Can our European experience help us challenge in the Europa?

toonsy

Yohan Cabaye - Our most experienced player in Europe
So we know we’ll be in the Europa League next season, but how far can we go in that particular competition?

Much of that will depend on what happens over the summer, but it’s not exactly a new experience, either for us or for the players.

It may have been a while since we got the passports and headed away with Newcastle United, but it wasn’t that long ago we were regulars on the European stage. Still time moves quickly and after a five-year absence it’s almost like starting all over again.

Not for the players though as we have a nucleus of them who have played in Europe before. It’s not like we are going into the competition blind which should help us mark a mark on the competition.

From front to back we have European experience within our team although admittedly to varying degrees. A look at the list below shows that most of our team have played in Europe before so they should have nothing to fear as a consequence.

Tim Krul – Limited experience, but remember that night in Palermo?
Davide Santon – Has played in Europe with Inter Milan.
Steven Taylor – Has made 24 appearances in Europe with us.
Fabricio Coloccini – Has played in Europe with Villareal and AC Milan
Hatem Ben Arfa – 34 European appearances for the former Lyon and Marseille man.
Yohan Cabaye – 35 European appearances for Lille.
Cheik Tiote – Has made 23 European appearances with Anderlecht and FC Twente.

Even players like Gabriel Obertan have got experience in Europe and of course you can’t forget Barcelona Shola!

You see what I mean? It’s not like our players are going boldly to a frontier that they’ve never experienced before. In fact most of those appearances have been made in a higher European competition than the Europa League!

I know it has its detractors, but personally I can’t wait for the draw to be made to see who we are up against. I just hope we get through the qualifying round!

If we don’t, it won’t be through lack of experience anyway…

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

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240 thoughts on “Can our European experience help us challenge in the Europa?”

  1. Toonsy ,nice topic .I think it’s in our favor to have such a continental squad, as clearly the assorted players all have experience of either playing in thier countrys or europa previously. Add to the mix that many such as Cabaye are proven cup winners and as long as our defence gets sorted and set play gets improved I won’t fear anyone we meet. 😉

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  2. Definitely good to have such a great mix at the club. I think Cabaye will actually prove integral in progressing in European competition

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  4. We have a good team in the PL so that will translate to a good team in any league… Bar a few off days this season, we have been really solid.. I agree with Kim, no fear for me either…

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  5. Aussie ,no fear we are commandos 😀 😎

    Andrew- Wheres that new arrival then ❓ thought you would have some news this morning . Is it your first?.

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  7. Kim 🙂 I hear Rich likes going commando as well 🙂 It ain’t a pretty thought 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  9. I knew you would be lurking in the ether… I was looking for an angle for a **** take, poor choice maybe 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  12. Has it started raining fire in Newcastle yet? Where the fark is Troy? 😯 😆

    …re. the article, without stating the bloody obvious, I think if you’re good enough to finish in the top 5 of the Premier League these days you’re good enough for Europe. Our league is absolutely rammed with foreign players and being an elite league, has become an amalgamation of all the world’s leagues and the styles of play within them. The only thing we’re lacking is a few cheating/diving Spaniards.

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  14. Think we have a first 11 who can give anyone a game on their day regardless of who it is. I do worry about the squad , can we cope playing Thursday Sunday Thursday Sunday etc etc? One thing that has been said about Pardew is he like to prepare his team very well and we had the luxury of having a week ( most of the time ) to prepare for our next game. Will the Europa league have an impact on our league position next season? I think we need the likes of Ferguson Vuckic Sammi to make an impact in the squad next season. Its gonna be tough but already looking forward to next season.

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  16. Worst/best case scenareo what is the most games extra we will play? What numbers are we looking at ?

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  20. To be honest I don’t think the players you mention will play a big part in the European games. We will need them for the PL and think we’ll play the younger ones in EL.

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  21. I could be wrong with that Aussie. Will depend on where we come into the competition at.

