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To finish 5th or not to finish 5th ... that is the question.

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Frogfish

Frogfish

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Article from the Mirror puts it into perpective .... 18 bloody games !
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First of all there is so little money in it it is ridiculous. Secondly, it is a competition that rewards failure with the dead wood from the Champions League group stages getting a second bite at the cherry as the Europa League cushions their fall.

And thirdly, the grind of playing Thursday and Sunday, with all the flying around to no-mark, far flung obscure footballing outposts will simply wreck preparations for important Premier League games.

Don't get me wrong. It is alright for Porto and Braga, who fight out tonight's Europa League Final in a triumph for Portugese football. But then the that country's League is nowhere near as competitive as the one in this country.

Whereas next season's Premier League title race is shaping up to be one of the toughest ever, with Arsenal and Spurs set to spend, City and Liverpool resurgent and Chelsea building a team around Fernando Torres, Porto recorded a bloodless victory in the final Portuguese Liga standings this year.

The side formerly managed by Jose Mourinho finished top, a staggering 21 points clear of Benfica in second with Sporting Lisbon 15 points further back.

Competitive the Portuguese League is not.

And that's why I feel sorry for Spurs and Liverpool. Neither club can simply opt out of the Europa League.

Redknapp in particular has no wish to hang on to the fringe players that you would only keep in cold storage for games against teams with names more suited to a Scrabble board.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/darren-lewis/Darren-Lewis-on-Europa-League-Why-Tottenham-and-Liverpool-deserve-our-sympathy-on-Sunday-article737685.html
 
[quote author=RolandG link=topic=45398.msg1335429#msg1335429 date=1305741145]
Finishing 5th will provide a platform for the folowing seasons assault on the CL
[/quote]

I honestly don't believe that it will.

I think it will drag us all over Europe & waste time resources & energy that could be better spent aiming at getting us back into the top 4.
 
i've always felt the same, no matter how likely we were to finish 5th: given the choice i'd rather be in it, but i really don't think it'll hamper us if we don't qualify. the main reason i'd like it is because i just think it'd be nice to have some formal recognition of the turnaround since Kenny came in: the team deserves some kind of 'reward'.

but i think the money it brings in is negligible and i'd be amazed if it had any effect on prospective signings choosing us as a destination, and playing on sundays is a real pisser. so over all i'd rather be in it, but only by the smallest of margins.
 
I'm not to fussed either way because I believe that we should concentrate all our resources on the league.

I want a Premiership title!
 
With talented former u18s breaking through I think it's pretty important that we get to fifth place and play in Europa League next season.
Hodgson almost played two different teams in premier league and the Europa League in the group phase of the competition.
It will give Kelly, Flanagan, Robinson, Shelvey, Wilson, Coady etc a chance to play and gain experience.
 
I couldnt care less.

The thing is, if we qualify, we play half arsed teams full of kids and ressies, so we wont win it when teams are playing thier best teams in it. So all it does is fucks our league season about.
Cant be arsed.

If we go and try to win it and play our best team like we did in 2001 then i have no problem being in it, but we wont so what is the point.
 
What the big clubs really need is to have reserve teams playing in European mini reserve leagues rather than against fuckers from 10 miles up the road. I think people would much rather see it too.
 
[quote author=gene hughes link=topic=45398.msg1335513#msg1335513 date=1305749537]
What the big clubs really need is to have reserve teams playing in European mini reserve leagues rather than against fuckers from 10 miles up the road. I think people would much rather see it too.
[/quote]
Thats a pretty good idea.
 
I'd rather be in it everyday of the week.

It's a cup we would have a good chance of winning and it would give squad players a chance to impress.

It also means not waiting 7 days for a game to come around.
 
[quote author=Modo link=topic=45398.msg1335516#msg1335516 date=1305749768]
[quote author=gene hughes link=topic=45398.msg1335513#msg1335513 date=1305749537]
What the big clubs really need is to have reserve teams playing in European mini reserve leagues rather than against fuckers from 10 miles up the road. I think people would much rather see it too.
[/quote]
Thats a pretty good idea.
[/quote]

Isn't there plans to make a European U19 Champs league tournament ? I thought i saw we were entering it or ?
Might be a decent idea also
 
[quote author=RedZeppelin link=topic=45398.msg1335623#msg1335623 date=1305757602]
[quote author=Modo link=topic=45398.msg1335516#msg1335516 date=1305749768]
[quote author=gene hughes link=topic=45398.msg1335513#msg1335513 date=1305749537]
What the big clubs really need is to have reserve teams playing in European mini reserve leagues rather than against fuckers from 10 miles up the road. I think people would much rather see it too.
[/quote]
Thats a pretty good idea.
[/quote]

Isn't there plans to make a European U19 Champs league tournament ? I thought i saw we were entering it or ?
Might be a decent idea also
[/quote]
Reds set for U19 Champions League
17th Apr 2011 - Latest News
26 CommentsEmailPrintShare ArchiveLFC To Go
Liverpool have revealed plans to participate in a prestigious U19 Champions League next season.

The competition would see the Reds take on some of the finest young talent in Europe and Academy director Frank McParland believes it would be of huge benefit to the development of our stars of the future.

McParland told Liverpoolfc.tv: "On August 17 we start the U19 Champions League.

"We will play the first game of it against Sporting Lisbon. Hopefully that will be played at Anfield. We'll have to see what the first-team fixture list throws up first of all, but that is the plan.

"I don't have a definitive list of the teams involved but I know Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Lyon are looking to play in it.

"It's all about our reserves going to a new level next season. We are trying to pit them against top, top opposition.

"Hopefully we will play most of our games with the reserves at the Academy. We would hope to play the Champions League matches at Anfield but we will have to see about that.

"We'll still be in the domestic league too but this will offer them the chance to play in front of big crowds and against a higher quality of opposition."
 
Yeah that sounds like it could be very beneficial to player development if done right.

Regarding the Europa League , regardless the outcome I think i am going to convince myself we're in a good position . If we qualify then we can give young players some playing time , Spearing , Kelly etc all got their first major experiences in the tournament . Plus if we get to the latter stages then who wouldn't be happy to win it ...we haven't won anything in 6 seasons now , we surely need to have as many options to win something as possible. Plus i'm sure the owners would be happy to earn money from the home games , do a few deals to allow the schoolkids in again .

But in saying all that if we don't qualify , i'll be fine with it also , like has been mentioned , we can then concentrate on the domestic trophies and it really does make a difference to have some extra rest between games .

Actually it's a real pity the tournament has gone to shite ...when we won it (well the uefa cup) in 01 it was still a good , strong tournament ...we knocked out Roma who went on to win the Italian league that season , Porto and Barca ...some decent teams there.
 
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