“Premier” league is concerned about the country's UEFA coefficient, and this issue may be attempted to be solved by offering additional prizes to clubs for good performance in the Europa League matches.
The “Premier” league is at risk of losing the fourth place in the Champions League, and next season clubs such as “Chelsea”, “Manchester United”, or “Liverpool” may participate in the Europa League matches. Therefore, there are plans to try to improve the performance of English clubs in the second most powerful European tournament.
According to Dan King and The Sun, the CEO of the “Premier” league Richard Scudamore will present a proposal to clubs, the essence of which is to reward clubs performing well in the Europa League. It is said that successful performance in these competitions could bring up to £10 million in prizes from the “Premier” league. The reason for this proposal is that England is seriously threatened by falling behind Italy in the UEFA coefficient, thus losing one of the four places currently received in the Champions League matches.
The UEFA coefficient consists of clubs' performances in the Champions League and Europa League matches, so better performances in the second most powerful European tournament could help protect a place in the Champions League. Currently, English clubs rarely take these matches seriously. “Chelsea” won these competitions in 2013, and “Fulham” reached the final in 2010, but without these performances, English clubs rarely progressed to further stages in the Europa League. Clubs like “Tottenham Hotspur” and “Liverpool”, which have most often represented England in the second most powerful tournament in recent years, often decided to not even field their main teams.
This season, performances in the Europa League matches are also not shining, and “West Ham United” and “Southampton” dropped out of the tournament before the group stage. According to King, the unwillingness to play on Thursdays and Sundays was usually the main reason why “Premier” league clubs underrated their performance in the Europa League matches.
It seems that the “Premier” league clubs' fans are not very interested in the competitions, and upcoming matches of “Manchester United” against “Midtjylland” receive very little attention.
Until now, the performances of “Premier” league clubs in the Europa League matches did not consistently maintain a high UEFA coefficient, as the teams performed very well in the Champions League. From 2005 to 2012, at least one English team did not participate in the final for only one year. However, in recent years, the clubs' performances in the most prestigious European competitions have deteriorated, and in the 2014-2015 season, not a single “Premier” league club reached either the Champions League or Europa League quarterfinals. Things may not improve for English clubs this year either – “Manchester United” already withdrew from the competition, and “Chelsea” and “Arsenal” are facing tough tests in the quarterfinals against “Paris Saint-Germain” and “Barcelona”.
The “Blues” are almost guaranteed to miss next year's Champions League, unless they fight for the Champions League title, or miraculously return to the top four of the “Premier” league. Qualifying for the Europa League is also not an easy task, but it is not impossible.
A similar situation is in the “Liverpool” club: it is most likely that they will occupy a position that will allow them to secure one of the English spots in the Europa League for next year. “Manchester United” is just five points behind the top four, but the current position would also mean their performance in the second most powerful European tournament.
Clubs with budgets like “Liverpool”, “United”, or “Chelsea” could definitely compete for the title of Europa League winners if they were to play in these competitions next year. However, history shows that elite English teams rarely take these matches seriously and allocate all their focus to the “Premier” league matches.
In order for the league to encourage clubs with monetary prizes, this proposal must be approved by 14 out of 20 “Premier” league clubs. Additional cash payments may be the only way to motivate clubs to give their all in the Europa League, and good results in these competitions should help the “Premier” league maintain its four places in the Champions League matches.
