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Dunno what to make of this....
PREM TOLD: DUMP FOUR CLUBS
EXCLUSIVE: 16-team league by 2008 or we face Euro ban
By Martin Lipton
THE PREMIERSHIP faces calls from UEFA to cut the number of clubs to 16 after the big guns of Europe were all blown out of the Euro 2004 water early.
England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France were all eliminated before the semi-final stage to cause concern at the highest levels of the European game.
UEFA needs the countries with the largest television and advertising markets to be in at the business end of tournaments to ensure the multi-billion pound cash cow can still be milked.
But after a Champions League season which saw Porto play Monaco in the final, senior UEFA figures have decided that radical action is needed.
And that could mean the Premiership being forced to slash FOUR clubs over the next three seasons or risk being barred from entering clubs in the Champions League or UEFA Cup.
One senior UEFA source told Mirror Sport last night: "There are great lessons here in this tournament. We now have to act according to those lessons."
UEFA President and Arsenal fan Lennart Johansson has already indicated that the demands of club commitments have to be reduced. Johansson said: "International football is very important but so is the health of the players. They should play fewer matches for their clubs.
"That is why we changed the Champions League format so there were only 13 games this season rather than 17. But maybe that action is not enough."
UEFA are now drafting proposals that will demand all the major footballing powers cut the number of clubs in their top leagues to 16 before the Euro 2008 finals in Switzerland and Austria.
The plans are expected to be announced by new chief executive Lars Christer Olsson in August, with the warning that UEFA will be willing to deny access to its two club competitions to countries that do not promise to fall into line. That would cause indignation among Premiership clubs, where only Arsenal and Manchester United have shown any interest in calls for a reduction to 18 clubs. Coca-Cola League bosses would be furious too, with the third promotion spot under threat.
Premier League spokesman Phil French maintained last night: "There are absolutely no plans for a change in the format of the Premier League competition and we have had no contact from UEFA suggesting that they wish to do so."
But now it seems that UEFA has decided that action is needed and that the proposals will be dropped on the doormats of the major leagues at the end of the summer.
Such a move will bring outrage from the majority of Premiership clubs, who are guaranteed around £15million each year from TV revenues and who would fear a potentially crippling loss of cash from such an enforced cut in the number of top-flight teams.
The Premiership and Spain's La Liga would be hit hardest, as both have 20 clubs, while Italy's Serie A and Germany's Bundesliga feature 18 sides.
But Bayern Munich president and chairman of the 2006 World Cup Organising Committee Franz Beckenbauer, signalled that Germany would be willing to fall into line, said: "UEFA has to take action on this. There are just too many matches.
"It's not just been here in Portugal that the big countries have failed. Look at the World Cup, when France, Italy and Spain went out so early, and the Champions League this season.
"Players are arriving at the major tournaments very tired. UEFA must act to cut the leagues from 20 to a maximum of 16 teams."
New Spurs boss Jacques Santini, whose France side never got out of second gear before their quarter-final exit, added: "The number of matches the players play must be an element of the explanation for what has happened in this tournament.
"A number of the coaches have complained about how many games their players have to play before they turn up for a tournament like this.
"I do not think we should use this as an excuse, but if you ask all the coaches who have gone out early, they would tell you we need to have better preparation time for a tournament like this if you have players who play in the biggest leagues."
SUFFERING FROM FIXTURE FATIGUEGERMANY20-team top league. Knocked out by Portugal, which has 18 teams in its top flightFRANCESPAIN20-team domestic league. Knocked out by Greece, which has 16 teams in its top flightENGLAND20-team top league. Players had played four more domestic games than counterparts from PortugalGERMANY18-team top league. KO'd by Czech Republic, which has only 16 teams in its top flightITALY18-team top league. Ended behind Sweden and Denmark, who have top leagues of 14 and 12 respectively.
PREM TOLD: DUMP FOUR CLUBS
EXCLUSIVE: 16-team league by 2008 or we face Euro ban
By Martin Lipton
THE PREMIERSHIP faces calls from UEFA to cut the number of clubs to 16 after the big guns of Europe were all blown out of the Euro 2004 water early.
England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France were all eliminated before the semi-final stage to cause concern at the highest levels of the European game.
UEFA needs the countries with the largest television and advertising markets to be in at the business end of tournaments to ensure the multi-billion pound cash cow can still be milked.
But after a Champions League season which saw Porto play Monaco in the final, senior UEFA figures have decided that radical action is needed.
And that could mean the Premiership being forced to slash FOUR clubs over the next three seasons or risk being barred from entering clubs in the Champions League or UEFA Cup.
One senior UEFA source told Mirror Sport last night: "There are great lessons here in this tournament. We now have to act according to those lessons."
