…’am I bothered’ is what he has basically said!
Harry Redknapp has told The Sun that winning the FA cup would ‘mean a lot’ to him but he does not really care about European competition, at least in the form of the uefa cup – a competition which does seemed to have lost its appeal: ‘winning The FA Cup means a lot to me. Whether we get into Europe as a result, I wouldn’t care.
‘Qualifying for Europe is a feather in your cap and it’s great for the players. But being in The Uefa Cup doesn’t help you to attract players.
‘It seems to me all the teams who get into that competition want to get out of it as soon as they can.
‘I saw Palermo beat West Ham last year and they were fantastic. I thought they would go on to win the cup. But in the next round they put out 11 reserves against Newcastle and didn’t even bother’.
I can see where Redknapp is coming from, and do agree to an extent but I cannot help but feel this is one of his ‘I will play it down’ moments in a way? My own thinking is that although the best players want to play in the champions league the uefa cup would still be a draw to new players, and will be a carrot to tempt those already here to stay.
European competitions have lost their appeal, the champions league is a format that no longer caters for each countries number one, but the elite from each country and is basically about the money these days – but then again is this not the case for football in general? The uefa cup is far less lucrative financial until you reach the latter stages and its format allows basically anyone to gain entry these days, so it does have its drawbacks.
But would I be disappointed to see Pompey in the uefa cup? Hell no would I, Pompey in European competition, and hopefully as FA cup winners would be fantastic! How seriously we would take it if we made it, well only time would tell?
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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