Premier League Title versus FA Cup

[mickyg]

I'm 50 years old now - but when I was in my teens, the FA Cup seemed much more important than today.

Using a "points out of 10 score", back then I would have given the following:

- In a season where a team won both the FA Cup and the League, that would of course be a 10.

- Win the league, but not the cup, then compared to not winning both, that would still be a 9 or more.

- Win the Cup, but not the League - that would be an 8.

This year, if we win the Cup, but not the League then I would feel like we had a 6.5 season.

I'm not sure how much of this is because my opinion of the cup has gone, down versus I've just got higher expectations of the team.

Howver, I do know that as a youngster in the 70's, a cup win was a memory to enjoy for years.

[OlitheBlue]

I'm 50 years old now - but when I was in my teens, the FA Cup seemed much more important than today.

Using a "points out of 10 score", back then I would have given the following:

- In a season where a team won both the FA Cup and the League, that would of course be a 10.

- Win the league, but not the cup, then compared to not winning both, that would still be a 9 or more.

- Win the Cup, but not the League - that would be an 8.

This year, if we win the Cup, but not the League then I would feel like we had a 6.5 season.

I'm not sure how much of this is because my opinion of the cup has gone, down versus I've just got higher expectations of the team.

Howver, I do know that as a youngster in the 70's, a cup win was a memory to enjoy for years.

Since the introduction of the Champions League in its current format (as opposed to the old format of the European Cup), it seems that a club will never get a "10 season" unless they win that.

It is only my opinion, but we could win the league and FA Cup, as well as the League Cup, but Man U win the CL and they would have had a better season. The CL seems to carry the biggest "bragging rights".

Perhaps I am getting a bit complacent over the past few years winning cups, but the CL trophy is the one that I want to see at the Bridge more than any.

I would be interested to hear other peoples opinions. Would you rather win the CL, and then nothing for 3 seasons, or win 3 FA Cups back to back? To me its a no brainer.

Opinions?

[mickyg]

Since the introduction of the Champions League in its current format (as opposed to the old format of the European Cup), it seems that a club will never get a "10 season" unless they win that.

It is only my opinion, but we could win the league and FA Cup, as well as the League Cup, but Man U win the CL and they would have had a better season. The CL seems to carry the biggest "bragging rights".

Perhaps I am getting a bit complacent over the past few years winning cups, but the CL trophy is the one that I want to see at the Bridge more than any.

I would be interested to hear other peoples opinions. Would you rather win the CL, and then nothing for 3 seasons, or win 3 FA Cups back to back? To me its a no brainer.

Opinions?

Olitheblue:

That's a good point - throw in the CL and I think most people would put it top. In your example, I would always go for the CL win. In fact, thinking about it some more, my ratings today would be:

CL=10

League = 8.5

FA Cup = 6

League Cup = 4

[hennerzcfc]

cl leage fa cup then the leage cupfor me in that order

[Tim]

F*k the CL, it's about the Premeriship title every single time. Make no mistake, if we win the league this year I will go mental, and won't give a damn who won the CL.

Yes I want us to win it one year, but every season I become less and less bothered about it, and it could never be on a par with being unequivocally the best team in your country. THAT is a real badge of honour.

[c3blu]

F*k the CL, it's about the Premeriship title every single time. Make no mistake, if we win the league this year I will go mental, and won't give a damn who won the CL.

Yes I want us to win it one year, but every season I become less and less bothered about it, and it could never be on a par with being unequivocally the best team in your country. THAT is a real badge of honour.

Totally agree, the CL is still a knockout competition but to be champions means your the best in the country over the whole year. You cant beat that IMHO.

I know what the original poster was saying though about the cup. For me/us its still about winning trophies, i'd take the cup at the start of the season all day. I'm not blaze' enough to even dissregard the carling cup i just want to win whatever we can whenever we can. Having said that we've been top nearly all season and i'd hate to lose the league now, it would feel like a 6.5 out of 10.

