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Sun Jan 28, 2007 5:39 am |
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tracylynn
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Joined: 04 Oct 2006
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| Post subject: Champions League - Possible Changes? |
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England managers worried over CL changes
LONDON (AP) - Managers in the English Premier League voiced concerns Friday over newly-elected UEFA president Michel Platini's plan to reduce the number of English teams eligible to qualify for the Champions League.
Manchester United's Alex Ferguson - whose team won the Champions League in 1999 - said the tournament format is "OK at the moment" and he hopes Platini won't change it.
"The appeal of the Champions League is when the giants of Spain or Italy or England come up against each other," Ferguson said. "If you go back a few years, there were maybe too many games with two qualifying groups because you had to play about 17 games to win it."
Ferguson was responding to Platini's proposals to revamp European soccer's most prestigious club competition by limiting the number of clubs qualifying from any one country to three instead of four.
Such a move would take away a spot from big soccer nations such as England, Spain and Italy, giving more space to smaller clubs. Platini said the new format would be in place for the 2009-2010 season.
"If you take away the fourth place teams, the only way to address that is by reducing the competition or by giving other countries two places," Ferguson said. "The way it is at the moment, with the top countries getting the top teams in, is a fantastic prospect every year."
Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said Platini's plan would be a "huge blow" to smaller English clubs such as his own, which is trying to win the league's final Champions League qualifying place.
"To take a Champions League place away from us - that is to the detriment of the Premier League," Allardyce said. "If he can get away with that it is going to bring a lot of heartache to our league. It gives us virtually no chance whatsoever of qualifying for the Champions League."
The Premier League offered a guarded response.
"Basically, we'll continue to work with UEFA as we have always done and their democratic practices," Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said.
Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick welcomed Platini's victory as "an exciting new era for European football."
"We look forward to working with him over the coming years," he said. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 5:59 am |
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tracylynn
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Anybody have an opinion on this? Personally, I don't think it will happen but I like the idea. I'm sure the big league will whine like little babies and the idea will be dropped.
Personally, I think there should be a limit on how many teams from a particular league can qualify for the tournament. Make it a real Champions League tournament by the top two teams from the leagues participate. Who knows? Maybe a small club will surprise everyone and win it all.
I guess I hate the notion that England, Spain, and Italy basically get 4 and the other leagues get one, and if they're lucky then two or three teams get in. Just because a country is known as a powerhouse in soccer doesn't mean it should be given more spots. That's just not fair. I would like to see the small teams play because 1) it gives them exposure and 2) you can see some interesting games. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:30 am |
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MUTU
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| What about Germany though? Will they be affected? |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:35 pm |
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Paddy
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| I think England deserves 4 spots dunno about others....It wouldnīt make interesting to me if many small teams would play...they donīt play attractive football. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 5:42 pm |
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tracylynn
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| MUTU wrote: | | What about Germany though? Will they be affected? |
I don't know. I guess to them only England, Italy and Spain matter. I'm sure if Germany was in the same boat as those three then it would affect them. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:34 pm |
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Paddy
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| tracylynn wrote: | | MUTU wrote: | | What about Germany though? Will they be affected? |
I don't know. I guess to them only England, Italy and Spain matter. I'm sure if Germany was in the same boat as those three then it would affect them. |
Well you have to agree that Leagues from from England, Spain and Italy are of higher quality than Bundesliga. So I donīt think Bundesliga will be affected. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:12 pm |
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FC Bajern
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votes: 4
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| tracylynn wrote: | | Just because a country is known as a powerhouse in soccer doesn't mean it should be given more spots. |
That's not it. They don't decide how many teams will go from one country if it's a powerhouse or not.
English teams or Spanish get four spots because their club teams usually go past the quarter finals and most of the time in the finals and win it like Barcelona last year with Arsenal. Barcelona won it so Spain got a lot of points for that so they got the four spots for at least the next two years. England is second in points. The top three countries get the four spots I think and after them the other countries get three like Germany and France, Portugal and so on. So the most games a club wins the most points they get for their country.
For example if Bayern and Bremen were in the final of the Champions League. then there would be defenitely four spots for Germany the year after that.
I think they should not change the system, what do you need the weaker teams from the other countries for? Every club in Europe from all the countries has the chance to go to the Championd League but they don't make it in the qualifications so what's the point. Levski Sofia made it and they got humiliated they couldn't score any goal. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:26 pm |
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tracylynn
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When I talked about "powerhouse" I'm talking more about the mentality or belief that certains nations are "powerhouses" and that's it.
If they don't want some smaller teams/weaker teams (opinions for some) in it or give them a greater opportunity then they should not call it the "Champions League." Have a tournament for those three leagues and call it something else. Champions League is for the champions of the leagues, right? Then just have the champions play and that's it. They wouldn't need to worry about how many each league sends. Simple as that.
Also, if the Bundesliga play is not as entertaining as the other leagues then why watch Bayern? Bayern represents the Bundesliga. Of course, this is just my humble opinion. I like the Bundesliga, but I also like the Dutch league and the French league. La Liga is pretty good but I am getting tired of hearing about Real, Ronadinho, and so forth. |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:01 am |
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Paddy
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| Bayern is the only constantly good team in the bundesliga that is good in europe ( or should i say it was). |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:59 am |
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tracylynn
I post all the time
Joined: 04 Oct 2006
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Location: Springfield, USA
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| Paddy wrote: | | Bayern is the only constantly good team in the bundesliga that is good in europe ( or should i say it was). |
You're quote says it all....Bayern is the only constantly GOOD team in the Bundesliga. IMO, good means win. For me, not all teams win everything and all the time. Some teams are simply entertaining to watch even though they don't win. I like to watch entertaining games but that's just me. |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:11 am |
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Paddy
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| tracylynn wrote: | | Paddy wrote: | | Bayern is the only constantly good team in the bundesliga that is good in europe ( or should i say it was). |
You're quote says it all....Bayern is the only constantly GOOD team in the Bundesliga. IMO, good means win. For me, not all teams win everything and all the time. Some teams are simply entertaining to watch even though they don't win. I like to watch entertaining games but that's just me. |
For me the only entertaining team in bundesliga at the moment is Werder. They have Diego. The rest is just boring. |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:40 am |
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SNAKE
Yeah, now I'm talking!
Joined: 27 Dec 2006
Posts: 269
Location: Malta
votes: 5
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And dont forget Stuttgart mate.
SNAKE |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:49 pm |
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FC Bajern
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Joined: 09 Dec 2006
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votes: 4
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| Paddy wrote: | | For me the only entertaining team in bundesliga at the moment is Werder. They have Diego. The rest is just boring. |
You just took it out of my mouth. That's the only team I watch in Bundesliga after Bayern. |
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Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:46 am |
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Paddy
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Joined: 07 Jan 2007
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| FC Bajern wrote: | | Paddy wrote: | | For me the only entertaining team in bundesliga at the moment is Werder. They have Diego. The rest is just boring. |
You just took it out of my mouth. That's the only team I watch in Bundesliga after Bayern. |
Yeah but this year its pain to watch Bayern. |
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Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:32 pm |
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yoanna
Yeah, now I'm talking!
Joined: 23 Dec 2006
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votes: 2
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any possible spots for weaker teams won't do much for the level of championship, but looking from my point of view, that would rock to have a team in CL... 
seriously though, champions league, as the name indicates, is for the best.
they just keep bringing up and mixing politics with football. annoys the hell out of me. |
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