Ordinary Gweilo

recent posts

about

Not qualified

When English teams are successful in international competitions I usually have rather mixed feelings.  I can’t help feeling a little patriotic pride that an English team has won (even if the coach and players are actually foreigners), but I also feel some resentment towards the big clubs with the money and the fair weather fans.

I usually make an exception for Liverpool.  Rather endearingly, in spite of a being a ‘big club’ they haven’t won the Premiership or the "old" 1st Division title in living memory.  Even better, if you’re a small club in search of three points then Liverpool are often happy to oblige.  Then, just to add to the fun, Rafa Benitez will be affronted that lesser mortals should have the nerve to outplay the mighty Liverpool. 

As a result of all this, they only managed to finish fifth in the Premiership, just below Everton, who therefore qualified for next season’s Champions League. 

In spite of this, Liverpool somehow managed to win the Champions League.  The final was remarkable – in the first half they looked like the side that has been so inconsistent this season, and then somehow they scored 3 goals in about 5 minutes and finally won on penalties.   

Naturally, Liverpool think they should be allowed to defend the trophy, but inconveniently the rules say that only four teams can qualify from the Premiership, and ‘big club’ Liverpool weren’t in the top four.  Oh dear.

Captain (and actual native Liverpudlian) Steven Gerard insisted that as it is called the Champions League, the champions should be allowed to play.  Well, Steve, that’s a good argument, but I’m just wondering how Liverpool got in to the competition last year – was it by being the English champions?  No, it wasn’t – it was by finishing 4th, a long way behind the champions.

Nevertheless, it seems that UEFA will make an exception for Liverpool and let them defend the trophy.  Or, more likely, get eliminated at the first opportunity.

Posted in

4 responses to “Not qualified”

  1. fumier avatar
    fumier

    I have no sympathy for Liverpool. (Apart from the fact that I hate them anyway.) The English clubs already get more slots than their European counterparts, and – as you say – Liverpool still only made it in with the skin of their teeth for last season’s competition. The Championss League is effectively a rolling 2-year campaign – the first year being the domestic league and the second year being the European league and knockout. Liverpool simply did not make the cut on the first part of this, namely the 2004/5 English league season.
    The logic is anyway flawed: would any blub say that they had won the second division championship so they should stay in the second dividion to defend that? No – so Liverpool’s argument is just cherry picking.

    Like

    Reply
  2. weenie avatar
    weenie

    Am overjoyed that the Scousers have been allowed to defend their title. Had the answer from UEFA been no, then I would have been disappointed, but hardly devastated. With no contingency plan in place, the rules were just waiting to be broken…AGAIN!
    Liverpool performed poorly during the season in domestic games but against all odds, beat the likes of Juventus, Chelsea and AC Milan to win. True champions, no one can argue about that!

    Like

    Reply
  3. henry avatar
    henry

    I feel the real reason why liverpool were originally not allowed to compete in the euro champions league is that the europeans were fed up of having their wheels nicked every time they parked their car near a liverpool game.
    The change in decision must surely be because of the fact that Man U are in it again next year, so wheels still get nicked! (but with liverpool it was mostly hubcaps!)..so liverpool fans aren’t to blame (it’s the singaporean Man U fan base flying the flag for manchester)

    Like

    Reply
  4. fumier avatar
    fumier

    That rings true. In the UK I had my (company) car nicked by the brother of my Liverpudlian girlfriend.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment