Imagine an article which included the following, ‘There’s a chance that Justin Timberlake might include a song about his love for tennis in a new album’. Ridiculous isn’t it?

 It’s agreed the content is ridiculous in itself but I mostly want to draw attention to the fact that it’s boring, lacking in any fact, highly unlikely and ultimately pointless all at the same time. So consider this as content in another article, ‘Cesc Fabregas and Mario Balotelli in possible swap deal’. Again, lacking in any fact, highly unlikely, and ultimately pointless journalism. The difference between the two? The latter is a headline from a genuine article appearing on a genuine, well-respected, football website.

The Timberlake example is really to illustrate a point. In no other industry, apart from football, is the perpetuation of such ridiculous rumour tolerated and so common. Football transfers rumours are unhelpful, mostly untrue and frankly, I don’t understand why they engage the slightest bit of interest from football fans. I’d like to see the back of them. Would you read articles under the headline ‘Weather Rumours’ or ‘Political Rumours’?

 The summer transfer window is the worst. Far away from the football action, June and July’s sports pages are laced with transfer rumours. To what purpose do these ‘articles’ serve? They deliver no form of news or intrigue, and rarely are they accurate or correct. Say what you like about how this reflects journalism in general, but the point remains.

The winter window is slightly more bearable in England, because of the lack of winter break journalists are pre-occupied with football news on the pitch. However, I’m guessing in the countries of major European leagues with winter breaks, it’s like summer all over again. Football is so diverse, so interesting and so multi-faceted that is really seems completely misplaced to talk about the highly improbable transfer of Sergio Aguero to Real Madrid this January for example, instead of Quique Sanchez Flores’ impact at Atletico, or Los colchoneros dismal league position.

I’m not saying I do not want to hear about actual football transfers that have taken place, to be honest, nothing interests me more, but in regards to football transfers, I just don’t think it constitutes as news if it hasn’t taken place yet. Given the track record of most transfer rumours reliability, I think they constitute as a simple waste of time, and column inches.

 It’s almost unbelievable how wrong these rumours are. If you’re still sitting there thinking transfer rumour provides an important and accurate source of news then let me explain how some of them get there. Many of the rumours are simply plants by football agents. Players who would love a pay rise, but haven’t quite got the leverage to do so will simply have their agent’s plant rumours in the press about a club being interested in their services.

Suddenly the player has a bargaining chip. ‘You need to offer me a new contract or I’m going to X, you’ve no doubt read it in the papers that their interested’ says the player. Or, ‘we need to offer X a contract or he’ll go to Y’, says one board member to another. His club will then bend over backwards to ensure he stays. Agents have been doing it for their clients for years and it works. This process alone shows they are pure fabrication. Branislav Ivanovic, who was linked to Real Madrid recently, is being offered a new contract this summer. My case in point.

 So this January I ask that you avoid reading these rumours, if only as an experiment to begin with, and then after January consider what you have lost. I doubt it will be much.

 You really have to wonder about those who write the stories, and how much they really know about football. I saw today that Sebastien Frey has stated publically that he will not be leaving Fiorentina for Manchester United, contrary to recent reports. Contrary to recent reports! Who wrote such a stupid report? Which football journalist would happily accept that Manchester United are in the market for a new goalkeeper? Someone was obviously convinced of it enough to write it in an article regarding the matter and presumably was very happy to do so. If, as a football journalist, I heard that Frey was going to join Manchester United but that it was just a rumour then that last thing I’d do would be to run to my editor and get it included in a newspaper or magazine.

The logical thing to do would be to think – ‘Manchester United’s first choice goalkeeper is one of the best in the world, although he is currently quite old he is showing no signs of retirement, and is contracted to stay at United until summer 2010. This being said, although Kuszczak and Foster are not as good they are both well capable of replacing van der Sar if given a chance. Frey is 30 in March, so there are younger ‘keepers who would surely be looked at first, Fiorentina have no reason to sell Frey. I think I’ll hold back on this story as it doesn’t seem likely. If I published it, I could look a bit stupid when it doesn’t happen.’

