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Race for The Top 10

$hoguN

Well-Known Member
Jul 25, 2005
26,626
34,700
It’s gone. We just need to focus on developing squad unity and an identity before the next of the season as that will set us up well for next year
 

SargeantMeatCurtains

Your least favourite poster
Jan 5, 2013
11,764
61,758
As others have said, I wouldn't be too upset over a season in the EL. I actually think a lot of the younger players in our squad would benefit from it. Similarly to how it gave Kane a platform to convince Poch he was ready for the PL. I think it would really benefit the likes of Cirkin, Sessegnon, Foyth, Tanganga, Skipp, White and Parrott. Its a trophy we should be amongst the favourites to win too.

If I'm totally honest, I'm not a huge fan of the CL. I'm not just saying that because we won't be in it next season. Its a competition which we won't win and usually fucks us over with fixture scheduling. The only reason I want us in the CL is for the money and for squad happiness.
 

ILS

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2008
3,803
6,913
And we won 12/13 matches in the league from Feb onwards which co-coincided with us getting knocked out the EL. This is something that helped Chelsea earlier that season because they weren't playing in Europe either, it's not a co-incidence.

We didn't have the squad to compete on multiple fronts back then and it showed.
I thought you were bored of this argument and gone for walk?

This is our record in premier League fixtures following playing either CL and EL midweek matches:

Last 25 league matches:

CL - Won 8 Drew 5 Lost 12

EL - Won 13 drew 4 Lost 7

So CL affects our league form more than EL. I'm sure if you went back further you might bring the records closer together, but it really is a myth about playing Thursday and Sundays affecting teams more then playing on Tues/Weds and Saturday's ( If Sky haven't even moved the fixture to another day).

I will also add we won both the fixtures after the Genk games.
 
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Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,385
IMO there's a fairly high probability we'll be in the Europa League next season, and that if we're in it Mourinho will try to win it. I don't have a problem with that. Top 4 has become increasingly difficult to secure and Chelsea in particular have spent a lot of money to try to secure a spot. Domestic Cups are hard to win with Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Utd etc in the mix, so I see the EL as a realistic target to try to get a pot in the trophy cupboard. It's not ideal, but we had a chance to push on and blew it with zero investment for 18 months, so now we have to start again.
 

Guntz

Loves a good meme/gif
Aug 15, 2011
7,271
54,780
Winning the EL next year might even be an easier route to the champions league considering how competitive the prem is now.
 

SpursFox

Well-Known Member
May 23, 2018
186
456
The '16 and '17 seasons were our chance to win the league itself as the big teams were all off the boil for both of them besides Chelsea in the '17 one. The last three seasons have been utterly dominated by City twice and now Liverpool to such an extent that whatever we realistically did even if we did push on a bit, we wouldn't have won it, perhaps we'd have got that Champions League win if in that alternate reality we also managed to end up there with the same 'luck'/plucky endeavor, or we might have won a domestic cup, but trophy wise we wouldn't really be in a significantly better place than we are now. Player wise we would have been, though likely some of the same issues would have still been present. However, I just look at it as a restart, back to the '14-'15 season as it were and go from there (though really we are better placed than we were then from a direct one to one comparison). Likelihood is dominance will shift, Liverpool will likely have a lull in a couple of years and City usually have a bad season every now and again, yes there's Chelsea making some good moves and Manu U are always 'there' in some fashion, their shadow ever-looming, and it's unlikely that a combined form dip will coincide to the same degree as it did in '16, but we have to build the best we can and be ready to capitalise if it is anywhere close, and if nothing else maintain a position hovering around the Champion's League qualification places. It's a tough road, but nowhere near as bleak as some fear I would argue.

Ultimately, the EL for a season might well do our squad a favour as has been pointed out, give some playing time to those who wouldn't be starting in Champion's league group games, though I admit a second season there might turn the heads of some towards the exit door, but short term it isn't the end times, and in my eyes is favourable to not being in it at all, give a chance of glory and the opportunity for some to get ... well, an opportunity. Personally I always enjoyed the EL, mainly because I always thought we had a good chance and were technically better than most the teams we faced, even though we never really did have a proper chance when factoring in how seriously we took it, but still.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,679
104,956
Winning the EL next year might even be an easier route to the champions league considering how competitive the prem is now.

