impressive style, Wolves only managed four
points from their first six Premier League
outings, all coming in draws accompanied
by unconvincing performances. In between
they conceded eight goals in successive
defeats to Everton and Chelsea, leading to
suggestions that the double-edged sword
of playing in Europe had struck another
less-established club.
It took them until the final weekend of
September and their seventh game to
register a first league win, but from there,
they didn’t look back. That marked the
catalyst for a huge upturn in form, and by
the end of 2019 they had breezed through
a potentially challenging Europa League
group with 13 points, and emerged as one
of a number of teams challenging for a
place in the Premier League’s top six.
Come the middle of January, and Wolves
had already played a total of 38 games in
all competitions – the same number as in
an entire Premier League season. They’d
made the reality of balancing such intense
domestic and European commitments look
comparatively easy in terms of results, but
the overriding issue is whether the current
format is sustainable at a time where the
number of games that teams are being
made to play has become such a hot topic
in football.
Having come through a crowded festive
period that at one stage required them to
play four matches in just nine days, the first
leg of the last 32 encounter with Espanyol
marked another testing period for Wolves,
as they seek success on both fronts at the
risk of great physical cost. If they reach the
final, they will end up playing an astonishing
64 games in 2019-20.
The dilemma for clubs like Wolves when
they qualify for the Europa League is
whether to chase the glorious prospect
of a trophy and a coveted place in the
Champions League, while being acutely
aware of the monumental toll it takes on the
players. This also includes the amount of
travelling that’s involved.
If they were to win the Europa League,
Wolves would see it as completely worth the
effort, and it would go down as one of the
most famous achievements of their history.
Even so, the need to play the equivalent of
more than half a Premier League season
in order to do it is surely excessive. It’s a
convoluted format.
Firstly, there are simply too many qualifying
rounds. No sooner than the final takes
place in one season, the next instalment
gets underway just a matter of weeks later.
Furthermore, the knockout stage contains
one extra round compared to in Champions
League, ensuring there’s no let up for the
sides that go further in the competition.
In England, the Europa League has been
much maligned from its inception, despite
producing some dramatic moments over
the years. Its predecessor the UEFA Cup- mostly made up of knockout matches –
never received such criticism, instead being
viewed as a very worthy companion to the
Champions League. The introduction of
the Europa Conference League for 2021-
may shorten the workload for coaches and
players, but it arguably isn’t the solution the
game needs.
ABOVE:
Tireless Wolves
striker Raul Jimenez
has maintained
superb form despite
the extra games he’s
had to play
LEFT:
Lifting the Europa
League brings great
rewards, but the
road to get there is
long and arduous
BOTTOM:
Chelsea celebrating
with the trophy
after winning the
2019 UEFA Europa
League final
between Chelsea FC
and Arsenal FC)
)
FULHAM – 10
YEARS ON
KEY DATES
LAST 10
WINNERS
ROUND OF 16:
MARCH 12 - MARCH 19QUARTER AND SEMI FINAL DRAW:
MARCH 20QUARTER FINAL:
APRIL 9 - APRIL 16SEMI FINAL:
APRIL 30 - MAY 7FINAL:
MAY 27
(Gdansk Stadium)2018-19: CHELSEA
2017-18: ATLETICO MADRID
2016-17: MANCHESTER UNITED
2015-16: SEVILLA
2014-15: SEVILLA
2013-14: SEVILLA
2012-13: CHELSEA
2011-12: ATLETICO MADRID
2010-11: PORTO
2009-10: ATLETICO MADRIDIn the first year of the Europa League,
Fulham surprised everyone by reaching
the final. A decade on, Stephen
Donovan looks back on their incredible
runIt was something of a miracle that
Fulham were even competing in Europe
in 2009-10. A little over a year earlier
they had looked certain to be relegated
from the Premier League, only for
manager Roy Hodgson to follow up
a great escape by leading them to
seventh place the season after, and so
the Cottagers entered the inaugural
Europa League.
Just like Wolves in 2019-20, Fulham
began their campaign in July. They
comfortably came through two
qualifying rounds before being placed
in a very difficult group which included
Roma and Basel. The odds were stacked
against them, but three wins including a
magnificent 3-2 success in Switzerland
sent them through to the knockout
stage.
That was just the beginning for Fulham,
who continued to defy their underdog
status by achieving some staggering
results. In the last 32 they overcame
reigning UEFA Cup champions Shakhtar
Donetsk, but the greatest night of all
was against Juventus. Trailing 3-1 from
the first leg and down by goal early in
the second, they stunned the Italian
giants with four unanswered strikes to
win 5-4 on aggregate.
Bobby Zamora and Zoltan Gera were
then the heroes as they saw off German
pair Wolfsburg and Hamburg, to book
a place in the final against Atletico
Madrid. A Simon Davies volley took
it to extra time and Fulham were just
four minutes away from penalties, only
for Atletico to win it as Diego Forlan’s
attempt was deflected in for an own
goal by Brede Hangeland.‘The issue
is whether
the current
format is
sustainable’