Europa Conference League

Sean_RedDevil

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Let us win the League Cup and we could be the first club to win the Champions League, Europa League, Cup Winners' Cup and Europa Conference League :D

The new format change of the Europa League (The number of teams in the group stage are reduced from 48 to 32 teams. The first round of the knockout phase also now involves only the group stage runners-up and the Champions League third-placed teams, with the group winners directly advancing to the round of the last 16.) is a very good decision.

 

Lay

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Good motivation to win your Europa League group.

Did they really have to pick conference as the name? Just makes me thinks it’s Dagenham & Redbridge vs Grimsby.
 

GMok

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So, it is the reincarnated Cup Winners Cup. Strange name for a tournament to be honest.
 

Lay

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Winners get to play in the Europa League.

What days do they get played? Same as Europa? And why group stage (I know, money) Just have straight knock outs!
 

Sean_RedDevil

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Winners get to play in the Europa League.

What days do they get played? Same as Europa? And why group stage (I know, money) Just have straight knock outs!
https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaconf...uropa-conference-league-all-you-need-to-know/
The UEFA Europa Conference League fixtures will take place on Thursdays along with UEFA Europa League games (though the final in Tirana will be a week after the UEFA Europa League final in Sevilla on 18 May 2022). The matches of the two competitions will in principle be equally split between the two time slots: 18:45 CET (no longer 18:55) and 21:00 CET. Draw dates are to be confirmed.
 

Big Ben Foster

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Horrible name. I guess it's better than "Europa League 2" which is what journos were calling it for a while.
 

horsechoker

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This would be good for teams in the bottom half.

Imagine the likes of Villa not having the legs to put in their cup final performance against us :drool:
 

Vidyoyo

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" the UEFA Europa League group stage will now be reduced from 48 to 32 teams – eight groups of four. "

Okay this much sounds better. Half the reason the Europa League is such a hindrance is because of the amount of games.
 

Chipper

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" the UEFA Europa League group stage will now be reduced from 48 to 32 teams – eight groups of four. "

Okay this much sounds better. Half the reason the Europa League is such a hindrance is because of the amount of games.
Won't be that much different I don't think. If you want to win it currently you play 15 matches assuming you don't also play qualifying rounds. In the new format if you're one of the 8 teams to drop down from the CL you'll still play 15. If you're one of the 8 EL group runners up it's 15 again. It's just the EL group winners who get it reduced to 13.
 

Chipper

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So it's up against the EL? I guess most keen neutrals would watch that instead if they were trying to find a game to watch.

I suppose this is for fans of teams/fans in countries who don't have anyone to watch on the Thursday so might skip football altogether. This could give them something to get behind. Say Finland had no teams in the Europa, if they had one in this then it might get more Finns watching football on a Thursday night instead of doing something else.More people watching = more sponsorship money flowing in.
 

11101

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So it's a third tier European competition.

Will we get an extra European slot or will we lose our last Europa League spot for it?
 

Chipper

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So it's a third tier European competition.

Will we get an extra European slot or will we lose our last Europa League spot for it?
Lose the Carabao Cup winner's slot/the slot for the highest placed team not already in Europe if the Carabao Cup winners already are.

4 CL, 2 EL, 1 in this.
 

Mibabalou

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I really dislike the dropping down mechanic from CL to EL and EL to EC.

Also I dislike this also taking place on Thursdays since EL is already there. Ideally it should be 4 times for matches on Tuesday 4 for CL 4 on Wednesday for EL and Thursday for EC.

So instead of what we have now with two times on Tues/Wed in CL, we have 4. - 530, 7, 830, 10.

Other than that I do like this idea as a way to get more money into Leagues and clubs.

I understand why 530pm kickoffs and 10pm kickoffs might not be ideal but it would mean being able to watch more football.
 

Chipper

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I understand why 530pm kickoffs and 10pm kickoffs might not be ideal but it would mean being able to watch more football.
I didn't know they were doing that so scrap my previous post about it going up against the Europa League on tv.

Not sure I really see the point in separating it out . Are there going to be many footballing neutrals without a team in the Europa Conference League that really want to tune into it? I'd guess no and that if they put it on at the same time as the Europa League then they'd probably get as many viewers.

