G
Guest
·Idea pinched from another forum i go on..
Is getting in Europe becoming more of a bad thing than a good thing for some teams?
Next season, the newly formed "Europa League" will be even longer than the current UEFA Cup,
with there being a staggering 21 games, from the beginning of the tournament (not including qualifying rounds, and so whoever finishes 7th in the league will have to play 23 games) to the final.
23 games is well over half a premiership season.
For a squad the size of Villa's for example playing an extra 15 games is going to be bad enough, let alone 23.
Also, all UEFA Cup games are played on a Thursday, and even though teams that have played on Thursday will play on the following Sunday, is three days enough to fully recover ?
Not only the UEFA Cup, but also the Champions League has raised some eyebrows recently.
Mad Rafa recently complained about having to play on a Wednesday then a Saturday against possibly a title rival. (You didn't hear him complaining on Sunday when Pool had played on Tuesday and United on Wednesday. He didn't say "I think this win was only because Man United played a day later".)
So my question is ..are teams going to try to do well in Europe and sacrifice maybe 10+ points in the league, or gain those ten points and not be succesful in Europe? Would you even go as far as saying that getting into Europe is a hinderence to team's chances domestically?
Is getting in Europe becoming more of a bad thing than a good thing for some teams?
Next season, the newly formed "Europa League" will be even longer than the current UEFA Cup,
with there being a staggering 21 games, from the beginning of the tournament (not including qualifying rounds, and so whoever finishes 7th in the league will have to play 23 games) to the final.
23 games is well over half a premiership season.
For a squad the size of Villa's for example playing an extra 15 games is going to be bad enough, let alone 23.
Also, all UEFA Cup games are played on a Thursday, and even though teams that have played on Thursday will play on the following Sunday, is three days enough to fully recover ?
Not only the UEFA Cup, but also the Champions League has raised some eyebrows recently.
Mad Rafa recently complained about having to play on a Wednesday then a Saturday against possibly a title rival. (You didn't hear him complaining on Sunday when Pool had played on Tuesday and United on Wednesday. He didn't say "I think this win was only because Man United played a day later".)
So my question is ..are teams going to try to do well in Europe and sacrifice maybe 10+ points in the league, or gain those ten points and not be succesful in Europe? Would you even go as far as saying that getting into Europe is a hinderence to team's chances domestically?