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The glorious march to CL qualification

I do wonder how damaging that defeat to Palace could end up being for Arsenal. It’s funny how one result can really knock a team for six and change their season but hopefully it has hurt their confidence for the rest of the season now. Losing 1-0 wouldn’t have been a disgrace but to concede 3 at home to them is poor.
 
I do wonder how damaging that defeat to Palace could end up being for Arsenal. It’s funny how one result can really knock a team for six and change their season but hopefully it has hurt their confidence for the rest of the season now. Losing 1-0 wouldn’t have been a disgrace but to concede 3 at home to them is poor.

Their flaky at the best of times

To have your record signing out with a nasal issue is odd to say the least

Where is that commitment that you would expect
 
Games in the arctic circle.
Games nearer China than home.
Games on artifical pitches, farmers fields and quagmires.
Games against teams that will simply kick you off the pitch rather than play football.
A bricky schedule with which the league offers not help.
And then after Christmas when you are already exhausted by it all, you get much better teams drop in from the CL honey pot.

Its a terrible competition, that offers nothing to 99% of the teams that compete other than a thankless marathon that will impact upon domestic form.

For the winner, yes - great (although immediately forgotten), for everyone else? Its a burden.

Its a perfect format for holding teams down.

For reference, I've just had a look at the teams we've played in the EL and their countries since the Redknapp CL season.

Scotland, Greece, Russia, Ireland (we barely even left the British Isles for this one)!

Italy, Greece, Slovenia, France, Italy, Switzerland.

Georgia, Russia, Romania, Norway, Ukraine, Portugal.

Cyprus, Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Italy.

Belgium, France, Azerbeijan, Italy, Germany.

Belgium.

So in 6 seasons, we've gone to the arctic circle once.

We've gone to Azerbeijan once (they should not be in UEFA at all).

We've gone to Cyprus once (we also went to Cyprus last season and Russia the season before that, both in the CL).

Otherwise, we've mostly stayed in Western/Central/Southern Europe and played teams from couneniatries we'd be playing in the CL anyway.

Most of the teams are not in farmers leagues or on artificial pitches, especially once you're out of the group stages, which I can't remember any of our managers ever taking seriously anyway. We also played on an artificial pitch vs Young Boys in the CL.

Like I said, that is a view incredibly centred on the top 3/4 leagues in Western Europe, as if teams from Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, list about 20 European countries here don't care or don't matter at all.

I've literally never heard fans from other countries refer to the EL as a burden. Spurs fans seem to have convinced themselves especially its a steaming pile of brick but English fans in particular have decided anything not worth huge money is a waste of time, ironically while often decrying the impact money has on the modern game.

And final point in a (very long, apologies) post, but I've never understood this obsession with teams being remembered or why I should really care. I've heard it from fans of other clubs who say if we don't win anything with this group of players, they will be forgotten. By whom? Fans of other clubs? Why would they remember them anyway? Truth be told, I couldn't tell you who won the league, the CL, EL, FA cup or league cup 6 years ago. I doubt most fans would be able to without consulting a resource. But I do remember our teams from those years, I remember some of the great matches and how they made me feel, whether it be in the league or the cups. So why exactly does it matter whether the winner of the EL is remembered?
 
For reference, I've just had a look at the teams we've played in the EL and their countries since the Redknapp CL season.

Scotland, Greece, Russia, Ireland (we barely even left the British Isles for this one)!

Italy, Greece, Slovenia, France, Italy, Switzerland.

Georgia, Russia, Romania, Norway, Ukraine, Portugal.

Cyprus, Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Italy.

Belgium, France, Azerbeijan, Italy, Germany.

Belgium.

So in 6 seasons, we've gone to the arctic circle once.

We've gone to Azerbeijan once (they should not be in UEFA at all).

We've gone to Cyprus once (we also went to Cyprus last season and Russia the season before that, both in the CL).

Otherwise, we've mostly stayed in Western/Central/Southern Europe and played teams from couneniatries we'd be playing in the CL anyway.

Most of the teams are not in farmers leagues or on artificial pitches, especially once you're out of the group stages, which I can't remember any of our managers ever taking seriously anyway. We also played on an artificial pitch vs Young Boys in the CL.