This thought process didn’t take place for some reason. Presumably for the same reasons that simple logical thinking did not rule out the Fabregas Balotelli swap deal, and it made it to print.

 I don’t think people should read or write these stories anymore. If a source of information is so often incorrect then it surely cannot be trusted. Let’s concern ourselves with transfers when they do happen, and let the football managers worry about the transfers that are only possible. As I have previously stated, I really don’t think we’re missing much by ignoring them.

 But if you’re still craving a transfer rumour or two before you give them up altogether then here is some I made earlier. I assure you, they’re at least as accurate as the rumours you’ll read this January.

Tom Brady – New England Patriots -> Manchester City

Gary Cook hasn’t denied any links to Tom Brady, perhaps his silence speaks volumes. Manchester City need someone to organise their team slightly better on the pitch and Brady might just be their man. With money being no problem it’s hard to see the American turning down a move to Eastlands. A spokesperson (with no connections to either Manchester City or New England Patriots) said ‘Tom Brady plays football. So do Manchester City. It’s quite irrelevant that American football is a totally different sport – watch this space’.

It’s thought a fee in the region of £200 million should be enough to tempt Brady and if Manchester City can qualify for the Europa League (either through fair play or league position) and win the League Cup then, coupled with the reported 117 million they’ve already paid out, it will be money well spent.

 Bargain player offered to Arsenal, plays the ‘Arsenal Way’.

It is thought that Arsene Wenger has been offered exactly the kind of player Arsenal need at a very reasonable price. Rumours are that Wenger will decline to make a bid however, he wants to do it his own way don’t you know. In other totally unrelated news, Felipe Melo is after a new club. He states he wants to play in England, more specifically London. ‘I’d love play for a club in North London, who wear red and white and match my style of play’, he said. No suitors come to mind.

 Sol Campbell – Free Agent -> Notts County

You must be joking, that’s totally unbelievable. Oh, wait……

 Jeroen Ketting – KVSK United -> Liverpool

I don’t know who he is either, but Rafael Benitez seems to think he’ll be great. In Rafa we trust….

 Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United -> Real Madrid

It seems this one has already happened. Let’s hope Sir Alex uses that 80 million wisely and gets a great replacement. I hope he doesn’t just pretend it’ll all be fine and consistently blame referees for Manchester United defeats as opposed to the fact his squad is significantly weaker this year. Hold on, it seems that has already happened too.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

This article is not a slight on the perceived fickle nature of today’s players. Everton fans should not take this as an intentional attempt to drag up memories of Joleon Lescott’s departure. I do not seek to address where defenders will be in terms of transfers next year, but where on the pitch.

There is a definite shift in a centre-backs current role in world football, of which there are various examples. I suppose it would be appropriate for the first example to fall in the feet of Gerard Pique. He’s certainly a great player (and perhaps my favourite in football) but it is not for the simple reason of his obvious ability.

Asking yourself why he didn’t succeed at Manchester United is ultimately pointless, the difference between a Manchester United centre-back and a Barcelona centre-back is huge. The true reason why players like Pique are well liked by football fans is because Pique doesn’t just do something for Barcelona, he does something for football; by evolving it.

The centre-back is fast becoming a player that has found responsibilities further up the pitch in attack and perhaps, in few cases, has found responsibilities that entail threatening the opposition’s goal. This is especially (if not exclusively) true for a centre-back in a 4-4-2.

I think the offside rules constant revision has made a big contribution to the way centre-backs, and backlines in general, have acted in the past. The latest altering of the offside law has meant no attacker can be trusted as being definitely offside as he may be perceived as inactive which has meant the defensive line is deeper, and the offside trap almost defunct.

But this change does not explain why centre-backs have started to attack more; it only explains how they act when the opposition has the ball.

