You have a point but there is no way the top sides or UEFA would ever agree.
I don't see why not that way there would be 32 champions, alright it'll mean a couple of easy games in the group stages but it'll make it a bit more interesting later on.
If anything it would give the CL a bit of the fa cup magic.
To be frank, the problem isn't to me with the English teams.
Its the fact that in six combined hours, Roma, Inter, Juventus and Real Madrid have been unable to score a single goal between them.
If its entertainment you want, go to the circus.
Can't comment on Roma and Juve because I didn't see them, but I concur with the other two.
What is getting me down is the hype this competition attracts, when there are so many average teams in it.
Inter Milan always annoy me. People talk about them in hushed tones as if they're some Euro powerhouse. Well I don't watch Serie A, but from their CL performances they must be the most overrated team in Europe.
Pundits constantly say 'Ibrahimovic, we know how talented he is', maybe so, but I've never seen him perform outstandingly in a big match since he left bloomin' Ajax. He can score all the goals he wants in Serie A routine games, but to call him 'the best in the world' up against Ronaldo is surely a joke. (Did Mourinho really say this?)
Inter rarely looked like the home team, United should've won, but none of it excited me.
More hype tonight about Real Madrid, but again, they had a better attitude than Inter but no end product. Arjen Robben could be the best in the world if he had a right foot, but it looks like it's borrowed from Heather Mills, he's so afraid of using it.
TBH, I enjoyed the Libertadores match I just watched far more than either CL game I saw, so I think I'm just fatigued with the same old faces. I know I tend to repeat myself on here about The Big Four (which is why I spend more time in Broadcasting and Music than Football on DS these days), so I'll leave it there, but it really doesn't say much for European club football these days that Chelsea and Liverpool can be so dominant playing like that. (I don't know what the Chelsea game was like, but if Del Piero couldn't make an impact, I dare say I can imagine what it was like).
Can't comment on Roma and Juve because I didn't see them, but I concur with the other two.
What is getting me down is the hype this competition attracts, when there are so many average teams in it.
Inter Milan always annoy me. People talk about them in hushed tones as if they're some Euro powerhouse. Well I don't watch Serie A, but from their CL performances they must be the most overrated team in Europe.
Pundits constantly say 'Ibrahimovic, we know how talented he is', maybe so, but I've never seen him perform outstandingly in a big match since he left bloomin' Ajax. He can score all the goals he wants in Serie A routine games, but to call him 'the best in the world' up against Ronaldo is surely a joke. (Did Mourinho really say this?)
Inter rarely looked like the home team, United should've won, but none of it excited me.
More hype tonight about Real Madrid, but again, they had a better attitude than Inter but no end product. Arjen Robben could be the best in the world if he had a right foot, but it looks like it's borrowed from Heather Mills, he's so afraid of using it.
TBH, I enjoyed the Libertadores match I just watched far more than either CL game I saw, so I think I'm just fatigued with the same old faces. I know I tend to repeat myself on here about The Big Four (which is why I spend more time in Broadcasting and Music than Football on DS these days), so I'll leave it there, but it really doesn't say much for European club football these days that Chelsea and Liverpool can be so dominant playing like that. (I don't know what the Chelsea game was like, but if Del Piero couldn't make an impact, I dare say I can imagine what it was like).
Inter have been a sleeping European giant for about forty years now, it`s hard to believe they used to be level with Milan in terms of European Cups. Real Madrid are nowhere near the side they were and it has been seven seasons since they won the Champions League. I agree about Robben, he has the potential, as for Ibrahimovic, you are spot on. The Chelsea v Juve game was pretty close, in fact if you look at the stats, then Juve deserved something. That tie is not over yet, in fact none of them are.
I have an idea, how about making the champions league only for the champions. That way those boring teams who scrape 3rd and 4th in the big leagues stay away.
It's a good idea actually. wasnt the CL only for Champions prior to 1997, what was that like? I didn't start watching the Champions League until about 1998.
At least the UEFA Cup would be better quality with teams like Liverpool and Real madrid and the CL would actually live up to it's name.
It's a good idea actually. wasnt the CL only for Champions prior to 1997, what was that like? I didn't start watching the Champions League until about 1998.
At least the UEFA Cup would be better quality with teams like Liverpool and Real madrid and the CL would actually live up to it's name.
The only thing wrong with the CL is its name. I dont really see how having even worse teams in the competition is going to make it more exciting or allow different clubs to win it? If we get rid of the runners up in the domestic leagues qualifying for the CL and replace them with the champions of Albania and Macedonia its just going to make the whole thing even more predictable.
The banter between Man United and Liverpool supporters goes thus -
Liverpool fans - Uniteds CL victories arent as good as their European Cup wins cos you can afford to lose a few games now and still win it.
