We ran a poll yesterday asking what matters most to Arsenal supporters. The overwhelming response was that playing enthralling attacking football and preserving the class and the integrity of the club was what we valued most highly.
We read stories that neither Totnum or pool want to play in the EL next season. It is reported that “Mauricio Pochettino admits another Europa League campaign could damage Tottenham’s top-four chances next season”. But these two teams consider themselves as ‘big clubs’ with squads to match – so why do they dismiss a competition that would give their supporters the opportunity to watch European games, and also gain important experience of how to play against foreign sides?
We’ve been fortunate to have a manager who has miraculously managed to get us in the Champion’s League every season since he arrived, and this season seems a cert to follow suit.
But what if we didn’t?
Would Arsenal supporters still want to go out after work on a Thursday evening to watch their team play against European opposition? Personally I’d say yes, damn right, I love my team and I want to see them play in Europe, if it can’t be the CL then let’s try to win the EL.
What do you think? Vote and have your say …..
Rasp
Arsenal News 24/7
Rasp. Interesting and one to ponder on.
My first response is a definite Yes. We have a big enough squad and I think we would do very well in th Europa and certainly be among the favourites to win it.
Having been in Copenhagen and Paris to see AFC in European Finals I would love to repeat the experience.
That said, the extra games appear to cost the PL clubs who enter.
Thanks Rasp.
Wow, I m staggered at the result so far. I see The Europa as a major obstacle to doing well in the League, and the real problem that even less games would be played on a Saturday and more on a Monday
I know there is a line of thinking that it’s pointless to be in the CL if you have little or no chance of winning the thing, but I love having the opportunity of watching Arsenal play the Barcas of this world.
Good points Raddy and Micky. Here’s a thought – has a club competing in the Europa ( or old equivalent ) ever won the EPL – I don’t think so?
I think a team plays more games to win the Europa than the CL. True?
Well done, Rasper.
Like every hypothetical question in life there is, or should be, a reluctance to answer on the grounds that it is pointless to do so, and therefore is a waste of time, as the answer has no meaning in itself, and changes nothing – if you follow my meaning.
Asked out of curiosity, I suppose, it does exercise the mind as to the ramifications of performing poorly enough in the EPL to have to enter it, and whether entry will ensure you are going to perform poorly enough in the ensuing season to perpetuate the problem.
Anyway, without getting too wrapped up in even more hypothetical parameters, on the basis that, say, we were perforce included in the Europa League, I would ensure that it was used exclusively as a proving ground for our U21s to gain experience and perchance to win the competition, but if we are eliminated – no big deal.
That would protect our first team squad from ‘tired legs’ syndrome, and enable them to play well enough in the EPL to ensure we would NOT need to enter into the Thursday hell hole schedule so beloved of the Spuds. 🙂
I voted yes Rasp. I would not be as satisfied watching those games as the ECL ones but I would still want us in it rather than nothing. I would view it rather like the CC or the early FA cup rounds, blooding younger players and playing more senior players who need game time while leaving certain senior players at home for a rest. We can bring out the big boys when it gets to the business end of things and only the better teams are left, or if there is a trickier tie earlier on.
We have the squad to do this comfortably IMO anyway. What Spuds and Pool are saying IMO is that they don’t have those deep resources to cope with both EPL and Europa. Personally I don’t think the ECL is significantly less draining so, in a pure football sense, to want to get top 4 so as to enter the ECL campaign while saying they can’t cope with a Europa campaign is slightly contradictory IMO.
They wouldn’t be a good representative of the PL in the ECL in those circumstances, and even if they were it would probably be at the expense of their league form, so it would likely only be a 1 season wonder for them.
Even with slightly less games in the ECL the quality of the opposition is higher from earlier in the competition. That normally means more demand on senior players to play and less options for resting and rotation from earlier in the competition as compared to the Europa. For me if these clubs don’t have the resources to cope with a Europa campaign then they don’t have them to cope with the ECL either.
A no-brainer really. Win the Europa League and you qualify for Champions League. Plus, it is a trophy – ask Seville or Chavs. They seemed very pleased to win it. And besides, Giroud could rack up 10 plus goals against FC Plunk – just like King Kane and then he too would be heir to the throne! Oh, and one last moan – how can Hazdive be Footballer of the Year? Out of his mighty 13 league goals, 9 of those were penalties! Amazing eh?
Hi PV4, I agree. Purely for selfish reasons I like to watch us play, so more European games would be a bonus.
