I don't think that this is necessarily a bad thing. I find it hard to disagree with this quote:
“It doesn’t mean we are not treating Europe seriously, because we are. But we think the fans would all agree that, certainly at this stage of the season, domestic football has to come first.”
We have a big squad with good players who can never get a game and younger players who never get a chance. This is a good opportunity for players like Townsend and especially Dos Santos to step up. I think some of the comments that have been made regarding Europa are realistic. Too many teams, too easy to qualify and too many fixtures.
These are the only ones being left behind:
Friedel, Walker, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto, Sandro, Parker, Van Der Vaart, Modric, Bale, Adebayor
Perhaps a hint at who is playing against Liverpool