David Layne
First Team Squad
With the losses by Arsenal and Chelsea tonight in the Champions League can we but hope that the Champions League cash cow will now dry up for English clubs and return the game to what it was?
The demise of Premiership clubs in Europe.
- Thread starter David Layne
- Start date
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frankwignall
Guest
Dont know. But I had a cracking night in a bar full of Olympiakos fans.
Ravi
Upper Decker
Amazing result for Olympiakos. Never won in England in the CL before and only scored a total of three goals before last night. One of the shocks of the season, and one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition.
Earlier in the day I heard a presenter on radio saying he could turn out for Arsenal against Olympiakos and they'd still win. Lol. It's great that results like this can still happen at the very top level of football.
Earlier in the day I heard a presenter on radio saying he could turn out for Arsenal against Olympiakos and they'd still win. Lol. It's great that results like this can still happen at the very top level of football.
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Barry
Where's me hammer?
If i were an arsenal fan id want them to miss a few seasons of the champions league so it cant be used as a reason for sky high ticket prices.
Trickie Trees
Stuart Pearce
The Champions League is here to stay. Too much money involved. The fact English clubs are not performing is neither here nor there.
888balluk
John Robertson
Wasn't what the original post was on about tho
I can only hope that we lose a place in the CL and watch them all squeal like pigs. The fourth spot should be given to FA cup winners anyway.
I can only hope that we lose a place in the CL and watch them all squeal like pigs. The fourth spot should be given to FA cup winners anyway.
Otis Redding
Try A Little Tenderness
The prospect of losing Champions League places is the reason Richard Scudamore will steadfastly refuse the imposition of foreign player quotas in the Premier League. According to him, CL qualification for the elite few is far more important than a genuinly competive England international side.
Project Zeus
Steve Chettle
I don't think so. If England loses a Champions League allocation and the top four is replaced by the top three, all we will see is even less competition as the clique at the top is shrunk even further. The others would still get the cash cow. It would be funny watching the clubs desperately try to get the remaining qualification places though. In an ideal world the CL money would be shared.
I agree with 8ball, the last place should go to the FA Cup winners. There would be so much more opportunity for English teams again, and a reasonable chance of threatening the clique for a lot of clubs.
Barry
Where's me hammer?
UEFA won't allow the final place to go to the FA cup winners even if the prem allowed it which they wouldn't. If the 4th place spot goes what have spurs and scousepool got to aspire to anymore?
DanR
Steve Chettle
See Gary Neville's tweet from this morning, describing yesterday's England selection meeting.
Neville states that picking from the English players who started last weekend in the Premier League gives a pool of 61 players to choose from. That's 30%.
Project Zeus
Steve Chettle
Winning the FA Cup?
Ravi
Upper Decker
Wow that must be the lowest ever pool of potential England players. Still, rather than complaining the best solution is probably for this country to start producing better young players who are good enough to play in other top European leagues, and so gain experience that way.
Kieran
@NFFC182
Well let's not forget that Barcelona lost last night, and with the money they've spent and the players they've handpicked from any club they like, they should never be losing.
Arsenal are just poor in the Champions League, and although Wenger can just about get away with it in the Premier League, he's always left exposed in Europe of the weaknesses within his team. He left out Cech too, one of the best goalkeepers in the world out of sheer cockiness, so it serves him right.
Last year I looked at Chelsea's squad and it looked fantastic, where as this year I look and it seems to have something missing, I don't know, perhaps a world class centre back?
Arsenal are just poor in the Champions League, and although Wenger can just about get away with it in the Premier League, he's always left exposed in Europe of the weaknesses within his team. He left out Cech too, one of the best goalkeepers in the world out of sheer cockiness, so it serves him right.
Last year I looked at Chelsea's squad and it looked fantastic, where as this year I look and it seems to have something missing, I don't know, perhaps a world class centre back?
Barry
Where's me hammer?
Otis Redding
Try A Little Tenderness
I don't do Twitter Dan, so thanks for highlighting Neville's comment. It makes the claim from some that the Championship will eventually supply the bulk of the England side a genuine prospect.
Not that Scudamore will have even the slightest concern about that, as he bids to provide a product that helps to ensure the sale of even more satellite dishes to SE Asia for his paymaster, Rupert Murdoch.
Raymondo Ponte'
It's all about mid-table...
Cant see that happening Ravz.
Our youngsters are brought through the ranks seeing and hearing that money is the one and only only object of the beautiful game.
And that's all they'll ever be interested in.
Ravi
Upper Decker
Cant see that happening Ravz.
Our youngsters are brought through the ranks seeing and hearing that money is the one and only only object of the beautiful game.
And that's all they'll ever be interested in.
I'm sure young players from other European countries are just as interested in earning money. For instance, there are plenty of French players who are making a living over here, but how many venture the other way to learn their trade? There's never really been a culture of English players being happy to move abroad to gain experience. Personally I think it has more to do with them not being as well coached as their Spanish, German and French counterparts and so not being as adaptable to other styles of football as continental players generally are.
F
Francis Benali (on loan)
Guest
Cant see that happening Ravz.
Our youngsters are brought through the ranks seeing and hearing that money is the one and only only object of the beautiful game.
And that's all they'll ever be interested in.
This is modern footballer. Signed to one of the big teams he has no hope of breaking into any time in the near future, if at all. Unable to arrive at training on time when playing for a club who are on his own level. When he's asked to pay a fine arrives with a bag of five thousand pennies as a f*** you...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34400657
There's no hope that minor changes like the Premier League losing its fourth Champions league spot, even if the dog could still wag its own tail, could go anyway towards pulling football's head from so far up its own arse.
Ricochet
Jack Burkitt
Barcelona won last night Kieran.
Project Zeus
Steve Chettle
It would if winning it were worth something. If the FA Cup became a ticket into the Champions League, I'd be amazed if any of the PL sides outside of the relegation battle didn't play anything other than their strongest side.
Alf-engelos Mindminackers
The Artiste formally known as "Wanksy"
Barry
Where's me hammer?
You wouldnt see a weak side in the competition.
Barry
Where's me hammer?
Otis Redding
Try A Little Tenderness
This is a rare occasion where I beg to differ with you Ravi.
I completely understand your implication regarding the futility of complaining about the ever-growing global expansion of the Sky League (which is what the PL is in reality) but, someway or somehow, this nation has to try to reclaim it's football at the top level.
I hope I don't sound jingoistic with that statement because I think it's important that excellent football should be accessible all around the world, even it has to be by way of Murdoch's dishes, but the PL is essentially a global competition that just happens to be played in England....for the present. I truly believe that when Scudamore, inevitably, achieves his desire of "the 39th game", it will be the tip of the iceberg.
*apologies to the OP for going off on a tangent.
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DanR
Steve Chettle
Without wishing to be too much of a conspiract theorist, the current entertainment at FIFA and UEFA could potentially open the door for a rival ruling body to be formed, featuring the likes of News Corp in prominent roles. Take the biggest clubs, the best players, turn them into franchises, televise the lot.
Although on a much much smaller scale, think what they did with BDO and PDC darts, and also what Kerry Packer did with cricket in Australia. Won't sell us the current rights, we'll create our own.