Europa league qualification - good or bad

With the relief of premier league status all but guaranteed, thoughts turn to next season. The movement of players in and out always come to the fore about now and the ensuing months will keep us entertained with the speculation.

Our business may well be altered by the fact that we may qualify for the Europa League once again. As far as I can make out, we, as in the premiership, are 1 of the 3 leagues that is eligible for an extra spot in the Europa League. Obviously, this is due to the leagues fair play ratings. If the premiership retains this spot, the chosen team will enter the league in the first round. As we all know, this starts at the beginning of July.

As of now, Chelsea are top of the fair play league with us in second:

Chelsea
Fulham
Tottenham
Man Utd
Blackpool
Arsenal
Everton

Assuming we can retain our good behavior as a club and on the pitch, I think the place is ours. Is this good or bad?

The bad sides are pretty obvious:

The squad's fitness will be heavily stretched.
Injuries/fatigue could affect the premiership placing.

The good sides:

Increases ability to attract new players - better players
Improves the clubs status in Europe
The chance of another final, and games against the likes of Juventus etc
May help us retain the players we have.
We good be going o a European Tour - Still believe.

For me qualification is a great thing. I understand the argument about it affecting our premiership campaign, and ultimately the money that comes with continued survival. However, I think that this is outwayed by what this does for us as a club.

The players all seemed to thrive on the experience last time and became a tighter and better group of players for it. The buzz around the club was brilliant and reached fever pitch as the campaign went on. The few experiences I had both in Hamburg and at the Cottage were unforgettable.

More significantly though for me is what it means for the players and potential signings. Dempsey has been superb in general this season and I am sure clubs will be sounding him out this summer, keeping him is essential. As is keeping all the first team together ( with one or two exceptions ).

It will be argued that too many games preseason will tire us out. We play fairly meaningless friendlies anyway, so competitive games should be more beneficial. Hopefully it should give us a chance to give some squad players a chance, Hoeson, Briggs etc.

I know it is not a done thing yet but fingers crossed for me.

By the way the under 18's take on Leicester this saturday at Motspur park, 11.00 am kick off, I think. I cannot go but if anyone does can they let us know how it goes. I think a win sees us win the league, beating the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. Good luck lads.

COYW

 

I agree it's got to be a good thing and the Uefa Cup is great for a club like ours.

I've certainly missed those Euopean games this season.

 

Froggy, I have to say that going back into the Europa League would be great. We did so very well to get through 19 games and then fall at the last hurdle (still better to go out in extra time than on penalties). If went even half that far, we may have to accept a dip in league form - remember some of those Sunday matches league when we underperformed.

But as you say, the good outweighs the bad, for the players and fans alike. Too many good memories - some good results away (not replicated in our away league form) and a great night in the snow in Basel; some great times at home including coming back against Juve and especially Hamburg after their fans sang "football's coming home".

One thought - the point at which a club joins in the Europa League is based on some complicated coefficient, and I think Fulham's form 2 years ago might mean we join a round later.

Doesn't "Stand Up If You Still Believe" make the hairs on the back of your neck still stand up? Roll on a European Tour!

 

I know it gets scorned by the bigger boys, Hansen is always deriding it on MOTD, and I believe Liverpool supporters have decided that they would rather not qualify for it, but I think the Europa League is excellent for the second tier clubs like ours for several reasons.

1) It brings in extra revenue, which we need;
2) It helps raise the clubs UEFA coefficient which in ways I cannot begin to fathom is a good thing for Fulham's standing in European football in general;
3) If you take it seriously and get through the league stage you end up with the possibility of playing some of the European big boys;
4) Even though it is "only" the Europa League you can offer any potential signings genuine European football and that helps up the quality of said possible signings;
5) It helps convince existing players to stay;
6) Thursday nights are a bit dull in my house and the Europa League brightened them up.

 

England might not get a top 3 place in Europe's fair play, so I wouldn't get my hopes up on it.

 

FFC4L – I’m not getting my hopes up yet. "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man" - Nietzsche

But it's funny this conversation is coming up again ... I remember all the hand wringing two years ago over this topic. In the end, it was definitely a good thing for us. On the books, we lost money even though we went deep into the tournament, but great intangibles came out of our Europa League experience, most important of which is that it gives the club a certain cache, allowing is to retain quality players like Hangeland, Schwartzer and Dempsey, people who might otherwise be tempted to move away from The Cottage (Malbranque, Saha, Van Der Sar). Dempsey's at the peak of his career and told a US sports mag last summer that he would like to be playing for a club that completes in Europe.

