The three competitions didn't need changing in my opinion, you got UEFA cup for 5th and 6th place position in the league and a Cup winners cup place if you won one of our domestic cup competitions.I miss the "Cup Winners Cup"
The UEFA cup was 2nd to 4th or 5th. The thing that changed everything was the creation of the Champions League which took the best teams from the UEFA cup. The teams that are currently in the Europa League played in the Intertoto.The three competitions didn't need changing in my opinion, you got UEFA cup for 5th and 6th place position in the league and a Cup winners cup place if you won one of our domestic cup competitions.
I'm sure getting rid of it effected smaller teams as well, occasionally smaller clubs win the domestic cup competitions and they got a taste of European competition.
It all worked well.
I think it's a misconception to think of the Europa League and the UEFA cup as basically the same tournament, or even as very similar ones. The old UEFA Cup contained the best teams that didn't win the League, or the national Cup - as far as the big leagues go, most of the teams in it would be in the Champions League with today's format. It was, in short, a much more high-calibre tournament than the Europa League is. Hence, it rightly carried more prestige.I know it's essentially the same competition and it's the same physical trophy. But for me there's far, far less prestige in that competition now than when it was called the UEFA Cup.
I know that is as much to do with the branding than anything else and even if it was to still be called the UEFA Cup the growing dominance and expansion of the CL would have likely meant by 2023 the competition would have been hugely devalued by now anyway.
But still I can't help but think the 'Europa League' branding had been a major contributor to people dismissing it as a competition.
This is why it feels devalued, and why in some ways the "boomer" version was better, the fact that top 4 in the PL gets you the CL whilst in some countries champions don't even qualify shows what the CL is and always has been about moneyLetting teams who have failed in the CL makes it a travesty. You do not finish Top 2 in CL then tough luck.
Indeed.And this reeks of the opposite.
There's nothing boomer about thinking a competition that used to have the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams from each country being better than one starting from 5th. It's common sense.
Mind you, by the time of the rebranding the damage was done already.
Definitely. That's all football is about now.This is why it feels devalued, and why in some ways the "boomer" version was better, the fact that top 4 in the PL gets you the CL whilst in some countries champions don't even qualify shows what the CL is and always has been about money
You are right about the first part but it's important to say that the Champions League was for all intent and purposes a new competition and a competition that I believe was wanted and is appreciated by fans. The UEFA Cup became a collateral damage and the issue with the UEFA is that they didn't try to create a new competition with new goals, they just tried to continue with a depleted C3. As an example the UEFA could have become a lottery ticket for teams playing it by offering large prize money that could help a club reach the next level but instead they concentrated all revenues and prizes to the CL, got rid of C2 and the Intertoto also disappeared.I think the problem is that the heyday of the second competition has been and gone thanks to letting everyone and their mum into the 'Champions' League.
Yeah I'm aware of that I'm 41 mate.The UEFA cup was 2nd to 4th or 5th. The thing that changed everything was the creation of the Champions League which took the best teams from the UEFA cup. The teams that are currently in the Europa League played in the Intertoto.
But there needs to be a competive competition for the next tier of teams. To devalue it and disrespect it stinks for me.I think the problem is that the heyday of the second competition has been and gone thanks to letting everyone and their mum into the 'Champions' League.
Yeah, maybe I'm being a bit of an arse about the Conference League. An arse, like the many arses that don't go to the Etihad every week to fill the empty seats.Has the rebrand been a success?
Yes, massively. Knockout games are competitively contested, grounds are full and the players give a feck. I feel like the Europa league also throws up far much more new match ups.
The Champions League has great games but it’s throwing up the same ties year after year.
Conference league has also been a massive success to give uefa their credit. Realistically speaking there’s only currently 3-4 teams that can actually win the Champions League which means you’ve got a host of other giant clubs who are now taking the Europa league far more seriously when they’re in it. See man United, Barcelona and Juventus.
Surely @Mr Pigeon you can see the merits of a European competition that allows smaller clubs who do well in their league to have a realistic chance of winning European silverware. Did you see the semi finals and how much it meant to the fans and players of West Ham and Fiorentina to get to the final?
European football did actually used to have three competitions. This isn’t anything new.
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