• The forum upgrades are now largely complete.
    Please read this thread for more details.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.

To the "we're not ready for Europe" crowd

Champions league or I’m not bothered.
Give this man a prize. That’s the spirit.
I wonder how many of those desperate for Europe would actually go to these teams that no one has heard of and couldn’t place on a map . It’s all very well playing in the Champions League and visiting , Milan , Barcelona and Rome but I’ve no interest in swapping a successful League campaign and possible domestic cup journey for nights in
Shelbourne , Zirinski or Kups Kiopio.
Plus playing on a Sunday every week is shit as well .
I get people being excited about new experiences but is it really worth it ??
So you’re saying you’ll have a spare ticket? Pm me.
 
Last edited:

You'd just play the likes of the Jones triplets in those games. It's a league format so you can afford to lose a few games if it doesn't come off. You could use the early rounds as basically like a reserve team competition with odd first teamer and those coming back from injury playing. You might have to go nearer full strength towards the back end of the group stage if we need to pick up some points. It's an adventure, embrace it.
If we treat it like you say then I’d be happy with that . Would those travelling thousands of miles and paying a fortune be okay seeing a reserve team though ?

It’s not just the extra games , You lose Wednesday , Thursday and Friday training for the weekend game .

Can we also send out the u21 manager and keep Regis at home doing the preperation ??
 
Even if it completely fucks our season ?

If we got Champions League maybe I’d get excited .

Look at the Mags , one good season , qualify for Europe then poor following season .
They’ve just had a great season in Europe but now it’s over , the manager is on the verge of being sacked .

If we do get there , the threads complaining about the drop in league performance, the shit kick off times and the injury list will be as many as the ones buzzing about Aberdeen on a Thursday night .
Rubbish
 
Even if it completely fucks our season ?

If we got Champions League maybe I’d get excited .

Look at the Mags , one good season , qualify for Europe then poor following season .
They’ve just had a great season in Europe but now it’s over , the manager is on the verge of being sacked .

If we do get there , the threads complaining about the drop in league performance, the shit kick off times and the injury list will be as many as the ones buzzing about Aberdeen on a Thursday night .
The mags season has imploded because they increased their squad size but bought dog shit. Wissa didn't even start at home against Qarabag when they were winning 6-1. Tonali played the full game, Gordon played half an hour. Why?

Willock was on the bench, along with Elanga. Gordon and Tonali should have been resting up in the house.

It's a been total fuck up by Howe. Buying shite, refusing to play them and flogging his small core of first teamers. That said there's only really Gordon, Tonali and Thiaw played 50 odd games. The majority of the rest have had injury breaks.
 
If we treat it like you say then I’d be happy with that . Would those travelling thousands of miles and paying a fortune be okay seeing a reserve team though ?

It’s not just the extra games , You lose Wednesday , Thursday and Friday training for the weekend game .

Can we also send out the u21 manager and keep Regis at home doing the preperation ??
Good point about the training, We've won a good few of our games there in analysis
 
Last edited:
I didn't think we were ready to play in the Premier League this time last year.

Ha'way the dusty passport red and white wizards.

Believe :cool:
Honestly reckon if we get Conference League we'll be fine. The standard of teams really isn't anything we couldn't compete well with.

Of course it would mean we need a busier transfer window this summer than if we don't get Europe, but the recruitment team showed us last time around that it can be done.
 
The mags season has imploded because they increased their squad size but bought dog shit. Wissa didn't even start at home against Qarabag when they were winning 6-1. Tonali played the full game, Gordon played half an hour. Why?

Willock was on the bench, along with Elanga. Gordon and Tonali should have been resting up in the house.

It's a been total fuck up by Howe. Buying shite, refusing to play them and flogging his small core of first teamers. That said there's only really Gordon, Tonali and Thiaw played 50 odd games. The majority of the rest have had injury breaks.
Maybe I should have left the mags out of it but they have had European hangovers before the current one .
Just a quick check on AI suggests that teams out of those in the top six on average get 9 points fewer the next season .
That could be the difference between staying up and relegation.
 
