Toffees (A) - Top 4 Trophy, Six Pointer Match Thread

[Bradywasking]

The hysteria over CL qualification never ceases to amaze me. I echo all of the points that Augie raised earlier. Perhaps its because I lived without Arsenal being involved in the old European Cup for all but 1 year in the first 20+ years of following the club, that being without it doesn't bother me. As far as I'm concerned its a bloated competition that only becomes interesting at the phase when all of the also ran clubs like us have been knocked out. If we start using the CL to reinvest in the squad rather than line the pockets of our 67% shareholder I might be bothered again.

4th place will see us facing a two legged play off (unwelcome), a boring six match group stage over 3 months (unwelcome), before a 2 leg defeat to a side with genuine ambition of winning it (unwelcome).

Look at the stadia during the Group stage - people all over Europe are bored with its format. Its so obviously designed to include as many big clubs as possible and the day they stretched it out to the top 3-4 teams in each of Europe's big leagues was the day they devalued it. Gazprom. Heineken blah blah blah.....send us the £25m a year for qualifying in the Group and we'll use it buy property, increase the size of the commercial team, pay bonuses to the staff and repay the stadium debt ready to sell a debt free entity in a couple of years time. The stuff that fans dreams are made of eh?

I want us to finish as high as possible because I'm a supporter of the team, not because some pricks in UEFA redrew the qualifying criteria for their elite competition a few years ago.

Anyway, the bowl worshippers prayers will be answered because we will finish in our usual 4th spot above Everton

Agree with you on this...if qualification in fourth place is a means to an end, i.e. we are going to be truly competitive in this competition next season then get us there. But we are not so apart from the obvious cash cow why bother or be bothered. It is boring, we were in a reasonably decent group this year which sustained interest but by and large it is tedious. Throw in a qualifier over two legs in a World Cup Summer and it gets worse. Like you I want arsenal to finish as high and well as possible, but that is because I am an Arsenal fan not because I regard this as an achievement.

[DB10GOONER]

The hysteria over CL qualification never ceases to amaze me. I echo all of the points that Augie raised earlier. Perhaps its because I lived without Arsenal being involved in the old European Cup for all but 1 year in the first 20+ years of following the club, that being without it doesn't bother me. As far as I'm concerned its a bloated competition that only becomes interesting at the phase when all of the also ran clubs like us have been knocked out. If we start using the CL to reinvest in the squad rather than line the pockets of our 67% shareholder I might be bothered again.

4th place will see us facing a two legged play off (unwelcome), a boring six match group stage over 3 months (unwelcome), before a 2 leg defeat to a side with genuine ambition of winning it (unwelcome).

Look at the stadia during the Group stage - people all over Europe are bored with its format. Its so obviously designed to include as many big clubs as possible and the day they stretched it out to the top 3-4 teams in each of Europe's big leagues was the day they devalued it. Gazprom. Heineken blah blah blah.....send us the £25m a year for qualifying in the Group and we'll use it buy property, increase the size of the commercial team, pay bonuses to the staff and repay the stadium debt ready to sell a debt free entity in a couple of years time. The stuff that fans dreams are made of eh?

I want us to finish as high as possible because I'm a supporter of the team, not because some pricks in UEFA redrew the qualifying criteria for their elite competition a few years ago.

Anyway, the bowl worshippers prayers will be answered because we will finish in our usual 4th spot above Everton

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the CL too. I mentioned my disdain of this bloated shit competition to a work colleague (Mouser fan) and he was gobsmacked. "But it's the CL!!" he squealed in shock. I asked him to name 5 games in the CL that he had watched over the last 2 seasons that were absolute top quality games, not just good, but top quality brilliant games to watch. He was pretty appalled when all he could muster was 2 games.

[Supagoon]

I never watched the old European cup, I'm simply to young for that but the CL is a great competition.

But for us it's merely a gravy train. We have no chance and no ambition to win the thing.

