So next season there will be four Champions League places up for grabs. Is it two automatic qualifiers and then two into the preliminary qualifier stage? This pushes the UEFA spots further don the table I presume which means that 7th place could get into The UEFA.

ENGLISH domestic football has been handed a major boost, as Uefa have decided that four clubs from The Premiership will enter the Champions League from 2002-2003. Uefa made the announcement in recognition of the achievements of Arsenal, Leeds and Manchester United, who all reached the last eight of Europe`s premier club competition, as well as Liverpool`s treble-winning season that culminated in a Uefa Cup final triumph over Alaves.

The achievements helped Liverpool(Presumably they mean England?) leap from fifth to third in the Uefa coefficient rankings, overtaking Germany and France.

Spain head the rankings with Italy in second place; they will also have four representatives.

Germany, France and Holland, who occupy the next three spots, will have three representatives in the Champions League.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

Answers

So Peter Reid will have to get them down to 8th this season to unluckily miss out

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

I'm sure he can manage that!

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

My German neighbour will not be a happy chappy when he finds out that we nicked his country's extra 4th CL place.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

2001-2002 has only 3 places though leaving our target of a top 6 place next year & a big push the following year to get in the top 4.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

If we're in the top 4 at the end of next season we'll be in the CL the way I see it.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

If you lot are in the champions league in 2 years i will show my arse in fenwicks window. By the wayMcabeth ,if reid does manage to get us down to 8th and be unlucky how much lower will that push you lot? And how many times will injuries be brought up? People in glass houses etc.In many ways Nufc seem to be similar to king canute. Ie they do not realise that their powers are limited.Wake up and smell the coffee. The premier league is now strong so you cannot attain the heights that you did 4-5 years ago.Lets keep it real lads eh! Oh and william kane if you are reading this missive i await my abuse with baited breath.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

I thought you only ended up 7th cos of unlucky injuries, and suspensions, to key players. The injuries are just unlucky, unless you're an arrogant Geordie, then it serves us right for having a small squad ?

There should be no real difference between us and you, we get a few extra on our gates which must bring in a bit more money. We should have similar aspirations, surely. We believe that as the team getting the second biggest crowds we should be looking to be among the top two performing teams. If we're not there we will be disappointed. You seem to still be happy with your consolidation as a 7th place side, as long as we're below you. You should be as gutted as we are not to be in the top 4. It is ludicrous that a team getting your crowds cannot finish higher than 7th.

I saw a article showing highest paid players at each club, and it said you (SK) were on £18k a week (one million a year probably). This is great, as it shows Reid is controlling your costs well. On the flip side how will you attract top players to the club ? And if you do attract them how pissed off will the likes of SK be to find out how poorly they are paid ?

Will you be disappointed with 7th, or 8th, non-qualification anyway, next year ? How many years do you feel heppy consolidating ? Our problem is we have been close, we've played in the Champions League, been runners up two years in a row, we want to get back. It seems to me that you are still wary of your past ("this is your best year since .....") and not prepared to move on.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

The Premier league is no-where near as strong as it once was in my opinion. How the hell could Man Utd walk away with the title so easily if it was stronger than ever?

It's plain to see that it is a weak league when the difference in points bewteen 7th and 13th is 9, not exactly a lot.

Possibly the top four are stronger than before, but Leeds could have done a hell of a lot better and Arsenal were seen to have under- performed. The same goes for teams like Chelsea (had they left Vialli in charge I'm sure they'd be top 3).

On the European front, our teams have been great overall, but remember that the UEFA rankings are derived from the past 5 years, so it's not just this year that counts.

I could see us in the top 4 in two years time, a lot can happen in two years - Blackburn won the league and were relegated a few years later, Ipswich came out of nowhere and finished top 5. With a less depleted squad last season I'm sure we would have finished a few places higher than we did. During last season, we were talking about Europe quite a few times, it's all about the position you're in at the time. You never know, Bobby might buy some unheard of Dutchmen who breathe a breath of fresh air into the team and push us up the league. You just don't know what's going to happen.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

"If you lot are in the Champions League in 2 years I will show my arse in Fenwick's window".

You're on superkev - you could very well rue making that pledge!

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

In many ways Nufc seem to be similar to king canute. Ie they do not realise that their powers are limited.

Not as limited as your knowledge of history SK. King Canute was very well aware that his powers were limited and demonstrated as much with his seaside exhibition. Perhaps there is a lesson there for all of us.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

I am struggling with the King Canute analogy, can someone fill in the blanks for me? my powers are limited and I am coming to terms with it.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

"If you lot are in the Champions League in 2 years I will show my arse in Fenwick's window".

Isn't that soliciting or am I getting mixed up with Joplings.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Tony - Canute was an Anglo-Saxon King who went down in history as a man who attempted to turn the incoming tide by his command. The fact is that he very well meant this as a demonstration to his sycophantic followers that his powers were indeed limited and that the proverbial sun did not always shine were it was famed to do :-)

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

So soupykev has it arse first for a change, King Canute that is.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Wahey, where's Superkev got to? He'll have to do it twice.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2003