Champ League Wild Card

[Official Old Man]

With Leicester top of the league and two of the 'top four big clubs' likely to miss out what great scheme do UEFA come up with?
Wild cards.
Soon Man City will drop their first team completely in the PL as well as the FA Cup as they wont need to come in the top four to qualify.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Thin end of the wedge.

Champions League by invitation only

European Super League

Top sides playing their U21s in the PL

 

[beorhthelm]

Champions League by invitation only

im beginning to think thats not such a bad idea. who cares much about the Champions League other than from a point of view of footballing spectacle, and in that case i want to see the best playing the best, no need for fillers and drama of giant killing. the Europa cup is a more realistic and possibly more interesting cup for most teams outside the top 10 or so across Europe. re-form the two european competitions so one is invite, the other competitive.

 

[Pavilionaire]

There is no doubt that Champions League football has irreversibly damaged the FA Cup competition beyond repair.

To see Man City's capitulation at Chelsea and Spurs' half-arsed display against Palace are further evidence that it's now a fourth rate competition behind the Prem, Champions League and Europa League.

Simewhat closer to home, a big part of me was relieved we went out to Hull City so we could concentrate on the league. Liverpool were lucky not to get knocked out by Exeter and you get the impression some teams would rather lose than have to go through a replay.

I don't know what the solution is but I don't think we'll be able to wind the clock back on this one.

 

[drew]

im beginning to think thats not such a bad idea. who cares much about the Champions League other than from a point of view of footballing spectacle, and in that case i want to see the best playing the best, no need for fillers and drama of giant killing. the Europa cup is a more realistic and possibly more interesting cup for most teams outside the top 10 or so across Europe. re-form the two european competitions so one is invite, the other competitive.

It's an absolute crap idea and flies in the face of the meaning of sport. Irrespective of the money from TV rights etc, it is still about beating the team in front of you. It will mean the death knell for domestic leagues as a competition as there would be no point. How would teams quailify because it will start with a couple of wild cards and eventually it will be all invitation only. A nice cosy club for the big teams of Europe. What next, invitation only to the Euros or the World Cup.

The only reason that clubs like Barca want this is to protect a revenue stream.

 

[gregbrighton]

No-one should be surprised by this. Football is about money-spinning, not about the sport anymore.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

There is no doubt that Champions League football has irreversibly damaged the FA Cup competition beyond repair.

To see Man City's capitulation at Chelsea and Spurs' half-arsed display against Palace are further evidence that it's now a fourth rate competition behind the Prem, Champions League and Europa League.

Simewhat closer to home, a big part of me was relieved we went out to Hull City so we could concentrate on the league. Liverpool were lucky not to get knocked out by Exeter and you get the impression some teams would rather lose than have to go through a replay.

I don't know what the solution is but I don't think we'll be able to wind the clock back on this one.

Spot on there. We view the FA Cup romantically but the clubs dont and sadly wont. Wishful thinking on our part but thats about it.

 

[drew]

Spot on there. We view the FA Cup romantically but the clubs dont and sadly wont. Wishful thinking on our part but thats about it.

The only solution would be to allocate a champions league place to the winners. Very unlikely to happen as that takes one away from the league and the likes of Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham etc wouldn't want that.

 

[Smoky McPot]

The Champions League has badly damaged the leagues of Croatia, Belarus, Sweden etc. With the winners of the league guaranteed a large payout of television rights from the CL, they can dwarf the budgets of the domestic counterparts and the win their league again, creating a vicious circle. It's almost as bad as being a fan of your domestic French club who isn't PSG this season. Dimino Zargreb have won the league since 2005, BATE since 2006 to name but a few. If they introduced a wild card, it should be for the lesser known leagues to help rebalance the damage caused.