17 Consecutive knockouts, isn't great if you have never won it, and I can't imagine us building a team that can. Big shame. I'm being honest but at least the likes of Liverpool will make a better fist of it when they get in. We're like Porto, Benfica, Zenit....Lyon of previous years, just keeping up appearances, practice for the serious boys. Let's at least not get beaten by Everton, accept they'll have a lot of the ball and drop back when needed. Rob them high up the pitch like Liverpool did, tough with our players though, lack energy.

[SteveO 35]

I never watched the old European cup, I'm simply to young for that but the CL is a great competition.

But for us it's merely a gravy train. We have no chance and no ambition to win the thing.

17 Consecutive knockouts, isn't great if you have never won it, and I can't imagine us building a team that can. Big shame. I'm being honest but at least the likes of Liverpool will make a better fist of it when they get in. We're like Porto, Benfica, Zenit....Lyon of previous years, just keeping up appearances, practice for the serious boys. Let's at least not get beaten by Everton, accept they'll have a lot of the ball and drop back when needed. Rob them high up the pitch like Liverpool did, tough with our players though, lack energy.

Except it isn't really is it? Its a great competition when it gets to the knock out phases which is what cup football is all about. Both the CL & Europa League have been spoilt in the name of greed i.e. lets guarantee everyone six group matches. Regarding DB10's earlier post I'd have asked the question "how many great Group stage matches can you remember".....I mean honestly? I'm struggling to recall a group match that got me out of my seat. There have been good performances e.g. 1-0 in Dortmund, but the suspense and excitement is just lacking

This year's group was supposedly the Group of Death with no easy teams in it but after matchday 3 Marseille were as good as dead and it still felt as boring as fuck.......and that's a big improvement from groups where you get shite from Denmark, Romania, Serbia etc that are just making up the numbers and cluttering up the calendar.

I honestly don't think I'd miss our involvement from the competition at all. I've found the excitement of the domestic cup far more enjoyable this year because Coventry apart its been one-off games against evenly matched oppo

[augie]

When you call it the champions league and then let in teams that only finishing 4th in their domestic league, then it not alone is a total contradiction but it also dilutes the value of the competition.

[gp543]

I never watched the old European cup, I'm simply to young for that but the CL is a great competition.

But for us it's merely a gravy train. We have no chance and no ambition to win the thing.

17 Consecutive knockouts, isn't great if you have never won it, and I can't imagine us building a team that can. Big shame. I'm being honest but at least the likes of Liverpool will make a better fist of it when they get in. We're like Porto, Benfica, Zenit....Lyon of previous years, just keeping up appearances, practice for the serious boys. Let's at least not get beaten by Everton, accept they'll have a lot of the ball and drop back when needed. Rob them high up the pitch like Liverpool did, tough with our players though, lack energy.

Except it isn't really is it? Its a great competition when it gets to the knock out phases which is what cup football is all about. Both the CL & Europa League have been spoilt in the name of greed i.e. lets guarantee everyone six group matches. Regarding DB10's earlier post I'd have asked the question "how many great Group stage matches can you remember".....I mean honestly? I'm struggling to recall a group match that got me out of my seat. There have been good performances e.g. 1-0 in Dortmund, but the suspense and excitement is just lacking

This year's group was supposedly the Group of Death with no easy teams in it but after matchday 3 Marseille were as good as dead and it still felt as boring as fuck.......and that's a big improvement from groups where you get shite from Denmark, Romania, Serbia etc that are just making up the numbers and cluttering up the calendar.

I honestly don't think I'd miss our involvement from the competition at all. I've found the excitement of the domestic cup far more enjoyable this year because Coventry apart its been one-off games against evenly matched oppo

2-1 against Dortmund in 2011 was great as well. The 1-5 against Inter in Milan as well. 7-0 against Slavia Prague.

And my personal favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfZQ4sO2XPg

[SteveO 35]

I never watched the old European cup, I'm simply to young for that but the CL is a great competition.

But for us it's merely a gravy train. We have no chance and no ambition to win the thing.

