IS THE SWANS EUROPEAN ADVENTURE HURTING THEM

Many of us said they would struggle in the League because of fixture congestion and injuries etc. and it does look like that's the case. Can see them having to spend big in January to plump up the squad and any money made in Europe will soon be eaten up, sounds bitter and twisted and possibly is but perhaps I will change my outlook in time, but the Premier league is more than enough for me at present, perhaps things will change.

I wouldn't want to be in the Europa League but it's something I don't think I'll have to worry about for a while!

do i detect a hint of sour grapes? i wish we had beaten liverpool and had a european adventure. please don't say it gave us the opportunity to concentrate on the league

davewebber65 wrote:do i detect a hint of sour grapes? i wish we had beaten liverpool and had a european adventure. please don't say it gave us the opportunity to concentrate on the league

 We'd all love to of win the cup, that's obvious. But there is significant evidence that the Europa leagues schedule can be devestating to a teams league performance. Someone published the statistic that the last 8 games Tottenham had lost had come mere days after a Europa league match. (It's changed since then).

If you want more evidence look at Birmingham and Wigan, both struggled (struggling) with really poor league performances during the Europa qualifiers. There's not a doubt in my mind that it's schedule heavily affects British teams league performances.

It does smack of sour grapes, but and it's just personal, the European thing does little for me, even the main European cup is of little interest, obviously the money would be welcome for the club's needs, but just being in the Premiership is more than enough for me, obviously in time it would be great to possibly be in contention to win the league and Europe would go with that, but for the foreseeable future at least, for me it's all about consolidating where we are and making ourselves part of the "establishment" 

would have loved to have gone to a couple of european cities, munich, barcelona, turin :bounce: 

Would love to have a European campaign with City, as it is I'll have to make due with Wales! It's definitely having an effect on them though, and league form for teams in Europe doesn't tend to drop until the new year, so it could get even worse for them.

The prelim rounds and group stages add a lot to a schedule.  I think Swansea have played 22 or 23 games already this season.  

However, it's not just the fixture congestion, it's the travelling involved.......Europe can be a far flung place these days.

There are at least four of us who have posted in this thread who will remember City's European campaigns of the late 60's and early 70's.  That was an absolutely brilliant time to be a fan as Euro competitions were even more difficult to qualify for in the first place and were knock-out in every round.  You might only get one home and away game and then that was it for another year.

My point is, however, even then, City's league form was affected by the disruption caused by the midweek Euro games.  I'd have to check this, but I can't remember City winning on a Saturday, after travelling abroad midweek........there were no concessions to play Sunday or Monday football then.

I'd love to see City back in Europe again, but let's not try to run before we can walk.  As an established PL club with an in-depth squad and no off-field dramas, it would be an absolute pleasure.......

TDA wrote:The prelim rounds and group stages add a lot to a schedule.  I think Swansea have played 22 or 23 games already this season.  

However, it's not just the fixture congestion, it's the travelling involved.......Europe can be a far flung place these days.

There are at least four of us who have posted in this thread who will remember City's European campaigns of the late 60's and early 70's.  That was an absolutely brilliant time to be a fan as Euro competitions were even more difficult to qualify for in the first place and were knock-out in every round.  You might only get one home and away game and then that was it for another year.

My point is, however, even then, City's league form was affected by the disruption caused by the midweek Euro games.  I'd have to check this, but I can't remember City winning on a Saturday, after travelling abroad midweek........there were no concessions to play Sunday or Monday football then.

I'd love to see City back in Europe again, but let's not try to run before we can walk.  As an established PL club with an in-depth squad and no off-field dramas, it would be an absolute pleasure.......

You're right TDA, count me in. I remember our first ever game at home against Esbjerg followed by knocking out the holders Sporting Lisbon. We had some amazing nights/results ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_City_F.C._in_European_football ) but European competitions were different. All two leg knockout games and always a big occasion, particularly in the early years. With leagues and groups now, it's lost a lot of its appeal for me - particularly the Europa League (the Cup Winners Cup was much better!).