[Football] West Ham …. trophy winners

[Commander]

Anyone turning their nose up at this should remember that we'll drop into this tournament if we finish 3rd in our Europa League group!

Do we!? I had no idea about that.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I don't really like the competition as it's just an unecessary extra load of fixtures put in by UEFA to make a few extra quid and sanction by the big clubs as a financial safety net in case they have a bad season or a bad group stage.

That said, if we're in it, it's a Brighton game, so i'll get behind us, but the following year i'll think it;s **** again.

And West Ham have a massive advantage not having to pay for Stadium costs. Comparable clubs are spending hundreds of millions on stadia and upgrades. West Ham are using that money to give players like Pacquetta colossal salaries

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Do we!? I had no idea about that.

Also relevant that 3rd placed CL teams drop into the Europa League.
So Sevilla can still win it again.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I don't really like the competition as it's just an unecessary extra load of fixtures put in by UEFA to make a few extra quid and sanction by the big clubs as a financial safety net in case they have a bad season or a bad group stage.

That said, if we're in it, it's a Brighton game, so i'll get behind us, but the following year i'll think it;s **** again.

And West Ham have a massive advantage not having to pay for Stadium costs. Comparable clubs are spending hundreds of millions on stadia and upgrades. West Ham are using that money to give players like Pacquetta colossal salaries

West Ham might argue that they took on a white elephant which was going to struggle to find a use, and they've accepted the compromises and become as big a tenant as the site could have hoped for. I'm not saying it's right what has happened financially, but it's not like they've moved into a brilliantly designed football stadium.

 

[timbha]

I don't really like the competition as it's just an unecessary extra load of fixtures put in by UEFA to make a few extra quid and sanction by the big clubs as a financial safety net in case they have a bad season or a bad group stage.

That said, if we're in it, it's a Brighton game, so i'll get behind us, but the following year i'll think it;s **** again.

I think it was Simon Jordan who said that it won’t be long before every EPL team that doesn’t get relegated will be found a European competition to enter the following season.

 

[Springal]

It’s still a terrible argument to make about the stadium given the fortunate position we are in

If we were still at the Withdean, we’d not be in the PL

If we were lumbered with a mortgage on the ground and training ground we’d unlikely to be in the PL or have lasted as long as we have

 

[Bold Seagull]

I think it was Simon Jordan who said that it won’t be long before every EPL team that doesn’t get relegated will be found a European competition to enter the following season.

It does seem like that, but back in the early 80s we would regularly have 1 or 2 teams in the European Cup, 3 or 4 in the UEFA Cup and 1 or 2 in the Cup Winners Cup. Wasn't unusual for 6 or 7 teams to qualify for Europe, I think in 1982/83 we had 7 teams in Europe, the same as this season, although granted West Ham have now made that 8 for next season.

 

[timbha]

It does seem like that, but back in the early 80s we would regularly have 1 or 2 teams in the European Cup, 3 or 4 in the UEFA Cup and 1 or 2 in the Cup Winners Cup. Wasn't unusual for 6 or 7 teams to qualify for Europe, I think in 1982/83 we had 7 teams in Europe, the same as this season, although granted West Ham have now made that 8 for next season.

Weren’t they all straight knock out then? Or was that in the 70s?

 

[Simster]

West Ham might argue that they took on a white elephant which was going to struggle to find a use, and they've accepted the compromises and become as big a tenant as the site could have hoped for. I'm not saying it's right what has happened financially, but it's not like they've moved into a brilliantly designed football stadium.

The govt of the day really dropped the ball on that one. They could have organised a bidding war between Spurs, West Ham and other sports like Rugby League , Rugby Union, Athletics, even the NFL - or a combination of those - and come to the least expensive solution for the tax payer.

Instead, it was all last minute and after the event, to the extent that West Ham were the only real serious contenders.

 

[timbha]

The govt of the day really dropped the ball on that one. They could have organised a bidding war between Spurs, West Ham and other sports like Rugby League , Rugby Union, Athletics, even the NFL - or a combination of those - and come to the least expensive solution for the tax payer.

Instead, it was all last minute and after the event, to the extent that West Ham were the only real serious contenders.

Barry Hearn said he was serious about Orient’s interest!!

 

[Simster]

Barry Hearn said he was serious about Orient’s interest!!

But that too might have been viable if they had partnered up with, say, Saracens RFC or The Rugby Football League. Who knows?

The people running the Olympic legacy arm of 2012 should have been exploring all avenues.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Weren’t they all straight knock out then? Or was that in the 70s?

Yes, all three comps at that time were knockout.

 

[m20gull]

With West Ham in Pot 1 we now know who we are playing and can book some hotel rooms.
1 of 6 clubs on 1 of 6 dates means booking 36 hotel rooms with cancelation options.
I've nothing to do next week, may just do it.

Does that depend who drops in from the Champions League?