Centre-backs have started to attack more because they no longer have a forward to mark, or to mark them in return. This is best represented in teams who play two centre-backs against those teams who play a single forward. A 4-4-1-1 versus a 4-5-1 or Mourinho-style 4-3-3 is a good example, but as long as there are two central defenders it doesn’t matter what the formation.

While the full-backs pick up those out wide on the right and left and one centre back takes care of the opposing forward, what is the other centre-back to do? The process is reversed when this defending team launches an attack. One centre-back has the freedom to go forward almost constantly if he wishes, unless picked up by a midfielder or deeper-lying striker.

You can bet that if it is Gerard Pique who’s involved, the opposition will be so preoccupied with reinforcing their midfield and defence against Messi and co. that he’ll get all the freedom he needs. With his range of passing the space he is allowed can be deadly to the opposition.

There are claims that Pique is a resurrected sweeper, but I don’t think that’s the case, certainly not defensively. The way he carries the ball up the pitch has earned him the portmanteau-nickname ‘Piquenbauer’ after the fabulous sweeper Franz Beckenbauer. But Beckenbauer was chiefly part of a back five in his playing days in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and had the luxury of being an auxiliary player in both defence and attack.

Pique still has a defensive duty to do however limited those duties are because of thin forward lines. It’s obvious the more attacking players a team fields against Barcelona, the more Barcelona struggle. Their game at the Mestalla this season was a great example of this point. This also reveals how important Pique’s job is in the development of attacking play at Barcelona.

I suggest (and hope) that we will see more of Pique’s breed as long as the decline of a two man frontline persists. It’s a shame for fans of classic strike partnerships but a think its good news in general for football itself as build up play becomes more diverse. I would be genuinely pleased to hear suggestions of a two –man front line playing in the world at a high-level today (not because I think it can’t be done, I would be genuinely interested).

 Thin forward lines are something which is not exclusive to teams playing against the like of Barcelona and Chelsea (watch John Terry, he’s also started to push up the field during Chelsea’s attacking phases), the art of playing without a convention striker is slowly gaining pace. Soon, perhaps both centre-backs will have no one to mark. Two obvious examples revolve around Roma. Luciano Spalletti’s 4-6-0 (about which I have found a surprising amount of people who either know nothing or simply laugh it off as ludicrous) was a definite step in a striker-less direction.

Born from necessity, successful almost by accident, the 4-6-0 deployed Francesco Totti as a lone-striker, it was Totti’s inclination to drop back to his familiar trequartista role that gave the formation fluidity. When Totti did this there was space for those marginally behind him to come forward, the word ‘vacuum’ best explains that space.

Manchester United used this formation also, directly borrowed from Roma, and really improved on Spalletti’s idea but now Ronaldo and Tevez have left it appears that brief experiment is now over. The experiment had perhaps its best result against Roma in fact, with a 7-1 victory against them at Old Trafford in 2007.

David Moyes also had the problem of no fit strikers last season, so fielded two players who would drop back like Totti, but alternatively, in Fellaini and Cahill. I think Moyes’ version is the most intriguing, and maybe the more practical. The idea revolves around a defenders confusion as to whether to follow the forward player up the pitch as he retreats, or pick up the player who is advancing in the space. It makes the 4-6-0 very hard to defend. But given that 4-6-0 has only found a home in teams with injury-hit squads it has a very limited shelf life and no one appears tempted to take it on full-time.

Manchester United were the first to take up the formation by choice, but do not have the players to replicate it any time soon. It does seem to be becoming a recognised option however, and Moyes have proved this.

To summarise, I don’t think many formations will contain a classic front two for some time and this has certainly been reflected since the beginning of the 21^st century. Fabio Capello has stated he feels all modern formations are a something like a 1-9-1. Including the goalkeeper, Capello states that there is always one player with only defensive responsibilities (the goalkeeper), always one player with only attacking responsibilities (the lone striker) and the 9 in between have mixed roles to both attack and defend. A good example is Spain: Casillas-everyone else-David Villa.

If these trends are to carry on then, as I said before, Pique’s model will be one that is followed. I’d like to draw on the example of Pepe’s goal against Turkey at Euro 2008 as perhaps a glimpse into the future. The ideas success depends on a manager’s confidence to implement that ‘creative centre-back’ role effectively, and also the technical ability of the player in question. For now it will be the bigger teams who use this role more effectively but I’m certainly hoping it will spread down.

One thing is for sure, assessing the evolution of football formations is a dangerous game. A sudden gust could change the whole direction of the prevailing wind. The possibility of a centre-backs wandering more and more up the field in a very plausible one although it’s only in its most earnest forms. However formations evolve in the coming years, in terms of centre-backs, I’d advise you to watch this space (pun intended).

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Let’s remind ourselves of the roller coaster ride that the fans of 1. FSV Mainz 05 have been on during the summer of 2009. In March this year, the Mainzer were forced to say goodbye to their influential midfielder Markus Feulner who had signed a pre-contract deal with Borussia Dortmund after impressive displays for the second tier side. The ride had only just begun.

The high for the Mainz 05 fans was definitely in May this year; their five wins in the last six league games guaranteed them the runner-up spot in the 2. Bundesliga and ensured their promotion to the German top flight for the first time in two seasons. The low then, was the realisation of the task that lay ahead under manager Jørn Andersen. This was made even harder by the departure of the aforementioned Feulner.

They had, in truth, fought hard for promotion and it was not understated that Mainz 05 would do well to avoid the drop. Their plight was echoed the world over by newly promoted teams, and Mainz 05 needed a solution. One was found in something of a transfer coup, not a huge one, but a coup nonetheless. ‘The Austrian David Beckham’ and ex- national captain Andreas Ivanschitz was a Panathinaikos midfielder who had found himself surplus to requirements at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium and Mainz 05 set up a loan exchange that would bring him to the 0-fives for the duration of the season.

Things were looking up and, although not a great deal was expected of Ivanschitz, it was a step in the right direction. Filip Trojan and Eugan Polanski were drafted in as well, both no stranger to the Bundesliga. But the ultimate low proved just round the corner when their manager Andersen attended a meeting with the club officials to establish goals for the new season.

Whether he was sacked or resigned is unclear, but the result of that meeting meant Mainz 05 and Andersen parted company as they were staring down the barrel of a tough season. Mainz 05 officials claimed he had been fired, but it seemed more mutual that anything else.

Regardless, the timing of Andersen’s departure was terrible and Mainz 05 were in no position to entice a new manager to the club with the unenviable task of avoiding the drop. Coupled then with a distinct lack of spending power it was clear that an in-house appointment needed to be made. Thomas Tuchel, the coach in charge of the Mainz 05 under-19 set up, was considered the answer.

Tuchel had not only never coached professionally at any club, but, at 36, was still younger than an AC Milan defender. The implication that Mainz’s afflictions were unique, or unprecedented is not the way their position should be interpreted and to be honest there were other stronger candidates for relegation, but the fact is that not a great deal was expected of Mainz 05 this year even with Jørn Andersen in charge. Coupled with the departure of their best player and the employment of a rookie manager, and things suddenly begin to look very shaky indeed.

Thomas Tuchel was always a highly rated as a coach by Mainz 05, who always maintained that he would lead the first team one day. The day, Mainz 05 officials said, had just come sooner than they had thought. And what a day it has turned out to be. Mainz 05 lie a lofty 8^th in the Bundesliga after round 11, and this includes several impressive results along the way.

They took a point from budding champions Leverkusen, a further three points from the historical champions Bayern Munich, and a hard fought point at current champions Wolfsburg last weekend in a 3-3 draw away from home. Tuchel is a sort of ‘German Guardiola’ in his success story (minus the historic treble). His coaching philosophy is one of progress. Summarised, Tuchel wanted his team to be ‘tough to play – especially at home’.

