CL Qualification or FA Cup Win

[tap-in]

I wanted to ask this in another thread as its been mentioned a few times but I wanted a poll so have to start a new thread. Basically how valuable is top 4? I understand that an FA Cup win is a piece of history, your name on a cup forever. The CL however is the key to the elite door, if you don't get that key, forget about playing Barca, Madrid etc

 

[pigge]

Fa cup for me is the next step from carling.
4th everytime. Except after 10++ years without trophy.
It was nice to win several Times but i want league/CL wins. and 4th gets us closer, f.a cup doesnt really. Except maybe mentally winning things.

 

[Ricardinho]

I wish there was a way of seeing how much opinion varies between matchday going fans and those that watch on TV as for me there isn't much in football that beats a day out at a cup final (as long as we win obviously )

As said in another thread top four matters much more in terms of the financials and the chance to play Europe's best, but in terms of memories on your deathbed - the league and cup wins will always be there for the fans.

 

[lamby22]

I wish there was a way of seeing how much opinion varies between matchday going fans and those that watch on TV as for me there isn't much in football that beats a day out at a cup final (as long as we win obviously )

As said in another thread top four matters much more in terms of the financials and the chance to play Europe's best, but in terms of memories on your deathbed - the league and cup wins will always be there for the fans.

Agree with this. Sat right behind Alexis rocket v Aston Villa - knew it was in from the moment he hit it - that memory will stay with me forever. A cup final is a brilliant day out followed by the open top bus parade the next day. The romantic side of football is all about winning trophies but nowadays it's a business and qualifying for the champions league raises the club profile and is better financially in the long term.

 

[berric]

FA Cup itself is great, but not defining for a club. Look at Portsmouth.

I enjoyed each and every cup win like a maniac and each time it was the best day of my life, but the sensation passes quickly.

Yes, our name is there carved in history, but winning a cup means a little for us improving our global presence and attract players. If we win a FA Cup here and there but finish fifth or sixth we are stagnating in the long run.

The cup win of 2015 should've been the stepping stone in which we rebuild our European pressence. But with that fatal transfer window we watched the likes of Liverpool establish themselves among Europe' elite. To be the best you have to keep up with the best.

 

[TheEconomist]

It's sad that we have to have this discussion . It shows how far we've fallen. Id agree with a previous post which said 4th is preferred unless we're in a big trophy drought

 

[say yes]

It depends on the circumstances. But at the moment top 4.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I prefer trophies, but we're in a position currently where we really need to get back into the top 4.

 

[krackpot]

UCL
League
Europa
FA Cup
.
..
...
4th place

 

[OSBK]

Top 4 for me. I would love a fa cup but CL stands more chance of us greatly improving the team.

 

[samshere]

CL qualification. I rank the first leg victory against Barcelona(the one with Arshavin) as higher than our FA cup wins.

 

[Jury]

Top 4 for me. I would love a fa cup but CL stands more chance of us greatly improving the team.

 

[TromsoGooner]

CL qualification. I rank the first leg victory against Barcelona(the one with Arshavin) as higher than our FA cup wins.

Feel totally different myself

 

[dbig]

After 3 FA Cups in 4 years, I'd like to see us concentrate on the holy grail that is the Champions League.

Maybe if we have a trophy drought again I'd feel differently again.

 

[boxerumble]

CL qualification. I rank the first leg victory against Barcelona(the one with Arshavin) as higher than our FA cup wins.

I can’t compare the two. Top 4 is a long shot gateway to greatness among the elite but ****... FA Cup is silverware.. isn’t it also one of the oldest cup competitions in world football?

But sweet Mary Magdelene, that night was one of madness. Electric crowd bringing shivers down the spine and buried one of the best ever teams of this generation.

 

[jus2nang]

It depends on the circumstances. But at the moment top 4.

This.

During our drought it was the FA Cup. Now that we've pocketed a few of those CL qualification has become the priority.

 

[tap-in]

It depends on the circumstances. But at the moment top 4.

Yes, I nearly based it on this season because that was basically the conversation being had in another thread. Obviously if you've just won the FA Cup but haven't been in CL for years or visa versa, it would effect your choice. Anyway 15/12 at the moment so pretty split.

 

[DasBootist]

CL qualification all the way. Despite the fact it isn't a trophy, it benefits the club's profile globally more than an FA cup could, whilst also being the more lucrative option.

We're in 2019 lads, no one cares about the FA cup.

 

[arsenefc]

we are not in FA cup, so whats the point of this topic?

 

[Slartibartfast]

For a club such as Arsenal, Champions League qualification is the only logical choice. Arsenal has only won like a bazillion FA Cups because of the consistent quality of the squads. Being a Champions League club (or a top 4 or so club) fairly consistently over the years has allowed Arsenal to have the talent and depth to be competitive in multiple competitions and among the favorites every year. That, both theoretically and (for Arsenal) in practice, brings more FA Cups.

For most clubs the answer may be different. Even a great historical club such as Everton might, these days, better win the FA Cup. That time they qualified for the Champions League some years ago really did them no good. Burnley's Europa League qualification was probably, in retrospect, counterproductive. Champions League qualification would probably be even worse. It's not something they could sustain. But if they were to win an FA Cup for the first time in more than 100 years, that would be legendary.

It would be kind of interesting to know what Sp**s fans would think -- not what they would say out loud, but what they would think and feel deep down inside. Many will talk as though they believe they'll win the Champions League -- which of course they won't -- but it's been almost 30 years since they won the FA Cup and more than a decade since they won a trophy of any kind. I think if I were -- Flying Spaghetti Monster forbid -- a Sp**s fan, I might actually cherish that FA Cup more than Champions League qualification.