Just noticing some comments on Match day thread about how important the FA Cup is to some while others would prefer Champions League place in Top 4 and don’t really care about the cup.

I think newer fans probably prefer Top 4 while us oldies would rather win the cup.

In saying that however I know if we won the cup I’d still be fairly pissed off watching us on Thursday nights 

Would imagine the board would prefer Top 4

Top four.

Need that CL to bring in players and keep our current ones happy.

 

3 minutes ago, JoeyN said:

Top four.

Need that CL to bring in players and keep our current ones happy.

 

Exactly. Although a trophy would be very nice, money and status wise playing in the CL is more important.

I always wonder with these questions, why not both?

One thing putting me off FA Cup is we'd have to be in the europa league next year. 

3 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I always wonder with these questions, why not both?

One thing putting me off FA Cup is we'd have to be in the europa league next year. 

Of course both would be the best option but some think that we should sacrifice the cup team to help get into top 4.

I agree about Europa League, don’t like it.

The 4rsenal Participation Trophy + the sweet top 4 cash outweighs the real silverware unfortunately

We can do both. We were a different ref away form doing so in the cup final last year.

5 hours ago, goose said:

Of course both would be the best option but some think that we should sacrifice the cup team to help get into top 4.

I agree about Europa League, don’t like it.

But that's my problem with the question. The FA Cup doesn't really get going until the semi final for a club our level. It's two games in reality. So why are we discussing rotating?

Our club should be playing the strongest team in those games. I've no interest in rotating at the backend of a season and think a cup final on the calendar would make the team play better in the league. 

6 hours ago, axman2526 said:

We can do both. We were a different ref away form doing so in the cup final last year.

Agreed.

Top 4. Can’t stand the EL. It only gets decent in the semi’s/final. All the matches before that are boring. 

Fa cup every time. 

Fa cup all day long, but this season maybe an exception simply because us fans won’t be there, so won’t feel the same, winning in an empty stadium. Not  a better feeling getting up early on cup final day, usually sunny and warm (1994 exception) and making your way for pre match drinks, then off to the old stadium, the journey home after winning, us oldies can remember 1997 what a day! Compare that to the huge excitement and celebration of finishing 4th? ....yea great, Gee whiz we finished 4th, let’s all have a party! Na not for me,‘Wembley, Wembley’ all day long

32 minutes ago, chi blue said:

Fa cup all day long, but this season maybe an exception simply because us fans won’t be there, so won’t feel the same, winning in an empty stadium. Not  a better feeling getting up early on cup final day, usually sunny and warm (1994 exception) and making your way for pre match drinks, then off to the old stadium, the journey home after winning, us oldies can remember 1997 what a day! Compare that to the huge excitement and celebration of finishing 4th? ....yea great, Gee whiz we finished 4th, let’s all have a party! Na not for me,‘Wembley, Wembley’ all day long

Wait....remembering 1997 makes you an oldie?

Oh sheet. 

Edited February 6, 20215 yr by bisright1

Been a Chelsea fan for 25 years now, so I would not consider myself a 'newer' fan and its Top4 all day long.

The priority is not close to being like Arsenal. I want to be in the CL to win it as we saw in 2012. Top 4 means more money for an owner and club who have ambition to recruit better players which means the increased chance to win the PL and CL. Simple.

I always find it amusing why we as fans have been coerced into believing that finishing fourth is success. Yes we gain qualification into a tournament that pays a vast amount of money into the corporate side of the club in order to buy more expensive flops to run a campaign again aimed at finishing at least fourth. Yes the club gets richer but unless we win the league or the holy grail of the Champions League really it’s all meaningless other than the status of being a top six club. The FA Cup is a piece of silverware with a long tradition, it may not carry the money unfortunately of a place with the elite but us as fans should crave winning trophies above how many millions the club has banked. 

I'm old school, so I vote the FA Cup.

Though, I understand why a lot of supporters think top 4 is the priority due to the obvious financial benefits of playing Champions League football.

The F.A cup. It's a trophy, nothing beats seeing your team win a trophy. Also, you never know when you are going to see your club win a trophy again, so you should enjoy every second of it.

What does Champions League qualification bring? More money for the club........that's nice, but it doesn't guarantee anything. A chance to win possibly the biggest competition in club football........yeah, but it's just a chance. Feeling like you have a chance at winning a trophy is no comparison to actually winning a trophy.

