OriginalRobboFOX Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 With Fulham qualifying for Europe through this route in the last few days can anyone else remember when we nearly qualified (O'Neil years) . I think 7 or 8 countries were in the hat for a place in the then Intertoto Cup into the UEFA cup and we were Englands representatives but I think we lost to someone like Estonia?? I'm pretty sure I watched the draw live on Eurosport at the time...
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Fulham will now start their season really early, will need a bigger squad to cope with all the games, and frankly european nights away in romania, bulgaria, moldova or anywhere else equally shit will probably hamper their league form and ambitions for domestic honours. The europa league is a complete poisoned challice as far as im concerned.
Asha Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Yeah, I've read a lot of people suggesting such teams should prioritise the league and play reserves in the Europa or whatever. So you'd suggest sacking it off to concentrate on a league where teams (like Fulham) battle on all season in the hope of achieving a....er...Europa League place?
Corky Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 It's so sad when people don't want to qualify for Europe or see it as a distraction. Yeah that's right, sit in mid-table and don't bother trying to win a trophy. You'll have really done something worth shouting about.
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Yeah, I've read a lot of people suggesting such teams should prioritise the league and play reserves in the Europa or whatever. So you'd suggest sacking it off to concentrate on a league where teams (like Fulham) battle on all season in the hope of achieving a....er...Europa League place? Its a catch 22 of a situation though. Come April, the players will probably be burnt out and on their knees because the europa league is so long and drawn out, their season has contained 55 games and started way back in July. Im not totally sure of the financial values of a europa league run either. I mean, in reality, its a competition that doesnt generate a huge amount of interest until the quarter/semi final stage onwards, and weve all seen eastlands, even goodison not full for europa nights and it doesnt capture the imagination. I think you have to be critical of the competition as a whole anyway. When you break it down, its a competition for all the mediocre teams across europe to play against each other. Im sure a club like Spurs who played in the san siro and bernabeu this season arent particularly enthused about the prospect of travelling to play the team that finished 5th in greece or croatia etc. But, i suppose for a club like Fulham with little european pedigree, european football is important. i can buy that too.
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 I mean, there is no doubt that it plays a VERY distant second fiddle to the Champions League. It cant be denied.
Webbo Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 There are Romanian and Croatian teams in the Champions league as well. There are also German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese teams in the Europa league.
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 There are Romanian and Croatian teams in the Champions league as well. There are also German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese teams in the Europa league. Yes, but mediocre ones who have had relatively mediocre seasons.........its a competition filled with Champions League dropouts and other mediocre teams. Its not a premiere competition in any way
Webbo Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Well obviously it's a second tier competition but I'm sure Fulham didn't mind when they got to the final last year.
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Well obviously it's a second tier competition but I'm sure Fulham didn't mind when they got to the final last year. Good achievement for them, but dont forget, they basically put all their eggs in the europa league basket to get to the final with a very small squad and from about february onwards they forgot about the league and ended up somewhere like 13th. So it didnt really get them anywhere. Didnt qualify them for next years competition, couldn't get in through the league, had no cup runs
Webbo Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Good achievement for them, but dont forget, they basically put all their eggs in the europa league basket to get to the final with a very small squad and from about february onwards they forgot about the league and ended up somewhere like 13th. So it didnt really get them anywhere. Didnt qualify them for next years competition, couldn't get in through the league, had no cup runs So what you're saying is that qualifying for Europe and making the final was a bad thing for them because it meant that they didn't qualify for Europe the next season?
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 So what you're saying is that qualifying for Europe and making the final was a bad thing for them because it meant that they didn't qualify for Europe the next season? No, im saying that reaching a european final was great obviously, but if you look at the competitions: 1st priority would have been the league, and they finished poorly and in obscurity 2nd priority, domestic fa cup, how far they went i dont know but it certainly wasnt very far 3rd priority, arguably the europa league, was a great campaign 4th priority, carling cup...........no one cares about the carling cup. it might as well not exist.
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 How would you prioritise Fulhams competitions next season? bearing in mind some prioritising is done in every club
Webbo Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 No, im saying that reaching a european final was great obviously, but if you look at the competitions: 1st priority would have been the league, and they finished poorly and in obscurity This is Fulham we're talking about. Mid table in the prem is a good result for them. 2nd priority, domestic fa cup, how far they went i dont know but it certainly wasnt very far Again this is Fulham, were you expecting them to win it or something? 4th priority, carling cup...........no one cares about the carling cup. it might as well not exist. I cared about it when we won it and I was chuffed when we qualified for Europe. I can't believe any fan wouldn't want to qualify for Europe.