So lets go all out to be champions and the who knows, we will hopefully have the chance in the cup final to either soften the blow of just missing out on the title or to make it the greatest season in our history.

Either way it aint bad is it?

[loz]

The Premiership is far and away the most important prize every season.

[bjd]

F*k the CL, it's about the Premeriship title every single time. Make no mistake, if we win the league this year I will go mental, and won't give a damn who won the CL.

Yes I want us to win it one year, but every season I become less and less bothered about it, and it could never be on a par with being unequivocally the best team in your country. THAT is a real badge of honour.

Post of the week. Take a bow son.

[PloKoon13]

I completely agree with Loz and Tim. Even if the Champions League wasn't rigged and full of cheating bar stewards, there is no thrill on the same level as winning the Premiership.

Plus in the Champions League there's no way of humiliating Tottenham every season.

[loz]

We have actually done this Premiership vs CL thing before and I have linked to it below

http://www.theshedend.com/index.php?showto...t=0&start=0

The Premiership came out on top but not by as much as I expected it to. I think there is some truth in the claim that fans in the UK are more likely to opt for the domestic title whereas fans abroad are maybe more likely to opt for the CL (though I don't mean in that in a sweeping way)

[barak81]

Don't give a stuff about the CL - Sure it would be nice to win but personly I conisder the whole thing a bit Micky Mouse!

I dont see why a team that doesn't win there league should be in the competition.

In a land long before the UCL. there was somthing called a European cup, this was quite an open cometition and a team called red star belgrade even manager to win it once. It was a smaller humbler vertion of the UCL but it's exsistnece meant that the other two European trophys, the uefa cup and the cup winners cup had real value. A real eruopean adventure. And in turn it ment that the domestic cup's where right up there, Probably better to come 6/7th and win a cup than to come 4th back then.

The ULC is massivly responcible for sucking the destroying the game, that and sky sports.

[Tim]

Cheers Bjd, I just can't see how a cup competition - which always relies on a huge amount of luck, even if you ignore the huge amount of dodgy/corrupt referring in the CL- can ever be valued above a season long competition where the best team always, always wins.

That certainty alone, even if you're not based in the UK, should make it a no brainer in my mind.

[Chippy]

To win the Premier league a team has to earn more points home and away than three or four top class teams, keep the same concentration on a warm day at the Emirates as they do on a freezing night at the Reebok,

players and Managers have to pit their wits against fast flowing footbal and physical stop start hustle and they have to do it well over 38 matches against teams that see you play week in week out and watch for any weakness they can exploit..to me that is a lot harder to achieve than playing in a mini league of four usually knowing anything lower than second is unlikely with a decent team then going through to a group of sixteen likely that has been hand picked to be most interesting for Platini or Sky TV.

I would choose the Prem every time over the CL and the main attraction left in the CL to me is to stick it up em, thats something that will be very difficult unless a huge change in the way games are refereed occurs as I truely believe there is an agenda against this Chelsea team from Media and officialdom alike and although it is obviously not blatent enough to stop a team in top form, added to any problems we have it makes for a sufficient handicap.

I loved the old European Cup and the Cup winners Cup and to win the CW Cup in 71 and then again when Zola came on and within two minutes had scored the winner was magic.

for me I'd rate the competitions:

League 10

CL 8

FA Cup 8

Carling Cup 6

[Englishman]

The ULC is massivly responcible for sucking the destroying the game, that and sky sports.

The Champions League is a competition killer. With the money involved it's almost a cartel with mostly the same big teams in it year in, year out. It killed the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup by taking away all the best teams. It's because of the Champions League that many teams and their fans would rather finish 4th and win nothing than finish 6th and win the FA Cup.

Years ago I saw an interview with Brian Clough where he said he would forfeit the European Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup at the start of the season in return for winning the league, and I agree with him. The league is the ultimate test and always my #1 priority.

[Tea Bar Boy]

42 points and avoid relegation is enough for me .

