Europa Cup

If Liverpool get through & they avoid Man Utd/Arsenal then there is a strong chance 7th will be enough to qualify barring a semi final upset.

I think Spurs have used the Europa league fairly well and I expect us to go along the same lines. In the group stages not all the teams are that brilliant so we can get away with a more League cup style team.
I think the likes of Targett, Turnbull, Reed, Ward-Prowse & Gallagher should form the nucleus and others come in to suit

 

Depressing that we've gone from dreaming of CL to accepting that we won't make it and hoping that we can make Europa. I would love us to take Europa seriously but don't see them shelling out on players for this purpose.

 

Why is getting into Europe depressing? and we very much will recruit more if we get into Europe.

 

Not part of first team, so left out on purpose.

 

Because we could 'easily' be in the running for CL. Europa doesn't seem to do anything for a teams long term progress.

 

Getting into Europa would mean we have progressed from last season. Yes we can still get into the CL, but would I complain about Europa? Nope.

 

But it should if teams take it seriously. I never quite understand why fans view the EL as more of a hinderance than the CL. The only difference is playing in a Thursday and maybe a couple more games.

Getting into the EL is a massive achievement for Saints.

Ps. We are still in the running for CL

 

I'm still dreaming. The margins are so tight. After Sunday, there is little to fear until we go to the Etihad, by which time Chelsea may have the title sown up making us the team wanting the win more. Get stuffed on Sunday, wobble against Burnley and I may stop dreaming. And as others have said, EL would be an achievement. If that's where we end up, then go for it. Would we expect a Luke warm response if we were to get into the CL? And if we don't make Europe at all, then 2015/16 becomes the year to win the FA Cup. Whatever, let optimism rip. When were struggling to break down Rochdale et al we would have been sectioned for this discussion.

 

But it does mean something. We qualified by losing in the FA Cup, but apart from that we haven't been there in living memory. It is now easier to qualify as it generally goes down to 6/7, but a massive achievement for Saints after 3 years in the PL. Would prefer the CL naturally, but definitely prefer the Europa to finishing this good season with nothing.

 

Would definitely play the majority of the first team and not a mixture of youth/reserves in my opinion. What incentive is it for the 1st team to qualify for Europe if they're then not going to play in it? Many people keep saying that to attract the best players (and keep our own!) we need to be able to offer European football, and to me that would mean actually playing our best players in Europe if we get there.

 

Don't worry. Koeman isn't as strange as some of our supporters

 

There is a certain pragmatism here

Take Spurs group opponents...Besiktas, Asteras Tripolis & Partizan Belgrade

You do end up with a varied level of quality and if you have an away trip to Asteras on Thursday and then an away trip to the Etihad on the Sunday then would you want your best players even travelling?
Once you hit the knock out rounds in February and the fixture list calms down, then you play your best players but if you think you can utilise the squad and still win then it's a calculated risk.

I'd be thrilled with Europa league qualification and that is progress for the club and the next level we need to reach. The additional revenues may not be as high but the extra games will allow us to keep more players of a certain level as we'll be able to offer more playing time

 

What about Elia? Forgotten? Not staying? Not good enough?

 

I don't think he will stay. Hopefully he will prove me wrong.

 

That's probably fair. I'm not that fussed either way by him. He started quite brightly but seems to have tailed off. I don't think he's done enough (yet) to be a starter, and I think that's what he'd want.

 

Ok ok yes I do agree, EL would be a great achievement. Would love us to go for it, just don't want us to slide down the table and not win EL leaving us with nothing but memories. And fine wines.

 

Europa Cup would still be a massive achievement , but look at Everton they stick out a strong side for all their europa cup games and their league form has suffered i worry that if we qualify and dont get the right numbers in , it could be disastrous

 

Let's worry when it's time to worry. For now, let's just worry that we won't having anything to worry about. Then we can worry.

 

Largely, it's the fact that CL provides a giant pile of money that can be used to fund acquisitions (and generally, the spots go to clubs with extreme depth in any instance), and EL provides a half-off coupon for your next purchase of hand sanitizer. It would be a massive achievement, but we'd have to approach things far differently than we have this year...run the same players out in all competitions and you'll be scraping them off the pitch by mid-December.

 

Europa would be great as an avenue to developing our youngsters! Imagine the great experience they will get travelling around playing teams around Europe. Far better than the Under 21 league. And I think they would still progress beyond the group stage. If we made the later rounds we could think of fielding a stronger team and maybe having a shot at the CL via this comp.

Use Europa to develop the kids, and keep the majority of the main squad focused on the Prem.