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 This is Fulham we're talking about. Mid table in the prem is a good result for them. Again this is Fulham, were you expecting them to win it or something? I cared about it when we won it and I was chuffed when we qualified for Europe. I can't believe any fan wouldn't want to qualify for Europe. 1) Mid way bottom half finish is not anywhere near as good as the top half finish they secured this season 2) Considering the amount of games needed to reach a europa league final, why is it outrageous to suggest Fulham could win 6 games to win an FA cup? Portsmouth, Cardiff and Stoke have reached FA cup finals in recent years.....its not impossible to suggest a club of Fulhams size could win an FA cup.......Pompey did! 3) The carling cup is irrelevant to everyone other than a very small bracket of premier league teams. Top 4 plus those chasing the top 4 couldnt care less, neither could the relegation candidates, and anyone outside the prem knows they aint gonna win it
dave the caveman Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 The Europa Leage is to the Champions League as the League Cup is to the FA Cup, and I don't believe any real Leicester fan who is old enough to remember our triumphs would have a bad word to say about the League cup. I'm sure many of you would agree when I state my belief that the joy I felt when we won the League Cup, and even when we lost to Spurs and even our playoff adventures, far exceeds any joy felt by glory supporting Man Utd 'fans' this week after they won another league title. And this is what being a football an is all about, isn't it? Enjoyment? Who cares about the relative stature of a competition when you're a Fulham or Leicester fan? It's all about how much you enjoy the ride. I'd take 13th in the league and Europa League final place over 8th in the league and nothing else any day of the week.
Stevosevic Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 1) Mid way bottom half finish is not anywhere near as good as the top half finish they secured this season 2) Considering the amount of games needed to reach a europa league final, why is it outrageous to suggest Fulham could win 6 games to win an FA cup? Portsmouth, Cardiff and Stoke have reached FA cup finals in recent years.....its not impossible to suggest a club of Fulhams size could win an FA cup.......Pompey did! 3) The carling cup is irrelevant to everyone other than a very small bracket of premier league teams. Top 4 plus those chasing the top 4 couldnt care less, neither could the relegation candidates, and anyone outside the prem knows they aint gonna win it Top 4 couldn't care less but they are still keen on winning it. Recent history shows that it has mostly been won by top 6 clubs, or there has at least been a top 6 club in the final. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Football_League_Cup_winners
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 The Europa Leage is to the Champions League as the League Cup is to the FA Cup, and I don't believe any real Leicester fan who is old enough to remember our triumphs would have a bad word to say about the League cup. I'm sure many of you would agree when I state my belief that the joy I felt when we won the League Cup, and even when we lost to Spurs and even our playoff adventures, far exceeds any joy felt by glory supporting Man Utd 'fans' this week after they won another league title. And this is what being a football an is all about, isn't it? Enjoyment? Who cares about the relative stature of a competition when you're a Fulham or Leicester fan? It's all about how much you enjoy the ride. I'd take 13th in the league and Europa League final place over 8th in the league and nothing else any day of the week. Im a real leicester fan too, but at the time, i would say leicester fell into the bracket of teams that the carling cup matters to at that time.
lcfc_jme Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Well I for one would absolutely love a European tour and a Europa League campaign. A good cup run is fvcking great fun on a domestic scale. On a Europe-wide scale it'd be ridiculously awesome. I genuinely hope we as a club never, ever feel disappointed to be in the Europa League or see it as pointless.
SOCCERROO FOX Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Well I for one would absolutely love a European tour and a Europa League campaign. A good cup run is fvcking great fun on a domestic scale. On a Europe-wide scale it'd be ridiculously awesome. I genuinely hope we as a club never, ever feel disappointed to be in the Europa League or see it as pointless. Agreed Donut are you ok?
OriginalRobboFOX Posted 27 May 2011 Author Posted 27 May 2011 But.... Back to the op. Anyone else remember this??
Donut Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Im merely expressing my, and possibly a lot of clubs opinions, that the europa league is less of a priority than domestic honours thats all.
shen Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 Im merely expressing my, and possibly a lot of clubs opinions, that the europa league is less of a priority than domestic honours thats all. And the reason you're saying this is because you think e.g. Liverpool did poorly in the league because of Europa League distractions? I would guarantee you that any club bar those gunning for the Champions League would LOVE competing in the Europa League. The point I will give you is that English Premier League sides will not find it as lucrative as clubs from nearly every other league. But we're still looking at a substantial bonus from added gates and TV money.
shen Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 But.... Back to the op. Anyone else remember this?? I only remember this very vaguely. The Intertoto cup was a bit pointless though. A bit like friendly warm-up matches with an added incentive.
SOCCERROO FOX Posted 27 May 2011 Posted 27 May 2011 I only remember this very vaguely. The Intertoto cup was a bit pointless though. A bit like friendly warm-up matches with an added incentive. Didn't Wimbeldon get banned from Europe for feilding an academy side in the Inter-toto cup as their first team where on their end of season break?
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