It’s not often I get to say this, so please allow me to savour the moment: what a fantastic idea Uefa came up with last week.

I have little doubt Uefa will realise dropping this particular dead donkey is the right move- James Calvert

European football’s governing body is actively considering abandoning the Europa League and instead increasing the Champions League from 32 to 64 teams.

As plans go, it is one that works on many levels.

The Europa League, despite the good intentions behind it, has turned into a non-event of continental proportions. The big clubs never really want to be in it because it means they have missed out on the ‘proper’ competition, while an increasing number of smaller clubs are finding it a distraction from their domestic programmes.

The fans don’t get excited by it, clubs are increasingly using it as a testing ground for their reserves, and all in all it has become a bit of a pointless competition, sniffed at by just about everyone, with the possible exception of the eventual winners.

Personally, I haven’t watched a Europa League game from start to finish for years, and that despite the fact that, without it, Thursday nights would be a football wasteland.

As a concept, the Europa League has entirely failed to ignite anybody’s imagination. Binning it in favour of an expanded Champions League and giving the whole of European football a single competitive focal point makes a lot of sense.

Uefa president Michel Platini has insisted nothing has been finalised yet and that they have no intention of taking any sort of decision until 2014.

“There is an ongoing debate to determine what form the European competitions will have between 2015 and 2018,” he said.

But when they have analysed everything I have little doubt they will realise dropping this particular dead donkey is the right move.

Organising a 64-team Champions League will not be easy both in terms of basic logistics and in ensuring the big boys don’t get upset at having too many smaller teams dining at their table. But it can be done with a bit of careful planning and some clever use of seeding.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Platini also dismissed fears that Europe’s richest clubs will break away and form a European league of their own.

“It’s a question that is regularly brought up. I can’t see how it would work outside the Uefa framework. Who will referee them? In what stadiums will they play?” he said.

To be honest, I find that a little bit naive from Platini.

For a start, don’t the vast majority of Europe’s richest clubs already have their own stadiums? And does he really think they wouldn’t be able to tempt some top-quality referees away from their current roles?

If he wants to dissuade the big boys from quitting the Champions League and starting their own thing, then I think he may need to find some more convincing arguments than those.

Coincidentally, or more likely not coincidentally at all, the idea of killing the Europa League should actually help avoid any potential breakaway.

For a start, having a single, focused competition will, in effect, make the Champions League a sort of European league in itself.

More importantly for the big teams, however, it will also mean more of them are able to qualify for the competition.

Take English football, for example. At the moment, only four teams make it to the Champions League, which means there is always the danger of one of the big boys missing out.

But a bigger, expanded Champions League would mean the number of slots increases to seven, thereby reducing the risk of the bigger clubs not being in Europe. In fact, you could end up with both Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton all joining the same European super competition.

The expansion would also give the mid-table Premiership teams a real goal to aim for, knowing that a top-six or seven finish will give them access to the riches of proper European football.

All in all, it’s a rather mouth-watering proposition. Everyone seems to benefit, from the fans to the clubs themselves.

And it’s not often you can say that about a Platini plan…

A rich man’s Kean

When I wrote last week that new Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez would probably be facing some hostility from his ‘own’ supporters at Stamford Bridge, I had no idea just how hostile they would be.

His reception as he took charge of the team for the first time against Manchester City was quite staggering. I think it’s fair to say that, in the history of the Premier League at the very least, there has never been a manager less welcome at a new football club.

The boos and jeering were practically non-stop for the entire 90 minutes, while banners everywhere either praised previous boss Roberto Di Matteo or pointed out that Benitez was about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.

But if all that wasn’t enough, then the Chelsea fans actually sang “You’re just a fat Spanish waiter” at the man who was, in theory, on their side. That’s the sort of abuse you would normally reserve for your opponent’s manager.

In short, Benitez has become a rich man’s Steve Kean. Actually, that’s being slightly unfair to the former Blackburn boss who probably had the support of around 10 per cent of the supporters at Ewood Park. Benitez’s supporters at Stamford Bridge would fit comfortably into a telephone box.

It would have helped, of course, if the former Liverpool manager had got his new team off to a flying start. But a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Manchester City followed by an equally dull and equally goalless game with Fulham has only made his position that much more uncomfortable.

The irony of this situation is that the man responsible for appointing Benitez, good old Roman Abramovich, continues to avoid any criticism from the Chelsea fans.

If a similarly unpopular appointment had taken place at just about any other club, the banners would have been all about sacking the board, and the rude chanting would have been directed at the owner. After all, its not really Benitez’s fault he has the job.

But Abramovich is above criticism, undoubtedly because of all the trophies his money has bought for the club.

Whatever the case, the reality is that Chelsea fans are now stuck with their Spanish waiter at least until the end of the season.

I can’t wait to see how they react when he loses his first game in charge…

Experience not essential

If like me, you have wasted countless hours of your life playing Football Manager on a computer then this is the news you have been waiting for.

A man in Azerbaijan, with the quite brilliant name of Vugar Guloglan oglu Huseynzade, has just been appointed manager of two-time league champions Baku FC.

He got the job when the previous manager was dismissed following a poor run of form.

Nothing unusual so far.

However, here’s the twist. Not only is Huseynzade only 21 years old, he has never managed a team before and never played real football at anything approaching professional level.

But he is, apparently, very good at Football Manager.

Yes, that’s right, Baku FC have appointed their new boss based on his success at playing a computer game.

“I’ve always wanted to work in football and have played Football Manager since 2002,” he explained.

Of course, we all know this is probably going to end in tears when Huseynzade loses a few matches and freaks out when he can’t find the reset button.

But wouldn’t it be great if he actually turned out to be as good at managing a real team as a virtual one.

Not only would it give all us ‘digital’ managers hope, it would mean people like Jose Mourinho may not actually be as special as they like to think they are…

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade