The absence of international fixtures

doomy20

Full Member
Joined
May 6, 2011
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How do you guys feel about it this season?
I have to admit, I absolutely love it for various reasons.
I know from a clubs perspective, finances etc. we need to play UCL/EL again next season but for now, I really enjoy it.

  • One game a week makes matchdays feel more "valuable", I look more forward to games and also can put more energy in enjoying the pre-game, post match content etc.
  • Players look and act so much fresher (no wonder) - you don´t see the burnt out faces, they can actually put a fight in for at least 70-80min a game, not 45. They also enjoy themselves more on the pitch it seems
  • Injuries: We are heading into November and had next to none injuries, which is very refreshing
  • Personal freedom. You can watch mid-week games as a neutral spectactor or maybe watch rivals lose but without "pressure"

Is it similar for you, do you enjoy the 25/26 season without competing in the UEFA competitions?
 
doomy20 said:
How do you guys feel about it this season?
I have to admit, I absolutely love it for various reasons.
I know from a clubs perspective, finances etc. we need to play UCL/EL again next season but for now, I really enjoy it.

  • One game a week makes matchdays feel more "valuable", I look more forward to games and also can put more energy in enjoying the pre-game, post match content etc.
  • Players look and act so much fresher (no wonder) - you don´t see the burnt out faces, they can actually put a fight in for at least 70-80min a game, not 45. They also enjoy themselves more on the pitch it seems
  • Injuries: We are heading into November and had next to none injuries, which is very refreshing
  • Personal freedom. You can watch mid-week games as a neutral spectactor or maybe watch rivals lose but without "pressure"

Is it similar for you, do you enjoy the 25/26 season without competing in the UEFA competitions?
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Very much so! I think i need the breather between games. The good results lately probably makes me more positive atm, but i do like it.
 
Losing that EL final was a blessing in disguise. Gave us much more room to trim the squad given they'd have been on bonuses for winning it and qualifying for the CL.

Squad has time to settle down to. Not playing Sat/Tues or Weds etc....
 
One game a week is plenty when the results are shite.

But if this team keeps winning, you'd want to more games, a week is a long time to wait for the next game when you're trying to maintain momentum. Easier to keep a good run going when there's less down time between games.
 
Oh come on. Its absolutely not fine. We should be in Europe period. There is no silver lining.
 
I think it's working out well for us this season, but I'd like us back in the champions League next year. I don't particularly want to watch us play more Europa League games though.
 
Absolutely hate it. As I do being out of the League Cup early. I like watching us play football.
 
The team is getting the full week to prepare and keep learning Amorim's way. I think it's a blessing to not have to play midweek and kick on next summer
 
Now we have won 3 games in a row I miss us playing in Europe.
 
bond19821982 said:
Oh come on. Its absolutely not fine. We should be in Europe period. There is no silver lining.
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Absolutely this. But as long as we are in situation we will hopefully benefit by being more fit that our domestic competitors, thus ensuring that we are not in the same situation next season.
 
LordSpud said:
The team is getting the full week to prepare and keep learning Amorim's way. I think it's a blessing to not have to play midweek and kick on next summer
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Agreed. Also players will be more rested in the business part of the season and should also be more hungry for games and success.
 
I genuinely hoped this was a restructuring of international football thread. Of which I am all for. As little as possible until Ireland have an entirely new squad :lol:
 
bond19821982 said:
Oh come on. Its absolutely not fine. We should be in Europe period. There is no silver lining.
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We should be, in the grand scheme of things, but if you're looking at our current situation (terrible performances, pressure on the manager, tactically struggling, lack of quality in certain positions) I genuinely think we're much better off without European football this season.
 
Globule said:
We should be, in the grand scheme of things, but if you're looking at our current situation (terrible performances, pressure on the manager, tactically struggling, lack of quality in certain positions) I genuinely think we're much better off without European football this season.
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Absolutely. Also, with such a thin squad we'd be absolutely fecked with European football this season. If Amorim can get the team to "click" (which it seems like it might be happening) and then boost the squad with some quality additions in the summer I think next season will be very enjoyable - with European football!
 
