England are set to miss out on being one of the top seeds for the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal next summer. Uefa will not confirm the seedings until after the play-offs, but they are likely to be based on qualifying for Euro 2004 and the 2002 World Cup. Italy, Spain and England have identical qualification records and they would be joined by Turkey as the four second seeds - assuming Spain and Turkey win their play-offs. It means England and Turkey, who were paired together in the qualifying for Portugal, are likely to be kept apart at the group stage. Both Scotland and Wales would be among the fourth and bottom group should they win their play-offs. The draw takes place in Lisbon on 30 November. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/england/3197754.stm
Just read this article. Looks like another attempt to crock England going into a major tournament. You can bet Sepp Blatter has something to do with this.
Sweden and the czechs as top seeds?? lol someone must be havin' a giraffe. Anyway if we're in the 2nd seeds with italy ,spain and the turks it wont work out too badly.
Sweden and the Czech Rep. are both very good teams, but I'd say they're about the same as England. And Portugal are mainly 1st seeds because they're the hosts. I'd be extremely surprised if we're not one of top seeds for the next world cup/Euro 2008 groups after this qualification campaign. Only 1 competitive loss under Sven has to count sometime.
I guess UEFA must be a troll too. It seems like the governing body has some of the same opinions as I do. I was trying to tell you guys that the Czechs had a very good team as did Turkey, but I was called some nasty names. UEFA seems to see things the way I did.
Actually lads to give UEFA credit they've handled the seeding system pretty fairly. It's all based on a points record from the qualifying campaigns for WC 2002 and Euro 2004. There's nothing rigged about it like FIFA's World Cup seedings or World Rankings. You could argue that tournament performance should come into it, but that would benefit the Germans and probably still squeeze us out of the top 4. The only reason England missed out this time is because Portugal as hosts and France as holders get an automatic seeding. Sweden and Czech Republic are above us because their qualifying records have been ridiculously good. At the moment we're the top second seed, which stands us in good stead for being a top seed for the World Cup 2006 qualifiers. Besides, this will cheer you up, the krauts are likely to be only a third seed if Spain and Turkey win their playoff matches http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbl_eur2004_ger_voller&prov=afp&type=lgns
It dosent matter whether you have a good team or not- the seeds are based on a points system depending on your results. They dont seed you on your team! You may not have the best team in the world but if you grind out those results you obviously get seeded well. Its is obviously genuine- but is it the right way to seed? How can you seed depending on results from a couple of years ago when the tournment is next year?!
I'm not sure what the complaining is about. Frankly, if you look at the pots, the second pot (assuming that Turkey and Spain win their qualifiers) is probably stronger than the first. No one is going to want France in their group, admittedly, but I'd think Spain or Italy would be much more of a threat than Sweden or the Czechs. And do the English really want the distraction of being paired up with Turkey again? I have a suspicion that Portugal is going to disappoint a la WC 2002, so in my opinion being a second seed seems to be better for Euro 2004.
Are you still trying, joker? How about you get over your England obsession, no-one cares about you. No-one in here said that the Czech's didn't have a very good team, or that Turkey were rubbish. The point that was made is that England is a very good team, as UEFA have recognised by going with the cold hard reality of recent results rather than hyperbole and false reality.
Do make sure you read up on the UEFA co-efficient, won't you Wildman? You 'knowledgeable' person you. What a surprise - Wildman expresses an opinion that is not so much plain wrong as plain wrong and baseless in objective reality. Shoot yourself. Please. Even your NASL buddies want you to. Der Kaiser told me he prays daily for the moment that your tiny little brain exits the back of your cranial cavity courtesy of a .22 bullet and spatters itself over the grimy tiles of your batchelor bedsit.
Based on their runs in Euro2K, anything above the bottom seed for England and Germany would be a blessing.
And how did Sweden and the Czech Republic get on in Euro 2000? First-round exits, same as England and Germany.
I think second seed is about right for England. France should be 1st. Beyond that, a whole host of teams including England have similar records.
That's a wee bit harsh don't you think? It's only a football message board. Some anger management may be in order. Do you wish everyone to die that has a differing opinion than you? I already know you answer. " No, just you"
Well, like I said, it's not just me. Some of the finest footballers in history want you dead. You know ... these guys. You craven, idiotic liar.
Just by the by, can I take this opportunity to reiterate something I originally said just minutes after your utterly pathetic, embarrassing lie about having played in the NASL? All this time, Wildman, and nothing has changed. You are an embarrassment to yourself and you need to face up to that fact.
And just as a final addendum, can we have your thinking on the actual substance of my post? Namely, that you again proved to be utterly devoid of knowledge about the game in terms of your blatant ignorance of the UEFA coefficient system? I would like to hear your thoughts on how that tallies with your continued insistence upon a right to be heard and taken seriously with regard to any football matter, under any circumstance.
You got me on that one. I did not give any thought to the uefa coefficient system. I was basing my opinion on the quality of the teams, and it somewhat matched up with UEFA. I am well aware that UEFA has a system for picking seeds. However, there seemed to be a few on this thread that said old Sepp must have had it in for England. That can not be possible, if UEFA abides by the coefficient.
Riiiight ... which is why you posted this: Those two claims are clearly analogous, right? . On the one hand, UEFA are making similarly qualitative conclusions as you are, on the other hand, you are "well aware" that any UEFA ranking has a system for picking seeds. Nothing you ever say adds up to anything other than "I am a complete moron. Even basic thought processes are beyond me." You pitiable fool.