Europa is a good tournament IMO, think if you speak to the vast majority of Newcastle fans they are delighted at the prospect of playing in the Europa League, there are also 13 teams in the Premier League who would feel exactly the same way, who won't get the opportunity next year.
For clubs who are not able to compete in the Champions League its big. For those in the CL who are knocked out it offerers nothing but added games. If Liverpool declined the invite, I doubt you would never play in europe again. At least not for a while. You would need a fantastic reason and crying over something you feel was wrong wont mean anything. UEFA would be very offended and punish you for it. Of course Liverpool are not that stupid and wouldnt jepordise their reputation and potential future by doing such a stupid thing.
They'd just let another team take your place. The FA wouldn't be assed in the slightest, you'd just be alienating yourselves further.
I'm looking forward to the Europa League next season. There has been some good games in this year's tournament and it isn't as ****e as everyone says it is.
Are we in the same position as Fulham were at the start of this season in terms of playing all them qualifiers? I don't know if I see them as a good thing really. It might give us an edge going in to the start of the season but I'd rather them be eased in to things.
I think if you've got a decent squad then competitive games early on in the season can really work wonders for how you start the season. Newcastle had that back in 2001-2002 season when we went from being mid-table to challenging for the title (well top of the table after 19 games anyhoo) seemingly on the back of a solid Inter-toto cup campaign which meant we were all match fit when others had only had friendlies and training to prepare themselves. Think Villa had a similar experience. It can be a good thing to get competitive matches before everyone else, you just need a big enough squad that you wont get shattered by Easter.
Yer lets give up European football when we are trying to attract players who want at the very least European football. Ridiculous!
Been in work, so I haven't be able to respond, but I expected these answers. I just think it's a competition we could do without, and making an end-of-season gesture about the Suarez affair is needed. I would LOVE us to win the FA Cup and then tell the FA to stick it, but I strongly suspect that it's in all teams' contracts to play in it (unless the FA lets you do otherwise as with Man U in 2000). i say again, we need some end-of-season gesture re the Suarez business as accepting what is just leaves us open for another pop whenever the FA or United feel inclined. And it will happen again - just read the likes of Simon Barnes, Rod Liddle and Fatty Samuel on how we are (or how they want us to be) "the most hated team in England". That sort of visceral hatred, stoked by the smug 'feelgood factor' of the FA that for once they've got the weasels of Fleet St on their side, can only be met with total resistance. It WON'T go away if we just roll over and beg for acceptance like FSG appear to want us to do. i don't expect many (any!?) to agree, but unless we mix the FA a bottle over this we may as well just accept we're a simple commercial enterprise controlled by the whims of accountants, sponsors and politically corrupt governing bodies with publicity agendas - a soulless corporation. in short, we may as well support United ourselves.
I think it's best we keep our heads down and carry on like any normal football club. There's been enough controversy this season the Europa league is a decent a competition and I think we should atleast go for it, turning down the chance to play in Europe is just really daft.
"I think it's best we keep our heads down and carry on like any normal football club." And hope the bullies pick on someone else? They'll be back, wait and see.
The OP is surely having us on. Is this a WUM ? I haven't seen a single poster agreeing with this muppet. I doubt whether he is a real Liverpool fan anyway. First he wants us to refuse to play in the Europa, which we want to compete in anyway. Would UEFA just say thank you and leave it at that? No, they will want to set an example and we will be excluded from European competition for years. Also he assumes that we all support him in the Suarez affair. Many of us do believe that Kenny was wrong in many things he did. Suarez was also not the complete innocent he pretends he was in all of this. It was not all the fault of the FA.and we are not all against the owners actions. Our club was let down by Suarez and Kenny in many respects not FSG. But why FFS revive that whole episode? What a ******ed muppet! I wish like many here some posters engage their brain just a little bit before posting utter sh*t on our board.
