When can we start talking about Europe?

[Niceguyeddie]

Do you really think that our first ever European game should it come to pass, would have less of an attendance than the first round Carabao cup?

Its really not the tournament you remember mate
It makes the carabao cup look Hollywood

 

[Pedro's Winger]

Looks potentially like a very high number of points to stay up and our next two games are Arsenal away and Man City.
Only one way to be viewing this season at the moment and it isn't Europe.

 

[Houston_Blade]

If only he knew someone who could do summat about that.

Whilst it’s within his gift I don’t think the whole infrastructure of the club is even PL standard yet. We’ve grown a lot in a short space of time and apart from someone on Twitter and Instagram posting videos we don’t seem to be where we need to be from a commercial perspective. The home ticket sales being a huge problem that we can’t seem to solve.

It will take 2 or 3 years to get the right staff in behind the scenes to help out. Add having to book flights and hotels to the mix and we’d fall over.

 

[ShorehamRevolution]

Stop being ridiculous ,if we get enough points we will qualify no one is suggesting throwing away points
It's only older blades like yourself who still hark back to when the competition had some credibility who.want it anyway
Crowds would be lower than cup games

crowds would be lower than cup games? They’d be huge demand for tickets !

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I have had fifty years+ of patience and never got remotely close to qualifying since the 70's.
As there are no guarantees that we will ever achieve Europe or indeed remain in the Premier League. This could be the closest this time. Do we, hopefully on maintaining our status, just stop trying in case we over achieve further?
How many minimum games are there in, for I stance the Europa Cup? From comments,I'm guessing we are committed on qualification to a dozen or so?
I know another team in South Yorkshire and one in West who wouldn't think like that if they got the opportunity now!! The latter would not make the same mistake they did last time either!

UTB

My sentiments exactly.

 

[BigBed]

I've been talking about Europe all afternoon, but finally settled for Ibiza in June.

 

[HammerInPeace]

As and when. That's when. I've already told my Mrs I might be away a few Thursdays next year. And she's a Wednesday bastard which compounds her misery.

Sheffield Thursday...

 

[HammerInPeace]

Concentrate on the PL & FA Cup & see where you end up.
If you qualify for Europe, enjoy it, what an achievement, first season back.
My post was only sharing what we experienced. It really wasn't 'the promised land' for us. More often than not, the Europa for most teams, appears to fuck the next season up for them. Even worse if you stay in it!

 

[Tezza1889]

The title of this OP embarrassed me, because I could only dream of being in the prem and staying there, I'm so greatfull and overjoyed that were in the prem and looking solid, the prem was a dream with the money you need to spend these days and we always joked in league 1 about "Europe in 5 years" and it's a possibility now, as an old fart I'd like to take it a bit slower with our success.. we don't like change you know, we keep wider and we will play in Europe if the board carry on the Sterling job they're doing.. I've gone all dizzy writing this..

We used to laugh, the pundits laughed at the start of this season, nobody's laughing now except us...

 

[CarlMcBlade]

The only negative I can see about the Europa cup is that most of our weekend games would be on a Sunday.

 

[manxblade]

How many teams are actually better than us this season so far Liverpool City and Leicester. Wolves Chelsea Man utd Spurs and Blades all on a par I think and 3 of them have to come to the lane. get 40 points and throw caution to the wind if we get Europe it will be amazing

 

[Hamburg Blade]

There's some reight miseries on this thread. Best not go out in case you get run over by a bin lorry.

 

[Charlieblade]

I have had fifty years+ of patience and never got remotely close to qualifying since the 70's.
As there are no guarantees that we will ever achieve Europe or indeed remain in the Premier League. This could be the closest this time. Do we, hopefully on maintaining our status, just stop trying in case we over achieve further?
How many minimum games are there in, for I stance the Europa Cup? From comments,I'm guessing we are committed on qualification to a dozen or so?
I know another team in South Yorkshire and one in West who wouldn't think like that if they got the opportunity now!! The latter would not make the same mistake they did last time either!