I think it’s quite hard to win actually. It’s usually a bit of a slog and the final is in some random city somewhere on the outskirts of Europe with not enough tickets given to the fans or the stadium is too small to accommodate us.
 

mr ashley

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
3,126
8,524
Redknapp just said what a lot of managers were thinking, have a look at the squads the managers put out when they are involved in the competition especially the latter stages, many have prioritised the league over the EL because the league nearly always take precedent over it.
I’m not sure what’s more impressive- your mind-reading skills or your memory!

Personally I think it’s simple: If you can’t compete in all these competitions, you’re not a big club. All our competitors want to win them but we don’t? Good luck signing/keeping top players.

Anyway, it’s clear that no-one is going to change your mind, so let’s leave it there.
 

mr ashley

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
3,126
8,524
I think it’s quite hard to win actually. It’s usually a bit of a slog and the final is in some random city somewhere on the outskirts of Europe with not enough tickets given to the fans or the stadium is too small to accommodate us.
If we’re being honest, we’ve proved in the last few seasons that no competition is easy to win.
But to suggest that UEFA always pick host cities in the arse end of nowhere is totally false.
Granted, last season in Baku was the case, but certainly not every year as you imply.
And I’m pretty sure Chelsea aren’t moaning about it.
894BDEC0-9AE6-4D51-8DED-C3BD788B7E69.jpeg
 

stormfly

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2006
4,584
11,990
Without thinking about CL or Europa I just want us to win the next 7 games. If we finish this mini season with 8 wins and 1 draw then I can get really excited about next season regardless of if we are in Europe or not. I think it will be a major mental boost for the club and the players also.
 

SuperSpurs69

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
668
1,368
We need a good run in to put some form together, especially with the shorter break at the end of the season. A good finish would put us in good stead for next season and if we can get there without any injuries, even better.

With regards to next season, personally I'm not a big fan of the europa league in its current form and the reward of failure for teams in the CL. I would put us as one of the favourites if it didn't include the teams from the CL.

I'd like to see Jose play the youth and fringe players in the league Cup, at least in the early rounds to give them a run out and preserve the first 11. Obviously if we get to the quarters then you can start to bring more of the first 11 in, hell I'd be inclined to do the same in the europa league, depending on the draw.

We are nowhere near to challenging for the league anytime soon, and top 4 is going to be tough with the amount of teams who can now realistically challenge for it.

If we do end up in the europa league then I can see Jose prioritising that at the expense of the league should we be struggling for top 4. The FA Cup would also be nice next season.
 

hughy

I'm SUPER cereal.
Nov 18, 2007
31,840
56,924
The only reason I want us in the CL is for the money and for squad happiness.
You have to admit the buzz leading up to and during our recent CL home games against Madrid, Dortmund, Juve, Barca, Ajax, City and Bayern has been something else. And obviously the CL final.

That's what I'll miss, the feeling of being in the "big time". After 4 or 5 consecutive seasons there will definitely feel like there's a huge hole there next season, particularly when the group stages start.

I won't miss the disappointment come February/March however.
 

Dillspur

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2004
3,747
9,926
Without thinking about CL or Europa I just want us to win the next 7 games. If we finish this mini season with 8 wins and 1 draw then I can get really excited about next season regardless of if we are in Europe or not. I think it will be a major mental boost for the club and the players also.

Agreed. I want to see a little more cohesiveness and progression of Jose's new way, which if I'm honest I haven't seen.
 

SargeantMeatCurtains

Your least favourite poster
Jan 5, 2013
11,764
61,758
You have to admit the buzz leading up to and during our recent CL home games against Madrid, Dortmund, Juve, Barca, Ajax, City and Bayern has been something else. And obviously the CL final.

That's what I'll miss, the feeling of being in the "big time". After 4 or 5 consecutive seasons there will definitely feel like there's a huge hole there next season, particularly when the group stages start.

