[Albion] Some people seem to think we could do with NOT qualifying for Europe this year.

[All Four Grounds]

Whats the point of finishing say fourth every season if you have nothing to show for it?

Getting into the Champions League would be a game changer for Albion in a way even winning the Carabao or FA Cup wouldn’t be - more so in the scenario you raise of us doing it regularly. The huge increase in revenue and the opening up of our recruitment opportunities would have an immense impact on the club. Wigan win the FA Cup in 2013 and West Ham win the ECL two seasons ago. Did either of these change the trajectory of the cup? No.

Would you rather finish 4th 10 times in a row but never win a trophy/play in Europe or finish 5th-7th five times followed by a drop off to 10-13 each of the following seasons but win a trophy/reach a final in each of the down years?

Definitely the former for the reasons I have given above. But if we did become regular qualifiers of the Champions League our chances of appearing in domestic cup finals would of course significantly improve due to the better players we would attract. Conversely winning a cup would only negligibly increase our prospects of getting into the Champions League.

What if we won a trophy but it meant that we finished lower in the league that season?

It partly depends on the league positions and whether it’s a one off? Obviously I would be happy to finish 9th rather than 8th if we win the FA Cup but I wouldn’t necessarily want to swap 5th for the Carabao Cup if we were never going to get into the Champions League. Likewise I would take the cup if Champions League qualification was going to be a one off because it is the momentum for Albion I am hankering after not just a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The biggest factor in us being outbid for players or having to sell them to rivals is the Champions League. At the time we sold our best players to Spurs, Chelsea or Liverpool all those clubs were either in it or the player went assuming the next season they would be playing in it while qualifying for the ECL is unlikely to be a factor in us improving our squad. So while it would be great to win the FA Cup I think the game has changed since 1983 due to Champions League football.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Getting into the Champions League would be a game changer for Albion in a way even winning the Carabao or FA Cup wouldn’t be - more so in the scenario you raise of us doing it regularly. The huge increase in revenue and the opening up of our recruitment opportunities would have an immense impact on the club. Wigan win the FA Cup in 2013 and West Ham win the ECL two seasons ago. Did either of these change the trajectory of the cup? No.



Definitely the former for the reasons I have given above. But if we did become regular qualifiers of the Champions League our chances of appearing in domestic cup finals would of course significantly improve due to the better players we would attract. Conversely winning a cup would only negligibly increase our prospects of getting into the Champions League.



It partly depends on the league positions and whether it’s a one off? Obviously I would be happy to finish 9th rather than 8th if we win the FA Cup but I wouldn’t necessarily want to swap 5th for the Carabao Cup if we were never going to get into the Champions League. Likewise I would take the cup if Champions League qualification was going to be a one off because it is the momentum for Albion I am hankering after not just a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The biggest factor in us being outbid for players or having to sell them to rivals is the Champions League. At the time we sold our best players to Spurs, Chelsea or Liverpool all those clubs were either in it or the player went assuming the next season they would be playing in it while qualifying for the ECL is unlikely to be a factor in us improving our squad. So while it would be great to win the FA Cup I think the game has changed since 1983 due to Champions League football.

Ah, ok. So it's not Europe it's the level of Europe and that it would stop us reaching our full potential?

That makes more sense to me, I thought you were saying you never wanted us in Europe.

I'm not sure I see us ever becoming so good that we'd be having multiple seasons in a row in the top 4/champions league so for that reason I'm in the take whatever comes our way camp but I get where you're coming form now.

 

[All Four Grounds]

I'm not sure I see us ever becoming so good that we'd be having multiple seasons in a row in the top 4/champions league so for that reason I'm in the take whatever comes our way camp but I get where you're coming form now.

I think there is a chance Brighton could break glass ceiling but at the same I am quite relaxed about our current league position and indeed Hürzeler’s first season in charge. So while I am looking up in terms of ambition I stress I am not going to allow that to get either carried away or impatient with Tony Bloom’s long term plan.