Dave Ewing's Back 'eader
Well-Known Member
Dead right, and most fans loved watching the CL as it was.
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New CL Format | Thoughts after 2 games (pg13)
- Thread starter MCFC1993
- Start date
blueparrot
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- 7 Jun 2012
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Risk is there now for Bayern if not Madrid, they probably need 14 points for top 8 Bayern have Barcelona and PSG to play.Depending on the round of 16 draw think 1 or 2 of the usual quarter finalists will miss out. Only downside for me are the 2 extra group games, but think the league is far more interesting than the old groups.Wasn't keen when the plans were initially announced, and not changed my mind yet. It's convoluted and unnecessary - I don't think I've ever heard a football fan say that they wished there were more CL group games. The competition only ever becomes interesting once the element of risk comes into play with the knock out stages.
It's been like that for years but changes I think in 2026 with just 2 International breaks.I was astounded to see that there are 3 International breaks before Xmas.
Sept, Oct and Nov - no wonder our December is fecking rammed.
Ridiculous state of affairs
You can cancel the CL scheme mid season.Don't like the new format but will see how it goes. Totally down to UEFA and tv making extra money. No thought for the fans. Wish I'd not signed up for the cup scheme now. Be interesting to see on Jan 29th as 18 matches all kick off at same time, how many actually have any jeopardy in them.
There will be jeopardy on match day 8, with clubs vying for as high a finish as possible to get an easier draw in the knock out round or just to qualify plus £2m for winning a group game.
It's' the beginning of a mid week European super league.It's a weird bastardised version of the NFL season. Teams don't play everyone nor do they play each team home and away (only their division) . There's an odd number of games in the "league" portion and then teams get byes depending on where they finish. It's random.
The NFL generates enormous revenue...I wonder if this tournament will start to resemble it more in the coming years.
jimharri
Moderator
He's been on Eggheads? That's odd; he's never mentioned it.Forgot you had been on Eggheads!
Ignominious
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- 31 Jul 2022
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- Manchester City
Nicely complicated! Interesting that they factor in the performance of respective opponents if necessary and give some pre-eminence to away goals/wins.If you're particularly arsed
View attachment 133706
Nah this format is great. I don't remember the last time we had such a greay day in UCL. Aston-Bayern, Lille-Madrid, Leipzig- Juve, Benfica-Atleti, even Liverpool-Bologna were all fantastic matches. You would be lucky to get 1 or 2 with the last format.
Not only that, but the last day will be exciting for 90% of the teams, and doing really well in the group stages is more rewarding now. If you just watch one team, it might not be as exciting, but if you love to watch other teams, this is by far the superior format.
Nobody wanted more group games but if they did; 4 groups of 9 teams would do the exact same whilst bringing in an element of fairness by playing the same teams. The 36 team league is too much.
Anyway, TV will probably dictate the outcome and we're already seeing them struggle to build narratives, both in the live production and highlight packages. The amount of times I've heard 'we don't know what this means', TV wont continue to pay for that.
bobbyowenquiff
Well-Known Member
Not convinced yet but you may be right. It could be a slow burner. Would be amusing if one of the big guns dropped out. I am cynical about UEFA’s motives but prepared to wait and see. The matches last night were better than the first match day.Risk is there now for Bayern if not Madrid, they probably need 14 points for top 8 Bayern have Barcelona and PSG to play.Depending on the round of 16 draw think 1 or 2 of the usual quarter finalists will miss out. Only downside for me are the 2 extra group games, but think the league is far more interesting than the old groups.
Risk is there now for Bayern if not Madrid, they probably need 14 points for top 8 Bayern have Barcelona and PSG to play.Depending on the round of 16 draw think 1 or 2 of the usual quarter finalists will miss out. Only downside for me are the 2 extra group games, but think the league is far more interesting than the old groups.
Is not finishing top 8 a risk though?
I still think there's a strong argument to treat the 8 groups games like the early rounds of the cup, mass rotation etc...
If you have to play the playoff round the trade off of 8 games v 2 games is surely worth it.