Closed Sparta Prague v Chelsea

[The only place to be 11,313]

I'd also love to see Ake as a starter, but for the second part, wouldn't it be much more humiliating to get knocked out by a team like Sparta Prague in the EL because we play half-assed? No one denies that the EL is not the competition we belong in, but we can't change that now and I want to see the team doing their best to win this trophy.

Why?

Just think, the next round comes in between West Brom, Fulham and West Ham. These are all games we need to win but the type we struggle with. I'd rather not have the distraction of a tough game against Ajax or a trip to Bucharest in between so the sooner we're out of this competition, the better.

Oh, and if we win that then we have a quarter-final before the game against Spurs.

Then the Semi-Final 1st leg comes before a game against Swansea, and the second-leg is a few days before we play Man United.

And the final is just a few days before we play Everton on the last day of the season. I don't think the schedule could be tougher to be honest.

We NEED to throw this game. There's no other way of saying it.

[GermanBlue 82]

Why?

Just think, the next round comes in between West Brom, Fulham and West Ham. These are all games we need to win but the type we struggle with. I'd rather not have the distraction of a tough game against Ajax or a trip to Bucharest in between so the sooner we're out of this competition, the better.

Oh, and if we win that then we have a quarter-final before the game against Spurs.

Then the Semi-Final 1st leg comes before a game against Swansea, and the second-leg is a few days before we play Man United.

And the final is just a few days before we play Everton on the last day of the season. I don't think the schedule could be tougher to be honest.

We NEED to throw this game. There's no other way of saying it.

Yes, we probably have to set our priorities, but playing with a complete reserve and youngster team as it was suggested is not the way to go IMO. These matches will be good opportunities to give players like Ake a chance to get familiar with the first team. A little mix would be the best. We should rest the players who need a rest like Mata or Lamps atm, but we should still look to get the most out of this competition and if a player is fit, he should play. The priority this season is to stay in the top 4 in the league but the EL is still a trophy to go for.

[petr.breu 1,618]

Action from one of our radio station...

Honk! They live here!

...

We support Sparta!

...

Don't let Chelsea sleep!

[Ankit 3,176]

Action from one of our radio station...

Honk! They live here! .............................................. We support Sparta! .............................................. Don't let Chelsea sleep!

So i am guessing that they are standing in front of the hotel where Chelsea's players are staying and they are asking people to honk so that the players can't sleep. Haha! Nice tactic, better than swansea's ball boy one!

[Term-X 7,891]

I'd also love to see Ake as a starter, but for the second part, wouldn't it be much more humiliating to get knocked out by a team like Sparta Prague in the EL because we play half-assed? No one denies that the EL is not the competition we belong in, but we can't change that now and I want to see the team doing their best to win this trophy.

Being knocked out from the Europa League didn't harm Man-Utd & Man-City's reputation..

In fact, It's MORE humiliating to take this competition seriously, than it is to be eliminated.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Yes, we probably have to set our priorities, but playing with a complete reserve and youngster team as it was suggested is not the way to go IMO. These matches will be good opportunities to give players like Ake a chance to get familiar with the first team. A little mix would be the best. We should rest the players who need a rest like Mata or Lamps atm, but we should still look to get the most out of this competition and if a player is fit, he should play. The priority this season is to stay in the top 4 in the league but the EL is still a trophy to go for.

My view is that we can't do both. I'd rather have a week's rest in between games to give us the best chance in every match.

The FA Cup is slightly different because.....well that's a proper trophy. The Europa League is a silly little thing on it's last legs that will probably be shit-canned in the next 3-5 years. It's a pain in the arse more than anything and one of the worst things about getting knocked out of the CL is Thursday Nights, Channel 5.

What makes it worse is that I've got a bad feeling the fat cunt is going to take it seriously and prioritise this over the top four, because the top four doesn't benefit him that much. He can't have his photo taken with a trophy for getting fourth, he can't really put it on his resume and it doesn't get as much attention in Spain.

Fuck I hate Rafa.

[Spike 12,049]

I'd prefer to win everything.