UEFA President and Arsenal fan Lennart Johansson has already indicated that the demands of club commitments have to be reduced. Johansson said: "International football is very important but so is the health of the players. They should play fewer matches for their clubs.
"That is why we changed the Champions League format so there were only 13 games this season rather than 17. But maybe that action is not enough."
UEFA are now drafting proposals that will demand all the major footballing powers cut the number of clubs in their top leagues to 16 before the Euro 2008 finals in Switzerland and Austria.
The plans are expected to be announced by new chief executive Lars Christer Olsson in August, with the warning that UEFA will be willing to deny access to its two club competitions to countries that do not promise to fall into line. That would cause indignation among Premiership clubs, where only Arsenal and Manchester United have shown any interest in calls for a reduction to 18 clubs. Coca-Cola League bosses would be furious too, with the third promotion spot under threat.
Premier League spokesman Phil French maintained last night: "There are absolutely no plans for a change in the format of the Premier League competition and we have had no contact from UEFA suggesting that they wish to do so."
But now it seems that UEFA has decided that action is needed and that the proposals will be dropped on the doormats of the major leagues at the end of the summer.
Such a move will bring outrage from the majority of Premiership clubs, who are guaranteed around £15million each year from TV revenues and who would fear a potentially crippling loss of cash from such an enforced cut in the number of top-flight teams.
The Premiership and Spain's La Liga would be hit hardest, as both have 20 clubs, while Italy's Serie A and Germany's Bundesliga feature 18 sides.
But Bayern Munich president and chairman of the 2006 World Cup Organising Committee Franz Beckenbauer, signalled that Germany would be willing to fall into line, said: "UEFA has to take action on this. There are just too many matches.
"It's not just been here in Portugal that the big countries have failed. Look at the World Cup, when France, Italy and Spain went out so early, and the Champions League this season.
"Players are arriving at the major tournaments very tired. UEFA must act to cut the leagues from 20 to a maximum of 16 teams."
New Spurs boss Jacques Santini, whose France side never got out of second gear before their quarter-final exit, added: "The number of matches the players play must be an element of the explanation for what has happened in this tournament.
"A number of the coaches have complained about how many games their players have to play before they turn up for a tournament like this.
"I do not think we should use this as an excuse, but if you ask all the coaches who have gone out early, they would tell you we need to have better preparation time for a tournament like this if you have players who play in the biggest leagues."
SUFFERING FROM FIXTURE FATIGUEGERMANY20-team top league. Knocked out by Portugal, which has 18 teams in its top flightFRANCESPAIN20-team domestic league. Knocked out by Greece, which has 16 teams in its top flightENGLAND20-team top league. Players had played four more domestic games than counterparts from PortugalGERMANY18-team top league. KO'd by Czech Republic, which has only 16 teams in its top flightITALY18-team top league. Ended behind Sweden and Denmark, who have top leagues of 14 and 12 respectively.
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Its amazing that Serie A has been expanded to 20 teams for this coming season with all this going on.
if it came to us actually being rejected european competition, the FA would have to make the cut. simple as. we shouldnt be forced to though.
Basically the so called 'big' teams were all eliminated becasue they played utter sh!te and now theyve all banded together to blame it on something. Sides like Italy, France and Spain just can't face it that they played crap and dont work well as a team. Its the managers faults for not picking players that gel with each other.
If anything were to be changed I would allow for more international squad training throughout the season along with more friendlies so that teams learn to play with each other better.
When will these so called 'big' sides learn to grow up...
If anything were to be changed I would allow for more international squad training throughout the season along with more friendlies so that teams learn to play with each other better.
When will these so called 'big' sides learn to grow up...
At the very least get rid of two. Three teams would make it seem far too bare. And spiltting it into two leagues would just make it feel even further to reach the stars for lower league teams, and would again, leave leagues bare. Either leave it the same or take a maximum of two teams from the Prem, any more and I'm opposed.
This is totally insane.
Getting rid of 4 clubs from the Premiership would make it less exciting. It would become a bit like the SPL or the Swedish league and teams would also be losing more money with 4 less home matches.
So what if it's a Greece Vs Portugal final. You can't blame it on the number of matches the players have played as it's been like this for years. They must accept that the quality of the little teams like Greece, Portugal, Latvia and a few others have caught up with us.
They were always going to catch up, but it was a question of when. Big teams won't always be big and things are changing because of the quality of football being played not the number of games.
Getting rid of 4 clubs from the Premiership would make it less exciting. It would become a bit like the SPL or the Swedish league and teams would also be losing more money with 4 less home matches.
So what if it's a Greece Vs Portugal final. You can't blame it on the number of matches the players have played as it's been like this for years. They must accept that the quality of the little teams like Greece, Portugal, Latvia and a few others have caught up with us.
