Official Premier League 2010/11 thread

[TCO]

Didn't the Welsh champions (TNS?) give up their spot in 2005 so Liverpool could be in the CL because Everton finished 4th and Liverpool finish 5th that season IIRC?

They didn't give their spot up, but they drew Liverpool in the 1st qualifying round and got raped, when they would've been playing an equally poor team otherwise. I doubt they really minded though. They got a money spinning tie and they were never going to qualify anyway.

Personally, I think if you're not good enough to finish in the top 4 in your own league, you have no right to represent said league in the Champions League, regardless of whether you won (fluked, in Liverpools case) the competition,, simple as.

[Baddar]

Everton fucked up their qualifier anyway.

...or rather, Pierluigi Collina fucked it up for them, depending on who you believe.

[9 to 5]

Didn't the Welsh champions (TNS?) give up their spot in 2005 so Liverpool could be in the CL because Everton finished 4th and Liverpool finish 5th that season IIRC?

They didn't give their spot up, but they drew Liverpool in the 1st qualifying round and got raped, when they would've been playing an equally poor team otherwise. I doubt they really minded though. They got a money spinning tie and they were never going to qualify anyway.

Personally, I think if you're not good enough to finish in the top 4 in your own league, you have no right to represent said league in the Champions League, regardless of whether you won (fluked, in Liverpools case) the competition,, simple as.

I don't care where you finish in the league but if you go and win the Champion's League you deserve to defend it as you were the best at the time. To not allow a team that chance is stupid. We can argue that too many teams are allowed into the competition (I agree, but then I miss the Cup Winners Cup so yes I am one of the six in Europe who does) but I would suggest that a team who goes and wins the trophy is far more deserving a place in next year's competition than a team that finishes fourth.

And really, I am hardly a Liverpool lover at all, but aren't we beyond the whole "lol, Liverpool got lucky in winning the CL" thing by now? :/

[Summers]

Unless you finish as Champions of the leauge, you shouldn't be in the CL, imo.

[DavidMarrio]

UEFA favourtism to Liverpool thing is pretty well Brilliant joke.

Nah we had to qualify from the 1st qualifying round in the Champions League after winning it cause we played TNS in about June and were the first team to have got to the group stages through all 3 qualifying round.

Still will really not be surprised if Spurs got 4th over Chelsea, would be pretty happy I just hope Arsenal can stay in the title race and win because I want them to win the league now despite if it means one of my mates never shutting up about it

Edit: Good win for Newcastle last night

Edited February 16, 2011 by davidmarrio

[stokeriño]

If the reason you want Arsenal to win the league is in any way related to keeping United from surpassing Liverpool's league titles record, you really ought to have accepted that as an inevitability by now.

Finding a way to spin the sentiment of "the Mancs have got your history now" into some kind of chant will be fun next season (or whenever it happens).

[Pesci]

I think most Liverpool fans see that as an inevitability and want Arsenal to win because we don't like Man Utd regardless of how many titles they have.

And if you think the same ruling wouldn't have been made for Chelsea in 2005, you're mental.

[DavidMarrio]

Of course United are going to surpass our record at some point i've accepted that years ago

Its pretty obvious its a matter of when, but even if they were nowhere near our record or had surpassed it by numerous titles I would rather have Arsenal win the title anyday than United because of the pretty obvious fact of well it's Liverpool and it's Man.Utd it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why we wouldn't want Man.U to win the title

[stokeriño]

The Liverpool favourtism joke was just that: a joke. Try not to get too touchy. If I were to attribute the real joke, it would be on UEFA for being caught with their pants down.

As far as the league title goes, I personally would prefer United to win than Arsenal, but not for any "London rivalry, grr" reason. As another example, if Spurs somehow won the league I would be astonished, but not unduly upset (although most of the Chelsea fanbase would go nova ).

United fans (and indeed, any fans) are capable of developing superiority complexes when they win titles, but Arsenal fans find a way to do so even when they don't win anything for years. Actually winning makes them insufferable.

(And yes, Liverpool could just as easily be substituted for Arsenal within the above paragraph.)

