The Europa League - who cares?

FSG could bring him in, except they won't as long as that f**king Harley driving c**t is fronting the club, FACT!

I don't need a f**king lecture, I choose to chat on a forum about Rafa and how he'll always be a better manager than BR - that's just a FACT!

I'll still go and pay my season ticket and support the team and by extension the manager. Doesn't stop me talking about a former LIVERPOOL MANAGER THAT WON THE EUROPEAN CUP!

When Brendan does anything of note - I'll talk about him in the same way - as of yet he's won f**k all!

, you're one angry man.  Suit yourself, I care little, but Rafa will not return to LFC.  That my friend is a FACT.

, you're one angry man.  Suit yourself, I care little, but Rafa will not return to LFC.  That my friend is a FACT.

I said that in the first line you quoted, might care to read properly! Rafa will never work at our club as long as Ian Ayre is here, see I've typed it again for you, read that and realise I've already accepted we're never going back to what we were under Rafa. We got owners and MD who are happy taking our cash, putting out a lot of nice PR spin through the Pravda like Liverpool Echo and club tv channel, without doing very little. We've got a manager that may or may not come good, but at least we're playing pretty football!!

I'm not angry, that's just your take on my creative language, but the point still stands Rafa wins trophies, Brendan hasn't. FACT!

Lets put things in perspective here, unless we get a bilionaire owner, we will not compete.....fact.

You cannot compete with the Chavs and citeh of this world, unless you want to go massively into debt.

These playboys will not always be there though and when they decide to leave they will want a pretty penny back

UEFA is set to announce on Friday a change to Europa League rules that will award the winners a place in the Champions League - but it is as yet unclear what afftect it could have on teams who qualify via league position.

Atletico Madrid won the Europa League in 2012, which would have elevated them to the Champions League
GettyImagesAtletico Madrid won the Europa League in 2012, which would have elevated them to the Champions League

The regulations of European competition run on a three-year cycle, the latest of which began in 2012. Any changes agreed will not take effect for another two seasons, meaning the winners of the 2015 Europa League final in Warsaw would be the first beneficiaries.

UEFA's executive committee, meeting in London ahead of the Champions League final, is eager to find a way to add greater importance to the Europa League amid concerns that teams from some of the major leagues do not take the competition - which replaced the UEFA Cup in 2009 - seriously enough.

The organisation's president Michel Platini has criticised French clubs' attitude to the competition, with Marseille, runners-up to Valencia in Gothenburg in the 2004 UEFA Cup, the only side to make the final of the top two competitions in the last 14 seasons.

Clubs in Italy, who used to dominate European football's secondary competition, rarely make any kind of impact, with Parma the last Italian team to reach the final, beating Marseille in Moscow in 1999.

UEFA will also consider raising to five the limit on the number of sides from one association in the Champions League, having for many years ruled that there should be a maximum of four.

Increasing the number of teams from the major nations would go against Platini's masterplan to make the Champions League more accessible to teams from smaller nations, which enabled clubs such as APOEL Nicosia to make giant strides. There is likely to be opposition to England, Germany and Spain being allowed a fifth participant.

The only time this number has been exceeded was in 2005, when Liverpool won the Champions League but finished fifth in the Premier League.

UEFA then had no rule to cover the Champions League winners not also qualifying via their league position. The Premier League insisted it would still enter the top four league clubs, meaning UEFA was forced to create a space in the first qualifying round for Liverpool, with no country protection for the Anfield club in the draws. This resulted in Liverpool and Chelsea both being drawn in Group G - a first for the competition.

But UEFA closed that loophole the same summer, ruling that if the Champions League winners come from an association that has four places, but that team finished outside the top four in the league, then the fourth-placed team drops into the Europa League. Spurs therefore played in the Europa League in the current campaign despite finishing fourth last season after Chelsea won the Champions League but finished sixth in the league.

If UEFA does not increase the maximum number of teams from one association from four to five, then a change to the Europa League regulations could impact on the nations that have four places via their domestic league - currently England, Germany and Spain.

Atletico Madrid, for instance, won the Europa League in 2012 but then only finished fifth in La Liga. With a limit of four clubs per country, Atletico winning a place in the Champions League would have relegated Malaga into the Europa.

The situation becomes further complicated should clubs from outside the top four of one league win both the Champions League and Europa League. The teams finishing in third and fourth would therefore have to compete in the Europa League the following season. It is highly improbable, though, that UEFA would ever permit six clubs from one association to enter the Champions League.

What is certain is that if the Europa League winners have already qualified for the Champions League, then the Europa League runners-up will not be entitled to enter the elite competition.

It has also been announced that the 2015 Champions League final will be played in the German city of Berlin, with the Europa League final in Warsaw, Poland.

Interesting article....  It theoretically would present us with a potential back door into the CL if we fail to break into the top 4 in either of the next two seasons.  No doubt our owners will be looking at it as such, and if we end up finishing in the Europa League places this time next year, it will likely be the Cup competition that we place the most value in during the 2014-2015 campaign.

It's pretty much confirmed by the looks of things. The Europa League winners will gain entry to the Champions League as of next season.

I was disapointed not to qualify this season. I think the option to blood so many of the younger players in this year's competition was VERY beneficial and hopefully we will reap the benefits in the coming years.

I'm guessing there is no chance of us getting in via the fairplay league anymore? I think the EPL was 4th in the table for fairest league in Europe and it needed to be in the top 3. I would have happily gone into the comp via that route. Beats playing a bunch of money driven friendlies the other side of the world.

It's pretty much confirmed by the looks of things. The Europa League winners will gain entry to the Champions League as of next season.

2014/15 season.

I heard that the Fa were planning on doing the same with the FA cup not sure how true this is !

 Good idea, but I am quite sure most winner qualify through there league position

Think a lot more people will care now that theirs a Champions League spot up for grabs! Would of been good if the two finalists got into it but still think it will make it a lot more competitive now which is good. 

I heard that the Fa were planning on doing the same with the FA cup not sure how true this is !

That would be great too but then again that would mean relegated Wigan would be in the Champions League

Europa League winners going into the Champions League will probably save that competition dying a death.

It should make teams take the competition more seriously with something worthwhile as the prize.