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

[Bluescholar]

It's shit until the knockouts,we'll be there when they start.

 

[117 M34]

I prefer this format. 7 different teams vs 3. And some of the teams are top: Inter, PSG, Juventus. In the previous format we played weaker "top" teams.

If we make the top 8 with 2 games to spare, then McAtee and other youngsters will have the opportunity to start CL games, which will be great for them. Hopefully Bobb will be ready in January too. More games for our squad players isn't a bad thing. They want to feature more often.

I doubt it's mathematically possible to guarantee a top 8 finish with 2 games to spare, especially when 1 of the 6 games was a draw.
Finishing higher in the group also gets you a better fixture in the next round so will be going all out to finish as high as possible.

 

[blueparrot]

I doubt it's mathematically possible to guarantee a top 8 finish with 2 games to spare, especially when 1 of the 6 games was a draw.
Finishing higher in the group also gets you a better fixture in the next round so will be going all out to finish as high as possible.

16 points probably not enough ,even if it is there is no way of knowing until the games have all been played. Plus 6 points away at Sporting, Juventus ,won’t be the easiest task.

 

[alexmcity]

I doubt it's mathematically possible to guarantee a top 8 finish with 2 games to spare, especially when 1 of the 6 games was a draw.
Finishing higher in the group also gets you a better fixture in the next round so will be going all out to finish as high as possible.

It's mathematically possible. Whether it's probable depends on the actual results in the next few rounds.

My point was that this format makes sense even if some top teams make the top 8 with games to spare.

 

[Alfie Budd]

Not a comment directly about to the new format but as it’s related I’ll throw it in here.
Early days but it’s looking pretty decent at this stage in terms of England getting one of the two extra CL slots in next season’s competition. All four CL teams have had good results as have Spurs in the Europa and Chelsea in the Conference - just the rags letting everyone down.

 

[tregyblue61]

So we have two groups of complaints here:

One group are moaning that it is not restricted to national league champions.

The other group are whinging that there are too many crap teams included such as Sparta Prague, Slovan Bratislava, and Club Brugge (all national champions).

I think that the new format is refreshing although the extra two matches is a problem.

The old format tended to bring the same clubs up in the draw year after year. Remember getting CSKA, Bayern Munich, Monchengladbach, Napoli, etc. on multiple occasions?

The new format adding a couple of extra two (maybe four?) CL fixtures, when combined with the expanded Club World Cup makes it difficult to sustain the current domestic schedule.

The EPL, UEFA, and FIFA have created this between them. In don’t know what the solution will be?

Those whinging about the competition should be only for Champions, will soon realise that we are going to play crap teams like Spata, Slovan etc en route to a final. We are playing 6 National Champions in our "group stage" this season. And, a very high chance that we will play more Champions in the play-off/R16.

How many times do people come on BM asking for the lowest ranked/shit team in the League Cup or FA Cup?

We all have ideas about competitions but, what is the answer?

 

[applecentral]

I like this format.

8 teams to play to qualify. Game weeks 7 and 8 are going to be really exciting with a few strong teams surprisingly unable to qualify.

As the game weeks tick by the stress of trying to qualify, especially the top 8 places will be huge in my humble opinion.

It’s the first season in this league format. Let’s give it a chance and enjoy the scramble for placings and seedings for the knockout stages. You only have to look at Real Madrid last match day. 2-0 down at half time to Dortmund and languishing way down the league. The fact that it galvanised Real Madrid into a 2nd half blitz of attacking football and 5 goals. Amazing !
I’m loving it so far!

 

[Cobwebcat]

I like this format.

8 teams to play to qualify. Game weeks 7 and 8 are going to be really exciting with a few strong teams surprisingly unable to qualify.

As the game weeks tick by the stress of trying to qualify, especially the top 8 places will be huge in my humble opinion.

It’s the first season in this league format. Let’s give it a chance and enjoy the scramble for placings and seedings for the knockout stages. You only have to look at Real Madrid last match day. 2-0 down at half time to Dortmund and languishing way down the league. The fact that it galvanised Real Madrid into a 2nd half blitz of attacking football and 5 goals. Amazing !
I’m loving it so far!

Agree it’s growing on me too. I already like that we don’t play the same three teams twice, it was getting boring. Just looking through the fixtures there are some great matches this week like Inter v Arsenal.

 

[East Level 2]

The downside for City is that we have to play two games against teams from pot 1; something we haven't done recently due to being in pot one ourselves five times in six years.

 

[Gazza]

The more I look at it the more I realise that Villa (pot 4) got a far better draw than us (pot 1).