Mainz 05 and Tuchel have been true to their word and they remain undefeated at home in the Stadion am Bruchweg. If the league was formed of home points alone, Mainz 05 would be second. Their away form lets them down however, something Tuchel can perhaps address with the time and patience that his success has afforded him. He can at least rely on Ivanschitz to score goals, who is joint 2^nd in the top scorers chart with 6. I think Mainz 05 fans would fret if Aristide Bance’s contribution didn’t receive a mention also; if only for his unique hair style.

Mainz 05 stick chiefly to a 4-2-3-1 but Tuchel has been known to change this around given some recent injury problems. I think we’re all too aware of the tactical position the Bundesliga encourages. Fortune does tend to favour the brave (which, incidentally, could explain Hertha Berlin’s current predicament), and Mainz 05 are nothing if not brave.

What lies next we just don’t know. Mainz 05 are by no means the first team to become promoted into, and perform well in, the Bundesliga; just ask Hoffenheim and Kaiserslautern. Described in the past as ‘first season syndrome’, it would be just as easy to completely drop off in terms of competing next season or even next year. I think it would be avoiding this that would earn Tuchel considerable credit and considerable fans. But for now keep your eye on Mainz 05, because Thomas Tuchel going from strength to strength. Mainz 05 have to remain grounded however and no one is thinking of the Europa League just yet, are they?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

So a new President and around 250 million pounds later, Real Madrid find themselves in exactly the same position as they were at the end of Bernd Schuster’s ill-fated rated reign in 2008.

With the loss at Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey all Real Madrid’s match day personnel have been thrown into the spot-light as, when coupled with the suspect draw at Sporting Gijon, the Real Madrid express train has, temporarily at least, ran out of steam. Or at least that is how one would expect to read a post-mortem of Real Madrid’s defeat to a third division team last Tuesday night.

So cue the alternate views in reaction to the defeat to Alcorcon. Some will jump to defend Real Madrid and claim that when Ronaldo returns everything will be fine. Others will state that Real Madrid are simply stuttering and a few changes should set it all right. Extreme views could call for Pellegrini’s head, a violent reaction I think you’ll agree but if rumours are to be believed he has one game to save his job.

These reactions are inevitable and opinions that are formed as a result come in great variety but all they really do is distract from the real issue and give a microscopic view of what should be a bigger picture. The fact is, with their size in mind, Real Madrid are one of the most poorly run clubs in Europe, from the top to the bottom.

I’m not really interested in what the loss to Alcorcon should mean. The reasons for the loss to the aforementioned minnows were obvious, and I will not be dwelling on them. I’m more concerned with using it as an excuse to shine a large and burning spotlight on Real Madrid as an institution. Since the day Florentino Perez arrived at the club Real Madrid have acted like, and I shall borrow John Carlin’s description, a 13 year old child who has found a money cheat on Championship Manager.

The talks of the sacking of Manuel Pellegrini, one of Europe’s best coaches, and the attempts to scape-goat and lay blame at the feet of other people is getting ridiculous even by Real Madrid’s ‘standards’. Florentino Perez has ridiculously asked for patience from the fans. Patience, why? It seems panic has already set in and Perez wants to find a solution.

From the intention to sell a place in the team to entrepreneurs with a boyhood dream, to opening a theme park in honour of the ‘galacticos’ Real Madrid has done all sorts that should attract condemnation from all corners of the football world under this man.

I have no idea of the inner workings of ‘the White House’ but whether it is too autocratic or some ridiculous form of delegation the clubs seems to bounce from crisis to crisis and do very little about it. They seem to have been in a perpetual state of either panic buying or fire-sales which have meant the team has lacked any stability. They also never address these problems in-house. They usually just sack their manager to appear to their ever demanding fans that they are doing something about the problems the club is having and call it a new era, only to struggle on to the same problem that they always had a few months down the line.

Results on the pitch have always been priority number one for Real Madrid so if things are going well for them in the league then not many questions are asked. Spending so big this summer seems to suggest that Florentino Perez wanted to guarantee success on the pitch while he had time to look at the situation within the club, maybe he thought if results remained positive then he could avoid looking altogether. I think that even though they may win the league this year, massive upheavals should be made to prevent any problems from reoccurring.

One major problem in the past has been their shameless treatment of staff, both players and coaches. Selling or sacking a player or manager by a club the size of Real Madrid often suggests that the person departing couldn’t handle being at such a big club, or wasn’t good enough.

This assumption is often wrong in terms of Real Madrid who have used this position as a comfort zone to avoid criticism. What is often more apparent is that the player they have sold wasn’t needed in first place, and the manager they sacked had no time, freedom or option to run the club as he would want it and could only go so far. Managers and players do not become bad over-night.

Real Madrid have a proven track record of treating staff appallingly yet they still remain the number one destination for the majority of top players in the world and I cannot understand why. Take the Dutch quartet at Real Madrid last year, Arjen Robben, Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart. They were all drafted in, some un-needed (van der Vaart), some bought to appease fans (Huntelaar and all of them quickly jettisoned when the next president came along.

They were made to look stupid by the club this summer as they were shopped out to the highest bidder. Players and managers who have known nothing but upwards in their careers suddenly find themselves churned out  by a club they should never have been at in the first place and find themselves set back for years as they shoulder the blame, some never recover.

Their transfer policy exacerbates this, they mostly buy players because they are talented with little attention given to the position they play. Is Benzema really any better than Higuain? Last season, Sergio Ramos claimed he’d love it if the club bought a right sided midfielder to share the load while Arjen Robben was (constantly) injured, did they listen? They bought Lassana Diarra and Klass-Jan Huntelaar.

Those purchases also represent a glaring lack of any organisation when Real Madrid realised that only one of those two could be registered for the Champions League. Presumably their legal team were instantly sold on, and expensive replacements brought in.

The treatment extends to the untouchables too, Ronaldo and Beckham were made examples of when they signed pre-contract deals with other clubs (granted that was Capello’s decision, put the point remains) and Capello also admitted that Raul was very close to being loaned out or sold during his time there.

The issues I have raised may have been mistakes of the past and they may never repeat them, but I still feel they should be held accountable for their wrong-doings. How many careers have they ruined as they suck dry football’s talent pool? Despite all this, I’ve never heard too much criticism slung their way. Sure they have lost to Alcorcon, but have the real issues been sorted?

Winning La Liga or Champions League this year would really only paper over the cracks. But who would care about the delicate sensibilities of any football player or manager, sold or current, if they win the Champions League? Someone should, and they can’t keep treating players this way. Their attitude to their youth players always baffled me also. They don’t seem to be able to ascertain the current or potential level of ability of any of their players who graduate from the academy. They usually sell their players on to other clubs then exercise a buy-back-clause; it’s a common charade for a club who should know better.

Their attitude to selling the majority of their academy players caused their talented youth manager Michel to resign in 2008 as Juan Mata and Ruben de la Red left for pastures new. Juan Mata, in the #10 shirt, scored for Valencia last weekend against Almeria and is one of Spain’s brightest stars. How could they have not realised his talent? Or allowed him to leave? They were so busy chasing Huntelaar when Michel resigned, I doubt they noticed that either.

So when Florentino Perez won the election change should have been afoot as the majority of these mistakes happened under Ramon Calderon. But the recent talk about Pellegrini losing his job somehow makes me think that maybe Real Madrid will never change at all. Real Madrid has been described as a circus in the past. Maybe this circus should leave town.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Remember that fabulous Parma team that lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999?

Led then by manager Alberto Malesani the team was made up of superb talent from the back to the front. A young Gainluigi Buffon kept goal, protected by a back three of Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Nestor Sensini. Their attacking lines included the creativity of Juan Veron, covered by the combative Dino Baggio, and Hernan Crespo to put the chances away.

I only bring up the case of the formidable team Parma entered into the UEFA Cup that year because of one simple question: of the clubs that now qualify for the UEFA Europa League, could you ever imagine a team with such talent winning the tournament under its new guise?

