The Champions League

Since I didn't have the opportunity to watch any games this week...so I will talk about the competition as a whole instead. See I am one of those English football fans who bemoans Premier League dominance over the last four years. I would like a return to the unpredictability and feel this could be attained through some simple changes.

I would prefer the competition to either return to a straight knockout tournament, overhaul the seeding system or add relevancy to the Europa League. But what would that look like if we had all three, we can dream can't we?

Everyone close your eyes, relax and "come with me now on a journey through time and space."*

• Teams that finish first and second qualify for the Champions League. League places 3rd through 6th being designated to the Europa League, both are straight knockout competitions.
• You have every Champions League game played on a Tuesday night and Europa League games would be played the following night.
• The money could be split between the two competitions, in favor of the Champions League but creating a less distinctive divide. See there's that relevancy, do you see where we're going with this.
  
• Take away the seeding for both competitions, meaning that anyone could get drawn together. Look at the Champions League groups that have two or three big teams, those groups are still relatively tight with two games to go. Admittedly this has only happened because some of those teams have had seasons way below expectations.
• Get rid of the Super Cup, it adds unnecessary clutter the schedule. Plus who cares about the outcome. I don't.

Perhaps teams would need to get used to receiving less money, relying on developing players, thus creating a more balance to the domestic divisions. Another benefit of shrinking the competition is the domino affect it could have on it's bloated little brother, the Europa League

This would allow more breathing space for players playing at the weekend but also with summer competitions, player burn out has become a problem. Especially in the build up to a World Cup or European Championship year. Of course this is all fantasy and potentially upset the order of the strongest teams. Another aspect that has changed the competition is coverage, the amount of European football you can find with your remote now is staggering. Before there was an excitement or apprehension about the champions of Germany and Italy coming to England.

In terms of the weekends action, all eyes will be on Stanford Bridge this weekend where Chelsea entertain Manchester United. I think Chelsea will be to powerful in attack and edge this game out, for whatever reason Ferguson's defense is looking awfully shaky at the moment. Regardless of this weekends results I think Arsenal will be their main title rivals, the two playing at the Emirates Stadium after the international break.

*So that line belongs to The Mighty Boosh.

An aquired taste...

Over in Italy the Sampdoria play maker Antonio Cassano generously offers a delicacy for any fickle fans. Paolo Bandini from The Guardian summarizes Mr Cassano's recipe in his weekly round up of Seria A;

"I left Roma, and I left Real Madrid," he said after Sampdoria's 0-0 draw with Bari. "If people aren't happy any more, then I can pack my bags here too. People here have got used to eating Nutella, and maybe every now and then they have to eat shit."

Now there's an idea.