We are in the same position with 5 other clubs but I don't spend my time hoping they have an extra game to play. we (and you) are where we are because we have not been better than others so far, all we can hope for is that we are better than them on the run in, who else or how many games they play is irrelevant.
So Chelsea and Leicester gained no advantage from not playing in Europe this season and last? Liverpool's one tilt at the title came in a season when.......they played no European football? Last season Citeh made the semi's of the CL but only 4th in the league? Chelsea's only CL win came when.........they dropped out of the top 4? Last season Liverpool went all the way to lose the EL final whilst coming in 8th in the league. If you can see the pattern........what am I thinking?
For anyone that missed the chaos last night: Well done to BT Sport for providing high quality highlights swiftly uploaded on Youtube for free.
You mean league + UEFA cup double ?? League + FA Cup double is not so rare in England (been done more times in the PL era than the history of the league prior to then - and the "modern" game) .
Increasingly it seems difficult for English clubs to fight on 2 fronts successfully. Doing well in European competitions seems to go hand-in-hand with struggling to make it back into the CL, whereas, teams not in any European competition are enjoying an advantage in terms of their PL performance. In years past when competition for the top 4 places was more limited, doing well in both seems to have been more possible or maybe desirable?As a league, our collective performances in Europe have dipped and our national co-efficient is falling. From 2018 that will matter not a lot as we will be guaranteed 4 places along with Spain, Germany and Italy. Is that because winning in Europe is less relevant financially than it was once or just because Doing an Arsenal' and winning the Top 4 Cup year after year is more important as English clubs become more obsessed with Group Stage income and sponsorship and financial rankings, you may well ask?
I don't think it is an obsession, more of a rational choice. If you've got more income than you can sign better players and should succeed more. The value of being in the CL is so high (compared to say winning a domestic Cup) that you are cutting your own throat if you don't prioritise that. Then you've got the added benefit of the very top players wanting to compete at the highest level and it's a no-brainer.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, 31, is being offered wages of £1m a week to join a Chinese Super League club. (The Sun) Blimey! That's £52 million for the year! He'd be foolish not to take that.
I'm saying going a long way in the European competitions is draining on resources needed to get the PL placing in order to get back in the competition. Arsenal are content to take 4th and the Round of 16. Recently, when English teams have made the finals/semi's it's been to the detriment of their PL form. Are we now entering the era where income is all and winning is a far more minor concern? Would we take a lowly finish next season and no CL football for a real tilt at the league with no distraction? Is that what we want? Does anyone other than Kroenke/Wenger want the Groundhog Year that Arsenal keep re-living? Football was about winning and glory. How far off are we from an open top bus parade with club accountants and marketing people parading the 'Income Cup'?
I just think it doesn't work like that. Without CL we start at a disadvantage. I take the point that trying to in the CL also gives you a disadvantage. I'd be pretty happy with 5 groundhog years like Arsenal provided we used the time to build a team that might really have a good chance of winning the league. When we've got that it wouldn't do any harm to have season out of Europe to maximise the chance of winning the league.
I think it's unfair to pose that question of us until after our stadium has been build and paid for. The excuse that Gooners always used, in the past, for Wenger's apparent stagnation was that there was no money left in the coffers whilst the stadium was being built. Of course, it's been a few seasons since they've been able to use that excuse. I get the impression with Levy that he genuinely wants Spurs to win things, which is not something one feels about Arsenal's owners, who seem content to fleece the fans and sit back to watch their coffers replenish and overflow with riches.
You also have the situation where the PL is currently so cash-rich that apart from those with poor transfer fee / salary management, does the actual money from the CL really help the usual suspects much ??
If Jose fails to get United into the CL next year the loss on shirt sponsorship and kit merchandising income will be £70m or more than winning the bloody thing would bring them. It's mental.
I get the impression Levy intends to build new WHL with ZERO effect on the on-pitch stuff (our PL/UEFA performances are maintained or improved) during that time. Thus putting the final WUM nail in the coffin of the Wenger/Kroenke myth.
they had to move one of the europy games as lyon and st etienne were playing at home. Apparantly theres a rule for it as they are so close together in location, probably something about policing/football hooliganism etc
