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Anyone not wanting Europe?

I just want to beat Chelsea. If that gets Europe fair enough , if it doesnt I'm not fussed . Id far sooner go a long way in , and potentially win, the domestic cups next year but down town Lujubljana does have its allure .
 

Andy_Roker1983 said:
Imagine if we had European games thrown into the mix at that time?
I’m not against it by the way I’d love to see us in Europe just saying we’d need a much bigger/stronger squad. I’d be happy finishing 15th and having a run in Europe no doubt about it, as long as it doesn’t put us in any danger I’d be over the moon.
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I think what I said above though...we will buy a few extra players to add to the depth and maybe keep some that we would have moved on.

Obviously the difficulty would be staying within the financial rules, but thankfully we aren't ran by idiots so I'm sure we would cope ok.
 
I think this Europe overstretching the squad thing is way overblown. First, there isn’t enough of a sample size to say it’s definitely an issue; second, Le Bris likes a consistent team in the league, so this is a golden opportunity to give squad players and young players a chance to play and stake a claim in meaningful matches. We want to sign exciting young players, and with Europe we can guarantee them game time.
 
I wasn’t born when we last competed in Europe. There’ll be tons of people in that position and like others have said, we might not get another chance for a while.

Yes, we’d need a deeper squad, but I think given the last 12 months, we should have some confidence that the people in charge of recruitment can deal with this challenge.

Let’s just focus on beating Chelsea and see what happens from there
 
I think the conference league idea was shit and soon it seems like the whole league will be playing in Europe in some manner. That being said for some it may be the only chance they get to see us in Europe at all, and its still a cup. I dont think its a any where near a draw for players as the compared even to the Europa league though. So probably the same sort of pool we would already be looking at players I'd think.
 
tunstallhill said:
2 days off work (Thursday/ Friday)

Fly out Thursday morning, sitting in a piazza somewhere in eastern Europe in the sun, drinking cheap beer surrounded by Sunderland fans and friendly but bewildered locals, match on the evening, spend the next day having a look about and fly home Saturday morning.

I'm already there in my head
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Hope so, but wouldn’t count on it!
 
I'm still pissed off we turned it down in 2001.

The people saying they don't want European football will be the same ones who said we weren't ready for promotion a year ago.
 
Zen Den said:
I think this Europe overstretching the squad thing is way overblown. First, there isn’t enough of a sample size to say it’s definitely an issue; second, Le Bris likes a consistent team in the league, so this is a golden opportunity to give squad players and young players a chance to play and stake a claim in meaningful matches. We want to sign exciting young players, and with Europe we can guarantee them game time.
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It's definitely an issue. Football at the highest level is won and lost on the finest margins - small percentages.

Having less fixtures means more time to rest and recover. If for example Man City weren't in Europe and they fielded reserve teams in the domestic cups then they would walk the league.

The extra fixtures is definitely an issue for squad management / fitness / injuries etc. We have a good manager and setup though, so I'd be happy enough for us to have a bash at it. If our league form dips , I don't even care as long as it doesn't result in relegation.
 
Cucaracha said:
A bit like saying, I don’t want to be promoted to the Premier League because we’ll get battered every week. To think the last time we played was 1973 after winning the FA cup is mad. We finished 7th twice under Peter Reid but didn’t get any European football.
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We did, and turned it down.
 
How anyone can get excited about playing in the conference league is beyond me. I’ve just looked at last years league and half the teams are an absolutely mystery. If it’s a couple of nights on the piss with your mates then fair enough but as a sporting event , no thanks .
Europa league seems to be a lot higher standard of opposition and it would be a great experience to pit ourselves against those teams although I do believe it would have a big effect on our league form and I hate playing Sundays .

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Mixed blessing innit.

It'd help with recruitment but we'd also have to add a few more bodies to the squad to allow for the extra games. The Europa Conference is barely worth winning, but it'll be a few great days away for a fanbase that have more than earned it.

Already delighted with the season, anything else is a cherry on top. Top 10 and finishing above the mags would be incredible.
 
WHD said:
I'm still pissed off we turned it down in 2001.

The people saying they don't want European football will be the same ones who said we weren't ready for promotion a year ago.
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100% this.
I can't remember the reason why we declined the Intertoto. Assume they thought 'too many games pre season' but it was an opportunity for Europe that never came around again. Until now.
 
It’s quite ridiculous really! But, I think we’d be ok. Our leaders have proved they know what they are doing. I perhaps bizarrely, would prefer conference league rather than europa league. I think we’d cope better with that and PL.
 
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