The Fun Factory Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 2 hours ago, Zatman said: Pretty much this. I hope people arent thinking we can win it. I remember at the last final was actually comparisons that if Dortmund get to the final then so should we. If people think that way then be very disappointed I think knockouts should be the aim and its achievable and anything after a bonus. The new league structure might throw teams off guard if havent prepared for it Agree with that. Get to the knockout stage would be a good first attempt. I still don't understand this format other than it is a super league lite version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 7 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: Agree with that. Get to the knockout stage would be a good first attempt. I still don't understand this format other than it is a super league lite version. It's pretty easy. 36 teams evenly split in to 4 seed pots, according to their UEFA coefficient. We will face 2 teams randomly drawn* from each of the 4 seed pots, so 8 different teams over 8 games, one pot 1 team at home, one pot 1 team away, one pot 2 team at home, one pot 2 team away and so on, earning 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. * during the league phase, teams will not face teams from the same country, wherever possible. After all teams have played their 8 'league' games, the top 8 teams qualify for the knockout round of 16 teams. The 16 teams placed 9th to 24th play an away game and a home game in a 'playoff' tie. 9th play 24th, 10th play 23rd, 11th play 22nd and so on. The higher placed team is rewarded by playing the second leg at home against a team that has performed poorer in the league, hopefully encouraging competitive games towards the end of the league phase as teams try to finish as high as possible. Then it's 'knockouts', the same as most cup competitions. The 8 winners of the two-leg 'playoff' ties join the teams who finished 1st to 8th. These 16 teams are randomly drawn against each other to play home and away leg knockout ties. Teams can now face teams from their own country. The 8 winners are drawn against each other in home and away quarter-final games. Those 4 winners are drawn against each other in home and away semi-final games. Those 2 winners play the final on May 31st at the Allianz Arena, Munich. That's pretty simple really. I think it's a great format, guaranteeing that we get to play a minimum of 8 different European teams of varying size and ability. Only time will tell whether there are too many 'dead rubbers' which could impact the excitement in the final game week of the league phase. Hopefully they'll be very few teams who can't qualify with a win in game week 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viivvaa66 Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 (edited) 9 hours ago, brommy said: It's pretty easy. 36 teams evenly split in to 4 seed pots, according to their UEFA coefficient. We will face 2 teams randomly drawn* from each of the 4 seed pots, so 8 different teams over 8 games, one pot 1 team at home, one pot 1 team away, one pot 2 team at home, one pot 2 team away and so on, earning 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. * during the league phase, teams will not face teams from the same country, wherever possible. After all teams have played their 8 'league' games, the top 8 teams qualify for the knockout round of 16 teams. The 16 teams placed 9th to 24th play an away game and a home game in a 'playoff' tie. 9th play 24th, 10th play 23rd, 11th play 22nd and so on. The higher placed team is rewarded by playing the second leg at home against a team that has performed poorer in the league, hopefully encouraging competitive games towards the end of the league phase as teams try to finish as high as possible. Then it's 'knockouts', the same as most cup competitions. The 8 winners of the two-leg 'playoff' ties join the teams who finished 1st to 8th. These 16 teams are randomly drawn against each other to play home and away leg knockout ties. Teams can now face teams from their own country. The 8 winners are drawn against each other in home and away quarter-final games. Those 4 winners are drawn against each other in home and away semi-final games. Those 2 winners play the final on May 31st at the Allianz Arena, Munich. That's pretty simple really. I think it's a great format, guaranteeing that we get to play a minimum of 8 different European teams of varying size and ability. Only time will tell whether there are too many 'dead rubbers' which could impact the excitement in the final game week of the league phase. Hopefully they'll be very few teams who can't qualify with a win in game week 8. You are right about the league phase, but not about the knockout phase. The play-off and round of 16 is drawn, but the in groups of two. So team #9 and #10 is in one group and are drawn against a team in the group that consist of #23 and #24, and so on, see picture below. There are no draws after the round of 16. Article 19 Draw system – knockout phase 19.01 Once the league phase has been completed, 24 clubs enter the knockout phase in predetermined positions based on their ranking at the end of the league phase, as illustrated in Annex B. 19.02 The fixtures for the knockout phase play-offs are determined by means of a draw conducted in accordance with the following principles: The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13 and 14, and 15 and 16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24). The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn against the clubs in each unseeded pair, as illustrated in Annex B: clubs 9 or 10 against clubs 23 or 24, clubs 11 or 12 against clubs 21 or 22, clubs 13 or 14 against clubs 19 or 20, and clubs 15 or 16 against clubs 17 or 18. In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg matches at home. 19.03 The fixtures for the round of 16 are determined by means of a draw conducted in accordance with the following principles: The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, and 7 and 8). The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into one of two positions in the round of 16, as illustrated in Annex B, against the relevant winner of the knockout phase play-offs, whose position is determined by the knockout phase play-off draw in accordance with Paragraph 19.02. In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg matches at home. 19.04 The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final pairings are determined according to Annex B. A draw is conducted to determine which team plays the first leg match at home. 19.05 The UEFA administration may determine alternative conditions for each draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and may adapt the conditions of the draw or directly assign positions to take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee. Edited August 2 by viivvaa66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Is it me or does it just seem it doesnt matter what pot you are in as you are going to play two teams from each pot anyway? After looking at the format in greater detail it definitely appears its easier to qualify to next phase compared to old format as we probably would ahve done as well as newcastle. Whats key is goal difference in thia format so we need to avoid getting spanked if we can 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viivvaa66 Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 7 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Is it me or does it just seem it doesnt matter what pot you are in as you are going to play two teams from each pot anyway? After looking at the format in greater detail it definitely appears its easier to qualify to next phase compared to old format as we probably would ahve done as well as newcastle. Whats key is goal difference in thia format so we need to avoid getting spanked if we can You are 100% correct, what pot you are in does not matter. What matters is what teams you get from each pot, since there are “strong” and “weak” teams in each pot. As in any league with 3 points for a win, the key is to winning as many matches as possible. Win against the two teams from pot 4, the home match against the pot 3 team, and I think that should be enough to be among the top 24 teams that progress. More points and a good goal difference would move us higher up, and give us a better draw in the knockout rounds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 (edited) 49 minutes ago, viivvaa66 said: You are 100% correct, what pot you are in does not matter. What matters is what teams you get from each pot, since there are “strong” and “weak” teams in each pot. As in any league with 3 points for a win, the key is to winning as many matches as possible. Win against the two teams from pot 4, the home match against the pot 3 team, and I think that should be enough to be among the top 24 teams that progress. More points and a good goal difference would move us higher up, and give us a better draw in the knockout rounds. I think one of the key things is getting a weaker pot 1 and pot 2 team at home as i fancy us against anyone if we show the same fight as last season at home. If we are going to get madrid or bayern be good to play those away Yeah i agree if we can win those then we are in good sted. Edited August 2 by Demitri_C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 5 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: I think one of the key things is getting a weaker pot 1 and pot 2 team at home as i fancy us against anyone if we show the same fight as last season at home. If we are going to get madrid or bayern be good to play those away Yeah i agree if we can win those then we are in good sted. It's actually getting the easier ties in pots 3/4 that make the difference. All the sides in Pot 1 and 2 are strong and then you have a handful of strong sides in Pots 3 & 4 - you don't want to face them as well. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 2 hours ago, viivvaa66 said: It took me a minute but that diagram clearly explains a lot. The limited draw system (playoff pairs and round of 16 pairs) is obviously designed to provide some excitement of a 'random' draw but still reward higher placed finishing in the league. For example the 1st or 2nd placed teams can't face anyone finishing higher than 15th, whilst the teams finishing 7th or 8th could play a team as high as 9th. After that, the structure is about keeping the teams who finished 1st and 2nd apart until the final, on the assumption they won't be knocked out. I'm very interested to see it in action. In a competition so large and with the nature of football to provide the odd upset, there's bound to be a couple of unexpected meetings of larger teams before the semis. Perhaps Man City Vs Bayern Munich or Real Madrid Vs Man Utd. Of course, if we finish outside the top 24, I'll probably think it's all a load of rubbish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceemo Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 Update to this week's results: Tuesday 6th August 2024 UEFA Champions League - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg Champions Path Qarabag (Aze) 1-2 Ludogorets (Bul) Sparta Prague (Cze) 1-1 FCSB (Rou) Malmo (Swe) 2-2 PAOK (Gre) Midtjylland (Den) 2-0 Ferencvaros (Hun) League Path Lille (Fra) 2-1 Fenerbahce (Tur) Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr) 1-1 Rangers (Sco) Red Bull Salzburg (Aut) 2-1 Twente (Ned) Wednesday 7th August 2024 UEFA Champions League - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg Champions Path Slovan Bratislava (Svk) 2-0 APOEL (Cyp) Jagiellonia Bialystok (Pol) 0-1 Bodo/Glimt (Nor) League Path Slavia Prague (Cze) 3-1 Union Saint-GIlloise (Bel) Lille take a narrow lead in probably the biggest tie of the round. They were forced to play the home game in Valenciennes, due to the Basketball tournament in the Olympics using their home ground, but they still managed to get an advantage to take to Turkey. A late equaliser from Rangers against Kyiv makes them favourites for the second leg. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedge Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Am I right in saying that whilst we'll find out our opponents and whether we'll play them home or away on Thursday 29th August we won't know the actual match dates and KO times until Saturday 31st? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrchnry Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 On 01/08/2024 at 22:07, brommy said: It's pretty easy. 36 teams evenly split in to 4 seed pots, according to their UEFA coefficient. We will face 2 teams randomly drawn* from each of the 4 seed pots, so 8 different teams over 8 games, one pot 1 team at home, one pot 1 team away, one pot 2 team at home, one pot 2 team away and so on, earning 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. * during the league phase, teams will not face teams from the same country, wherever possible. After all teams have played their 8 'league' games, the top 8 teams qualify for the knockout round of 16 teams. The 16 teams placed 9th to 24th play an away game and a home game in a 'playoff' tie. 9th play 24th, 10th play 23rd, 11th play 22nd and so on. The higher placed team is rewarded by playing the second leg at home against a team that has performed poorer in the league, hopefully encouraging competitive games towards the end of the league phase as teams try to finish as high as possible. Then it's 'knockouts', the same as most cup competitions. The 8 winners of the two-leg 'playoff' ties join the teams who finished 1st to 8th. These 16 teams are randomly drawn against each other to play home and away leg knockout ties. Teams can now face teams from their own country. The 8 winners are drawn against each other in home and away quarter-final games. Those 4 winners are drawn against each other in home and away semi-final games. Those 2 winners play the final on May 31st at the Allianz Arena, Munich. That's pretty simple really. I think it's a great format, guaranteeing that we get to play a minimum of 8 different European teams of varying size and ability. Only time will tell whether there are too many 'dead rubbers' which could impact the excitement in the final game week of the league phase. Hopefully they'll be very few teams who can't qualify with a win in game week 8. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 On 02/08/2024 at 08:40, Demitri_C said: Is it me or does it just seem it doesnt matter what pot you are in as you are going to play two teams from each pot anyway? After looking at the format in greater detail it definitely appears its easier to qualify to next phase compared to old format as we probably would ahve done as well as newcastle. Whats key is goal difference in thia format so we need to avoid getting spanked if we can Surely your last sentence deserves a Kenneth st least? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 On 01/08/2024 at 11:44, Zatman said: Pretty much this. I hope people arent thinking we can win it. People on here thought we were in the title race last season which was just bizarre. Our aim should be to get out of the convoluted group phase, anything past that would be a bonus. CL group qualification and 4th place would be an excellent season. Sadly I think we will miss out on top four this season because of the CL games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c15gzqxlyvnt Quote ICYMI, the BBC will show highlights of the Champions League this season - with a special highlights show after this Wednesday's Uefa Super Cup. For the next three years, from 22:00 on the Wednesday of Champions League matchweeks, there will be match-by-match highlights available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, plus a highlights show on BBC One at 22:40. There will also be clips online and on social media. The Champions League will have more rounds of fixtures than before with 17 in total. That includes eight rounds of group games - running from 17 September until 29 January - and then an extra round before the last 16. The Champions League will expand from 32 to 36 teams from this season, with all teams contained in a single table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 Good to see Rangers and Fenerbache crash out, didn't want to play either of those two clubs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 25 minutes ago, villa89 said: Good to see Rangers and Fenerbache crash out, didn't want to play either of those two clubs. Yes - not too fussed about either. I see Lille won last night. Perhaps we could meet them again after that tough QF we had with them last season... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 On 01/08/2024 at 22:07, brommy said: It's pretty easy. 36 teams evenly split in to 4 seed pots, according to their UEFA coefficient. We will face 2 teams randomly drawn* from each of the 4 seed pots, so 8 different teams over 8 games, one pot 1 team at home, one pot 1 team away, one pot 2 team at home, one pot 2 team away and so on, earning 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. * during the league phase, teams will not face teams from the same country, wherever possible. After all teams have played their 8 'league' games, the top 8 teams qualify for the knockout round of 16 teams. The 16 teams placed 9th to 24th play an away game and a home game in a 'playoff' tie. 9th play 24th, 10th play 23rd, 11th play 22nd and so on. The higher placed team is rewarded by playing the second leg at home against a team that has performed poorer in the league, hopefully encouraging competitive games towards the end of the league phase as teams try to finish as high as possible. Then it's 'knockouts', the same as most cup competitions. The 8 winners of the two-leg 'playoff' ties join the teams who finished 1st to 8th. These 16 teams are randomly drawn against each other to play home and away leg knockout ties. Teams can now face teams from their own country. The 8 winners are drawn against each other in home and away quarter-final games. Those 4 winners are drawn against each other in home and away semi-final games. Those 2 winners play the final on May 31st at the Allianz Arena, Munich. That's pretty simple really. I think it's a great format, guaranteeing that we get to play a minimum of 8 different European teams of varying size and ability. Only time will tell whether there are too many 'dead rubbers' which could impact the excitement in the final game week of the league phase. Hopefully they'll be very few teams who can't qualify with a win in game week 8. If it takes half a page to describe the format then its not easy. FA Cup- two x listed celebrities read out the teams drawn from a plastic tombola and the matches get played. That's easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Your Round Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 The league phase draw takes place two weeks tomorrow, looking forward to seeing who we get to play just a couple of weeks after. It feels like an age to wait but as soon as the draw happens we’ll soon be in the thick of it, just hope we’re at home for the first game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 6 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: If it takes half a page to describe the format then its not easy. FA Cup- two x listed celebrities read out the teams drawn from a plastic tombola and the matches get played. That's easy. It's a cup competition designed to give a minimum amount of games (8) between teams of varying quality and country. Of course that's not as simple as a bag with say 32 balls in. It's still an easy format to understand though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 1 minute ago, brommy said: It's a cup competition designed to give a maximum amount of revenue between teams of varying quality and country. Of course that's not as simple as a bag with say 32 balls in. It's still an easy format to understand though. Fixed for you 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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