I don’t get to as many live games as I would like, but I still get a buzz of excitement before kick off when I’m watching on the telly.
As for Hazard’s ‘buying’ of penalties, it’s about time refs got wise to his antic on stepping across in front of an oncoming defender and then going down like a sack of s**t. He may be in possession of the ball but HE has caused the collision and yet gets rewarded with a free kick/penalty.
Hi GoonerB, I agree with you too 😀
We are currently experiencing the problem of keeping all of our talented squad players happy and match fit, so playing in the EL as a sort of European Carling Cup makes sense to me.
Redders, I suppose we should expect an accountant to be uncomfortable dwelling in the world of hypotheses …. just let go and give your imagination free rein 😆
Hi Rasp – agree with the oh-so-obvious cutting across to win pens and free kicks, but how has not one single ref worked it out? If you watch regularly, you know that he will target the full back early on to either get him booked or grab a penalty. Shameful, but no more than I expect from a Maureen team who will win at any cost.
Thanks PV4, yep, Maureen is a master of the dark arts that’s for sure and his ethos percolates through the chelski side ….. including Fabregas it would appear.
He is a winner I suppose, but also a very bad loser …. fingers in eyes, bleating about refs when he loses and sickeningly praising them when he wins. I still think he will implode one day. His legacy will never be as respected as Arsene’s, he’s made too many enemies.
Here’s a new word game – these are words describing Mourhino – feel free to add your own choices to the list.
………………………………………………………………………………….
boorish, churlish, clownish, cloddish, loutish, uncouth, coarse, ill-bred, uncultivated, unpolished, unrefined, unsophisticated; tasteless, vulgar; beastly, bestial; doltish, oafish, stupid; discourteous, impolite, mannerless, rude, uncivil, ungracious, unmannerly; awkward, ungainly
Opps I almost forgot – Pratt.
Onanist?
I guess you have a point Rasp?
Jose Mourinho is a miserably reprehensible scoundrel and a deplorable one dimensional practitioner of bestiality.
Cheers, Rasp. (you’re getting very good at these)
I voted ‘no’.
Obviously I’d go if we were forced to play on a Spursday night against Camelshagger Metaldonetsk, but largely because I’d already paid for the privilege. 🙂
If we failed to make the CL one season (as you’ve phrased it), I think it would benefit us the next season not to have the Europa as a distraction.
Then back in the saddle in the CL the season following (Dennis willing).
As an exceedingly minor point of order, Arsenal qualified for the Uefa Cup in Wenger’s first season. We managed to stay in for one round only and this probably helped the League campaign in 1997/98. 🙂
This from Wiki (the last sentence telling)……
Wow…….Wow………F*ck me!
The chavs are still trying to convince the world they aren’t really boring, but, in actual fact, are quite interesting.
Arsenal twitter has responded by sending tweets to @ChelseaFC.
This is my favourite so far. 🙂
‘afternoon all,
I voted no, if we were not good enough to get into the Champions League, being in the Europa would only make it harder to qualify for the next season’s top tournament.
Having qualified for every Champions League campaign since God was a boy has given us a wealth of experience at playing the top teams in Europe, so how come with all that expertise to call on we haven’t won the bloody thing yet.
Thanks chas, I think there may well be a conflict between what some supporters want and what the manager wants when it comes to being in the EL.
If you just enjoy watching the team play (that’s what supporters do isn’t it?) then probably you’d be happy to be in the EL. Managers on the other hand have wider matters to consider not least the financial implications of not making the CL or sliding a few places down the EPL table.
Thanks NG. It seems you, chas micky and RA think like managers 😆
chas, I’m mildly surprised by your response as your answer to yesterday’s question was ” What matters most to me as an Arsenal supporter is the whole matchday experience” …. wouldn’t going to the Europa League games give you that? 🙂
What on a feckin Thursday????!!!!!!!
Whoops, that should have been…….
What? On a feckin Thursday??????!!!!!!!!
Much better. 🙂
Half the seats would be empty.
Our ground would start to resemble Shite Hart Lane or the Etihad.
You’d never be able to get rid of JC’s seat on the Exchange as the games would never sell out.
I’d also miss Emmerdale.
Chas in 1980 I was on a consulting assignment in Coeur d’alene Idaho. On Sunday May 18th I decided to go speckled trout fishing in a mountain stream about 50 miles north of the hotel where I was staying. It was perfect day for fishing, a bit of a chill in the air but a clear blue sky. On the way back, around mid day, I was surprised to see that the sky on the horizon in front of me was pure black and I wondered what sort of weather system I was driving into?