Edit: Wait, are you suggesting they should have 530 and 10pm kick offs or are they actually having those kick offs? I'm confused.

If they're not then I think it makes sense, very few will want to watch the 3rd tier competition at that time. Nobody will really care about it unless the team they support is in it or a team form their country is and they're a small nation. Putting it on at those times would just make it harder for those who do care to watch.
 
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Mibabalou

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I didn't know they were doing that so scrap my previous post about it going up against the Europa League on tv.

Not sure I really see the point in separating it out . Are there going to be many footballing neutrals without a team in the Europa Conference League that really want to tune into it? I'd guess no and that if they put it on at the same time as the Europa League then they'd probably get as many viewers.

Edit: Wait, are you suggesting they should have 530 and 10pm kick offs or are they actually having those kick offs? I'm confused.

If they're not then I think it makes sense, very few will want to watch the 3rd tier competition at that time. Nobody will really care about it unless the team they support is in it or a team form their country is and they're a small nation. Putting it on at those times would just make it harder for those who do care to watch.
Haha sorry let me clarify.

I believe EC kick off times will mirror EL kick off times in which half the matches kick off at 1800 and half kick off at 2000 with both competitions being played on Thursdays.

I am suggesting UEFA have 4 kickoff times for CL, EL, and EC and also each competition is held on a different day. CL Tuesday, EL Wednesday, EC Thursday.

The 4 kickoff times in such a proposal would be 1730, 1900, 2030 and 2100.

This would mean less overlap in matches and more ability for TV revenue as you would be selling a package that lasts from 1700-2300 with pre and post match.

I would say you are correct in the idea that why the hell would a random fan want to watch the 7th place side in Bulgaria play host to the 5th place side in Finland.
 

Noot

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This starts next season, and an awful lot of English fans have completely forgotten about it- I had too until this morning.

I believe one of West Ham, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, Villa, Arsenal and Leeds will qualify for the playoffs through their league finish this season. Lots of their fans will get a nasty surprise when they realise 7th isn't good enough for a Europa League spot anymore.
 

KiD MoYeS

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This starts next season, and an awful lot of English fans have completely forgotten about it- I had too until this morning.

I believe one of West Ham, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, Villa, Arsenal and Leeds will qualify for the playoffs through their league finish this season. Lots of their fans will get a nasty surprise when they realise 7th isn't good enough for a Europa League spot anymore.
I think the nasty surprise will be more qualifying for a Mickey Mouse cup! Liverpool fans I've spoken to don't want Europa League if they can't get top four.
 

Ludens the Red

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This competition actually had potential. Although mostly for the lesser clubs from the European nations, it would have brought a lot of new fixtures.
Then UEFA made the decision to call it “Conference League”. Thus making it a truly worthless competition.

Now I just hope Liverpool qualify for it, that would be amazing.
 

Ajr

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This competition actually had potential. Although mostly for the lesser clubs from the European nations, it would have brought a lot of new fixtures.
Then UEFA made the decision to call it “Conference League”. Thus making it a truly worthless competition.

Now I just hope Liverpool qualify for it, that would be amazing.
Should call it the Europa Trophy
 

Acole9

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This starts next season, and an awful lot of English fans have completely forgotten about it- I had too until this morning.

I believe one of West Ham, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, Villa, Arsenal and Leeds will qualify for the playoffs through their league finish this season. Lots of their fans will get a nasty surprise when they realise 7th isn't good enough for a Europa League spot anymore.
Is this a bit like what the Intertoto Cup used to be?
 
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Is this a bit like what the Intertoto Cup used to be?
the Intertoto cup used to be a pre-competition which if you got to a certain stage, you would then get to play in Europe proper.

it used to start stupidly early, before pre-season.

didn’t Wimbledon qualify once, and loan a load of players from other clubs to play the games?

does this new competition work in the same way or run alongside the CL and EL?

I’d never even heard of it before today.

sounds like it’s one that bigger clubs will want to avoid.
 

