Is Europa a curse or a necessary evil?

As our season has all but ended with defeat at the weekend, Pochettino has stated that the teams efforts in the Europa League have taken their toll.

Asked by the media if he would actually prefer not to qualify for the 2015/16 edition, Pochettino replied, "It's difficult."

In fact, Poch has admitted our season is over by saying;

"It was a very long season. When you do a whole season playing Thursday-Sunday and you are a young squad and you make the biggest effort during the season, maybe you arrive at the end at very difficult level. "


Winning this seasons Europa League was a chance to gain Champions league football next season but more often than not, our second string players played and under performed. And I am being kind.

So, is the Europa league a curse or is the bigger question about managing the situation well? When Liverpool failed to qualify for any form of European tournament two season ago, it resulted in their first title challenge for years, nay decades. Back in Europe this season, they struggled to adapt to extra football and their season has taken off once their European adventure had ended.

I have said before that I would love to see silverware back at White Hart Lane. I expected our efforts to be focused on the Europa league with champions league football being the prize. I believed this competition to be a better chance than finishing fourth, but the rotation of the squad just did not work.

From Saturday to Thursday, to Sunday, the team would change which is understandable but why change 8 or 9 players? There has to be a core team but Pochettino seemed to just throw players in for the sake of it. Paulinho would come in and do nothing. Fazio would come in and get sent off!! Chiriches would come in and, well, I'm not sure what he did to be honest. Oh yes, he caught the ball and missed kicks. Davies has been a disappointing purchase from Swansea and let's not get started on Sol Dudo!!

What concerns me is that Pochettino identifies the Europa league has caused issues but he failed to address this in January. All he ever said was that he was happy with his squad. How could he be? From the first game of the season it was abundantly clear that the team, the squad was far from good enough. Surely he could hear Stadtler and Waldorf yelling from the stands?!

A lot has been said about it being a " blessing " if a Spurs miss out on Europe and taking Liverpool as an example that may be the case, but let me raise a few issues that need consideration.

Firstly, if Spurs are not in Europe next season, will we struggle to sign top quality players?
How about the reduced revenue. Okay, some European games are not well attended but when you consider how much we hear about needing to increase revenue through the new stadium, surely now is not the time to be losing out on additional income from the Europa league and TV fees?

With a move away from the Lane inevitable, our income could be even more reduced, so when we return to the Lane where we will be then? We could be so far behind the top four that the new stadium will have little impact. Just a thought.

I am not sure what is the answer but I do think Spurs and Pochettino need to think carefully about what they wish for because in the wise words of Derek Trotter, " if you put your nose in a beehive, you will come out with worse than a nostril full of honey!!"

Food for thought folks.

 

Europa League is an important trophy which an ambitious big club that doesn't participate to the Champions League should have as one of the targets to be won.

 

Great article!! For ambition and the opportunity for some success or silverware, we most definitely should be playing in Europe!!
The squads nowadays are big enough to compete in domestic and European competition, what about other teams who are also trying for top four etc but win the competition and compete in their own domestics,also players would not want to come cos of lack of not just European football but games in general and we go back to square one!!
What a joke this pochettino is, to use the excuse of Europa as to the reason why we have failed, when we have such a big squad and he just doesn't utilise them well enough, says to me he is seriously out of his depth!
Take a look at the size of our squad and whether the players have the ability is another matter, no for me he is just using this as a excuse, if we got into the champions league the principle is still the same cos your playing an extra competition and apart from travelling and playing on a Sunday, first team and squad players are atleast getting games and as fans we get a chance to win something more!!

 

This competition is a curse!

You will not win it playing reserves its as simple as that.

No one signs for the 'Lure of Europa'.

The Club/Manager/Team dont take it seriously.

Its detrimental to our League campaign, and used as yet another excuse for failure.

We cant even get to the Semis thats how poor we are in it, and were not getting better with time.

More revenue? For what? More Passenger wages?

The Football is dire and the atitude/respect of the comp is all wrong from our bloated squad of nobodies.

We cant achieve in 1 comp let alone 4 and every season we limp to a fruitless finish with a whimper. Which jeopardises keeping our genuine talent.

Liverpool last season missed out on europe and challenged, they dropped out this season and kicked on, what have we done? Whinged and Nose Dived.

The Players are tired? Not as much as the suffering fans, our contribution to this competition has been pitiful!

Its not an adventure when we play in it, its an endurance test.

The squad needs an overhaul to bring some kind of solid coherent ethos to the side, with a formula that works consistently before Europe and the likes are even entertained. With most important of all an upgrade in players with the ability to compete for honours.

 

For me it's a curse lets be honest we are never going to win it so a season without it won't do no harm . Whenever we have come up against a half decent side we have been beaten .Take the time and try to turn what is a very poor squad of players with a poor mentality into winners .None of us are Chelsea lovers but they are a team of winners who always look like they will do anything for the shirt what do we have 2 maybe 3 at a push of this type of player as its been said people don't sign for the lure of Europa league . There will need to be some good transfers bought in this time and a lot of dead wood chopped out and if poch don't start well our chairman Mr voldamort will be wielding the axe again if only he would wield it on himself .

