It's hard to imagine that when Crystal Palace begins its league life there on Thursday night, the EHO will be spared from the anger of Selhurst Park. The red letter event in club history has been made possible by its UEFA European relegation and Norwegian Cup champion, Fredrikstad's victory, and at the middle table of Eliteserien, lined up with Oliver Glasner's players would hardly bring charm.
The palace has obvious room for ascending to all the burning injustice. If history and raw numbers are the steps to be taken, they may never have a greater chance of success in Europe. Any Premier League club should start as a hot champion to win the Mainland's third stage game, which is their financial advantage over all competitors. The status is reasonable in both of its four versions, and when West Ham and Chelsea brought the trophy home, they took inspiration from the joyful scenes.
The game itself also has a warning sign. The conference league aims to provide smaller and longer European football for smaller and longer European football, conceptually some of them provide them with a shot at distance. So when West Ham, who finished 14th in the Premier League, beat Fiorentina in the 2023 final, the bigger situation wasn't particularly excited. Chelsea In most games, Chelsea has made the second-string team in the field louder and louder, scattering to glory at most, 45-12 in the game.
Is the future really a carving between British clubs? In the discussion on conference alliance creation in the second half of the past decade, whether teams from the “Big Five” countries will be invited to participate in the competition. The final decision, excluding them, can also reduce the sports value of the event, which means a clear opportunity is rejected. For many little fish, the attention gained by drawing giants can be a real change.
If it was impossible in the playoffs, somehow beat Icelander Breidablik and entered the league stage, that would definitely be the case. That's why eight-time Allsvenskan champion Djurgården has barely had tears, but has existed so far on the periphery of Europe when they were 5-1 by Chelsea in the semifinals last season. Going further and being able to receive one of the famous European names constitutes a historic development, but the result is. Their travel fans almost enjoy the second leg at Stamford Bridge, with little problem.
UEFA and the increasingly powerful European Club Association insiders have little patience with any idea that the conference league has flaws in concept or execution. They could point out that last season's league stage had 29 different national representatives, which is in stark contrast to 16 teams competing in the Champions League and 22 matches in the Europa League. All delegates will receive a benchmark of £2.7 million and the feedback is that the club is very satisfied. This is a rich cross-section of interests and culture.
Advocates of the Conference Coalition can point to rare successes in Europe, such as the 2022 victory of José Mourinho. Photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
The victory of Rome and Olympics in 2022 and 2024 respectively adds the argument that anyone who hates British dominance is jumping on the gun. There must be a long-term view before identifying whether the conference league has encountered problems that ultimately make the Cup Champions League problems, which offered its own delightful Ragtag competitors until the late 1990s. The last 11 versions of the now-discontinued game were won by teams from England, Spain, Italy, Germany or France, a trend that almost coincides with the creation and subsequent expansion of the Champions League.
Finally, the cup was paid to the cup. By contrast, the conference league is created by the overpopularity of the Champions League, with the richest leagues selling for full price. This year's league stage will include at least seven domestic champions last season. A more extreme case, depending on the Europa League playoff results, its failed team will get the Conference League safety net and will eventually take part in 15 times. That's just a champion with fewer champions.
Skip the newsletter promotion
register Football every day
Start your night with the Guardians’ view of the world of football
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content funded by external parties. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. We use Google Recaptcha to protect our website and Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
After the newsletter promotion
Quick Guide
Conference League: Finals so far
exhibit
2022 Rome 1-0 Feyenoord Tirana
2023 West Ham 2-1 Fiorentina Prague
2024 Olympiakos 1-0 Fiorentina (AET) Athens
2025 Chelsea 4-1 Real Betis Wroclaw
Leicester entered the semi-finals in 2022 and lost to Roma
Aston Villa arrives at the semifinals in 2024, losing to Olympiakos
Thank you for your feedback.
It's a real problem: the conference league was formed to respect the system that allows the wealthiest clubs, including six from England who will compete in the Champions League this season to soar. If it addresses the previous shortage of European clubs other than the elite, it consolidates the status quo and implicitly admits that for most people, it will now be as good as things are. The increasingly elite barges have limited range.
Hope emerged in the form of clubs like Pafos, who made their debut in the Champions League after champion Red Star Belgrade won the first leg of the playoffs. Contact with last season's conference league didn't hurt the Cyprus champions to prepare for the next step. Slovan Bratislava, a veteran of two conference leagues before reaching last year’s Champions League, provides further evidence that some form of liquidity is still possible. The final cost of their domestic league is the final cost of reaching the £15.7 million European flagship competition.
This year's conference coalition could benefit from the palace's downgrade, which is clearly a strong side, given Nottingham Forest's exchange of locations with them. Maybe Shakhtar Donetsk, Sparta Prague or Anderlecht can take advantage of the fact that no one is dominant in what Chelsea does.
As the shape of the palace is chosen for a second time in glory, their destiny may illustrate the wider health of the football ecosystem.