top 4 is worth it, we need it to entice the better class players to us.
We need the revenue that is going towards having to pay out a significant amount of money on transfer fees
and I an talking astronomical amounts to get this side moving towards the class you saw tonight

As a United fan I can completely understand where you’re coming from with this.

Top 4 is all about the money.

If i;m honest i would much rather win a trophy or 2 in a season. Sadly clubs think different due to the huge revenue the CL offers.

In 20 years no ones gonna give a monkeys that Arsenal/Chelsea finished 4th in 2020 ect but in 20 years you will always remember Arsenal/Chelsea winning the Europa/FA Cup or League Cup.

If you want to be the best, you need to be playing against the best. Unless you're a club like Spurs who haven't won a trophy in yonks, or you need to win it to qualify for the CL, there's only so much you can gain from beating Frankfurt or Benfica to win the Europa.

The younger players in particular need the experience of playing these teams regularly.

I'm an arsenal fan mate, watching my club get the chit kicked out of us by any decent team in the CL made me feel the same way.

However, money talks. You get a lot more of it with CL football than without.

It's not just the CL itself though that you need the qualification for. You need it more importantly to attract the best players to help you challenge domestically.

You're unlikely to ever challenge for the league playing Europa league football- when was the last side that actually did that?

The OP is aware of the benefits of CL football. It just asks whether it’s better to be in a competition to can win is better than being in one you have no chance of, if you exclude those factors.

I am aware of what hes thinking but again, the problem with Europa is that you do not meet the quality of teams you would in champs league.
And if you do well in europa I think it masks the level you are really at.
The champs league shows you as you could see tonight against Bayern
Lets be honest here, we won the champs league last season and what did it really show us.
its also a very lon gcompetition that takes its toll on sides who do not have the depth

sorry meant won europa league

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And if you do well in europa I think it masks the level you are really at.
The champs league shows you as you could see tonight against Bayern
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Good point. From the prospective of self evaluation it's the only true test, and I'll admit before tonight though I didn't expect us to win over two legs I did expect us to compete. Now I know.

The point I was making was purposing a more philosophical question then questioning the value of consistent CL qualification, which is obvious. Simply would you rather be a small fish in a big pond knowing you don't belong there, or be a big fish in a medium sized pond knowing you're in your element?

The quality of teams we faced in the group-stage alone was better than anyone we played in the Europa last season.
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Arsenal aren't that bad

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The EPL has all of the money though so what is the reason behind this? Just throwing money at players and mangers not actually concentrating on the basics?

The Europa league is shiiit anyway until the semi finals pretty much. I’m not sure I can even remember who we played in the quarter finals last season.

The thing with the champions league is you can get far if you get lucky. Say we had won our group this year (which I think we would have if Barkley hadn’t missed the penalty against Valencia). Then I believe we would have ended up playing Atalanta instead of Bayern and we could win that tie and get to the quarter finals. There’s always a couple of average teams in the quarter finals (Liverpool played Porto last year I think). So if you don’t screw up your group like we did and then get lucky with the draws, you have a chance of getting far.

If the EPL has all the money then why do we pee our pants playing Barce, PSG,BM or Real Madrid,?

Can't agree with this.

As much as you might think Chelsea are currently miles off, the way a team plays can change massively over the course of a few months, more so if you have a few young players bedding in, a relatively new manager, and a transfer window in which to strengthen further.

Atlético and Liverpool are two recent examples of teams who a few months off the end of a season looked miles off challenging for the following season's CL only to go on and reach the final.

In both cases they were under a relatively new manager and neither squad looked anywhere near good enough to put in a serious bid for the trophy.

I rate Lampard a lot. He's a smart bloke, who's learning fast and who isn't afraid of making big selection decisions or in-game changes when he sees it running away from him.

You've got good young players at your disposal, an exciting new signing already announced for next season, a team bedding in with your new manager's approach ... if I were a Chelsea fan, I'd absolutely love to see this team having another go at it. However unlikely it might seem, the experience itself is always going to be an important contributor to giving the younger players more experience in the competition too.

Can't agree with this.

As much as you might think Chelsea are currently miles off, the way a team plays can change massively over the course of a few months, more so if you have a few young players bedding in, a relatively new manager, and a transfer window in which to strengthen further.

Atlético and Liverpool are two recent examples of teams who a few months off the end of a season looked miles off challenging for the following season's CL only to go on and reach the final.

In both cases they were under a relatively new manager and neither squad looked anywhere near good enough to put in a serious bid for the trophy.

I rate Lampard a lot. He's a smart bloke, who's learning fast and who isn't afraid of making big selection decisions or in-game changes when he sees it running away from him.

You've got good young players at your disposal, an exciting new signing already announced for next season, a team bedding in with your new manager's approach ... if I were a Chelsea fan, I'd absolutely love to see this team having another go at it. However unlikely it might seem, the experience itself is always going to be an important contributor to giving the younger players more experience in the competition too.
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Great post, completely agree with that viewpoint

It was the feeling for fraudulence I got that spurred this article last night, a sense of how powerfully we looked like we didn't belong on the pitch with a genuine CL contender. Never felt that as a Chelsea fan in Europe, ever, even in 99-00 when players like Maldini, Leonardo, Mancini, Nedved, Rivaldo, Figo & more all came to the Bridge.

Also what to stress it wasn't meant to be sour or defeatist in any way, simply to acknowledge where we are & state my preference for us to re-enter the Champions League again when we're ready & not before. If that happened to be next year via all the reasons you listed - fantastic.

jeezus h devil...what is this sorcery you preach

We need to be at the top table to entice the best players & play the best teams...the fackin Euromick sucks balls

you go away and think about your conduct lad

I've never looked at the Europa as worthless the way some do, but this was more to do with my respect for the Champions League than anything else.

Watching us last night was like watching England at any World Cup in my lifetime (minus the last one). Being 2nd best vs. better is one thing, but when you ask yourself the question what are we doing here that's something different.

Not sure last night was like England at world cups. Bar Germany in 2010, we are never outclassed like Chelsea were.