It’s a question that has been asked by and of a lot recently of City fans: would you prefer a top four finish, and the Champions League qualification that comes with it, or would you rather end the now 35 year trophy drought. The question is being asked more now as, at the time of writing, we’re in third place in the league, in the last 16 of the Europa League, and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, against the lowest ranked team left in the competition. Whilst I would love us to do all three (and win the league as well, but being seven points off top spot, I suspect that’s out of reach), it has got me thinking which is better and/or more important.
A top four finish, and the associated Champions League qualification, was reportedly Mancini’s target at the beginning of this season. Qualifying for the Champions League would help City attract players come the summer transfer window. For me, whilst this is oft quoted, is probably the least important reason, at least considerably less than it has been in previous seasons. We are already able to attract top players, such as Tevez, Yaya Toure, Silva & Balotelli, and our squad now needs mere tweaking, rather than the overhaul that has taken place over the past few years. Our name (and reputation for paying high wages) has already been spread, and it is clear that we are going places, so the need to make a ‘statement signing’ has diminished, and the need for Champions League football to help smooth out that signing isn’t needed.
What does make entering the Champions League urgent are UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules. These state that clubs entering a European competition must break even over the previous three years. This comes into play in two seasons time, so the money received from being in the Champions League next season will help to ensure that we do not end up blocked from entering in future seasons. The financial incentives for appearing in the Champions League are staggering: almost €8m just for entering the Group Stage, and that’s before TV money, ticket sales, advertising revenue, additional win/draw bonuses and other payments are taken into account. This is by far the most important reason as to why we must finish in the top 4 this season.
All this comes alongside the emotional reasons why being in the Champions League is so important. I’m too young to remember the old European Cup, so the Champions League is my only knowledge of top European football. I know it’s only a side issue, but UEFA do know how to brand it, even if they have mucked up the UEFA Cup/Europa League. Everyone knows the logo, of the football made up of stars, and the theme music still after all these years has the ability to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I could write pages about that song, imaginatively titles ‘The Champions League’, but all I will say for now is that it’s often imitated, but never equalled. Anyone remember The Premier League’s anthem? Exactly.
This season is also our best chance for a while for a top four finish. Liverpool were abysmal at the start of the season, but now with Dalglish at the helm, they seem to have turned the corner, and with Suarez looking good and Carroll having great potential, you can't rule them out of being in the mixer again next season. The same, to a lesser extent, could be said about Chelsea, who surely can't be as bad next season as they have been for the last couple of months of this. Let's not forget how well they started the season, so we know they're very capable of it. Should Spurs get a second season of Champions League football, they will be able to strengthen further, and will be able to handle laying twice a week better than they have.
One final point on the Champions League is that, quite simply, the best teams are in it. The players and management want to be playing against the best players and teams in the world, and that can only happen in the Champions League. Whilst we’ve had great fun in the Europa League this season (The Poznan, Alan and others), with the greatest respect to Aris Thessaloniki, Timișoara and FC Twente, they’re not Barcelona, AC Milan or Bayern Munich. Who doesn’t want to see how Kompany will cope with Messi, the midfield battle between de Jong and Gattuso and Tevez trying to beat Casillas?
When it comes to the other side of the coin, ending the trophy drought, it pretty much exclusively comes down to emotion. I’m 27. In my lifetime, we’ve not even got to a final, never mind actually won anything. In fact, we’ve only been in one semi-final, and that was last year, in the Carling Cup against United, and we know how that ended. In the FA Cup, we’re just one game away from the semi, and that game is against Reading, the only non-Premier League side remaining.
Our lack of trophies has been used as a stick to beat us with for a long time already, I can remember the mocking at the 25 year anniversary, and the longer it goes on, the more intense it will get, especially now that we are seen as a threat. I remember being there when we were awarded the First Division (now Championship) trophy in 2002. Whilst it was in the grand scheme of things minor, promotion by far the most important achievement of the season, seeing a City captain lifting a trophy was still an amazing feeling.
I was one of the lucky ones who was at WembleyKinkladze was playing for Georgia, which is why I went), but being stood at the top of Wembley Way on that day in May is a memory that is going to stay with me for the rest of my life, even before taking into account what happened later. Memories like that are one of the reasons why we become football fans, and I want to experience days like that again.
One more thing in favour of winning a trophy. It gives you something tangible. A top four finish is nice, but, as the saying goes, you can't have an open top bus, with the players parading the league table. There's a special thing saying you are 'THE' FA Cup winners (or 'THE' Europa League winners, if you prefer) that you don't get from finishing in the top four. Top four is nice, but it's one of four, not the one of 806, which is the amount of teams that entered this seasons FA Cup.
Ultimately, for me, whilst I would prefer us to win a trophy, a top four finish is more important for the club as a whole. Winning a trophy would be great, and getting that banner at the Swamp taken down would be immense. However, it is just one day, ultimately. Finishing in the top four is more important for the future of the club. If we don't do it this season, it will probably become more difficult. If we don't win a trophy this season, there is always next.
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