 

I find it difficult to believe any Spurs fans still think like this. Top players sign for teams playing in the champions league, not the europa. Even then you need to be able to pay the wages. At most you might get £5m out of a run in the europa, hardly going to be noticed and certainly no compenstion for the extra games. An extra 20,000 seats won't make any difference, seriously ? Liverpool have made the champions league through not playing in Europe, looks like United have done the same and back under Harry so did we. But nobody goes from the europa to the champions league. But there is still this pretence that somehow not playing in the europa will hurt us, stupid article.

 

Anyone who thinks Europa is good for the club should read http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/

I thought the same but after reading what is an in depth look at our finances and position in english and european football, there can be no doubt Europa league is a curse.
Without champs league we as a club are falling behind.
The numbers clearly state 1 europa league run to the last 16 is 5 mil. UCL group stage is worth 4 times that.
Time to put this argument to bed regardless of squad size and players finishing in the top 4 is the only way we can begin to catch those above us
RogSpur

 

How can we aspire to champions league if we can't handle the easier competition?
The Europa league is the gateway to CL and HOW to play in Europe. Sometimes it's not about winning but how you play the game.

 

Any football fan who actually researches this issue rather than just blindly posts the usual 'it's silverware, it's Europe, we should go for it' drivel, they would see that the Thurs/Sun schedule hurts a teams domestic form irreparably. Consider some of the following;
- Out of the total 9 domestic games we lost during the EL campaign period, 4 followed an EL game (this pattern is repeated year on year if you look back).
- We lost a Wembley cup final 68 hours after an away EL game.
- EL teams are not on average as close as those in CL, often from Eastern Europe meaning players get fatigued from air travel even if they don't kick a ball.
- Essential time to train and prepare the squad on the training pitch is decimated by the increased time travelling.
- The EL competition is far too long, to win it you will possibly need to play 17 games....yes 17, almost half a league season.
- Affect on player fitness at end of season.....plain to see.
- Financial reward,....barely anything compared to PL standards a measly 5m euros for winning the final. You earn more than that just reaching the group stage of the CL (in response to post above, I daresay the EL doesnt add much to our money pot when you consider the outgoings over money offered).
- Glamour....very, very little unless you are a pub side from a back water footballing nation whose top domestic league regularly employs farmers as players.
- Attracting top talent....seriously? The management and players alike are dreading being in this competition more than some of us.

Bottom line, the Europa League offers very little but does a lot, yes a lot of damage to our club on a domestic front. Skip it for a season and build a serious challenge for top 4 with a decent cup run? Yes please.
COYS

 

Hows that gateway worked so far?

Weve not improved in the slightest and were now further away from top 4/CL than when Jol was in charge.

What lessons can be learnt from playing minnows with our reserves? Because thats the reality!

 

The group stages in EL are a boring waste of time so if we qualify I wouldn't use a single player due to play the next league game in any of them and also have a ' EL manager' and leave Poch to prepare the "league" team. Maybe after the groups if qualified, play a stronger team and try to win it.
Prob best to be in EL but personally I would welcome back Saturday football!

 

Cant wait for the moaning and groaning when we dont qualify. What is it that we should do here ? every year we strive for top four and enevitabily fall short and end up with Europa instead. We qualify, we play.

 

Agreed, but when the '2nd string team' plays in it and cant even try to win why should we care at all being in it or not?? Our squad was quite capable of going further but seems they couldnt be arsed !!

 

The UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup were much fairer and better competitions than current format (Blame Blatter/Money). We only ever won the UEFA Cup (First too), But god did i feel good when we lifted that trophy ! Felt like Spurs were top of the world ! Europa Cup, just doesnt seem to have that euphoria about it, however i saw how Sevilla went about and won it last season - like they were top of the world ! I thought, Yes, I want some of that ! We (PL) play ONE cup more than other european sides ! What's the problem playing these games? Are they not fit enough? Tired? Or don't they earn enough?
If the PL is supposed to be the best league in the world, then the players competing in it should show why theyre in the best league, and go out and beat these 'inferior' EL sides !!

 

And this is exactly it, if we gave it the respect a European Cup deserves id be 100% behind it but as has been the case for years its not taken seriously.

 

Think we were unfortunate with the timing of the second leg landing only two days or so before the league cup final. MP was between a rock and a hard place although if the starting 11 would have been stronger we may have progressed and been fresher for the final v chelsea

 

No article is "stupid" and there is absolutely no need for such comments. The article refers to how winning the Europa league this season provided qualification for next years champions league and asks for reasoned debate, as the end point says, ' food for thought'.

 

Not being in Europe could indeed be a blessing but I am not overly confident that we would suddenly be finishing second in the league.
We would need vast improvements in the playing personnel.

 

But as you say the UEFA cup was a truly superior competition taking all bar the actual league champions (who played in the European Cup). It was more like the CL than EL and winning it was a something to shout about. There was also not the amount of games as we have now and the quality of opposition was far greater.....money has indeed ruined a prestigious cup.
As for the perceived lack of effort, it's not so much that but proven fact that players performance is severely hampered by playing with only 2 days gap (Thurs/Sun). These guys are now athletes and preparation is essential, EL games wreck that and teams will always struggle over a season (averages 0.5 points per game dropped).

 

Th

the 2 day gap is a nonsense excuse. If we were in the champions league which is currently about as likely as finding Lord Lucan riding Shergar, we could be playing on Weds and then Saturday which is still 2 days!!!!!!!! It is just not a valid excuse at all in my opinion.