I won't miss the disappointment come February/March however.
True. However with there very unlikely to be fans allowed in the stadium next year, I really wouldn’t be bothered if we missed out!
 

ILS

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2008
3,803
6,913
You have to admit the buzz leading up to and during our recent CL home games against Madrid, Dortmund, Juve, Barca, Ajax, City and Bayern has been something else. And obviously the CL final.

That's what I'll miss, the feeling of being in the "big time". After 4 or 5 consecutive seasons there will definitely feel like there's a huge hole there next season, particularly when the group stages start.

I won't miss the disappointment come February/March however.
There is only Paris left and then we have completed the competition mate! Got the half and half scarves too prove it.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
I thought you were bored of this argument and gone for walk?

This is our record in premier League fixtures following playing either CL and EL midweek matches:

Last 25 league matches:

CL - Won 8 Drew 5 Lost 12

EL - Won 13 drew 4 Lost 7

So CL affects our league form more than EL. I'm sure if you went back further you might bring the records closer together, but it really is a myth about playing Thursday and Sundays affecting teams more then playing on Tues/Weds and Saturday's ( If Sky haven't even moved the fixture to another day).

I will also add we won both the fixtures after the Genk games.

So hold up, you're comparing our record in the CL to the EL - The CL being a notoriously harder competition where we pay top level competition compared to the EL where we play middling to poor competition...well yeah of course our record is going to be better in EL because the teams are shit, what a pointless comparison, it's an utterley flawed argument :LOL:

This is why I said it was boring because of nonsense like this, we're not going to agree to agree to disagree.
 

ILS

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2008
3,803
6,913
So hold up, you're comparing our record in the CL to the EL - The CL being a notoriously harder competition where we pay top level competition compared to the EL where we play middling to poor competition...well yeah of course our record is going to be better in EL because the teams are shit, what a pointless comparison, it's an utterley flawed argument :LOL:

This is why I said it was boring because of nonsense like this, we're not going to agree to agree to disagree.
It must of been a long walk.

You have a problem reading posts? Those records are the league games following the CL or Europa games.

You might need to take the dog out again.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
I’m not sure what’s more impressive- your mind-reading skills or your memory!

Personally I think it’s simple: If you can’t compete in all these competitions, you’re not a big club. All our competitors want to win them but we don’t? Good luck signing/keeping top players.

Anyway, it’s clear that no-one is going to change your mind, so let’s leave it there.

Oh sorry I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, I thought you were smart enough to work out what i was trying to say, perhaps not but okay...Redknapp basically came out and said what most managers thought, yet the evidence of their attitude towards the competition agreed with him due to the teams they used to put out and the half arsed attempts at progressing in the competition.

Good luck signing keeping top players because we don't qualify for the Europa League?...Er okay I think I'll agree with you, yeah let's leave it there shall we ;)
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
It must of been a long walk.

You have a problem reading posts? Those records are the league games following the CL or Europa games.

You might need to take the dog out again.

Ah my bad I see...although it's still a flawed argument as European competition affects your team in the long term over the season, not just the match directly after the midweek game, also who were the teams we played against, you have to compare each fixture against each other to get a fair comparison.

I think you're havng a problem putting forward a cohesive argument and cannot accept the fact that someone might has a difference of opinion to you. I did say to you leave it, no idea why you're getting wound up about this either also I don't know where your getting the idea of I went out for a walk and you're trying to use that as some sort of one-upmanship now, just stop :LOL:
 

ILS

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2008
3,803
6,913
Ah my bad I see...although it's still a flawed argument as European competition affects your team in the long term over the season, not just the match directly after the midweek game, also who were the teams we played against, you have to compare each fixture against each other to get a fair comparison.

I think you're havng a problem putting forward a cohesive argument and cannot accept the fact that someone might has a difference of opinion to you. I did say to you leave it, no idea why you're getting wound up about this either also I don't know where your getting the idea of I went out for a walk and you're trying to use that as some sort of one-upmanship now, just stop :LOL:
Trust me you have proven you have a different opinion even if flawed?

Jose has got this!
 
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