The delusion of inclusion

A major answer to this question starts with UEFA. The qualification boundaries for the tournament are far too broad. It seems the inclusive policies of Michel Platini in regards to the European club competitions is an attempt to force TV money around the lesser clubs to prevent, or stifle, the financial power becoming exclusive to a select few clubs at the top of Europe’s more lucrative leagues.

This, on the face of it, seems a genuine attempt to make European football more diverse. The inclusion of Debrecen, Unirea Urziceni and APOEL in this years Champions League is testament to this. The reality however is that the teams that are entered into this year’s Champions League, especially from Europe’s biggest leagues (Spain, England and Italy) make those teams that are entered into the UEFA Europa League underneath ill equipped to compete in Europe.

Coupled with this, those who enter into the tournament from smaller leagues are usually never in a financial position to have a squad that is capable of competing either. When the UEFA Europa League was known as the UEFA Cup it suffered from some serious credibility issues and the rebranding of the tournament will mean nothing if UEFA don’t change their policy about who qualifies.

European football should be about the spectacle of two great teams competing with the stadium, squad, and financial stability to cope.

The UEFA Europa League fixtures being held on a Thursday (presumably because UEFA recognise the matches would lose the ratings war with any half-decent Champions League game on a Tuesday or Wednesday) only makes this worse for the clubs competing domestically. It means that they have to travel across several time-zones to play a game of a poor standard, then travel back to their own country for a match on either Saturday or Sunday.

Imagine the kind of mental energy the players have when they return. Fulham’s performance in the Premier League this year acts of a perfect example.

Domestic (financial) survival over european (footballing) glory

The UEFA Europa League has to be a more exclusive if it is to gain any kind of respect. One argument could be that the teams from Italy, Spain and England are not taking the competition seriously and as a result blame is placed firmly at their feet for the shortcomings of the quality of matches. But what choice do they have?

Take Tottenham Hotspur who participated in last years UEFA Cup for example. Juande Ramos had left the team struggling for points in the early stages of the Premier League and when Harry Redknapp arrived he had to focus on survival and later moving up the Premier League, this left no place for his more important players during the UEFA Cup tournament and we saw Dean Parrett, John Bostock and Jonathan Obika take to the field.

To a lesser extent the same can be said of Aston Villa this year and last year. AC Milan also did the same when playing Portsmouth at Fratton Park in 2008, as did Bayern Munich elsewhere.

The best example for me is the aforementioned position of Fulham and the team they announced to play CSKA Sofia. Fulham had a fantastic year in the Premier League last year finishing a lofty 7th but Fulham are a team in no way equipped to compete with the demands of Europe this year. Their Premiership position is not guaranteed and neither is there Premier League status (they currently find themselves in 15th) and yet because of the entry requirements for the UEFA Europa League they find themselves due in the Stadio Olympico on the 5th of November.

The issue remains, because the UEFA Europa League is so inclusive the teams from the three big leagues find themselves fighting too-big-a-battle on the domestic front to compete in Europe. The UEFA Europa League’s one saving grace means it still suffers a crisis of integrity. The fact is the majority of the teams in the UEFA Europa League do not have the facilities to compete in Europe.

Granted, there are exceptions. Bayern Munich were involved in the tournament in 2007, Milan the year after that in, and Roma and Valencia have entered this year. This has mostly been down to poor domestic form however, which can never be accounted for. Some credibility is given to the tournament in the form of Champions League drop-outs also.

The cups inception was to create of competition for domestic league runners-up and that is how it should have remained. The spectacle has completely disappeared and serves usually to hinder teams taking part. Winning the tournament offers little prize money, and even less prestige.

It’s a radical step to abolish it, but what purpose does it serve? It creates no great exhibition, and offers very little intrigue apart from the fans of the teams taking part. It’s a cut throat attitude I know, but the Champions League is surely inclusive enough to satisfy the European club calendar.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News