New CL Format Thoughts | After GW2 (pg13) | GW3 (pg33)

[TheGhost]

Just copied this from the official uefa champions league website.

From the knockout phase play-offs onwards the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finish the league phase between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the first draw for the knockout phase, and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will, in principle, play the return leg at home.

Potential opponents are also pre-defined by pairings of teams' final league positions. For example, teams finishing ninth and tenth will face the sides that ended 23rd or 24th; teams finishing 11th or 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides and so on.

The eight clubs that prevail in the knockout phase play-offs progress to the round of 16

I presumed the play offs were 9th will play 24th, 10th v 23rd, etc.

How does the bracket work for the last 16?

I thought it was a seeded draw. 1-8 to be drawn out of a bowl v the play off winners. And then it’s a bracket.

Or is there a bracket from the play off winners and no last 16 draw. The team who finishes 1st in the league stage plays the lowest ranked team from the league table who wins their play off.

 

[Xhavenjoe]

How does the bracket work for the last 16?

This might explain it a little better

 

[deano ou812]

This
How can you have a league/group format but teams play different teams to everyone else

Exactly,and I forgot to mention it’s nothing to do with us struggling in it this season as a reason,if it’s not broken don’t fix it,all about pandering to the European cartel clubs who want that super league..

 

[Gone for a Burton]

Exactly,and I forgot to mention it’s nothing to do with us struggling in it this season as a reason,if it’s not broken don’t fix it,all about pandering to the European cartel clubs who want that super league..

100% correctisimo.

Quantity not Quality.

Most On rag socks will be in it soon for selling 63 programmes.

 

[MCFC1993]

If you want to compete at the top of the Premier League and Champions League, season after season after season, in this new format you have to coast/fuck off the group games and then take it seriously in the playoffs.

Otherwise you have to have a season off. Us and Arsenal are struggling with injuries and tiredness, it's too many games for the top level teams.

 

[Xhavenjoe]

If you want to compete at the top of the Premier League and Champions League, season after season after season, in this new format you have to coast/fuck off the group games and then take it seriously in the playoffs.

I think there's a bit of an anomaly in the structure.
The lower a team finishes up in the positions 9 to 24 group can give them an advantage over a team several positions above them.
Assuming you get out of the play offs and into the last 16, teams 20-24 would avoid playing the teams af the top, currently Liverpool and Barcelona.
They would end up playing Brest or Lille.

 

[117 M34]

Can we play an English team in the play off?

 

[Xhavenjoe]

Can we play an English team in the play off?

Yes
We probably won't have to and is unlikely

e.g.
A situation where Villa and ourselves finished 23rd and 24th and liverpool and arsenal finished 9th and 10th would guarantee English teams playing against each other.
There are several countries with 4 teams in the competition now so its probably that some country is going to end up with this scenario.

 

[Damanino]

I am bloody worried now of the PSG and Brugge games. such an unreal situation I thought we easily absolve the top 8when we got the draw.5 wins and a draw would have been enough for 7th and 8th.

to be only able to beat the two cannon fodder Slovakian and Czech champions, I think combined wage bill of these two is 20m maybe not even that.

to even sweat to finish on 20/21/22/23/24th position now, and may be 25/26/27th too if we really shit the bed.

we could be the only side that was expected to survive this stage but wont. maybe Leipzig too but they re in bigger free fall than we are and maybe Stuttgart.

we already lost out fair bit of money or prize money, I think Liverpool got 6m more already for the 6 wins than us for the 2-2-2 form, not making the playoff round and between reaching the semis could be 25/30m pounds or more. lots of money at stake plus ticket revenue drop from less home CL games, merchandising etc, and other English sides get more if one of them is out early as some money is shared by teams of one nation and how far they go. our very early exit would put 3-5m more into the pockets of Arse and dippers each too.

there were times when CL was won by clubs having pretty shit domestic season, why not us this time?:)
well wont be us if cannot even do top 24 of 36. as long as we are in we have a chance though.

two games are end of January, we need to get out of this rot until then. worst case scenario we have to buy 4 best players of Brugge quickly. :)

Pep never failed in old format CL group stage level. we did with Mancini I think we got relegated twice in group stage with him. but that was about getting to last 16 from 32. this is now from 36 to 24 which means much lesser sides also got an extra chance.

 

[waspish]

Let's hope a point be enough because we might just get a point