No Champions League Footy not the end of the World

No Champions League football not the end of the world.....Denial!!

So it is the end of the world then? Because in football terms that normally means sack the manager, flog the players and spend the money.

3 seasons out of the champions league IS killing us financially. A good run in the CL can give £20-30million extra per season ,so thats nearly £100m down on our rivals. We have to finish in the top four next season without fail. The squad is definately stronger, but the First team isnt. A big summer ahead me thinks.

It's not the end of the world, It's a very poor season league wise.

There's no doubt that the UEFA Cup has lost it's sheen over the years

Partly because of the media telling everyone it's not good and also teams carrying on as if they can't wait to get knocked out.

But I'm not sure you will receive much support that the Europa league hasn't been devalued by UEFA over the years from when it was the UEFA cup.

The UEFA Cup isn't what it was, but neither is the European Cup. The fact that 3 countries have 4 spots open to them, when half the rest of Europe struggles to get one is a disgrace. That doesn't mean I don't want us to win either when we're in it.

If we're in the UEFA next year, I'll take each game as seriously as a Top 4 league game. And I don't care whether we have to play Sunday or not. Most of Europe play games on Sundays, and we should be able to play at any time of day or night we're given, without any compromise in performance.

We took 5 points off Napoli in Europe last year, and won our group with a game to spare. Napoli are as good as in the CL quarter-finals now, having faced some very strong opposition to get there. It shows you that good sides can play in either competition.

Early start for Europa League,,,,


Liverpool face the horrendous prospect of an August 2 start to next season - unless they pull their league form around.

And skipper Steven Gerrard has warned his team-mates they simply cannot afford a collapse on the run-in, after the disappointing weekend defeat by Arsenal left them almost out of the race for a Champions League place.

The Reds have already qualified for the Europa League by winning the Carling Cup, but that triumph will put them into the early qualifying rounds of the second tier competition, which have a start date at the beginning of August.

To avoid the chilling prospect of returning to action less than a month after the final of Euro 2012, Liverpool must finish at least fifth in the league or win the FA Cup.

They are currently in seventh place, five points behind Newcastle in sixth and 10 behind Arsenal who are fourth.

But Gerrard reckons Liverpool can transform their league campaign, and has urged on his side to keep believing they can finish in the top four.

"A few weeks ago, people were writing off Arsenal's season, but their recent performances show how foolish that is. That's what we need to do now," insisted Gerrard.

"We still have plenty of points to play for in the league, but it means we can't afford to drop too many more points between now and the middle of May if we want to get back into the top four.

"Competition for the [fourth] Champions League spot is very tough, but we still have to play most of the teams around us, and defeating those sides will still play a major part in deciding where we finish."

An unseemly scramble for a better Europa League starting date is not what Liverpool envisaged after seting a top four finish as their minimum target for the season.

Yet after their dramatic win at Wembley to win the first silverware of the season, they were brought down to earth with a bang by the Gunners at Anfield.

Saturday's last-gasp defeat leaves the Reds only three points above Fulham and Stoke, and four clear of a West Brom side under the control of Kop flop Roy Hodgson.

Gerrard knows winning a trophy can often have a negative effect on a side, as it leads to them taking their foot off the gas for a few weeks.

He wants his team-mates to banish that mentality swiftly.

"We have to make the League Cup the start of something bigger, not just a one-off - that's our aim," he added.

"Six years is far too long for this club to go without silverware. Getting our hands on the trophy is the important thing, and now we've ended that wait and this group of players wants to go on and achieve even more success."

That sentiment was echoed by defender Martin Skrtel, who has been the club's player of the season so far.

Skrtel believes the Champions League should still be the aim, not matter how faint a prospect it has become.

"There is no point in letting all our efforts so far come to nothing," he said. "It's only at the end of the season we can relax.

"The aim was always to reach the Champions League places and win a cup - but we have to remain focused to achieve that.

"At the start of the season our target was to qualify for the Champions League and it is up to us to ensure we do that. When you look at our games with the teams who are in those positions at the moment, we still have a chance."

Gerrard will return to training this week, after recovering from the hamstring injury picked up on England duty that kept him out of the Arsenal game.


http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-face-starting-Europa-League-play-on-August-2-unless-qualify-via-Premier-League-article874706.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Welll then lead from the front Stevie we have been waiting all year.

