Espanyol (H) 20/2 Build-Up & Match Thread

[pavlosmacwolf]

who needs a rest?? they've just come back from their jollies.
i think we played better when we were playing every thursday and sunday frankly, all these rests seem to have bolloxed our aggression a bit.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I don't agree with Paddy's hyperbole re Norwich, but with the effort we put into getting into Europe and the way we have prioritised it over the league (Everton) it would be madness to go anything other than full strength from here on in

It's not hyperbole. They are fucking bottom of the league.

 

[Kenny]

So were Huddersfield last season...

Norwich are a decent team for one at the bottom. Not that long ago we were lucky not to be 4 or 5 down at HT at Carrow Road. We dont turn up or play with the attitude "ah they are bottom" we lose.

 

[pacamac]

Plus we can twat Norwich while resting players. If it was Spurs on Sunday I could see the argument. So we go full strength, kill the tie and then can rest a few for the return leg which IS before we play Spurs.

Norwich are bottom of the premier league Espanyol are bottom of an inferior league. Why can we (as you put it) twat Norwich with a weakened team but not Espanyol?

We'll probably do neither.

 

[pacamac]

It's not hyperbole. They are fucking bottom of the league.

so are Espanyol!

 

[pacamac]

We have the important game on Thursday not Sunday. Europa League is the priority. Resting players late in a competition to try and ensure qualifying for it again is SOOOOOOO Martin O'Neill.

Well a second rate European competition wouldn't be my priority over the league personally and guess what....the post was the team I would personally play (ie my personal opinion)

 

[YoungWolf]

We shouldn't 'twat' either team. I'm always shocked by how people STILL say this before games :icon_lol:

 

[Trips]

We shouldn't 'twat' either team. I'm always shocked by how Paddy STILL says this before games :icon_lol:

FIFY

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Well a second rate European competition wouldn't be my priority over the league personally and guess what....the post was the team I would personally play (ie my personal opinion)

Not qualified for European competition in decades and already looking down your nose at the Europa League, classic.

 

[BGreenWolf]

Well a second rate European competition wouldn't be my priority over the league personally and guess what....the post was the team I would personally play (ie my personal opinion)

Ludicrous. Why are we even hoping to do well in the league if we turn up our noses at the opportunities that success brings? May as well go full Pulis and aim for 17th every year.

 

[pacamac]

Not qualified for European competition in decades and already looking down your nose at the Europa League, classic.

No I was looking down on it way before, since they ruined the UEFA Cup. It is a second rate European competition.

Its the view most people held until we happened to qualify then weirdly everyone's view changed haha.

Realistically if it happened to be any other team than Wolves who qualified for a European competition for coming just above mid table we'd all be rightfully slating the competition.

 

[pacamac]

Ludicrous. Why are we even hoping to do well in the league if we turn up our noses at the opportunities that success brings? May as well go full Pulis and aim for 17th every year.

Set your sights higher, the real European competition not its bastard little brother that nobody really cares about.

 

[PuntsWolf]

No I was looking down on it way before, since they ruined the UEFA Cup. It is a second rate European competition.

Its the view most people held until we happened to qualify then weirdly everyone's view changed haha.

Realistically if it happened to be any other team than Wolves who qualified for a European competition for coming just above mid table we'd all be rightfully slating the competition.

Literally no one looks down on it accept the media. Even the big 6 don’t look down on it. The rest of Europa take it very seriously.

British press look down on it because of the whole Thursday night situation and Sunday games. This is outdated though as loads of games get moved for TV anyway. Plus is Spain, Italy etc. They play a lot of their games on sundays anyway.

We shouldn’t be playing weakened teams for anything. And we certainly shouldn’t be justifying that by saying we’ll smash them. We literally don’t smash anybody, even against poor teams in cup competitions and literally less than a year ago lost twice to one of the worst PL teams ever with exact same set of players.

 

[BGreenWolf]

Set your sights higher, the real European competition not its bastard little brother that nobody really cares about.

We're not going to get into the Champions League this year. You're recommending that we prioritise the league over the Europa, for the sake of getting into the Europa next year. It's crazy.

 

[pacamac]

We're not going to get into the Champions League this year. You're recommending that we prioritise the league over the Europa, for the sake of getting into the Europa next year. It's crazy.

I'm not recommending anything, I'm saying my personal opinion is I'd rather come as high in the league as possible, as ultimately that's the aim (regardless of whatever that results in) than win a tournament full of teams who are all 3rd-7th type teams from lesser (as a majority) leagues.

 

[pacamac]

Literally no one looks down on it accept the media. Even the big 6 don’t look down on it. The rest of Europa take it very seriously.

British press look down on it because of the whole Thursday night situation and Sunday games. This is outdated though as loads of games get moved for TV anyway. Plus is Spain, Italy etc. They play a lot of their games on sundays anyway.

We shouldn’t be playing weakened teams for anything. And we certainly shouldn’t be justifying that by saying we’ll smash them. We literally don’t smash anybody, even against poor teams in cup competitions and literally less than a year ago lost twice to one of the worst PL teams ever with exact same set of players.

If the big 6 don't look down on it why do they all fight so hard to get into the Champions League instead. Its nothing but UEFA greed scrambling for more tv money.

The European Cup should be there to crown the best in Europe, the Champions League does that anything else is pointless.

 

[BGreenWolf]

You may have noticed that we're not part of the big six, and we're nowhere near being a part of the big six.

When we're used to competing on the European stage, maybe then we can start turning our nose up at the Europa, but not in our first year of competition in nearly half a century.

 

[PuntsWolf]

If the big 6 don't look down on it why do they all fight so hard to get into the Champions League instead. Its nothing but UEFA greed scrambling for more tv money.

The European Cup should be there to crown the best in Europe, the Champions League does that anything else is pointless.

You’ve answered your own question. More money. And the EL offers a route (and for us Arsenal and United the best route) into the CL.

 

[Tony Towner]

The EL is inferior to the CL. If you are Chelsea and Man U who have won the CL in the last decade or so then winning the EL subsequently is undoubtedly a come down especially last year when UEFA put the final in the middle of nowhere.

However, we aren't Man U or Chelsea, haven't qualified for a European competition for nearly 40 years, realistically aren't making the Top 5 this year, and probably never will make the CL based on league position. Therefore the EL is in all likelihood the the pinnacle of our Wolves supporting future lives so not prioritising it now against a side from a top European league, who just happen to be having a poor domestic season would be lunacy. Even if we lose tonight and on Sunday it will still be the correct decision.

Score prediction 0 0, they won't come to play and we won't force it. Think we'll do what we need to away though.

 

[pacamac]

You may have noticed that we're not part of the big six, and we're nowhere near being a part of the big six.

When we're used to competing on the European stage, maybe then we can start turning our nose up at the Europa, but not in our first year of competition in nearly half a century.

Nowhere near the big 6....we finished 7th last season and currently sit in 8th. I'd say we're quite close, keep plugging away the way we are we'll break that big 6 in a couple of years.