Anything else is a bonus

[coco]

If you win the league, you will see at least 25 victories for your team, if you win the chumps league you could achieve it with as little as 5 or 6 victories.

What do you want, a quickie with a garlic breathed, greasy skinned bird, or would you prefer an all night romp with an English rose ?

[jcm28]

for me I'd rate the competitions:

League 10

CL 8

FA Cup 8

Carling Cup 6

So you believe winning the FA Cup feels as good as a CL?

[Chippy]

So you believe winning the FA Cup feels as good as a CL?

Although its hard to answer your question as I've experienced one but not the other I'll try to explain.

I very nearly gave the FA Cup nine to be honest, its a top competition and its only gone down to almost CC level in some peoples eyes because of the CL and the money involved, well I don't get shares in any winnings and I don't like the format or the way the CL is run so in a word yes.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Chippy

[loz]

I can appreciate where Chippy is coming from. I think sometimes we forget (or maybe don't know if you are a bit younger) quite how enormous a deal winning the FA Cup used to be. The FA Cup final itself was a massive sporting event and though I don't speak fort anyone else, I would never miss it irrespective of who was in the final.

The CL, and more importantly, clubs like Man Utd and Arsenal playing weakened teams in it (something we so far have largely avoided doing and I hope we continue to do so) has had a detrimental impact on its prestige.

Personally I don't think the CL has been in any way good for football other than bringing in hard cash.

If I had my way we would go back the way things used to be. A European cup for the champions, UEFA Cup for a few runners up spots and the Cup Winners Cup for the Cup Winners (funnily enough!). All three would be knock outs from the first leg and the prize money wouldn't be so ridiculously weighted toward the European Cup.

That way we would get three credible tournaments back which were memorable to win, and watch, and which clubs were motivated to win (rather than doing an Aston Villa).

We would also have European football on a maximum of two nights a week instead of papping the 'other tournaments' onto Thursday night.

[ColeMan]

I can appreciate where Chippy is coming from. I think sometimes we forget (or maybe don't know if you are a bit younger) quite how enormous a deal winning the FA Cup used to be. The FA Cup final itself was a massive sporting event and though I don't speak fort anyone else, I would never miss it irrespective of who was in the final.

The CL, and more importantly, clubs like Man Utd and Arsenal playing weakened teams in it (something we so far have largely avoided doing and I hope we continue to do so) has had a detrimental impact on its prestige.

Personally I don't think the CL has been in any way good for football other than bringing in hard cash.

If I had my way we would go back the way things used to be. A European cup for the champions, UEFA Cup for a few runners up spots and the Cup Winners Cup for the Cup Winners (funnily enough!). All three would be knock outs from the first leg and the prize money wouldn't be so ridiculously weighted toward the European Cup.

That way we would get three credible tournaments back which were memorable to win, and watch, and which clubs were motivated to win (rather than doing an Aston Villa).

We would also have European football on a maximum of two nights a week instead of papping the 'other tournaments' onto Thursday night.

I agree entirely Loz, the whole point of the initial group stages in the UCL, is to reduce the possibility of one of the bigger clubs going out in the early stages, as could have happened to Barca this season.

Cup competitions should be knock-out from the outset.

The problem is money, as always.

Listening to an interview the other day, with regards to the EPL having 80% of the debt in european football, one of the "experts" interjected, that a collapse of Sky television, and the resultant reduction in revenue to the clubs would result in the almost, immediate collapse of the EPL, food for thought .

[Mod]

What do you want, a quickie with a garlic breathed, greasy skinned bird, or would you prefer an all night romp with an English rose ?

:D Good analysis, but remember you have to pay the French pimp the most to get a duration of time with the garlic breathed, greasy skinned bird!

[OlitheBlue]

[quote

What do you want, a quickie with a garlic breathed, greasy skinned bird, or would you prefer an all night romp with an English rose ?

Can I change my original opinion!? :D