If you are first, you are first. If you are second, you are nothing. The current Liverpool regime may not quite share Bill Shankly’s belief as they reside in sixth place in the Barclays Premier League, desperately attempting to claw their way up to fourth. Rafa Benitez has guaranteed that the denouement of this drama will indeed see the Reds finish inside the top four, thus collecting the final lucrative Champions League spot. However, they face stiff competition. Tottenham Hotspur currently hold the greatly coveted position, with Manchester City level on points with the North Londoners in fifth. Aston Villa emphatically defeated their Claret and Blue brothers on Sunday when Burnley visited Villa Park, whilst Everton’s comfortable victory over Manchester United led to suggestions that they could sneak in and steal fourth. With three different teams (and, vitally, Liverpool were not among the trio) occupying the illustrious rank within the space of four and a half hours yesterday, when better to remark that the Premier League is too predictable and announce plans to introduce a play-off tournament to determine the recipient of the final Champions League place?
It would appear admirable if motives were disregarded. If the Premier League presented these plans to make an honest attempt to level the playing field and stop further monopolisation by Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, it may be worth considering. Sadly, yet unsurprisingly, that is not the case. A series of play-off matches featuring the four teams finishing between fourth and seventh would entail five extra spectacles for Sky to hyperbolise, as well as allowing them to attach a brand name to the event, not dissimilar to their recent decision to ridiculously christen Wayne Rooney The Last of the Street Footballers. The Premier League, run by Richard Scudamore, is driven by money and, just like the ludicrous suggestion of a thirty-ninth game, their intentions are arguably far from the issues of morality that some naively believe.
It was cited as a reason for the possible addition of a play-off system, and the Premier League’s intense desire to remain ahead of their Spanish counterparts is extremely puzzling. As home to the European Champions and a host of big name players, La Liga could already be seen as superior, despite Sky’s constant smothering of viewers with the words Best League in the World to describe England’s top division. For excitement, the Bundesliga is hard to beat, and other European leagues are often ignorantly overlooked. Yet such comparisons are needless: all of these competitions are different. To translate into Scudamore’s language, La Liga is a supplementary good to the Premier League. The English game is quicker than what is seen in Spain and, contrary to the beliefs of some, this country’s football has retained a gritty British element to it, accompanied by the traditional never-say-die attitude. La Liga relies on its slight technical advantage and, although much slower, more goals are usually witnessed in Spain. Moreover, in the majority of cases, Spanish people will prefer Spanish football and English fans will have brand loyalty and stick to their own version of the game. The Premier League’s constant wish to stay one step ahead of their rivals is extraneous: English football will not become less popular just because Osasuna grabbed a Champions League place in Spain four seasons back. It is also worth noting that whenever an apparent improvement to our game is uncovered by the Premier League, it will not only have supporters but detractors who, although opposing the idea, find it necessary to provide alternatives. In this case, the most popular idea appears to involve the FA Cup winners being involved in the chase for Champions League football, despite the fact that the FA Cup winner usually qualifies for the competition anyway. Notwithstanding any credentials an individual notion may entertain, the need for change cannot be too pressing if other schemes are only concocted when a certain idea is dispensed – talk of a play-off featuring the FA Cup winner and the team who finishes fourth were scarcely heard before the Premier League’s latest proposal. A similar issue could occur if the play-off system was indeed integrated into Premier League statute: relegation-threatened clubs may, entirely reasonably, ask for the installation of a similar arrangement at the bottom.
The current five-way tussle for fourth is the tightest we have seen in years. Usually the position is filled by the member of the elite who has failed the most in a particular season’s title race. However, this campaign is different. Many tipped the wealth of Manchester City to address the monotony, but Tottenham and Aston Villa are still in the hunt, while David Moyes’ Everton look capable of maintaining their current form. This exciting challenge signals a clear and fair battle – the play-offs do not need to be introduced to give others a chance of Champions League football. If the play-off system was in place now and Tottenham managed to inhabit fourth place right up until the final two games of the season, we may see damaging results. Harry Redknapp, safe in the knowledge that his side could not drop below seventh, may choose to rest key personnel to keep them fresh for the upcoming duels with fellow challengers. This, along with going against the very nature of football, would also influence proceedings elsewhere – Tottenham could essentially relegate another club by saving the legs of important players ahead of the mini-tournament.
