With a top four finish now unlikely for Manchester United and Everton, they both go into this weekend apparently playing for places in the Europa League.
Manchester City’s Capital One Cup win means sixth will almost certainly be good enough, and while for Everton that would be a decent outcome, it’s probably seen by United as an indignity that they’re even in that bracket.
In truth though, does anyone really want to be in the Europa League? Even for top clubs with deeper squads, playing in the Champions League can have an adverse effect on domestic form, so that applies even more for clubs slightly below that level.
Tottenham and Swansea, the two Premier League clubs in the secondary European competition, have shown that again this season with the results they’ve had on Sunday afternoons after playing in Europe on Thursday nights.
The obvious problem with the Europa League is how long it all drags on – at least six matches, possibly more, just to survive into the last 32, and if you get there it means nine more matches in the last three months of the season if you’re to end up winning the thing.
And all for a tournament which really doesn’t carry much prestige unless maybe you go the whole way. Fulham played an extraordinary 19 matches four years ago, and still didn’t end up winning it.
A simplified format, preferably without a group stage, might be the way forward. In the meantime, UEFA are to introduce a new rule whereby the winners of next season’s Europa League will qualify for the following season’s Champions League.
That might just prompt clubs to take a more serious approach to the tournament’s seemingly never-ending format. If not, it may be time to revert to a knockout competition. It looks like the last throw of the dice.
