NewsBiscuit says,'The allocation of Champions League places to English clubs is to be increased from four to twenty next season it was revealed at a press conference this morning.
"We want to maintain this competition's reputation for bringing together the elite in European football." explained a UEFA spokesman "Clearly clubs such as Middlesbrough, Fulham or Hull provide a better test for the top English teams than the likes of Real Madrid or Juventus. Consequently we have taken the decision to phase out the involvement of sides from countries such as Spain, Italy, France and Germany ...and the other European nations."
During a heated 'questions and answers' session at the end of the press conference journalists challenged the spokesman over these plans, pointing out that a competition featuring solely the top English clubs would duplicate the Premiership and diminish the appeal of the Champions League.
"On the contrary," the spokesman responded "this will continue to be a far more prestigious competition than the Premiership. When Chelsea played Man Utd in the Champions League final last season it was a far bigger occasion than any of their league encounters. All we are trying to do is to create the kind of excitement that occurs in the later rounds of the Champions League - when the English teams face each other - throughout the whole competition."
Responding to the news, Everton manager David Moyes said "This can only be a good thing for the English game. If teams such as ourselves are competing against Europe's elite week in, week out, it can only improve our standards. Of course we'll probably need to field a weakened team in the Champions League games as the need to stay in the Premiership will be even greater now in order to guarantee us Champions League football again the following season."
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