HUGE possible format changes to CL starting in 2018

That would be unfair to Spain (getting 3 automatic clubs compared to 5 for England), Portugal (not getting any automatic clubs), and AS Roma (second in the last two and six of the last ten complete Serie A seasons). Where you said 70 clubs, it would be 69 (54 - Liechtenstein = 53 + 10 +6 = 69).

Edit: Assuming England remains in the Top 3 leagues, it would get 8 Champions League spots including the Playoff Round. If England continued to get 3 Europa League spots, 11 clubs (a majority of the Premier League) could be competing in Europe if the FA Cup and Capital One Cup were both won by Premier League clubs.

 

This would result in me watching even more Europa League games. I enjoy that competition already, it's a bit like a time machine, lots of previously big clubs from smaller countries. Now it would include Leicesters and other cinderellas.

Something like this happened to Europe's basketball. Big teams have guaranteed spots for an X number of years, after which spots can be awarded again for another term -- or taken away if their domestic or financial results are bad. It's not terrible, the competition itself is interesting, but it would be interesting anyway.

It definitely would lower stakes in the Premier League, Serie A, etc. It could also add some financial stability to some of these big clubs, especially clubs like Inter.

I think eventually it's going to happen, so I don't see a reason to be too upset at the inevitable. But I think definitely I'd end up watching more Europa League.

 

I really don't like it, UEFA was trying to even things out between the big clubs and the smaller clubs in the last few years. This would do the opposite, it would create a bigger gap which is not good for the game. Creating the champions path and non champions path in qualifiers has helped smaller nations.

 

It isnot the job of the UEFA to insure financial stability for clubs by guaranteeing them a bag of money. The f.cking shit heads have to earn it. If they cannot, it is their problem and if they do even worse, let them go broke. Corruption isnot only in money but also in the moral department.
It is high time the people of Europe stand up and kick out everyone that is jeopardizing integrity and morality for the sake of the billionaires.
This is the way the bankers think..that they are entitled to all the money.

And by the waythis flies in the face of competition rules of Europe that you might wonder what the idiots coming up with it have been smoking.

 

I don't think competition rules would prevent it -- basketball clubs did it (Euroleague), some EU hockey clubs are also in a big international closed league (KHL).

I also don't think this is about morality or integrity or about people of Europe. I'm one of "people of Europe", and from a moral perspective I don't give a shit about Manchester United taking UEFA money at PSV or Celtic expense.

I just think a more even field would be more interesting to me personality, but morality has little to do with it. Just a bunch of organizations that are all much richer than me sqabbling over a money pie.

 

No, the difference is a lock in for clubs on questionable grounds and other clubs from the same FA's that have to qualifie. So there is an artificial competitive difference created that flies in the face of the cartel laws of Europe.

 

This quote signals to me that you can stick it up your ..

 

So you would think it is more even field to watch ManU against whatever SL club without any merit to be there (how even would their presence be in their last 4 years not so good presence in the CL), then to watch them being eliminated by PSV.
That "mighty" Real Madrid last season made by their teeth in the knock out rounds because Klaasjan Huntelaar hammered the bar instead of putting in the 5th in Madrid.
About what even field are you exactly moaning. It is just because of these facts these socalled top teams want to exclude the rest and prevent themselves from being eliminated by better teams.
If you call matches like Schalke against Real uninteresting and uneven, you have no clue what football is about. Yep. it is the unevenness the top teams fear, the fact that with all their money they have to prove it on the pitch and money isnot the only factor to beat the other team. They shit their pants and so they want a playground for the rich, not for the best.
Your post is full of shit..it stinks for miles.....it stinks from decaying corpses of corrupt UEFA officials.

 

They can go about it the same way basketball clubs did. Laws didn't stop them.

Thanks man, your post smells of roses.

 

Teams

See also: 2015–16 Euroleague squads

On May 6, 2015, Euroleague announced the licences distribution.[2] Despite being announced for June 8, 2015,[3] the final composition was announced on June 29.[4]

Regular season


Real Madrid A (1st)

Olympiacos A (1st)

Maccabi FOX A (3rd)

CSKA Moscow A (1st)


FC Barcelona Lassa A (2nd)

Panathinaikos A (2nd)

Žalgiris A (1st)

Khimki B (2nd)


Unicaja B (3rd)

Dinamo Sassari B (1st)

Pınar Karşıyaka B (1st)

Lokomotiv Kuban WC (3rd)


Laboral Kutxa A (6th)

EA7 Milano A (3rd)

Anadolu Efes A (2nd)

Crvena Zvezda B (1st)


Brose Baskets B (1st)

Limoges B (1st)

Fenerbahçe A (3rd)

Cedevita B (2nd)


Bayern Munich WC (2nd)

Strasbourg WC (2nd)

Darüşşafaka Doğuş WC (5th)

Stelmet Zielona Góra B (1st)


Numbers in bracket represent the place the team took in its 2014–15 domestic championship, representing rankings after eventual Playoffs.

