UEFA Champions League/Europa League play-offs 1st Leg
- Thread starter Cosimo
- Start date
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 33,188
There's very little money in the Europa league, sure if you go the entire way to the final its not actually bad at all but look up teams that get a run, these are usually not as big teams and they usually all have a significant drop in form.
Check Liverpool Hodgson form with a bunch of Europa games to play, or KK form before a large amount of cup games after xmas(english cups though without the travel), Fulham getting into Europa league vs Fulham with long run to the final, their league form went to crap.
If there was no Europa league, Newcastle wouldn't have tried hard for 5th place anyway? of course they would, if they got in the champs league, which was a genuine target, they'd put out a better team, more prestige, more money, would have spent more on a few more players(and they still might) but ultimately focusing on the Europa cup would likely cost you money, players leaving and very possibly a European spot for next season.
Newcastle are doing well financially but after several seasons of being horrific financially, they were only supposed to be just breaking even last year, you want a few stable years, getting into profit, paying off debt before you pee it all away on cup glory.
How did Newcastle/Leed's get into trouble, going after cup glory with a club that couldn't support it. Get the club stable, financially stable, profitable then push on. Europa cup, maybe champs league games for the next decade, or a cup final this year, and losing all your star players next year when you come 8th in the league and offers come in for everyone? I know which I'd take.
