The Football.....

[Smokin Joe]

Managing to get knocked out of a competition before the football season starts is so very West Ham...

I think they must be relieved. They needed to win and sent out a reserve side, so they can't exactly be accused of taking the competition seriously. One good thing is that the six matches they played took the place of pre season friendlies and the competitive edge means they could hit the ground running.

Ironic that they qualified through the fair play competition and then got a player sent off in each of the three rounds.

 

[User482]

I think they must be relieved. They needed to win and sent out a reserve side, so they can't exactly be accused of taking the competition seriously. One good thing is that the six matches they played took the place of pre season friendlies and the competitive edge means they could hit the ground running.

Ironic that they qualified through the fair play competition and then got a player sent off in each of the three rounds.

I thought it was unprofessional to send the kids out, and if they wanted to throw the competition, they could've done that in the first match and save the bother of travelling abroad.

 

[Inertia]

I thought it was unprofessional to send the kids out, and if they wanted to thrown the competition, they could've done that in the first match and save the bother of travelling abroad.

Dont bring sense into this, we are football fans we like to convince ourselves we never wanted to win it in the first place and it was a cunning plan by the team.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I never thought I'd be pleased to see a West Ham defeat, but getting knocked out of the Euro Disney Cup last night was a fantastic result. A crap competition nobody cares about that has as many matches as half a league season.

About time they scrapped it and went back to the European Cup Winners Cup run as a straight knockout. As all countries have two cup competitions both winners could qualify, giving some real meaning to the League Cup in the process.

I think it's only the UK that doesn't really get off on the Europa League - rest of Europe tends to accord it high status.

Whatever, it is pretty hard to win it and is always full of cracking teams in the latter stages.

Nice that it provides an entry route into the CL these days.

 

[Roadhump]

Nice that it provides an entry route into the CL these days.

I understand what you say, but although it is a route in, what a route that is, and just to get to the CL qualifiers.

 

[AndyRM]

I think it's only the UK that doesn't really get off on the Europa League - rest of Europe tends to accord it high status.

Whatever, it is pretty hard to win it and is always full of cracking teams in the latter stages.

Nice that it provides an entry route into the CL these days.

Totally agreed. The way clubs/the media demean the Europa League (and the League Cup) does my head in.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Totally agreed. The way clubs/the media demean the Europa League (and the League Cup) does my head in.

They demean it because it's crap. I mean , nobody cared about the Watney's Cup or the Texaco Cup, why should it matter just because it's in Europe?

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I understand what you say, but although it is a route in, what a route that is, and just to get to the CL qualifiers.

But it's a big pot in it's own right.

The CL qualification is icing on the cake.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

i'm not sure about all this demeaning stuff.

I tend to look at cups and think how hard are they to win.

Europa League is frigging hard to win and the League Cup is not easy either.

Every now and again a 'freak' win occurs but they are few and far between.

End of the day it provides more opportunity for more clubs to win a trophy.

Also Europa League is a special cup for me as we are the only team ever to have held it at the same time as the Champions League (albeit for only 10 days or so).

 

[AndyRM]

i'm not sure about all this demeaning stuff.

I tend to look at cups and think how hard are they to win.

Europa League is frigging hard to win and the League Cup is not easy either.

Every now and again a 'freak' win occurs but they are few and far between.

End of the day it provides more opportunity for more clubs to win a trophy.

Also Europa League is a special cup for me as we are the only team ever to have held it at the same time as the Champions League (albeit for only 10 days or so).

Maybe demeaning was the wrong word. I mean more that clubs (particularly the 'big' ones) seem to view lesser trophies as a nuisance, fans describe them as 'mickey mouse' or 'tin pot' and the media seem to report on them like they're the plucky little trophy that could.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Maybe demeaning was the wrong word. I mean more that clubs (particularly the 'big' ones) seem to view lesser trophies as a nuisance, fans describe them as 'mickey mouse' or 'tin pot' and the media seem to report on them like they're the plucky little trophy that could.

Wasn't criticising/commenting on your choice of word.

I was agreeing and expanding on it.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I know quite a few Swansea City fans in this part of the world and every single one was relieved that the Swans did not qualify for the Euro Trash Cup last season. It's a complete deadhole of a competition, an extra half season's worth of matches to reach even the semi finals and half your team crocked, burnt out and in a relegation dogfight because of it.

It's only purpose is to make television money, time to get rid.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Cup competitions have never been the same since the Dryburgh Cup was binned

 

[Roadhump]

I know quite a few Swansea City fans in this part of the world and every single one was relieved that the Swans did not qualify for the Euro Trash Cup last season. It's a complete deadhole of a competition, an extra half season's worth of matches to reach even the semi finals and half your team crocked, burnt out and in a relegation dogfight because of it.

It's only purpose is to make television money, time to get rid.

I agree entirely. As an Everton supporter our only decent performances last season were in the Europa League (with one or two exceptions), ironically some of our worst performances were during the EL break, but the competition itself loads more games and potential fatigue and injury on players of clubs who are likely to have fewer resources than the regular CL clubs, which means their performance in their domestic leagues is likely to suffer, and therefore they are less able to challenge the stranglehold of those clubs on the conventional CL qualification route, i.e. via their domestic league position....well that's my theory anyway!! So @SpokeyDokey I take your point about it being a big pot in itself but the clubs qualifying via that route could be the ones less likely to progress in the CL anyway and have worn themselves thin in the process anyway. The CL won't bring as much money to them unless they get into the group stage and the monopoly continues.

I may be stuck in the 1970s/1980s mud but it was far more interesting IMHO when there was the European Cup (for the champions of each country - the term Champions League is a bit of a paradox), the UEFA Cup and the ECWC, which gave more teams the chance of some European football and a possible trophy, but now money has taken over as UEFA's and FIFA's god, competition has been thoroughly eroded.

 

[AndyRM]

Wasn't criticising/commenting on your choice of word.

I was agreeing and expanding on it.

Yeah, sorry, got that. I was trying to do the same, albeit badly.