Play off for 4th spot?

Yeah, no offense but that is a sh*t idea. Im reading it as every year, the teams close to each other would play each other off, and this could change season to season? Why complicate it so much?

Like bbb said.. as is!

I am for the system not to be changed but if the play-off system is introduced and a 7th position team is some 15+ points away from 4th position and they have a stoke of luck and win the play-off, it wont be fair for the team that actually finished 4th

How are teams such as Aston Villa ever going to get into the european cup when they need to win the league to do it? Villa are a very good side on their day but they won't win the league anytime in the near future.

This is the whole point of bringing this system in, so teams like Villa can have a shot of european cup football, get aload of money from it, put their name on the map again to attract players, sign aload of players the following season and then challenge for the title in a year or 2.

If Uefa went back to their old ways then the only way to make it fair is to put a limit on clubs spending every season. Have it 25mill max. It would also bring the valuation of players down too because when their contracts are running out and they want to leave, instead of the highest bidder placing 50mill for them like we see nowadays, it would more be like 15mill. It would also give several clubs the opportunity to sign that player too, instead of just City or Chelsea. Does that make sense?

Fazza21, you're point about giving the likes of Villa a chance by altering the qualifing format doesn't wash
Villa we're the last team from outside the 'big' 4 to win it !.
We don't want the amount of money thats in the game at the moment, we need players to play for clubs for what the players are worth and not for what they think they're worth !
All the money in the game today is going into the players and managers pockets, clubs are going into administration with monotonous regularity, it's simply not necessary !
The game in the 80's and 90's in Spain and Italy brought nothing but curruption and scandle and now its coming our way !, fetching a mountainous pile of debt with it which is slowly and surely strangling the poorer clubs into extinction !

Fazza21, you're point about giving the likes of Villa a chance by altering the qualifing format doesn't wash
Villa we're the last team from outside the 'big' 4 to win it !.
We don't want the amount of money thats in the game at the moment, we need players to play for clubs for what the players are worth and not for what they think they're worth !
All the money in the game today is going into the players and managers pockets, clubs are going into administration with monotonous regularity, it's simply not necessary !
The game in the 80's and 90's in Spain and Italy brought nothing but curruption and scandle and now its coming our way !, fetching a mountainous pile of debt with it which is slowly and surely strangling the poorer clubs into extinction !

Mate, just want to make it clear that im not actually for this idea. Far from it.

I can just understand why the idea has been brought up.

The top four will just get further and further ahead as time goes on so if this idea was introduced then teams such as villa, spurs, everton, have a chance of CL football, then they'd have more money for transfers and be able to compete more than what they do.

I think this play off thing is aload of sh*te though and personally i would prefer to see a limit on transfer fees instead. If every club in europe were only allowed to spend 25 million a season on transfers (on top of sales from their own players) then this would be fair for everybody.

Not a fan of this idea at all, but if it does go to a vote then it will happen- there's not many others who won't agree with it.

I just don't see the incentive to finish 4th if this were to happen.

And how will it be the best 4 teams playing if it's 1st, 2nd, 3rd and then 7th?

If you don't finish 4th over 38 games then you don't deserve to play with 'the best of Europe'.

Ya the best 4 is the top 4. Lets hope the FA realizes that and dont introduce the play off system

Coincidentally, or not
 
this scheme has been suggested in a year where the big 4 are not dominating quite as much, and the likes of man City are throwing 250 million at winning the title and still struggling to maintain a challenge for top 4.

harry rednap has found a way to beat the tax squad and have 4 top strikers to do his drycleaning and deliver his kids to school,  whilst martin o'neil has managed to brainwash  carew, dunne and milner into thinking they are eusebio, pele and maradonna.

the ugly ones new clown act of the (7ft bobo the clown)  was also keeping them in the picture until he fell off the tight rope.

while H&G work out new ways to milk the LFC

So if we finish below 4th, I vote for the playoff idea.   If we get our season back on track and secure 4th place I vote against.

Lets be honest, the way the English clubs have dominated the competition in recent years suggests we prob should be sending our best 6 into it.

The play off would be from the next season not this one and even after play off its not the best 6 but the best 4.

Rafa says NO!

Rafael Benitez derides Champions League play-off plan

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has laughed off the idea of a Champions League play-off, saying teams would be playing "until the end of the century".

The suggestion of a play-off between the teams who come fourth to seventh for the fourth spot has drawn mixed reviews but Benitez says it is absurd.

