What a sad indictment of European Competition.

[Usher wide.]

I watched the Europa League Cup Competition tonight between two English teams that finished 16th & 17th in their domestic league.

I was at least looking for a good ‘English style’ game played out honestly & with guts & ‘gusto’, because that’s why the ‘football world’ are so ‘bought into’ the Premiership yes?

Instead I might have well have been watching two ‘Latino’ teams whose players went to ground more often than pheasants on the glorious 12th! Clutching their faces as if attacked by some ghost like bird of prey. Bloody embarrassing to watch as an English man.

Spurs won this ‘Battle of the Giants’ which will now guarantee them a place in next season’s Champions League, thus enabling them to attract players to the club next season who would otherwise have been out of there reach financially & as attractive as a club.

On Sunday Nottingham Forest will play Chelsea. Both teams having finished the season some 30 points above both Spurs & Man Utd. Only one of them by winning that game game can automatically qualify for Champions League qualification. Where’s the justice or common sense in that?

Have Forest been the better team in the Premiership than Spurs this season? Absolutely. Have Chelsea? Absolutely.

One of these clubs will miss out come Sunday. I leave you to use an adjective for that.

As for Man Utd. How the ‘mighty’ have fallen. Totally abject & inept tonight & all season. Sir Alex was in Bilbao tonight. He’d have been better at home in Manchester tonight watching an episode of ‘Dalgleish’ in front of the telly with a ‘wee dram’.

I wish I had.

[PDX_Rover]

It’s all waaaaaaank innit? Give me Rovers all day. Actually I attend San Diego Wave women’s football - me and the son are season ticket holders. Seen every game since they started up in 2022. Really good stuff. Skill, getting well stuck in, and none of this rolling around…

[Donnywolf]

Do I need my eyes testing ?

Q1 Did Johnson get a touch to that winning goal ? Agree he played it on to Shaw after which it bounce goalwards and changed direction after bouncing.

When asked he was sheepish in his reply but the goal has been credited to him by Uefa.

Unless my eyes need testing of course

Q2 have we started using 2 Refs in a game now as I am sure there were 2 on view a few times last night. One in Blue and one in Red with a huge number 8 on his back

He only stopped Refereeing a couple of times one of which led to Luke Shaws winning goal and a second time when he looked to have been punched by a Friday night drunk when a Tottenham player touched him (accidentally) with a finger somewhere on his upper body

[NickDRFC]

That second half must have been the poorest half of a final that I’ve ever seen. Spurs offered absolutely nothing but Man Utd had zero quality to break them down. The most they offered was in the last few minutes when they loaded the box and started pumping the ball in, a tactic they should have adopted a bit earlier.

It’s a farce that a team that’s lost 21 times in the league qualifies for the champions league and I hope they change the rules as a result. They deserve the chance to defend their trophy but not an automatic chance to play in an elite one.

I don’t fully share the sympathy for Chelsea & Forest, though. Both have been in good positions and dropped off, and if either of them does qualify for the Champions League then it’s likely they’ll do so by finishing 5th, a position that only gets a European spot by virtue of English teams having such a good season in Europe. So Spurs and Utd getting to the final has actually helped in this regard!

It’s possible that Forest could win and still not qualify as well, if Villa & Newcastle win and City at least draw (none of which are unlikely). Hopefully they do and one of the others slip up - would far rather see Forest than Chelsea dining at the top table next year.

[Padge_DRFC]

Just shows how poor the rest of Europe are that these 2 were in the final

[sf9944]

I couldn’t agree more with the OP. The game was a complete embarrassment. The petulance on display was off the scale. The usual culprits were at it like Bruno F but it seemed like every other player was too. It was all on display - diving, face clutching, arm waving, body rolling, pained facial expressions. Precisely what sort of example are these ‘children’ setting for real children.

A word for the ref who I thought was excellent and had the patience of a saint. I was willing him to send some of the overpaid prima donnas off.