Even if it completely fucks our season ?

If we got Champions League maybe I’d get excited .

Look at the Mags , one good season , qualify for Europe then poor following season .
They’ve just had a great season in Europe but now it’s over , the manager is on the verge of being sacked .

If we do get there , the threads complaining about the drop in league performance, the shit kick off times and the injury list will be as many as the ones buzzing about Aberdeen on a Thursday night .

Conference league wouldn’t ruin our season. Some of the teams in that competition are bottom half championship standard at best. We’d have to strengthen the squad with both quality and numbers, but we’d be able to rest & rotate too.

Europe isn’t the reason the mags are shite this year. Selling one of the best strikers in the world and replacing him with Woltemade & Wissa, whilst not strengthening the midfield, is why they’re shite.

Oh and both their keepers are absolutely woeful.
 
Maybe it would be too soon but we might miss out, survive the second season but then never trouble the European places again. We're not guaranteed to keep improving and got to take opportunities when they are presented to you.

Exactly this. I’m 52 this year and Sunderland have never played a European fixture in my lifetime (not that we were European regulars before that tbf). And bar 2 seasons under Reid and a couple of cup runs have never really troubled qualification either.
If the opportunity presents itself, grab it
 
I wonder how many of those desperate for Europe would actually go to these teams that no one has heard of and couldn’t place on a map . It’s all very well playing in the Champions League and visiting , Milan , Barcelona and Rome but I’ve no interest in swapping a successful League campaign and possible domestic cup journey for nights in
Shelbourne , Zirinski or Kups Kiopio.
Plus playing on a Sunday every week is shit as well .
I get people being excited about new experiences but is it really worth it ??
They’re the ones I’d be excited about. I’ve been to Barcelona, Paris, Even Milan but it would be great to have an excuse to go somewhere a bit random. Not that I’d be able to get tickets mind.
 
Maybe I should have left the mags out of it but they have had European hangovers before the current one .
Just a quick check on AI suggests that teams out of those in the top six on average get 9 points fewer the next season .
That could be the difference between staying up and relegation.
Palace haven't got a huge squad and are currently 4 points behind us with a game in hand.

If you're playing a lot you don't need to train as much. If analysis is required you can do it on the plane on the way home. If we got to Europe I'm sure Kyril could charter a jet, kit it out well and do a deal to fly from Teeside airport for every game.

We aren't thick like the mags who only had / have half a backroom team in place with the likes of Jack Ross and Eddie's nephew papering over the cracks because Beheaddie tossed his toys out of the pram.
 
I think it is inevitable that it would come at the cost of poorer domestic results, as we'd be fighting on an extra front.

'Smaller' teams who sneak into Europe tend to fare poorer the following season. Part of that might be because they exceeded expectations the previous season and are simply regressing to the mean, but it's common sense to see that when Burnley got into Europe, they finished with 14 fewer points the following season.

There are exceptions, it doesn't always happen, but if we didn't invest in the squad to manage those extra games, we could struggle.
We really could. But im 49 and have never seen us play competitively in europe. So if we got the chance we should grab it with both hands.
 
Conference league wouldn’t ruin our season. Some of the teams in that competition are bottom half championship standard at best. We’d have to strengthen the squad with both quality and numbers, but we’d be able to rest & rotate too.

Europe isn’t the reason the mags are shite this year. Selling one of the best strikers in the world and replacing him with Woltemade & Wissa, whilst not strengthening the midfield, is why they’re shite.

Oh and both their keepers are absolutely woeful.

Like I said before , it’s not even the extra games I’d be concerned about , it’s the disruption every week to training and preparation .

I get that it would be great nights on the piss and a new adventure but it’s not for me and I suspect that once it begins the novelty would quickly end .
 
Last edited:
Back
Top