I think the format for the Champions League and the Qualifiers to get into the competition are all wrong, Champions League means the league of Champions, not the league of 1st to 4th place, as in the case of England, so why should our 4th placed teams get a qualifying place and, let's face it, a 99% chance of qualifying, when the 1st placed team in, say, Romania, have to also qualify? It doesn't do justice to the main bulk of Eastern European countries when some of them do have fairly decent teams. I think the whole competition needs reformatting, firstly, make it 64 teams other than 32, in 8 groups of 8, then the champion of each country gets an automatic spot, meaning there will be 11 places left, one of which should go to the winners of the previous competition, regardless of country or where they finish in their league, the whole Liverpool thing a few seasons ago being a perfect example, making 10 more places available, that's when the qualifiers come in. The runners-up from each country along with the previous UEFA Cup winners (I'll explain why later) should each have a place, making it 54 teams in total, then have what I like to call 'rounds of 3', split the teams up into 18 groups of 3 and in each group have 6 games: Team 1 v Team 2 home and away, Team 2 v Team 3 home and away and Team 1 v Team 3 home and away, and the winners of each group (18 in total) progress to the next round of 3, which will be just the same, with 6 groups, obviously, but this time the top two from each group progress, leaving 12 teams, then do the same again with 4 groups, the top two from each go through AS WELL AS the best 2 runners-up out of all the groups, leaving the 10 teams that will progress to the final Champions League. The winners of the previous UEFA CUP should be in the qualifiers because if they get knocked out of the qualifiers, they are back in the UEFA Cup defending their title, but if they make it through the qualifiers, they are then competing for a better prize.
We should have 64 teams in there with all domestic champions being given an automatic place. 2nd to 4th in the big nations have to qualify. It would be better if it was straight knockout from round 1. Get rid of the group stage.
<div class="quote_poster">ben Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think the format for the Champions League and the Qualifiers to get into the competition are all wrong, Champions League means the league of Champions, not the league of 1st to 4th place, as in the case of England, so why should our 4th placed teams get a qualifying place and, let's face it, a 99% chance of qualifying, when the 1st placed team in, say, Romania, have to also qualify? It doesn't do justice to the main bulk of Eastern European countries when some of them do have fairly decent teams. I think the whole competition needs reformatting, firstly, make it 64 teams other than 32, in 8 groups of 8, then the champion of each country gets an automatic spot, meaning there will be 11 places left, one of which should go to the winners of the previous competition, regardless of country or where they finish in their league, the whole Liverpool thing a few seasons ago being a perfect example, making 10 more places available, that's when the qualifiers come in. The runners-up from each country along with the previous UEFA Cup winners (I'll explain why later) should each have a place, making it 54 teams in total, then have what I like to call 'rounds of 3', split the teams up into 18 groups of 3 and in each group have 6 games: Team 1 v Team 2 home and away, Team 2 v Team 3 home and away and Team 1 v Team 3 home and away, and the winners of each group (18 in total) progress to the next round of 3, which will be just the same, with 6 groups, obviously, but this time the top two from each group progress, leaving 12 teams, then do the same again with 4 groups, the top two from each go through AS WELL AS the best 2 runners-up out of all the groups, leaving the 10 teams that will progress to the final Champions League. The winners of the previous UEFA CUP should be in the qualifiers because if they get knocked out of the qualifiers, they are back in the UEFA Cup defending their title, but if they make it through the qualifiers, they are then competing for a better prize.</div> Thats just bollocks, the schedule would be too hectic clashing with other games. Think it through.
The Champions of Rumania etc get their chance in the qualifiers. If they get knocked out its quite obvious they aren't good enough. Its not about whats right or wrong its about TV and sponsors and English teams attract business. Where on earth are the english teams gonna fit these extra games in if its 64 teams entered ffs. I know your a Spurs fan and your a little bit pissed off about last year but the only way you can do something about it is IMPROVE.
Keep it the way it is as it has got a lot of quality in it and and really fun to watch. You dont wanna see Romania champions play instead of the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid and AC Milan who wouldnt of qualify this year among other teams that are great.