Man Utd fans - Liverpool had easy draws and therfore could get to the semis without playing any decent teams, look at the teams we had to beat and play to win it.
Its a trade-off. The UEFA Cup used to be a harder competition to win than the European Cup by virtue of the fact that there were more teams from the top countries in it. For example if it still existed in its previous format the European Cup would have Man Utd but the UEFA would have Chelsea Liverpool and Arsenal. If you avoid Man Utd you didnt have to worry about any other English teams in the European Cup. Same with Spain and Italy etc etc.
The Champions League contains the best teams now, i dont really see much wrong with that.
I don't see why not that way there would be 32 champions, alright it'll mean a couple of easy games in the group stages but it'll make it a bit more interesting later on.
If anything it would give the CL a bit of the fa cup magic.
Unless you ditch the seeding, there'd be little to no competition until you reached the quarter-final stage and certainly no glamour that the sponsors and broadcasters cough up for. They've taken the competition too far to ever turn back now.
This is the age-old conundrum in football: do you want your team to entertain or do you want your team to win? It's increadibly rare for a team to consistently do both. What has happened is that over the lst few years the PL has attracted the best managers all of whome know that the most assured way of winning games is not to go out all guns blazing from the word go. It's to play defensive possesion football and nick the odd goal. Sometimes you win, sometime you draw, but as Liverpool have shown over the last year, you very rarely lose. Utd actually play a similar style but boast a better front line so tend to score a few more goals and win more games. Liverpool have been involved in three of the 'best' cup finals in the last 10 years, all of which were characterised by a complete breakdown in on-pitch tactical discipline resulting in non-existent defence and heaps of goals. All very entertaining but the results may just as well have been decided on a coin-toss and I'm sure the managers involved would not rate any of the games as their tactical best.
The modern game across Europe an in the PL especially could be described as borring if all you want from a game is a fast pace, goals, individual brilliance and the odd red card. I enjoy that sort of game as much as anyone but I also appreciate a tactical chess match played out of 90 or 180 minutes. For me that sort of game can be every bit as engrossing and enjoyable.
Unless you ditch the seeding, there'd be little to no competition until you reached the quarter-final stage and certainly no glamour that the sponsors and broadcasters cough up for. They've taken the competition too far to ever turn back now.
I agree. Yes, we all have great memories of the 70s bit there's no way it's going to go back. The big clubs in Europe aren't going to swap some guaranteed money-spinning group matches and fairly simple passage into the last 16 for a straight knockout (especially an unseeded one!) where they risk going out at the first stage.
What does need to change is the UEFA Cup. The group stage there is a joke which even the TV companies don't care about and the winners would have to play something like 20 ties.
I know they're changing it to the Europa League next season, but is the format changing too? I assume they're still using group stages, but it can't be the current 5-team mess they've got at the moment surely.
I dont think much can change. I wish the teams from outside the bigger countries got a bigger share of the money as they dont get nowhere as much domestic tv revenue. 10-15 years ago if someone said to me in 2009 Ajax wouldnt even be able to qualify for the CL let alone win it I would of laughed.
I dont think much can change. I wish the teams from outside the bigger countries got a bigger share of the money as they dont get nowhere as much domestic tv revenue. 10-15 years ago if someone said to me in 2009 Ajax wouldnt even be able to qualify for the CL let alone win it I would of laughed.
Ajax were the best team in the World back in 1995, you are right. They were in the same position as Man. United are now. A sobering thought.
I've been bored of the CL for years and don't bother watching anymore. I always watched as a neutral (support Portsmouth so Europe not normally an issue) and looked forward to the chance of seeing clubs in action I'd rarely see, but now it's the same old pretty much all the time due to rigging of the competition to get the same select fews clubs into the later stages every season (clubs from certain countries getting byes to the group stages, seedings keeping big clubs apart, country protection keeping clubs apart and a few countries having more entries than others so getting their co-efficient higher a lot easier to maintain the status quo - made even easier by them dropping to the UEFA Cup) it's just tedious, even moreso with so many meaningless group games.
As has been said it won't be changed back now as there's too many greedy bastards for the clubs in it atm to want to risk getting knocked out early, but one change I'd like to see that could make the CL more open and give other countries a chance is for co-efficient points (the ones that determine how many clubs a country can enter) can only be gained by the progress of the countries champions and UEFA Cup teams in from the start. Might even make domestic football a bit more exciting if the big 4 only had 2 or 3 CL spots to chase.
Comments
I don't see why not that way there would be 32 champions, alright it'll mean a couple of easy games in the group stages but it'll make it a bit more interesting later on.
If anything it would give the CL a bit of the fa cup magic.
You should be happy for her as John Arne Riise is a top bloke!
Can't comment on Roma and Juve because I didn't see them, but I concur with the other two.