"We are playing too much now. They were talking about a 39th game being played in Asia," he said.

"If we now play the play-offs we'll be playing until the end of the century."

The move would need the approval of 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs to come into effect, and could not be introduced for three years because of existing television contracts.

It has been interpreted as a way of increasing competition in the Premier League, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have filled the top four positions in five out of the past six seasons.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has come out against the idea, saying "after 38 games, you have to consider the table is the table", while Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill called it "interesting" and said it was something "people might go for."

But Benitez was damning in his criticism of the idea, sarcastically suggesting it could be used at the foot of the table as well.

"To play three, maybe four fixtures, when you don't have time with international football - when will you play, how can you play these games and what does it mean for the team that finishes fourth?," stated Benitez.

"Maybe we can do the same with the teams at the bottom of the table. If you finish fourth maybe you could play with the team who finished third from the bottom.

"Then during the whole season we can play 50 games and we don't have to rest so that will be fantastic."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8520653.stm

And thats what I voted, and good enough for me.

You can watch the video here:

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5955745,00.html

I'm F***ing pissing myself. Sarcasm is spot on.

Absolutely brilliant yet again.

Ya gotta love the man, fantastic response

You have gotta love Rafa. The way he responds to the question are fantastic.

I tend to agree with Rafa. I can understand why they are discussing it (dominance of the top 4) but it wouldn't make any sense to introduce it.

Well in Rafa!

Top stuff yet again!

BBC Sport - Football - Rafael Benitez derides Champions League play-off plan

Well in Rafa spot on yet again, I mentioned in another thread that there is already too many games played in one season, T he amount of games needs to be reduced not increased, Top teams inc LFC  are struggling to field their best eleven and therefore reducing the quality of football to be seen by the paying fans, Everyone wants to see there hero's play for their team in every match and barring injuries or illness that should be the case, If say the EPL was reduced to say 16 teams reducing the number of league games to 30 that would allow for a mid-winter break and to let players rest and refresh for the second half of the season, Especially those sides in the latter stages of the Champs league and of the Europa league, It all makes sense to me what do you all think ? T he powers that be are all for robbing the ordinary working man of his football and thats one of the reasons why the likes of the prawn sandwich brigade exist, IMO, Leave the 4th spot as it is the club that finishes in that position deserves to be there.  End of.

Nice on Rafa, everything he said is true

Clearly had my head in the clouds when i voted on this ,its just the league trying to wring more money out of us fans.  And nothing to do with the football ,english rugby has something similar but in, that it is to find the champion at the end of the season ,you could go all season and not lose a game and still come second its a right old farce ,its just people chasing the dollar.

Stupid idea this one ! by having play offs for fourth place there is no point in a club trying to better themselves in the premiership when they have a shot at champions league places,to clarify this point a club that cannot possibly enter the top 4 places normally could gain a very lucrative series of matches and the teams who work their socks off all season to gain a top 4 spot get absolutely nothing ? sounds like an Andy Gray /Andy Townsend type idea ....crap !

S**te idea, just another reason for the game to fleece even more money out of the fan's.
Martin O Neill, Harry Redknapp and "The Chosen One" would go along with it though only chance they would have of getting into the champions league

There are other ways to make the league more competitive and equal without playoffs and adding more games to teams already playing too many. If they do decide to add a 4th place playoff then maybe incorporate the Carling Cup winner as the team to play for the 4th spot. 

Has anyone ever considered a "Salary Cap" and revenue sharing.?  It can add parity and give small market teams a chance to compete and sign the big name players. It keeps costs down for the teams and fans.

Funny how all the managers like Moyes and Oneill are interested in this.
The only way they could get into the champions league is through a crappy "knicked from the championship" idea.

Maybe we should also have a play off for who wins the league?

That way, if we finish 4th, we'd get to have a play off to finish 4th, and then a play off with man u arsenal and chelsea to see who wins the league.

I should have that job working for the FA in no time

Rafa is the most sarcastic b***ard in football.

And i F***ing love it

He was very diplomatic though as well, which is what i liked. He said at one point "What if Villa finish fourth..." saying basically that he isn't only thinking of Liverpool, and taking away any way the press could say "only thinking of themselves" or anything. As a whole, damn well played Rafa.

And F***ing funny in his own way as well

He said at one point "What if Villa finish fourth..."

Didn't say that about Everton though, did he? Mentioned a possible 7th place finish for them, I think.