Should the league or Europa League be our priority this season...?

[sloth]

That shouldn't need explaining tbh. Without doing well in the league, all else is irrelevant. Success in the league means bigger slices of TV payments, the reward money, the bums on seats... not to mention actually getting into Europe. The league is the raison d'etre of a football club.

That's why it should come first.

I don't think you've read through this thread have you?

 

[SugarRay]

Both. Given the option I would rather we won the Europa than finish anywhere other than first in the Prem.

Looking at who is in the Europa as it stands, a couple of sides jump out, mainly Napoli and Sevilla, and of course Everton can't be discounted.
Looking at the champs league and taking into account favourites to qualify, the drop outs ( absolutely disgusting that they are still allowed to enter the Europa ) look like they could be Olympiacos, Basel, Benfica, Galatasary, Roma, Ajax, Sporting and Bilbao.
Some good sides there obviously but I think we are definitely in the mix if we go all out for it.

 

[Gassin's finest]

I don't think you've read through this thread have you?

Indeed I have, and thank you for being so patronising about it.

 

[Shadydan]

Both. Given the option I would rather we won the Europa than finish anywhere other than first in the Prem.

Looking at who is in the Europa as it stands, a couple of sides jump out, mainly Napoli and Sevilla, and of course Everton can't be discounted.
Looking at the champs league and taking into account favourites to qualify, the drop outs ( absolutely disgusting that they are still allowed to enter the Europa ) look like they could be Olympiacos, Basel, Benfica, Galatasary, Roma, Ajax, Sporting and Bilbao.
Some good sides there obviously but I think we are definitely in the mix if we go all out for it.

Yeah the Champions League drop-outs which is an absolute sham, it is a really difficult competition to win and I like any cup competition you need your fair share of luck to win it as well.

As for what our priority should be...I think we have the squad to push for respectable runs in both competitions but it needs to be re-assessed as the conclusions of draw nearer.

 

[sloth]

Indeed I have, and thank you for being so patronising about it.

Ok, but I don't see how you could have read it and yet come up with:

"Without doing well in the league, all else is irrelevant. Success in the league means bigger slices of TV payments, the reward money, the bums on seats... not to mention actually getting into Europe."


Here's a couple of scenarios:

1. We come 7th in the League, but win the Europa League -

In this case we will have qualified for the Champions League, with all the extra revenue, reward money, the bums on seats, ability to attract players, sponsors, global exposure etc that that entails. We win £13m for winning the EL*. We will have won major international trophy. Of the competitions we'll have entered it is the second most prestigious thing we could have won after the Premier League.

2. We finish 5th but don't win the Europa League -

In this case we'll have only qualified for the Europa League, not the Champions League. We won't have won anything. We'll get around £2m more in prize money for finishing 5th rather than 7th.

This is what we talked about in the thread, hence I wondered if you'd read it or not.

Basically "all else" is clearly very relevant, prioritising the Premier League doesn't necessarily mean bigger slices of TV payments, more reward money, more bums on seats, and it could mean entering the second-tier European competition again, rather than the top one.

* fixed prize money / variable based on size of TV market split is 60/40, but since England is one of the biggest TV markets the actual split is going to be nearer 50/50, so €9m fixed for for winning + estimated €9m variable from TV pool = €18m or £13m.