If Fulham was a perennial relegation struggler with no hope of reaching Europe, would we be able to keep Hangeland and Dempsey, or recruit players like Duff and Sidwell? I rather doubt it. So even if the team gets overloaded with a few extraneous, expensive players, overall the effect is good for us.

 

GeraScores, you make a good point about our improved co-efficient, but I think that's irrelevant is we qualify through the fair play route - those three teams automatically go into the first qualifying round. It seems fair enough to me. It's getting into the competition through the back door. If Stoke win the FA Cup, it would be rough on them to start in an earlier round than us, despite having done more to qualify.

To my mind, the good points massively outweigh the bad. The biggest plus is the effect it will have on transfers, both in and out. And the possibility of more glory nights. I particularly enjoyed the 6 o'clock kick offs for away matches, as I was able to watch them with my eldest son - a particular treat for him, as we don't have Sky or ESPN so he doesn't often get to see Fulham games live on telly.

 

Glad to see we're unanimous on this. Surely for a club like ours qualifying for the Europa would be one of our top aspirations? What else is there apart from the domestic cups and a high league position (which is usually where a European qualification is earned)? OK, relegation is a worry, but you can't live in fear, what a way to be!

I am sickened by the snootiness of the 'big clubs' and some of their supporters, who think football just exists for them. That is why, as a Premiership club we should never look down upon the aspirations of clubs in lower leagues, where we were not so long ago.

 

Largely agree with everyone, looking at our bench the other night having the likes of zamora, kakuta, AJ, stockdale then in turn considering the players who haven't even made the bench lately: gera, pantsill, greening it made me realise how strong a squad we have developing. With a bit of fine tuning to the squad that we've all frequently discussed, I see no reason why we can't go a long way in Europe and maintain a decent premier league campaign. It is also vital for keeping the squad together and happy, as I imagine regular rotation will be essential to maintain a strong all-round campaign.

 

Exactly. On our last run pretty much the same XI played all 63 games! Our squad is just getting stronger and stronger. Hughes is building a very strong team. Imagine how Bolton felt 3-0 down with Bobby, AJ and Etuhu coming on. We have so many dangermen in so many areas. It's a great time to be a Fulham fan. I just hope Hughes stays this summer! (Which I hear is happening as long as he gets a 20 million transfer budget!)

 

To be honest, on the Hughes issue - if he stays, I think he is the right man for the job. If he decides to leave, then he doesn't have the stomach for our job and we're better off without him. Either way, I think we'll be okay.

If we do get a European place (and I'm highly dubious, as this exact thing came up a few years back and there ended up being no English fairplay place), I'd feel a lot more comfortable this time around. We've not let talent leave of late with the exception of Smalling. We will lose Gera this summer, but if we can hold on to Hangeland and Dempsey then our squad will only be better next year.

I would very much like another season of Kakuta. Honestly, I think it would be a deal that is in the best interests of everyone.

 

Whether a good thing or a bad thing, i just cannot wait for thursday nights again!!
Lets see if we can go that step closer this year.

 

Anyone know when the next Fair Play Table is issued? Could make some good banter with Liverpool fans, whose club have just about qualified for the EL.

 

Good if it was us and Liverpool again. Be like old times.

 

As far as I know we will find out next Monday if England get a spot. If we do I think its highly likely that Fulham will get the place.

 

According to a friend England have dropped to third in the fair play league. Things could be tense, with only the top three countries gettng a spot. lets hope Balotelli holds himself together....
If England do get it, im certain it will come to Fulham.
COYW

 

Getting through to the Europa final gave Fulham a higher profile in Europe. When you speak to tourists about football, they respect us for the football we played, especially German fans after beating Wolfsburg and Hamburg. It would be nice to get to the group stages, but first there will always be the tricky preliminaries that start before the season has really started.
The downside is the Thursday evenings and rearranged Sunday games.

 

It would be great- the feeling of playing in Europe was amazing and I for one would love that again

 

There seems to be a consensus that Europa league qualification would be good, and I agree. I think there's every reason to believe that we could have another good run in it. I don't believe last year was a fluke - we rode our luck on occasion but you have to in cup competitions. We got to the final on merit, and we'd still be more than a match for most teams in that competition.

I don't really understand the mentality of people who say teams like Liverpool or Spurs are better off finishing 6th than 5th and avoiding the Europa League. I'm sure Spurs enjoyed their run to the Champions League q/f this year, but they might well win the Europa League if they're in it next season. When did football become about qualifying for things rather than winning them?

 

To me the only downside is the is having to play many league games on sundays rather than saturdays. I'm convinced that if you look at our current squad there is more strength in depth than their was last season and with a bit of fine tuning a good run in the competition is not impossible.