Yorkie Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 I love the Conference League as a neutral and would like to keep it that way. For a Premier League team not to win that tournament - especially now, without even the Europa dropouts - would be shameful frankly. There's no magic in winning something like that. Garang Kuol's team finished 4th in that league phase. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decky Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Conference League will be 8th spot if a top 7 team wins the FA Cup won't it? Top 5 CL, 6th and 7th EL and 8th ConL. We've got some tough games out of the way there so hopefully we can get 7th or 8th and keep ourselves in Europe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaj Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Would take any Europe we can get. The squad, management, fans etc. need to get used to playing in Europe every season and the extra workload that brings. If we fail to get Europe next season then you can probably take a hit on your squad a little bit as there won't be as many games, then you get into Europe and you're stretched again because you are not prepared. We need to be playing in Europe every season for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 2 minutes ago, Vaj said: Would take any Europe we can get. The squad, management, fans etc. need to get used to playing in Europe every season and the extra workload that brings. If we fail to get Europe next season then you can probably take a hit on your squad a little bit as there won't be as many games, then you get into Europe and you're stretched again because you are not prepared. We need to be playing in Europe every season for me. The Conference League is only a six-game group stage (because it's aimed at teams without the resources of those in the PL); and would pit us against the likes of Hamrun Spartans and Shkendija, with theoretically tougher ties against the likes of AEK Athens and Sparta Prague. I'm not sure there's any experience to be gleaned from featuring in that tournament that could be applied to a Champions League campaign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramirez Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 yeah but you have a two leg qualifier so amounts to the same number of games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRC Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Just now, ramirez said: yeah but you have a two leg qualifier so amounts to the same number of games. The quality is also terrible so you can actually give fringe players more time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superior Acuña Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 (edited) On 10/02/2026 at 23:12, Yorkie said: I love the Conference League as a neutral and would like to keep it that way. For a Premier League team not to win that tournament - especially now, without even the Europa dropouts - would be shameful frankly. There's no magic in winning something like that. Garang Kuol's team finished 4th in that league phase. I was terrified that was going to be the cup that broke our decades-long trophyless streak. It's the one cup that I feel doesn't properly count (tho Europa felt it was going that way too last season) and I didn't want anything taking away from that moment. However, now we've won one and I'd def enjoy adding this to the collection without reservation - but aye it wouldn't count in same way as any of the others, and I'd much rather we were aiming higher. Edited February 12 by Superior Acuña Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abacus Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 I'd love Europa next season, either with a great league run or somehow through the FA Cup. Either of which would make this a great season. And let's also scare a few teams in the CL this year for fun while we're at it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Butcher Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 4 points behind Brentford in 7th. Think that has be to the realistic target, but I'll be surprised if we end up there. Things should improve if/when we go out of the cup and Europe. 10 wins, 6 draws, 10 losses so far. 37 goals scored and conceded. Sitting 10th. We're the very definition of a midtable side so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Zaius Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) Id love us to qualify for the Europa League. Absolutely still a prestigious tournament even if it's been weakened with no CL teams. Id prefer us to win that ahead of an FA Cup. Don't want us in the Conference League though. Teams with a high coefficient should be excluded from it. Our budget blows every team in that competition out of the water and it's a bit of an embarrassment not to win the whole thing. Edit: given what I've seen this season though, I don't think we'll finish 7th or above Edited February 13 by Doctor Zaius Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ9 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 No Bruno no party I’m afraid Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smal Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I accepted that the mitigating circumstances are too much and we are finishing mid table this season a few weeks ago, and I’m all the happier for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abacus Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Two routes to Europa, either the league or the Cup. If we squeak past Villa, that's the route I'd love, as risky as it is. And if not, fewer games at least to be able give it a tilt there. But in future, until we have a squad that can compete, we might have to think about sacrificing one or both domestic cups when in Europe, however much I've loved Eddie taking them seriously since he took over after years of us hardly trying. As for the CL campaign - let's just see how far we go now we're getting to the more exciting bit. Hopefully we get past Qarabag and have a couple more memorable games later along the way, anything else is a bonus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaj Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 20 hours ago, Yorkie said: The Conference League is only a six-game group stage (because it's aimed at teams without the resources of those in the PL); and would pit us against the likes of Hamrun Spartans and Shkendija, with theoretically tougher ties against the likes of AEK Athens and Sparta Prague. I'm not sure there's any experience to be gleaned from featuring in that tournament that could be applied to a Champions League campaign. Completely understand and respect the counter argument, I just think it would be beneficial. Also, as mentioned above, gives a chance to field some fringe players. If we are in a tournament like that you would imagine the likes of Neave would have had some minutes by now which can only be beneficial for everyone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holloway Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 The wry smiles of West ham fans when quizzed about their recent trophy success just cements my belief that we should fuck this competition into the sea. Rotate fringe players into the domestic cups without the treks to some remote part of the baltic region,when we get drawn against Man city and the likes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 On 10/02/2026 at 23:12, Yorkie said: I love the Conference League as a neutral and would like to keep it that way. For a Premier League team not to win that tournament - especially now, without even the Europa dropouts - would be shameful frankly. There's no magic in winning something like that. Garang Kuol's team finished 4th in that league phase. Agree, knowing full well I'd cheer & celebrate it if we won. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) I do still think the countries who gain a 5th CL spot through the co-efficient should do so at the expense of its Europa Conference spots. Edited February 13 by Optimistic Nut Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Don't think i've ever watched a Conference League game from start to finish. Maybe seen 2 finals in some part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holloway Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 39 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: Don't think i've ever watched a Conference League game from start to finish. Maybe seen 2 finals in some part. That Rangers final was funny like, they like to think they are one of the most raucous fanbases around yet they were muted. Maybe it's just a bit of a downer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paullow Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 7th and a top 6 (not big 6) side winning the FA Cup would still mean Europa and that's probably the best we can hope for this season. I assume if Lpool won the CL and finished 6th, not impossible, then 8th would get into Europa if one of the top 7 won the FA Cup? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decky Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Slightly less confident if Bruno is out for the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramirez Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 47 minutes ago, Holloway said: That Rangers final was funny like, they like to think they are one of the most raucous fanbases around yet they were muted. Maybe it's just a bit of a downer that was Europa, probably the last one of those I watched! Final is in Istanbul (Besiktas) next year, Europa is Frankfurt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holloway Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 4 minutes ago, ramirez said: that was Europa, probably the last one of those I watched! Final is in Istanbul (Besiktas) next year, Europa is Frankfurt. Ah ok, my bad. If we got to the final of that competition I'd hope we would liven it up a bit. Maybe they were 3 days on the piss beforehand or something Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cf Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 23 hours ago, Yorkie said: The Conference League is only a six-game group stage (because it's aimed at teams without the resources of those in the PL); and would pit us against the likes of Hamrun Spartans and Shkendija, with theoretically tougher ties against the likes of AEK Athens and Sparta Prague. I'm not sure there's any experience to be gleaned from featuring in that tournament that could be applied to a Champions League campaign. Last year I would have understood the argument of Europa at least giving us some experience of European away nights and getting the club used to these trips, the reduced training time, etc. At this point however we have plenty of experience of that. If we're to miss out on CL/Europa next season I'd prefer we just got more time on the training pitch to maximise our chances of CL qualification. We've learned all we need to at this point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRC Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 29 minutes ago, Decky said: Slightly less confident if Bruno is out for the season. The domino affect of this injury could be massive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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