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Would you change our season for Chelsea's ?

Would you change our season for Chelsea's ?

  • Yes, winning a trophy is more important than getting into CL.

    Votes: 10 2.9%
  • No, getting into the Champions League is much more important

    Votes: 179 52.2%
  • Usually winning a trophy is more important but it was crucial to start in the new stadium with CL.

    Votes: 154 44.9%

  • Total voters
    343

Cornpattbuck

Well-Known Member
Jul 23, 2013
6,873
15,942
No, the FA Cup is a bonus, a shiny cherry on the season's cake. We need to be consistently progressing in the league. The FA Cup wont pay for the stadium or new contracts. The league is out meat and drink and we have to judge progress by that, and being at the top table means champions league.

For all the talk of trophies, has it helped Arsenal at all with all the FA Cups? Yesterday i tried to remember who won the League Cup THIS SEASON and for the life of me i don't know without looking it up. But i sure as hell know who finished in the top 4.

One of my mates said "Well at least Man Utd won the League Cup" immediately after they lost. No one was quick to correct him.
 

Hotspurious

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2016
518
2,072
Went C. It’s all about trophies for me. Fuck being brainwashing like an arsenal fan into thinking there’s a fourth placed trophy. Our honours board doesn’t reflect that.
You know who can’t win the champions league next year....Chelsea.
 

Clark28

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2016
2,269
13,040
Wonder what Kane, Eriksen, Lloris, Jan, etc would rather.

Lift the FA cup, but then go and play farmers on Thursdays,

or more nights like the Bernabéu and Allianz, and having those elite teams come to our new stadium.

Prospective signings would rather CL I'd imagine, and since we can't throw stupid money at players, that carrot is a nice one for us to have.
 
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spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,679
104,956
I think we are far more brainwashed into thinking that trophies are all that should matter. Just look at what's been said about us this year, "they're great but they haven't won anything" - like you have to win something to be a great team. It's bullshit.

And I don't necessarily think qualifying for the CL proves you're a great team either, but it's far more indicative of one than picking up a cup. It means youve been consistently good over 38 games, not a handful, often against lower league opposition.

Well, I enjoyed the last cup final we won more than any other game I’ve been to since then. It’s about fan experience too if you go to the games. It might be different for armchair fans but for me, winning a cup final was great fun.

I agree with you about consistency without doubt. It’s why I think we’ve had a better season than Liverpool if they lose on Saturday, because we’ve finished ahead of them.
 

Bobbins

SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
May 5, 2005
21,548
45,031
No-one’s going to “swap” our season for Chelsea’s obviously, and this question gets asked non-stop throughout the season and the summer - CL qualification is obviously more important for the long term than winning a one-off cup.

However, as usual when this question comes up, it completely misses the point.

This team is good enough to do both. We shouldn’t be making out like it’s some choice between CL or a cup. This team was good enough to win the FA Cup and still qualify for the CL this season, and we should be disappointed we weren’t in that awful final between two extremely limited teams, both of which we’ve already comfortably beaten this season (especially when we were absolutely all over one of them and a goal up in the semi-final).

Our end of season form was awful and without the collapse in form I’m confident we would’ve won the cup and still qualified for the CL.

It’s not one or the other!
 

TottenhamMattSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
10,925
16,007
I’m not into the Champions league.

For Starters. It’s not for Champions and it is not a league.

If it was an actual champions league it would be crap. You'd have 1 team from England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy battering 1 team from each of the rest of the entrants every week. Some leagues, like Italy, France, Germany and Scotland only ever really have 1 title winner, so no one else has anything to play for.


I really don't get why people get so caught up in the name, I mean the Championship isn't for Champions and isn't a ship but nobody's proposing we replace the whole league with a new entry for the Oxbridge Boat Race.

Exactly - it's just the European Cup by another name, that's all.


I think we are far more brainwashed into thinking that trophies are all that should matter. Just look at what's been said about us this year, "they're great but they haven't won anything" - like you have to win something to be a great team. It's bullshit.

And I don't necessarily think qualifying for the CL proves you're a great team either, but it's far more indicative of one than picking up a cup. It means youve been consistently good over 38 games, not a handful, often against lower league opposition.

One of the most logical posts I've seen in a long time. 30 years ago we were a good cup team with a good/excellent cup record. Now we're not and the game has changed. Most of our squad weren't born when we won our last FA Cup and, since that time, the value of it has diminished to nothing. The only valuable cups to a team now are the European ones, and the Europa is only so because of the CL Prize.
Players obviously want to win things for sure, but they're looking at titles (which we are not and never have been known for) and Champions Leagues. They don't care about league cups and FA Cups. Fabregas apparently lost his winners medal from his Arsenal days, I doubt he gives a shit.

