Since the mid-2000s, the primary aim at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has been to get into the most elite club competition in the world, the UEFA Champions League. With the target very much the same 20 years later, how important is competing in the Champions League to the Lilywhites?
Do Tottenham Hotspur Really Need Champions League Football?
Would Failure to Obtain This Be Considered a Failure?
This is a silly question on the surface. Of course, they need to qualify for the Champions League. They are one of the biggest football clubs in the country and one of the richest clubs globally, according to the Deloitte Football Money League.
Therefore, competing among Europe’s elite should be the norm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right? Well, for a while, it was the norm. Between 2016-2023, they were in the competition in 6 of the 8 seasons, famously finishing as runners-up to Liverpool in 2019.
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At the start of this term, the best case scenario for the team from the N17 would have been a top 4 finish, while a Europa League spot would have been considered a decent outcome, taking into account the state that the side was in at the back end of the last campaign.
However, after spending in the summer and winter transfer windows coupled with relatively good performances on the pitch, the Lilywhites would certainly regret missing out on qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition. But it should not be considered a failure by any means.
Europa League a Decent Option for Young Tottenham Squad
The Europa League is often looked down on by fans of the biggest teams in Europe and even certain Tottenham fans will say it’s beneath them, but it may be the best thing for Ange Postecoglou’s team. The first 10 games of the Premier League season showed us that they have a starting 11 that is well capable of playing the way Postecoglou needs them to play and simultaneously getting good results. However, the following 15 matches, littered with long-term injuries, suspensions, and missing players to international duty, have showcased that while they do have a first team capable of ‘Ange-ball’, the squad as a whole is very much a work in progress.
The Europa League will offer the manager a chance to give minutes to members of his squad who would usually start on the bench. The pressure to qualify for the knockout stage while simultaneously progressing in the Champions League does not allow for the luxury of resting first-team players.
Europa League Presents Possible Trophy Opportunity
A lot has been made of Tottenham’s trophy drought. Trophy-less since 2008, the Lilywhites look set to go another year without silverware as they are out of both the League and FA Cups and are 10 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
While the Premier League is set to be as competitive as ever for the foreseeable future, qualification to the Europa League would present an opportunity to bring home a trophy in a competition where the team have a rich history, having won the tournament twice.
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While playing in the Champions League is prestigious, Tottenham are currently not in a position to compete with the continent’s heavyweights. The Europa League serves as a feasible means for Spurs to satisfy this hunger for success as they continue their rebuild.
