Farsopoli certainly weakened not just Inter's domestic competition but also Serie A's for continental competition.

Good news, the Bundesliga deserves it.

Yes, because they take the EL seriously.

They deserve more EL places.

In terms of CL there isn't a single logical reason why they deserve more places.

Of course there is. As stupid as they are the UEFA rules have been clear as day for years. Its not anyone else problem but Serie A's that our clubs decided to ignore the UEFA Cup/EL for all these years.

We should take an example from the German clubs. They put on a show in every match no matter what competition for their fans who pay hard earned money to attend the games. In Italy its reserve teams playing most EL or Coppa Italian matches.

Well yeah, like I said, so they deserve EL places. True that the rules are rules and you should adhere to them, but they won't be rules for much longer if only a select few treat them seriously. If the rules are flawed they will never work, just like UEFA will never learn.

Garganese is the best writer on that (otherwise) shithead site. I love his articles.

Yes but its really only the Italian clubs who are not treating these rules with respect.

Can the Italian FA not do anything here? Like offer teams cash intensives for making it far into this competition. It seems like the Italian FA does not really care that the Serie A is going down the drain.

Other teams do also field weaker teams, like PL teams, but not to the same extent and they are secure because 1) they are stronger in terms of depth and 2) their CL teams do better so it isn't felt as much.

Well, this year, there are three Portuguese clubs in the EL semifinals, and Porto crunched Villareal 5-1 in in the first leg, so we're more likely than not going to have an all-Portuguese final... Does this mean that the Portuguese league is the best in Europe? No, it just means that their clubs have no chance in the Champions League, so they actually take this competition seriously. That was Germany for the better part of ten years. Portugal is raking in the coefficient points in a year where none of their clubs got out of the CL group stage, they'll probably be getting more than Italy.

And the kind of English sides that play in the EL are also the kind of clubs to whom the FA Cup still means something (in practically the only country that the domestic cup matters), and play strong squads in it, it's that English mentality that cups matter, so obviously they try harder in the EL.

Portugal should have 10 CL places, we all want to see Pacos de Ferreira battling it out on the elite stage.

Looking at the complete reserve side (minus the keeper) that Udinese fielded last night in the EL, a trend which others follow with 5-10 players changed for this competition, it has become as clear as ever now that under the current UEFA rules Italy will NEVER get the 4 CL spots back.

Italian teams just do not care one bit about this competition, and until that changes there is not a hope in Hell that 4 CL spots will return, they will be looking over their shoulders at the French and Portuguese who still find prestige in it.

Italy now in very serious danger of slipping to 6th in the Uefa rankings.

ironanically Lazio could do something about it

These Italian teams come across very arrogant, who are they to think they are too good for the EL? Attendances have been declining in Serie A and their football is hardly the most exciting in the world. They should get their minds out of the early 90s and realize it's 2011, they're not all that anymore..

EL offers very little prize money, they don't see the point in advancing in the competition at the expense of their players' fitness for league matches. Cup matches generally aren't as important as league matches to Italian teams, the opposite of the English mentality, really.

20 years ago, there was no prize money. Yet teams seemed to be motivated enough.

Yup! That's because it was a competition for 2nd place teams, not 7th place teams. I mean, this was the team Udinese put out last night, honestly, WTF is this s***?

Udinese: Handanovic; Ekstrand, Danilo, Domizzi (Basta 71); Pereyra, Badu, Doubai, Battocchio, Neuton; Fabbrini (Abdi 24); Floro Flores (Isla 86)

Wow.

If anything teams are too exciting and naive, defensive superiority isn't very prevalent. The spate of 0-0 scores the other week was a really freak event, there are lots of goals, most teams play 4-3-3, and the emphasis has changed. You're talking about clichéd, stereotypical Italian football. Serie A teams were also doing just fine in the 2000's.....

What makes me laugh is that these teams bust their asses to get into the EL, call it a successful season, then go back to treating it as a smaller competition because they are then trying to make the CL or EL again. So the prestige comes from qualifying for the tournament, not actually playing in it.

Serie A has always had preference and always will do, but now the Italian teams just aren't good enough to change several players and get results, that's one of the big changes.

Having said that, the EL is still a piss poor variation of the old UEFA Cup. And UEFA are to blame for that, for continually diluting competitions with crap. Teams who finish 6th or 7th or by fair play shouldn't be qualifying for anything. They should call it the Almosts Cup.

Until the prize money and prestige is as high as the CL then the points for the EL shouldn't be the same.

Maybe they should change the schedule of Euro football, with CL on tuesday and wednesday it's too big of a step down on thursday with the EL. If they play EL on tuesday and CL on wednesday and thursday than there's more of a build up, this would boost ratings for the EL I think. Or maybe scratch the EL all together and reintroduce the cup winners cup...

The first step should be to cut the maximum amount of teams a league can have in the CL to three teams.

The last idea is a good one, there is an almost automatic amount of prestige there, as a trophy winner. It would also be a more condensed competition in theory, less games to congest the fixture list.

I know what you mean about the EL as well, it has a degree of After the Lord Mayor's Show about it.

first thing to do is get rid of all the money and make Football an Amateur Sport once again

Not many German teams left in the CL. 3 Italian teams in the KO stage, aside from the fact 2 are in runner up places could be a good season for Italian sides but Milan didn't seem to perform too well in their group.

I think they should bifurcate the coefficients between competitions. If a league has a lot of good performances in the Uefa cup, then they get more spots in that competition. However, that won't impact their spots in the CL. And vice versa.

Definitely. That would make more sense than anything.

Maybe that could be done for the top leagues, but the smaller leagues need the EL points to advance their coefficient. Otherwise, their entire league is depending on a solitary entrant in the CL.

Maybe then

For every 3 teams that you are able to place in the UEFA cup, you can convert to +1 CL and -2 UEFA. So then if a league has 1 team in the CL and 3 in Uefa, they can switch to 2 in CL and 1 in Uefa. And the max coefficients will of course be capped.

Stop moaning about the Co-efficients, JJ

everyone is in the same boat, if Italy slip to 5th or 6th, they deserve to be there.

Not that I've been moaning about them for a while, as it is a lost cause, but I disagree. CL entrants have to be based on EL points to a certain level, but the reward is far too much. It's just UEFA trying to bring prestige to a dead competition.

Italy has gone above Germany, at the half way stage of the 2011/12 season, thanks to the good CL qualification record, and also as some teams have actually progressed in the EL. Just about. It would take 3-4 years to claw the 3rd spot back though.

God Bless Lazio

Italian football is pretty much dead now, isn't it? Anytime I watch it the crowds are nearly completely empty lol

LOL

I suppose the key word there is "rusty." Please let this not be another cw...

Are you a Laziale now?

Welcome to the forum, I think Jay and you will have some fun. Not for one another mind, but the rest of us.