Thanks to Spu*s

[Doc H Ball]

I wanted to formally thank Spu*s for the annual joy they bring.

There were some dark days this season brightened by Rosie47. Then there was Roy getting the England job and the 2 wins out of 11.

As I came out of Wembley I didn't think life could get much better, but by 10pm it was near bloody perfect!

To keep us laughing, it is worth reading Spu*s blogger Paul Eddison's thoughts on it all....

'I watched in horror as years of good work done by and Levy were undone... what really grates is Roman's money... Spu*s, despite their attractive football, dont have the pedigree to attract the top players... will now be dismantled... Saturday's penalty shhot-out didn't just cost Spu*s £100m in prizemoney next year, it killed our chances of ever competing at England's top table'.

Hear hear! Cheers!

[Mad Professor]

I

.... and not a plate of dodgy lasagne in sight!

[maidenhammer]

I expect Levy has been briefing the lawyers since he realised this was possible.

[MS in the West]

I must say Shadenfreude is not really my thing (though the OP post was amusing). But I do approve of a focus on Spuds rather than Milwall as our rivals. Always feel its mildly degrading to see Milwall in that way

[The Gibbins]

I think its about time they come away from handing champions league entry to a 4th place finish. You shouldnt get a reward for 4th might as well go as far down as 7th and have a play off for a champions league place. Or hand it to a cup winner and put some respect back into one of our competitions.

I have no sympathy for spurs (or any other team for that matter) finishing ****ing fourth and expecting millions in reward for it.

[LeonRivers]

hand it to a cup winner and put some respect back into one of our competitions.

This. It really would reinvigorate the FA Cup.

[Modern]

It is quite frightening how much long term damage it could have done to us, but at least it seems to made lots of people happy!

The FA cup thing is nonsense though, the champions league should be for the champions only, that would not only give the Europa cup back it's prestige as lots of top teams would be in it and therefore the FA cup winners would be rewarded as a result.

They could even bring back the cup winners cup, that'd be good.

[bubbles1966]

Watching my Man U supporting father in law wind up my Spurs supporting brother in law on Saturday night was

My missus "supports" Spurs but always knows that the West Ham result matters more and watches out for it first.

That's training for you.

[RM6]

They could even bring back the cup winners cup, that'd be good.

Was always the best of the 3 anyway.

[Gabriel]

.... and not a plate of dodgy lasagne in sight!

[fjthegrey]

I think its about time they come away from handing champions league entry to a 4th place finish. You shouldnt get a reward for 4th might as well go as far down as 7th and have a play off for a champions league place. Or hand it to a cup winner and put some respect back into one of our competitions.

I have no sympathy for spurs (or any other team for that matter) finishing ****ing fourth and expecting millions in reward for it.

This is something I feel quite strongly about Gibbins and as such I have decided to list the changes I would implement to European qualification from the English football leagues, were I given the opportunity to do so.

1st and 2nd place to be given Champions League qualification. There is something to be said for finishing in the top 2 places in the league, it IS an achievement.

3rd and 4th place to be given Europa League qualification. Under no circumstances can either of the teams finishing in these two places qualify for the Champions League because of their league position.

The FA Cup winner to qualify for the Champions League. If the winner has already qualified, the runner up does NOT qualify in their place, nor can they qualify for any other competition.

The Carling Cup winner qualifies for the Europa League. If the FA Cup winner has qualified for the Champions League via their league position, the Carling Cup winner qualifies for the Champions League. If the Carling Cup winner has qualified for the European competition due to their league position, the runner up once again does not qualify in their place.

Consequently, if multiple Cups are won by a single team, the mediocre achievements of others will not be rewarded and the amount of teams qualifying can differ from as many as between 6 and 3 teams. Our European places pass to other leagues where teams winning competitions can be rewarded, justly, with European competition. The value of ALL competitions rises and in my opinion, the spread of talent throughout Europe diversifies.

I'm sure some will find holes, but I don't think my ideas are unfair. What I do think is unfair, is rewarding someone who finishes in a mediocre league position above someone winning a highly prestigious cup competition. Even more unfair is regularly rewarding losers of finals with European qualification, I just don't get it. If you lose, you get nothing.

[bubbles1966]

Why not just say domestic league winner, domestic cup winner, previous seasons CL and Europa/UEFA Cup winners - everyone else piss off......winners only.

Abolish the Europa League and bring back the UEFA Cup - 128 teams - two leg knockout matches, start to finish.

[Modern]

How are people justifying this CL place for FA Cup stuff?

I genuinely don't see how these teams could be deemed have earned a place. Say the top two teams get CL and the team in third is there on goal difference but with the same number of points as the second place team. Over 38 games how is it even close to fair that a team could play 7 games all against lower league teams and as a result end up playing in the biggest European competition over the 3rd place team?

[fjthegrey]

Because they won something Modern. How they won it is an irrelevance, they WON.

Surely if the top teams want to qualify for the very best competitions, they will take it seriously and at the beginning of the competition they all have an equal chance, if they get beaten along the way then someone else deserves it.

[bubbles1966]

How are people justifying this CL place for FA Cup stuff?

Because they are winners....champions.

You could go back to the old 3 european competitions - no real problem with that - but no way should 2nd - winners of nothing - let alone 4th - distant also rans - be allowed into something trading as the "Champions" league.

Call it the European Cup again by all means - but the "Champions" league?

[mushy]

The cup competitions should be separate from league competitions.
The reason the ECWC was such a good competition was because it only involved proven cup winners, teams that could raise their game on the day and play a type of football totally different from the normal league stuff.
More cup type games normally leads to more exciting football.
Therefore I would not have a place in the champs league for the winners of the FA cup.I would reinstate the ECWC in its old format.
This of course will never happen as it is not a recipe (sadly) for making lots of money.

Having four teams in the competition is a complete joke, how can you be in a 'champions league' when you finish 2nd,3rd or 4th?
Its never going to change though, not while there is money to be made.
And how exactly does that bloke in the original article claim Spurs have lost out on £100 million in prize money?
Surely this cannot be the case can it?
BTW nobody will ever take the Europa cup seriously while clubs who enter actually lose money.

[Modern]

I guess it's different for different people, to me a 7 game winning run with some potential woeful/non league teams in there is nothing compared to a 38 game season at the top level.

Also I don't really understand this FA Cup is losing prestige argument, the Semi's this year consisted of four top ten teams all playing their strongest teams and over the last 10 years it has been won by:

Arsenal
Man Utd
Arsenal
Liverpool
Chelsea
Portsmouth
Chelsea
Chelsea
Man City
Chelsea

What would change if those teams had had a CL place on offer other than CL for Portsmouth for beating Ipswich, Plymouth, Preston, Man Utd, West Brom and Cardiff?

[Doc H Ball]

25/6 Europa League draw.

I might host a BBQ.

[stu1]

The problem is some leagues are so much better than other leagues. For example the champions of luxembourg would get smashed into oblivion if they were given a place in the champions league.

The idea only the champions of each league can enter the champions league would bring the standard and competitiveness down hugely with only 4-5 teams having any chance.

However in theory I do quite like the idea of the top 2, add the fa cup winner or carling cup winner gaining a place in the champions league. But as highlighted above, what are the chances of that team not having finished in the top 4 anyway, pretty small really.

[fjthegrey]

It would bring the competition down initially stu, but eventually the distribution of money would filter more widely across the continent and the talent pool would be spread more evenly throughout Europe as players wouldn't flock to just one or two leagues if they wanted to play in a European competition.

If our governing bodies are serious about creating equality in football then they seriously have to consider ways to make less prestigious leagues moreso.