The key point of the deal are:
- Liverpool get the smallest share of England's television money if they reach the group stages.
- But any other English teams involved - from Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton - will still get less money than they would have done were Liverpool not involved.
- Liverpool get no "country protection" preventing them meeting other English clubs. But they are seeded. This means they could face Everton in the third qualifying round, but not Manchester United, and could be in a group with Chelsea, but not Arsenal.
- In future, the title holders will be entered automatically.
I guess I shouldn't be sad that Chelsea, Arsenal and Man U will get less money because of Liverpool inclusion...it's not like the need the cash. I wonder if that last point will ever come into play again? My question is, does anyone know who got left out now that Liverpool are in?
Anyway, this is the end of it. Good luck to them. Should be interesting to see how they perform in some small former Soviet Republic in the middle of the summer. Will we hear complaints about the lack of summer break or too many early fixtures now?
I'm sure I'll hear it from my Scouse mates now. :)
UPDATE: I only posted this an hour ago and already I found Scousers are moaning about the decision.
"Having to play these qualifying rounds is an insult to the name of Liverpool Football Club. "We should have told them to stick it, gone into the Uefa Cup, and gone for the Premier League title instead."
Perhaps if you'd have gone after the Premier League title and managed to finish above Everton, you wouldn't be in this situation.
Aside from not letting us in at all, could Uefa have given us anything less?
Yeah, they could have told you to enjoy a good run in the UEFA Cup.
"It could be a minus rather than a bonus. You could see Liverpool finishing half-way down the league next season just because of the extra physical pressure on the players."
Yep, only a couple spots lower than you finished this season.
Of course, now we have another twist as well. It seems to Premier League is now insisting that Man City get Liverpool's UEFA Cup spot.
When will it end? This is just getting silly now. Of course, none of this would have happened if UEFA or the English FA would have just stuck to the rules in the first place and said only the top four finishers in the league get spots.
Don't get me wrong, I was happy to watch Liverpool's run in the Champions League this season. The final was a classic. However, all this silliness about defending their title should have been moot from the start. Now the rules are changed going forward and let's hope teams will just have larger squads and we don't have this sort of thing again.
¶ 9:33 AM
the allocation has been there, but my guess is that the FA had it there for the Mancs and maybe the London clubs. If the Mancs had been playing in the final and out of the top four, the FA would have told Everton to plan on playing in the UEFA just like the Spanish FA did with Real Madrid. The FA rules should state definitively whether the Champions are going to defend, not they can request which implies they will choose who they want to champion a cause for. As an Ipswich supporter, I would think you would be more in favour of a uniform rule rather the decision being left in the hands of the FA on a case by case basis because if they waffle on a team like Liverpool, Ipswich would have no chance.
: 6/10/2005 01:01:00 PMRules are rules. I don't like the idea that the league or any governing body can change them after the fact. Even if it were Ipswich in Liverpool's situation (yeah, that's a dream) I'd be saying we should be happy to be back in Europe playing in the UEFA Cup next season. Come to think of it, I was ecstatic Town finished 5th in the Premiership and qualified for a UEFA Cup 4 years ago. :)
a few years back, Ipswich got to play in the UEFA Cup after getting relegated because the rules clearly stated that the Fair Play team would go. No one was bothered, even though numerous teams finish higher, because the rule was clear.
: 6/10/2005 01:39:00 PMIt's funny, I think we are actually in agreement here Daz. :)
i only got riled up about when i saw that quote from the FA. even though we won it after finishing fourth, i still think it's ridiculous that 3rd and 4th place teams are in this. it is all about money and as long as we turn the telly on to watch the matches, it won't change and i am guilty as charged.
: 6/10/2005 03:01:00 PMSubscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
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