When I reached the town of Sandpoint, the street lights came on and I had to put on my windscreen wipers to clear dust off of my car windows. I put on the car radio to discover that Mt. St. Helens had erupted and that there was an enormous cloud of ash traveling north of the mountain.
Eventually we had 3/5″ of ash covering most of the north west of Idaho and driving was made illegal for 2/3 weeks after the explosion. A lush green state turned slate gray in less than 5 hours – Quite an experience…………
Hi all
chas – that’s an interesting comment about half the seats being empty – do you think so many supporters would make the distinction between EL and CL league games? How many supporters only go to watch the opposition d’you think?
Rasp, another consideration is the manager’s own career future and possible devastating loss of earnings, when he’s sacked for failing to qualify.
Agree Chas – but surely it’s Shite Fart Stain?
I thought that the spuds had an exclusive on the EL?
PV4
When the chavs spawned the Europa Cup, weren’t they only in it because they’d been knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage?
I also think they only finished 6th in League the season before (2011/12) in a deliberate attempt to miss the Europa for the very season that they won the damn thing. 🙂
You’re right Chas, another underhand tactic that somehow had them coming up smelling of roses!
peaches – I don’t think any supporters only go to watch the opposition.
I do know that I’m far more interested in seeing us play Ajax, Dortmund or Napoli than Sheriff Tiraspol, Limassol or Asteras Tripolis. 🙂
In a word, yes.
Two different scenarios: if consigned to Europa from the off, would use the group stages for giving experience to the young ‘uns and the squad players; should be able to advance to the knockouts, where you can use the first team to win and get to CL against less daunting opposition that way.
If finish third in CL group stages, then still use first team to try to win and get to CL.
Think about it; how many teams who were not in CL have gone on to win the premiership in the next season? Pool came close last year, but that’s it, I think. So the hope of winning a championship when you have NOT been in the previous season are pretty remote to begin with, so the absence of the burden of Spursday night football doesn’t improve your chances of winning the premiership.
BJ
How many teams have won the Premiership without being in the Champions League the previous season?
or
How many teams have won the Premiership having been in the Europa Cup the previous season?
🙂
Chas,
How did you know that was my name? And I am not even Tory! 🙂
Chas @ 2:24
That’s a pretty conclusive winner! 🙂
So far more than twice as many have voted to be in the EL than not. In real terms, failing to get in the EL would mean we finished 7th or lower which would make us nearly as bad as manu 🙂
I’ve just shaken hands and had a short chat with Pat Rice. He’s looking in rude health now but did say that he was lucky and had a very good surgeon. Top, top bloke.
Chas @ 3.04
At the time of the last general election, there were either a load more posh twats in the country than I thought, or a shed load of filthy oiks were pretending 🙂
RA
According to Chas’ 3.04 and following his instructions precisely, my Tory name is Ci !!! 🙂
Damn, I can’t put the Labour one up now, as you’ve guessed the two word name.
Rasp
Did you ask Pat if he’d prefer us to be in the Europa or miss Europe altogether for one season?
ha ha
nowt wrong with stereotyping people 🙂
He said he fancied Miss Europe but then his wife gave him a clump with her handbag.
Good job he was looking in the pink, then.
So next time we see PR at a game, we can shout “Oi, Rice, Rasp at the fish factory said …….” 🙂
….battering haddock……
No, seriously, does Pat have a large collection of Koi?
Chas
Like Eddie, Rice likes to eat them, just don’t tell Rasp what the little full back does with them
Good to read that about PR.
Is he into tropicals or cold water?
He’s a pond man Raddy. He just buys the odd pack of fish food once in a while. I think he’s enjoying his retirement.
Sorry chas, I missed your comment. No, Pat has a traditional lily pond with a couple of goldfish and orfe.
Raddy, I’ve just seen that we passed 5 million hits yesterday, who’d have thought it back in 2010 when we were all set adrift from LG and Avenell Road 😕
Evening all.
I voted yes, Of course i would want us in it, 17 years and never winning CL and in all fairness not even looking like winning it, Yes i would clasp European football with both hands,
Get away from teams like Barcelona and Real, the Germans as well blimey we might even win that, People who say use it only to blood our youngsters, have been well spoilt.
I have looked at some of the comments not all, but for the ones i have seen i am disappointed at some of the responses. Many may feel it is beneath us to play in that league, that its an interference to Premier league that we can’t win either, bloody hell we can’t even win our own Emirates cup, what are we just a contender for FA cup and league cup.
