2012/13 Europa League format?

What are everyone's thoughts about the new emphasis they have put on winning your domestic cup? It seems nice to not have to go through all those qualifiers but I am not sure if that is really the best thing for the competition. The cup winners from England, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, and the 5th place team from the German Bundesliga get a spot in the group stage. US Quevilly from the Championnat National in France are in the Coupe de France final and I not sure having a 3rd tier team from France in the group stage of the Europa League is a good idea. Thoughts about the new format?

Stupid if they don't give Poland an extra European spot.

Polska wrote:Stupid if they don't give Poland an extra European spot.

Well... you always have the fair play option. OK I can't really see that working out although things seem a bit on the harsh side.

6th place in La Liga and 7th place in the German Bundesliga get to start in the 3rd qualifying round, meanwhile the Polish Cup winners and 2nd in Ekstraklasa get a 2nd qualfying round spot. 3rd place in Ekstraklasa has to start in the very 1st qualifying round.

Oh so they are scrapping the play-off for everyone idea completely?

Yeah that doesn't seem like a good idea, although at that stage in the year anything can happen since the big leagues haven't started or just started and they are usually a bit rusty.

Muhkoo wrote:Oh so they are scrapping the play-off for everyone idea completely?

Yeah that doesn't seem like a good idea, although at that stage in the year anything can happen since the big leagues haven't started or just started and they are usually a bit rusty.

I guess that by a "playoff for everyone" you meanj the lengthy qualifying rounds? Most teams will still have to deal with that, for example right now PSV would have to play one qualifying round for winning the Dutch Cup. Things could be quitr interesting depending on how these cups end up.

FA Cup: Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Everton

Copa del Rey Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao

Coppa Italia: Juventus v Napoli

Coupe de France US Quevilly v Lyon

Taça de Portugal: Sporting CP v Académica de Coimbra

What happens in England where we have two cups? Will both us and Chelsea go straight into the group stages?

It's the same as finishing 6th and 7th I guess.

Well that's shit, think that means we would have to play 6 games before we even reach the group stages.

Not even worth the hassle

LFC_Grunners wrote:Well that's shit, think that means we would have to play 6 games before we even reach the group stages.

Not even worth the hassle

Here is how things will work out for Liverpool in Europe.

currently for winning the League cup you start in the 3rd qualifying round

finish 5th: enter in the playoff round

win the FA Cup: go straight to the group stage

Weather130 wrote:

LFC_Grunners wrote:Well that's shit, think that means we would have to play 6 games before we even reach the group stages.

Not even worth the hassle

Here is how things will work out for Liverpool in Europe.

currently for winning the League cup you start in the 3rd qualifying round

finish 5th: enter in the playoff round

win the FA Cup: go straight to the group stage

I think it's safe to say that 5th is out of the question, still gotta play 4 games before we even reach the group stage Suppose it could be worse.

Not like it matters since we'll win the F.A cup

LFC_Grunners wrote:Well that's shit, think that means we would have to play 6 games before we even reach the group stages.

Not even worth the hassle

More games to increase our goalscoring stats.

Here are some important Europa League notes for next season.

<LI>
Belarus (BLR): If Gomel win the 2011–12 Belarusian Cup, they will enter in the second qualifying round instead, and the first qualifying round spot will then be taken by Dinamo Minsk (4th placed team of 2011 Belarusian Premier League).
<LI>
Croatia (CRO): Osijek have qualified for the Europa League as they will face Champions League-qualified Dinamo Zagreb in the 2011–12 Croatian Cup final.
<LI>
England (ENG): Liverpool may still qualify for the Champions League. If they do not qualify for the Champions League, their starting round of the Europa League will depend on whether they win the 2011–12 FA Cup and their final position in the 2011–12 Premier League.
<LI>
France (FRA): Marseille may still qualify for the Champions League. If they do not qualify for the Champions League, their starting round of the Europa League will depend on their final position in the 2011–12 Ligue 1. Moreover, if Lyon qualify for the Champions League and also win the 2011–12 Coupe de France, Marseille will at least enter the play-off round.
<LI>
Greece (GRE): Atromitos, participants of the Greek European playoff group, have reached the 2011–12 Greek Cup Final against Champions League-qualified team Olympiacos (to be played on 28 April 2012). As a consequence, all four teams of said group will qualify for an European competition. However, the exact rounds of entry for the three Greek clubs are still to be determined. Should Atromitos win the cup final AND not finish the playoff group in first place, they will enter the play-off round as domestic cup winners; in every other scenario, the three available Europa League spots will be distributed by the final standings of this group.
<LI>
Hungary (HUN): Győri ETO have been suspended from participating in UEFA competitions between the 2011–12 and 2013–14 seasons in relation to club licensing violations.^[10] As a consequence, should they finish in any of the top three positions, the respective qualifying spots will be allocated to the team(s) immediately below.
<LI>
Netherlands (NED): PSV Eindhoven may still qualify for the Champions League. If they qualify for the Champions League, Heracles Almelo, the runners-up of the 2011–12 KNVB Cup, will qualify for the Europa League.
<LI>
Northern Ireland (NIR): Crusaders have qualified for the Europa League as they will face Champions League-qualified Linfield in the 2011–12 Irish Cup final.
<LI>
Republic of Ireland (IRL): Because Derry City, the third-placed team of the 2011 League of Ireland, went into liquidation two years ago which led to a European ban for three years and thus were refused entry to the 2012–13 European competitions by UEFA, Bohemians, the fifth-placed team of the league, claimed the Europa League spot in the first qualifying round.^[11]
<LI>
Scotland (SCO): Rangers will finish in the top four of the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League, but they will not be eligible to enter either the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League or Europa League due to failing to exit administration in time to obtain a UEFA licence.^[12] As a result, the fifth-placed team of the league will take Scotland's Europa League place in the second qualifying round.
<LI>
Spain (ESP): Athletic Bilbao have qualified for at least the Europa League as they will face Champions League-qualified Barcelona in the 2011–12 Copa del Rey final. Athletic Bilbao may also still qualify for the Champions League. If they do not qualify for the Champions League, their starting round of the Europa League will depend on whether they win either the cup or the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League and their final position in the 2011–12 La Liga.
<LI>
Wales (WAL): If Cefn Druids win the 2011–12 Welsh Cup, or if they lose the final but their opponents The New Saints win the 2011–12 Welsh Premier League, they will need a UEFA licence to enter the Europa League. They do not currently have one, but are able to apply for one up to 2 May 2012.^[13] </LI>