Fourth place is no substitute for a trophy

Matt Stead

It was at an Annual General Meeting with Arsenal supporters – and, more pertinently, board members – in October 2012 when Arsene Wenger confirmed one of football’s worst-kept secrets. “For me there are five trophies every season,” he began. “The first is the Premier League, the second is the Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League, the fourth is the FA Cup and then the League Cup.”

Perhaps pre-empting an impassioned response from a fanbase who had not seen the Gunners lift an actual, real-life, physical trophy in seven years – and would witness two more barren years before their 2014 FA Cup triumph – Wenger explained why he valued finishing in the top four as more of a priority than lifting silverware.

“When you look to sign a player, he does not ask if you have won the League Cup recently. He asks if you are in the Champions League.”

It went some way to explaining how the Frenchman has guided Arsenal to at least one trophy in seven of his 18 full seasons at the club, while maintaining a perfect record of Champions League qualification in each campaign.

Wenger is by no means the only manager with similar beliefs. “I think that he is right,” said then-Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal in March 2015. “I think that for a club the Champions League is the highest level and that’s why he is saying that. And to finish in the first four, it’s a fantastic result.”

It is no different at the other end of the table. “The emphasis at this football club, at every football club I have been at and every owner I have worked for says we have to stay and we have to be in the Premier League for next season,” said Sam Allardyce in January, explaining why Sunderland were prepared to abandon an FA Cup run to improve their chances of safety.

For a manager, it is an understandable line of thought. The higher the league position, the larger the profit, the better calibre of player the club is able to attract. A seat at Europe’s top table is a chance to brush shoulders with the elite, to test yourself against the very best. Few would turn that down for the comparatively fleeting reward of a cup win.

But for a supporter to value a top-four finish above a trophy seems perverse. In a poll on this very website, 57% said they would prefer the former over the latter. A similar vote run by the Daily Telegraph in October 2012 in light of Wenger’s comments revealed that 64.17% believe qualifying for the Champions League is ‘better than winning the FA Cup’.

[of_poll name=’What would you rather?’ id=’201783′]

It is a difficult thing to fathom. Finishing fourth boosts profits and pleases owners, but neither has a direct impact on the common fan. The aim of the game is surely to try and win things; placing behind three other teams in a league is the most shallow of victories.

Offer a fan of any of the current top six the option of cup or Champions League qualification, and most would choose the latter. Tottenham sacrificed progression in both European competitions to concentrate on the Premier League. Manchester City surrendered an FA Cup quarter-final spot by fielding a team of youngsters against Chelsea just so they could finish fourth last season. On both occasions, many supporters defended the decision. It is dismaying.

Managers prioritise a top-four finish because it benefits them, but that does not mean fans must share that sentiment. Do Liverpool supporters look more fondly upon their 2006 FA Cup win, or their fourth-place finish in the Premier League two seasons later? Were Manchester United fans happier to finish fourth under Van Gaal than they were to win the FA Cup in his final game? There is no substitute for seeing your team lift a trophy. Football is defined by those moments of success – or at least it should be.

 

Matt Stead