[Hobo]

It's a bullshit ruling that, there should be a spot allocated for the winners of the CL every year. Then if the winning club is in a CL spot in their respected league, the next team down should qualify (ie 5th place in the Premier League), but if they ain't in the CL spots then it's not a problem. Didn't the Welsh champions (TNS?) give up their spot in 2005 so Liverpool could be in the CL because Everton finished 4th and Liverpool finish 5th that season IIRC?

Reading up on it on wiki my understanding is that the rule had been if the winning CL team didn't qualify for the competition the national FA could decided to give the winners, in this case Liverpool, the fourth spot instead of Everton. The FA had previously had said in 2003/4 that if Arsenal or Cheslea won the Champions League they would get the fourth spot. But then decided that from then on only the top four teams would get the spot but when Liverpool ended up winning the Champions League that came back to bite them. So really, the English FA made a bit of a cock and UEFA had to change the rules accordingly.

Which is the way it should be, if you win the competition, you should be qualified for the competition the next year. That was historically how it worked (which is why if you search through old European Cup and early Champions League seasons you'll see occasions when two clubs from the same league competed ie. Liverpool and Nottingham Forrest who actually played each other in the 78/79 European Cup).

[therockbox]

(fluked, in Liverpools case)

Trying to suggest that finishing 4th in your domestic league gives you more of a 'right' to play in the Champions League than someone who finishes 5th but wins the thing is laughable. Finishing fourth should mean fuck all, as should finishing fifth.

[9 to 5]

I guess Forest should hand back their 2nd European Cup too?

[Sam]

I don't think it's a bad thing having more than just the champions playing, the idea of watching Barcelona or Chelsea taking apart the champions of Luxembourg or something really doesn't excite me as much as Arsenal Vs Barcelona or Spurs Vs AC Milan.

[therockbox]

I'm not saying the Champions League should only be for the team that finishes first, it just annoys me when people say 'if you finish fourth it's fine, but fifth? LOL, don't be stupid!' The gap between fourth and fifth generally isn't massive (last year it was 3 points), so I just don't understand why some people seem to think that fourth = one of the best in the league, deserve to play in the CL, but top five = shite, not a chance, fucking stupid.

[Colly]

I don't think its the issue of four is top four and five is shit, I think its simply the case that having 5 English clubs in it is just too much. I'm not one of those who pines for the days of only 1, then 2 (then etc) teams in it, but to only have to be in the top quarter of the Premiership just feels wrong. Just an opinion though, as you can see my reasoning is rubbish

I'd personally go for the winner qualifying automatically and their country losing one place from the league. I know that'd bring back 'boo, poor Everton', but frankly I don't care, placings get adjusted for the UEFA Cup/Europa League due to domestic cup wins, why not the European titles too? I'm also all for the FA Cup winner getting a Champions League place, but thats another argument for another day...

Edited February 16, 2011 by Colly

[therockbox]

Woodgate has broken himself again, according to the BBC's live updates for tonight's matches...

2116: BREAKING INJURY NEWS

A little gloss taken off Tottenham's superb 1-0 win at AC Milan last night - Jonathan Woodgate, making a first appearance for 15 months in that match, sustained a strain of the left Adductor muscle, a scan has confirmed this evening.

[Szumi]

The only thing that would come across as less surprising is Michael Owen coming into a match and getting hurt.

[Fry_4000]

Woodgate has broken himself again, according to the BBC's live updates for tonight's matches...

2116: BREAKING INJURY NEWS

A little gloss taken off Tottenham's superb 1-0 win at AC Milan last night - Jonathan Woodgate, making a first appearance for 15 months in that match, sustained a strain of the left Adductor muscle, a scan has confirmed this evening.

That is the least supprising news ever

[Sam]

What's happened to Owen Hargreaves again, whilst we are on the theme of ridiculously injury prone players. I swear he only did his hamstring and that was something like 3 or 4 months ago, I mean Valencia broke his leg and is now nearing a return.

[Starvinho]

Hargreaves is just fucked completely, wouldn't suprise me if he announces his retirement soon. His contract is up at the end of the season, I don't think he'll be getting a new one. Shame really because he was an ace player.