Euro-Bore League

Europe's second string is subjected to the most deathly dull competition in football

I hate the Europa League.

Let me explain. Not so long ago the now re-named UEFA Cup was a two-legged-knockout 'anyone-can-play-anyone' type tournament, as I'm sure you'll remember. It wasn't too much of a challenge, and most any team could get a bit of luck and find themselves in the latter stages of the cup, with a genuine chance of silverware. It was exactly what a cup should be. Not a ruthless test of mettle, but a chance for a trophy to be won by a team who enjoy some form and good fortune.

Nowadays that isn't the case. Instead of two-legged knockout we have four qualifying rounds leading up to an interminably slow group stage that comprises of another six games. Then the knockout begins, where a team can find themselves battling through another five rounds before finishing the competition.

In case you weren't counting, that's a possible twenty-one games you'd have to face in order to win this competition. And we're not talking about the Champions League. No, this is the far-less prestigious Europa League. Is all the effort involved really worthwhile?

In a time where there are so many games during a season, and the physical fitness of players is more important then ever, it surely isn't fair that those teams who performed well enough in the previous season to taste the glories of Europe have to carry the burden of this extra competition, which is as drawn-out as half a league season. It bears no surprise that some managers are suspected of having intentionally got their team eliminated to concentrate on the league, and can you blame them?

It perhaps is ironic that I complain about the Europa League's group system. After all, were it not for the introduction of this stage, one of the all-time great encounters at Fratton Park would have never happened. Our 2-2 draw against AC Milan will go down in Pompey folklore, and maybe the group stages should be credited for making this sort of tie happen.

But those David and Goliath encounters aside, most games in the Europa League are beyond awful. The amount of drab 0-0's that the English clubs have been involved in this season is a testament to how disinterested the teams really are. Liverpool and Man City, this year's representatives, look like two teams still despondent about missing out on the Champions League this year, and their European encounters reflect their obvious lack of enthusiasm.

This may be unfair though, because while two teams with higher ambitions might not show much concern towards their Europa League journeys, for smaller teams the awe and excitement can take them to great heights. Fulham are the perfect example of this. The club have never really achieved much, so a trip into Europe was a historic and thrilling prospect, and they certainly made the most of it. They extraordinarily made their way through the toughest opposition imaginable to reach the final, narrowly losing to an impressive Atletico side.

These examples are extremely few and far between though. I can't see a story like Fulham's ever being repeated under this current format. Or at least, not without it having a massive detrimental effect on the club's league performance. It's a shame, because the sort of story we saw with Fulham is exactly what the Europa League should be like. We should see more hard-working smaller clubs who are going through the good times reach the latter stages of the tournament. However, when squads aren't used to such a fixture-laden season, it usually just becomes too much for them.

I still feel the tournament has life in it, although it needs to be radically overhauled. If UEFA took the following steps in the next reform of this competition, I think the interest and magic would flood back into it.

• Straight knockout. That's to say, the whole competition is knockout based and there are no group stages whatsoever.
• Single-legged games. I know home advantage plays a bigger part in Europe, but for me this would be part of the fun. It would give the smaller teams a better opportunity to knock out the big guns, make the fixtures more exciting, and reduce the number of games in the competition significantly.
• No seeding. Anyone should be able to play anyone. 
• No Champions League Drop-outs. I don't think it's fair that a team can fail at one competition and then be given a bye half-way into a much easier competition as a result. If you can't make it through the CL group stages, tough luck.

Nothing unreasonable in that list, is there? I mean, luck's influence takes a little increase, but if that makes it more entertaining, then what does it matter. It doesn't. So stop saying it does.