Villa in Europe

[Eljohnno]

Am I alone in hoping that Aston Villa fail to Qualify for next seasons Champions League ?
For O'neill to field a second string in tonights game is disgusting - the travelling Villa fans deserve more respect - never mind how "tired" his players are !
Why enter a competition if you've no intention of trying to win it in the latter stages?

[bobthebandit]

I totally agree with you Eljohnno for the reasons you have given.
To play in any European Tournament should be the pinnacle for any club. Considering Villa havent won a major tournament for over 25 years, I think this is a serious miscalculation by O'Neill.
With a full strength team they could have won this tournament and still have ended up in the top 4 of the premiership.
I too hope that Villa do not qualify for the Champions League now after what O'Neill has done.

[mightyWBA]

You are certainly not alone.
The whole of West Bromwich and half of Birmingham are dreading it happening.
I'm sick of all these clubs moaning about all these competitions their pampered pooches have to play in
DON'T ENTER THEM THEN!!
Or alternatively get Hartlepool and Burnley to knock you out the cups and maintain a position at the foot of the table :-)

[ELVIS68]

And it was Villa who entered the Inter Toto Cup a while back just to qualify for the Uefa Cup!

Saying that, I`d rather Villa qualify for the Champions League than Arsenal

[lesblue]

I agree 100%. Is anybody actually interested in the UEFA Cup, unless their side is playing in it anyway? (Better be careful, could be us next season). I had even forgotten that Villa, Spurs and Man City were even playing until I saw the results this morning.

[cazzz1975]

I know its rough but who would anticipate how well they would do in the league, he is putting the importance where it matters, in the league games.

[toonmilo]

I slightly agree, its a sad sign of the times when clubs are allowing CERTAIN competitions to take preference over others.
Unfortunatley its a money game these days and given a choice of winning the UEFA cup or ensuring 4th place finish in the league, the league position will always win as thats where the money is. Villa do not have the strength and depth of the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool etc so simply cannot afford to risk injury to their star names as they need them for the 4th place push. Maybe in time, once champions league is achieved and more money comes in, they can buy more strength and depth to cope with these extra competitions.

That all is of course from the clubs point of view, which has a case for arguement against your point, but its the fans who suffer i guess, they pay good money to see their team win.

[lesblue]

Don't you think the UEFA Cup needs a revamp. Why not let the winners into the following season's Champions League from the first Qualifying Round. Surely teams would then take it more seriously.

[Panic Button]

I couldn't believe I heard Harry complaining about his fixtures.

Oh, to be still in a cup competition!

[ugly_bob]

will we get a place in the UEFA when we beat Scunthorpe in the Trophy next month?
lesblue - is anyone interested in ANY competition unless their team is playing in it? Not just UEFA cup.