Champions League Playoff for EPL

The English FA is now considering a playoff system to decide the final Champions league spot in the EPL. Currently the top four teams qualify for Europe. This proposal falls in line with the previous attempt by the FA to have an additional 39^th game. The extra games being played in Asia to take advantage of the overwhelming interest there. More importantly fill the FA’s pockets with money.

The 39^th game proposal was quickly dismissed by many and the governing bodies of football, Fifa and Uefa. The new playoff proposal has some merits to its madness. The idea is to open the league to better competition. Since the beginning the Premier league’s top four have traditionally been Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool  and Manchester United. This has meant the rich finical offerings of Champions Leaguefootball have been controlled by the top four. Allowing them to spend bigger and buy better.

Opening up the final Champions League spot would see teams from 4^th to 7^th enter into a two leg semi final playoff and then the final. This is similar to the final promotion place off’s in the lower leagues. Currently these positions are held by Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa. But with Man City, Tottenham and Villa pushing Liverpool for that final spot in the current season is the proposal a little premature. It would appear that the second tier of the EPL is catching up on the mighty top four. This shows signs that the EPL is maturing and settling down to open and competitive football. But it is up to the other teams to maintain the pressure.

The reaction from managers has been mixed. Arsene Wenger has already stated his dislike to the idea “after 38 games you have to consider the table”. He also believes should it happen that a similar system be introduced for regulation, thus keeping the league fair and balanced.  On the other hand Martin O’Niell the Villa manager finds it “Interesting” believing “outside the top sides people might go for it”.  

Indeed it is interesting and Wengers comments suggest he is out to protect his top four status. With Arsenal on a permanent learning curve, Wenger may feel it’s his side that could suffer. But he can relax for a while. The FA has already agreed TV deals so the proposals is another three years away, it would also require 14 of the 20 clubs to back the idea. So for the moment the FA’s new but worthy proposal is simply testing the water.

These proposals that keep coming out of the FA offices may have an underlining issue that the FA and EPL are afraid to discuss. With Premier league clubs suffering of late such as Portsmouth, are the FA worried the Primer League bubble might burst. The FA is still in need of cash to pay for the construction of Wembly Stadium. The EPl is all about TV deals, and with Setanta going bust and leaving Scottish clubs without finance, perhaps the FA and EPL see TV deals as less than a certainty. After eighteen years perhaps the EPL needs a reshuffle and a slight reinvention keep them ahead of the Spanish league.