16 Feb 2017 14:04:33
I know there are mixed feelings on here for a sustained run in the europa league but it's a cup wehave never won and winning it could provide a catalyst for future success.
Personally I don't see a huge difference between playing wed night sat afternoon and thur night sun afternoon.

1.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 14:55:16
Same here Ken. Any competition we are in we should be fighting for, especially with the size of our squad and the quality of players that barely get a kick. Squad management is what Jose is paid millions to manage amongst other things. Anybody could pick the same players week in week out, having them play the same way week in week out. A top manager should relish fixture congestion and any competitive game. Gives them a chance to show why they are regarded as highly as they are and compensated accordingly.

Even if it had no CL carrot, I'd still expect us to play for it. The club underperformed to qualify us for this Mickey Mouse cup (in Utd terms), so the least the club can do is fight for it. We have had to endure the rubbish on show, we deserve to be in it on account of our rubbish play over the past few years, so play to your best or get out of the club because we have no God given right to be in the CL. Even when we had our chance in the CL last season we were worse than dire anyway! People pay good money to go to these games and make sacrifices to watch on TV, taking it easy will not go down well in the Beast household.

2.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 14:56:56
I would like to see us try our best to win this cup for all of the obvious reasons.

I think trying to win this has more advantages than it does us taking our foot off the gas to concentrate on other competitions.

We have a good depth in our squad, as a squad on paper and a team that plays well. IMO we have maybe 15-16 first team players at least which means we have 2 x strong starting 11's topped up up with a mixture of decent squad players.

3.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 15:51:25
Ken, I have never really seen the distinction between playing on Wednesday or Thursday. In real terms, the same recovery times apply. I suppose the Europa leagues throws up some awkward ties in far flung areas of Europe that might cause some disruption; but we haven't had that problem thus far; and travelling to France is the same thing as travelling down south from Manchester. In fact, it is probably quicker.

I for one hope that we give the Europa league everything, as a top finish isn't a certainty by any stretch.

4.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 16:06:18
do europa league winners gain entry to next seasons champions league?

{Ed002's Note - Yes.}

5.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 16:48:26
For me tuor the only disadvantage i see is there can be more pressure on a Sunday if the other teams have all won Saturday but that should not really make a difference.

6.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 16:54:33
From memory wasn't student night typically on a Thursday? Maybe it interferes with their bird hunting routines. Europa league must be a real drag for some of the keener hunters of the group!

7.) 16 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 17:56:30
result ed lol.