http://www.footballseeding.com/country-ranking/a2016-2017/ http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2017.html http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method4/ccoef2017.html
Anderlecht advance ... and with a draw (or even better with a win) at home v. ASSE will be group leaders Genk are through ... and will be group leaders with an away win v. Sassuolo or if Athletic don't get a better result in Vienna (regardless of GD) Gent have a decent chance to finish as runners-up ... if they get an away win v. Konyaspor + Shakhtar do what is expected of them and get an away win or at least a draw v. Braga Standard also have a fair chance to hold onto their runners-up spot despite Celta de Vigo breathing down their necks (GD +1 and +2 for Standard) ... Standard will be playing at home against Ajax (that already have secured top seed status) while Celta de Vigo need to get at least a slightly better result away v. Panathinaikos (they're already eliminated though) Hoping Club will leave with a win at home against Copenhagen in 2 weeks ... to save face in what's been a terrible CL run and for our coefficient It could have been all 5 Belgian clubs advancing ... still would be great if our unprecedented EL 4 reach the KO phase.
Champions League 2018-2021 reform ... full details of the access list have been shared (maybe EPFL can tweak it a little before the March deadline): It's along the lines of the leaks but hasn't been made public yet ... we'll keep our direct CL berth yet the cut-off moves closer (top 10 instead of top 12) plus our runner-up can qualify through LR: - 6 runners-up from countries 10-15 start (ATM that's 15.Austria, 14.Greece, 13.Holland, 12. Schweiz, 11.Czechies, 10.Turk) => 3 losers go to Q3 of EL qualifiers - 3 winners join these 5: runners-up 7-9 (ATM that's 9.BELGIUM, 8.Ukraine, 7.Russia) + 3rd placed team countries 6 (Portugal ATM) and 5 (France ATM) => 4 losers go directly to EL group phase - 4 winners in LR play-offs => 2 losers go directly to EL group phase and 2 winners advance to CL group phase Europa League 2018-2021 ... still 27 direct berths (total of 48 teams in group phase) Cup winner + 5th placed team countries 1-4 Cup winner + 4th placed team country 5 Cup winner countries 6-12 4 losers CR play-offs 4 losers LR Qs 2 losers LR play-offs 8 Champions will have CR Qs (3 rounds) 13 teams via other Qs (4 rounds + preliminary round) http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2430054.html#lyon+host+2018+uefa+europa+league+final http://www.knvb.nl/nieuws/themas/fi...peelt-vanaf-201819-vrijwel-zeker-voorronde-cl https://apnews.com/84651f7ce7604955...-about-FIFA's-proposals-on-expanded-World-Cup
Conclusion: in the short term we gain a little something from these reforms ... over a longer period I'm expecting more reforms to be pushed through by the elite clubs (Bayern seems to be pushing the hardest) ... edging closer to an exclusive Super League.* Considering that the CL or EL title holders will most likely qualify via domestic competition ... the cut-off for direct CL berths will remain top 12 ... the biggest change for us will be softer LR opponents ... clubs from the top 4 countries won't be in the play-offs anymore (no more advancing from LR3 Qs just to be knocked out by a club from the big 4/have to punch well above your weight) ... instead the 4 teams that advance from LR3 face each other in the play-offs. * to prevent a closed Super League and the lack of competitive balance/unbridgeable gap with Europe's elite clubs ... the most effective solution is a logical continuation of national pyramids on a European level ... if UEFA had gone down this route in the early 90s and created a European pyramid, there would have been many more competitive sides ... if you don't do it now the gap just keeps widening and a Super League will eventually break away ... UEFA should make it possible to gain promotion from your top tier national league to actual European leagues with clubs from around Europe competing against each other instead of the distorting effect of a cup competition (the CL dumping money on 1 or a few clubs from 1 domestic league). At the European level you no longer have the economic constraints of a smaller league but can try to make your way to the very top of the European pyramid ... Paul De Grauwe is a fan (Prof. London School of Economics and K.U. Leuven) and there are sports economists researching competitive balance that are proponents of a European pyramid with promotion/relegation as well.
Preliminary Access List 2018/19 - http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/AccessList2018.html * the cut-off for direct CL berths will move closer to top 11, instead of top 12, as CL title holders most likely qualify via domestic competition ... if EL title holders qualify for CL via domestic competition then the 3rd placed club of country 5, France, receives a direct CL berth instead of the champions of country 12 As our ranking is boringly stable (No.9) and taking a blind stab at our entry rules for European competitions: The 2018 Champions of Belgium enter directly in the 2018/19 CL group phase Runner-up starts in LR Q3 with softer opponents in play-offs than before (cfr. 2 previous posts) Cup winner enters directly in the 2018/19 EL group phase 3rd placed club starts in Q3 EL Our EL final PO winner (e.g. 4th or 5th placed club) starts in Q2 EL Europa League qualifying rounds that are most relevant for us: - Q2 consists of 47 clubs from Q1 + 27 clubs that start here (anything from 6th placed clubs of countries 1-4 to Cup winners of countries 18-27 ... including Belgium's EL final PO winner) => 37 clubs advance to Q3 - Q3 consists of 37 clubs from Q2 + 15 clubs that start here (3 losers from CL LR Q2 + 4th placed club of country 6 + 3rd placed clubs of countries 7-12 + Cup winners of countries 13-17) => 26 teams advance to play-offs and 13 make it into the EL group phase.