I'm not sure it does to be honest. Utd, City, Arsenal and Chelsea I would perceive to be regulars over the course of the competition. Until recently we have been Europa league regulars for sure but are we CL regulars yet? It could just be perception but also that transitional period where those who were regulars are no longer. Also what counts as regular? :)

This is our 1st spell of consecutive CL seasons having done 1 a few years back.

Interesting thoughts?

In actual fact, going from our first appearance we have finished in the top 4, 5 times. That's 5 times in 8 years I believe. We were robbed of a place by Chelsea and a dirty rule that only ever negatively affected us (Spursy!) don't forget.

You could argue that makes us the most consistent team in the top 6 for the last 8 years. We haven't finished outside of the top 6 and have 5 top 4 finishes.
 

brendanb50

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2005
4,483
3,890
I think we are far more brainwashed into thinking that trophies are all that should matter. Just look at what's been said about us this year, "they're great but they haven't won anything" - like you have to win something to be a great team. It's bullshit.

And I don't necessarily think qualifying for the CL proves you're a great team either, but it's far more indicative of one than picking up a cup. It means youve been consistently good over 38 games, not a handful, often against lower league opposition.

And let's face it, i know we've not exactly been nailed on favourites for the domestic cups in the past couple of decades but we've always been given a fair shout by some hopeful pundits/articles because anything can happen in a cup and we've had a rep as a good cup team.

Completely agree with you though, it's this level of consistency over 38 games which has eluded us for a very long time. Having the right balance in the team in all areas and players who consistently perform to a high standard is very difficult to build but we have done that part well and there's still lots of room for improvement which is hugely encouraging. Consistency gives us a platform to build from - if we can make this next step, silverware will come, it's possibly the hardest step to take but i think we're poised to do so.
 

belsunz

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2007
1,396
2,889
Like it or not, CL has transformed the world of football. The FA Cup has been reduced to a consolation prize in the modern state of the game if it isn't complemented by CL qualification. The commercial impact and allure for transfer targets is so much bigger than the FA Cup. So from a club perspective, I'd rather have CL than FA Cup if a choice between the two has to be made.
 

Ron Burgundy

SC Supporter
Jun 19, 2008
7,705
23,267
Consistently qualifying for the CL is what attracts and keeps the best players - it's as simple as that for me

You won't win many trophies if you don't consistently play at the top table
 

TottenhamMattSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
10,925
16,007
Consistently qualifying for the CL is what attracts and keeps the best players - it's as simple as that for me

You won't win many trophies if you don't consistently play at the top table

I think it's a knock on effect. Consistently playing at the top attracts better players, earns more money to buy and pay those players more and the almost inevitable outcome is a tin pot along the way. In Pochettino's 4 seasons, we've had one league cup final and 2 FA Cup semi finals. That's not a bad return for a manager who has placed all his eggs in the PL and CL basket and never said he hasn't.
We're touching Cups we're not even trying to win.
 

Ron Burgundy

SC Supporter
Jun 19, 2008
7,705
23,267
I think it's a knock on effect. Consistently playing at the top attracts better players, earns more money to buy and pay those players more and the almost inevitable outcome is a tin pot along the way. In Pochettino's 4 seasons, we've had one league cup final and 2 FA Cup semi finals. That's not a bad return for a manager who has placed all his eggs in the PL and CL basket and never said he hasn't.
We're touching Cups we're not even trying to win.

Well put
 

Fowl!

Active Member
Oct 17, 2017
224
255
Should just call it the Sepp Blatter memorial jug.

It’s more like a raffle for a dozen super clubs who make the rules and look to perpetuate each other’s supremacy.
 

wirE

I'm a well-known member
Sep 27, 2005
4,676
5,582
3rd place , Champions League, no trophy

5th place, Europa League, win FA Cup

Which is better ?

Imo Champions League is more important for us than winning the FA Cup. Signing players with CL on the books instead of Azerbaijan on a Thursday in the middle of November doesn't appeal that much.
 

Nebby

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2013
3,363
6,377
I put CL qualification above both domestic cups. IMHO securing a top four place is a far harder challenge than winning either the League or FA Cup. 38 games against the top 19 teams in the country, versus five or six games against possibly some much weaker competition, with the bonus of replays which usually tip the balance in the top teams' favour.
 

ultimateloner

Well-Known Member
Jan 25, 2004
4,539
2,149
Domestic cups are pointless from a money/recruitment/practical perspective. Players won't join because we won this year's cup.

Players will join because we've been top-4 for a couple of years.

From the club's view top 4 is really all that matters. Cup glory is for nostalgic fans.
 
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