Welll then lead from the front Stevie we have been waiting all year.

Correct mate, Stevie needs to show us what we know he's capable of and whilst he's at it give the England side the old heave ho.

Early start for Europa League,,,,


Liverpool face the horrendous prospect of an August 2 start to next season - unless they pull their league form around.

The Reds have already qualified for the Europa League by winning the Carling Cup, but that triumph will put them into the early qualifying rounds of the second tier competition, which have a start date at the beginning of August.

To avoid the chilling prospect of returning to action less than a month after the final of Euro 2012, Liverpool must finish at least fifth in the league or win the FA Cup.

They are currently in seventh place, five points behind Newcastle in sixth and 10 behind Arsenal who are fourth.

We once started a European Cup campaign at the beginning of July. Starting in August is no bother to us. A competitive game then beats having to play a half-bothered friendly in some obscure kip anyway.

If this happens be ideal chance to play the likes of Flanno, Robinson, Shelvey, Sterling etc etc

The GB olympic team can then go F**k itself.

http://www.talkaloadofbull.com/en-gb/news/2914/champions-league/2012/03/06/2948911/champions-league-exit-will-not-be-financial-disaster-but-arsenal-

OK

Step outside of ourselves for a moment to look at it from the real world.

Look in the mirror.

This is just an article about a team we have just played who are 10 points closer to CL qualification  and we are rationalising scraping into 4th at best !

It could be about any team at all who aspires to be successful ... and it is very relevant to this article.

ANALYSIS
By Rob Stewart

It will not be the end of the world if Arsenal crash out of the Champions League on Tuesday but it will certainly feel like it if the Gunners do not go on to secure a place among Europe’s elite next season.

Their European dreams will probably be over when Arsenal embark on their own version of Mission Impossible when AC Milan visit the Emirates in a seemingly unassailable position following a 4-0 win in Italy.

There is plenty of pride at stake for the hosts but Arsene Wenger’s players should be forgiven if they do not play as if their lives depend on a place in the quarter-finals because far more significant tests are looming.

Big games have been coming thick and fast for Arsenal of late but next Monday’s visit of Newcastle to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League is already looking more important that this evening’s prestigious Champions League fixture.

They may have lost pride with their mauling by AC Milan at San Siro and there seems little chance of recovery barring a miracle but from a financial perspective Arsenal are well equipped to overcome the loss of revenue.

Manchester United earned £46 million on their way to the final that they lost to Barcelona last season at Wembley and, according to Uefa statistics, Arsenal will have already netted £22.5m for making it into the group phase.

Their place in the last 16 earned Arsenal £2.8m while quarter-finalists earn a further £2.8m and semi-finalists £3.6m. The Champions League victors receive £7.7m and runners-up £4.8m.

On top of that, each club receives a share of television money – Chelsea earned £23m last season - and as well as the profits from match-day operations there are long-term benefits that come with the global high-profile status of the Champions League, such as selling shirts in Asia.

However, according to football finance experts, it is regular participation in the Champions League that really counts, which is why Arsenal cannot afford to miss out on a top-four place in the Premier League when their turbulent campaign ends in May.

“It is definitely not the end of the world for Arsenal if they do end up getting knocked out by AC Milan,” Tom Cannon, professor of strategic development at the University of Liverpool’s Management School, told talkaloadofbull.com.

“The big thing for Arsenal will be to try to overhaul Tottenham and get into third place because that guarantees a place in next season’s Champions League while whoever finishes fourth still has to negotiate a qualifying round.

“I would be very surprised if they had budgeted for going any further because you basically budget for what is realistic.

“Getting to the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final is a tougher ask than getting out of the group phase and Arsenal will have taken that into consideration.”

There may be doom and gloom around the Emirates if Milan ensure that club football's top prizes continue to elude their club unless Arsenal can stage the greatest comeback in Champions League history but only a season-ending injury to talismanic skipper Robin van Persie would create a truly catastrophic scenario.

They may have been out of their depth against the Serie A giants but they have now clocked up four wins on the spin in the Premier League and a victory over Newcastle will not only consolidate their grip on fourth spot but also intensify the pressure on third-placed Tottenham.

