:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/3518040/120110650.jpg)
Do Tottenham care about the Europa League? Maybe, but probably not and Harry Redknapp sure doesn't like it very much. The club is in it though so what's the point of whining and complaining. We get two play-off round matches and if we win that, six group stage matches. That's eight more opportunities to grab a beer and a seat at White Hart Lane or your favorite pub to watch Spurs play. I can deal with that as a worst case scenario.
Today we were treated to the Europa League playoff round draw and it was amazing how much more tolerable watching a draw is without the breaks for live music, dancing and awkward, unfunny jokes. On the negative side, this draw lacked Charlize Theron, who makes all television better.
For Tottenham's play-off round it will be local battle against Hearts, or Heart of Midlothian F.C., if you prefer. The first leg will be in Scotland on August 18 with the return leg at White Hart Lane on August 25. In all, it's about as good of a draw as Spurs could have gotten.
For one, there is little travel. With the Europa League offering the possibility of travel to Eastern Europe in tiny cities that are cold, all on a Thursday, minimizing travel is the most important thing. Two, Heart of Midlothian F.C. are not very good and are someone that Spurs should handle. Maybe that's a bad thing though because some people want Tottenham out of the competition. Three, defeating Heart of Midlothian F.C. is another blow to the Scottish Premier League and can help knock them out of the top 15 in the UEFA coefficient, meaning fewer teams from that awful league in European competition. Celebrate!
So let's play Heart of Midlothian F.C. and win, or lose, or whatever happens. You can tell that we are heavily invested in this tournament. No, we can't make nearly as many good puns about Hearts as we did Young Boys in last year's European playoff, but there are some good ones out there so that's a plus too. Yay, Europa League!