We ain't ready for Europe, sez Woy

AARGH! Why not us? Would the EU collapse?

I do realize there is the small matter of his being correct though, at least now. Strengthening the team in quality and quantity is a tall order. Any thoughts on how it could be done, aside from MAF spending every pound he ever made?

 

RE: We ain

That's exactly the problem. Roy isnt stupid. When it affects the bigger clubs' league play and their managers comment on it, that's not just excuses.

 

I think it's just coach talk. I think he knows the best way to not to disappoint people is to lower the expectations. On the inside I think Roy wants Europe bad.

 

To be fair here, Roy never said we where going to throw games.. nor did he say that we would not be excited about being awarded a Europe spot. He is the coach, he is supposed to "expect" success... who wants a coach that gets all giddy at achieving his goals? He is definitely right, and if you read it carefully, you can tell that if we do get it, we will focus first on staying above relegation and second on the tournament - which is right where I feel we should be.

 

Sounds to me like Roy is publicly making his case to MAF to open the purse strings a bit and let him upgrade the roster.

 

If not the Manchester United of the South, then at least the Everton of the South, perhaps?

 

I'd be very happy if FFC get into the Europa League this year.

As we all know, nothing is guaranteed in this league year to year and Fulham could very well be in a relegation battle next year even without Europe.

As ol' Janis said: get it while you can.

 

Roy is the master of 'under promising' and 'over-delivering' as alluded to by Brad. He likes to set low expectations.

I say 'screw it' go for Europe, play the bench and reserves with a few regulars rotated.....nobody says you have to get there and win, just get there. This keeps the starting squad fresh for league play and a chance to re-qualify and needed game minutes for the up and comers. Who says you have to win?

 

Any word on the payouts for this version of UEFA?

If Woy can put that add'l money toward depth and focus on league play (thus qualifying again), eventually you may see a side strong enough to put an effort to advance in Europa. Easier said than done obviously, but whatever money FFC gets is that much more money than they had.

I don't view it as a negative and would like to think our fanbase won't go Villa on him when/if he were to field a subpar side.

 

That'd be nice. Tottenham is really the Everton of the South though. Similar sized clubs and all. I'd like to see Fulham become the fourth best team in London maybe, and surpass West Ham. However, West Ham has a larger fan base than Fulham and they've got more history as well, and their renowned youth program.

 

This might be the best way to look at it. Stringing together a couple of top 10 seasons in a row will be difficult... and hasn't ever happened before.

 

RH looking to spend (moderately) for FFC's European Vacation (hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament.)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009 ... nces-fayed

 

Keep in mind, too that, if we finish 7th, Fulham will get $10M more in TV money than they did last year. That's at least one journeyman player or a good chunk of a good one.

 

Thanks Andy. Good point.

Speaking of more revenue. Does anyone have any news, or inside dope, on any plans for an expansion effort at Craven Cottage? I remember reading some posts way back but nothing lately.

 

I just had to step back from this thread and ponder, damn, are we realistically discussing FFC's European ambitions?

Amazing.

 

Europe is a double edged sword. The size and quality of the squad needs to be large to compete in Europe and maintain a PL push. Apart from Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool, the other teams in the EPL have suffered for their European exertions.

One of the main factors that, I believe, has allowed Fulham to be so sucessful this season is the regularity of the starting line up. If the players have another 6 - 10 games then there is more chance of players needing rest or getting injured, unbalancing the team. Even if we buy players during the summer it takes time to bed them in and learn the system.

Having said that, I would love some more European nights down at the Cottage and we should aspire to Europe, but there will be a price to pay and the gamble is relegation.

 

Exactly. Even if we end up relegated next year, we'll remember these Europa League games a lot longer.

Besides, we won't need Danny Murphy to go 90 minutes against some club from Andorra. Our U18 squad should be able to destroy a bunch of these teams.