England one of three countries officially allocated an extra spot next season under UEFA's fair play rules. If Liverpool finish fifth the extra place would go to Spurs, based on the current table. I never thought I'd say this but we now need to finish fifth.
That's because the poor sods qualifying for the tournament through the dubious 'fair play' back door will have to assemble their players in SIX BLOODY WEEKS. Totally insane.
Redknapp probably wasn't far off the mark when he implied Fulham had been trying to pick up loads of bookings in the last couple of games, just to avoid getting into the EL via the back door. He also told the players ahead of the Liverpool game that if they lost they'd have to come in for training three weeks early. Nothing like a bit of motivation when one's holidays are likely to be impacted.
As for next week, at least we can do ourselves a favour by beating Birmingham.
P.S. I'm still at a loss as to how Chelsea have actually managed to find themselves top of the fair play league.
Edited by user 16 May 2011 12:20:30(UTC) | Reason: Not specified
It's the Europa League that the extra spot is for. The CL is brilliant!
Edited by user 16 May 2011 13:21:36(UTC) | Reason: Not specified
I suppose not if you want to take the literal definition of champions. The problem is that just including the winners of each league would mean losing some brilliant teams. Nothing matches (for me anyway) the feeling of playing in Europe. I love European nights, nothing like them!
Off topic but I just remembered when Liverpool didn't make the champions league:
"Liverpool hasn't lost the champions league, the champions league has lost Liverpool."
You've hit the nail on the head Matty. I myself have always assumed "Champions" to mean league winners' i.e the team that finishes in 1st place in a given league at the end of a season. In my view, the old name of "European Cup" would be more appropriate now given that so many of the teams that make up the competition are non-champions.
And the goalie heavily linked with man utd does this.........
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13418295.stm
Going a bit off topic here...tho i also agree with Matty and David. I prefer the old style European Cup a tournament only open to champions of each nation plus the present holder of the trophy. Tho money is the driving force !
SAF didn't even bother responding to the FA over their latest charge. Probably the best approach to take from now on.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/8517663/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-snubs-FA-over-charge-for-making-complimentary-comments-about-referee-Howard-Webb.html
Thankfully, we've only got another season or so of Bacon face. Then he can go into quiet retirement along with his Alzheimer's.
It will be sad day for Manchester United when he steps down. Doubt there has been or will be a better manager. Why so much hatred towards him?
I am sure SAF will still be about... whilst your sitting in your old folks home in soiled nappies !
Very funny.
Hopefully not, because they'll then finish above the Scum who would then have to go through the qualification stage of the CL. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that they could screw that up.
Unless they do something major in the summer Arsenal to me looks to be a team in decline.
Because he exudes so much anger to everyone else?
Up until he joined Man U, he had no link to them and no reason not to like Liverpool, yet his 'knock Liverpool off their f***ing perch' comment set out his stall. And that's when I set out mine.
That the claret-nosed git then went to do what he said he wanted to do just makes me hate him even more.
As honest as ever Martin, I don't mind the guy but I wouldn't say I was a fan of his. However, I have really liked some of the teams he has put together and the approach they take.
and of course I would always want a real (northern) team to win over one of those silly, flash in the pan southern teams
Errm His first aim was to beat Liverpool, that aim was given by the board when they appointed him, in the boards opinion they wanted Man Utd to be the best and to be the best they had to beat the best, at that time it was Liverpool. Any manager taking charge of a big club now must have his aims to beat Man Utd, otherwise what are they in it for? The perch thing is simply a misquote of that!Speaking of Liverpool their biggest test under Kenny is next season when the Fans once again expect nothing less than challenge for the title and champions league football.
Perhaps Liverpool's dominance of English football would have continued for a bit longer (and could well have won a few more league titles) had Kenny Dalglish not unexpectedly resigned as manager at Anfield in early 1991. It was after this that Graeme Souness returned to Liverpool (he resigned as manager of Glasgow Rangers in April '91 to go back to Anfield, much to my annoyance!), as as every Reds fan will recall, his tenure wasn't exactly the most successful.
Perhaps in Leeds hadn't sold a certain Monsieur Cantona to Man Utd late on in 1992, they could well have gone on to dominate football in England for a good few years; they certainly looked well capable of it after winning the league in 1991-92. Cantona was as big a factor in Leeds' success that season as he was in all Man Utd's title winning sides during the following five years or so.
Edited by user 18 May 2011 14:01:20(UTC) | Reason: Not specified