Fans Comment
Koi Ng

Hands Off!  It's Ours!
26 March 2005

Well, how should I start?  After finally qualifying for Europe and ending a 10-year wait, as Evertonians, we should sit back and enjoy the moment.  No matter what, since the moment when Crystal Palace's keeper Speroni tried to dribble around Campbell back in August 2004, we have made our friendly pundits and “experts” eat a lot of humble pie.  Well done to David Moyes, our players and fans, who did a great job in transforming our fate.

Howard Kendall: Looking for somewhere to ram home this phallic trophy should Everton yet be denied CL inclusion!

However, after guaranteeing a Uefa Cup place, we are still aiming for a Champions League (CL) place and the potential confrontation should Liverpool win this season's competition.  Although I don't believe Liverpool can win, and there is still some way to go before we can guarantee 4th place, it would be interesting to think “if such scenario really takes place, how should we justify ourselves as the legitimate and deserved one in next season’s CL?” and the objective of this article is to address this issue. 

In order to justify ourselves, I would argue that emotional arguments based on past injustices (Heysel) should be avoided because they will do us no good at all, with pundits and “experts” all feeling that Evertonians just want revenge on their neighbours.  We should also avoid those forever-inconclusive arguments like who will perform better in CL next season or whether Liverpool’s dreadful performance this season was due to injuries (or our good performance was only due to the lack of injures), etc. etc.  Even if such scenario happens, we are justified in two aspects: 1) the fundamental weakness of their own justification; and 2) the strength of our own cause.

The major argument by Liverpool is that the title holders should have the right to defend their title, citing the case that Real Madrid played in the Champion's League after their success in 2000, despite the fact that they finished 5th in La Liga.  At that time, it WAS common sense that title holders should be able to defend their titles, as reflected in various major international tournaments like the World Cup and European Championships.  However, times have changed:  soon after the arrival of the new century, Fifa passed a resolution stating that World Cup winners will not automatically qualify for the final stage of the tournament, with Brazil now playing in the “South American League” in order to qualify for Germany 2006.

Also, according to soccernet.com, in the qualifying rounds for Euro 2008, everyone except Switzerland and Austria (the co-hosts) will be divided into 7 groups, where the group winners will automatically qualify for the final stage of the tournament, while 1st and 2nd runners-up of each group will play off, making a total of 16 teams (7 group winners, 7 play-off winners & 2 co-hosts) in the final stages.  Although this arrangement is only a proposal, it clearly implies that Greece does not have the automatic right to defend its title.  The traditional belief that tournament winners should be granted the right to defend their title automatically is long-gone.  The Real Madrid case happened in year 2000 and at that time the Spanish FA made a rational and, in my opinion, fair choice.  However, whether it makes sense that an outdated case can be used to give Liverpool a place in the CL without finishing top 4 is highly doubtful. 

Then it comes to strengthening Everton's case.  If we consider the Champions' League as another tournament (like the World Cup), then the national  leagues represent qualifying rounds.  In this “qualifying round”, the top 2 teams automatically qualify for the “final stage”, while 3rd and 4th placed teams have to play a “play-off” with other clubs from another country’s league to qualify for the “final stage” of CL.  So, if we finish in 4th place, it simply meansthat Liverpool fails in the “qualifying round” and is not good enough to play in next season’s tournament!  Quelle surprise!  It’s just as simple as that.

Finally, I cannot end this article without mentioning some Liverpudians arguing about the name “Champions League”.  Some argued that Champions League, as the name suggests, should be a tournament for “champions” and so if Liverpool won CL, it would be a joke if the Champions were not included next season.  Don’t make me laugh!  "Champions' League" itself is only the name of the tournament and is NO different to other names like World Cup, European Championships, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup, etc. etc.  Although the name usually suggests some meanings of the tournament, don’t forget that names can also change easily.   Chelsea will not be winning the Championship, as we would have once said: they are winning the Premiership.  If Liverpudians really think that the word “champions” is so important, they should relegate themselves next season and play in the Championship…  Ohhh… doesn’t seem to be a very good joke, but it is on a par with claiming that “Champions League” is for “champions”.

The above analysis shows that, even without making any emotional statements or bringing up dire memories, we already have a very good case to justify ourselves as the deserved team to be in CL should such an unlikely scenario arouse.  Of course, the FA Board, chaired by a lifelong red fan, might think otherwise.  But if, touch wood, the decision really came against us, citing that “common sense” issue, what I can say is that their decisions simply biased and outdated.  I sincerely wish that this scenario does not arise or, if the inevitable happens, the FA can make a sensible decision with respect to Everton’s case.

No matter what, still, we are NOT qualified for CL YET.  Of course, I hope that this scenario never happens (no matter who gets 4th place, or whether our neighbours win CL or not). Moyesie et al. have already done a fantastic job this season, so, no matter what happens, we should just enjoy ourselves rather than muddling through the mud whirl.  I feel so proud that I am born to be an Evertonian, not manufactured to be a Liverpudian.

Come on you Blues!

Koi Ng

©2005 ToffeeWeb