neil wrote:I think theres something being overlooked here, the 4th spot is not the Premier leagues by right but a bonus invite due to coefficient success of Premier teams recent history, to wit as a result of Liverpool, man u, chelsea and everton...erm sorry arsenal constantly reaching the latter stages(all have a least 1 recent final under their belt) we keep 4 entrants whilst say Germany lose one and now only have 3. So what happens when one season wonders start taking up a champions league place after finishing in the top 7, Ipswich, West ham, Charlton etc, I'll tell you what happens- within 2 seasons Germany will be back upto 4 places and the likes of Everton will be crying about why the 3rd league place isnt up for grabs in a play off. rrrraaaaannnnttt over.
Not by me it wasn't, I raised this (probably elsewhere) when the daft idea of giving the place came up for the domestic cup (FA Cup)
That said, the rest of the leagues are in such a poor way and hardly setting Europe alight that the 'big three' could well carry the fourth spot like charity. Maybe they could rename it the European Charity Shield