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  22. Kim, it is our first. But still nobody has popped out yet. Contractions are still going and the midwife is helping us along, but we’re still a few hours away from delivery I think 🙁

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  24. Johno@14, that’s my only minor concern. I’m sure if we bring in 3 or 4 quality replacements this summer we’ll have a squad big enough to cope. A good mix of experience combined with a few of the younger players we’ve got champing at the bit should serve us well.

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  26. This has probably been covered before, but am I right in thinking that we will enter the Europa League at the play-off stage, regardless of what happens tonight? The play-off stage is just one (two-legged) match, right? Then into the group stage?

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  27. Fletcher’s back! 😎

    (never did like the bumming skeletons, or that other one that looked like Meat Loaf)

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  28. That is it Rod , we need a few players in and I think the club will get the quality we need in. Hope Carr has a few players lined up and hit the ground running like last season.

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  31. Here’s hoping eh Johno. Must admit, my transfer window fear has subsided somewhat these days. I honestly don’t think Fatty is stupid enough to destroy the opportunity he has to showcase Sp**ts D***ct across the globe every season, through through European fixtures, and the high profile image a Sp**ts D***ct branded NUFC will regain through them. Call me an optimist (well don’t) but I see us staying up there now.

    I just hope we don’t start all that yo-yo **** again I.E. 3rd one season 14th the next.

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  32. I’m proper rooting for Chelsea today like. Fair enough, I don’t like them, but I fkn HATE Spurs. It’d be marvelous to see Champions League football slip from their grasp.

    …can’t see it though, unfortunately. 😐

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  34. I do think we will sell one player for well over the odds that they are worth to us and I am prepared for that but it will be re-invested back into recuritment one way or another. But I do think the future is bright for us and hopefully over next few seasons we stay in Europe , maybe get champions league football back and win something!

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  35. Hitman/Johno, yeah maybe, I’m sort of expecting it but I’m also expecting the money to be re-invested; that’s pretty much why I said 3 or 4 players. I think 3 would do it if we kept what we’ve got, but I agree with you, we’ll probably sell someone for big bucks and ‘dilute’ them into 3,4, maybe even 5 others. I hate speculating over players leaving, but I’d be surprised if we still had both Ba and Tiote at the start of the season. Although I hope not, I think one of them will leave. They seem the most obvious.

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  36. Rod I think Ba will go, Im sure about his clause but Pards said something like ‘ Mike wont sell anyone for £7 million he is a tough seller ‘ makes me think it will be Ba but for double that.

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  37. ….I just hope we don’t sell 3 (Simpson, Guthrie, Tiote) and buy 5 kind of deal. We need at least 3 ‘additions’. Obviously some of our current squad players will need to drop out of the 25.

    …speaking of squads, you know the 25 man rule thing, I know you can have unlimited U21s, that means 21 and under, doesn’t it?

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  39. JT but will jabba get more for BA i dont see it with this 7mill thing (if true) BA gets half so it leaves toon with sweet fa when you look at what we payed out in agents fees ect ect to sign him so imo another one will go to pay for incomeings,sad but thats the way i see it

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  40. ah, OK. Cheers Sidekick. 😎

    So that means out of our current squad of 31, we’ll be one over next season. We’ll still be safe with 5 of them: Abeid, Sameobi, Vuckic, Fergie and Tavernier.

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  41. …Gosling just scraped it in by the hairs of his **** last season, in case anyone was wondering.

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  43. Back again. 😯

    …dunno who I want to win the play-offs today really. I’d like to see West Ham back, but Fat Sam is a nob. I’d personally love to see Holloway back, I think he’s ace/funny, but Blackpool just doesn’t seem right. 😕

    Here’s a thought….if West Ham miss out on promotion I’d like to see Blackburn sign up Kevin Nolan. He’d be a marketing masterstroke for Venky’s with his goal scoring chicken dance. I can just see the TV ads now………. 😯

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  45. kmee, it appears Troy’s cataclysmic Newcastle prediction has came true 😯

    Is everyone deed or what ❓

    (probli just waiting for me to go, I’ll get me coat)

