2018-19 UEFA Europa League

[Machinehead]

If Arsenal win this and qualify for the UCL, and also finish 5th, does their UEL spot then go to the 6th place team?

 

[bleedblue1223]

Honestly, I was quick to come to judgment on him.

Considering that Chelsea only has one really amazing player in Hazard, a great player in Kante, some good players and some bang average ones...he's done a good job. Whether or not he can do more than a good job is definitely up for debate. Their squad is definitely lacking and I don't much care for his views on strikers, so yeah, up for debate.

Yeah, he's met all my expectations this year with getting Champions League and Europa Final. I'm not 100% sure if his system will be a success here or not. Everyone wanted to blame Sarri when we sucked, but it was mostly a roster issue. Granted, if Sarri played Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek more, it would've helped the issue, so that's on him.

 

[Live in the Now]

If Arsenal win this and qualify for the UCL, and also finish 5th, does their UEL spot then go to the 6th place team?

The max allowed for any league is seven teams in Europe, no matter what. They eliminated the fair play spots a while ago.

If they win, nothing really happens. 6th place is getting a Europa League spot no matter what. The seventh spot goes to the FA Cup winner, and if Watford doesn't win it goes to the 7th place team.

 

[Theokritos]

All England finals in both European club competitions

And Manchester City is not in it, despite of a sensational domestic campaign. How unlikely is that?

 

[robertmac43]

And Manchester City is not in it, despite of a sensational domestic campaign. How unlikely is that?

Good domestic campaigns do not often translate to great Europe campaigns. I don't think its really surprising at all that City is not in a European final

 

[robertmac43]

If they win, nothing really happens. 6th place is getting a Europa League spot no matter what. The seventh spot goes to the FA Cup winner, and if Watford doesn't win it goes to the 7th place team.

Wolves to Europe the year after they gain promotion would be cool to see

 

[Live in the Now]

Good domestic campaigns do not often translate to great Europe campaigns. I don't think its really surprising at all that City is not in a European final

If not for VAR, they probably would be. Winning a European double is ridiculously hard, but it has actually happened half the time. Barcelona, United, Ajax, RM, Liverpool, Inter, and Bayern have all won more than one.

 

[robertmac43]

If not for VAR, they probably would be. Winning a European double is ridiculously hard, but it has actually happened half the time. Barcelona, United, Ajax, RM, Liverpool, Inter, and Bayern have all won more than one.

True VAR would have had huge implications on City's fate.

I'm just skeptical when ever English teams and the double are suggested just with the recent lack of a Prem Cl champ. With the injuries and the amount of fixtures City was playing I just never though the CL was realistic for them.

 

[Live in the Now]

Just realized that Mkhitaryan is banned from going to Azerbaijan. What a place to have a f***ing final.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Just realized that Mkhitaryan is banned from going to Azerbaijan. What a place to have a ****ing final.

I wonder if Salah is allowed in the states

 

[Live in the Now]

I wonder if Salah is allowed in the states

He is and was on the tour last summer, also was at the Time 100 banquet two weeks ago when they were honoring him for being on the magazine cover. This country sucks too though.

 

[YNWA14]

Yes, I was about 10 feet from Salah in the summer.

 

[ScottishCanuck]

So, I guess England is best in Europe?

At tooting their own horn maybe.

 

[robertmac43]

I did my fourth year Uni project on the the nexus between Political tension and Sport. Could have tied Mkhi in somewhere

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

He is and was on the tour last summer, also was at the Time 100 banquet two weeks ago when they were honoring him for being on the magazine cover. This country sucks too though.

I’m being facetious

 

[David Suzuki]

Which ******** at UEFA decided to put this final in the middle of the ****ing day on a weekday? It's at 4 AM Pacific time now I'm never going to watch that.

I don't think it's actually that early. Wikipedia has it as a 11 PM Azerbaijan start, so the usual 4 PM Atlantic, 3 PM EST.

 

[Live in the Now]

I don't think it's actually that early. Wikipedia has it as a 11 PM Azerbaijan start, so the usual 4 PM Atlantic, 3 PM EST.

Whew. Can't smash the like button hard enough as I would have assumed the opposite all the way until that day. It says that on the UEFA website too, but Google was saying the opposite. Well, now I'm glad and looking forward to this, but a player being banned from the country the final is in is a major problem. Hoping for an enthralling game although I have no love for either club.