Another key talking point recently has been Wayne Rooney’s form, a topic that is seldom discussed without at least a mention of the possibility that the forward could face burnout before the World Cup. Players like Rooney and Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard are too essential to their club sides to even warrant a thought about resting them, and it would not do England any good to have their star players involved in up to three additional high-tempo matches weeks before a major tournament kicks off. The horrific state of Portsmouth is something else in the news; the financial mismanagement on the South Coast is something that must never be repeated, but the temptation of Champions League football may persuade clubs like Fulham to live the dream. The implosion of another Premier League club is worrying and, in the way Leeds United overspent in an attempt to reach the Champions League, if seventh place ensured a chance of rubbing shoulders with Barcelona and AC Milan, it is something that we may see increasingly more of, despite Portsmouth’s example. On top of this, Michel Platini has recently reformed the format of the Champions League, with tougher opponents in qualifying matches being promised to fourth place finishers. Should a team such as Birmingham City take England’s final qualifying place, it is likely that they will face a stern test in a match against an accomplished European side who will probably have won their domestic league. The introduction of a play-off system, therefore, does not ensure a fresh Champions League group stage entrant.
It is plausible that Liverpool will miss out on the top four this season and, if they do, it will be extremely difficult for them to get back in. Manchester City’s bottomless finances means they will only improve, while Villa and Tottenham’s success shows the gap between the big boys and the rest is narrowing, not widening. Television contracts detail that new laws that alter the structure of the league cannot be implemented until the current deal expires in three years’ time. For the reasons stated above, coupled with Manchester United and Liverpool’s crippling debt and the inevitability of Sir Alex Ferguson’s imminent retirement, a different top four may be establishing themselves at this point, only for the new hierarchy to be demolished as the league is inexplicably shaken up. The Race for Fourth has been thrilling thus far, and looks set to continue in this way. However, do we really wish to be commenting on The Race for Seventh? Seventh place, after all, is just above mid-table and, although success can only be judged in terms of relativity, the fact that six teams have finished above you shows that you are still some way off league domination. This is to take nothing away from Fulham’s seventh place finish last year, but the fact that Roy Hodgson’s men finished nineteen points behind Arsenal in fourth illustrates the gulf in class. Plus, sport is all about aiming as high as possible – teams should be encouraged to follow Villa and Tottenham’s lead, and not just settle for seventh.
You cannot help but wonder what Shankly would have made of it all. After all, if his philosophy is to be observed and finishing second equates to nothing, scraping into the Champions League is nothing to be satisfied with. Rafa Benitez may take a different view.
Thought provoking and enjoyable article. Continues with high standard throughout, with well reasoned and topical discussion.
I agree the openness of the battle for fourth place this season does make talk of a fourth-place playoff appear unnecessary. It does appear the Premier League and Sky are just trying to find another way to ring more out more cash for themselves.
Although unlikely to happen because of the money involved, personally I’d like to see the European competitions be reduced in size. For example, the last few seasons it seems like clubs like Tottenham battle to get in the UEFA/Europa league places i.e. 5th, 6th and 7th, then, because of all the games, don’t play their full strength teams and are knocked out. I guess the fact Champions League group losers are bumped into the Europa league competition has downgraded the competition in many clubs’ eyes.
Another impressive article Greg, you always open up areas for consideration that hadn’t previously occured to me which is interesting.
My view is that the proposed system shouldn’t be further considered. I think the fact that the top four teams already get to compete in the “Champions” League is preposterous and to open this up potentially to the top seven, more than a third of the top flight, is just foolish. I’d far rather see a European competition reserved for just one or two of our top teams, that way it would really intensify the “big four” rivalry and would be a true honour to contest, as the chance to play in it would reward a good season rather than still come even for the one of those four clubs that disappointingly finishes fourth, which is currently so often the case.
One of the most debated points in the wake of this news is the one you discussed in the second half of the fourth paragraph. I don’t think this would be a problem at all. I assume that any play-off would take a similar form to the one the Football League play-offs currently do, with the team finishing fourth playing that in seventh and the fifth-laced finishers facing the sixth in the semi-finals with the two winners going on to contest the final. If this was the case, easing off for a club like Tottenham could, for example, mean they have to play Arsenal instead of say Fulham in the semi-final, giving them a clear reason to continue competing all the way to the end of the season.
As for the suggestion that the FA Cup needs some way to spice it up, I’m not sure it does. I was in the away end at Eastlands when Stoke and Manchester City drew two weeks ago and I’ll be at the replay tomorrow night. The atmosphere at the first game was excellent and everyone’s really looking forward to the second one. The FA Cup still possesses the capacity for incredible moments that makes it such a great competition in abundance, just think of Butterfield’s hat-trick for a moment. Perhaps the FA Cup isn’t exciting enough for the “big four” obsessed media,but it certainly is for the vast majority of fans.
It seems though that the FA isn’t content unless it’s tinkering with something about the game. perhaps one day they’ll hit on a good idea. Until then, let’s hope ratonality continues to prevail.