Ludens the Red

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the Intertoto cup used to be a pre-competition which if you got to a certain stage, you would then get to play in Europe proper.

it used to start stupidly early, before pre-season.

didn’t Wimbledon qualify once, and loan a load of players from other clubs to play the games?

does this new competition work in the same way or run alongside the CL and EL?

I’d never even heard of it before today.

sounds like it’s one that bigger clubs will want to avoid.
perfect for Arsenal in that case. Passport back into Europa.

Should call it the Europa Trophy
That’s much better but Europa Cup would be even better!
 

Bertie Wooster

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There used to be 3 European competitions to be won - the big one being the European Cup. The other two not as in demand, but still well worth winning if you're fortunate enough to do so.

As far as I'm concerned, that's still the case. Yes, the Champions League is, like the European Cup, the big one to win. But, still, winning one of the others is still well worth doing if you can do so.

Winning the World Cup is the big thing in internationals - but winning the European Championships, Copa America, etc, is still great as well. As is the Nations Cup.

Winning the FA Cup is the big one domestically. But winning the League Cup is still a good thing. As is winning the EFL Trophy, FA Vase, etc, for those lower down the pyramids.

I don't go along with this modern idea that only the top flight or CL matters. They're still the biggest two, as they always were. But the other cups still matter, as they always have.

This latest competition is no different. I'd rather win the CL, obviously. But if we're not in that, and are in the others instead, then I'd love to win those instead. You aim to win the competitions you're playing in - as that's your 'level' for that season.
 

RU Devil

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Imagine how some teams might play the last few rounds in the PL if they are out of the running for CL. Figure Spurs, Chelsea, & Liverpool might rather place 8th than play in this competition, let alone having to go through the EL. Not sure how hard Arsenal would fight for this spot. It's like how some teams in the NBA/NFL tank their season to get a high draft pick.

Would be interesting if the top 4 competition is tight enough in the last few weeks that someone could possibly in the CL, EL, CC or out all together.
 

Acole9

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the Intertoto cup used to be a pre-competition which if you got to a certain stage, you would then get to play in Europe proper.

it used to start stupidly early, before pre-season.

didn’t Wimbledon qualify once, and loan a load of players from other clubs to play the games?

does this new competition work in the same way or run alongside the CL and EL?

I’d never even heard of it before today.

sounds like it’s one that bigger clubs will want to avoid.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Europa_Conference_League

Gives a run down of how it works, genuinely had no idea it was a thing until today. Guaranteed some teams fans will be wanting out pretty quick.

Europa Conference League... jesus :lol:.

Not sure about Wimbledon but I think West Ham, Newcastle and Bradford all played in the Intertoto previously.
 
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Europa_Conference_League

Gives a run down of how it works, genuinely had no idea it was a thing until today. Guaranteed some teams fans will be wanting out pretty quick.

Europa Conference League... jesus :lol:.

Not sure about Wimbledon but I think West Ham, Newcastle and Bradford all played in the Intertoto previously.
yeah they did. Had to google

interesting article, mostly about Spurs here:

https://www.planetfootball.com/nost...-campaign-when-they-werent-really-themselves/
 

rcoobc

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It's a good thing overall (reduces teams in Europa League, makes Europa League group stage more competitive in that 1st > 2nd, but yeah
 

Oranges038

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Europa Shield would be a good name for it.

Just like those one day tournaments you'd play as a kid where teams beaten early would play for the shield and the good teams stayed on to play for the trophy.
 

RU Devil

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Looking at the current state of affairs, maybe Mou might not want to win the Carabao Cup vs City, as that gives them the Conference League bid. If they drop out of top 4 contention, they couldn't even tank their remaining games to avoid Thursday Night Football.
 

Damien

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Looking at the current state of affairs, maybe Mou might not want to win the Carabao Cup vs City, as that gives them the Conference League bid. If they drop out of top 4 contention, they couldn't even tank their remaining games to avoid Thursday Night Football.
Nah, Mourinho will 100% want to win just so he can say he's won silverware at every club he's managed from Porto onwards.
 

thegregster

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So the league cup winners are city.

So it's now 99% certain that the place will go to the 7th place team.