No-one else seems to dare say it but I think that Liverpool should not have been allowed back in. You can't change the rules after the event. In any case, if you are going to break the rules then 1st qualifying is the right place for them.
I have said for ages they shouldn't be let back in. They were one of the clubs who insisted, in their own self-interest, that the rules were changed in the first place to allow in clubs who didn't win their national leagues, and then again to make more group games and thus maximise revenue of the so-called big clubs.
Now they demanded the rules to be changed again, and again for their own self-interest - claiming, of course, that it was in the best interests of the competition. UEFA, as usual, capitulated.
The best thing for the competition would be something like, oh I don't know, maybe the winners of all the European national leagues could have a knockout tournament to see who was the best team in Europe.
Interesting also to see that UEFA claim that now they've changed the rule, this problem won't crop up again. But all they've done is switch Liverpool's UEFA Cup place (an equally pointless and stupid tournament by the way) to a Champions League one. What happens when a club win the Champions League but fail to even qualify for the UEFA Cup? Plus, UEFA haven't decided what will happen if all 5 English clubs reach the group stage, in terms of splitting money etc. Why not?
Real Zaragoza ought to be looking at legal action too, since they were denied a Champions League place in 2000 when Real Madrid were in exactly the same position as Liverpool - they won the CL but were 5th (I think) in the Spanish League. UEFA left it to the Spanish FA to decide who would be their 4 entrants into the next year's competition. Surprise, they went with Madrid and Zaragoza got kicked out.
It's all basically a big fucking mess, as is all of European cup football and all of the major domestic leagues. Kick the bloody lot of them out I say.
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I have said for ages they shouldn't be let back in. They were one of the clubs who insisted, in their own self-interest, that the rules were changed in the first place to allow in clubs who didn't win their national leagues, and then again to make more group games and thus maximise revenue of the so-called big clubs.
Now they demanded the rules to be changed again, and again for their own self-interest - claiming, of course, that it was in the best interests of the competition. UEFA, as usual, capitulated.
The best thing for the competition would be something like, oh I don't know, maybe the winners of all the European national leagues could have a knockout tournament to see who was the best team in Europe.
Interesting also to see that UEFA claim that now they've changed the rule, this problem won't crop up again. But all they've done is switch Liverpool's UEFA Cup place (an equally pointless and stupid tournament by the way) to a Champions League one. What happens when a club win the Champions League but fail to even qualify for the UEFA Cup? Plus, UEFA haven't decided what will happen if all 5 English clubs reach the group stage, in terms of splitting money etc. Why not?
Real Zaragoza ought to be looking at legal action too, since they were denied a Champions League place in 2000 when Real Madrid were in exactly the same position as Liverpool - they won the CL but were 5th (I think) in the Spanish League. UEFA left it to the Spanish FA to decide who would be their 4 entrants into the next year's competition. Surprise, they went with Madrid and Zaragoza got kicked out.
It's all basically a big fucking mess, as is all of European cup football and all of the major domestic leagues. Kick the bloody lot of them out I say.
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