[dickos1]

Pleased for ange, he’s took a load of abuse and he’s done exactly what he said he’d do this year when nobody beloved him. Wonder if he’ll get a load of apologies from the media

[Scooter]

Im also pleased for Ange. United were dreadful. Most European teams can’t compete with the premier league finances - Chelsea walking the conference league is a prime example

And it was a Luke Shaw own goal all day

[LincsRover]

Give me the roller coaster that is rovers every day of the week! 

[IDM]

I watched the Europa League Cup Competition tonight between two English teams that finished 16th & 17th in their domestic league.

I was at least looking for a good ‘English style’ game played out honestly & with guts & ‘gusto’, because that’s why the ‘football world’ are so ‘bought into’ the Premiership yes?

Instead I might have well have been watching two ‘Latino’ teams whose players went to ground more often than pheasants on the glorious 12th! Clutching their faces as if attacked by some ghost like bird of prey. Bloody embarrassing to watch as an English man.

Spurs won this ‘Battle of the Giants’ which will now guarantee them a place in next season’s Champions League, thus enabling them to attract players to the club next season who would otherwise have been out of there reach financially & as attractive as a club.

On Sunday Nottingham Forest will play Chelsea. Both teams having finished the season some 30 points above both Spurs & Man Utd. Only one of them by winning that game game can automatically qualify for Champions League qualification. Where’s the justice or common sense in that?

Have Forest been the better team in the Premiership than Spurs this season? Absolutely. Have Chelsea? Absolutely.

One of these clubs will miss out come Sunday. I leave you to use an adjective for that.

As for Man Utd. How the ‘mighty’ have fallen. Totally abject & inept tonight & all season. Sir Alex was in Bilbao tonight. He’d have been better at home in Manchester tonight watching an episode of ‘Dalgleish’ in front of the telly with a ‘wee dram’.

I wish I had.

I didn’t watch the game itself, didn’t have the channel and wasn’t that interested.

However, it’s not entirely fair to compare their league positions from this season.  It’s where they finished and what they achieved in the previous season which placed them in Europe this time.  It’s known at the start of the season that the winners get a CL spot - so what?

You give Forest as an example.  Let’s say they finish 6th and go into next season’s Europa League, win it, but have a crap PL season.

Would you raise the same argument then?  Or is it just because this final was a crap game?

[Usher wide.]

I watched the Europa League Cup Competition tonight between two English teams that finished 16th & 17th in their domestic league.

I was at least looking for a good ‘English style’ game played out honestly & with guts & ‘gusto’, because that’s why the ‘football world’ are so ‘bought into’ the Premiership yes?

Instead I might have well have been watching two ‘Latino’ teams whose players went to ground more often than pheasants on the glorious 12th! Clutching their faces as if attacked by some ghost like bird of prey. Bloody embarrassing to watch as an English man.

Spurs won this ‘Battle of the Giants’ which will now guarantee them a place in next season’s Champions League, thus enabling them to attract players to the club next season who would otherwise have been out of there reach financially & as attractive as a club.

On Sunday Nottingham Forest will play Chelsea. Both teams having finished the season some 30 points above both Spurs & Man Utd. Only one of them by winning that game game can automatically qualify for Champions League qualification. Where’s the justice or common sense in that?

Have Forest been the better team in the Premiership than Spurs this season? Absolutely. Have Chelsea? Absolutely.

One of these clubs will miss out come Sunday. I leave you to use an adjective for that.

As for Man Utd. How the ‘mighty’ have fallen. Totally abject & inept tonight & all season. Sir Alex was in Bilbao tonight. He’d have been better at home in Manchester tonight watching an episode of ‘Dalgleish’ in front of the telly with a ‘wee dram’.

I wish I had.

I didn’t watch the game itself, didn’t have the channel and wasn’t that interested.

