[alex_front2]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...mpions-7260605

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...it-stinks.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...ue-cartel.html

Manchester United, AC Milan and Co plan Champions League cartel to end dreams of smaller clubs like Leicester
European giants want a lucrative closed shop with automatic places for big-money teams

They've also discussed this on Talk Sport.

So if so called "smaller" clubs like Celta Vigo, Villarreal, Hertha Berlin, Leicester City, Spurs or Angers have the temerity and audacity to dare to win title or finish in top 3 they won't automatically qualify for the Champions League. Nope , if proposals are to be beleived and go ahead underachieving "big clubs" like AC Milan, Chelsea, Man Utd and Monaco will always automatically get a CL place reserved irregardless of performance. Why? Because they are big clubs and thus big brands, which put bums on so-called TV viewer seats and advertising and therefore generate mega revenue. LCFC's Mahrez, Vardy, Kante and Okazaki et al (if they haven't been bought by the big boys) arent sexy enough* and just won't attract advertising revenue. They are not as sexy as Oscar, Hazard and erm Terry. Forget merit and results, size really does matter.

Basically the big clubs wouldn't even have to win the title of get s top 3/4 spot to get CL place.

* Aston Villa v Leicester draw was actually the most watched EPL match in USA this season on NBC Network.

[Mystic Mock]

That's disgusting if true, especially considering Leicester and Spurs have worked really hard for their places this season.

[alex_front2]

UEFA are terrified of Leicester City qualifying for the Champions League, and will collude with EPL to stop this happening.

The football world eg FiFa, UEFA , FA are making it easier for bigger clubs to succeed eg reducing the compensation to lower League / non League for talented youth players (which used to be a major source of income), stopping emergency loans in summer,FFP, allowing bigger TV money for EPL, scrapping a Europa spot for the FA CUP winners etc.

[alex_front2]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2914/...cards-bartomeu

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35635477

Now Barcelona President Bartomeu is calling for UEFA to allow big/ elite clubs who are flopping or fail to qualify eg Chelsea, Man U and possibly Man City to automatically gain entry to Champions League regardless of not being in top 3/4 (Play off). This is worrying as it's Barcelona pushing for this, this credible as they are practically guaranteed a CL place till Neymar retires so this won't directly benefit them.

There is no direct self interest for Barce other than wanting to generate money from elite club fixtures ie Nou Camp games against Chelsea will bring in more revenue than games against Maribor, Leicester or Vitoria Plzen. But why should a big club ie with history be considered? What about the future, creating new Euro histories with Gent, West Ham, Leicester, Atalanta, Ingolstadt, Den Haag, Spurs or Rennes?

No club has a god given right to be in CL. Not even Barce. It's bad enough that the Serbian champions Partizan , Red Star Belgrade* and Swedish champions like Malmo have to play a qualifier whilst EPL #2 #3 , place teams qualify automatically. And as crazy as it seems, a side like Spurs could on paper beat Barcelona at Camp Nou as crazy as that sounds it's not impossible, shocks, upsets, giant killings do happen even with Messi, Neymar, Suarez fully fit. Nothing is inevitable. Arsenal might spring ashock at Nou Camp. Let's not talk about Arsenal's chances as if there is more chance of winning the £180m Euro millions jackpot. Aston Villa staying up is less likely.


Spurs could win CL next season, not the most likely outcome, but by no means totally impossible as experts and pundits keep saying. Impossible is Messing growing wings and flying. Impossible is not Messi and his Barcelona chums losing in 2 CL semis to a Gent or a Caen. No wildcards to elite teams, if there must go down wild card route then would rather it was Stoke, Southampton or West Ham. Not Chelsea or Man U.



The last thing European football needs is to be like Argentinian League, where once when the biggest /elite team ended up bottom of League they didn't get relegated they ARGENTINAN FA simply joined up the top two Leagues!! FIFA and the football world needs to cope better with shocks and unlikely outcomes and stop treating successful non-elite teams as lepers and as a problem to eradicate.

* Guess who won the CL in 1990/1?!

[Alf]

It's called dictatorship

What you gonna do about it?

The only way to stop it is to starve 'The Beast', stop feeding it or accept what you get.

[LeatherTrumpet]

just like the nfl

[Nicky91]

Leicester City has worked really hard this season, and i think they should be rewarded with european football


#JusticeforLeicester

[alex_front2]

Originally Posted by Nicky91

Leicester City has worked really hard this season, and i think they should be rewarded with european football


#JusticeforLeicester

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Le...ail/story.html


Agree, but got a feeling if Leicester City do win title they will be forced to endure a qualifier and if they end up #2 # or 3 they will end up in Europa League instead due to some "co-efficiency" BS and if LCFC end up #4 they will have to donate to Man U or Chelsea a CL spot or some BS. We've all witnessed in the last 4 years how dodgy sporting authorities are eg FIFA, UEFA, IAAF, ATP tennis. Even today the Olympics are considering a last minute change ahead of the Rio Olympics THIS SUMMER to allow professional boxers to take part , even though many amateurs have already qualified.

UEFA were always safe in the knowledge that EPL 4 from Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Man U, Chelsea would qualify but with Spurs and Leicester City gatecrashing the top #4, and even the title, and West Ham and Southampton threatening to swipe #4 from Man U, UEFA are terrified of loosing a box office elite club and thus money. Endorsers want Rooney, Hazard, Ageuro and Costa. They don't want Vardy, Albrighton, Dier, Lamela, Rodriguez, Long, Tadic, Sakho, Cresswell and Andy Carroll.

The truth is for CL UEFA are livid that Chelsea are out and Man U are struggling for #4th spot which they would probably get at the expense of fellow mega bucks side Man City. UEFA really don't want Leicester City anywhere near the CL. The pundits were saying on the radio that for the football powers and bodies, Leicester topping the PL was cute and funny but as far as UEFA is concerned it's no longer funny, it's a problem that needs to be stopped. Expect more red cards and unfair penalty decisions going against Leicester C FC.

Can you imagine the apoplectic anger at UEFA if Stoke City qualified for EPL? Despite the fact they have a history eg 1863 formation, Stanley Matthews etc.Stoke might not have success of Man U but the are the current second oldest football league side after Notts County.

[alex_front2]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...eakway-meeting

Uh oh.

[Mystic Mock]

What would be the point of a Champions League if a team in 11th place can go and compete in the Champions League?

[alex_front2]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/spo...-position.html

Must not not let rich Yanks ruin the English game. They are jealous no one outisde of US gives to much of a crap about their sports [the whole figure bandied about that 1b people globally watch Superbowl is bullshine]. They want to wreck EPL as its popular. Stick to Miami Dolphins, leave EPL to us.

[Mystic Mock]

The big teams don't want the smaller teams to come up to the Champions League because they're scared of losing to them.

I mean just imagine as an example if Barcelona played Leicester at Nou Camp and lost to them? They don't see that as cool and credible, where as they see it as more respectable if it's their neighbours Real Madrid, or big foreign teams like Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich etc.

[Nicky91]

this is called cheating



but i know what they are thinking, big clubs attract lots of supporters, more money


I'm against this of course


Leicester City deserves a chance in the Champions League, and i think they would also attract supporters coming to their stadium



but no the FA are greedy, like FIFA or UEFA

[alex_front2]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo....html#comments

Claudio Ranieri: big 5 are running scared of Leicester