Lets learn to walk before we start to run, we're not an established Premeir League team and there fore our squad needs to strenghthen in most areas before we go swanning off playing away in some far off land and then playing 3 days later trying to get points in the League where most of the clubs income is earned (imo)
where have stoke or fulham suffered in their season??? they are around the positions that they would be whether in europe or not......if we can achieve what they have achieved i would be very happy......you cant beat your team playing in any european competition, its what clubs dream of....especially the smallest teams like us,fulham and stoke's of this world.....
Sorry but we're not as established as those teams. They have greater strength in depth than us for a start. Just look at our bench. Most of those players are nowhere near up to Prem level. Both Stoke and Fulham have done much better in previous seasons than this. Maybe nothing to do with Europe but it couldn't have helped imo. Our players are only just getting used to the kudos of being Prem players let alone playing in Europe and whereas I agree Europe is a goal for them and us as a club, maybe the dreaded second season isn't the right time.
Definately isn't the right time. We will have a fight on our hands next season facing the dreaded second season. If we remain in the PL after that, which I have no doubts we will, then and only then should we even consider Europe. Was it Stoke this season that had played 39 games BEFORE Christmas? No way are our players up to that, and if we played the second string, would we get anywhere?
Fulham had huge problems at the start of the season, they didn't get a win until October and had only 4 points going into their first win against qpr , they had only 12 points after 13 games. Did they struggle with being in Europe ? On the evidence above I would say yes !
I'll take Premier League football season after season , I don't even care about the Cups , little on Europe .. to each his own I suppose but that's where I stand !
I don't even care about the Cups the club dont care what you want cracker, they will always strive to play in europe and rightly so.....
I think they care even less with what you want 99 , don't slam the door in that glass house buddy Lol !!
Jesus christ Dai, just agree with someone for a change. Seems you want things for the club a big majority don't.
Superswan I think the priority is the premier league, we need that more than some cup run where we won't win it in any case. And as I said fulham had huge problems at that stage we had 14 points to their 4 points, think I know which one I prefer. And I thought they might drop down because of the run they had.
Dai you don't go to the home games ,what's the no chance of going to Salesia ,its not Tenby don't you know
I've sat back and studied everyone's views and I can see the pros and cons of each side of the argument. Yes, it would be glamorous to be in Europe. The club would gain even more exposure and it would be interesting to see how our game would stack up against continental opposition. Quite favourably, I think, and I would love to see it. However, this is not for me at this point in time. Quite frankly we do not have the strength in depth in our squad, nor will we after our summer signings. The Premier League is absolutely vital for us to sustain and grow our club so that we can become a fixture at this level. Anything that is even remotely going to sidetrack that objective should be regarded as a big NO, NO! We have seen the effects that early European competition has had on the likes of Stoke and Fulham and it should be remembered that these clubs are established PL teams with larger and more experienced squads than ours. There is no question in my mind that, of late, there are signs of fatigue creeping into our team. The tight triangles have become much larger; movement off the ball has noticeably slowed down; closing down is far less effective and the runs are getting fewer. Can you imagine how much worse we would be had we played ten or more games extra? I would far sooner we consolidate at this level before embarking on trans-world expeditions to play the likes of Vladivostock Rovers. Premier League survival is paramount. It is the keystone on which our club's future will be built and to my mind we should not allow anything to jeopardise that ambition. Perhaps next season, or the season after, we can consider it, then, in an ideal world, we might even be looking at playing some of the bigger guns in Europe. In other words, let's learn to walk before we run. Do that successfully and who knows what the future will bring.
Did anyone listen to what Martin Jol said of Fulham last night? Basically he reiterated that being in European competitions effected Fulhams performance, only when they were out did their Prem League performances improve. I think that's enough said on this matter
