Premier League or Champions League?

[BeerIsTheBest]

Quickest Replication thread trophy. Suspect you’ve got a chance

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

To be honest I’ll be a bit pissed off if we don’t win the Prem league this season with the lead we had. It won’t be a mess up on our part particularly unless we implode (although the Spurs game still grates on me now, especially the pissing away of a point). I was over the CL loss the day after. Cup competitions are a lottery. Having said that I’m sure the players, manager and club would like to win it so I’ll go with that one.

 

[Jesus2020]

I mean, there is a pretty much identical thread right below this one…

Yeah sorry, didn't realise until after

 

[Spurs quarter 69]

Either or would be just as happy with the FA cup.

 

[MAG]

I want us to win the Champions League … the media “agenda” is gearing towards oh this is Klopp and Pep era and Liverpool team already being hailed by their media buddies as somehow the greatest team ever in the PL … and the way they do it is yeah yeah Pep might have won a ‘couple’ of league titles but Klopp has won the CL and then European SuperCup and the Club World Cup … and everything that we haven’t basically so I really want us to win that (CL) this season so next we can go and gather all those one game here and one there community shield equivalent trophies and then when they compare Pep v Klopp or City v Liverpool … it’ll stand as 1 CL v 1 CL, I don’t care about the one off CWC or the Euro SuperCup but then next to it will be our 1 (or 2 FA Cups) vs none of theirs, our 4 PLs vs their 1 (yes, yes, we’ve got this one too, don’t worry) and our 4 in a row League Cups to their 1 … no doubts or questions then as to who won more … it’s just that one CL that’s missing from our cabinet and what they keep bigging up … and keep ignoring the domestic quadruple (or treble if you want) and the Centurions and multiple trophies in a season, every season, not a one off in each season by sacking off others so they can focus on just the one kind of approach … anyway, point is we know we are better than everyone else, this season and over last 5-6 as well … hell, over last 10-12 we’re better … but the media agenda won’t stop till we get the big ears too!

 

[Eoiyflem]

CL for me, piss boil overload

 

[Deleted member 77198]

I get the impression that Pep goes all out for them all, maybe? But there's a niggle I have that, looking at a few of the past English CL winners, they don't tend to have won the league at the same time (I can't be arsed looking up stats so I could be wrong). Which leads to think there's a bit of a sacrifice needed at some point, or the manager is possibly able to concentrate on the CL when he knows the league is unlikely. To go all out for them all could be counter productive but also, to concentrate on just one is a bit of a gamble when they're all attainable.

I ask the question because I'm nearly 40 so for me the league was always something I never dreamed of winning. I'd rather win that before all others. The FA Cup is still a huge deal for me. I'd like to see us win that. The CL is a dream I'd love to win it but I do feel like it's something OTHER FANS demand of us. Like, say we win the prem this season, it's something they will say that doesn't mean anything, "because you haven't won the CL". But personally I'm like, well it seems to bother you more than it does me? I'm the fan, I define my own happiness. I'm more than happy with the league so it seems the issue of winning the CL is something that means more to other fans of other teams than it does me? But my mate's 30, he's more of a fifa playing fan like a lot of lads under 30. They've grown up with the CL being sold to them as THE goal. So he's not as bothered about the league. He wants the CL. He'd happily go out the fa cup too if it meant we could rest players for a CL game.

Just got me thinking and wondered what other fans think about it.

United are the only team to win the Premier League and Champions League together (1999+2008)
Liverpool finished 5th when they won it in 2005 (37 points behind 1st)
Chelsea finished 6th when they won it in 2012 (25 points behind 1st)
Liverpool finished 2nd when they won it in 2019 (1 point behind 1st)
Chelsea finished 3rd when they won it in 2021 (19 points behind 1st).

Only one of those were the Prem champions the season before - United won the Prem in 2007 and then the CL in 2008
In 1998 United finished 2nd (1 point behind 1st)
In 2004 Liverpool finished 4th (30 points behind 1st)
In 2011 Chelsea finished 2nd (9 points behind 1st)
In 2018 Liverpool finished 4th (25 points behind 1st)
In 2020 Chelsea finished 4th (33 points behind 1st).

The 2019 final was played between two teams (Liverpool and Tottenham) who hadn’t won the league in England for 29 and 58 years respectively. A combined 87 years. The Championship Play-off final in the same year was played between two teams (Aston Villa and Derby) who had a smaller combined number of years since winning the league (82… 38 and 44 years respectively).

As you can see, the CL is certainly not about being the best team in Europe, especially when many of the winners are only the 5th or 6th best team in England. All of this sort of stuff makes a mockery of the CL really. A team finishing 4th then 5th, 30 then 37 points behind the best team in England, but winning the CL, is an absolute joke! It shows that all it’s about is just having a good cup run, some favourable draws, and mainly just taking your chances on the day.

The format of the CL rewards mediocrity. You can be distant nobodies in your domestic league yet qualify or win the CL. You can be distant nobodies in the Group Stage of the CL and still qualify for the Knock-out Stage. You could feasibly never have been champions of your domestic league yet win the CL. You can draw every single game 0-0 in the entire competition and win the whole thing by winning all the KO games on penalties. If you drew every game 0-0 in the Prem, you’d likely be relegated.

The main reason I want to win the CL is simply to just tick it off! Until we do tick it off, I think I want to win the CL more. Therefore I have chosen the CL in the poll above.

But the Prem is the better competition to win. A 38 game home and away league format where you play every team twice always shows who the best team is; a 13 game competition where you only play 7 of the 32 teams that enter and where you can avoid many of the genuinely good teams, doesn’t.

That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t joyously celebrate winning the CL. I bloody love winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup (I even celebrate winning the Community Shield and think the UEFA Super Cup and World Club Cup are good competitions to win and put on your trophy success lists). At the start of the season I never think they’re the competitions I want to win most but I celebrate them massively when we do win them. At the start of the season I do look to the CL and would probably celebrate winning it for a week! But winning the EFL or FA Cup doesn’t make you the best team in England and winning the CL doesn’t make you the best team in Europe; the Prem is still the best composition to win.

 

[mrtwiceaseason]

Easy one for me premier League everyday ,no fucks given about the champions League.
From a personal point of view would think it was fantastic if city were in the European Johnston paints sheild spurs were in.
How fantastic to go to all those countries and teams you never knew existed instead of same old same old

 

[hateutd]

the question must be, what can we win from all ? time will tell , and until then I hope ......

 

[hateutd]

United are the only team to win the Premier League and Champions League together (1999+2008)
Liverpool finished 5th when they won it in 2005 (37 points behind 1st)
Chelsea finished 6th when they won it in 2012 (25 points behind 1st)
Liverpool finished 2nd when they won it in 2019 (1 point behind 1st)
Chelsea finished 3rd when they won it in 2021 (19 points behind 1st).

Only one of those were the Prem champions the season before - United won the Prem in 2007 and then the CL in 2008
In 1998 United finished 2nd (1 point behind 1st)
In 2004 Liverpool finished 4th (30 points behind 1st)
In 2011 Chelsea finished 2nd (9 points behind 1st)
In 2018 Liverpool finished 4th (25 points behind 1st)
In 2020 Chelsea finished 4th (33 points behind 1st).

The 2019 final was played between two teams (Liverpool and Tottenham) who hadn’t won the league in England for 29 and 58 years respectively. A combined 87 years. The Championship Play-off final in the same year was played between two teams (Aston Villa and Derby) who had a smaller combined number of years since winning the league (82… 38 and 44 years respectively).

you re right bout the statistics and few remember em, but everyone sees the trophy in the cabinet ......