<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>It can’t be much fun to be a football fan in the city of Liverpool these days. With Sunday’s Merseyside Derby approaching, the red side has fallen out of the Champions League and is slipping from its Top Four perch, while the blue side is so decimated by injuries that it’s can’t even stop Hull City from scoring. Reveling in the schadenfreude of the other side’s struggles is really tough when your side seems to be struggling just as badly.
Then there’s the whole prospect of Liverpool and Everton <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/why-kirkby-rejection-is-good-news-for-everton-fc/13219">sharing a stadium</a>, something that must make supporters of both sides want to jump off a bridge into the River Mersey just to avoid ever seeing it happen in their lifetimes. Phil Brown probably won’t be there to stop them, either.
Before the “San Scouso” gets built, though, Liverpool FC needs to get its own house in order, and they seem to have figured out something that the supporters need to remember — dropping to the Europa League this season is not the end of the world. Finishing below fourth place in the Premier League is. Yes, the Reds won’t get a shot at Champions League glory, but in terms of cash flow, the Europa League could be just as rewarding.
Liverpool’s already gotten its cash from the Champions League Group Stage. That adds up to €9.1 million in UEFA prize money, not including what they might get at Fiorentina in December. Then there’s the TV “Market Pool” cash. Last year, Liverpool got €10M from that. This year, they get a little more. (Hat tip to <a href="http:\/\/www.theoffside.com/tournaments/champions-league/uefa-champions-league-200910-prize-money.html">The Offside</a> for those numbers.)
So what would have happened if Liverpool had gotten through? Clubs in the round of 16 get €3M each. Quarterfinalists gets another €3.3M. That’s probably as far as the Reds would have gotten this year.
They can make up that €6.3M by reaching the Europa League quarterfinals. The market pool cash in the Europa League kicks in when clubs reach the quarterfinals. Last season, Werder Bremen and Manchester City brought in €4.6M in TV cash for reaching the quarter finals, plus another €420,000 in UEFA prize money. Liverpool’s huge worldwide TV audience means that number could be bigger. That covers the Champions League Knockout Stage losses.
Plus, winning the whole thing — and if Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are healthy during the stretch, that’s a real possibility — will bring in another €4M or so. So financially speaking, winning the Europa League is the same getting to the semifinals of the Champions League, and it comes with a trophy and another €1.4M appearance fee for the UEFA Super Cup next August.
Plus, there is the real possibility of another Merseyside Derby in the Europa League Knockout Stage. Oh, and if you’re a Liverpool or Everton supporter in America, you’d hear Ray Hudson call that game on GOLTV. Tell me that wouldn’t be must-see TV.
So missing out on the Champions League Knockout Stage this year is not the disaster it seems to be. Missing out on the Champions League Group Stage next year, however, would be. Simply put, Liverpool must finish fourth in the Premier League. Don’t rule out their chances, either, because the other contenders for fourth place — Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur — have a history of dropping points they shouldn’t drop, especially late in the season. One good hot streak could put the Reds back above all three of them in a hurry.
Of course, if Liverpool fails to finish fourth but wins the Europa League, maybe they can ask UEFA for special dispensation to the Champions League again. Hey, <a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C._Champions_League_qualification_2005%E2%80%9306">it worked once before</a>. It might even lead to the Europa League becoming <a href="http:\/\/www.runofplay.com/2009/03/12/searching-for-meaning-in-trophies/">a more “meaningful” competition</a> in the long run.
Then again, what means more to Liverpool supporters right now than beating Everton on Sunday? There’s no better salve for your team’s woes than knocking off a arch rival.

The Europa League is Not the End of the World for Liverpool - World Soccer Talk

The Europa League is Not the End of the World for Liverpool

<div style="width: 350px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup</div>
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With four games of the Premier League campaign left, Fulham are leading the ‘race’ for seventh place and for the Cottagers it will be a rare European adventure. This would of course be via the all singing, all dancing UEFA Europa League.
This ‘new’ competition&nbsp;was created by reformatting and re-branding the ailing UEFA&nbsp;Cup. Normally&nbsp;to&nbsp;fans of most teams, seeing their beloved club in&nbsp;participate&nbsp;would be something to look&nbsp;forward&nbsp;to. But it appears that until the latter stages of this competition hardly anyone actually seems interested. My memories of the UEFA Cup in recent years seem to have followed a similar pattern. watch the final but pay little/no attention to the barely watchable early rounds that in recent years have thrown up classic encounters between European giants like&nbsp;Bolton Wanderers and Aris Thessaloniki.
No direspect to the teams mentioned above but&nbsp;I do wonder how many&nbsp;neutrals actually tune in to ITV4 to watch these games? Granted in the latter stages of the competition when the bigger clubs like Manchester City and Hamburger SV rip into each other we are once again interested.&nbsp;
The major&nbsp;problem with&nbsp;the UEFA Cup/Europa League, is that it is without doubt a second class competition. This is likely to be down to the hype that surrounds it’s bigger sibling the Champions League. I am fully aware that UEFA are in business to make money but even the Champions league appears to be losing a bit of prestige. “How so?” I hear you ask. Simple, the name of the competition is the Champions League. How many champions actually participate? The last time&nbsp;I checked, teams that finish second, third and fourth&nbsp;not champions.&nbsp;&nbsp;
It seems a bit unfair on teams from the ‘lesser leagues’ that win their domestic title and then have to go through the qualifying rounds and invariaby&nbsp;don’t get the chance to play at Old Trafford and the Nou Camp etc while a team from England that finishes 12 points from top gets the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan in their group. This being said, it would be hypocritical of me to back that statement 100 percent. After all, I’d sooner watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid than watch Llanelli take on the likes of&nbsp; NSI Runavik.
One of UEFA’s strategy to make the UEFA cup more exciting was to drop third placed Champions League teams&nbsp; into the competition. What a lovely kick in the face that is for the teams who have been in the competition from outset. I can understand that the likes AC Milan at Fratton Park last year was genuinely exciting but most of the time you would expect teams from Greece and Norway to drop into the Europa League. Again this approach is what makes it such a second class competition in the first place. I don’t believe for one minute that Europa League will ever hold the prestige that it did in it’s previous guise as the UEFA Cup in years gone by. Quite simply the standard of many of the teams isn’t good enough as the better teams have already participated in the Champions league – even if they finished fourth domestically. And in any case, managers will rather turn their focus to the Premier League and the FA Cup.

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The Europa League is Not the End of the World for Liverpool

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UEFA Europa League, A Second Rate Competition