I know this is a Dempsey thread but there are a lot of comments about EL vs PL/CL. Playing a strong squad in the EL has undoubtebly cost us the odd point, but i've said all along i would rather win the EL than qualify for the CL.
Its not really panned out over the season with the mess Chelsea have been but at the beginning of the season i would have said there was 1 CL spot up for grabs (i thought Mancs and Chelsea would be long gone) and, obviously, 1 EL winners spot. I can see why AVB went for the EL and i support that. To a degree i think we have overperformed in the league considering our transfer business (mod + vdv out and no NEW STRIKER). There was a poll at the beginning of the season, which i can't be arsed to look for, and i think i predicted us for 6th. So to still be 4th, just, is actually quite good. What is galling is imagining just how good it could well have with a bit of investment.
We might end up going out the EL this week (i expect we will tbh) and we might end up 5th/6th in the league. I would consider both a failure despite my preseason predictions but "it is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low".