Oh RIGHT

[Napper]

the 3 foreigner rule would stop a large percentage of this as well as

making the premier league more open
giving more English players a chance

The only down side I can see is the quality of football is likely to go down hill and we'd no longer be the best league in the world

 

[Mendoza]

Were Man City actually spending beyond their means spending 270 million on Kakas transfer fee and wages, from an alledged pot of £500 BILLION.

 

[bhaexpress]

He smells.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

There are several grounds from which Blatter could criticise the the Premier League and English football but he always goes about it in the wrong way. It should be easy for him identify the problems and come up with GOOD ideas which could change our game for the better and additionally improve the Champions League.

 

[Austrian Gull]

Maybe I've missed something but where does this idea come from that Platini hates English football? As an Englishman, I'm not happy that clubs are willing to lose tens of millions of pounds a year to be successful so why should he be?

 

[Notters]

How would he prove a clubs "means" anyway?!

 

[Skint Gull]

He's the ONLY person in football capable of standing up to Blatter.

That would be great if he wasn't such a BELLEND as well

 

[Stumpy Tim]

the 3 foreigner rule would stop a large percentage of this as well as

making the premier league more open
giving more English players a chance

The only down side I can see is the quality of football is likely to go down hill and we'd no longer be the best league in the world

Or it could just mean that English players transfer fees are inflated. Darren Bent at 20 million quid would look a bargain

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

the 3 foreigner rule would stop a large percentage of this as well as

making the premier league more open
giving more English players a chance

The only down side I can see is the quality of football is likely to go down hill and we'd no longer be the best league in the world

WOULD it make the premier league more open?

surely the richest clubs would just buy the best english players, and supplement it with the odd AWESOME foreigner?

 

[clapham_gull]

Just create a play off system for European Qualification (below the top two teams)

It's definately worth a try for a few seasons to see if it helps to even things out.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The only down side I can see is the quality of football is likely to go down hill and we'd no longer be the best league in the world

When did that happen?

I can't believe that teams like Leyton Orient and Crewe Alexandra play in "the best league in the world".

 

[sten_super]

Just create a play off system for European Qualification (below the top two teams)

It's definately worth a try for a few seasons to see if it helps to even things out.

And don't forget turning the 'Champions League' into an actual league of champions, rather than a 'league designed to ensure that we include as many of the big clubs as we can every year and screw the rest'.

 

[Mellotron]

And don't forget turning the 'Champions League' into an actual league of champions, rather than a 'league designed to ensure that we include as many of the big clubs as we can every year and screw the rest'.

Exactly. Even as a Villa supporter I don't think that if we come 4th we should be entered into a European competition with the word CHAMPIONS in it. 3rd to 6th enter Play offs, would be much more exciting and guarantee more competition.

 

[Simster]

Exactly. Even as a Villa supporter I don't think that if we come 4th we should be entered into a European competition with the word CHAMPIONS in it. 3rd to 6th enter Play offs, would be much more exciting and guarantee more competition.

The main benefit of only the CHAMPIONS being in the tournament is that we wouldn't have to list to Clive Tyldesley wanking himself off every time Jamie Carragher touches the ball, because Liverpool would never feature in it.

 

[murraymints4brighton]

never liked him since he was putting forward a proposal to cut the amount of ENGLISH clubs entering europe.

 

[sten_super]

Exactly. Even as a Villa supporter I don't think that if we come 4th we should be entered into a European competition with the word CHAMPIONS in it. 3rd to 6th enter Play offs, would be much more exciting and guarantee more competition.

If they want some kind of enlarged competition to accomodate big teams, make it the UEFA cup (or European Super Duper League, or whatever it is they are rebranding it as). I would have something like this, league-position wise...

1) Champions League (European Cup, but no-one calls it that anymore)
2) UEFA cup
3) UEFA cup
4) UEFA cup playoff place
5) UEFA cup playoff place
6) UEFA cup playoff place
7) UEFA cup playoff place

Then you have a Champions League of 64 national champions, in a non-seeded, two leg knockout competition = 13 matches. Teams play staggered every other week (so Week 1 16 first leg games, w2 16 other first leg games, w3 16 second leg, w4 16 other second leg, etc), you're already looking at 25 match days, should be plenty to satisfy TV demands.

UEFA cup, unseeded knockout competition with 128 teams (so more places for bigger leagues). 15 matches, again can be staggered (so you have one Champions League matchday and one UEFA cup matchday a week). UEFA cup can start two weeks earlier, and resume two weeks earlier after xmas, than the Champions League to fit in extra 4 matchdays.

Job done.

edit: ARSE. There are only 53 members of UEFA. That bollockes that up then.

 

[Mellotron]

If they want some kind of enlarged competition to accomodate big teams, make it the UEFA cup (or European Super Duper League, or whatever it is they are rebranding it as). I would have something like this, league-position wise...

1) Champions League (European Cup, but no-one calls it that anymore)
2) UEFA cup
3) UEFA cup
4) UEFA cup playoff place
5) UEFA cup playoff place
6) UEFA cup playoff place
7) UEFA cup playoff place

Then you have a Champions League of 64 national champions, in a non-seeded, two leg knockout competition = 13 matches. Teams play staggered every other week (so Week 1 16 first leg games, w2 16 other first leg games, w3 16 second leg, w4 16 other second leg, etc), you're already looking at 25 match days, should be plenty to satisfy TV demands.

UEFA cup, unseeded knockout competition with 128 teams (so more places for bigger leagues). 15 matches, again can be staggered (so you have one Champions League matchday and one UEFA cup matchday a week). UEFA cup can start two weeks earlier, and resume two weeks earlier after xmas, than the Champions League to fit in extra 4 matchdays.

Job done.

edit: ARSE. There are only 53 members of UEFA. That bollockes that up then.

I like all that, cept I like the old 4 team group stages. Like Euros and World Cup, I find them more exciting than just constant knockout.

 

[Napper]

When did that happen?

I can't believe that teams like Leyton Orient and Crewe Alexandra play in "the best league in the world".

pedantic

 

[Sweeney Todd]

Platini is one of those latter-day-Jean-Paul-Sartre Frenchmen who thinks that the heathen Anglo-Saxons are the greatest threat to European civilisation as embodied by France and her culture.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

The main benefit of only the CHAMPIONS being in the tournament is that we wouldn't have to list to Clive Tyldesley wanking himself off every time Jamie Carragher touches the ball, because Liverpool would never feature in it.

but then we wouldn't get any of those SPECIAL EUROPEANS NIGHTS AT ANFIELD