 

[Blender]

Yeah, he's met all my expectations this year with getting Champions League and Europa Final. I'm not 100% sure if his system will be a success here or not. Everyone wanted to blame Sarri when we sucked, but it was mostly a roster issue. Granted, if Sarri played Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek more, it would've helped the issue, so that's on him.

I'm still not sold on Sarri. He's still playing one of the best defensive midfielders in the world as an attacking player while Jorginho plays in the DM spot and gets completely neutralized most games. I recognize RLC has had injury issues this season, but he's the 2nd best midfielder on the team and was getting nowhere near the starts he should have been getting until desperation kicked in. Higuain and Kovacic have both been busts, especially Kovacic. Our attack relies far too much on Hazard producing magic to get us goals, and if he leaves we're f***ed. Despite the fact that we dominate possession almost every game, we rarely produce many high quality chances on goal. Unlike Pep's system where players are encouraged to take risks to try and break down the opponent, Sarri's system seems to really discourage that, so we just pass the ball around between Jorginho and the defenders for half the game.

Oh and who the f*** decided it was a great idea to hold the final in Azerbaijan?

 

[David Suzuki]

Whew. Can't smash the like button hard enough as I would have assumed the opposite all the way until that day. It says that on the UEFA website too, but Google was saying the opposite. Well, now I'm glad and looking forward to this, but a player being banned from the country the final is in is a major problem. Hoping for an enthralling game although I have no love for either club.

Yea you had me spooked too. I was worried. A 8 AM start would have meant I could have had gone to work that morning lol.

 

[Machinehead]

I wonder if Salah is allowed in the states

For awhile there I was seriously worried about Zibanejad when we had to go to Canada and come back.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I'm gonna Hazard a guess that Eden can lead the Blues to the cup.

 

[les Habs]

So, I guess England is best in Europe?

Yes, but if you want to get more nuanced I'd say it's because the top 1/3 of the Premiership table being the better one. The next 1/3 or so is more even. The bottom half definitely is not though as La Liga is better there. And I'm referring to the Premiership and La Liga only as it's really only those two if you ask me. I would say it looks like this for that top 1/3:

City, Liverpool, Barça
Spurs, Atleti, Madrid
Chelsea, United, Arsenal

I could see Madrid up in that top group next season as well as it being easier to decide between those clubs. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I think Liverpool will be the best side barring any major changes.

What's important to note is the reason why. As @Stray Wasp , @Evilo and others have noted this is in large part to the top managers and other good managers now in the Premiership. After that the difference in spending, especially from about 3rd/4th to about 10th.

I think it'll be interesting to see what happens in the future. The Premiership clubs' spending power (pending Brexit) will likely continue to make the league stronger, but retaining top managers will make the biggest difference.

 

[Live in the Now]

Your post is very accurate.

I think you can largely credit it to Poch, Klopp, and Pep. Then when it comes to the latter two the resources they have to spend and the scouting staff they have. The players they have signed at least in the short-term guarantee a level of success. I'm still not sold on any of the teams in that third tier and could see two of them becoming worse as they are dependent on Champions League revenue to some extent and are no longer regularly in it.

The Premier League was a great league this season, but Arsenal and Chelsea were up against it against Rennes and Frankfurt, as Liverpool was with Augsburg the last time they were in that competition. I am not quick to be overly effusive in praise in that scenario.

 

[Albatros]

Yes, but if you want to get more nuanced I'd say it's because the top 1/3 of the Premiership table being the better one. The next 1/3 or so is more even. The bottom half definitely is not though as La Liga is better there.

Transfermarkt squad value estimations (6/7/7 clubs per current league tables, in €):

1/3
England 5233 million
Spain 3834 million

2/3
England 2042 million
Spain 1065 million

3/3
England 1244 million
Spain 789 million

La Liga better there.

In fact, the English bottom third is better than the Spanish middle one.

 

[YNWA14]

It's almost like someone was calling this 2 years ago (and getting roasted). But yes, one of the biggest issues in the past was money > brains and it seems like the teams are starting to catch up in terms of management and direction. There's a lot of cause and effect there, but as long as the head offices in the PL are making the right decisions the financial disparity between them and other leagues affords them a substantial advantage.

Though Rennes and Frankfurt are both better than the Augsburg that Liverpool faced, to be fair.