Last night Manchester City became the ninth UK club to reach the European Cup/Champions League final, where they will face either Real Madrid or Chelsea. Of those who have reached this stage before them, only Leeds United and Arsenal are without a win in the tournament.
European football was more interesting in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Each of those decades saw four (90s), five (60s, 70s) or six (80s) clubs win their very their first European Cup. That trend of variety has stopped. Since Paul Lambert lifted the trophy with Borussia Dortmund in 1997 only Chelsea’s name has been added to the new winners’ list. The football peak seems to have effectively closed to new entrants.
City and last night’s losers, Paris Saint-Germain are the obvious omissions from the list. The petrodollars pouring into both of them, as well as Chelsea, makes their ascent to the top only a matter of time. If City do not win this season, they will continue to spend until they do. The same goes for PSG, both will win this decade.
Then, unless Uefa or the European Club Association can find some mettle, the door will finally close on new entrants. The European Super League may have died but its ghost will live on to haunt aspiring European clubs.
Can you name all 9 European clubs?
A note on the comments’ section. CQN is not the best place for anyone to demonstrate their inability to be respectful to others. I have a ton of email (yet to respond, sorry) on this subject, if you cannot leave off the personal abuse, your account will be pulled.
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Cornelius
Best wishes to your wife for a full and speedy recovery.
HH
Big Jimmy
Agree with 1 and most of 2.
Will make my judgement on point 3 when the new manager is announced. If it turns out that we have waited on a high calibre appointment I will be happy with that.
If it turns out to be JK, Ross or another of that ilk, I will not be happy with the appointment or the board.
RIMTIMTIM
Good read .. I have no clue if Feargal is the right man but for me there needs to be an agreed strategy of how we actually play football and the key steps to achieve this.
To paraphrase, do we wish to continue filling the team with tanner ba players , playing open expansive football which often puts undue pressure on the defence or ( I know leading the witness sort of summary)
Have something better …..
Modern football is moving away from us at a fair rate of knots , so for me we need a clean break and a complete change in the type of player we bring in or bring in through the youths.
Football can turn round quickly even nowadays with hefty wages coming in …. we need to lay some long term foundations now and within reason give the next manager 3 years to get back to some semblance of being a half decent outfit.
1st line in football strategy build from the back line with a stable strong defence
RIMTIMTIM on 6TH MAY 2021 10:39 AM
‘ John Reid ( who was a crass political choice by the celtic hierarchy from their Labour party love in days’
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Reid was appointed because his contacts from his time in power were useful to TGD, it was nothing to do with a Labour Party love in, certainly not from the club’s Thathcherite owner, though historically at least there has been a sympathetic fit between the Labour Party, the Club and the support. Not so much now at least so far as the support are concerned when so many of them, not knowing their history, are champing at the bit to vote for a party who seized the first available opportunity to try to ‘even up the score’.
ERNIE LYNCH on 6TH MAY 2021 10:22 AM
GENE on 6TH MAY 2021 10:01 AM
‘Is this site becoming too Woke’
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Ffs that is just embarrassing.
Reid was appointed because his contacts from his time in power were useful to TGD, it was nothing to do with a Labour Party love in, certainly not from the club’s Thathcherite owner, though historically at least there has been a sympathetic fit between the Labour Party, the Club and the support. Not so much now at least so far as the support are concerned when so many of them, not knowing their history, are champing at the bit to vote for a party who seized the first available opportunity to try to ‘even up the score’.
ERNIE LYNCH
I too despair at the youths´ endorsement of the SNP but you can appreciate the disillusionment amongst young Celtic supporters of the Labour Party because the stopping point for many of them , Reid included, is the House of Lords, the most undemocratic and malevolent political chamber in the history of mankind, You can´t be a rebel and a lord at the same time although some think they can.
RIMTIMTIM on 6TH MAY 2021 11:27 AM
‘I too despair at the youths´ endorsement of the SNP’
Do you despair more or less at the older generation who voted for Brexit and the current extreme far right government?
JHB on 6TH MAY 2021 7:40 AM
More great news on the Covid vaccine front. It is reported from Israel, the only country to have vaccinated a bigger proportion of its citizens than the UK, that the two Pfizer ‘shots’ now give 95% protection – amazing really when you think that the annual flu jab sits at around 70%.
Israel run their testing regime along racial lines.
it is racism that allows your boast of Israel to proclaim such figures.
Ask George,if he is not busy working with tories and orangemen he will put you right.
palestinians do not have same access.
RIMTIMTIM on 6TH MAY 2021 11:27 AM
‘ the House of Lords, the most undemocratic and malevolent political chamber in the history of mankind, ‘
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It’s a subsidiary, revising chamber in a bicameral system. The standard of debate is generally higher than the House of Commons and makes Hoyrood look like a playgroup.
new article posted.
Frank Terry.
I despair because I believe we should all be floating voters, who LEND their votes to parties and those parties have to work their socks off to EARN our vote next time round. We should not be any party´s cannon fodder. IMHO The Green Brigade and others should not get obsessed with conflicts thousands of miles away, ie Palestine. Basically because the issues are complex and at a young age you are only beginning to understand the complexity of the Israeli – Palestine conflict which goes back to 1948. That said we obviously do have a legitimate voice about Ireland which is in a neighbouring country where we have family ties, apart from a shared culture and language.
With regards to brexit, I also feel we should appreciate that older people are doing just that, looking from a closer more manageable UK perspective rather than a European one with 26 countries in it. Is that a lack of solidarity or a reality check? Those experienced citizens also were around in 1973 when we were sold the EEC as an economic nirvana for all europeans, rather than a clique run by presidents from Luxembourg who changed it into a POLITICAL UNION. Alright when it´s the eurovison song contest ( Luxembourg have won it 5 times) but not on because a president of the EU should come from a real country.
Does any other season ticket holders remember that we were
going to get some ADDED VALUE to our present season tickets
since we paid full whack knowing that we would be paying it
just to watch games on tv
Maybe I have missed this ADDED VALUE but seems to me it has
been conveniently forgotten by our club
season and a half of Breaking bad left to watch 😊
Hartepool; A place;
Where they once hanged a monkey
Where they once elected a monkey for Mayor
Where they’ll be hanged before they vote Labour in 2021
hangonintherecsc