Better get this party started then,
The Uefa Champions League, has it gone so stale you cany even pick the blue bits off and have it with toasted with plenty of jam in order to soften it up a bit?
(i should add that if you hadnt noticed, the analogy i am using is bread)
For me, to have 4 english teams in the last 8 kinda dilutes the premise, and its not just a the ridiuclous name i am alluding to either. Its the whole thing, there is no surprises as any surprise results are swallowed up due to the masive amounts of games.
the whole thing doesnt really bring out the best team on europe anymore, more the most resiliant rich team.
The cash swilling about the tournament is frightening and so much so that you cant afford to get beat rather than make an attempt to win. though the seconds legs were generally all excellent, the first legs were frankly pure and utter pish! And the money aspect has meant that Aston Villa are trying to fight there way in and actually giving up on actual cup holding success in order to get they weird euro notes lying in their hands next yr.
Your thoughts please.
Ruud
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Its all about the money, innit? Unless I misread the rules, in theory it could be all English semi finals too, which is a madness.
ReplyDeleteThe second the group stages came in (and remember the ill fated second group stage?) it was dead. Maybe the 'Euro Vase' or whatever it is called can kick Europe back into life.
Like the belts in WWE, trophys mean nothing at the moment.
(also, make me a contributor!)
Man City lifting the uefa cup and then Mark Hughes turning around and giving martin o neil both barrels for not winning shit all this season.
ReplyDeletesorry to turn this into an anti aston villa thing
(need yer email address bud)
Aye it should just be for champions or at least change the name. And that may be the first time I've heard it compared to the WWE but fuck what an accurate comparison!
ReplyDeletesteven.j.lynch@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYeah the WWE comparison is quite naff really, but remember when Hulk Hogan had it for four years, then he lost it to Andre the Giant, and it was massive, because it meant something. Nowadays its all a bit plastic. Titles mean nothing.
The team that can finish 6th in the championship can get promoted, and they get a trophy! Team in second don't. But I digress.
If Rangers were not in the final last year I doubt that I would even know who held the UEFA Cup! Year before that? And that?
I remember the year Middlesbrough got to the final as I was working in the union that night. It was dead and sat all night watching them getting a new arsehole torn for them. Good times.
Hogan's 4-year reign was mainly due to the fact there were only 2-4 PPVs per year at that time, and the significance of the title change was somewhat lessened by the fact the title was vacated a week later. Anyway, that's another discussion for another day.
ReplyDeleteAh, the 'Champions' League. I'm very much of the opinion that the tournament to crown the best team in Europe should include the best teams in Europe. By allowing only league winners to enter, given that 2nd-4th in each major league would then qualify for the UEFA Cup/Europa League, the UEFA Cup/Europa League would probably become the most competitive continental competition and have more quality.
Using this season as an example, the Champions League would have Man Utd, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Lyon, Shakhtar, PSV, Porto & Bayern as arguably the top 8 teams in it, while the UEFA Cup would have Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus, Roma, Arsenal, Villarreal & Fiorentina. I'd much rather watch Liverpool v Chelsea (for the 459th time in the last 5 years) in the quarter final of the Champions League than something like Real Madrid v Kalmar (current Swedish champions).
I also think that the away goals rule should be done away with. More and more teams are playing defensively at home (especially in first legs) due to the fear of conceding an away goal. It's like football is being played in reverse sometimes. I'd have the golden goal rule with no time limit if the scores are tied after 2 legs.
It's a strange one lads.There's no doubt that the current Champions League is top-heavy with football's richest.The whole tournament is geared up for that.This is evident from the fact four teams qualify from each of the big leagues and further evidence comes in the form of the subsequent seedings once the little people join them in the pot.
ReplyDeleteAs a result I feel the European Cup/Champions League has lost much of it's romance.Don't get me wrong,there's always going to be generation defining moments,absolute gems like the Liverpool comeback in Instanbul or Solskjaer in the Nou Camp.But on the whole it's pretty predictable fare.I'm so fed up of watching Chelsea-Liverpool games.Think there's been something like 8 goals in the last 10 meetings between them in Europe.Boredom.
I mean when was the last time a team won the trophy for the first time.Dortmund in '97? Too long ago.Platini gets a fair bit of stick for his socialist view of a footballing utopia but maybe he's on the right track.It'd be far more refreshing to see a so called lesser team in Europe take on the big guns and win than Liverpool,Man U,Madrid or Barca steamrolling it again.
How do ye go about that?Personally,I'd love to see it as a knockout tournament again but I can't see that happening any time soon.Too many big clubs would need to be consulted and turkeys won't vote for Christmas.
Who knows??Maybe this big fuck-off recession will affect football in more ways than we know.5 years down the line football might be in a very different place.The cloud might have a silver lining.I hope so.