Is it worth it? Tottenham bowed out to Benfica in March (Picture: Getty)

Teetering on the brink of European qualification with only four games left of the season, do Spurs really want another year in Europe’s second tier competition?

Despite another year of falling short in the bid for fourth, Tottenham do have control over one potentially season-defining aspect of their next campaign, the Europa League.

It is a topic that has been raised with every discussion of Tottenham’s downfalls this season. Is it to blame?

In the past eight seasons, Tottenham have only had one without any involvement on the European stage and it was the season Harry Redknapp secured fourth place – giving White Hart Lane the taste of Champions League football for the first time. Coincidence? Probably not.




It is also beyond question that Liverpool’s lack of European action has had a major role in allowing them to storm into the title race after a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last year.

Meanwhile, their rivals lock horns with Europe’s elite just three or four days before crucial domestic fixtures.

It is hard to ignore a dismal record that will probably be the difference between the eventual holders of the coveted fourth spot, and Tottenham

While there’s the argument that Champions League qualification leads to squad reinforcement and ‘marquee’ signings, in reality the effects of the competition on a squad are no different to the Europa League. With the same three-day rest period in most cases, it is only the inconvenience of Sunday games that sets them apart.

And if the extra fixtures are supposedly damaging to a club’s league campaign, clubs are trapping themselves into a cycle of fighting for a spot in a tournament that only has detrimental effects in the following season.

This is arguably more apparent for a club like Tottenham – can they realistically challenge the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the latter stages?

This season, Spurs have claimed 16 points from a possible 36 points in the matches following midweek Europa League action. With losses against West Ham, Newcastle and Norwich included, it is hard to ignore a dismal record that will probably be the difference between the eventual holders of the coveted fourth spot, and Tottenham.

Having said that, it is evident that the task of dealing with the extra competition runs deeper than squad depth. Outside of Manchester City and Chelsea, the squad that has been at Tim Sherwood’s and Andre Vilas-Boas’ disposal is as good as any other in the league.

The lack of continuity and preparation is surely to blame, shown by both managers’ failure to nail down a regular starting XI.

With a summer of uncertainty both off and on the pitch ahead, it is a damning sign of modern football to even discuss the worth of a European campaign, in a winnable competition that could give Tottenham their biggest moment in decades. To dare is to do?

As the great Bill Nicholson said: ‘It’s magnificent to be in Europe, and this club – a club like Tottenham Hotspur – if we’re not in Europe…. we’re nothing.’

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