UTB

I will claim the same fifty years mate, but I don’t want boom and bust football at the lane. I want strong and prolonged life playing great football at the top of the PL. I have no desire to go back to the old 3rd division.

The circumstances are slightly different this time around. Most of our income for this year, and next, is swallowed up by transfers, wages, and buying back the club assets that McCabe owns now. I’m sure very few would prefer us to have one season now in a minor Euro comp, followed by relegation and financial uncertainty.
For me, our achievements need to be sustainable, but prudent. At least for the next few years. Too much success too soon risks chasing dreams that we are not ready for.
The other main difference is that we now have quality management, backed by an ambitious, but considered ownership.
Long term steady growth for our club please. Hopefully I get to see it, but my teenage sons deserve it too.

 

[Dkc]

I don't want the Europa League. At all. Awful competition with no real money and a slog of games against clubs nobody has heard of . Champions League or just outside Europa I'd be estatic with.

Absolutely disagree with this. I'd love to see the Blades play in a proper European competition, which has never happened in my lifetime - or ever. I'd certainly travel to the away games. It would be a fantastic experience.

Agree though, that the qualification process is too long and there are too many teams. But when you get to the Group Stages there are plenty of top European clubs in there, many of whom are CL regulars.

Not quite sure if there is any rule on how many first teamers you must play but if not, why not hope for Europa League qualification? CWAK will be aware that PL is the priority and will pick the team accordingly. I'd have no problem with us playing fringe / squad players.

 

[Dec]

Stop being ridiculous ,if we get enough points we will qualify no one is suggesting throwing away points
It's only older blades like yourself who still hark back to when the competition had some credibility who.want it anyway
Crowds would be lower than cup games

Well I'm under 30 and would LOVE to see The Blades in Europe.

They said we'd struggle in The Championship... we didn't.
They said we weren't able to keep pace with Leeds and Norwich... we did.
They said we aren't ready to cope with the Premier League... we are.

So if we manage to go against all odds and get into Europe, let whoever it is say that our squad isn't strong enough. With Wilder at the helm, I'd wager it would be.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

Stop being ridiculous ,if we get enough points we will qualify no one is suggesting throwing away points
It's only older blades like yourself who still hark back to when the competition had some credibility who.want it anyway
Crowds would be lower than cup games

Hahah ask the wolves fans if they take it seriously ? They took 6k to Portugal and have sold out every home game.

You must be daft if you think we would get lower crowds than the cup.

 

[blade too long]

Not really bothered about the burden thrust upon a club that the Europa league is. The only up side I see is it's something to rub owls fans noses in. The endless number of games against clubs you've never heard of is mind boggling. If we could sneak 4th now thats something utterly different. Impossible . No
Improbable maybe. But if Leicester can win the prem never say never
.

 

[PokerBlade]

How often does a club qualify for Europe and then get relegated relative to teams that finished outside a European spot? Because if the answer is anything but "A lot" then worrying about it is ridiculous.

Even ignoring the prize of the first time in my life (or anyone else's) being able to say Sheffield United get to play European football, I'd love to be able to say that we'd finished in the top six teams in the country. Just look at some of the teams we'd have finished higher than!

I'll take my chances. It's not like were going to get to the last few games of the season and think "Best not win any more, lads, or we'll have to watch even more of this rubbish football lark next year" is it?

And on a pessimistic note, two or three injuries like some other clubs have had and we could easily drop a few places anyway. Let's just hit that 40pt mark asap and then spend the rest of the season goading and laughing at all the tosspots who said we were going to set a new record low points total.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

If we're to make Europe, it's more likely to be through Man City winning the league cup and then seeing how the FA Cup pans out. Seeing us in Europe would be immense.

I didn’t think the league cup held a Europa league place anymore?

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I

At least if most are bothered about the Europa League then getting tickets for our trips to the San Siro and Celtic Park will be easier

I bet the “ loyalty points cartel” wouldn’t say no to Europe either?

