The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20523405 European football's governing body Uefa is considering ditching the Europa League in favour of extending the Champions League from 32 to 64 teams. "We're discussing it. We will make a decision in 2014. Nothing is decided yet," Uefa president Michel Platini told French newspaper Ouest-France. It means seven English clubs and five Scottish teams could qualify for European football's elite competition. Uefa are looking at changing the format of European competitions from 2015. "There is an ongoing debate to determine what form the European competitions will have between 2015 and 2018," added Platini. The former France international said he was not worried by talk of Europe's richest clubs forming a competition to rival the Champions League. "It's a question that is regularly brought up," he said. "I can't see how it could work outside the Uefa framework. Who will referee them? In what stadiums will they play?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 That is just a gateway to a European Super League, imo. Far too many clubs have outgrown their countries. Celtic and Rangers to name two. Real and Barca or ally miles ahead of most others in Spain. With independence on the agenda in places like Scotland and Catalonia, a super league is going to be very attractive for a lot of big teams in small countries. Baby steps right here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibden Purlieu Saint Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Sounds awesome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 That is just a gateway to a European Super League, imo. Far too many clubs have outgrown their countries. Celtic and Rangers to name two. Real and Barca or ally miles ahead of most others in Spain. With independence on the agenda in places like Scotland and Catalonia, a super league is going to be very attractive for a lot of big teams in small countries. Baby steps right here. Exactly my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajjuk Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 5 scottish clubs is 4 too many. Can see arguments for this though, I mean Barcelona play rubbish Romanian, Belarusian, Norweigan teams in the Champions league group stages anyway so it's not likely to lessen the quality that much. However how would they do this without increasing the number of games, essentially you would have to have two group stages and the big clubs would then get a bye through to the second one, so the first group stage would end up like the Europa league anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Depends on how they do it, the format could remain pretty much as is with the top positions 'seeded' and the Europa places playing a 'knockout' tournament to qualify. Interesting times and would love to see Saints in the mix over the next five years, having seen Newcastle let's be optimistic ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golac's Cunning Stunts Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 As long as they change the name of the competition from Champions league to "Champions, runners up and any other mediocre team who fancies a go" league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It would only take one extra knockout round to half the number of clubs, so it would be feasible. I actually quite like the idea as it seems most decent teams in the EL couldn't give a flying f**k about it and end up resting their best players for domestic league games anyway. If they were in CL with considerably more prize money at steak there might be more interest. On the other hand the group stages would be a bit predictable with only 1 or 2 decent teams in each one. No more groups with Ajax, Man City, Real Madrid and Dortmund. Instead you'd have Barca playing Maribor, Dnipro and Viking Stavanger. Not all that exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golac's Cunning Stunts Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It would only take one extra knockout round to half the number of clubs, so it would be feasible. I actually quite like the idea as it seems most decent teams in the EL couldn't give a flying f**k about it and end up resting their best players for domestic league games anyway. If they were in CL with considerably more prize money at steak there might be more interest. On the other hand the group stages would be a bit predictable with only 1 or 2 decent teams in each one. No more groups with Ajax, Man City, Real Madrid and Dortmund. Instead you'd have Barca playing Maribor, Dnipro and Viking Stavanger. Not all that exciting. Viking Stavanger are a class team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It would only take one extra knockout round to half the number of clubs, so it would be feasible. I actually quite like the idea as it seems most decent teams in the EL couldn't give a flying f**k about it and end up resting their best players for domestic league games anyway. If they were in CL with considerably more prize money at steak there might be more interest. On the other hand the group stages would be a bit predictable with only 1 or 2 decent teams in each one. No more groups with Ajax, Man City, Real Madrid and Dortmund. Instead you'd have Barca playing Maribor, Dnipro and Viking Stavanger. Not all that exciting. I'd suggest that won't happen; UEFA will be thinking about the revenue. They have a huge Europa Cup tournament at the moment which brings them a decent deal in TV rights. Cut down on the number of games, and you cut down on UEFA's revenue. That's simply not going to happen. I don't see there's any other way they'd do this other than to double the number of groups involved, and therefore keep European football over Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Either that, or one set of group stages leads into another set of groups, and then the knockouts (as it was in the fairly early years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 That is just a gateway to a European Super League, imo. Far too many clubs have outgrown their countries. Celtic and