Like I said, that is a view incredibly centred on the top 3/4 leagues in Western Europe, as if teams from Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, list about 20 European countries here don't care or don't matter at all.

I've literally never heard fans from other countries refer to the EL as a burden. Spurs fans seem to have convinced themselves especially its a steaming pile of brick but English fans in particular have decided anything not worth huge money is a waste of time, ironically while often decrying the impact money has on the modern game.

And final point in a (very long, apologies) post, but I've never understood this obsession with teams being remembered or why I should really care. I've heard it from fans of other clubs who say if we don't win anything with this group of players, they will be forgotten. By whom? Fans of other clubs? Why would they remember them anyway? Truth be told, I couldn't tell you who won the league, the CL, EL, FA cup or league cup 6 years ago. I doubt most fans would be able to without consulting a resource. But I do remember our teams from those years, I remember some of the great matches and how they made me feel, whether it be in the league or the cups. So why exactly does it matter whether the winner of the EL is remembered?

Good post, but you know they will be some who will not listen.
 
For reference, I've just had a look at the teams we've played in the EL and their countries since the Redknapp CL season.

I've literally never heard fans from other countries refer to the EL as a burden. Spurs fans seem to have convinced themselves especially its a steaming pile of brick but English fans in particular have decided anything not worth huge money is a waste of time, ironically while often decrying the impact money has on the modern game.

And final point in a (very long, apologies) post, but I've never understood this obsession with teams being remembered or why I should really care. I've heard it from fans of other clubs who say if we don't win anything with this group of players, they will be forgotten. By whom? Fans of other clubs? Why would they remember them anyway? Truth be told, I couldn't tell you who won the league, the CL, EL, FA cup or league cup 6 years ago. I doubt most fans would be able to without consulting a resource. But I do remember our teams from those years, I remember some of the great matches and how they made me feel, whether it be in the league or the cups. So why exactly does it matter whether the winner of the EL is remembered?

Mate, people just don't understand the media/pundits have a narrative and people (and Spurs fans) fall for it.

The reason the domestic cups and EL have been devalued has nothing to do with the format/opponents, it's the media and their constant harping that top 4 & CL is the only thing that matters, and clubs that haven't won anything (with the exception of Pool) are somehow "failing" (completely ignoring the fact that the vast majority of clubs never "win" anything), should the other clubs just pack it up?

I remember those last few months of that season we first qualified for EL after decades of no European football, no one was down crying it then.

For us, the only reality that has changed is we are trying to change our targets from European football (been 12 seasons now) & competing to CL & Winning, and unfortunately that costs lots of money. The stadium helps, but we need CL revenue and worse yet, CL revenue is rigged (it pays based on co-efficient of last 10 years, right now if we lose in the SF, United would have made more money despite going out earlier), so we need to raise our co-efficient by being in every season and progressing deeper.
 
CL is the only thing that matters because of the prize money, the numbers are in this thread, even if you go out in the Group stage you get millions, domestic cup prize money is a rounding error in comparison.

No one is falling for anything, being in the CL is that important.

£80m
Vs
£20m pretty much isn’t it
 
Not bad at all but it means that over our last 14 games home and away we have won only six, so not true to say we win 'more often than not'.

Reason I'm chewing over this is I really dread that lot because of how beating us means SO much to them, especially as over the last few years they've won, well, too many for comfort anyway.

I phuckin jinxed us :(

At least the other sides around us have been so poor that we can survive this. But it's so frustrating.
 
Praying that we can get Sissoko and/or Winks back for at least some of the remaining games.

I think 4 points will be enough for a top 4 spot, perhaps 3 points, but we need to go to try to win at Bournemouth so won't really be able to rest players
Our recent form in a vid:

 
So it looks like we will do it the hard way. This would be even more stressful if other clubs weren't performing poorly as well.

Pretty decent visualization of PL race (too lazy to work out embedding)

https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/318818/

Nice animation of the race. After early jostling we break away from the pack, staying on the heels of City and Liverpool. Then we stop, waiting for the others to catch up, before settling into a jog to the finish.
 
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