Anderlecht knocking out Zenit ... Gent knocking out Spurs ... and Genk knocking out Astra ... not bad at all. Draw tomorrow around 1pm CET http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2017/draws/round=2000794/
Only the 2nd time two Belgian clubs meet in Europe .. the previous one was Anderlecht v. KV Mechelen in 1988 ... the Europa 3 can't all make it to the QFs, yet at least one Belgian club is guaranteed to advance ... where they could meet Anderlecht Regarding our coëfficient, we already know now that our all-time record will be broken ... 11.100 including the points from Gent v. Genk ... 1.633 behind 8th placed Ukraine ... still not top 3 or top 5 like in the late 70s, throughout the 80s and the decline in the late 90s ... Anderlecht should be able to take points off APOEL as well ... which could help us overtake Ukraine (club from the 8th placed country could go into pot 1 for the CL group stage draw, like PSV did) ... with the play-offs the schedule of those reaching the QFs will be packed though ... probably will cause us to spill points while, despite decent results in the last 3 years, enough have been spilled already ... if Portugal's 2 get knocked out we'll gain a lot of ground on them but Russia will be harder to overtake (although they'll add a 6th club which might not be that great in Europe) ... at the beginning of next season we're already ahead of Ukraine and closing in on Portugal but that 6th place (with benefits) will require massive failures on part of Portugal and Russia or another 2 historic seasons in Europe.
For next year, I'll have ... ... Anderlecht and Gent in the CL ... praying Gent hit a purple patch or simply win the EL ... any of the 3 remaining Belgian clubs bagging themselves a European trophy is fine really ... Oostende to win the Belgian Cup ... hopefully they can hold onto Dimata ... Brugge in the EL + Genk to win the EL play-offs and join Brugge in EL Q3 (both advancing to the group stage) ... considering Brugge's horribly bad performance in the weakest CL group this year (against Copenhagen, a draw away and a win at home should have been the bare minimum in such a weak group and was enough to claim 3rd) ... not even showing up in the final home game against Copenhagen (agg: a 6-0 beatdown) ... so I'll have this and a diet coke, please.
Gent - Genk ... what a great advertisement for the Belgian league, what a game ... especially the first 45' ... Genk are really firing on all cylinders ... a shame they'll most likely miss out on the play-offs ... maybe they can focus on the EL now ... and hopefully win the Jupiler League's EL play-offs as well (like to see them get back in the EL next year). Lyon - Roma also looked good based on the highlights. Anderlecht ... should have scored a 2nd but I'm happy they saw the game out ... would be great to have 2 Belgian clubs advancing ... if Anderlecht win at home, the gap with Ukraine would decrease to 0.633 ... a couple of years ago Brugge wasted a great chance in the QFs against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukranians reached the final) ... could have overtaken Ukraine already (+ top seed status in the CL group stage draw).
UPDATE http://www.sport.be/nl/jupilerproleague/nieuws/article.html?Article_ID=797832 So far, so good ... Anderlecht are top and Gent made it into Play-off I ... Club, already without Izquierdo, look weaker and in Europe they were abysmal ... it's much better that CL football goes to Gent and Anderlecht Tielemans and Dendoncker will probably bag themselves a nice transfer in the summer ... leaving after a title-winning season could give their careers a boost ... a bit more #InYouthWeTrust would be grand though ... Anderlecht youth teams winning so many tournaments or their deep runs in the Uefa Youth League begs to promote these kiddies ... e.g. Faes moving to Heerenveen and rotting on the bench = SMH ... Donnarumma, Lafont and the likes get chances between the sticks in much bigger competitions yet Svilar, already years older than the former kiddies, in the modest Belgian league is too much of a gamble ??? ... making a profit moving on legionnaire dross to the detriment of your own youth who need to try their luck abroad ... that is NOT a vision ... no wonder the Belgian FA always lack funds ... the starting line-ups of Pro League clubs aren't a home to local talents, so why care about Belgian football ... still, the list of local talents that left Belgium and went on to become household names plus our NT are far more alluring than legionnaire dross tagged with barcodes. On Saturday we'll find out ... can't stand that fat fvck Coucke and as a neutral I would have fancied Genk ... still, come on kutboys ... KVO, the slightly less shit option, to lift the cup. Genk look really impressive now ... tbqh they're too good to leave out of Play-off I ... after coming short in the league and the cup, I hope they still reach Europe ... either win the EL (no biggie) or top their Play-off II group (what should be a soft one for them) and go on to win the EL play-offs I had a Pepsi Max ... close enough ... fizzy drink companies spending billions in ads ... yet when they offer a Pepsi: "yea, that'll do."