What is getting me down is the hype this competition attracts, when there are so many average teams in it.
Inter Milan always annoy me. People talk about them in hushed tones as if they're some Euro powerhouse. Well I don't watch Serie A, but from their CL performances they must be the most overrated team in Europe.
Pundits constantly say 'Ibrahimovic, we know how talented he is', maybe so, but I've never seen him perform outstandingly in a big match since he left bloomin' Ajax. He can score all the goals he wants in Serie A routine games, but to call him 'the best in the world' up against Ronaldo is surely a joke. (Did Mourinho really say this?)
Inter rarely looked like the home team, United should've won, but none of it excited me.
More hype tonight about Real Madrid, but again, they had a better attitude than Inter but no end product. Arjen Robben could be the best in the world if he had a right foot, but it looks like it's borrowed from Heather Mills, he's so afraid of using it.
TBH, I enjoyed the Libertadores match I just watched far more than either CL game I saw, so I think I'm just fatigued with the same old faces. I know I tend to repeat myself on here about The Big Four (which is why I spend more time in Broadcasting and Music than Football on DS these days), so I'll leave it there, but it really doesn't say much for European club football these days that Chelsea and Liverpool can be so dominant playing like that. (I don't know what the Chelsea game was like, but if Del Piero couldn't make an impact, I dare say I can imagine what it was like).
What chance did I have, I've seen his payslip!
Inter have been a sleeping European giant for about forty years now, it`s hard to believe they used to be level with Milan in terms of European Cups. Real Madrid are nowhere near the side they were and it has been seven seasons since they won the Champions League. I agree about Robben, he has the potential, as for Ibrahimovic, you are spot on. The Chelsea v Juve game was pretty close, in fact if you look at the stats, then Juve deserved something. That tie is not over yet, in fact none of them are.
It's a good idea actually. wasnt the CL only for Champions prior to 1997, what was that like? I didn't start watching the Champions League until about 1998.
At least the UEFA Cup would be better quality with teams like Liverpool and Real madrid and the CL would actually live up to it's name.
The only thing wrong with the CL is its name. I dont really see how having even worse teams in the competition is going to make it more exciting or allow different clubs to win it? If we get rid of the runners up in the domestic leagues qualifying for the CL and replace them with the champions of Albania and Macedonia its just going to make the whole thing even more predictable.
The banter between Man United and Liverpool supporters goes thus -
Liverpool fans - Uniteds CL victories arent as good as their European Cup wins cos you can afford to lose a few games now and still win it.
Man Utd fans - Liverpool had easy draws and therfore could get to the semis without playing any decent teams, look at the teams we had to beat and play to win it.
Its a trade-off. The UEFA Cup used to be a harder competition to win than the European Cup by virtue of the fact that there were more teams from the top countries in it. For example if it still existed in its previous format the European Cup would have Man Utd but the UEFA would have Chelsea Liverpool and Arsenal. If you avoid Man Utd you didnt have to worry about any other English teams in the European Cup. Same with Spain and Italy etc etc.
The Champions League contains the best teams now, i dont really see much wrong with that.
Unless you ditch the seeding, there'd be little to no competition until you reached the quarter-final stage and certainly no glamour that the sponsors and broadcasters cough up for. They've taken the competition too far to ever turn back now.
The modern game across Europe an in the PL especially could be described as borring if all you want from a game is a fast pace, goals, individual brilliance and the odd red card. I enjoy that sort of game as much as anyone but I also appreciate a tactical chess match played out of 90 or 180 minutes. For me that sort of game can be every bit as engrossing and enjoyable.
I agree. Yes, we all have great memories of the 70s bit there's no way it's going to go back. The big clubs in Europe aren't going to swap some guaranteed money-spinning group matches and fairly simple passage into the last 16 for a straight knockout (especially an unseeded one!) where they risk going out at the first stage.
What does need to change is the UEFA Cup. The group stage there is a joke which even the TV companies don't care about and the winners would have to play something like 20 ties.
Well said.
The use of that word as the single post on the page caused my work page blocker to go into action!
But still 160 teams is far too many.
The Champions League will have 76 teams taking part througout all its stages.
Oops!
I'll use 'Holy carp' in place in future.
http://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/worlds-largest-carp.jpg
Holy carp!
Ajax were the best team in the World back in 1995, you are right. They were in the same position as Man. United are now. A sobering thought.
As has been said it won't be changed back now as there's too many greedy bastards for the clubs in it atm to want to risk getting knocked out early, but one change I'd like to see that could make the CL more open and give other countries a chance is for co-efficient points (the ones that determine how many clubs a country can enter) can only be gained by the progress of the countries champions and UEFA Cup teams in from the start. Might even make domestic football a bit more exciting if the big 4 only had 2 or 3 CL spots to chase.