22 May 2026 17:50:43
So who wants Conference League or prefers to have no European football and to focus on EPL?
22 May 2026 18:43:41
J, let's win tomorrow and hope to better Brighton's result. We are in the Europa League and have a crack at winning it and qualifying for the Champions League via 2 routes.
22 May 2026 19:42:26
No Conference League for me; no money, no glory. I don't accept the argument that it gives squad players game time. The standard is so poor, we'd be better off playing League 1 sides. With a new manager, one game a week will be an advantage to develop a system of playing on the training ground.
22 May 2026 21:11:06
Whatever the competition, I want us to win.
I really have no problems with the Conference League. I'm sure there are lots of clubs who would love the opportunity to participate in any European competition.
22 May 2026 21:59:59
Tom, you are old school like me. We pay our money, support our team, and celebrate a pot. Lots on here downplayed our Conference League and CWC wins. You and I celebrated them. I would take a punt that you were at our Milk Cup Finals and celebrating.
I certainly was. I welcome the new supporters with open arms, but they don't know the fabric of what it is like to follow this great club of ours.
22 May 2026 22:54:32
Greenaway, I'm not a new supporter but I have no interest in the Conference League for the reasons I have already stated.
23 May 2026 07:48:54
The question was about whether it might be better for the club and squad only to have the league and domestic cups to focus on in terms of regaining Champions League qualification. UEFA league qualification does offer an alternative route to this if we win it. Conference League does not, and can entail much long-distance travel to tricky places to get to.
Obviously, once we are in a competition, we want to win it. But the question is about priorities, and, as Eden Hazard just said, surely our club must be about Champions League qualification, to be a regular in that European competition, plus top 4 or 5 in the league, and soon be able to mount a real challenge in both.
23 May 2026 09:09:38
J, as match going fans, we love the European adventure, new cities, vibes, cultures. Let's beat Sunderland tomorrow and better Brighton's result and we are in the Europa League.
23 May 2026 11:13:33
Greenawaty, I get that and have enjoyed those trips in the past, but just think that this is a key moment for CFC and last season unravelled partly cos of transfer business, partly cos of managerial problems and partly cos most of our squad were pretty knackered cos of no proper R&R and pre-season after last season. That's why I thought we could finish as low as 7th this season, though we had shown in the CWC final (albeit against an even more knackered PSG?) that we had the quality to be in the top 4 and perhaps as high as 3rd.
Like others, I am v sorry for some of our v best players who did not make their respective national World Cup squads, but some who really needed to, like Cole and Levi, can hopefully either get further treatment (op?) if needed, and/or get rest and then rebuild fitness properly.
But yes, the Europa League would be ok, as it does offer, if winning it, a route to the Champions League, and the teams in the competition will not include nearly as many unknowns — or hugely diminished erstwhile European greats like Ajax (don't want CFC to join that category!) — as the Conference League. So, I am personally not keen on Conference League participation again.
23 May 2026 11:28:14
I'm not keen and neither have I been in the ECL despite winning it all.
West Ham have won it, and Palace are in this season's final, so the tournament is no great shakes.
Man U showed that, despite being poor, more time on the training ground with the coach helps no end.
23 May 2026 14:19:38
The Europa Conference League is Europe's 3rd-tier competition, the equivalent of the old UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a competition I so fondly remember us winning in 1998. Some clubs used to treat the League Cup with disdain, but thankfully that attitude has changed.
23 May 2026 17:55:35
RPD, The Cup Winners Cup surprisingly was for cup winners, and the standard of participants was higher. There are teams in the Conference League that would struggle in the National League.
23 May 2026 19:28:16
Like Noah FC or Shamrock Rovers.