Originally Posted by Steveaustin316:
“It wouldn't be that difficult to change the Europa League format to remove the need for the 8 3rd placed teams to enter at the knockout stage.
At present, there are 48 teams in the group stage. If they increased that to 64 teams (16 groups of 4) and adjust the qualifying rounds to accommodate the change, then the top 2 from each group (32 teams) would advance to the knockout stage which would remain in it's current format.
I don't have a problem with the teams who fail to make the group stage of the Champions League entering the Europa League as it avoids the scenario of a team finishing 4th and getting a tricky draw, then being eliminated from Europe before the end of August after just 2 games.”
But then if you get a tricky draw, that's something you'll just have to deal with, as as with any draw, you don't know who you'll get. Plus, what may look easy/hard on paper may turn out differently.
For me, if your European season ends after 2 games in July/August, well tough, better luck next time. If you lose in a qualifying/playoff round over 2 legs, you should be out of Europe completely. Same goes for if you fail to come in the top 2 of a CL group, you should be out of Europe completely.
Why reward failure? That's all that happens if a CL team finishes 3rd and drops into the EL or if you lose in a CL qualifier and drop into the EL. It's basically saying "hey, you failed, but no worries, you can play in a different competition instead as a reward for failing".