• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

*Official* English Football Season 2015-16

Uppercut

Uppercut

Request Your Custom Title Now!
GIMH said:
Ultimately I just think it's one of them. Going to Eastern Europe and knowing a bad night could send you out of the competition in October carries a lot more pressure than being able to absorb a loss because you have five more group games, but the higher volume of good sides probably does swing it in favour of Halsey's argument. I just don't think it's cut and dry.
Click to expand...
Right, but this just means greater variance, not a lower chance of winning. To the extent that it makes it tougher for British teams, it makes it easier for the crack Eastern European teams with bent refs that they have to visit. The argument cancels itself out.

I don't think it really makes sense to say that the trophy ever gets more or less difficult to win overall. There's always one winner, and roughly the same number of teams trying to win it. It's just that before 1999, a lot more teams were filtered out before the tournament even began. A big part of the challenge was qualifying, and since the previous winners did that automatically, it was a lot easier to retain.
 
GIMH

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
Uppercut said:
Right, but this just means greater variance, not a lower chance of winning. To the extent that it makes it tougher for British teams, it makes it easier for the crack Eastern European teams with bent refs that they have to visit. The argument cancels itself out.

I don't think it really makes sense to say that the trophy ever gets more or less difficult to win overall. There's always one winner, and roughly the same number of teams trying to win it. It's just that before 1999, a lot more teams were filtered out before the tournament even began. A big part of the challenge was qualifying, and since the previous winners did that automatically, it was a lot easier to retain.
Click to expand...
The logic that it was easier to retain surely only stands if it was easier to win, though?

The winners have always been there the following year so I don't see how this makes sense. Otherwise I agree.
 
Uppercut

Uppercut

Request Your Custom Title Now!
GIMH said:
The logic that it was easier to retain surely only stands if it was easier to win, though?

The winners have always been there the following year so I don't see how this makes sense. Otherwise I agree.
Click to expand...
No because qualifying used to be hard, and now it's not. Qualifying was probably sometimes harder than winning it once you were in. So being the holder used to be a much bigger advantage than it is now.
 
GIMH

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
Uppercut said:
No because qualifying used to be hard, and now it's not. Qualifying was probably sometimes harder than winning it once you were in. So being the holder used to be a much bigger advantage than it is now.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Not sure I completely agree but I can see your logic.
 
Ikki

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
Probably jinxing us here, but I got a good feeling we'll beat United over two legs. Key players are getting fit and we're playing better. That's all I got.
 
P

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Furball said:
The standard of teams late in the competition is also far higher, making it harder to retain.
Click to expand...
At the same time the concentration of the best players at the best clubs has increased, I am sure that it is harder to retain now but still think it is surprising that Barca/Real/Bayern have not manged it yet.
 
vcs

vcs

Request Your Custom Title Now!
The Europa League is a great tournament and it is a shame the PL sides have traditionally looked down upon it, hopefully that will change this year with some glamour ties. It's just disappointing that it took Man Utd., Liverpool etc. to decline for EPL fans to appreciate it.
 
vcs

vcs

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Fernando Torres used to be awesome for Liverpool once upon a time. How did he turn useless overnight?
 
vcs

vcs

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Yeah, they were good together. But Torres used to score a lot of individual goals back then, even when Gerrard was crap (like in Benitez's last season). He just lost that acceleration after the injuries.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top