Notes

^A Qualified through an A–licence, based on the Euroleague club ranking and other regulations. Following the limitation of three A–Licences per country that the ECA Shareholders Meeting approved in Barcelona on July 9, 2014, Unicaja, as the lowest-ranked A–Licence team participating in the Spanish League has lost its A–Licence.

^B Received a B–licence, being the best ranked team in the Domestic Leagues without an A–Licence conceded by the final position in the 2014–15 season of their national league or Adriatic League in case of ex–Yugoslavian countries.

^WC Four teams received one-year wild cards to play in the 2015–16 Euroleague.





Looks to me a merit based licencing system.

 

When I encounter a pile of dunn it must be sprinkled with perfumed liquids to take away the stink.

 

"Big" meaning? Last season's winners? Clubs with most european trophies? Clubs with most european appearances over last 5/10/20/whatever years? What does big really mean here??

Since when are Man City, Atletico, Leverkusen, Inter and PSG "big" clubs? According to which rule of the ones I mentioned above?

 

again, why is Inter a big club? According to which rules? I'll admit that for Serie A they're quite big indeed (they won the title many times, and probably some domestic cups. as well). But the discussion on this thread is about Europe, not Italy. So, why is Inter a big club in Europe? Not gonna rush over to google / wikipedia to check how many times Inter has won an European trophy, but I know they won it for a few times (less than 5 times tops I dare say without checking)

 

already started watching EL more often starting with this season, and seeing the EL draw for the last 16 that finished some hours ago, I dare say that this season's EL (well, at least starting with this round) is comparable to the CL, where except for PSG - Chelsea, and Juve - Bayern all other games are already won, and could be predicted easily even before the first leg began

 

your point is somehow valid, and some years ago (5-6, not more) I would have fully agreed with you. But frankly speaking, I got tired of watching small clubs making it out of the group stage to just bunker down against big clubs to try and snatch 1 point, then go back to their home as real champions. No, thanks! I want to see balanced games, between balanced teams. I'd rather have evenly matched clubs facing each other at their level, rather than falling asleep at Dynamo Kiev vs Man City, or Barcelona vs Leverkusen (remember the 7-1 game from a few seasons back), or the alikes. It's just not fair to bore the neutral fans, who are in bigger numbers anyway than the fans whose clubs squeeze 1 point every now and then against *insert out of shape big club here* clubs

 

As for these clubs being big, all of them are in a good enough league that a domestic title is a big accomplishment:

Manchester City (two recent domestic titles)
Atletico Madrid (one recent domestic title and a Champions League second place)
Bayer Leverkusen (without doing research I'm not commenting)
Inter (not as good as they used to be but won the 2009-2010 Champions League)
PSG (leads Ligue 1 by a ton and has won recent domestic titles)

 

not enough

who counts second places??

don't bother. They only have one UCL final that they lost to RM in 2002 I believe. Other than that.... just another team from Germany

I just checked on Inter. They have 3 European trophies. I guess we can count them as a big club, but to be honest I never liked them, not because I used to be an AC Milan fan (when Milan counted in Europe), but simply because I never liked their players and style of football

just because they're having one smashing season doesn't mean they're a big club. In Europe I mean.

 

You just yourself made clear that the big club criterium is a huge mission impossible, as what is big now isnot in a few years.

 

So you are saying, nobody likes to see a underdog to well? I suppose the FA cup should only start with the top 4 Premier league teams also? Although mismatched, there is always upsets every year. Porto winning for example. Wigan winning the FA Cup (bar Man City fan's who was cheering for Man City?)

 

I do like seeing underdogs doing well, but that happens once in a blue moon. If I have to watch 100 predictable games to find one big shock, no thanks! I'd rather watch the biggies play against each other all the time.

 

Um, er, uh...

Must be great to be a fan of Bayern, eh?

Oh dear, I think you just exposed yourself here.

tsk tsk

 

not following you