    😎

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  46. Its got to the stage that I really don’t care who we sell anymore. We as fans are so far removed from having any say in what goes down, it seems pointless worrying. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want our better players to leave but how much stress do you invest in something you can’t control.. As much as it pains me to say, I just hope that Ashley will do the right thing and we come out stronger as a result.. I can’t do the angry **** anymore, it does my head in and makes no difference… Pards and Carr seem to be on the money so I hope they pick some winners 🙂

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  47. Well normally when an English team plays a CL final i hope they win but tonight if Chelsea win they get a CL ticket thus pushing spurs into the Europa league . Here’s the thing , as i understand it we with 5th place have won outright qualification to the Group stage . If Chelsea win Spurs will get the 5th place ticket pushing us into the qualifiying rounds for the group stage . Can anyone on here clarify this . if so for the first time ever i will be cheering for the Germans . 🙄 😆

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  50. Andrew@22- You might be in for a long wait then ,good luck anyway to you both.Wait till you see that baby you’ll be hit for six and soooo proud ,your lifes gonna change big time . 😀

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  54. Tell you what, there is jack **** news about is there. Nee inspiration. It’ll come 😐

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  55. Axel – 5th place gets the final qualifying round. The team who takes the FA Cup place goes straight into the groups.

    I have no idea how it works from then on mind 😆

    I just hope Chelsea win to knock the Spurts out of the CL so I can sit back and watch the exodus over the summer 😉

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  58. I’m with Toonsy on this one ,mass exodus would be soooo funny, what with Arry always trying to nick players would be divine retribution like. 👿

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  60. Toonsy in that case a chelsea win will push us into the first or second qualifying round .The alarm bells are starting to ring because that means we will be playing them before the season even starts and even when the olympics are on . Thus no Ba (if he is not sold) and no Cisse . We need to start moving fast in the transfer market.

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  61. nee news, raining from the heavens for 4 wks now its enough to drive a man to drink,well thats a canny idea 🙂
    bet richie is lying aboot in the sun,well lying aboot anyway

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  62. Still here Aussie, just nipped oot to the army surplus shop. Sat here now kitted oot heed to toe in a lead-lined suit and gas mask, just in case the blast from the nuclear fahlloot travels further south to where I am. Sorted. 😯

    …I’m in Toonsy’s camp on the CL final. I want Spurs to suffer 😈

    …reet, off oot to buy some Hydroxocobalamin from Argos, just in case mi watta supply gets contaminated.

    Laters…

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  63. RODZILLA your worrying to much m8 , one good Northsea wind will blow the fahloot away man . Hopfully towards the scum doon the road .

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  64. Ice, maybe the 30 days and 30 nights of rain is Troy catyclysmic event that he has foretold…. all aboard Troy reality arc 🙂 🙂

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  65. I would kill to see ‘arrys face if chelski today this his twitch would go fecking mental, Also come on blackpool lets have that fat twunts reputation on its ****… 😈

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  66. AMF aye the silence is deafening,didnt i tell you to stop useing big words richie is fooked if you use more than six letters in words 🙂

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  67. Ice 🙂 there is a good chance I spelt that big word wrong so it will make sense to Rich 🙂

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  71. Ice, if it is in the press, we are not after him… they know nowt mate..

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  72. Cheers for the reassurance Axel. I think the mackems have built up an immunity anyway so they should be OK, sat there with their 6 fingers and webbed feet 🙂

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  73. ice

    When ive seen him hes looked solid and pretty pacey which would be useful after watching willo and he scored in a couple of the matches to boot which is what pards is after apparantly.

    Might have just caught him on some good days like… 😉

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  74. AMF aye your reet,one good thing i will say about jabba is he pays cash on the nail for players which puts us on the front foot when dealing with clubs its better than selling them on the “never”never payments in this day and age you can tend to get that bit cheaper imo,talking cheaper richie must be out on the perv today 🙂

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  75. Who was our last Brazilian defender.. it was Casapa wasn’t it? He would want to be better than that fella 🙂

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