Sports news > Football news > Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool: Four reasons why the Champions League must be for CHAMPIONS only
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool: Four reasons why the Champions League must be for CHAMPIONS only
The only way to break up the Big Four is to revert to the old European Cup format and give a genuine chance to the rest in a re-vamped UEFA Cup.
by Syd Farr on 27 April 2008
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I’m not one for looking back on the past with fond cotton-ball memories, but we definitely need to revert to the old European Cup format to get rid of the same, stagnant Big Four. Right now we have two ridiculously unbalanced tournaments, the Champions League – a competition that is extremely hard for the less significant teams to get into – and the UEFA Cup, a meaningless non-entity of a tournament – the equivalent of being awarded the prize-winning rosette for having the Fresian with the most pendulous udders at a Shropshire county fair, and with the pitiful prize money to match.Much has been made of the Liverpool-Chelsea games and how boring they are, but they are a result of giving the most successful leagues four Champions League places. Liverpool, especially, usually approach European encounters in a very calculated manner, and the same goes for league games.Rafa Benitez knows exactly what needs to be done – a third or fourth-place finish will suffice for him – as that secures entry into the European money printing society that is the Champions league.In many ways, a fourth-place Premier League position is better than second. All the needless energy to finish runner-up – and what do you get? Extra prize money admittedly, but is that worth the hassle?
If you exert yourself less and aim for a fourth-place finish, you can save your energy for Europe, and the qualifiers don’t present much of a challenge as all of the Big Four sides have the requisite European ranking to ensure a cakewalk of a tie.The gulf between the Big Four oligarchs and the rest of the league is so severe and so pronounced that a superhuman effort is required for an outsider to break into this quartet. The only team to achieve this in recent seasons has been Everton – who eschew the rich and exotic layer-cake squads enjoyed by the bigger sides for a tightly-run and shallow squad. And who did Everton face in the Champions League qualifier but Villarreal, the eventual semi-finalists? If we had a European Cup format - where only the Champions go into it - followed up with an expanded UEFA Cup, it would give other teams a chance to catch up money wise.The disparity between quaffing champagne at the Champions League top table and playing in the huge quagmire of a tournament that is the UEFA Cup is astonishing. We have already lost the Cup Winners’ Cup, and now the UEFA Cup is heading the same way in terms of its importance. Perhaps it is an English thing. Fiorentina, for instance, have declared that winning the UEFA Cup this season will be their priority over grabbing fourth placeIn celebrating Istanbul, Liverpool have cashed in on the cache of the European Cup - but the Champions League flatters to deceive whilst the UEFA Cup is astoundingly boring. Let’s go back to a European Cup knock-out format – with only the Champions participating. Everyone else can play in the UEFA Cup which will grow in importance and glamour, with teams like Juventus, AC Milan, Arsenal, and Barcelona playing it, and therefore in prize money, too.I know people will say that this is pie-in-the-sky stuff – but the only way to bring back the excitement in Europe, as well as at home – is to do this.
Comments (16)
on April 27, 2008 on April 27, 2008
Will never happen, the reason why 2nd, 3rd and 4th place get to compete is purely for money reasons only. For years teams like Liverpool and Arsenal have been taking part in a tournament they shouldnt be in, but the truth is theres alot more money to be made out of the likes of Arsenal taking part compared to the winners of the finnish league for instance!
by Arsenal on April 27, 2008
For the above muppet who posted about runners up playing in champions league, the last time utd fluked it in europe (and lets face it the Euro also rans will never do that again) utd went into that tournament finishing second to Arsenal the season before. Oh How fergie is eternally grateful for non champions to be involved! Stay lucky
by Tobias Fobias on April 27, 2008
"Big Four oligarchs" I love it !!!
by M Hassan on April 27, 2008
interesting comments, and not altogether original as this idea has been bandied around by many - especially those who dislike the Big 4s stranglehold in europe and the premieship. what you, and i include the other commentators in this bracket do not realise is that - if we adopted this idea the teams who finish outside the top four would not get to play in europe at all. in the current format at least another three teams will gain entry to europe.
I thought the rules change for next season. 1st, 2nd and 3rd get automatic places (today its just top 2). 4th place goes in at the first round (today its 3rd). Pretty sure that comes into effect next season.
by Robert Clive on April 27, 2008
It wouldn't make anything better. The Champions league would be much less important so less money would come in from that. The other big clubs would have more time to devote to the league. The clubs that are big are big because they are well managed and have a lot of supporters. That will always work in their favour. The league already resdistributes from them to the other clubs in terms of TV revenues. Competition this year is much tighter than it has been and the gap between the big four and Everton, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Aston Villa and Man City is smaller than for a long time. Spurs and Newcastle may join them next season. The league will not be decided at either end until the last match of the season. The football played is better than it has ever been. What is the problem?
Twenty teams start the season on equal points, Arsenal are according to an author on this site the eighteenth highest spenders in the Premiership. and they have a wage structure, They are self funding and make a operational profit, The problem could lie in clubs that get their money from outside football or sponsership deals because when the foreign owners realise that only so many teams can be winners they will start pulling out leaving clubs in false positions financially..
What do you think they would be? Surely seeing the best teams play counts as exciting. It is for me.
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by Peter Raynor on April 28, 2008
Robert Clive - they dont have a big fan base and they are not a well managed club. They were about to join Leeds before Roman bought them.
by Niala Baboolal on April 28, 2008
Well i could understand liverpoo land chelsea being champions but please explain to me why is man.u and arsenal there???? They are both retards. an u wanna know why...cuz man.u ent win champions league since 1999 and arsenal ent win since arsene wegner has black hair..... but chelsea topping the epl and thing like mad...even though they ent win champions league yet...and well for liverpool....no words....just the greatest...the only club i support ober liverpool is ac milan because i love milan....till death....but liverpool all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love steven gerrard till death........ my stevie g.....muahz
on April 29, 2008 on April 29, 2008
Liverpool have never won the premieship, so the article states they should never enter the champions league. Unlike the other three teams you mention.
The name CHAMPIONS league in my eyes suggests to me that its a league for champions, since when has finishing 2nd, 3rd or 4th made anybody champions! There are either winners (Champions) or losers (runners up), so why should teams like Arsenal or Liverpool who havent won anything for years rightfully take part in such a league?
on April 30, 2008 on April 30, 2008
by Kenny Harper on April 30, 2008
A good article Sid, the game is so far gone now I can never see this happening but maybe when they are so desperate to put bums on seats again in a few years they will actually listen to what the fans want.
by Essexian76 on May 01, 2008
Is to make the UEFA winners automatic qualifiers for the CL the following season, simple as that.Theres no way the CL will change as its a money spinning competition designed soley to avert the European Super League from ever happening
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