No Press-ure

[Concrete John]

Or it takes away the need for midweek league games.

Given the motivation of the people running the game, do you honestly think that would happen?

[dave.woodhall]

Or it takes away the need for midweek league games.

Given the motivation of the people running the game, do you honestly think that would happen?

As it's the main reason why we play midweek now, yes I do. The Premier League doesn't need a Euro-League anymore - it's powerful enough without.

[Concrete John]

It may have been the reason mid-week games started originally, but now that they're shown on Sky and generate extra revenue for clubs, they aren't going anywhere in a hurry.

[dave.woodhall]

It may have been the reason mid-week games started originally, but now that they're shown on Sky and generate extra revenue for clubs, they aren't going anywhere in a hurry.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Sky hate games with low attendances, which is what these tend to be. They're also on quiet pub nights, hence less watching them. 

[Concrete John]

It may have been the reason mid-week games started originally, but now that they're shown on Sky and generate extra revenue for clubs, they aren't going anywhere in a hurry.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Sky hate games with low attendances, which is what these tend to be. They're also on quiet pub nights, hence less watching them.

Those are both good points, but it would still represent a drop in income, which both Sky and the clubs aren't going to allow to happen.

What would replace the lesser international games is secondary to me initial point anyway, which is that trying to take the likes of San Marino out of the picture is something I feel erodes the spirit of international football.

[dave.woodhall]

There would be more televised weeken games, but it is indeed a side-issue. San Marino wouldn't be out of the picture, they'd play teams at their level as happens in club football. Who knows, by playing someone like Lichtenstein or Andorra competitively rather than getting twatted by England/Spain etc twice every two years, they might even improve.

[Bill Locky]

I am not convinced by the argument for the least successful teams having to pre-qualify and them not learning anything from heavy defeats.  I remember in the mid 1980's when England scored 8 goals against Turkey, followed by "England 8 Turkey for Lunch" headlines.  Back then who would have thought Turkey would come close to winning major tournaments, i.e. Semi-Finals.   

[dave.woodhall]

I am not convinced by the argument for the least successful teams having to pre-qualify and them not learning anything from heavy defeats.  I remember in the mid 1980's when England scored 8 goals against Turkey, followed by "England 8 Turkey for Lunch" headlines.  Back then who would have thought Turkey would come close to winning major tournaments, i.e. Semi-Finals.   

Different world then - not least the population of Turkey would have been over 50 million. That was before the fragmenting of the Soviet Bloc nations and the really tiny countries being allowed in.

[Dave Cooper please]

I might be in the minority here, but I think it's wrong to take away the likes San Marino from the international stage. 

Ultimately, 90% of the nations that play international football will never win anything, and most won't even qualify, but they still want to play and represent their country.  To my mind saying that country A isn't good enough to play country B is a bit of snobbery that takes away from the concept and spirit of international football.     

They can still represent their countries.

Most non-league clubs will never play a Premiership club in a competitive game, if they do get the chance it's by qualifying via a series of knockout games in the FA Cup.

If World Cup qualifying were a knock out competition, then I'd agree with a FA Cup type system.  But it's not.  Everyone who is eligible to qualify starts at the same point and has to earn their place in the finals, which I quite like.   

But it's always the same teams, give or take a few who are on the border between the excellent and merely good (England), who qualify. San Marino are never going to get anywhere near the World Cup or Euro finals, but give them a tournament of their own along with the other smaller nations and they might have a chance, the winners can then have the chance to compete at the next level up the next season.
 It's a format that works well in cricket with the World Cricket League, Afghanistan have worked their way through the divisions and got the chance to play in the World cup, getting twatted every game by the Test nations in their formative years wouldn't have done them any good at all.

[SashasGrandad]

A rather grumpy article - but I tend to agree with the points made.

There are more than just the San Marino's and Andorra's who need to pre qualify - lots of these "new" countries in Eastern Europe and a few of the old ones like Wales should be made to work harder to earn the right to compete at the highest level. A 2 tier system for WC and EC could easily be devised for the qualifying rounds with promotion / relegation. Groups of 4 home/away is plenty.

[PeterWithesShin]

My only gripe with the likes of San Marino taking part is when they play for a 5 or 6 goal defeat. They will never get better until they start trying. If I was a San Marino player i'd rather lose 10-1 and at least give it a go. Look at the Faroe Islands, at least they try and get results. Losing 2-1 to a late winner against Sweden must do their confidence more good than a 3-0 win over Outer Mongolia.

[JJ-AV]

Definitely agree with the pre-qualifying stages. It'll give those teams something to strive towards too.

Endless hammerings do nothing for football in those countries.

[ktvillan]

Interesting point about Bent not being taken to the fans hearts. In 45 years of following Villa I've always got the impression a lot of Villa fans value effort and endeavour over pretty much everything else.   Hence players like Carrodus, Bremner, Birch, Taylor, and more recently Holman, are lauded, whereas a player like Ginola was never accepted.   I loved watching a player of such skill in a Villa shirt, we haven't had enough of them over the years, and I found the stick he got from our fans disappointing.  Ditto with Bent, it seems he doesn't run around enough for some people, and the fact he will score goals and win games seems to be lost on them.

[Rigadon]

Interesting point about Bent not being taken to the fans hearts. In 45 years of following Villa I've always got the impression a lot of Villa fans value effort and endeavour over pretty much everything else.   Hence players like Carrodus, Bremner, Birch, Taylor, and more recently Holman, are lauded, whereas a player like Ginola was never accepted.   I loved watching a player of such skill in a Villa shirt, we haven't had enough of them over the years, and I found the stick he got from our fans disappointing.  Ditto with Bent, it seems he doesn't run around enough for some people, and the fact he will score goals and win games seems to be lost on them.

It's not lost on me that he scores goals ktvillain, but I would be in the not-taken-him-to-heart camp.  I don't know why and have been trying to put my finger on it - I have no ill feeling towards him whatsoever but have no real positives feelings either which IS weird for a goal scorer I agree.  Maybe I'm just getting old!!