4th or #4

[kingjulian]

Which would you prioritize come the business end of this season? (I mean fourth vs uefa cup).

Obviously we should compete for every inch of every tournament at the start of the season, but if we find ourselves in a tight fight for 4th place come Jan or Feb 2016 and also in the later stages of the Uefa cup, would you priritize one over other?

Its easy to say we should try both, but judging from the performance of English teams in Europe, success in Europe will probably come only with a few compromises in team selection in the league along the way. I think the competitiveness of the league has probably hurt the british clubs more than the outright strength of the squad itself....hence the question...which would you prioritze?

 

[HC]

Id take the Europa league cup over fourth.

We win a cup and get champions league qualification for winning the Europa league .

I think we can go for both with the squad we've got .

 

[peterhague]

I'd rather win the cup but that doesn't mean we should prioritise it.

Too much of a risk. Go for top 4.

 

[Hansern]

If its either get 4th or win the El, then obviously the last one.
Guaranteed CL qualification and a trophy.

But realisticly its probably 4th and a domestic cup win.

 

[gkmacca]

I want us to bomb out of the Europa League as fast as possible. It's an abomination of a competition - I don't even know or care who won this year, and that's a common reaction - it wrecks league performances and it only becomes even vaguely worthwhile once you reach the final, by which time you're probably utterly fatigued and out of every other competition. Play the kids and forget about it.

 

[kingjulian]

Crap thos is what happens when you posta thread once a bluemoon...

 

[Markeh]

play the kids in the league and domestic cups, go for the Europa

a trophy and champions league qualification, what more do you need

 

[peterhague]

We just need to play a decent 'second xi' in the group stages and see how things go - it's not like we don't have enough players. Something like

Bogdan
Randall
Toure
Ilori
Moreno
Rossiter
Can
Teixeira
Markovic
Ings
Origi

Play them every game and just let them get on with it.

 

[darkstarexodus]

I was thinking yesterday that UEFA should expand the number of CL spots awarded based on Europa Leage placing to either both finalists or all 4 semifinalists if they want the competition taken seriously.

Seeing West Ham go out at the qualifying stages because Bilic clearly doesn't want in the competition just makes a mockery of the whole thing.

 

[dee]

There's a few 'big' teams in the mix currently but most of the competition comes from those 'relegated' from the UCL at Xmas

Liverpool, Spurs, Napoli, Sampdoria, Fiorentina, Ajax, Dnipro, Marseille, Dortmund, Schalke, Bordeaux and Fenerbahce are the bigger names currently

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

Every year (well, almost) we debate about this topic, which is kinda sad in a way.

Can we just win everything instead ?

 

[FoxForceFive]

Every year (well, almost) we debate about this topic, which is kinda sad in a way.

Can we just win everything instead ?

I like that plan.

It might just work.

 

[peterhague]

Like last season when Brenton played our best players in every match and then we mysteriously fell apart with about 7 or 8 games left, and ended up with fuck all??

I really loved that. It was great.

 

[Judge Jules]

How do we re-establish ourselves at the very top? There's one way to do that and one way only - become regular challengers for the title in our own domestic league. If - IF - we're serious about getting back to where we used to be, the league has to be top priority. Simple as.

 

[Red Mullet]

How do we re-establish ourselves at the very top? There's one way to do that and one way only - become regular challengers for the title in our own domestic league. If - IF - we're serious about getting back to where we used to be, the league has to be top priority. Simple as.

We used to dominate every game JJ, including all the cups. So playing to win every game is getting back to where we used to be.

 

[Judge Jules]

I wish I could agree, but I'm afraid I don't. We have a way to go yet to earn that right. Cups are the icing. We have to bake the cake first.

 

[peterhague]

We used to dominate every game JJ, including all the cups. So playing to win every game is getting back to where we used to be.

You're talking about the destination.

He's talking about the route to it.

Which makes more sense?

 

[Athens]

Can we take a short cut to the destination?

 

[peterhague]

If we find another Suarez, yeah.

 

[Molbystwin]

I prefer to finish top four in the league tbh... Purely because that means one of the cunt teams above us will be out...

Or does that happen if we win the Europa anyway??

It's academic anyway... CHAMPIONS.

 

[Squiggles]

Yep, agree with the hague and Macca.

Play the kids, use if for their development and see how they get on. We've got an over-inflated squad so we need to make the most of it.

 

[Mystic]

Like last season when Brenton played our best players in every match and then we mysteriously fell apart with about 7 or 8 games left, and ended up with fuck all??

I really loved that. It was great.

Brenton? Fuck me.

 

[Red Mullet]

You're talking about the destination.

He's talking about the route to it.

Which makes more sense?

Always target the destination and enjoy the route.