The simple question is, should a team that finishes seventh in the table be playing in the “Champions” League?
Absolutely not!
The fact that you can finish fourth and end up in the Champions League is bad enough. Why not open it up to the top 10? Or maybe everyone that’s not in the relegation spots at the end of the season goes into a playoff for the Champions League?
There’s another side to this that is hard to overlook. Liverpool.
In the same season that Liverpool finished as victors of the CL, they finished 5th in the EPL, outside of the four CL qualification spots, but rather than having the champions missing out on the CL, The Reds qualified via a special dispensation from UEFA.
Liverpool now find themselves in a position where they could very easily miss out on the CL again. Football Association to the rescue.
This playoff, if it’s to be implemented this season, could very rescue Liverpool from their season of mediocrity. Gerrard and Torres would remain as assets of Liverpool Football Club, rather than the alternative that Reds fans around the globally can barely imagine.
And people thought that adding a 33rd team in the World Cup to accommodate Ireland was farcical.