I think it won't occur this season but would have if Arsenal were in Pot 1.
New CL Format Thoughts
- Thread starter MCFC1993
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cptaidan88
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It is possible to avoid two teams from the same nation playing each other as long as there are three teams or less from one nation in the same pot. It is unavoidable if there are four or more.
I was reading Dale Johnson's article before, whole thing is daft.
I think if any country has more than 4 teams in the Champions League then they should be able to be drawn against each other.
In fact, make it an open draw for everyone but cap it at 2 games per nation.
Or do what I called for last season, 4 groups x 9 teams, just play the 8 teams in your group, top 2 go automatically through, 3rd-6th in the playoff round, 7th-9th out.
This big 36 team league is bloated and boring.
hope we learnt the importance of finishing in top8 of league round or very close to it.
sickest draw would probably:
Bayern home, PSG away, Atletico away, Leverkusen home, Napoli away, Marseille home, Bilbao away, Monaco home
considerably harder than the fixture was this time with Slovan, Prague, Feyenoord, Sporting etc.
I think we gonna get harder draw this time actually.
sickest draw would probably:
Bayern home, PSG away, Atletico away, Leverkusen home, Napoli away, Marseille home, Bilbao away, Monaco home
considerably harder than the fixture was this time with Slovan, Prague, Feyenoord, Sporting etc.
I think we gonna get harder draw this time actually.
SamBlue
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I've loved it, no dicking around and bullshit dead rubber games. Every point is important, every goal scored and defended is important.
Alfie Budd
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I agree about top eight but ironically there's every chance PSG will be lifting the trophy at the weekend after finishing in 15th place.
I do get that playing in Ligue 1 means they can rotate more than PL teams and the extra playoff round wasn't such a strain on their resources.
it wasnt but they ran the risk of meeting Bayern, City or Real before the last 16, like we did and we got burnt...
on the other hand Villa was like 8th, sat out the playoff rounnd and then beating Brugge got in to QFs.
There is jeopardy because you have to try and win every game to finish in the top eight and be sure of continuing in the competition. Also to do that you are competing with every other team. Before this format you were put into a group usually heavily favouring the better teams to progress.
More good teams went out in the groups in the old format than this format.
I really dont think there is jeopardy, the competition starts once the knockouts start. Ideally a top 8 finish is ideal but being in the playoffs isnt the end of the world. PSG won it from that position last year.
It's still finish top 24, ideally top 16 and then the competition starts for me. Top 8 is obviously great to avoid the 2 extra games but certainly not the end of the world.
Looks like the better teams are all out to finish as high as possible.
Last season Munich, Madrid, PSG and ourselves were way down the table.
Yeah I think in an ideal world most would like to finish top 8 to avoid the 2 extra games but Barca in 9th or Liverpool 10th, you wouldn't say they have no chance with the 2 extra games.
We got a bit unlucky drawing Real Madrid last season when there were a few easier options around. We were also a bit inconsistent and looked like we were always going to lose to the first decent team.
It's far better. No jeopardy is a weak point. City and Real played each other too early due to being poor in the first 8 games. This season nobody is willing to make that mistake and leave the competition in February... But some good teams will finish outside the top 8 and then may be out weeks later. The likes of Atletiko, Juventus, Chelsea, Newcastle, Napoli, Dortmund, Spurs, etc. are likely to finish outside the top 8 and may play each other in February.
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But jeopardy of going out in the groups isnt a weak point?
Again top 8 is ideal but PSG won it finishing 15th.
You say good teams could finish outside the top 8 but they used to get knocked out completely. Newcastle being a prime example. It's also not a complete write off, 9th-16th will have a huge advantage still.
Last year the only shock to go out in the groups was RB Leipzig in my opinion.
The year before under the old format; United, Sevilla, Benfica, Milan, Newcastle all didn't make the knockouts.
You also have to consider how watered down the competition is, 71 goals across 18 games for the top European competition feels daft to be honest. I get the format financially but dont know how it can be argued it's more competitive.
You don’t count those who were eliminated in the first round of knock-out games in February, including City. Failing to qualify for the last 16 sucks.
Plus, the new format has multiple top games: Barca-PSG, Liverpool-Real, Bayern-Arsenal, Real-City, PSG-Bayern, etc. Much more interesting than the old format.
Jeopardy is a movable feast. For example, when the fixtures came-out last season, City had a reasonable-looking set of matches. But then, because we fell apart in the Autumn/Winter, the jeopardy increased. No competition format, other than straight knockout, can guarantee jeopardy. Liverpool would probably agree.
A flaw with the old format (beyond lots of similar groups each season) was that nearly every year there would be a dreadful quality group and it was possible for a team to qualify with 2 wins (9 points in total)! The new play-off round filters out this anomaly, to some extent.
The new format is more competitive - on paper at least. A major driving factor (after cash) was to attempt to decrease the average co-efficient spread of fixtures. I've mentioned before, the last season of old format the average spread was 52 and had been historically wide. Last season it was down to 19.
25 of the 36 teams changed position in the league table on the final group match day, with nearly half of those moving at least 4 places. At various points throughout the night the flux was even greater. I reckon that was more competitive than any previous end of group stage?
71 goals across 18 games is a 3.9 average. There are a few examples of a 3.7+ average in 16 game-weeks under the old format, including a 3.9 in both 2000/01 and 2020/21.
It's still bedding-in, but the major downside for me is the extra fixtures.
SWP's back
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Much better than the old system.
There are a few things I don’t like:
Firstly, players (including our very own Rodri, BSilva and Gündoğan) were saying for some time that there is too much football and, if it carried on increasing, the threat of injuries from fatigue could eventually see players going on strike.
It was literally just a week after saying this that Rodri got his bad injury.
I think there are just a few too many teams meaning too many games and the Playoff round adds even more.
More games means it’s more expensive for match going fans n’all. With there being 8 rather than 6 League Phase games and then the Playoff round for teams who finish 9th-24th, it’s another two games (four if you go home and away) to pay for… especially when you can’t list CL tickets on the Ticket Exchange if you’re in the Cup Scheme and we as fans were never consulted about whether we wanted more games to pay for.
Personally, I’d like to see the League Phase of the CL being in with our Season Ticket. I’ve had a look around and Dortmund, Milan and many other clubs around Europe do this. It would be cheaper then, and it’d probably see more regulars turning up.
I don’t really agree with teams down in 22nd like us last season getting another chance in the Playoff round. A team could finish 9th on 16points and go out in the Playoff round, when a team down in 24th on 9points could go through to the Ro16 after being shite in most of the League Phase. Makes all that effort in the League Phase, or how shite some teams have been, mean nowt. If you’re shite in the League Phase, you should go out.
Maybe have 32 teams instead of 36 and just the top 16 go through.
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