I'm amazed so may prefer a top 4 finish over an actual trophy, who the hell remembers when we finished top 4 that time over when we won the FA Cup? 

2 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

The F.A cup. It's a trophy, nothing beats seeing your team win a trophy. Also, you never know when you are going to see your club win a trophy again, so you should enjoy every second of it.

What does Champions League qualification bring? More money for the club........that's nice, but it doesn't guarantee anything. A chance to win possibly the biggest competition in club football........yeah, but it's just a chance. Feeling like you have a chance at winning a trophy is no comparison to actually winning a trophy.

A chance is a chance, imagine if we had the choice in 2011 choose FA Cup which would have meant no Munich.

In isolation ofcourse i'd prefer a cup but i see it as similar to rolling the dice further, to me finishing 4th isn't a trophy but it's similar to a country winning their WC qualifying group, hopefully part of the way to getting one.

Furthermore this is all pretty moot, with our squad depth and Tuchel's tactical ability we should feesably be able to achieve both, there's even a small chance of CL this term anyway if everything goes our way.

4 hours ago, dkw said:

I'm amazed so may prefer a top 4 finish over an actual trophy, who the hell remembers when we finished top 4 that time over when we won the FA Cup? 

Did you not read some of the replies including mine with justification as to why?

Top 4 + ambition = PL and CL hopes. Do you think we splashed 200m just to finish in the top 4? Obviously that's the aim now because of our bad run but the investment is to build for bigger trophies and as a fan that's what I want to see. 

Granted the FA Cup is the biggest domestic trophy but look around all the big clubs in Europe im sure the fans of other big clubs would have the same relative preference.

I mean, we've become so big over the last 2 decades that none of our fa cup wins spring to my memory when I smile looking back at our success. That is solely all of our PL triumphs and most of all Munich 2012.

Also the fact of the matter is, the FA Cup is no longer what it once was. The prestige has been diluted massively. Arsenal have won like 3 of the last 5 or 6 FA Cups and no one really remembers that or gives a toss. Their fans are still not happy and rival fans still mock them as failures.

Disagree with everything you just said, and I`m sure the majority of players would too. The whole point of football is to win, win games, win trophies. There are 4 trophies per season to win, 1 is almost impossible in the CL, 1 is very very difficult at the moment in the Premier League. The FA cup and league cup are 2 trophies we can win and should be trying to win every single season. Any win kicks a group of players on, look at the impact winning the League cup had on our team when Jose arrived. Wanting to get top 4 so we can enter a competition we have very little chance of winning the following season because we get some money and some new shiny players is just not what I see as entertaining and worthwhile.

I'm gonna say FA Cup, like said earlier there is only 4 trophies up for grabs and we have the strongest league in the world so you can't just assume you can win a domestic trophy whenever you want.

Also winning is a mentality thing so the aim should be number 1 in whatever competition you're in and winning breeds confidence.

Besides, one of the problems we have is the manager doesn't even get to spend the money how he wants and then gets sacked for not making it work , so the money we get from the top 4 isn't used in the best way IMO.

40 minutes ago, dkw said:

Disagree with everything you just said, and I`m sure the majority of players would too. The whole point of football is to win, win games, win trophies. There are 4 trophies per season to win, 1 is almost impossible in the CL, 1 is very very difficult at the moment in the Premier League. The FA cup and league cup are 2 trophies we can win and should be trying to win every single season. Any win kicks a group of players on, look at the impact winning the League cup had on our team when Jose arrived. Wanting to get top 4 so we can enter a competition we have very little chance of winning the following season because we get some money and some new shiny players is just not what I see as entertaining and worthwhile.

If we don't finish top 4 we don't win the champions league. 

That's what a lot of players will think. 

But as has been said by me and couple of others. The debate is pointless. I wouldn't rotate our squad in either competition from the semi final/april onward.  

Obviously myself and everyone else on here would be happier with an fa cup win than a 4th place "trophy". But the point being made is that 4th place could lead to the big one. 5th place leads to nothing. 

People are saying finishing top 4 increases the chance of winning PL or CL. Sure I understand that, but give me the FA Cup over Champions League anyday - Champions League is just all ££££. FA Cup is much more prestigious with a lot of history.

Winning the PL takes priority of course.