Your level of performance in the CL proves that coming top 4 in the PL means little, as you say you have to step up to the big time when you cant bully lesser teams.
United's winning the League Cup and EL is almost as meaningless to United as it is to Tottenham. If it wasn't for the CL qualification, United wouldn't have given it a second thought. We've qualified via finishing second in the league which will give us more money, which we do need. Arsenal won the FA Cup twice in the last 3 years and might just do it again on Saturday. The 'Wenger Out' brigade are unimpressed and rightly so. Unless United significantly improve in the league, these wins mean little.
My point is that no more than half a dozen teams every year are of the required standard. Every year, certain teams from Greece, Turkey, Holland, Denmark etc get to the group stages or last 16 if they're lucky. They are no match for the big teams. A team from England or Spain or perhaps Germany or Italy, who win the EL, are far better equipped, albeit likely to be a long way short of those six or so teams who can win the CL.
What prepared : 1. Spurs for CL QF level in 2010-11 2. Monaco for CL SF level in 2016-17, given they finished below Spurs in their 2015-15 EL group
True, but another year out of the CL would hurt any team, even one with Utd's resources. I can't see Utd going from 6th to title winners in one season, but the chances of that happening have been improved tonight. The extra revenue and increased appeal of the club to leading players could make a difference if the right players can be signed this summer. And you know Utd will be signing players.
At the start of the season we were only eligible to compete for 5 trophies The PL The FA Cup The League Cup The EL The Charity Shield. We have won 3 out of the 5, no other team can say that this season, though Chelsea can win the other 2. How many competitions were you eligible for and won?
I notice you single Spurs out in your example Luke, a team which I think you'll find will perform better next time than last time. Man Utd finished a good way from 3rd spot and a fair way from 4th qualifying spot so unless you have some big signings in the summer I think your finished position in the league might see that you won't do very well in the CL. I want to stress I am in no way intentionally provoking you Luke.
That argument is skating on very thin ice, given that it was our first top 4 finish in 6 seasons - each of which incidentally had seen a EL campaign; hence my argument that those campaigns did diddly squat for our preparations in handling the CL. Until we have done it on a regular basis a la Arsenal, you can't extrapolate too much from last season. By extension, your argument indicts almost the entire top 4 almost every season since 2011, as that was the last time a PL side (you lot) managed to finish in the top 4 at the same time as reaching the CL final.
Probably harsh on you D.G.C, it just seems that some think winning 3 out of 5 competitions entered is somehow bad/poor but believe their teams who won nothing were fantastic. I (as I suppose you/most would be) am quite happy with our position tonight. We have not played anything like the football I want to watch every week but we have a few times, however, like I said winning 3 out of 5 competitions you are eligible for is no mean feat and when others feel the need to knock it, it just comes across as bitter.
Did you try to win it or kick it into touch? If you tried to win it and got kicked out early then you were not ready for the CL, if you kicked it into touch then how do you ever expect to get the experience.
1. Throwing the towel in on the PL and comprehensively failing to improve on the previous season despite enhancing the squad. Also, we didn't play in the EL the year we finished 4th - pointing towards the fact that, unlike our capabilities now, we were unable to juggle any european competition with a respectable league campaign. 2. This is a good point but difficult to say that the Europa League 'prepared' them for a superb CL campaign as they played in the CL in the 2 seasons prior to the EL year you've mentioned, and reached the QF in 2014-15 losing just 1-0 to Juve on aggregate.
Well yes, given that his argument centers around the point that finishing in the top 4 doesn't prepare you for CL football. If said top 4 finish doesn't lead to CL football, there's nothing to talk about.
Have to say that united have had a more successful season than spurs. You could argue that you are happier that the team spurs put out look like they have more potential than united but united have 2 trophies and the cl whereas spurs only have he cl. You can't argue against that