Just for context
The Europa League is the trophy none of Europe's big clubs want or expect to win.
The Europa League is the trophy none of Europe's big clubs want or expect to win.
If we win the Europa league
- Thread starter Devil81
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
At this point, obviously you have to be considered huge favourites to win it- only not lose a game against Celta Vigo and win one against Ajax.
Not exactly impossible for a team as star-studded as yourselves.
The Europa League is a big and prestigious trophy, and considering it also gives you the CL spot you are about to miss out on it would be absolutely immense.
That it's the only one of the 3 big European Cups you haven't ever won so far adds another nice narrative.
Surely this will have to be considered a genuinely great and successful end to a season which could have ended much, much worse.
I'm not an expert on this, not sure whether anyone knows the details, but IIRC there was some reports that your shirt contract with Adidas includes a provision where you would get something like 30% less money after missing out on CL 3 times (not sure whether 3 times consecutively or not). This would have been 3 times no CL in the last 4 years, so possibly qualifying after this season is also financially a pretty important thing.
Not exactly impossible for a team as star-studded as yourselves.
The Europa League is a big and prestigious trophy, and considering it also gives you the CL spot you are about to miss out on it would be absolutely immense.
That it's the only one of the 3 big European Cups you haven't ever won so far adds another nice narrative.
Surely this will have to be considered a genuinely great and successful end to a season which could have ended much, much worse.
I'm not an expert on this, not sure whether anyone knows the details, but IIRC there was some reports that your shirt contract with Adidas includes a provision where you would get something like 30% less money after missing out on CL 3 times (not sure whether 3 times consecutively or not). This would have been 3 times no CL in the last 4 years, so possibly qualifying after this season is also financially a pretty important thing.
Have some respect. We're not even in the final yet.
It wont be a walk in the park
It wont be a walk in the park
Thanks for the insight.
Meh.. That's elitist talk. Sure it's no cl but it's a major trophy.
Besides, win it first then dish it later. We aren't even guaranteed a place in the final yet
Yes...that will most definitely be my feeling and I feel even the more negative fans will be whooping for joy and on a high for a few days.....
Average teams don't win league titles never mind by 11 points.
Except Spurs don't deserve European football after what they served up in the Champions League and Europa League this season.
IF we win I expect few threads like this:
"We won EL but I feel meh."
"We're still average"
"We don't deserve CL"
"Our standards have droppen"
"We'lol get slaughtered by top European sides."
"We won EL but I feel meh."
"We're still average"
"We don't deserve CL"
"Our standards have droppen"
"We'lol get slaughtered by top European sides."
The Ajax Rostov and this Ajax arent remotely the same. Not compareable at all.
Furthermore I like your stat but you probably dont even watch Ajax and it doesnt hold any context. Ajax completely outplayed Celta Away just like United but forgot to finish the match, similarly as Standard Luik, but Ajax played with a B-team that match and were already through, still outplayed them witb youngsters but didnt finish the match just like United, and conceded a late goal. Schalke away has been the only poor match away from home, but even then with 10 man they fought back to clinch the victory.
Neutral ground isnt the same as playing away by the way, Ajax have young players and get impressed quicker by opposition fans. (Veltins Arena is really impressjve and scary when full), Neutral ground will have 1/3 United, 1/3 Ajax and 1/3 Neutral, not really the same effect.
That's wrong sadly.
They also actually managed to finish 3rd..............
Er, that's how you lot won most of your European Cups you cheeky beggar!
I'll take it over winning feck all like City this season...
Mate instead of dwelling on who we've faced why not enjoy where we're headed instead? Like everyone brings up how we've had easy opponents, who cares? Not me that's for sure, Spurs had an easy team too no? They failed to beat them, we actually beat our 'easy teams'. League positions are deceptive, Liverpool are ahead of us but we know we're a class above them so there's an example straight away. Could argue Everton are better than the woeful Arsenal too right now.
Just enjoy the ride, let the haters do their thing, we can only beat what's infront of us and we have done, something the 'second best team' in England failed to do. Negative Nancy's, everywhere.
I bet if you ask City, Spurs, Arsenal or Liverpool fans whether they would a) Finish in the top 4 with no trophies or b) Finish outside of the top four and win the EL, they'd probably pick option B.
The Europa League is clearly second tier and I've never been able to give much of a crap about it. The fact that it looks like being our only route into CL football has completely changed this. Winning it would be a fantastic end to the season. And yes, Roy, celebrating CL qualification is not what this club is about but we've fallen a long way since Fergie retired and CL football next season would be an important first step towards becoming a force again.
But it's a major trophy that get's us CL football and we haven't won it yet. Also, it puts other further ahead as the most successful club in England.
Just for context, top four is not an achievement. EL > top four.
Doubt it, Arsenal and Liverpool see top 4 as some sort of alternative trophy.
It's not as if we are miles from top 4 (eg Liverpool last season).
If we win the EL and a couple of points from 4th, I would say we deserve CL more than 4th. Especially if it's Liverpool and their non European season
If we win the EL and a couple of points from 4th, I would say we deserve CL more than 4th. Especially if it's Liverpool and their non European season
We have relied on Ibra scoring all season. Our whole style of play revolves around him. We play badly against pressing sides, and these press more than any team in the Prem right now. And I don't see any of our players looking fresh--mostly seem to be carrying knocks or just recently recovered from injuries. Admittedly I'm in a more negative mood than normal right now but they were very impressive attacking wise against Lyon.
