shanklygates wrote:but whichever way you look at it this is far removed from being a mickey mouse trophy, its the next best european version of a cup.
I'm afraid it lacks any credibility, it is long since removed from being a strong competition when they expanded the Champions League to non-Champions and thus removed all the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best sides from the top leagues.
I doubt many would rank it ahead of the Champions League, Premiership and FA Cup in terms of prestige. It has Fulham and the bitters in it FFS, when did either of them last win a trophy?!?! (1995 if you need the answer)
Being the "next best european version of a cup" is arguable to say the least, there are only two European competitions EXCEPT I think winning the UEFA Super Cup is more prestigious given you'd have to beat the holder of either European competition to win that.
Given three out of the last four in last season's UEFA Cup were CL dropouts and therefore not one of the last sixteen in the major European competition, it is difficult to make a case that the second European competition is that strong. The Champions League ruined the UEFA Cup by expanding, the Cup Winners Cup was a better and more prestigious competition than the UEFA Cup has become, and dropping third placed teams in the CL group stages into the UEFA Cup has made it a joke. I'd be embarrassed by any LFC fans bragging about winning the Europa League under the circumstances, not that I am in any way convinced we will win it any more than we did in 02/03 when we lost to CELTIC.