Thread: Premiership Talk
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Old 05-11-2004, 03:49 PM   #1748
El Capitano Gatisto
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 91
True, it's certainly a LOT harder to win now - I think where you said it's easier for a big team to win it now, what you were trying to say is that it's more likely to be won (and dominated by) the big teams, it's certainly harder to win it for ANYONE now. And I don't think Rangers were ever a minute away from making it since Marseille held the advantage going into the final round of games in their group anyway (at which point Marseille won and Rangers only drew).

As for the early rounds, it depended really. I don't think there was any seeding, so it all depended who was drawn against who. You did get some weak ties in there (yeah, Glentoran for example) but by comparison, it's the same with the F.A. Cup. At the end of the day, it holds true with any knockout tournament that the team who is technically the best can be beat by an underdog on a lucky day, but to an extent, that's half the fun. I don't want to see Real Madrid winning the Champions League every other year, I want to see Steaua Bucharest outplaying Barcelona in the final and then making a mockery of them in the ensuing penalty shoot out.

Speaking of the F.A. Cup and the Cup Winners Cup, am I the only one that wants to see the CWC return? A novelty it may have been, but it always gave some teams a shot at winning a European trophy that never would have otherwise whilst still having to play a couple of big teams along the way to prove their worth. The likes of West Ham, Slovan Bratislava, Dynamo Tblisi, Magdeburg, Mechelen and, good lord, Glasgow Rangers - all respectable enough teams who would have never won the European Cup or, probably, the UEFA Cup. Millwall might actually hit the big time...
I meant the early group format favoured the big sides. The format they brought in this year is perfect, in my opinion, for the expanded comeptition. More knock-out rounds is the right way to go.

I am glad we've got two novel sides in the Champions League final for variation's sake, though I wish Porto would ditch the cheating tactics for one game so the final isn't terrible. Can't be argued that it is probably the most exciting competition around at the moment, though, what with all the domestic leagues being wrapped up before the final couple of weekends, pretty much.

I liked the old European ties, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. In those days I believe the UEFA cup wasn't far behind the Champions League in prestige. The Cup Winners Cup was definitely the poor, vagrant cousin of those competitions, but it was worth having.
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