Unless I've misunderstood you, you want a draw after the group stage (like the CL)? But when do you do this draw given that there's no break between the groups and the 2nd round?Huh?
I don't see where the non-possibility of a draw enters into any of this.
The C/L format - as I've mentioned above - caters to a group stage with draws as a possible outcome while avoiding the bulk of the extant W/C format problems.
A C/L style tournament would be far better than what we have and would feature a group stage which seems to be popular. And not knowing who you might face in the coming rounds - is desirable - especially if you're likely to face a less gifted side by finishing first in your group, thus largely eliminating the possibility that by losing/tieing one (or more, I guess) group stage matches so as to finish 2nd in your group - you'd be better placed to advance in later stages of the tournament, by facing weaker opposition.Unless I've misunderstood you, you want a draw after the group stage (like the CL)? But when do you do this draw given that there's no break between the groups and the 2nd round?
The teams that qualify from Group A would have to wait til Group H is finished before they know who and where they're going to play.
Basically, you'd make the tournament longer and have some teams not playing for a whole week. That's all you needed to say. But that isn't going to happen so I wouldn't waste any more of your time worrying about it.A C/L style tournament would be far better than what we have and would feature a group stage which seems to be popular. And not knowing who you might face in the coming rounds - is desirable - especially if you're likely to face a less gifted side by finishing first in your group, thus largely eliminating the possibility that by losing/tieing one (or more, I guess) group stage matches so as to finish 2nd in your group - you'd be better placed to advance in later stages of the tournament, by facing weaker opposition.
But - a group stage isn't optimal if you simply want to provide the best guarantee that those teams who seem to be best going into the tournament don't face each other until as late as possible (e.g., college basketball-style tournament format in the USA).
Other tournament formats are of course possible, catering to various goals - the current format though is, IMO, self-evidently deficient.
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As to your concern about when the knockout stage draw would occur - well - as soon as possible. Problems still exist of course - what if you just recently won your group and now all of a sudden due to the draw you're forced to play against a side with 6 days rest, tomorrow, your side having won in overtime with only 1 day's rest... etc. Well, if you want a group stage, it's going to cause ripple effects - but none worse than the extant format if performed intelligently.
Remedies to the hypothetical posed above of course exist - for example, if a side has only recently played, their next matchup cannot occur until only after a minimum of x-days rest (choose x as you will).
Huh?Basically, you'd make the tournament longer and have some teams not playing for a whole week. That's all you needed to say. But that isn't going to happen so I wouldn't waste any more of your time worrying about it.
You're obviously not getting my point. The world cup has to happen in a month. If you're going to have a group stage, there's no time to fit a draw in and give the additional rest period that will be required.Huh?
As I've said, there seems to be little dissatisfaction in the current format - where England and Belgium are far better off losing rather than winning their final group stage match - and where one side of the bracket contains all/nearly-all of the tournament favorites; setting up, per force, a very good side against whatever survives in the other bracket.
As I've taken pains to explain - and which you've ignored - numerous tournament formats exist which easily avoid - or almost nearly avoid - this problem.
Tournament delays are not at all necessary - or perhaps you'd prefer that the C/L were restructured to mirror the W/C format - since you seem to see nothing whatsoever wrong with the W/C structure.
I completely disagree.You're obviously not getting my point. The world cup has to happen in a month. If you're going to have a group stage, there's no time to fit a draw in and give the additional rest period that will be required.
And that's without even considering the unnecessary hassle it would cause the travelling fans. There's no point comparing it to the CL as that doesn't have any of the same time constraints.
If the world champions Germany had turned up this tournament we would have faced them and gone out in the Ro16Huh?
As I've said, there seems to be little dissatisfaction in the current format - where England and Belgium are far better off losing rather than winning their final group stage match - and where one side of the bracket contains all/nearly-all of the tournament favorites; setting up, per force, a very good side against whatever survives in the other bracket.
As I've taken pains to explain - and which you've ignored - numerous tournament formats exist which easily avoid - or almost nearly avoid - these problems.
Tournament delays are not at all necessary - or perhaps you'd prefer that the C/L were restructured to mirror the W/C format - since you seem to see nothing whatsoever wrong with the W/C structure.
Uh, did you read my bit about 1) I don't like a group stage and 2) a stipulation that X-days rest occur prior to your first knockout match?If the world champions Germany had turned up this tournament we would have faced them and gone out in the Ro16
And your barmy idea of doing a draw could mean either some teams who’ve already had six days with no game could play against another team who played yesterday or if we prologue the tournament to allow for more rest some teams could have two weeks without a game while the team they’re drawn against get some rest and the tournament could last all Summer
Yeah, that's not something that appeals to me in the slightest. I hate the CL because it's far too weighted towards achieving that aim. And based on that starting point, we're never going to agree on this so let's just leave it at that. Enjoy the final.Where we radically disagree is that numerous alternative formats are possible to dramatically improve the tournament if your goal is to see the best sides face each other as late as possible in the tournament.
Yes, as I've said, my goals are entirely subjective - and if you want to argue the merit of my goals - well, I've no leg to stand on (it's subjective). To that end, I recognize, and accept your opinion - I cannot argue with it.Yeah, that's not something that appeals to me in the slightest. I hate the CL because it's far too weighted towards achieving that aim. And based on that starting point, we're never going to agree on this so let's just leave it at that. Enjoy the final.