Arsenal football club is just another unsuccessful football club, history is just that history. I am sorry i admire teams that are pleased to be in Europe, teams that very seldom get the chance. I dont care what the likes of the Spurs boss say about the comp if he feels that strongly pull out and let the next team play after all he has less chance of winning the league than we do.
Supporters support thats what we do, If i had the chance to have racked up Europa cups every year i would as CL has only give us money, and that money has not been spent bettering the side. 17 years never winning is still an achievement to be in it, and Wenger and the teams deserve a lot of credit, but we have been in all the comps and only just recently won a cup so we have no reason to be high and mighty, being in CL and losing is the same for us as playing league cup as we can’t win that either and i am not surprised as we play youngsters in that while many other teams play their best teams.
What are you all saying, are we too good a club for other comps bloody rubbish.
Well played Rasp.
As you say who would have thought we would reach 5m hits when we discussed creating the site.
I still think my name for the site was better 😀
😆 Raddy, I can’t remember what it was … remind me!
Comment Arsenal (with a French accent!) Or was it something else? I recall we had a vote and there were a few possibilities.
Very clever – but perhaps too subtle for this lot 😕
True 🙂
Amazing we have kept it going so long. We have discussed recipes, wine, holidays, cats, dogs, and even, on the odd occasion, Arsenal.
We are blessed with a fine group of bloggers to keep us company
Indeed we are Raddy. Some have come and gone. Of course we miss DanDan dreadfully, but also many like the redoubtable 26May1989 have moved on.
Steve I do feel that there is a priority in the competitions we enter, and feel most would agree with that. The EPL and ECL sit as the highest priorities. The CC sits as the lowest, and the FA cup and Europa would sit in between. Personally I would put more importance on the FA cup than the Europa, but that is just my opinion.
I think the early stages of any Europa campaign for our club (if we were in it) would have to blood / use youngsters and fringe 1st teamers, much like we do in the domestic cups, and only bring out something more akin to the strongest first team either if we are playing the better sides later in the competition and in with a shout of winning it or if we have a trickier tie earlier than expected.
If we didn’t do this players would risk burnout, then injury, and then Arsene and the coaching staff would face a backlash of incompetence for not using young and fringe players and not resting 1st teamers against some of the smaller clubs in the far flung corners of Europe. Using these players doesn’t mean we don’t give it our all in games and doesn’t mean we are not in it to win it IMO.
Why did 26May move on Rasp? He was a jolly fine chap and blogger.
You are quite right also Rasp, most things are too subtle for me. I prefer to embrace my life with brick in the face obviousness.
I’m not sure what 26 is up to now GB. He was a pretty important fellow so it may just be that work and family are taking precedence.
We have already dumbed the site right down for you, what more can we do apart from turning this into a totnum site? 😀
Not here at all, but five million hits. Heck, 5,000,000 is a very very large number
Well played, and thank you to The Founders. Beer and crisps all round next time I see you.
Oh Rasp, some of us can dumb way way further down. Just give us the green light if things look grim
😆 micky, I think things tend to find their own level …….. talking of which, where is TMHT – is there something you lot are not telling me?
Sorry Rasp but it is still too sophisticated for me. You will have to go back to the drawing board and try harder.
GoonerB,
Who you calling dumb? And who is dumber?
Evening GB, we disagree mate, Burnout is a fallacy in my opinion Sixty games in a season should be childs play to a professional player, if it isn’t then they train to much. The London Marathon has just been run, but one of the runners has run a marathon every day for a year and still went to work.
When i lost my licence i cycled 20 miles a day and still had a ten hour shift to do 7 days a week burn out rubbish, Tell a player he’s tired and he’ll believe he is try telling a foreman your burnt out.
We are a top football club around about 25 players in a squad if they all played half of the fixtures they would play roughly 30 games a season not bad work if you can get it plus a nice little rest for a couple of months when season ends at around 60 70 thousand.
Sanchez is one of the hardest grafters in our team he will not have a game off, Le Coq is probably the most physical and he hates to come off, who is tired and ask them why cause i sure don’t know why.
That’s an impressive stat Rasp, congratulations to yourself and the founding group.
I agree Steve, in my playing days I used to play in a five a side team on Wednesday evening my local club on Saturday afternoons, my social club on Sunday mornings – plus 2 nights a week training sessions.
Oh and seeing as we were not allowed substitutions we played on through injuries – in fact those that claimed to be injured or stayed down for any length of time were branded as sissies!
