[Albion] If you can only have one...

[Swansman]

What if the options were:
Qualify for the Champions League
Win the FA Cup
Palace relegated

I imagine most people here would take the cup which I 200% understand, since following the teams for decades without winning anything would make a win a very big day. CL qualification through the league is arguably more difficult and has A LOT bigger impact, but its perhaps not something that gets you dancing on the streets.
Champions League would be really massive though. £100m in the bank account and going to Bernabeu or Camp Nou or something... which is what all players want. Would make it a lot easier to keep the best players and sign very good ones.

 

[A1X]

Surely even if you ignore that winning the FA Cup qualifies you for Europe, that's the logical choice right? Genuine, tangible history and a massive party at Wembley?

Palace will go down sooner or later anyway, no need to rush that. Plus winning the cup rubs their nose in it too.

 

[The Optimist]

I imagine most people here would take the cup which I 200% understand, since following the teams for decades without winning anything would make a win a very big day. CL qualification through the league is arguably more difficult and has A LOT bigger impact, but its perhaps not something that gets you dancing on the streets.
Champions League would be really massive though. £100m in the bank account and going to Bernabeu or Camp Nou or something... which is what all players want. Would make it a lot easier to keep the best players and sign very good ones.

That's my thinking. Winning the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history would be amazing, but qualifying for the Champions League could have a massive impact on the club's future. Also maybe we'd get to see Messi at the Amex!

Edit: Can't be just have both?

 

[smillie's garden]

But not mathematically safe by a long chalk. That’s all that matters.

Exactly, and miraculously scraping a point against the biggest team in the galaxy would be such a fillip toward that goal (imho)

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Meant to click FA cup, as that qualifies us for Europa League but had a mouse twitch and pressed wrong one!

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Win the FA Cup, Win the Europa League, Champions League football for the 24-25 season. Simple!

 

[Stato]

It's about short or long term thinking this one.

Palace are not going down, so that one can be ruled out. Even if it couldn't, you'd have to be quite twisted to be more interested in your rivals failing that your team succeeding.

Qualifying for the CL, as @Swansman has pointed out, is the sensible long term progress option. It would mean players would stay. It would mean that players would want to join. It would put us in a better position to keep RDZ.

Winning the FA Cup would mean street parades and adding our name to the comparatively small list of teams that have won a major trophy in the modern era.

I know that the sensible option would be the CL, but football supporting has little to do with sensible and everything to do with impossible dreams. Paul Barber might choose the former, but surely most fans would choose the latter.

To be honest, I don't expect any of the three to happen. If I'm right, I'll be sanguine - it will still have been a ride.