17 Consecutive knockouts, isn't great if you have never won it, and I can't imagine us building a team that can. Big shame. I'm being honest but at least the likes of Liverpool will make a better fist of it when they get in. We're like Porto, Benfica, Zenit....Lyon of previous years, just keeping up appearances, practice for the serious boys. Let's at least not get beaten by Everton, accept they'll have a lot of the ball and drop back when needed. Rob them high up the pitch like Liverpool did, tough with our players though, lack energy.

Except it isn't really is it? Its a great competition when it gets to the knock out phases which is what cup football is all about. Both the CL & Europa League have been spoilt in the name of greed i.e. lets guarantee everyone six group matches. Regarding DB10's earlier post I'd have asked the question "how many great Group stage matches can you remember".....I mean honestly? I'm struggling to recall a group match that got me out of my seat. There have been good performances e.g. 1-0 in Dortmund, but the suspense and excitement is just lacking

This year's group was supposedly the Group of Death with no easy teams in it but after matchday 3 Marseille were as good as dead and it still felt as boring as fuck.......and that's a big improvement from groups where you get shite from Denmark, Romania, Serbia etc that are just making up the numbers and cluttering up the calendar.

I honestly don't think I'd miss our involvement from the competition at all. I've found the excitement of the domestic cup far more enjoyable this year because Coventry apart its been one-off games against evenly matched oppo

2-1 against Dortmund in 2011 was great as well. The 1-5 against Inter in Milan as well. 7-0 against Slavia Prague.

And my personal favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfZQ4sO2XPg

So 4 games covering an 11 year span....kind of proves my point. One of the ones you've listed is also a 7-0 duck shoot against a bunch of makeweights....hardly a great game

[gp543]

So 4 games covering an 11 year span....kind of proves my point. One of the ones you've listed is also a 7-0 duck shoot against a bunch of makeweights....hardly a great game

It was enjoyable to watch at the least. I think there have been some good memories from the group stage, namely getting through the thing. Would we have more a chance of winning it if it was all 2 leg ties? Hard to say.

[DB10GOONER]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!


I say "seen", but of course I mean "been on the receiving end of".

[gp543]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!


I say "seen", but of course I mean "been on the receiving end of".

Seeing your club roll the opposition 7-0 isn't great?

[LeftfootlegendGooner]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!

Yeah the struggle you put up was pathetic

[DB10GOONER]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!


I say "seen", but of course I mean "been on the receiving end of".

Seeing your club roll the opposition 7-0 isn't great?

Not what I said. What I said was it was not a great game of football. We enjoyed it because we are Arsenal fans. That doesn't make it a great game. Don't get me wrong, I love watching really good quality fast technical football but I also just love winning. So yes it was a great result. But the argument wasn't if we enjoyed the result, it was about the quality of the actual games played. There is a difference.

[SteveO 35]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!


I say "seen", but of course I mean "been on the receiving end of".

Seeing your club roll the opposition 7-0 isn't great?

Why don't we throw in beating Rosenborg 5-1 or Shakhtar by the same scoreline. Zzzzzzzzzzzz

[DB10GOONER]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!

Yeah the struggle you put up was pathetic

Selective quoting there, Lefty. Bit like your selective memory of your time at Her Majesty's Pleasure. I say "Her Majesty" but of course I mean "Big Bubba" from Cell Block D.

[LeftfootlegendGooner]

Much like if we met Gazidis in a lift, SteveO beat me to the punch!!

How anyone could call the 7-0 against Prague a great game of football is beyond me. It was like watching kids playing football. Lefty has seen prison gang rapes that were more equally matched than that!

Yeah the struggle you put up was pathetic

Selective quoting there, Lefty. Bit like your selective memory of your time at Her Majesty's Pleasure. I say "Her Majesty" but of course I mean "Big Bubba" from Cell Block D.

Block C You dubliners and the alphabet

I was more impressed that I actually did that without fucking it up