Anderlecht - Genk wouldn't be the worst draw ... in that case we're guaranteed to overtake Ukraine ... plus 1 Belgian club advances obviously ... Celta Vigo, Schalke, Man Utd, Lyon, Anderlecht, Genk, Beşiktaş, Ajax remain.
"Sinds een jaar of tien hebben wij, de Belgische clubs, begrepen dat het nodig is om eigen jeugdspelers te laten doorgroeien in plaats van derderangs buitenlanders te halen. En daar hebben we ook in geïnvesteerd." - sport.be Not nearly enough """In Youth We Trust""" ... especially when this is the result after so-called "a decade of investing in local talents" Pierre François (CEO, Pro League): "De nieuwe reglementen zijn de competitiviteit van onze Belgische ploegen ten goede gekomen. Hierdoor kunnen ze nu ook goede buitenlanders aantrekken." Again, that is NOT a vision ... making a profit moving on legionnaire dross to the detriment of your own youth who as a result need to try their luck abroad ... the Pro League adds little to our NT despite the interest the NT has generated for Belgian football ... most starting line-ups lack Belgian flags ... it's a far cry from a core of Belgian players complimented with a few legionnaires that really add value ... when Gent won the Belgian title they had fewer Belgian starters than e.g. Spurs (Gent had 1 or 2 at most while Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Chadli and Dembele were starting for Spurs back then, thanks Eredivisie) ... clubs that are bringing through very exciting talents, like Monaco or Atalanta, tend to have line-ups with a lot more flags from that club's country/league (L1's Monaco added to France) ... the Belgian clubs are still among the worst offenders ... together with the likes of England and Turkey ffs.
This doesn't look good for the coefficient at all. Brugge, KVO and Gent already out and between them they've only picked up 2/5 points, i.e. 0.4 of the 1.2 points this year. Need Zulte and Anderlecht to win big just for a bit of damage control ... what a group Anderlecht are in though:
Oh yea the Pro League's coefficient is well and truly fvcked now. Ukraine is going to overtake Belgium and get a top seed in the CL draw AGAIN. This season in Europe is set to end in a complete and utter disaster. Turkey are making up a lot of ground and if they do well Belgium might even drop to 10th.
Essevee's win yesterday was the first win for a Belgian club in Europe this season ... what a difference with last season. Anderlecht are currently the ones that have earned the most points, i.e. 4 (four), which were given to every team with a CL group stage spot. Then we have Essevee (3 points from a win and a draw against Vitesse) and the Belgian clubs that failed to reach the group only picked up 2 points in total. So how are we doing this season? England Italy Spain Russia France Cyprus Austria Portugal Germany Ukraine Israel Denmark Serbia Azerbaijan Croatia Greece Sweden Slovenia Turkey Bulgaria Norway Scotland Kazakhstan Czech Republic Switzerland Belarus Poland Macedonia Romania Lithuania Moldova Albania Liechtenstein Netherlands Belgium have been worse than all these countries ... even Holland ... at least there's nobody behind Belgium that can overtake us, it can't get worse than 35th ... to avoid ending up behind Holland and Liechtenstein all that is needed is 1 (one) point ... just 1 draw ... miracles are however needed to unfvck the coefficient. Anderlecht have yet to play an already qualified Bayern in Brussels ... Bayern dropping points there and PSG winning in Paris against Celtic would be a welcome surprise ... on the final MD, Anderlecht play away against Celtic where a (big) win can still mean EL football ... Anderlecht have a rough schedule in the coming weeks but the coefficient needs a big hand ... noblesse oblige. Essevee have to hope Nice focus on the league but an upset in Nice, an away win to grab 2nd place, will always be a big ask ... on the final MD, Essevee play at home against Lazio ... Lazio already are group leaders and maybe the league will also be a priority for them.
What a bad player became that Theo-guy. I haven’t seen a worst striker ever. Not even in lower leagues. When are the boardboys going to open their eyes????
Anderlecht's win wasn't enough and no matter what happens Thursday there won't be any Belgian clubs in Europe after winter. That's been a while. At least it's looking like we'll end up above Holland and Liechtenstein and even though Zulte winning their last game is a bit cosmetic every point counts. This season's results will weigh Belgium's coefficient down for quite a while. In the next 4 years results will have to be above average to avoid losing even more ground.