re: #RAFAIN at Napoli

My point still remains: It's more beneficial for a club to go after the Europa League title than it is to win something like the Capital One Cup or the Club World Cup. The FA Cup is better than those two because of the history and all that jazz. Let me make this clear: Europa is not more important than the FAC in my opinion...but it's still a major competition.

It means more to beat teams like Benfica and Basel than Middlesbrough and Bradford City. This notion of the freaking Capital One Cup being more important than Europa is ridiculous and sounds like another digit you can put against Rafa. All you have to do to get in those domestic cups is just be in England...at least you have to win to get into Europa.

ETA:

quote:

---

again, winning the Capital One Cup qualifies you for a lesser entry into the europa league than does losing in the group stages of the CL.

---

This.

I don't think that's a fair comparison, silverwear is hard to come by and it should all be celebrated. But then again my club hasn't won any in 50 years so bash away.

I still think it's a very nice trophy to win... and it shows Rafa's ability in Europe and to run that kind of gauntlet... whether you hold it in high regard or not, it was the level of competition best suited for your team and he won it...

RDM didnt exactly get you guys off to a great start in Europe getting embarrassed in the UEFA Super Cup and being the first UCL winners to not make the knock out rounds...

I'm thinking, all things considered, he did a good job...

quote:

---

at least you have to win to get into Europa.

---

Damnit, no. You're missing the whole point. We had to LOSE to get into Europa.

quote:

---

Heck, you could've been like Manchester City and just finish last in your UCL group

---

If only we could have been so fortunate.

quote:

---

it was the level of competition best suited for your team and he won it...

---

Exactly. Most of the CFC fans and articles I read have come to their senses a bit once the season ended. Chelsea simply did not have a top team this season - plain and simple. They have some great pieces, but they are far from a complete squad, have major depth issues and lack a prolific striker and capable holding mid.

All in all, they were in Europa for a reason. It was the European tournament where their quality most closely aligned. Rafa won it, competed admirably in the FA Cup and qualified for the CL.

Fans can deny how much the competition means all they want, but Frank sure looked like he was thrilled to win it, along with all of the other players. It's also great experience for some of the youngsters, got Torres in a decent bit of form and allowed the manager to experiment with Luiz at DM. And it ended up netting Roman ~15m which is something the club and the fans should all be very happy about.

And this is coming from a fellow Rafa hater.

quote:

---

Technically we won to get in it.

---

No, we lost. We won to get in the CL.

quote:

---

It doesn't matter if it's up to your standard or not Randy

---

As I've stated, it's just my opinion. Anyone is free to disagree and I understand to me, as a Chelsea fan in the year 2013, it's the competition that matters least to me for what should be clear reasons.

quote:

---

he bottom line is it is a cup and I NEVER want to see us lose a chance at silverware.

---

I don't want to lose either. But I also don't want to sacrifice the ultimate goal, the CL, to chase any trophy outside the Prem.

If Rafa hadn't blown balls in the league and dropped points to Southampton (twice), QPR, Reading, Newcastle, and that God awful choke against Liverpool etc... then he would have been in a comfortable enough position in the league for him to chase the EL trophy.

quote:

---

But I also don't want to sacrifice the ultimate goal, the CL, to chase any trophy outside the Prem.

---

You didn't. You clinched a UCL spot a week earlier than a red-hot Arsenal team and still had enough juice to win a continental title.

Here's a cool stat: In the matches immediately following the demanding midweek fixtures of the Europa League that probably cost Chelsea a league title, Chelsea only lost ONE league match (Manchester City) and drew zero times.

And in case Rafa was resting starters before Europa League matches (I don't remember if he did that), Chelsea never lost and only drew ONE league match (Liverpool).

So now we know that this title didn't directly affect Chelsea's title Premier League chase. They at most could've made up five points in the matches surrounding their Europa play.

quote:

---

The fact remains we should have never been in a situation where we would need an 87th minute Frank Lampard winner against Aston Villa in the last week of the season to get back to the CL next year.

---

Second-to-last weekend of the season. Don't you remember? You played Aston Villa, then the Europa League final, then Everton.

And, again, Chelsea's "cutting it close" had virtually nothing to do with Europa. If anything, those "major" Capital One Cup and Club World Cup runs had more to do with those dropped points you whined about earlier. FA Cup, too, but I agree that it's a big trophy.

quote:

---

Just because something works out doesn't mean it was the right thing to do.

---

I know it's easy for you to be anti-anything Rafa did right for Chelsea, but your results show that winning Europa was a great thing for your club and it did not directly affect your EPL run. It worked out. No one but you really thinks it was harmful for your club.

quote:

---

Yes, as we sit here on May 28th everything worked out ok so that's great.

---

Yes, we know you'd rather Chelsea bomb out of the UCL totally and never be in the position to be in Europa...but, once again, the results show that Europa didn't affect your EPL campaign except for one match against Man City that you probably were going to lose anyway and a choke job against Liverpool.

You would have rather Chelsea just stick to domestic competitions, win nothing at all, and still come in third place. Because (broken record alert) Europa did nothing to really harm your EPL campaign.