Slovan Bratislava (A) | CL | Post Match Thread

Now tell me what happens to Arsenal, Liverpool, Villa & Spurs, not to mention the Rags? What about teams with aspirations like Newcastle, Brighton, WHU?

If the CL should be for Champions only, where do the aforementioned go? Are you beginning to see the problem here?
I see the problem - but do you want Slovan Bratislava to disappear.
 
I see the problem - but do you want Slovan Bratislava to disappear.
No, not at all. As I've stated before, there is an issue of sporting fairness over commercial sense. If the CL was to revert to Champions only, I'm pretty sure a seeded Bratislava vs City match would be less of a crowd puller than a Europa League fixture between Bayern & Liverpool. That's the stark reality.

How to resolve the issue? I honestly don't know, but mismatches like last night against a team who've only paid above €500k in single transfer fees 6 times in their history, against the World Champions won't improve the viewing experience for watching fans.

Bratislava have won their league three years on the bounce. With additional CL money, it'd make their league even less competitive. I don't have a viable & workable alternative to offer, mainly because even though the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, ManUre & Spuds aren't Champions, I can't see them being happy in the Europa League, or City being happy playing two legged mismatched CL ties against the Champions of Slovakia or Slovenia etc.

I can see why the big clubs want a European Super League with fewer, but more high profile matches, but I can also see why fans don't want to see their lottery dreams evaporate because of an ESL & FFP to ensure the elite teams remain unchallenged by the also rans in Europe's top football competition, season after season.
 
No, not at all. As I've stated before, there is an issue of sporting fairness over commercial sense. If the CL was to revert to Champions only, I'm pretty sure a seeded Bratislava vs City match would be less of a crowd puller than a Europa League fixture between Bayern & Liverpool.

That's the stark reality. How to resolve the issue? I honestly don't know, but mismatches like last night against a team who've only paid above €500k in single transfer fees in their history, against the World Champions won't improve the viewing experience for watching fans.

Bratislava have won their league three years on the bounce. With additional CL money, it'd make their league even less competitive. I don't have a viable & workable alternative to offer, mainly because even though the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, ManUre & Spuds aren't Champions, I can't see them being happy in the Europa League, or City being happy playing two legged mismatched CL ties against the Champions of Slovakia or Slovenia etc.

I can see why the big clubs want a European Super League with fewer, but more high profile matches, but I can also see why fans don't want to see their lottery dreams evaporate because of an ESL & FFP to ensure the elite teams remain unchallenged by the also rans in Europe's top football competition, season after season.

How do you think Liverpool won so many European Cups over 40 years ago?

By playing the Champions of Eire & Finland in front of p115 poor crowds winning 10-0 on aggregate. Suddenly they were in the QF's after barely breaking sweat.
 
No, not at all. As I've stated before, there is an issue of sporting fairness over commercial sense. If the CL was to revert to Champions only, I'm pretty sure a seeded Bratislava vs City match would be less of a crowd puller than a Europa League fixture between Bayern & Liverpool. That's the stark reality.

How to resolve the issue? I honestly don't know, but mismatches like last night against a team who've only paid above €500k in single transfer fees 6 times in their history, against the World Champions won't improve the viewing experience for watching fans.

Bratislava have won their league three years on the bounce. With additional CL money, it'd make their league even less competitive. I don't have a viable & workable alternative to offer, mainly because even though the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, ManUre & Spuds aren't Champions, I can't see them being happy in the Europa League, or City being happy playing two legged mismatched CL ties against the Champions of Slovakia or Slovenia etc.

I can see why the big clubs want a European Super League with fewer, but more high profile matches, but I can also see why fans don't want to see their lottery dreams evaporate because of an ESL & FFP to ensure the elite teams remain unchallenged by the also rans in Europe's top football competition, season after season.
I'm lost with your replies. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me that Slovan should be given a fair crack of the whip?
 
How do you think Liverpool won so many European Cups over 40 years ago?

By playing the Champions of Eire & Finland in front of p115 poor crowds winning 10-0 on aggregate. Suddenly they were in the QF's after barely breaking sweat.
Agreed, hence why I stated that we barely hear about many European competition regulars from the 70s & 80s anymore.

This is the conundrum between the sporting fairness of the CL being for Champions only, & the commercial reality of Bayern vs Liverpool in the Europa League being a bigger crowd puller than Bratislava vs City.

I don’t know what to suggest to make European football fairer & more exciting at the sane time. What I do know is matches like last night won't do the competition any favours. Entertainment, it was not.
 
I'm lost with your replies. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me that Slovan should be given a fair crack of the whip?
I'm both agreeing & disagreeing. Bratislava are Champions of their league & deserve the opportunity to compete. However, teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, ManUre, Chelsea, Spurs etc would offer stiffer competition & entice more viewers & match goers than Bratislava.

I just don't know how to bridge the divide between fair sporting participation based on merit, & the commercial reality of Bayern vs Liverpool in the Europa League being a bigger crowd puller than Bratislava vs City in the CL.

It's obvious the one in the lesser competition is a far more attractive sporting proposition, BUT if Bratislava are Champions of Solvakia, that's who should be represented in a fair Champions only CL. However, the latter doesn't exactly whet the appetite for global football fans or advertisers on whom the success or failure of the competition relies upon.
 
How do you think Liverpool won so many European Cups over 40 years ago?

By playing the Champions of Eire & Finland in front of p115 poor crowds winning 10-0 on aggregate. Suddenly they were in the QF's after barely breaking sweat.
115? Sniff sniff...
 
As I said, it could have been any pot 4 v pot 1 game. Two of the additional places went to teams from the top two nations so they'd have been a decent standard, and Slovan were champions and got through three qualifying rounds.
We could easily have played them had UEFA stuck to a champions only format.
We've won several away CL goals by four goals or more including against Sevilla and Feyenoord. Neither caused us significant problems.
Perhaps a European Super League would help us avoid such opponents.
City beat Bayern Munich 3-0 and Real Madrid 4-0 the season before last.

Loads of people are moaning about the low standard of the opposition. Perhapse they want a Super League format?

These are probably not the same people who have been whining for years for a return to a Champions only format like the old European Cup.

Can you imagine what the response would be if City were drawn against the likes of Vikingur Reykjavik, Lincoln Red Imps, Larne, Shamrock Rovers, The New Saints, Dinamo Batumi, etc,?

The format change this season doesn't make that much difference with two of the extra four teams in the Group Stages coming from Germany and Italy.

City have some easier ties at home this season but did face Inter who were finalists not long back! The remaining away matches including PSG, Juventus, and Sporting should provide decent competition.

City will certainly qualify, probably for the top eight, as they have done since Mancini departed.
 

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