Gordon Strachan has slammed the new format of the Champions League claiming that it has been designed to keep the big clubs happy!
It is a bizarre take on events with the freshness and novelty of the competition generally well received by supporters across most nations.
A look at the current table shows Celtic above Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain with the real possibility that some big clubs will drop out entirely with a new look to the Round of 16 in March.
Normally by Matchday 5 most of the big hitters have secured their place in the knock-out stage, allowing them to feld weakened sides in the final group matches.
Going into the third last round of fixtures Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Juventus are outside the top eight which ensures a place in March for the knock-out round of 16.
The top eight go straight through to the Round of 16, the team that finishes ninth will play the 24th team in the Knock Out stage which incentivises teams to take points on Matchday 8 to ensure as high a final place as possible to provide an ‘easier’ opponent in the Knock Out round in February.
Asked about his views on the new format by Gambling Zone, Strachan didn’t hold back with his views:
I think the format of the Champions League has been put together to keep the top clubs happy. It’s basically what they were trying to do a couple of years ago, with the break away and super leagues. It’s a format designed to keep the old established clubs happy.
I’ve got to say, there’s no edge. There’s definitely no edge to it when you’ve not got away against AC Milan after playing them at home and all that. If you said to the Celtic fans, who are you playing in the next match? No idea. Couldn’t tell you. But I’ve got to say, has anybody found this interesting at all? This has been change for the sake of change.
Asked to assess how Celtic are faring Strachan added:
I think the new format has helped them. There’s no doubt about it. I think Celtic have produced some great performances though. Like I said, they won at home. At Atlanta, away from home, getting a draw was terrific. So the new format has definitely helped them, but they’ve also helped themselves.
It’s just dragged on a wee bit. There’s a lack of excitement there. And they’ve got a good chance of making it into the play-offs. They’ve definitely got a good chance on Tuesday against Zagreb. Zagreb took a real hit against Dortmund in their last game.
I think Celtic will qualify for the play-offs. They’ve had a good week in the league playing different types of football, in different conditions, as we’ve seen. They’ve done well in Europe this season.
Strachan took Celtic into the knock out stage in successive seasons with notable scalps against Manchester United and AC Milan as Celtic reeled off six home wins on the bounce in the Champions League.
Being drawn in a four team group that has Barcelona and Manchester City one season then with Bayern and PSG the next takes a lot of gloss and expectation out of the competition.
Celtic have been handed a fairly fortunate batch of fixtures this time around but facing two Bundesliga clubs and getting Aston Villa as a Pot 4 opponent certainly isn’t good luck.
RELATED READING
1 Comment
by Captain Swing
I’ve always liked Strachan but much of what he comes away with is drivel, and this is another instance of it. To quote Alan Partridge, the group stage format was “moribund” – it was as dull as a bank holiday weekend in the jail.
If we weren’t playing I hardly ever watched it, most games were either totally one-sided (Big FC v Cannon Fodder Utd) or an exercise in parking the bus (Cannon Fodder Utd v Big FC needing a point away from home). It was among the most tedious and predictable football imaginable. The new format, though not perfect, may well have been to appease the big clubs but it has given a lot of other teams more interest in the competition than they’ve had in decades – us included.
I’m all for it, it may even be worth considering introduction of parachutes into the Europa and Conference leagues to keep the interest in it.