How important is it to qualify for the CL this season?

NinjaZombie said:
Maybe we'd actually get players who want to improve and get the club back where it should be, maybe we'd get lower quality players, who knows?
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Would take lower quality if they had the necessary heart and desire like you say
 
croadyman said:
Ronnie's CL form is going to disintegrate sooner or later I am sorry to tell you
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Unless Atletico is really really shit it's delusional to think Ronaldo would score against them based on his previous records. He's simply no longer that player.

If Atletico is a bit decent our midfield would typically struggle against theirs. We won't dominate and won't create any easy chance for Ronaldo to tap in and when he can't tap in he'll basically do feck all as usual.

I don't event want to talk about our pressing because it won't exist with him playing either. We'll effectively play with 10 men again and it'll need a bloody miracle for us to beat them in this case. Unless they're really really shit.
 
I'd rather play in a competition we actually have a chance of winning (Europa). There's no buzz about group stage games in any European completion anymore so it's the knock outs that get the juices flowing. Would I rather only 2 CL games in the last 16 against Sevilla or Ath. Madrid or later stage QF/SF knock out games In the Europa against the likes of AC Milan and Roma? The latter for me.
Oh how standards have dropped!
 
If we have to take a step back for long term benefit, so be it. Look at Klopp and Liverpool for an example of that.

We have no chance of winning the Champions League with our squad, so aside from money and hypothetical transfers; we hired Jose and bought Pogba/Zlatan in a Europa League season, I don't see the difference.

There's no way Ten Hag for example turns us down because of one Europa League season.

This club needs to work towards winning the Champions League, qualifying is only good enough for the board's and the players pockets.
 
We are 23 points of Man City with 14 games still to play.

It doesn’t matter if we finish in the top 4 or not. We are never competing for the premier league again until the Glazers leave.
 
ManchesterManchester said:
We are 23 points of Man City with 14 games still to play.

It doesn’t matter if we finish in the top 4 or not. We are never competing for the premier league again until the Glazers leave.
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Well FSG aren't the best owners but have a world class manager to mask it. We haven't had that skill since Fergie left
 
I said at the time we'd have been better dropping into the Europa than getting to the last 16 CL. It was at least another shot at being in it next season.

Next season will be even harder. Spurs and Arsenal will improve and Newcastle will significantly outspend us (we need almost as big a squad rebuild as them). 2 seasons with no CL we lose Adidas income. Before we know it we could be a midtable side if we don't get recruitment spot on.
 
Leftback99 said:
I said at the time we'd have been better dropping into the Europa than getting to the last 16 CL. It was at least another shot at being in it next season.

Next season will be even harder. Spurs and Arsenal will improve and Newcastle will significantly outspend us (we need almost as big a squad rebuild as them). 2 seasons with no CL we lose Adidas income. Before we know it we could be a midtable side if we don't get recruitment spot on.
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Yeah much like City I am fully expecting the Geordie's to grow as a force in next few years
 
croadyman said:
Ronnie's CL form is going to disintegrate sooner or later I am sorry to tell you
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Oh man where’s the belief? Where’s the love? It’s knock out football - the most prestigious comp in world football, surely we raise our game for this one if no other.
This will be the spark that reignites Ronnie and pushes our season to glory!!! Probably
 
Plant0x84 said:
Oh man where’s the belief? Where’s the love? It’s knock out football - the most prestigious comp in world football, surely we raise our game for this one if no other.
This will be the spark that reignites Ronnie and pushes our season to glory!!! Probably
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We might raise it but not enough to win seven KO games
 
We need a proper rebuild, but the half arsed rebuilds we have attempted.

It's about time we are honest about things and accept that buying a few players won't fix much.
 
croadyman said:
Well FSG aren't the best owners but have a world class manager to mask it. We haven't had that skill since Fergie left
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I understand your point but that is unfair to say FSGare not good owners. They didn’t saddle Liverpool with debt, they have brought in an amazing manager and their recruitment has been spot on.

I have absolutely no faith that the Glazers could bring in a world class manager and support them as required. We can all see their intentions from the Ole appointment, the strategy is for a yes man who will get top 4 every season.
 
It's important because some players might not want to come to a team that doesn't play CL.
I think this is part of why LVG didn't get his first choice targets in his first year.

Pogba will likely leave regardless, and if the new manager doesn't want to start Ronnie, he'll leave on his own accord.
But again, it becomes harder to replace them without CL.
 
Missing one CL for club big as ours is not that big deal.
Sponsors will not leave us because one year without CL.
Money from CL is partly compensated with reducing wages (most players have that clause).
Players will not turn us down/want to leave because of that one year without CL (maybe only older ones like Kane).
We can focus completely on PL next year.

Mine only fear is that we go again with buying "young and hungry" British player and waste money on average Pl players.
 