It all feels pretty gloomy right now and of course the League campaign has been nowhere near enough.
And yet if we do manage to win the Europa League all in all you'd have to say it would have been a good season. Champions League qualification and two trophies? I'd bet every team bar Chelsea would rather that than their own season.
And yet if we do manage to win the Europa League all in all you'd have to say it would have been a good season. Champions League qualification and two trophies? I'd bet every team bar Chelsea would rather that than their own season.
That's not polite!
Won one trophy and were pretty good.
It really wasn't average. That team had won the league and got to CL final ,lost the league the following season on goal difference (somehow) and walked the league the following year. The club fell off a cliff the following season, players hit a massive decline after Fergie left and never performed as well again afterwards but the side at the time was very very good. Not on a par with the 99/08 teams but certainly not average.
Neutral ground is the same as playing away, they are playing away from their home stadium. No home advantage, staying in hotels away from home comforts..the works. What you've given is excuse after excuse why their record away from home is poor. They conceded goals like they're going out of fashion. It's not like they're failing to score, they need to score 2/3 to win a game which is extremely difficult to do in Europe so it isn't a surprise they struggle as badly as they do.
If we make it to the final there isn't a hope in hell that it would be neutral anyway. Our Swedish fanbase could fill that on their own, it's a given that our fans will outnumber them, the Ajax fans will make a killing touting their allocation.
This is just another example of this baffling thread of over praising every opponent (or potential) we could face in the EL.
Oh Lyon and Roma are the two best sides in the EL, Celta is a nighmare draw etc etc yet in every knockout round first leg so far we have thoroughly outplayed every opponent in their own back yard. Every post match consists of posters lamenting the fact the tie isnt already over by freaking halftime.
It's not the same, I dont think United fans will massively out number the Ajax fans and not sure if UEFA will even let that happen.
No I havent given excuses, but reasons and context, you probably barely have seen the matches and create context behind a stat. They havent been bad away from home bar Schalke away but even there they showed lots of fight with 10 men.
I think United are favourites and under normal conditions should win, but some do overrate United a bit on here. United reaching their normal level is a big if. Pogba, Bailly, Rashford should be up for it.
I don't see how this has been a horrendous season. Mourinho is putting some good foundations down, as seen by our much maligned unbeaten streak. Sides without backbone don't go 25 games unbeaten.
Totally agree. Now we've got the right man at the helm, we have to give him time. Part one of the process looks well underway - defensive resilience, hard to beat, etc. Part two is going to be about getting goals into the team, by getting more efficiency out of those who remain next season and supplementing that with a Griez-type player. The margins are quite slim - if you look at the teams above us, we need to make up 15 goals to be challenging for the league.
Great point. It's gone a bit under the radar, but we've started getting results away in Europe again. I honestly think we will look back on this as a real formative season. Arsenal, City and Liverpool will qualify for the CL, but our players will (hopefully) do that and get a vital taste of the trophy winning mentality. There's shades of the 05/06 season in this campaign.
Context is key. It gets the club into the CL. That makes it a golden ticket. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.
Agree. As I said above, context is key. Winning the EL gets us into the CL. Plus, we've fallen a bloody long way since Fergie retired. Put simply, we aren't an elite side at the moment, nowhere near, so it's 100% appropriate that we have treated the EL with respect.
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My thoughts on the matter are simple: If we end the season with two trophies and CL qualification in the bag, it goes down as an unmitigated success. Next season, there will be no excuse for failing to launch a title assault.
You should be happy about it. United having to exert energy on a European campaign is one of the factors in us trailing behind Liverpool.
They choked is all.
We'll be fortunate if they choke again so expect a tougher game especially with the usual nervous Old Trafford crowd.
I might be wrong, but I was under the impression we lose out on money if we miss qualifying for the CL group stage twice consecutively. Which means it would trigger if we fail to win the EL this year.
Ibra's undeniably a big miss, but Rashford is in form and provides a very real threat up front. Whether or not you agree, Rio and Michael Owen have said that United are actually a bigger threat without Ibra. Again, I don't agree, Ibra is a huge player and we miss him, but the mere fact that there is a discussion at all about Rashford v Ibra (albeit among biased United pundits) should indicate that Rashford has quality and brings a big threat to the table. We did Chelsea with without Ibra, by the way.
The players will be fresh for the final, as they'll be rested beforehand, according to Mourinho. You're overrating them - we honestly have no excuse, it's a must win.
You are correct.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38015518
My memory was blurry and I didn't check but it's there confirmed by the club.
They will. We will have a fit squad as well. I am expecting a boring affair, but I think we will win.
If we do win it, we should just give the trophy to Zlatan
Redcafe is getting really predictable. After a good win, we're going to be the best team in the World. After a bad one, we're average.
We've been okay this season, it's laid the foundations for next season and we'd deserve to win the Europa League if we do
We've been okay this season, it's laid the foundations for next season and we'd deserve to win the Europa League if we do
If we lose the Europa League final we've become Liverpool.
We better fecking win it.
We better fecking win it.
It is however true.
The CL place makes the EL more valuable for sure and it is a trophy. But it is a minor trophy and not something to get excited about if you are Manchester United.
Good for you !
The paradox is, of course, that I hope City are never in the position of potentially winning the Europa League.