Moyes And Other Managers Desperate To Avoid The Con Cup

David Moyes cold find himself in a very strange position when it comes to Sunday's final Barclays Premier League against Southampton, his actions could end up being triggered by results elsewhere in the competition. Desperately disappointed not to have made a Champions League slot, Moyes is still keen to finish on a high.

Now that 'high' would obviously be qualification for the group stages of the Europa League, the alternative is the as yet untried 'Con' Cup, or Europa Conference League Cup to give it's proper name. Entering the Con Cup commits a team to a hefty schedule of fixtures in some of the 'lesser' known outposts of European football.

The Europa League is a well oiled competition that has the added incentive of Champions League qualification for the winners, the alternative has all the trappings of the Inter Toto, a competition West Ham have already actually WON! The new Cup, apart from being untried has the dubious incentive of competing in the Europa League as a reward.

What this means is that some clubs, including West Ham may view qualifying for the Con Cup as a 'poisoned chalice' that they want no part of, therefore the unusual situation could occur whereby a manager deliberately lets his team draw or lose in order to AVOID the competition altogether!

This may all seem a little far fetched, and there are some who would argue ANY European competition is better than none, but would they put forward the same argument if it meant risking injury for key players? Players who will be tasked to help keep Hammers in the top half of the table through a long and gruelling season.

Obviously it is not in David Moyse's DNA to even consider 'throwing' a match, but events might make him seriously think about it....what would you do if you were the Irons manager and were presented with the same circumstances? You can guarantee other managers would definitely weigh up their options before committing their team to a long and arduous campaign, with very little reward at the 'end of the rainbow'. - Ed