 

[ChemEngBlade]

I dont mean brexit kind of Europe talk either, I know we’ve mostly been joking about European qualification so far tongue in cheek but we don’t seem to be slipping away from that little cluster of Wolves/Man U/Tottenham Hotspur, we’re keeping the pace. Like we’ve done since wilder took over it’s just about the next game that’s all we’ve ever done rather than get ahead of ourselves which is fair enough as there’s still a long way to go (16 games) personally I think if we can get 12 points between now and the first few weeks of March against
Arsenal (a)
Man City (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
Bournemouth (h)
Brighton (h)
Aston Villa (a)
Norwich (h)
Newcastle (a)

if we can get 12 from that group of fixtures it’d take us to 44 points with 8 games remaining another 12 points from the remaining 8 games could possibly see us qualify for Europe. A couple of problem’s we’d have though is an FA cup run and also the fact the last 8 games include Man U, Chelsea Leicester and Spurs.
I’ve had a quick look at the previous few seasons Burnley qualified on 54 points which we’re 22 points off at the moment.

So when will everyone else be happy to seriously talk about Europe or are you already?

I reckon we can get more than 12 from that cluster of games.
Arsenal - 3 points
Man City - 0 points
Palace - 1 point
B'mouth - 3 points
Brighton - 3 points
Villa - 3 points
Norwich - 3 points
Newcastle - 1 point

Maybe a bit ambitious to only lose 1 but I do reckon 17 points is possible, would probably still see us around 6th one would expect.

 

[pudseyblade]

I didn’t think the league cup held a Europa league place anymore?

It does if you win it and haven't qualified elsewhere. If the winner has qualified then the place goes to the league placings, rather than cup runner-up, hence why we're more likely to be in Europe if Man City win the league cup

 

[Satsrag]

If the club qualifies, it places greater demands on the club, the management and the players. If the club qualifies, we have to pay for travel and other extra costs, even if we cant, or don’t want to compete because our squad is too small, thin or lightweight for the demands of european football.
To do it justice, needs a bigger squad, higher wages, and a better stadium and facilities all round.
I would rather take advantage of a lighter load fixtures wise, and do what we have this season, and over achieved.
Qualify and rotate first team players, risk injury and burn out?
No thanks. Let’s grow sustainably, over time, entering competitions when we can afford to enjoy the experience, from a position of strength. In a few years time, when we are established in the PL with a bigger, stronger squad.
Right now, we are punching above our weight, in the best league in the world. Please don’t expect too much from a side that has already over achieved.
Better to be patient, than blow our premier status for a season in a minor euro comp.

whats with this “entering competitions when we can afford to do so” rubbish

that’s not how football works... there’s no magic formula where you establish for a few years and are guaranteed entry into Europe. Look at Bournemouth this year - they have done exactly that but for whatever reason find themselves in the relegation dogfight.

Still far to early to be talking of Europe but if we do somehow achieve such an amazing feat then we will have to adapt as we have done under CWAK and move forward

Aim high, win as many games as we can and then see where it takes us. No one has any idea what will happen over the coming years so you should enjoy the ride !

 

[MobileBlade]

Stay up and win the FA Cup. Then we're in the group stage. Qualify through league and we have qualify for the group.

Just imagine... winning the FA Cup (not the tin pot Rumbelows) and having at least 6 games in Europe (not against spora luxembourg). They'd have nothing to say anymore!

That's not correct actually.

5th Place in the League - qualify for group stages
FA Cup Winners - qualify for group stages
League Cup Winners - qualify for 2nd qualifying round

If FA Cup winners qualify for Champions League then next highest league place qualify for group stages.
If League Cup winners qualify for Champions League then next highest league place qualify for 2nd qualifying round.

So, last season
Top 4 qualify for Champions League (including Liverpool who won it; if they have finished 5th then we would have had 5 teams in Champions League and all other places drop one).

Manchester City won both FA Cup and League Cup.

