Does the fact we turned down this route and possible European football suggest to others that once the chance of CL had gone we stopped caring? I know a few have said (and I'm one of them) that the players look like they are in holiday mode already (bar last week), could this be coming from the management? They don't want to be in the EL so it was a case of CL or nothing?
If we have to shirk European football in order to 'cope' with the demands of qualifying for European football, then surely we are just going to get twatted once we qualify for European football Or are we working on the basis that IF we finish top four in May next year, then a boat load of CL quality players will come knocking on our door to help us out with our extra demands the following year? If you can't tell, I'm in the 'unhappy that we turned this down' camp.
Maybe the owners have a big pot of gold but don't want to spend anything until we are in the CL again?
Mate if we start basing our decisions around what the media think we might as well pack up and sell Anfield off to build a supermarket. The same hacks who give us grief about Suarez will just slate us for turning down European competition. I also don't buy the "focus on the top 4 argument". Why do we want CL if we can't cope with extra games and distractions? Surely we wwant the whole squad to get used to two games a week every week don't we? Rodgers wouldn't have to use a single first team player if he didn't want to and guys like Wisdom, Sterling and Suso need the game time. Use it to give a player like Kelly time at CB for instance. The other thing this decision seems to ignore is the fact that Europey games are a chance for a lot of local people to get a ticket and afford to take the family. Are we so far removed from reality and the local support that this shouldn't be taken into consideration?
Not to mention that no European competition next season will see us drop out of the top thirty in the EUFA rankings too (currently seventeenth), any future European football will have to be done the hard way.
If we manage to get into the Champions League we will have had 3 transfer windows by the time we start. If we play in the Europa League we will have half a transfer window by the time we start.
Some extra points: it's very unlikely we would even qualify as England are behind Norway, Sweden and Finland. We have a 90,000 sell-out game planned the day before our second Europa tie would be. ‘It was a long journey this year and — don’t get me wrong — we enjoyed it and we were disappointed when we came out of it, but I think down the Fair Play route it (the qualifying rounds) starts even earlier,’ said Rodgers. ‘I’d prefer to be in it by qualifying through the league or winning a trophy. If it’s not that way then we are better suited to re-aligning our focus to domestic cups and the league.’
I am pretty disgusted if this is the case. The day LFC turns down European football is a dark day. **** some Aussie friendlies, we are here to play for trophies and in Europe. The very least we could do is accept it and field our bloody u21s!
ALL THIS IS JUST SPECULATION AT THE MOMENT! Liverpool haven't qualified for the Europa through the Fair Play league yet anyway. England were 4th in the Interim UEFA ranking at the beginning of January behind Norway, Sweden and Finland. Only the Top 3 qualify, so unless England move up at least 1 place all this is moot. The final UEFA rankings are worked out at the end of April, so they should be out soon. If England do finish in the Top 3, then Liverpool would need to be the highest placed team (not already qualified for Europe) in the premier league fair play table. Also, some papers are saying the Fair Play entrants go into the 2nd qualifying round. They don't, it's the 1st qualifying round and that starts on the 4th July!!
fair enough, for those in the disgusted or disappointed camp, if we got Europa football next season but as a result it effected our league performance, then what? we could be in a vicious circle then of only being good enough to get the Europa and struggle to keep our key players, and i doubt we could cope with both if we got injuries, but with CL football you can normally attract a better quality of player so doesn't effect the first team too much,also the fixtures seem to be kinder and mainly longer rest for teams in the CL than this thurs sun games with the travelling as well you get being in the Europa. think we are good enough to win the comp? wasn't so long ago, although cant be sure on this forum, but i have seen a lot of Liverpool supporters say the Europa is an unneeded distraction from the league which is what we should be focusing on,whats changed? the need for trophies? lowering our standards? good point about the ticket prices and families who cant normally go being able to afford it.
More than one posters with an opinion? I'm sure there will be people about that are happy to see us not participate but at the moment the ones that are disappointed are coming to the forefront
Look the fair play route was taken by west ham? a few years back and they needed to play in it before july right? This would be a bit of an issue really. you have to play every round of prequalifying for the europa and remember the europa give ****e all money really. I think the club is signalling they want the focus on making moeny i nthe far east on tour and on the league. I think our u-21s could ahve played this though so i'd question it.
Its a tricky one for me. On one hand I would like to quailfy for it to give some of the kids a first team run out and experience of some kind of European football. Also I would like to see Suarez getting some games to assist in his match fitness so he is not too far behind other players in the league by the time his domestic ban is over. One the other hand I am not sure our current squad can cope with all these extra games even if we do play the kids 90% of the time
