Would we cope with European football ??

[pangy]

Been talking to a Spurs supporting mate who thinks we can make Europe this season,and it got me thinking would we be able to cope with European football and a full prem schedule Saturday/Thursday/Sunday games ? we have a small squad as it is and we would need to have a much bigger squad to even think of competing at that level,if you look at the size of the Spurs squad they still seem to be struggling after the European fixtures and there squad is twice the size of ours.the same at Everton

 

Would you want European football next season or do you think we are not ready for it yet ?

[simo]

It would affect our league form but I can take midtable for a European tour

[The9]

You've JUST thought of this?

 

If we made the Europa League or CL we'd need to sign at least 6 more starting-standard players to avoid being in a relegation scrap at Xmas. Too many matches. Swansea had it just about right when they were in Europe last season, bolstered their squad heavily and are showing the benefit of it this year, having shed the dead weight in the summer.

[CB Fry]

We will never be "ready for it" any better than now.

 

If we get it next season, in either comp, great.

 

It will almost inevitably impact our league form - we can't expect to fight on that many fronts and not suffer.

 

A European adventure and mid table Prem sounds okay to me. With our resources and approach, expecting Euro football every season is pretty fanciful. Take it when it comes.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

We will never be "ready for it" any better than now.

 

If we get it next season, in either comp, great.

 

It will almost inevitably impact our league form - we can't expect to fight on that many fronts and not suffer.

 

A European adventure and mid table Prem sounds okay to me. With our resources and approach, expecting Euro football every season is pretty fanciful. Take it when it comes.

 

Yeah, I'll go along with this. I'd take a slight (by that I mean not pushing the top end but not flirting with relegation either) dip in the league for a run in Europe, even if just for the one season.

 

Can't see any way in which we would be in Europe without domestic form suffering to be honest.

[Micky]

You've JUST thought of this?

 

If we made the Europa League or CL we'd need to sign at least 6 more starting-standard players to avoid being in a relegation scrap at Xmas. Too many matches. Swansea had it just about right when they were in Europe last season, bolstered their squad heavily and are showing the benefit of it this year, having shed the dead weight in the summer.

 

Pretty much this. Would love to see some European football, but we didn't 'cope' yesterday when we lost Morgan for half a game. Don't want it if it jeopardises our Prem status though.

[The9]

Just to clarify, I regard the bottom half as "being in a relegation scrap at Xmas", so it's perfectly possible we would just faff about in mid-table, but you wouldn't want an injury crisis on top of a stretched squad like the one we've got at the moment with an extra 10 or so matches. I guess we could reduce the impact a little by putting the kids out in the League Cup and FA Cup, but ideally we'd want to be competing on all fronts - also Europe removes the need to compete in the first two rounds of the League Cup anyway.

[the saint in winchester]

no.

Not got the squad rotation to cope. Not yet anyway. If we get a windfall for finishing top 4, then use that money to strengthen the squad.

[Window Cleaner]

no.

Not got the squad rotation to cope. Not yet anyway. If we get a windfall for finishing top 4, then use that money to strengthen the squad.

 

Do we not still have money in hand from our summer sales, I thought that we did, perhaps not though.

[Dalek2003]

Getting into Europe would be a disaster. Finishing 8th is ideal.

[Whitey Grandad]

Getting into Europe would be a disaster. Finishing 8th is ideal.

 

I thought 17th was all you were aiming for?

[VectisSaint]

Thinking we could cope with Europa League (or CL) with the squad size we have is really stretching the limit a bit. We would be seriously in danger of exiting through the trap door if we tried it. We don't have a big enough squad for 3 competitions let alone 4. I'm sure the Club realise this even if some of our posters here don't, we would probably need to bring in about 6 more players minimum.

[sandwichsaint]

If we don't have MS and JC on Weds and throw in the current non-form of GP and DT you could say we are struggling with the PL at the moment. We would need another 6 PL standard players to play in the Thursday cup and still stay competitive in the League.

[Batman]

when you look at spurs and everton (their squads) and see how they are doing in the league tells you what we would need

[Picard]

We could always use the Hull strategy.

In fact which positions in the league would result in a playoff to get to the group stages?

[Redslo]

We could always use the Hull strategy.

In fact which positions in the league would result in a playoff to get to the group stages?

 

I don't think it was actually a strategy.

 

If we qualified for Europe we would sign extra players next summer. Presumably ones who are good enough to play so that we would not be as reliant on the same 11 to 14 players.

 

Here is a link that explains where teams qualify in Europe. It is slightly out of date since the Europa Cup winner now qualifies for the Champions League, but otherwise it is good.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_clubs_in_international_competition

[Dalek2003]

I thought 17th was all you were aiming for?

 

I wouldn't be that disappointed if we finished 17th. There is only really one objective for each season...avoid being relegated.

[bangkoksaint]

We won't need to

[Doctoroncall]

I don't think it was actually a strategy.

 

If we qualified for Europe we would sign extra players next summer. Presumably ones who are good enough to play so that we would not be as reliant on the same 11 to 14 players.

 

Here is a link that explains where teams qualify in Europe. It is slightly out of date since the Europa Cup winner now qualifies for the Champions League, but otherwise it is good.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_clubs_in_international_competition

 

 

If it happens, it will be interesting to see what the club do to adapt to the increased number of games and introducing the young players. The danger of bringing in additional players will impact the playing development of younger players, especially if it's a short lived European campaign.

