by Winston Biscuit »
29 Nov 2022 08:49
29 Nov 2022 08:49
I would like to see how the fixtures in the initial league of 36 teams are selected. I assume they are seeded because of course the big boys want their income protected
I can't help but think that one of the good bits of how it works now is you always play each opponent both home and away, and so there is fairness in that. The new group stage has you playing 10 teams but all of them only once, and so inevitably the day the first draw is make people will compare fixtures and say 'how come Liverpool have 6 tough away games but Man Utd only have 3?' for example
One bit I don't like, unless I have misunderstood it, is that you are selected to play 10 games in this initial group, but due to so many teams going through I would imagine after 8 games some teams will know they are through and so can play reserve teams. This will then have a detrimental effect on others hopes to get through. It happens now in the group stage but to a lesser extent. Maybe nothing can be done about that, maybe taking your foot off the gas when comfy towards the end is just a part of sport that can't really be tackled.