Is the Champions League really worth it?

It was once the holy grail, a competition Spurs fans dreamed of competing in. Now the dream has become a reality and Tottenham playing in the Champions League is becoming the norm. But is it really all worth it?

We all remember the painful days of competing in the Europa League, the frustrating fifth place finishes, and the questions of what if. What if Chelsea hadn’t won the Champions League in 2012? Redknapp would have almost certainly kept his job, Modric might have stayed and Hazard may have joined. We could’ve all used a sportpesa bonus code and won enough to pay for the new stadium by now!

But what is becoming painfully clear is that the Champions League doesn’t appear to make much difference both in terms of holding on to our best players and attracting the best talent in Europe. Walker left, Alderweireld hasn’t signed a new contract, and worryingly neither has Eriksen. Since qualifying for the Champions League in 2016 the players brought in have included the likes of Sissoko, N’Koudou and Janssen, players we surely could have signed without Champions League football.

The key theme here is money talks and as long as we maintain our current wage structure, we’ll struggle to hold on to players and attract the best out there, regardless of what European competition we are in.

As for the competition itself, while last season we performed strongly in the group stage, the season before was a disaster and having lost our opening two games this season is looking likely to have a similar outcome. Of course we could still turn things around and get out of the group with two winnable games coming up against PSV, but even then, how far can we reasonably expect to go?

Not only this, the Champions League puts a lot of strain on a squad that is already being stretched to its limits. Without it, more effort could be put towards a potential title challenge or towards the other cup competitions which offer a much more realistic chance of silverware.

I appreciate this all sounds very cynical, but I am someone who has enjoyed being in the competition as much as any other Spurs fan. I was there when Bale scored that fantastic hat-trick at the San Siro. I was there when we tore Inter Milan to shreds in the return game at the Lane. I was there when Eriksen calmly slotted in the third to clinch victory over the mighty Real Madrid. Some of my best memories as a Tottenham fan have undoubtedly come in the Champions League.

I also appreciate that it is a result of our success and establishing ourselves as a top four side. I’m also not suggesting that we shoudn’t aim to be in it, because it is at the end of the day the top competition in Europe and a hell of a lot better than Thursday nights.

But what I am saying is memories aside, has it been worth the effort? I’m sure for some fans the memories alone of beating Real Madrid and Inter Milan are enough. But at the end of the day, it’s not making a difference in terms of transfers, it’s unrealistic to win, and it’s distracting us from more winnable competitions.

Ideally, we would be in a position where we could fight on all four fronts, but unfortunately we currently lack the squad depth to do that. This means we must prioritise and personally I’d rather us put out a stronger team away at West Ham in the League Cup than in the games against PSV.

So yes the Champions League can be great fun, but for me the biggest fun comes in the form of winning trophies. It’s time to focus on doing just that.