However, it’s not entirely fair to compare their league positions from this season.  It’s where they finished and what they achieved in the previous season which placed them in Europe this time.  It’s known at the start of the season that the winners get a CL spot - so what?

You give Forest as an example.  Let’s say they finish 6th and go into next season’s Europa League, win it, but have a crap PL season.

Would you raise the same argument then?  Or is it just because this final was a crap game?

Absolutely.

The fact the game ‘showcased’ two poor English teams that produced a poor game is irrelevant.

Come Sunday a team could finish the season in 6th place potentially eleven places higher than Spurs & with 29 more points, yet it will be Spurs who will pick up £100 million & play in the most elite cup competition in Europe because the powers at be have decided that to ‘promote’ one of their European competitions (The Europa League Cup), by offering the winners that coveted Champions League spot. As a ‘football supporter’ surely you can’t believe that’s ‘fair’ on any level.

They’re ‘propping up’ a dire competition that otherwise no one would give a toss about because it is competed for by some of the weakest club sides in Europe.

It’s merely another money spinning exercise for UEFA.

[GazLaz]

Just two teams desperate not to lose.

[turnbull for england]

Spurs had no shots,  none , on or off target in the 2nd half . And we were knocking the Div 2 play off final as being played between side who don't want the ball.  And yes Donny wolf Fernandes went down twice at least for head injuries, when was clearly no head contact, horrible game start to finish

[IDM]

I agree the winners shouldn’t get a pass into the CL, but just back into the same tournament.

[Donnywolf]

Tottenham 1 (Shaw o.g.) Manchester U 0

A game that will be remembered for being of very poor quality , not that Spurs Fans will give a flying **** theydid what they set out to do I presume

I heard a "plastic" Man U fan recently saying " I hope we dont win that Trophy , its a Micky Mouse Cup and we should be winning better things than that "      At least he will be happy I suspect

Its a 100 million quid windfall and Man U could have used it to steal Cunha from Wolves with his buy out clause triggered for 60 plus millions. Wolves fans taking the pee because they expected him to leave BUT expected him to go to a Champions League Team which Man U now are NOT.

They are also laughing he has gone to a Club below them in the Leagues Final Table although I concede that is probably not going to happen again next Season as they will improve esp with Cunhas recruitment.

 

[DrewSouthStand]

If I'm a Forest fan I'm wanting Uefa cup over champ league. Not a chance of winning champ league but much more chance of making a uefa final. Spurs fans today far happier than Villa fans. Even MU fans happier having had a day at a final

[graingrover]

They don’t have a community club to associate themselves with so attach themselves to clubs for waifs and strays .

[Lesonthewest]

Absolute awful game from start to finish, players just spent half their time falling over & trying to con the ref. If they are Premiership players on obscene amounts of money, they can keep it. Some supporters apparently paying 3.5k for a hotel room plus flights! All that money to watch highly paid players throw themselves about, & moan on Social Media of the lack of minutes they've played, seriously.

[RobTheRover]

I can't get over that someone somewhere thought Yoro was Premier League standard. He's atrocious.

If he was at Carlisle, say, he'd be on the released list now.

I reckon United could replace him with Tom Anderson and see an immediate improvement.  They must be kicking themselves he's signed for Shrewsbury.

[RoversInSpain]

Absolute awful game from start to finish, players just to spend half their time falling over & trying to con the ref. If they are Premiership players on obscene amounts of money, they can keep it. Some supporters apparently paying 3.5k for a hotel room plus flights! All that money to watch highly paid players throw themselves about, & moan on Social Media of the lack of minutes they've played, seriously.

Oh come on be fair, they have super lovely haircuts nowadays and the tattoos are works of art. This has to be admired and well worth the horrific ticket and stay over prices. It was a reasonably decent League 2 relegation type performance that was on display last night.

[Prez]

This sums of though the state of football overall. Take us for example. Champions and deservedly so, but we all know that league 2 was a shocking league this year. Now take league 1. Not much better was it? Seen lots of games and the standard was poor.

