How often do we really have an unpredictable winner though? If Arsenal, Barcelona, AC Milan, Juventus, Stuttgart, Celtic and so on had been on equal form to their title rivals this season, we'd certainly have more exciting leagues, but we wouldn't have surprising winners.
It seems to be becoming more difficult for new sides to become league contenders in every country. It wasn't so long ago Blackburn claimed the Premiership, yet despite good form in recent seasons, it is impossible to imagine them challenging again for a long time. Liverpool have not won the Premiership, despite vast fortunes being spent. They are perhaps the one club who has no excuse for their failure to win the title, given their size and financial backing over the years. Under a Mourinho, Wenger or Fergurson I'm sure they would have done.
Look at the situation in Italy. The teams hit with fines, point deductions and even relegation are still far more likely to come back and challenge for the title than any of the smaller clubs that remained in the top flight. When will a new club win the Scottish league? In fact, how many new champions of European leagues have there been in the past 5 years?
It will feed through to the Champion's league. In fact it already has. I cannot imagine a team like Ajax winning it again for some time. I grew up watching Ajax as a key feature of the competition, and it's predecessor for many years. Is it really more satisfying to see a team that finished 4th (or even 5th!) win the European "Champion"'s League?
I can't say I enjoy the group stage at all. If you want predictability then it is in the group stage of that competition more than anything. True champion's of other nations might pull off one shock result, but the favourites have plenty of time, games and money to correct the situation, which they usually do. So who benefits, other than the clubs finances, which separates clubs yet further and makes it all more predictable? Are the fans happy watching an ever more overpriced game against a team ever easier to beat?
I know it will not happen now, but what would be wrong with a true Champion's League again? The real champions, giving all the nation's a chance to showcase their title winners, and the chance to shock the big teams. Instantly you would revitalise the UEFA cup with the rest of the top teams fighting it out, and no Champion's League losers entering the competition. At what point did anyone think it was a good idea for a team that didn't win their league, then didn't do enough in the Champion's League, could then have a go at the UEFA cup? Perhaps then we would also see teams going all out for their league title, rather than dream of 4th place. Teams like Everton, Villa, Spurs and so on having an optimistic dream of finishing 4th really sums up the detrimental impact on the Champion's League on so many domestic leagues.
|
Previous
Index
Next
Flat
Re: Euro Stagnation
Edit
Reply
Quote
