(G14) As I predicted...

[NE5]

The Champions League has been a success and I wouldn't want to see lesser teams included just so that particular countries are represented. That idea died with the old European Cup and I wouldn't want it brought back.

 

The only thing wrong with the Champions League is we're not in it.

 

That's the way I see it aswell.  I really look forward to watching the CL on telly.  It wouldn't be the same with sh!te teams in it.  The argument that only the champions should qualify was lost a long time ago.  The competition is better than it's ever been imo.  I don't see the point of changing the best club competition in the world because of some outdated notion of fairness and equality.

 

Too many games waters down their impact, and it will only get worse.

 

For my money, the old 2 leg system beats the crap out of this league system which is only there to bring in more money for more clubs.

 

 

I prefer it the way it is now, you don't.  Motives aside there's not a lot of point in discussing it further - we're not going to agree 

 

OK, but the next obvious comment, is that the only people who benefit from more NUFC games being moved for TV, are those who

don't go to many games.

 

Not being funny either mate, but do you have experience of the old style european competitions ?

 

I bet you die of boredom watching all those drab Champions League group games, where you can actually lose a couple of games and still go through in what is supposed to be a "cup competition".

 

 

 

I never saw Dundee Utd in the European Cup because that came too soon for me.  I went to see them in the Uefa cup in the late 80s and early 90s though.  It was fab but we've never been in the group stages of either competition since they were introduced so I can't comment on it from a partisan point of view.

 

From a neutral point of view, I prefer watching the big teams more often.  I like the format more than I liked the old straight knockout format.  You obviously don't so it's no use us arguing that point.

 

Fair enough, I could suggest if you had seen that european Cup run you may think differently !!!!!

 

Hats off to them, Jim McLean did a great job at that time, they did absolutely marvellously. Fair dos' though, we agree to disagree mate.

 

 

 

 

[Thespence]

as the old competition used to contain champions only, there are now weaker teams in it, in fact lots of weaker teams.

 

The champions of the previous domestic season, more often than not the future champions were in the UEFA cup. I think the CL is stronger, as with EC you only had the winners of England, Spain  & Italy now you have them +3 other of Europe's biggest clubs from the domestic leagues of England, Spain  & Italy. Also the eastern block creating a zillion new teams would make the old EC format would be really weak now.

 

With the CL once in the group format there are always huge match ups every week, of course there are some dead rubbers in the last games of some groups but there are also just as many groups going to the wire.

[fredbob]

Not sre who i side with, it clear that G14 are gotting too powerful and i am completely against any club or clubs becoming more powerful than the governing body, however i disagree with the Cup winners being rewarded with a champions leagues place, for me the Champions League is the best club cupo competition in the world, the qulaity of football in that league is superb, and by adding the smaller nations champions to the competition (which t be fair they deserve) they are goona do nothing but dilute the quality of football we see. I personally have no interest in seeing Barcelona slap CSKA Bollockchops all over the park. In the past years some of the FA cup finalists have been dire and have no right to be thinking about CL, imiagine Millwall in the CL group stages, thats a ridiculous risk to take for the CL. Its footballing suicide if you ask me, the CL is a perfect cup competition if you ask me. Leave it to the top 4 footballing clubs in there respective leagues, not the top 3 and a wild card.

[Parky]

Not sre who i side with, it clear that G14 are gotting too powerful and i am completely against any club or clubs becoming more powerful than the governing body, however i disagree with the Cup winners being rewarded with a champions leagues place, for me the Champions League is the best club cupo competition in the world, the qulaity of football in that league is superb, and by adding the smaller nations champions to the competition (which t be fair they deserve) they are goona do nothing but dilute the quality of football we see. I personally have no interest in seeing Barcelona slap CSKA Bollockchops all over the park. In the past years some of the FA cup finalists have been dire and have no right to be thinking about CL, imiagine Millwall in the CL group stages, thats a ridiculous risk to take for the CL. Its footballing suicide if you ask me, the CL is a perfect cup competition if you ask me. Leave it to the top 4 footballing clubs in there respective leagues, not the top 3 and a wild card.

 

It will recharge and give importance back to main domestic cup competitions and help spread the money around a bit. It's getting to be that the big 4 are getting so rich from the CL that it is in danger of becoming/or will become a mini-league hoovering up all the money.

[NE5]

so we're all agreed that having 3 major trophies to chase, is better than 6

 

 

[ohmelads]

Not sre who i side with, it clear that G14 are gotting too powerful and i am completely against any club or clubs becoming more powerful than the governing body, however i disagree with the Cup winners being rewarded with a champions leagues place, for me the Champions League is the best club cupo competition in the world, the qulaity of football in that league is superb, and by adding the smaller nations champions to the competition (which t be fair they deserve) they are goona do nothing but dilute the quality of football we see. I personally have no interest in seeing Barcelona slap CSKA Bollockchops all over the park. In the past years some of the FA cup finalists have been dire and have no right to be thinking about CL, imiagine Millwall in the CL group stages, thats a ridiculous risk to take for the CL. Its footballing suicide if you ask me, the CL is a perfect cup competition if you ask me. Leave it to the top 4 footballing clubs in there respective leagues, not the top 3 and a wild card.