5th Place in League - Arsenal qualified straight to group stages
6th Place in League - Man Utd qualified straight to group stages
7th Place in League - Wolves started at 2nd qualifying round

 

[ReeceofBDTBL]

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, seize the opportunity. Always irritated me that club like forest and Ipswich have won European silverware, Fulham and Boro have played in European finals etc

How people can show such fear when we’ve got Chris Wilder is beyond me

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Not really bothered about the burden thrust upon a club that the Europa league is. The only up side I see is it's something to rub owls fans noses in. The endless number of games against clubs you've never heard of is mind boggling. If we could sneak 4th now thats something utterly different. Impossible . No
Improbable maybe. But if Leicester can win the prem never say never
.

Arsenal finished 5th and have played 6 extra matches. Home and away against Eintracht Frankfurt, Standard Liege and Vitoria SC.
Man Utd finished 6th and have played 6 extra matches. Home and away against AZ Alkmaar, Partizan Belgrade and Astana
In the next round they play home and away against Club Brugge and Olympiacos respectively.
I don't know about you but I would consider 6 out of 8 (75%) of those opposition teams to be quite well known.

I'm not really sure what the people who don't want us to qualify for the Europa League are saying?
Would they really rather us finish 8th or below in The Premier League than 5th or 6th?
I could understand a preference against us finishing 7th and joining the Europa League competition in July but if we do, so be it.

 

[HeySethUTB]

Blades in Europe......No brainer. The prince did sum up the disadvantage of jumping into Europe so quickly, namely the size of our squad..it’s too small in size/talent depth and numerous parts of club infrastructure may not be fit for purpose yet, this could ultimately effect our premier league status.

On the otherhand the advantages are, more exposure to build the SUFC brand, more renvenue from competition/external revenue sources, the ability to attract better players, further stadia improvements, a platform to use when seeking club investment and quite importantly the acquisition of a bigger fanbase in or outside of Sheffield coming to us rather than South Barnsley.

The princes answer seemed money oriented I.e. “Europe is good, but we’re the hell am I going to get the money to make the required improvements“ metaphorically speaking, a kid comes home after playing football and tells their parents he/she has been offered a trial at barcelona but they need new boots to ensure they can give it their all.

If Europe is our destination does the prince cough up money for the improvements or does he sit on his hands and make us use the “old boots”. Whatever happens the fact we can even talk about this is truly remarkable.

UTB!

 

[BushBlade]

Blades in Europe......No brainer. The prince did sum up the disadvantage of jumping into Europe so quickly, namely the size of our squad..it’s too small in size/talent depth and numerous parts of club infrastructure may not be fit for purpose yet, this could ultimately effect our premier league status.

On the otherhand the advantages are, more exposure to build the SUFC brand, more renvenue from competition/external revenue sources, the ability to attract better players, further stadia improvements, a platform to use when seeking club investment and quite importantly the acquisition of a bigger fanbase in or outside of Sheffield coming to us rather than South Barnsley.

The princes answer seemed money oriented I.e. “Europe is good, but we’re the hell am I going to get the money to make the required improvements“ metaphorically speaking, a kid comes home after playing football and tells their parents he/she has been offered a trial at barcelona but they need new boots to ensure they can give it their all.

If Europe is our destination does the prince cough up money for the improvements or does he sit on his hands and make us use the “old boots”. Whatever happens the fact we can even talk about this is truly remarkable.

UTB!

I’m not sure but if your dad shows you his bank statement and it’s got £2 in it (as my dad did once), then you shut up about new boots.

 

[BushBlade]

Stop being ridiculous ,if we get enough points we will qualify no one is suggesting throwing away points
It's only older blades like yourself who still hark back to when the competition had some credibility who.want it anyway
Crowds would be lower than cup games

It’s become credible again since the winners were given champions league qualification.

 

[BushBlade]

There's some reight miseries on this thread. Best not go out in case you get run over by a bin lorry.

After reading this thread I’m ready to throw myself under one.