Another European competition?

Wasm't the Cup Winners' Cup abolished because of fixture congestion?

 

It appears to more like the latter, considering they're doing it at the same time as reducing the number of teams in the Europa League from 48 to 32. The Europa League has too many fixtures at the moment, so I expect that the lowest ranked 16 teams from the Europa League will be moved to this new competition in addition to 16 others.

I also suspect the additional teams are more likely to come from smaller countries getting an additional entrant in to a European competition, than the big leagues which already have plenty.

So for teams qualifying for the Europa League, this should result in fewer games.

 

It was abolished because they started allowed 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams into the CL invariably some nations' cup winners had also qualified for the CL. In those cases the cup runners-up would take the ECWC place but in some cases the runner up had also qualified for the CL. In the end the competition became too diluted and so they decided to do it away and those who would have qualified for it but not the CL just went into the UEFA cup instead.

 

Simples!

 

I wouldn't mind them bringing back the UEFA Cup. But if this is going to be a third tier European competition, behind the Champions League and Europa League, then the quality of opposition will not be particularly attractive for fans.

Matches against the likes of SD Huesca, Eibar, SC Freiburg, Hoffenheim, Spal, Empoli, VVV Venlo, Heerenveen, Emmen, Nimes and Amiens. These are all clubs from top European leagues, but are outside of the top dozen clubs. Would games against this type of opponent really capture the imagination? Not sure.

However, if we become an established mid-table Premier League club, then almost certainly we'd be involved.

As we've seen with Burnley, Everton, and previously Leicester, Fulham and Middlesbrough in the past, European football for clubs that are not used to it, really effects the season for these smaller clubs. They do not have the squads for this many games in a season.

If the reward for the winners would be a place in the Champions League, then it would be worth entering, but if it's just for the glory of winning a newly formed cup or a place in the Europa Cup, then I'm not quite so sure.

 

And who would pass up a trip to Vladikhavkaz?

 

I don't mind, as long as the qualification is done fairly, and it isn't just a free pass for the big teams who are too useless to qualify through normal methods. I remember a while ago an 'all-stars' competition was mooted where qualification was guaranteed for certain clubs; coincidentally, Manchester United didn't qualify for Europe that season. I seem to recall someone later suggesting that the winner of that competition would play the winner of what wold normally be the Champions' League final. Didn't get off the ground, I don't think.

 

The useless Milan teams are prime culprits in this sort of nonsense.

 

I’m sure there is a workable way for clubs like us to be able to balance being in a European competition and compete in the league, the amount of games just need to be reduced and they shouldn’t start until later on in the season. Burnley started playing the the Europa league ridiculously early. If you qualify you should also have the choice of canning the Carabo cup to ease the strain.

 

Fewer.

 

Brenda From Bristol had the right response to this issue

 

Buzzzz!

They want less games (being grammatically lacking)

But they get fewer games (as syntax predominates).