Championship. 2 very good teams (hate to say it) and then Sheffield U and Sunderland, then a bunch of mediocrity.

Premier league this season. Widely regarded as the most boring premier league in its history. With that said 2 of its poorest teams contesting a European final, what does that tell us about the quality of football on the continent?

Very poor. We spend too much time watching defenders with the ball instead of attacking wingers.

The game has changed for the worse.

[ravenrover]

Why was it boring? Lower teams now challenging the big 2 or 3 if you count Arsenal. Forest, Brighton Bournemouth who'd have thought it, Brentford all fighting for a possible Eurooean competition City in free fall because they lost one player, Man Utd who are they? Newcastle becoming one of the bigger teams. Liverpool under a new manager walking away with the league or is that the boring bit? Arsenal becoming bridesmaid for the 3rd time, it's time the officials sorted the Pep clone out he'll be on the pitch next.
For me as a fan of Rovers the changes in the pecking order has been refreshing

[Prez]

Why was it boring? Lower teams now challenging the big 2 or 3 if you count Arsenal. Forest, Brighton Bournemouth who'd have thought it, Brentford all fighting for a possible Eurooean competition City in free fall because they lost one player, Man Utd who are they? Newcastle becoming one of the bigger teams. Liverpool under a new manager walking away with the league or is that the boring bit? Arsenal becoming bridesmaid for the 3rd time, it's time the officials sorted the Pep clone out he'll be on the pitch next.
For me as a fan of Rovers the changes in the pecking order has been refreshing

I was talking about the quality of football being boring.

[Donnywolf]

Sorry people.

I just can't get my head round the fact the goal went to someone who DIDNT score it

If I had a bet on Johnson I'd have won by false pretences.

If I had a bet on Own Goal being first scorer , or Og "at any time" I would be seething I had lost my Quid

That's my point , as there may be people with much much bigger bets than that and they must be fuming.

Another inconsistency by whoever made that decision or maybe they had an Acca.

Tottenham win
Correct score 1-0
Correct scorer Johnson

Even last night on their victory parade he didn't concede an inch when asked what he remembered about the goal. He knows and I think it shows

I know , I know it's water under the bridge and shouldn't matter to me but I just find it incredible that someone recently hammered a 30 plus yard shot against crossbar with the keeper diving for it but nowhere near it

It rebounded onto the Keepers back while he was falling back to earth and back into the net and the Keeper was given as official scorer.

[Usher wide.]

‘We’ know & he knows wolf.

Anyway, today we’ll see two teams/clubs battle it out for the chance to once more play in the Premiership. Financially (just as was the case the other evening in that ‘showcase’ European Final) the stakes couldn’t be higher for either club.

I have no doubt that we’ll see plenty of endeavour, strong challenges, bodies on the line but what I can guarantee we won’t have to put up with will be players clutching at their faces as if they’d been ‘bottled’ or rolling over & over & over again when coming of worst to an opponent’s challenge.

Honest clubs, honest managers, honest players.

Looking forward to it & hoping it ‘wipes away’ the dirge of the other night.

I’m predicting a high scoring game.

[BobG]

I blame Klinsman. Although the Germans had done it for decades, he brought it here as an art form when he joined Spurs.

BobG

[Usher wide.]

I blame Klinsman. Although the Germans have done it for decades, he brought it here as an art form when he joined Spurs.

BobG

I remember watching him play for Germany during a World Cup, forget who against.

I got up to fetch a beer, caught the edge of the telly with my knee & Klinsman went down!

[drfchound]

I blame Klinsman. Although the Germans have done it for decades, he brought it here as an art form when he joined Spurs.

BobG

Suitably renamed “der dive bomber”.

[IDM]

Although by the end of his time in England he was a lot more respected.  Shame about the diving though.

[BobG]

Nice bloke. Good player. Pernicious legacy.

BobG