Also he assumes that we all support him in the Suarez affair. I assume no such thing! As soon as the press form a fearsome wolf-pack there was several of our most gullible supporters ran for cover. I'm under no illusions that many of our fans would just love this to go away and hope that the media pats them head and throws them a dog biscuit - after viciously beating them. Many of us do believe that Kenny was wrong in many things he did. I agree. He should have told Suarez to lie like Ferguson did with Schmeical over the wright affair years ago. Suarez was also not the complete innocent he pretends he was in all of this. That he undoubtedly responded to aggressive, racil stereotyping and threats is beyond doubt. That he DIDN'T say the 'n' word and 'blackie' seven, ten, five or whatever times is also clear. That he was punished and Evra deified was also unarguable. It was not all the fault of the FA No, the press and Sky media were also at the forefront of the witchhunt. .and we are not all against the owners actions. Our club was let down by Suarez and Kenny in many respects not FSG. They're no better than H&G. They saw all the evidence and rightly backed Kenny to the hilt. They saw the press reaction and sh!t themselves. So indeed, they and many of our 'fans' are made for each other. But why FFS revive that whole episode? IT HASN'T GONE AWAY! Read the papers - every game we lose the likes of Barnes, Lawton, Liddle, et al rub our noses in it again and trot out the 'Most hated team in England' tagline. Every article calling for Kenny's head is accompanied by a statement of fact theat Kenny, LFC and the owners were wrong not to bend-the-knee to the press/FA witchhunt and they're aggressively attacking the 'brand' that FSG value so pathetically at every opportunity they have. I know, from family and friends, that very, very few people agree with me and, like you and others on this thread, there is a fingers-crossed, head-down, 'please stop picking on me and bully the other kid' attitude. You're wrong - at the end of the season, even if we win the Cup too, they'll be back to put pressure on FSG to sack Kenny, their motivation being his Hillsborough-embedded determination to treat these twats with the contempt that they deserve, and their method will continuously be the Suarez affair and to threaten the self-fulfilling prophechy that they'll attck the global FSG brand if they won't do their bidding. The final question will be - 'Who runs this club'? But good luck to you in your dream that it's all gone away. Did you see the universal press disappointment at the semi-final result? It hasn't people, it damn well hasn't.
Donnie; I think, with due respect you are missing the point. They roll out the " most hated team in Britain line" because it's true. The jealousy & envy has been there all the time well before The Suarez affair gave them an excuse. Our poor league performances & KD's pretty blatant hatred right back at them has kept it going. Rival fans hate us from a historical point of view: perfectly natural due to our success and we're not alone. United see themselves justifiably as just as hated due to the same success & same jealousy. So when we go through a bad period, they (rivals) react with glee. Nothing wrong there. We do the same. We jump on bad press about rival clubs and use it as a wind up in mock outrage too. It's not beneath us. The gutter press however has never forgiven LFC for what it sees as its own (the presses) embarrassment over the Hillsborough affair & the fact that they believe their hands have been tied in really going after us over the years because of the sympathy generated. They believe we've somehow cheated them out of their usual nastiness. They also resent us for our open contempt of them. (it doesn't matter to them that the contempt might be justified) They've seen the race issue as a chance to override the natural sympathy LFC get in relation to bad press and really go for us. The fact that the story was sensationalist & there was a ready formed Que. of people on both sides to quote was just a bonus. To keep this issue going when it does absolutely no practical good: i.e. Wont magically get us more points, Or Suarez a mythical reputation he never had in the first place is madness. it gives them continued cover to spill their bile. And also lends weight to the arguments that we are bitter & paranoid. We've all made our feelings clear on the particulars. Repeating them doesn't get them believed. By drawing a line in the sand and moving on as a club and concentrating on the bloody football, highlights this hatred if it continues as what it is: frustration & petty jealousy. While I understand your anger and commend your principIes I believe your logic is flawed & would lead to a serious injury to the health of the club we love. You need to let this issue go, support the team and hope that the plans in place will make us successful against so we shove their jealousy down their throats.
The FANS not the club should boycott the FA CUP next season, the ticket alloaction for the final is a disgrace, and I know a lot of fans who attend games are planning on doing this next season Half empty stadia would be a great advert for the FA cup
That is something that I've suggested (sadly unlikely) even if it was all the premier league teams fans as we know how much the lower league clubs rely on the FA cup money to boost their funds and with all respect the tv companies are only interested in showing the big boys anyway do hit them where the advertisers feel it. Unlikely though: as demonstrated in the threads about this: other fans will only see this as an issue when it's their turn and when it is, We'll say tough sh*t, you laughed at us when it was our problem! The FA rely on the tribal nature of the nations fans to ensure the stadiums will always be filled. We don't have the discipline for that kind of campaign. It may take years but the only way this will be corrected is when they have devalued everything except the premier league & champions league, when hundreds of smaller clubs go to the wall and the premier big clubs stab the FA in the back by joining a Euro Super League hence rendering the national body meaningless. But then no one will care by then anyway.