 

It will recharge and give importance back to main domestic cup competitions and help spread the money around a bit. It's getting to be that the big 4 are getting so rich from the CL that it is in danger of becoming/or will become a mini-league hoovering up all the money.

 

Both arguments are good ones. We're one of the few countries who really value our domestic cup and you're right that in many other countries such as Spain and Italy it would give a lot of importance back to the domestic cups and make them more competitive like the FA Cup over here. But what price is worth paying for that? The Champions League may not be perfect but it's pretty good the way it is and the last thing we want to do is dilute the quality - it is a tournament which prides itself on quality and by and large I think a good compromise has been reached already. It may not be a league of 'champions', but that idea was never feasible anyway because most of the quality is found in a few select leagues.

 

The more convincing argument is the one about the oligopoly of the Premier League's "big four". This has threatened to become a real problem for a while, because year on year if the same 4 sides are qualifying for the lucrative CL then the rest of the league will never catch up. However the superwealthy new owners who are coming in and buying clubs like ourselves, Man City, Villa and West Ham, may help to bridge that gap.

[fredbob]

Not sre who i side with, it clear that G14 are gotting too powerful and i am completely against any club or clubs becoming more powerful than the governing body, however i disagree with the Cup winners being rewarded with a champions leagues place, for me the Champions League is the best club cupo competition in the world, the qulaity of football in that league is superb, and by adding the smaller nations champions to the competition (which t be fair they deserve) they are goona do nothing but dilute the quality of football we see. I personally have no interest in seeing Barcelona slap CSKA Bollockchops all over the park. In the past years some of the FA cup finalists have been dire and have no right to be thinking about CL, imiagine Millwall in the CL group stages, thats a ridiculous risk to take for the CL. Its footballing suicide if you ask me, the CL is a perfect cup competition if you ask me. Leave it to the top 4 footballing clubs in there respective leagues, not the top 3 and a wild card.

 

 

It will recharge and give importance back to main domestic cup competitions and help spread the money around a bit. It's getting to be that the big 4 are getting so rich from the CL that it is in danger of becoming/or will become a mini-league hoovering up all the money.

 

The fa cup is the biggest and best domestic cup competition in the world, for pure interantional coverage it is rated higher than the Copa Liberatods (sp?), why would you sacrifice  the quality of one of the best if not the best club competition in order to raise the value of domestic competitions? Wheres the incentive for UEFA to do so? Its a complete regression for the standards of football.

 

Spreading money round is a fair point morally and theoretically but it isnt practical, if the Top 4 teams qualify for the CL then they deservethe windfall of income that that competion provides, by giving the place to a cup winner you undermine the achievements of a team, who've slogged it out for 38 games, its a matter of who deserves it most, and someone winning 8 games definetly doesnt deserve it over 38 games.

 

Another point is how lucrative do you think the CL will stay if the likes of Arsenal are replaced in the cup competition by teams such as Cork City or TNS?

[Big Geordie]

The old system was fine as it was, for me. The inception of the CL has been about making money and preserving the status quo of the top clubs. I do enjoy watching the CL, but the old EC, CWC and the UEFA ruled. 

[madras]

The old system was fine as it was, for me. The inception of the CL has been about making money and preserving the status quo of the top clubs. I do enjoy watching the CL, but the old EC, CWC and the UEFA ruled. 

yip and the straight knock out format aswell. i'm all for getting rid of the seeding system aswell, if ac milan draw real madrid in the first round then tough shit.

[Parky]

The old system was fine as it was, for me. The inception of the CL has been about making money and preserving the status quo of the top clubs. I do enjoy watching the CL, but the old EC, CWC and the UEFA ruled. 

yip and the straight knock out format aswell. i'm all for getting rid of the seeding system aswell, if ac milan draw real madrid in the first round then tough shit.

 

Yup.

 

The seeding and the group stages are all about protecting the big club franchise to insure to the umpteenth degree against one game slip ups etc.

[Thespence]

More English clubs play in European club cup competitions each season than they did in the old system. If the other 3 were not in the CL they would be in the UEFA cup.

 

I dont think the 3rd place team in CL groups should jump into the UEFA cup. Seedings I dont mind them.

 

 

[Parky]

I wouldn't mind a proper league in the CL if it was just the top 2 finishers from the PL and the next 3 went into the Uefa cup which was a straight knockout competition.

[Thespence]

the Uefa cup which was a straight knockout competition.

 

That UEFA cup group thing is just wrong.

[ross magoo]

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,2483_2879125,00.html

 

Cup winners idea scrapped, proposals generally watered down.

 

Good news imo.