As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
What a nightmare of a week ffs Manure and them in the final I thought Bilbao would todger them tbh fucking stupid *word censored* that I am.Trophies in the last 2 seasons and the *word censored* could shithouse their way to another(let's fucking hope so cos the other option doesn't bear thinking about) It's true that this competition doesn't have the quality of old I mean look at who ended a few of our campaigns..Villarreal Atletico and the Chavs who all won it in those seasons.With no team dropping down now the quality is poor.It won't matter a fuck though cos we're potless for the 5th straight season and it'll probably be 6 7 8 and counting as long as beegee hair remains.Fuck this season fuck it.
Let’s have this right we are in a sweet spot for winning fuck all. Champions League is hard to win. Harder than for a while. The League has always been the hardest to win and we have fluffed a few chances in a row. But doesn’t make us terrible.
If you are dross you can have a free run at the Europa and Conference Leagues while finishing just above the relegation spaces. Just leaves the Caraboa which Newcastle clearly targeted by playing a first team every game and resting Isak in key league games. Then the FA Cup. Takes a bit of luck to win any cup.
We only have ourselves to blame but the reality is that we are too good for Europa but not quite there for League and Champions League. Hard to know where we are headed to be honest as I don’t see this changing.
I thought Athletic Club would beat Manchester United over two legs, I thought the atmosphere at their ground would overwhelm a flaky United..Well wrong there , and that tie is over. I fully expected to see Tottenham beat the Bozo Gimps, the only sliver of hope is the late goal might traumatise an equally flaky Spuds. Second legs like this is where you miss the away goal rule.
Realistically it is a Manure v Spuds final. Two teams that avoided a relegation fight because the three promoted teams from last season were so bad. That shows the level of The Europa League this season. Last season we had the Bundesliga champions in the Europa League final against a solid Italian side that demolished the favourites Liverpool on the way. This year we have what could be correctly called two crisis clubs from the bottom half of the Premier League. And yet the media will tell us that it is a fantastic achievement by both and a testament to the strength of the EPL.
I just realised that thirty years ago Arsenal reached a European final after what was essentially the worst season in the club's history, certainly off the pitch. The George Graham sacking and the Paul Merson scandal blighting our season off the pitch and the fact that we were in relegation danger until Easter made it a disastrous season. But Europe kept us going. Down and out in Sampdoria in the away leg of the semi final, only to find a goal and take it to penalties where Seaman had his finest moments in an Arsenal shirt.
I watched the final in the Dublin Arsenal Supporters Club following a very difficult few days personally for my wife and I.
Once the winning goal went in my friend turned to me and said " that sums up our season",.also summed up my week.
So there is precedent for a bad season ending in a European final.
On a side note Zaragoza beat Chelsea in the other semi final, two English teams were in the semifinals, with neither in as FA Cup holders.
We were in as European Cup Winners Cup holders and they were in as England's representative because Manchester United won the double the previous season and were in the Champions League.
I remember reading after the semi final draw was made that there were talks held to move the final from Paris to Wembley if both English teams reached it. This was a few months after the riots in Dublin during the Ireland v England friendly. The FA were under severe pressure because they were hosting the Euros the following year. The belief was if the two English clubs reached the final they could handle it in London rather than having two sets of Supporters travel en masse to Paris.
I thought Athletic Club would beat Manchester United over two legs, I thought the atmosphere at their ground would overwhelm a flaky United..Well wrong there , and that tie is over. I fully expected to see Tottenham beat the Bozo Gimps, the only sliver of hope is the late goal might traumatise an equally flaky Spuds. Second legs like this is where you miss the away goal rule.
Realistically it is a Manure v Spuds final. Two teams that avoided a relegation fight because the three promoted teams from last season were so bad. That shows the level of The Europa League this season. Last season we had the Bundesliga champions in the Europa League final against a solid Italian side that demolished the favourites Liverpool on the way. This year we have what could be correctly called two crisis clubs from the bottom half of the Premier League. And yet the media will tell us that it is a fantastic achievement by both and a testament to the strength of the EPL.
I think we'll start to see this causing an issue around other leagues in Europe and rightly so. If the Champions League is the top level club competition in the world game then it needs to have the best teams playing in it rather than the 16th and 17th placed teams getting in via an open back door. It's an absolute mockery of a qualifying loophole and had some justification when the teams knocked out in the old group stage went into it but now, the standard is atrocious and UEFA need to think about making changes. If you win the Europa League and don't qualify via a league place for Europe in your league, you go back into the Europa League for the next season. You should only get into the Champions League by league placing or by being the defending champions.
I thought Athletic Club would beat Manchester United over two legs, I thought the atmosphere at their ground would overwhelm a flaky United..Well wrong there , and that tie is over. I fully expected to see Tottenham beat the Bozo Gimps, the only sliver of hope is the late goal might traumatise an equally flaky Spuds. Second legs like this is where you miss the away goal rule.
Realistically it is a Manure v Spuds final. Two teams that avoided a relegation fight because the three promoted teams from last season were so bad. That shows the level of The Europa League this season. Last season we had the Bundesliga champions in the Europa League final against a solid Italian side that demolished the favourites Liverpool on the way. This year we have what could be correctly called two crisis clubs from the bottom half of the Premier League. And yet the media will tell us that it is a fantastic achievement by both and a testament to the strength of the EPL.
I think we'll start to see this causing an issue around other leagues in Europe and rightly so. If the Champions League is the top level club competition in the world game then it needs to have the best teams playing in it rather than the 16th and 17th placed teams getting in via an open back door. It's an absolute mockery of a qualifying loophole and had some justification when the teams knocked out in the old group stage went into it but now, the standard is atrocious and UEFA need to think about making changes. If you win the Europa League and don't qualify via a league place for Europe in your league, you go back into the Europa League for the next season. You should only get into the Champions League by league placing or by being the defending champions.
That makes zero sense. It is pretty clear that UEFA expect the Europa League winner to not have qualified via League placing. Otherwise why are they offering a place in the Champions League?
Edit - I see what you mean. You must have qualified for any type of Europe via league placing. I still don’t see why UEFA will change it. This is the incentive they want to give out. I think they need to go back to dropping sides in to it from the League phase of the Champions League. So any losing play off then goes in to it. We would have seen:
Brest, Juventus, Man City, Sporting, Atalanta, AC Milan, Monaco and Celtic.
Those sides are stronger than anything in it and would have meant neither United or Spurs were anywhere near to winning it. It is a sham of a tournament this season.
Both sets of Players are Whinging Mama's Boys... Cheating like only the Spanish & Italians can, griping at the ref and throwing tantrums... Ohhh! What FUN!
Manure and them in the final 