I get the benefits but I hate it. The weeks seem long without United playing
 
It’s crap not been in Europe I loved the European away trips
 
JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo said:
I genuinely hoped this was a restructuring of international football thread. Of which I am all for. As little as possible until Ireland have an entirely new squad :lol:
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Yep, never heard anyone describe European club football as international football!

I stormed in ready to start a scrap international football poll.
 
I think it's a good thing and that we needed it. It will give us a chance to take stock of where we are as a club, assess where the squad is, and really implement a style of play during the week.

I can imagine its hard to be reflective and to take deep dives into tactics, squad mentality and general processes surrounding the club when you're bombarded with fixtures all season.

I absolutely think it should be a once off though and can't wait to be back in Europe at the same time, but I think we'll see this season as a cathartic one in hindsight.
 
Love the Champions League and always meant more to win that than the Premier League.

I think being out of it this season was needed and has allowed us to reset as a club. Financially it’s not ideal but sometimes you have to go backwards to move forwards.
 
I love it. Let us get a decent league season first.
 
Lay said:
I get the benefits but I hate it. The weeks seem long without United playing
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True, but on the other hand you get to watch Liverpool screw up two times every week. Almost makes up for it.
 
I think to be able to cope with our decline we can now delude ourselves with the recent upsurge in results and claim that no Champions League was necessary to get some wins. But to be honest, Champions League is what I want this club to be part of, even if we are no favorites.
 
It makes European football less interesting to watch, you keep expecting to see United's name in the fixtures and it isn't. Only 10 games in 3 months is mad, feels like a serious void.
 
The European Cup/CL is a huge part of United's history and it is shit anytime they are not involved. It may be advantageous for United in the PL this year, but I'd much rather we won the EL last year and were in the CL.
 
Missing out on europe was needed. Smaller squad, players playing regularly to understand the managers tactics. However if we deliver on current form and bag a top 4 finish then we need to spend again to bring in numbers on top on replacing some 1st team players
 
We will definitely start to see the benefit as we get further into the season and the teams in Europe get even more tired. There's no excuse for us not to finish in the top half really.
 
LordSpud said:
The team is getting the full week to prepare and keep learning Amorim's way. I think it's a blessing to not have to play midweek and kick on next summer
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But this year should be enough for them to “learn Amorim’s way”. Next year we absolutely must play in European competition (preferably in the Champions league)
 
As a fan I hate it, but I said it a during ten Hags last season that our squad needed a season out of Europe (but we won fa Cup). The amount of fixtures we were playing every year was unsustainable (regularly among the top 2-3 clubs since COVID), our squad was breaking down, fatigue was killing form and confidence and development, and then implementing a new system, integrating new players, letting bodies and minds properly rest and reset... It's all been vital.

It was always a guarantee that no Europe would mean more consistency among the group and a better fitness record. Less traveling, less need to rotate, don't need to sub as much, fewer injuries, etc. We don't need to sub to protect players physically, now it's purely tactical subs (or pity minute subs).

Important to remember the consistency we get from this is a bit of a false consistency, as it's unlikely we get a Europe free season for a while after this. Important to make the most from it, and then prepare adequately in the summer for another heavy load season with players who can handle it rather than thinking guys like Shaw and Mount can handle the match load & travel that comes with it.
 
Worked out well for the team and for settling the squad down a bit, I think, but I really miss the midweek games. Evening games are a lot easier for me to watch due to other commitments so they are the ones I focussed on more usually.
 
Personally, I dont like it because I like to watch more games. For Manchester United, it can go either way... its only a good thing if say come Feb March we are looking like a top team and in top 4 for CL next season.
 
United not being in Europe is awful. It absolutely sucks.
 
Nothing good about not playing in Europe.
Club is losing tonnes of money
Squad players are not match fit due to lack of games.
Top players need to be playing at the top level.
We can get a away with it for 1 season but seriously need to be back in champions league next season.
 
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