With the quest for silverware effectively over for another season, finishing in the top four will become the be-all and end-all for Arsenal and if they can ruin the aspirations of arch-rivals Spurs they will have extra cause for celebration.

Arsenal are already rolling in money having last month reported a huge rise in profits to £49.5m, following the sale of key players such as Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas.

Their tight fiscal policy means they have been struggling to hold on to their best players but failure to make it into the Champions League next season will mean that they will struggle to attract new talent as well.

Arsenal have successfully qualified for the Champions League for the last 15 seasons and a campaign without is unthinkable. That is why defeating Newcastle would prove to be far more important than beating AC Milan.

.....and they sold on Nasri and Fabregas.




Reality?
Reality is pulling off a £35 million pound man in a Cup Final so as a striker he didnt take a penalty !

One thing with that Euro that I did not fully realize and goes into play with what JD had said.

I don't believe that we are quite ready yet to go deep in CL with these players and this squad as it stands today. JD and others have pointed out that even if we qualified this year we might not make it through the knock-out round and end up in Europa regardless.

Guess what I am saying is this for those that pump there fists screaming of the 30M+ in revenues we are losing this year if we are not qualifying might be a bit misleading depending on how far we got right?

CL is important but I would say its more so for the allure of attracting players. While the extra cash is always nice to have our stadium issue is far more and away a more important issue money wise than CL.

Best of both worlds is the new stadium and CL and I am sure that is exactly what the braintrust thinks also.

Fair Comment A.Z.

Best of both worlds is the new stadium and CL and I am sure that is exactly what the braintrust thinks also.

I am firmly in the "Stay at Anfield" side of the stadium debate. I don't want to see any bulldozer tear up our home, that we've put so much money, time, and emotion into over the decades.

Do we need to get into the CL? I know that we desperately need to be in Europe, and at least we have that for next season now. If we make CL then great but if not, it's not a disaster.

Champs League is a luxury. It’s not essential and is not the end of the world...

First off  I would rather win the UEFA than be dumped out of the CL, and to be honest I couldn’t see us beating Barca or Real over 2 legs. We just aren’t that strong! We are in a rebuilding stage, we need to get a decent squad of players and improve in 2 or 3 areas. Then we can play for the prem title. For me the CL is something you get when you finish 1st, so lets aim for that.

I agree that the worldies want CL football, but there are some top players that will come here without this, and the players we need fit into this bracket. Yes I would LOVE Messi, but it's not a reality.

Financially, yes it is a big bonus. But we have survived without it for a few years now. We have a squad that is ok without it (yes they would love it but there we go) and I doubt the same can be said for the money grabbers at Chelesa, and I shudder to think what would happen to Arsenal if they fail to qualify. Essentially one of them will fail - and reinvest massivley to get back into it - i it's the Chavs they will spend big - Arsenal could be in a bit of trouble...

For the record, I would love to have a cracking run in now - including the FA Cup and finish 3rd or 4th..!

It is essential without the stadium.  The fair play rules are coming in at the end of this season. I'll put it this way it is the difference in signing Eden hazard instead of Scott Sinclair. That is the reality we face. And as ive said already we won the champions league with a worse team so i dont buy this we are not ready.

We may not be ready as of now but we might be when we've made it to the qualifying rounds because knowing we are in the competition, it's more likely we can attract better quality players to get us ready.

It's certainly not the end of the world but the longer we're out of it, the more difficult and the more worse it gets for the club of a stature like Liverpool FC.

We're Liverpool FC and we should always be with the best of the best.

13 points from 4th if Arsenal win.....13 points from finishing 4th - what have we become...?

Now it's the end of the world thank F**k the world is supposed to be exploding on the 21st of December I can't take it anymore.

 

Nail.
Coffin.

Moving on.
Here's hoping for a good finish to the FA Cup.

Been a very disappointing league campaign.
In saying that, I'll be able to look forward positively if we have another shiny trophy in the cabinet by seasons end.

We are still rebuilding.....


Those who want instant success go support chelsea

Anyone that is supporting Liverpool the last 20 years aint a glory hunter and following for instant success.