Evening GN5 hope your eyes are ok mate.
Players play on a soaking wet surface with the latest footwear that should keep you standing should you go down the pitch should have nothing to harm you, When you consider how many touches a player gets throughout a game and remembering there are 22 players out there, how much time does any one player play for.
Tennis players can play up to 6 hours on a one on one sport which is quite unbelievable , and then play a day or so later. While a footballer plays no more than 90 minutes of which he is active for about 15 minutes at most, hardly exhaustive work is it.
Of course you being an old sportsman like myself, know that already enough said.
Nice one, Rasp. 🙂 I voted for Spursday footie, and it turns out most fans want that as well. 🙂
It is a law of averages. Some year down the line, we may not qualify for CL. But then our rightful competition will be other clubs in the EL. However much classy we might be, it is a virtue to give opposition the respect that they deserve. We should proudly participate in EL therefore, and prepare for CL the next year. 🙂
well done, founders. Maybe 28April should be designated as the Founders’ Day. 🙂
Top man PR. 🙂
NP had said his players had been criticised for six months
The journalist asked “what criticism are you talking about? I am not quite sure what specific criticism you are referring to”?
This woman has been slapping Dick.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/11572420/Arsenal-ban-Ainsley-Maitland-Niless-mother-over-assault.html
That concludes this morning’s footy news round-up.
baby elephant :):) all babies are ever so cute….aaaahhh 🙂
rasp – me too, I would like Arsenal to play in Europe, but not necessarily in the CL, which is to be won by one of the German or Spanish teams. In Europa League there are more good teams and better chance of us lifting the trophy
Pochetino has been in N17 for far too long, he is beginning to lose the plot already
Ha ha
I always thought the name Ainsley Maitland-Niles had to be an Arsenal Gentleman style creation 🙂
yuk, I just watched Milliband shaking hands with public – he offers his paw fingers down with limp wrist. He deserves to be slapped, wet fish
dick law was slapped after revealing that Teddy Sheringham is coming to watch under-21s
Eddie
Saw your message other day about chum in Nepal, thanks. Hs appeared back on the radar yesterday, but we were pretty confident he was ok because he was known to have gone into the western Himalayas, so assuming he hadn’t gone total walkabout (which he does) he was always going to be ok, but still a relief to hear from him.
Quite apart from the human tragedy, my sister in law who lives there said the devation to the ancient Hindu temples is a catastrophy as most have gone
micky – good news! glad the wonderer is ok 🙂
unbelievable tragedy, I can hardly listen to the reports from Nepal without crying. I watched a documentary about the country long time ago. It showed some beautiful towns, villages, poor and happy people… I believe that is all gone.
What utter shitballs. Our remaining league games:
Monday, Monday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday
Eddie
Yeah, he’s a top bloke. Flies back to UK every six weeks to see his 4 yr old daughter in Devon
We sell out COCup games so why not Europa League?
I’d be up for the journey through new competitions, and for once I agree with Savage, what’s the difference between Wednesday – Saturday and Thursday – Sunday?
more of a reason to be glad he is ok 🙂
I am going to a Monday game with 2 handsome ginger young men, really looking forward to it. I am glad about summer with no footy though
The CL group stages are pretty dull for the most part, so how can they expect anything remotely interesting from EL groups!?
They need to make it a straight 2 leg knockout competition and get some interest through having each draw televised.
The fact teams and fans even have discussions about wether they would want to be in it or not says it all.
In fact, I wouldn’t even bother with 2 legs. The reason the FA Cup works is because the small teams feel they have a chance in a one-off match. Weeding the smaller teams out during group stages just makes it pointless that they enter. Getting the bigger sides playing each other earlier in the tournament would help too. Also, if they make it one leg it would fit in to the schedule a lot better.
There you go UEFA, piece of piss! 🙂
Maybe Pearson should have sworn more. 🙂
(beware bad language)
Next Arsenal Manager right there 🙂
that Pearson is a nutter, don’t like him at all
Bad mistake to piss off the press, he’ll live to regret it
“Yah, fuckin absolute” 🙂
As good as many cat vids
Chas
If only you knew about Totnes
It’s the home of trendy lefties. Heaving with hippies, and all the alternative medicine fruitloops. Much home educating, make-up-less wimin, the work shy, you get the picture? 🙂
Filthy Oiks.
🙂
Morning all, I’m going to be computer-less for the rest of the day so I’m going to have to leave you all to it 🙂
I am off out so …. An early’ish New Post