The compromise is the two extra places go to countries who have performed well in Europe the previous season. So for example, that would be England and Netherlands for next year. These rules don't come into effect until 2024. So the 23/24 season, you may see teams trying that little bit harder in the Europa and Europa Conference. I think this is good.
So in theory the Premier League can get a 5th side in? I bet the rest of the European elite will be loving that.
Any top league can. Up to those leagues to step up in Europe while chasing a CL place. I don't see a problem in rewarding a league with an extra spot in the top European competition for on pitch performances in European competitions.
But presumably over time it’ll generally be the same leagues getting the extra spot. So the gulf will grow and the elite foreign sides will not get what they want, as essentially they want the Prem at their level.
I disagree. The competitiveness nature of our league means it's really difficult to juggle Europe and the league at the same time. This year's Leicester may be next year's Aston Villa or Brighton. England are also in a little golden period of performance in Europe. I don't think it'll continue. Maybe the fans' inability to accept that football does and will continue to evolve and change over time. It has done since it's inception. I don't blame fans for disliking what football is now from when they fell in love with it. There's every chance I could hate it in 20 years time becuase it's changed from what attratced me to it. It's the nature of the sport, for better or worse.
Wasn't the football just invented in 1992? For me this is a shit idea but I see it as a compromise to get those clubs satisfied who couldn't actually qualify for the Champions League but have done it before regularly. If it's only 2 clubs then ok. Better than this shit idea of a Super League as a closed competition is it anyway.
Or 1955? I'd rather they just gave the two positions to leagues down the list but it's their baby and they'll do what they want with it.
I can see through A Gooner's approval as it's all about self-preservation, Arsenal will be one of the main benefactors of this set up no doubt. It's an absolute chuffing disgrace, but football has long put commercial viability over what the fans want for decades now so it's no major suprise.
I was against the super league in it's presented format. I was against the historical co-efficiency placement. If you read thorugh my posts, I actually said I think leagues further down the co-efficiency should get the additional spots but this is a fair compromise to what UEFA wanted. Current sporting performance getting rewarded.....that's bad? If teams chasing a CL spot do well in the lower European competitions, they increase their chances of getting into the CL? I'm struggling to see the issue there. I'd go a step further and introduce 'relegation zones' in these leagues where by if you finish in them you're barred from Europe next season. 1st to 8th is automatic qualification. 9th to 24th is to the play offs. 25th to 36th? No Europe next season. I'm anti-staleness. The current set up is undoubtedly stale, there's no denying that. Quite looking forward to seeing how the new set up plays out.
In broad terms, I'm more positive about what UEFA has announced today than I expected to be. The removal of the more Super League-type elements of the plan is particularly welcome. I do have concerns that we might end up with a rather lopsided competition but I think it's right, for a variety of reasons, to say that the present format could not be sustained for much longer. I think you could argue it was probably hardest to win the Champions League in the period when there were two group stages, which meant more of the big names met each other before getting to the knockout phase. This format could, if it is done right, get us back somewhere nearer to that. The one thing that the Super League lot were right to recognise, at least in a business sense, was the potential offered by having the European heavyweights play each other more frequently than they do now. If this format means we see a Bayern v Barcelona or a Manchester City v Real Madrid each night through the group stage, then it could work both in terms of generating more money (which I'm sure is the main priority) but also in making the Champions League more likely to find who really is the best team in Europe.