They were always going to catch up, but it was a question of when. Big teams won't always be big and things are changing because of the quality of football being played not the number of games.
Taking him off was a piece of genius on Scolari's part. He took him off against England, and then gets an incredible performance out of him agaisnt Holland....
yeah cov are a huge team, but the teams involved is irrelevant. Bristol city if they get promoted from the second division would be good as well though immoral as its probably the town with the most potential to have a huge team but doesn't. Huge catchment and only two lower league teams.
I am opposed to it for the simple and moronic reason that we will lose a further 60 matches from the season. International week is snnoying enough so id rather not lose more games. Personally i don't see the problem with the current fixture load. There are plenty of people with far more physically demanding workloads in the world.
Also whats this about Figo being physically fit? I watched all portugals group games and i swear in at least 2 of them he was taken of early at 75 minutes!
I am opposed to it for the simple and moronic reason that we will lose a further 60 matches from the season. International week is snnoying enough so id rather not lose more games. Personally i don't see the problem with the current fixture load. There are plenty of people with far more physically demanding workloads in the world.
Also whats this about Figo being physically fit? I watched all portugals group games and i swear in at least 2 of them he was taken of early at 75 minutes!
Actually, I agree with this.
Not because it makes players tired - they play 46 league games in the lower leagues, but it would tighten up the league.
What I'd really like to see tough, is a two-tier premier league. ie two premier leagues, each consisting of 16 teams.
Each season you'd lose four from PL1, and gain four from PL2. So you'd have the top 4 playing for Champions League qualification, the next two would normally get a UEFA spot. With four going down, there would only be six places with nothing riding on them, making the whole thing very tight indeed.
All you'd need is 12 clubs to breakaway from 'The Championship', you could do it all in one season too. The top twelve in 'The Championship' would be the ones that went up.
The top fourteen of the Premier League would remain the same, the top two from The Championship would join them in PL1 for it's first season.
PL2 would consist of the bottom six clubs from the Premiership, plus those placed in positions 3 to 12 of the Championship.
This way you still have a worthwhile promotion in the final 'Championship' season.
You could easily find 12 clubs from 'The Championship' with the support to make this successful:
Leeds United
Leicester City
Wolves
West Ham
Sunderland
Ipswich Town
Wigan
Reading
Cardiff
Sheffield United
Preston NE
Nottingham Forest
None of these would be out of place, and there's other big clubs there too I haven't mentioned, because they're having a bit of a tough time lately, but the likes of Coventry, Watford and even QPR have all played in the Premier League before, and it wasn't too long ago that Milwall were a top flight club too.
I think it'd make things more interesting - it would probably be a little tough for the remaining 60 league clubs, as that would need another restructure...
Not because it makes players tired - they play 46 league games in the lower leagues, but it would tighten up the league.
What I'd really like to see tough, is a two-tier premier league. ie two premier leagues, each consisting of 16 teams.
Each season you'd lose four from PL1, and gain four from PL2. So you'd have the top 4 playing for Champions League qualification, the next two would normally get a UEFA spot. With four going down, there would only be six places with nothing riding on them, making the whole thing very tight indeed.
All you'd need is 12 clubs to breakaway from 'The Championship', you could do it all in one season too. The top twelve in 'The Championship' would be the ones that went up.
The top fourteen of the Premier League would remain the same, the top two from The Championship would join them in PL1 for it's first season.
PL2 would consist of the bottom six clubs from the Premiership, plus those placed in positions 3 to 12 of the Championship.
This way you still have a worthwhile promotion in the final 'Championship' season.
You could easily find 12 clubs from 'The Championship' with the support to make this successful:
Leeds United
Leicester City
Wolves
West Ham
Sunderland
Ipswich Town
Wigan
Reading
Cardiff
Sheffield United
Preston NE
Nottingham Forest
None of these would be out of place, and there's other big clubs there too I haven't mentioned, because they're having a bit of a tough time lately, but the likes of Coventry, Watford and even QPR have all played in the Premier League before, and it wasn't too long ago that Milwall were a top flight club too.
I think it'd make things more interesting - it would probably be a little tough for the remaining 60 league clubs, as that would need another restructure...
Or they could just do it for 3 years and get rid of Liverpool....
Lil Bro wrote:
Obviously it'll be the worst teams, thus not Spurs. They'll probably just relegate 4 each year and only promote 3. Over 4 years, voila!
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Oh dear God. I actually think that makes sense for once!
:D
Obviously it'll be the worst teams, thus not Spurs. They'll probably just relegate 4 each year and only promote 3. Over 4 years, voila!
-------------
Oh dear God. I actually think that makes sense for once!
:D
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