Rangers to name two. Real and Barca or ally miles ahead of most others in Spain. With independence on the agenda in places like Scotland and Catalonia, a super league is going to be very attractive for a lot of big teams in small countries. Baby steps right here. Of anything, this will stop a break away league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 "I can't see how it could work outside the Uefa framework. Who will referee them? In what stadiums will they play?" Do UEFA have some sort of control over stadiums then? I would have thought it had sod all to do with them, but could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 I'd suggest that won't happen; UEFA will be thinking about the revenue. They have a huge Europa Cup tournament at the moment which brings them a decent deal in TV rights. Cut down on the number of games, and you cut down on UEFA's revenue. That's simply not going to happen. I don't see there's any other way they'd do this other than to double the number of groups involved, and therefore keep European football over Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Either that, or one set of group stages leads into another set of groups, and then the knockouts (as it was in the fairly early years). True. It's feasible but I don't think it's likely. We've already tried having 2 groups stages in the CL but it was dropped because teams complained about fixture congestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Don't be silly. We could never qualify for the Champions League because we never have before, or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Don't be silly. We could never qualify for the Champions League because we never have before, or something like that. We probably won't to be honest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 With every little money-grubbing "improvement" UEFA introduce, they degrade the elitism and exclusivity of the competition, and therefore the value of qualifying for it, just that little bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 With every little money-grubbing "improvement" UEFA introduce, they degrade the elitism and exclusivity of the competition, and therefore the value of qualifying for it, just that little bit more. Quite. How can it be called the "champions league" When the team that finished 5th in Scotland can qualify for it. Joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Michel Platini is dangerous as far as the future of football in Europe is concerned. It'll get even worse when he inevitably succeeds Blatter at FIFA. This is a man who voted for Qatar in 2022 and proposed a winter World Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Don't be silly. We could never qualify for the Champions League because we never have before, or something like that. Outside the giants of English football, only Everton have qualified for the CL in the modern era, without significant investment to get them there. They crashed out in the qualifying round and never made the group stage proper... they haven't got anywhere near since. Also, this new proposal would be the death of European football. There are already too many teams making up the numbers in the 'Champions' League and crowds this season have been pretty poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Wasnt it better in the old days? The days when only the champions qualifed and it was a knock out, excitment from Round one and every match meant something rather than a lot of the group games these days. When the UEFA cup was arguably tougher to win the the European cup as the best of the rest went into this. 2-5th in England and the same from all the other top nations. For all the supposed improvements and money that's gone into it the both competitions are far worse and much less interesting than they used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Outside the giants of English football, only Everton have qualified for the CL in the modern era, without significant investment to get them there. They crashed out in the qualifying round and never made the group stage proper... they haven't got anywhere near since. Also, this new proposal would be the death of European football. There are already too many teams making up the numbers in the 'Champions' League and crowds this season have been pretty poor. Such a Dell sized mentality, didn't they say man would never climb Everest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Such a Dell sized mentality, didn't they say man would never climb Everest? Plenty have died trying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Plenty have died trying... But weren't the club with the biggest untapped catchment area in the whole world of Soccerball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Outside the giants of English football, only Everton have qualified for the CL in the modern era, without significant investment to get them there. They crashed out in the qualifying round and never made the group stage proper... they haven't got anywhere near since. Also, this new proposal would be the death of European football. There are already too many teams making up the numbers in the 'Champions' League and crowds this season have been pretty poor. But if this proposals come into place it would make it possible for smaller club's to qualify. But that could never happen because it hasn't before apparently. Football never changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 But if this proposals come into place it would make it possible for smaller club's to qualify. But that could never happen because it hasn't before apparently. Football never changes. You seem to be making a strange point. Who has claimed that Saints could never, ever, qualify for the Champions League? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golac's Cunning Stunts Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Wasnt it better in the old days? The days when only the champions qualifed and it was a knock out, excitment from Round one and every match meant something rather than a lot of the group games these days. When the UEFA cup was arguably tougher to win the the European cup as the best of the rest went into this. 2-5th in England and the same from all the other top nations. For all the supposed improvements and money that's gone into it the both competitions are far worse and much less interesting than they used to be. Agree with you, but then what will the Sky subscribers have to do on a Wednesday night if Man U or whoever are knocked out of the competition come December time? The Champs league is where the money and power lies these days and nobody is going to wrest that power away from the organisations and clubs who currently benefit from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 You seem to be making a strange point. Who has claimed that Saints could never, ever, qualify for the Champions League? Plenty on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Agree with you' date=' but then [b']what will the Sky subscribers have to do on a Wednesday night [/b]if Man U or whoever are knocked out of the competition come December time? The Champs league is where the money and power lies these days and nobody is going to wrest that power away from the organisations and clubs who currently benefit from it. This is the problem with the overcommericalisation of Soccerball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 But if this proposals come into place it would make it possible for smaller club's to qualify. But that could never happen because it hasn't before apparently. Football never changes. The new proposals would not be the 'Champions League' though. It would be the 'Finish In The Top Half Of The League League' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Plenty on here. Ah, that old one. Plenty. I see, thank for ckearing up who. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 The new proposals would not be the 'Champions League' though. It would be the 'Finish In The Top Half Of The League League' It hasn't ever been just for Champions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Agree with you' date=' but then what will the Sky subscribers have to do on a Wednesday night if Man U or whoever are knocked out of the competition come December time?[/quote'] They'll do what they did last season, show games involving interesting and underrated foreign teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It hasn't ever been just for Champions. The original tournement was, dumbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It hasn't ever been just for Champions. Errrr... yes it was. It was only like that for around 40 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Errrr... yes it was. It was only like that for around 40 years. At least the first year of the "Champions League" was just the national champions too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992%E2%80%9393_UEFA_Champions_League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Don't be surprised to see us in Europe next season - courtesy of the Fair Play league! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It hasn't ever been just for Champions. Please don't jump on anyone's posts for a while... After this little nugget ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Looks like 1993-94 was just for Champions too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993-94_UEFA_Champions_League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 I think 1994-95 was solely for Champions as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994-95_UEFA_Champions_League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 The original tournement was, dumbass. Only for a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Looks like 1993-94 was just for Champions too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993-94_UEFA_Champions_League Oh, is aintforver wrong again, there's a surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 1995-96 was for Champions too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995-96_UEFA_Champions_League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Only for a few years. and? You said it was NEVER for just champions. Also the original tournemant the European Cup, was just for champions for 40 odd years. More than just a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Only for a few years. So it definitely wasn't just for champions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 1996-97 was just for champions too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996-97_UEFA_Champions_League "The 1996–97 UEFA Champions League was the 42nd season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the fifth since its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League, and the last involving only clubs that were champions of their domestic leagues." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 It hasn't ever been just for Champions. So it definitely wasn't just for champions? Never. He told us so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Looks like 1993-94 was just for Champions too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993-94_UEFA_Champions_League So for around 40 years of it's 57 year history, it was only open to the Champions of their respective nation? Weird, aintforever said that wasn't the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 28 November, 2012 Author Share Posted 28 November, 2012 So for 39 years of it's 57 year history, it was only open to the Champions of their respective nation? Weird, aintforever said that wasn't the case. Read on, TCM. 42 years; all the way up to and including season 1996-97. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Only for a few years. Few years/40 odd years. They're basically the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 28 November, 2012 Share Posted 28 November, 2012 Read on, TCM. 42 years; all the way up to and including season 1996-97. I thought you'd finished, I would've got away with it as well with my well timed edit if you hadn't quoted me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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