[Saint in Paradise]

Beware all of you that are talking realistic sense - the happy clappers will be along

very soon and accuse you of being bedwetters. :D

[Golden Balls]

Now? No. 2 transfer windows later? Probably.

[trousers]

If we qualified for Europe wouldn't we simply expand the squad to cope with the additional demands? Or am I missing something obvious?

[Goatboy]

If we qualified for Europe wouldn't we simply expand the squad to cope with the additional demands? Or am I missing something obvious?

 

Obviously you are missing the sheer lunacy of Saintsweb.

[S-Clarke]

It would stretch the squad and would cause a hangover in the league, pretty much guaranteed. Look at Everton this year for a fine example. It's a hell of a lot of travelling, shorter windows for match preparation etc. We'd need to add 4 or 5 of decent quality to spread the squad out a bit and allow players rest and recovery time, otherwise it could lead to be a bit of a nightmare season and our European adventure would be a distant memory.

 

Never been a big fan of the Europa league anyway tbh.

[cellone]

Obviously you are missing the sheer lunacy of Saintsweb.

 

So we'd adapt steadily as a team whilst a percentage of fans lost their s hit.

 

Onwards

[Rebel]

At the moment we don't have the strength in depth to keep our good form going for a whole premier league season - the Europa League or Champions League would be a stretch too far by quite a long way.

 

We need at least two good players for each position - and players versatile enough to five us some tactical flexibility.

 

Against Citeh our front three looked tired and out of form - but we really only had Shane Long on the bench as an option to change things around and freshen it up - also with a Cork out, Morgan getting injured, Davis not match fit and Big Vic booked early on in the game even in our strongest position - central midfield - we looked a bit short

 

Right now we can't afford to rest players from our first 11 and compete with the big boys.

 

But who is to say we won't strengthen in January and add the strength in depth we need to compete in Europe and at home.

 

Sam Byram for right back, Nathan Redmond for right wing, Scott Sinclair on loan to play on either wing, Danny Ings or John Guidetti up front and Virgil Van Dijk in defence would give us a bit more competition for places and a bit more depth to the squad

[Patrick Bateman]

If we qualified for Europe wouldn't we simply expand the squad to cope with the additional demands? Or am I missing something obvious?

 

You're right, it really should be that obvious.

 

I presume the Europa League wouldn't be a) as much of a pull and b) give us a great deal more cash to strengthen though.

 

Assuming;

1. we have no decent young players to come through next year (I don't know if this is true, but let's assume that is the case)

2. that Jay Rod gets fit before next summer and stays

3. likewise JWP

4. We don't lose any more players (!!)

 

What do we need, a goalie, another right back, a centre back, a defensive midfielder, 2 forward players?

 

If we get some decent young players come through, then bonus. If we lose any existing players (which could easily happen still), then Europe will still be a step too far for the squad.

[Pastor Patrón]

Sam Byram for right back, Nathan Redmond for right wing, Scott Sinclair on loan to play on either wing, Danny Ings or John Guidetti up front and Virgil Van Dijk in defence

 

 

Do you even Dybala?

 

[Saint Garrett]

All our games would be on Sunday's it would be a nightmare.

[GarrettIvo]

Piece of cake.

Let's win both Cups this season. And top 6 while we're at it. Buy six or seven starting level additions, then play Europa next season, ignore the Cups and remain in the top 6.

Simple in theory. In practice, not so much.

[saint-crinny]

We would undoubtedly struggle to juggle everything, and would almost certainly custard pie the League Cup, but i doubt it would impact enough for a relegation battle, especially with some decent additions that would naturally follow, so would definitely be worth it in my book.

 

Would be great to see some decent (and completely unheard of) teams at SMS.

[Smirking_Saint]

We will never be "ready for it" any better than now.

 

If we get it next season, in either comp, great.

 

It will almost inevitably impact our league form - we can't expect to fight on that many fronts and not suffer.

 

A European adventure and mid table Prem sounds okay to me. With our resources and approach, expecting Euro football every season is pretty fanciful. Take it when it comes.

 

Both this and The9s posts above, though Id suggest that we would likely have to habe a terrible 2015 to not make Europe in some form and as such Id like to think the club is beginning to plan for that.

 

As others have said it would no doubt affect our league form in the 15/16 campaign unless we started to bulk the squad out a bit more. Thankfully we have a few youngsters there or there abouts which would come in useful however a lot of our form this year is due to consistancy of selection, something we wouldnt be afforded if we were playing in that many conpetitions.

 

We will need another 5-6 to what we have now IMO, and thats forgetting that Toby and Ryan are on loan here, I can see us signing on Bertrand permanently but Toby is a step above, Id love to secure him but dont see it, and so we will need another CB so make that likely 6-7 recruitments of some discription.

 

Personally if the club has any sense they would try to get 1-3 in during Jan.

[doddisalegend]

We couldn't cope with competing with the big boys in the PL last season trailing off after a good start even without giving the cups a go. This season will be the same IMO except we are giving it a go in the cups (which I'm all for). If (big if IMO) we do manage to stay the distance in the PL (or win a cup) we will never cope with European games as well next season with out a massive increase in squad depth and that doesn't just mean more players but good quality players. To compete in Europe you literally need two 1st elevens I can't imagine we could ever afford that or attract enough players of the required quality.

[Wiggles31]

The thought of Wolfsburg away is somewhat appealing.

 

We would need more depth in the squad but I'm sure they already have planned for this if we do manage Europe. I personally think we'll get into the Europa via cup final or our league position. Is it 5th and 6th position?