Players clearly don’t find it that important. They show zero fight when it gets tough.
 
We're going to need to recruit a lot of players this season and it'll much harder if we're not in the CL (which I don't think we will be)
 
I'm not fussed. Nice to have but it's not what matters right now.
 
How important it is for a club like Man Utd not to qualify for the CL?

Just shows how expectations and standards have fallen at the club that this question is even asked.

How many years before we are asking is it really that important for us to stay in the premier league this season?
 
Betson said:
How important it is for a club like Man Utd not to qualify for the CL?

Just shows how expectations and standards have fallen at the club that this question is even asked.

How many years before we are asking is it really that important for us to stay in the premier league this season?
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Worst thing that happened was the CL allowing four teams in. We didn't always qualify going back and it wasn't the end of the world. You then aimed to be champions to get in it, not scrape a Top 4 place.

Make it the European Cup again and bring back the Cup Winners Cup not this poxy Conference league.
 
When you actually think about it, it's not that big a deal for us fans. Our Champions League seasons now consists of six dead rubbers that we a) get dumped out early or b) struggle through before being promptly knocked out by a proper team in the knockout stages. Of course the monetary difference it makes to the club is massive but who gives a feck when it goes straight into the Glazers' pockets and/or shite like Maguire and Wan-Bissaka.
 
croadyman said:
Would take lower quality if they had the necessary heart and desire like you say
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Our players don't lack heart and desire. This is a very top red view of the world.

They lack the technical ability and knowledge to play in the style now being asked of them for 90 minutes. Of course that is very demoralising for them and no wonder they look miserable. But buying worse players is not the answer. Coaching these ones is the answer and then replacing the ones who can't adapt. It will take time.

When we do replace them, we won't be shopping for heart and desire. We will be shopping for intelligence, experience of high press, technique and fitness.
 
UnofficialDevil said:
We bough Sancho Varane and Ronaldo even though we had qualified for the CL so thats a bit of a myth.
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I can see your point but Sancho's money came from last summer, Varane was priced as a slightly better Lindelof due to him having 1 year left and the Ronaldo signing was £20m or so.

Notihng there is extraordinary, although the Glazers shills sold it as such.
 
RedorDead21 said:
from a sporting perspective we miss out on the top players meaning on a sporting perspective our downward trajectory continues. We need a top striker for one and so do all the top teams. Without the CL, coupled with the fact we are in free fall as a club…it’s hard to imagine just great wages will attract that type to the club. Course we won’t win the top trophies next season but maybe the season after if we somehow rescue this season. 4th leaves us no worse off than anyone who didn’t finish as champions in my mind.
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I think one of our big problems recently has been to go for superstars and big names. Without really factoring in how they fit into the team. It happened with Maguire, and more recently and notably, with Ronaldo.

I am not saying by any means that these players don’t do well. A lot of great teams, especially teams like Real Madrid are built that way. But maybe what we need is a summer where we do the opposite. Try to get the team to be greater than the sum of its parts, and then the season after, add the cherry on top. Similar to what Liverpool have done (though they got lucky with Salah and Mane). Honestly, everything feels wrong with this club at the moment, so bringing in a good manager must be the big priority.
 
It's important, however, if we have learned one thing over the past 10 years it's that a short term plan achieves sum total of f all. Hopefully the board have realised that each passing year without success on the pitch will eventually lead to lower revenues. Maybe in the future we can't just buy marquee signings in which case taking a proper long term view and having Rangnick as the overseer makes a lot of sense. Look at what Hassenhuttl has done for Saints with a tiny, nothing budget. Similarly Liverpool have spent a shit tonne less than us. With the right structure we still have the finances to be super competitive so this is the right decision in my book. I don't feel like we are going nowhere and spending a small fortune doing it like under Ole. Who cares about a bit of short term pain if you have a genuinely good process going on? THe way we've been going we were never gonna win a champions league anyway, there's a rot and complacency at the club that needs to be dealt with on every level. If not now then when, no way it cannot get even worse.
 
Champions League helps bring in good players. But a top coach will be more effective in that regard. I think many top young players will look at what happened to VDB and how Jude Bellingham thrived by making a different decision and give us a hard pass. Fixing that is the priority, not UCL.
 
I am not fussed either way. I am more concerned about whether the board will sanction the signing of a midfielder this summer.
 
It’s the only realistic goal we have left this season. It has a huge knock on for sponsorship and recruitment (sounds like morale is another story altogether). So I would say even if you don’t like the way the club is going it’s massive to at least keep qualification as a baseline and something to build upon. I still think we will qualify. Blind faith at this stage but the players who’ll be here next won’t want EL and contrary to recent results we do have the quality to go on a run. Bet ye once Fred gets back we will knick a few more wins again. Really important underrated player.
 
Missing out on the CL is one thing. Having to play in the EL is another. I almost feel like the latter is worse.
 
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