Is the UEFA seeding system a joke?

These are the groups:

[quote]Group A: Benfica, Manchester United, Basel, CSKA Moscow

Group B: Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Anderlecht, Celtic

Group C: Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Qarabag

Group D Juventus, Barcelona, Olympiakos, Sporting

Group E: Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Liverpool, Maribor

Group F: Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City, Napoli, Feyenoord

Group G: Monaco, Porto, Besiktas, RB Leipzig

Group H: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, Apoel[/quote]

The Champions League Groups look hugely imbalanced. Spurs and Celtic each have a massive task to get to the next rounds but Liverpool have a group that they can win and Man Utd have a group which they should win.

I believe UEFA do this so that all the top 8 countries have an 'A' seed but it does seem to imbalance the competition. Is this fair and should it change?

The official seeding:

[quote]Seeded: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow

Pot 2: Barcelona, Atletico, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Man City, FC Porto, Man United

Pot 3: Napoli, Tottenham, FC Basel, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Liverpool, Roma, Besiktas

Pot 4: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting CP, APOEL Nicosia, Feyenoord, NK Maribor, FK Qarabag, RB Leipzig[/quote]

My seeding (based on my own opinion of the standard of each team).

[quote]Seeded: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Chelsea, Barcelona, Atletico, Paris Saint-Germain, Man United

Pot 2: Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Man City, Tottenham, Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Monaco.

Pot 3: Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk, Spartak Moscow, FC Porto, Roma, CSKA Moscow, Celtic, FC Basel,

Pot 4: Sporting CP, APOEL Nicosia, Feyenoord, NK Maribor, FK Qarabag, Anderlecht, Besiktas, Olympiakos,[/quote]

Obviously, no seeding system is perfect. Monaco has lost half its team from last season and you can't account for that. RB Leipzig are in pot 4 though because they have no European experience. They finished second in the German League and are better than some seeded teams.

What changes would you make, if any?

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thatscottishguy · 26-30, M

Celtic almost got pot 3 but because of the liverpool score against Hoffenheim we didn't. There is no question they favour the big teams. 5 English teams this year granted one is because of Europe League but even 4 is a joke. Same for the likes of Spain and others getting so many places. To have a team like Liverpool who came 4th in after one play off round in when the invincible champions of Scotland and the champions of so many countries have to go through so many qualifying rounds and then get pot 4. I get they do it but it is wrong and less entertaining as unless Celtic are in it I have no interest in the CL now. Give some underdogs a shot and I will be interested.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@thatscottishguy I get your point and some of the romance is gone but the economics of modern football means that a few leagues have all the money and can attract the best players. Celtic are a huge club with a great history but they have a smaller budget than most EPL teams. I think Celtic under Rodgers would be top half of the EPL though and that wasn't the case two years ago. You will lose players to Prem teams not in the Chap League though.

I agree that English teams have underachieved big time but we retain 3rd ranking because we have been better than Italy, Portugal and France. Man Utd winning the UEFA cup keeps us safe for now. It is high time an English team got to the semi final.

As for Liverpool, they finished above Arsenal and Man Utd last season. They also won a tough qualifying game against Hoffenheim. I guess it depends on what you want. Do you want a high standard tournament or leave out some of the best teams in Europe because they are not Champions? Real Madrid vs Rosenberg isn't a contest. Real Madrid vs Dortmund is a game that neutrals would watch. There are plenty of chances for teams of smaller countries. There are some teams in the 32 who are not as good as Burnley.

thatscottishguy · 26-30, M

As a neutral I would rather watch Real v Rosenborg than the same old stuff. Having little ones mixed in with the big ones is much more interesting. I am sorry but I don't think Burnley are better than any of them. They just look weak bc they get beat against european competition but teams like spurs and west ham have consistently struggled against teams like Astana. Liverpool did finish ahead of them but have won fuck all and came 4th (oh and how hard on 4th place liverpool to have one play off round). I agree you are just ahead of some of these countries but these countries are ahead of you in international competition and that is supposed to count. Also you really think had United not won the Europa League that England would lose a place soon?

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

I can spot at four teams (excluding Celtic 😂) which wouldn't be able to compete in the EPL. Others like Anderlecht and Besiktas which would be very borderline. I also think to say Spurs are a [i]bit [/i]better than Astana.

Well done to Celtic for qualifying. You narrowly beat the mighty Norwegian Champions, who have Niklas Bendtner up front after he failed to cut it at Notts Forest. If they had Sam Vokes up front they would have sent you out. Hate on Liverpool for finishing fourth, but they fired your current manager because he was not good enough for a big prem club.

I think you should have to win something to get in the Champions League. Sheffield United won League One last season so send them instead. 😜

thatscottishguy · 26-30, M

At least Sheffield United are champions and Brendan was fired but what has Klopp done? I like the man but he hasn't got anywhere near topspot. Rodgers actually has a better record. You are deluded if you think Burnley could beat them. These teams get beat off tougher European competition. Yes spurs are better than Astana now but it wasn't that long ago they would struggle to beat them and they were better than Burnley then. The smaller teams in the EPL seem good because the league is competitive but the league is full of shite teams. That is all that makes them competitive. Put Burnley through our qualifiers and they wouldn't make it. Keep in mind we qualified basically without a defence and without playing a striker a lot of the time.