ian1964 10,514 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 SCOTLAND will have only one entrant in the Champions League from season 2011-12 after being overtaken in the Uefa co-efficient ranking table by Belgium last night. Another poor season for Scottish clubs in European competition had already seen a slide to 15th place in this season's provisional ranking list which will determine participation for the 2011-12 campaign. Only countries in the top 15 are granted two or more places in the Champions League. But last night's Europa League results for Belgian clubs, with Club Brugge and Standard Liege beating Valencia and Salzburg respectively while Anderlecht drew at Athletic Bilbao, saw Scotland drop to 16th place, meaning only next season's SPL champions will go into the elite club tournament where they will begin in the second qualifying round. It has serious financial consequences, especially for the Old Firm whose half-yearly accounts published this week graphically underlined the value of reaching the group stage of the Champions League. This season's SPL winners will go into the group stage of the 2010-11 Champions League, while the runners-up will face two qualifying rounds. http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/SPL-loses-a-Champions-League.6087292.jp 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,514 Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Bad news for us,this is not going to help us get back on a strong financial footing,tough times ahead. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy steel 0 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 For once, we can truthfully say that the rest of the SPL is dragging us down. You can't ignore our own faililngs but if any team outwith the OF had even had one season - just one - when they had managed to defeat teams from the footballing powerhouses of Finland or wherever, this could have been avoided. Don't they want to play in the Champions League? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyOneAmoruso 0 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 With Brugge and Standard Liege winning and Anderlecht drawing last night it means that Scotland will only have one representative in the Champions League in 2011/2012. While this is not a good thing for Scottish football by any means, it does bring up an intriguing prospect. The 00's seen both Rangers and Celtic regularly competing in the CL and there was a fairly even spread of titles and cups won by both clubs. With only one team potentially qualifying for the CL in the next 3-4 years then it could lead to another decade of dominance similar to the 90's. If one team finishes in second place more than twice, they simply will not have the income to sustain a decent challenge. Bring this title home Rangers. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,200 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Another way of looking at this is that it is essential we operate Rangers with the understanding we may be the club without such CL participation. Therefore, as difficult as it may be for some fans to accept, we have to cut our financial cloth accordingly. I also wonder if this situation was just one our manager was alluding to when he said things would be getting much worse. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,376 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 But we are also losing our automatic CL place as well, which means that Scotland may end up with neither club in it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
boss 0 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 (edited) Close, but a bit more to add. If the winners of the CL in 2010/11 automatically qualify for the group stages, Scotland will still have their 2 places for 2011/12. Also, looking forward to the country rankings for 2011, Switzerland's good year falls out which puts Scotland back up a place in the rankings so we have our 2 CL places again. (We also leap above Belgium in the 2011 provisional rankings but we can't rely on that being the final position.) So in all probability Scotland will retain our 2 CL places ... but only by the skin of our teeth. Edited February 19, 2010 by boss 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyOneAmoruso 0 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Sorry Ian 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,514 Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Sorry Ian HA!HA!, I'm trying to get oor Jim sacked 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyOneAmoruso 0 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Close, but a bit more to add. If the winners of the CL in 2010/11 automatically qualify for the group stages, Scotland will still have their 2 places for 2011/12. Also, looking forward to the country rankings for 2011, Switzerland's good year falls out which puts Scotland back up a place in the rankings so we have our 2 CL places again. (We also leap above Belgium in the 2011 provisional rankings but we can't rely on that being the final position.) So in all probability Scotland will retain our 2 CL places ... but only by the skin of out teeth. No-one likes a know it all I guess we still lose the automatic place after 2010/11? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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