quentinEPL proposes playoff for last champions league spot
February 16th 2010 05:12
So I read today about a radical proposal to liven up the EPL with a plan to run a playoff for teams that finish 4th-7th for the last UEFA Champions League spot.
This would have to be the most extraordinary thing, I have ever come across. Let's look at it this way. The EPL already play 38 rounds of matches and have TV Rights in excess of $1Billion. Also there is a requirement that every league has to be finished by a certain date (especially in World Cup year). Running a playoff is good in theory but that would mean that there would be more midweek rounds and then you add the UEFA Champions League and Europa League into the equation and you suddenly have English clubs dealing with ridiculous fixture congestion.
If such a playoff were to go ahead, it would be 4th vs 7th and 5th vs 6th with the winners of the 2 matches to play off at Wemberly.
Now I just gotta say that the timing of this proposal strikes me as kinda bizarre considering the struggles of Liverpool this season and it seems to be another way to guarantee the "Big 4" a spot in the UEFA Champions League. I also believe that this proposal requires the approval of 14 of the 20 clubs to go ahead (14-6 majority) and I'm pretty sure that there will be more incentive.
The only issue I have is this:
Hypothetically let's say that Liverpool finish 4th on the ladder and then get knocked out against Birmingham 7th and Tottenham 5th lose to Aston Villa 6th. Suddenly you'd have 6th vs 7th at Wemberly for the last UEFA Champions League spot. This causes me great concern.
The UEFA Champions League has had a very chequered history. Back when it started in 1955, it was the European Cup. It was a club competition that was just for Champion clubs, not 2nd, not 3rd, not even 4th. Over the years, it has been devalued quite somewhat by expansion and sometimes you can come across a scenario where the 2 teams who play in the final, didn't even win the league in their respective countries the previous season. This isn't Champions, these would be considered chumps. Imagine if 7th placed Birmingham City in the above scenario made it to the Champions League because of a playoff system. I'm sorry, but that's farsical.
The only league to have a playoff for Champions League spots was the Dutch Eredivisie. They ran a playoff situation for 4 years and twice in the 4 years there was a bizarre farce of Ajax (4th) playing in the Champions League while AZ (2nd) played in the then UEFA Cup and Twente Enschede (5th) playing in the Champions League and Ajax (2nd) playing in the Europa League. Eventually the proposal got dumped because of the farsical nature of the 2 scenarios.
You would think the EPL would've seen this and maybe not proposed something so crazy. Then again, it looks like they're chasing the quick $$$$$ but really, the league and European places should be decided over 38 games and not the lottery of a playoff.
This would have to be the most extraordinary thing, I have ever come across. Let's look at it this way. The EPL already play 38 rounds of matches and have TV Rights in excess of $1Billion. Also there is a requirement that every league has to be finished by a certain date (especially in World Cup year). Running a playoff is good in theory but that would mean that there would be more midweek rounds and then you add the UEFA Champions League and Europa League into the equation and you suddenly have English clubs dealing with ridiculous fixture congestion.
If such a playoff were to go ahead, it would be 4th vs 7th and 5th vs 6th with the winners of the 2 matches to play off at Wemberly.
Now I just gotta say that the timing of this proposal strikes me as kinda bizarre considering the struggles of Liverpool this season and it seems to be another way to guarantee the "Big 4" a spot in the UEFA Champions League. I also believe that this proposal requires the approval of 14 of the 20 clubs to go ahead (14-6 majority) and I'm pretty sure that there will be more incentive.
The only issue I have is this:
Hypothetically let's say that Liverpool finish 4th on the ladder and then get knocked out against Birmingham 7th and Tottenham 5th lose to Aston Villa 6th. Suddenly you'd have 6th vs 7th at Wemberly for the last UEFA Champions League spot. This causes me great concern.
The UEFA Champions League has had a very chequered history. Back when it started in 1955, it was the European Cup. It was a club competition that was just for Champion clubs, not 2nd, not 3rd, not even 4th. Over the years, it has been devalued quite somewhat by expansion and sometimes you can come across a scenario where the 2 teams who play in the final, didn't even win the league in their respective countries the previous season. This isn't Champions, these would be considered chumps. Imagine if 7th placed Birmingham City in the above scenario made it to the Champions League because of a playoff system. I'm sorry, but that's farsical.
The only league to have a playoff for Champions League spots was the Dutch Eredivisie. They ran a playoff situation for 4 years and twice in the 4 years there was a bizarre farce of Ajax (4th) playing in the Champions League while AZ (2nd) played in the then UEFA Cup and Twente Enschede (5th) playing in the Champions League and Ajax (2nd) playing in the Europa League. Eventually the proposal got dumped because of the farsical nature of the 2 scenarios.
You would think the EPL would've seen this and maybe not proposed something so crazy. Then again, it looks like they're chasing the quick $$$$$ but really, the league and European places should be decided over 38 games and not the lottery of a playoff.
| 18 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
