Good post. Ultimately, that's the point. The talk of Europe is either that - talk - or it's what they genuinely want and expect us to achieve. It's up to them, they own us. Our opinions are interesting and (largely) fun to discuss - surely the point of a forum like this - but we're all guessing, venting and spitballing - plus there seem to be some implicit Blasphemy Laws being created (on both sides of the debate) which get in the way.
It'll be interesting to see what moves Newcastle make now Bruce has gone, and I mention this as I strongly suspect whatever direction they take will inform the future direction of our own managerial debate e.g. if they go large for a Zidane profile manager we'll have fans who are cross we haven't done similar and shown more ambition, and if they go are modest and for a longer term growth / youth policy it'll underscore that maybe we are on the right track and being sensible. If they do both...hmmm.