Faroes, Kazaksthan etc . I don't think it was ever meant for the bigger nations to take it so seriously but they have

Toto is even the German term for the football pools.

What do they call it in Africa?

[Dave]

I don't think it was designed for clubs from small nations to win it. It was maybe partly done to give them a chance of a bit of a run but the fact the major nations all have a team in it, and that teams from the Europa drop into it, means that the odds of a small nation winning it are all but zero. By the QF stage any true minnows have gone.

I think we're all wise enough to know that the real reason that it exists is that clubs, sponsors and governing bodies all want more matches, because more matches = more money.

Who does well and who wins them obviously isn't something that they're bothered about.

[chrisw1]

It's nothing like the Intertoto. Why do people keep saying that?

The official entry spot for English clubs into the Conference is winning the League Cup. So from the very first step of the 2 competitions they are nothing alike.

the tournament is designed for lower ranking UEFA nations to have a go at winning something - think Malta, Faroes, Kazaksthan etc . I don't think it was ever meant for the bigger nations to take it so seriously but they have

That much is true. It definitely wasn't designed for the likes of Roma or West Ham to win it.

First contested in the 2021–22 season, the competition serves as the bottom level of the Europa League, which was reduced from 48 to 32 teams in the group stage. The competition is primarily contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations.[1] No teams qualify directly to the group stage, with 10 teams eliminated in the Europa League play-offs and the rest coming from the Europa Conference League qualifiers

UEFA had reportedly considered adding a third-tier competition since at least 2015, believing that a bottom-level tournament could act as a means of giving clubs from lower-ranked UEFA member countries a chance of progressing beyond their customary elimination from the Champions League and Europa League.[3]

Make your own mind up, but that is the background.

For me it's akin to winning the plate at a football tournament - the competition to keep interest for the shitter teams.

That's not to say that anyone who may share this view doesn't want to win it, all the stuff about progress etc etc.  The benefits to us playing in it are obvious.  It's just some (a lot I'd bet) don't consider a third-tier competition to be a major trophy. 

I strongly suspect Jacob Ramsey feels the same, but he'll still do the bouncy trophy on the head photo if we win it.

[Small Rodent]

Met a few Villa fans last night. One used to sell H&V but not a messageboard person. Very pleasant bloke. Tall…50ish, been to see Villa in USA and Australia.

I think he was called Steve…but I was a little drunk at the time.