[Billy. 2,742]

brap brap i managed to get a tinternet connection at work so can watch the game.

[Term-X 7,891]

I'd prefer to win everything.

Sometimes, a win.. is a loss.

[Spike 12,049]

Sometimes, a win.. is a loss.

Well, the club wouldn't be in this situation if I got my way. Winning all the time would get boring though...

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

My view is that we can't do both. I'd rather have a week's rest in between games to give us the best chance in every match.

The FA Cup is slightly different because.....well that's a proper trophy. The Europa League is a silly little thing on it's last legs that will probably be shit-canned in the next 3-5 years. It's a pain in the arse more than anything and one of the worst things about getting knocked out of the CL is Thursday Nights, Channel 5.

What makes it worse is that I've got a bad feeling the fat cunt is going to take it seriously and prioritise this over the top four, because the top four doesn't benefit him that much. He can't have his photo taken with a trophy for getting fourth, he can't really put it on his resume and it doesn't get as much attention in Spain.

Fuck I hate Rafa.

Exactly...The Europa League is like a better version of the Intertoto Cup. If you are not playing to be the best team in Europe, then what are you playing for? To be the best team apart from the actual best teams? I like European Football and I'd rather do well than not but not at the expense of the league. I'd like to see a lot of Marin, Bertrand, Benayoun, and Ake in the Europa League. (Our loan policy has worked out very well this year, but we've been left bone-dry in terms of young players who would normally be great fits for this thing). Like you, I'm positive Rafa will try to win this and I don't even blame him. He knows he has no shot of keeping the job and wants to pad his resume. Winning the Europa League is more important for his resume than anything.

[petr.breu 1,618]

And I'm in work

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

IMO we should prioritize the EL over the FA Cup. We always win the FA Cup but we can complete the European Quadruple by winning the Europapokal, which has only been done by 3 teams so far. Of all teams in the EL only Atletico is better than us while in the Cup we got no chance against both Manchester teams.

[Milan 17,853]

And I'm in work

Yep, I fucked it up completely. So bloody annoying!

[The only place to be 11,313]

IMO we should prioritize the EL over the FA Cup. We always win the FA Cup but we can complete the European Quadruple by winning the Europapokal, which has only been done by 3 teams so far. Of all teams in the EL only Atletico is better than us while in the Cup we got no chance against both Manchester teams.

But it's not a decent trophy to win, whereas the FA Cup is. The Europa League is won by teams on the way up (Porto, Shakhtar, Atletico) not by teams already at the top like us. Winning it doesn't really mean much - in fact it will just be a tangible reminder that we got knocked out of the Champions League.

[bushman 2,043]

How can anyone say EL is not a decent trophy but FA Cup is ?

When one compares the two EL have much better & stronger teams competing for it.

After all, EL´s second most important club knock-out competition.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

But it's not a decent trophy to win, whereas the FA Cup is. The Europa League is won by teams on the way up (Porto, Shakhtar, Atletico) not by teams already at the top like us. Winning it doesn't really mean much - in fact it will just be a tangible reminder that we got knocked out of the Champions League.

You certainly got a point, winning the EL is not really the glory we seek but we have nothing to do with the teams who have won this cup and simply shoudl try to add new trophies to our cabinet and many players surely would have this cup over a 5th Fa Cup. It would be an almighty shame to lose the 2nd place in uefa 5 year ranking to Germany even though ePL is still best, so whilst the EL has been a collecting platform for German teams in recent years hence giving them the opportunity to gain uefa points, we should now be the ones profiting from the ridiculous system that wins in the EL grant nearly as many points as wins in the CL.

[The only place to be 11,313]

How can anyone say EL is not a decent trophy but FA Cup is ?

When one compares the two EL have much better & stronger teams competing for it.

After all, EL´s second most important club knock-out competition.

Because the FA Cup is the FA Cup. It's the greatest national cup competition in the world and has a fine history.

The Europa League is almost certainly going to be junked in the next few years, or become even more of a joke then it already is. For teams like us, it's a punishment for being crap in the group stages of the CL and now it simply becomes nothing more than a distraction.