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

It does seem like that, but back in the early 80s we would regularly have 1 or 2 teams in the European Cup, 3 or 4 in the UEFA Cup and 1 or 2 in the Cup Winners Cup. Wasn't unusual for 6 or 7 teams to qualify for Europe, I think in 1982/83 we had 7 teams in Europe, the same as this season, although granted West Ham have now made that 8 for next season.

We did have 7 but that was due to Aston Villa being defending champions in the Champions League, otherwise it would have been 6.

The standard allocation for England back then was 1 European Cup, 4 Uefa Cup and 1 Cup Winners Cup places, this was the case from the inception of the UEFA Cup in the early 70's until the European ban for English cups.

It's certainly nothing new England having this number of places in Europe, and the creation of the Conference League hasn't actually increased the number of places available, England actually saw their third Europa League spot moved to the Conference. Things may change next season with the re-vamp of the competitions and the highly likely 5th place in the Champions League for English clubs based on current performances.

 

[wellquickwoody]

bet theres propa agro outside

Well done, how insightful of you.

 

[Bold Seagull]

We did have 7 but that was due to Aston Villa being defending champions in the Champions League, otherwise it would have been 6.

The standard allocation for England back then was 1 European Cup, 4 Uefa Cup and 1 Cup Winners Cup places, this was the case from the inception of the UEFA Cup in the early 70's until the European ban for English cups.

It's certainly nothing new England having this number of places in Europe, and the creation of the Conference League hasn't actually increased the number of places available, England actually saw their third Europa League spot moved to the Conference. Things may change next season with the re-vamp of the competitions and the highly likely 5th place in the Champions League for English clubs based on current performances.

I did think there was a coefficient that gave us an extra UEFA Cup spot for the League Cup winners at one point which made it 7, i.e. league places 2 to 5 got UEFA + League Cup winners. FA Cup winners went into the CWC.

 

[Stato]

It’s still a terrible argument to make about the stadium given the fortunate position we are in

If we were still at the Withdean, we’d not be in the PL

If we were lumbered with a mortgage on the ground and training ground we’d unlikely to be in the PL or have lasted as long as we have

I think the major point is that West Ham's good fortune is funded by the taxpayer. We're unbelievably fortunate to have Tony Bloom's generosity. West Ham's owners are unbelievably fortunate to have the government's generosity/incompetence with our money.

Despite my issues with the stadium deal and Brady's closeness to those currently in government, I was pleased for the West Ham fans and for David Moyes. He's a very decent manager, who went through the mill after taking the Frank O'Farrell job at Man Utd. Good to see him getting a reward for a long career as one of the best around. The recent stranglehold that the monied clubs have had on the domestic trophies means these kind of wins are extremely rare for managers like him who worked their way up from the third tier. I think I'm right in saying that, since this millenium began he is only the fifth such manager to win a major trophy with an English club, following: Roberto Martinez (Wigan FA Cup), Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea FA Cup & ECL), Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth FA Cup*) & Martin O'Neill (Leicester League Cup).

* - To paraphrase a recent comment about Man City on the Totally Football Show - An Obelix win - There will always be an Asteri(sk)x alongside it.

 

[Gonzo BHA]

Great for the Hammers. However spare a thought for the poor people of Prague, they're the real victims here.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

I did think there was a coefficient that gave us an extra UEFA Cup spot for the League Cup winners at one point which made it 7, i.e. league places 2 to 5 got UEFA + League Cup winners. FA Cup winners went into the CWC.

Since the 66-67 season the League Cup winners have had a place in Europe*, originally in the Fairs Cup, then UEFA Cup/Europa League and now the Conference League.

*Originally the place was only awarded to the cup winners if the were also in the then First Division so QPR and Swindon both missed out on European Football when they won the trophy.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I think the major point is that West Ham's good fortune is funded by the taxpayer. We're unbelievably fortunate to have Tony Bloom's generosity. West Ham's owners are unbelievably fortunate to have the government's generosity/incompetence with our money.

Despite my issues with the stadium deal and Brady's closeness to those currently in government, I was pleased for the West Ham fans and for David Moyes. He's a very decent manager, who went through the mill after taking the Frank O'Farrell job at Man Utd. Good to see him getting a reward for a long career as one of the best around. The recent stranglehold that the monied clubs have had on the domestic trophies means these kind of wins are extremely rare for managers like him who worked their way up from the third tier. I think I'm right in saying that, since this millenium began he is only the fifth such manager to win a major trophy with an English club, following: Roberto Martinez (Wigan FA Cup), Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea FA Cup & ECL), Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth FA Cup*) & Martin O'Neill (Leicester League Cup).

* - To paraphrase a recent comment about Man City on the Totally Football Show - An Obelix win - There will always be an Asteri(sk)x alongside it.

I thought the London Stadium debacle was misusing London council tax money, rather than general tax payers?