Manchester City, applauding every decision

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

An automatic UEFA Cup spot goes to the country who are top of UEFA's Fair Play League, and is granted to the team who are highest in that country's own fair play league who haven't already qualified for Europe. At the moment, England are top of UEFA's Fair Play League.

So step forward Manchester City, who appear to be currently about one yellow card and one gesture of dissent ahead of Wigan Athletic, if you can make head or tail of This league table...

[Auntie Beryl]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Chelsea have been allocated the least "respect towards referee" points.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

If I'm reading that table correctly, Chelsea have least points not only in respect towards officials, but respect towards opponents and red/yellow cards (I assume the latter means they've had the MOST reds and yellows, as it looks like points get deducted from a maximum of 10 per match). The only thing stopping them benig rock bottom is "positive play", which is an attribute Avram Grant must have brought to the club ...

[JtS]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

I think that's Man City should get Spurs' place in the UEFA cup and we should be upgraded to the Champions League.

[Oldelpaso]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Though the table is marked as including games up to and including 8th April, it hasn't actually been updated since early March. Finding out the current standings is an impossible task, it seems, as is finding out the criteria for how points are allocated in any category other than red and yellow cards.

[Guest]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

I could be mising something obvious here but why have they divided the total by 4 to give the score? Does that achieve something?

[joey wilson]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

UEFA.com

Current standings
Norway top the current UEFA Fair Play rankings, and would automatically receive one of the UEFA Cup berths if they are still there when the final rankings are released at the start of May. England, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Spain and Estonia are the other seven countries currently in the frame for one of the two places awarded via the Fair Play draw, which will be held at the City of Manchester Stadium on 13 May at 14.30 (15.30GMT), between the pre-match press conferences before the UEFA Cup final.

Cut-off points
The overall UEFA Fair Play rankings will cover all matches played in UEFA competitions between 1 May 2007 and 30 April 2008. The current intermediary list includes matches played up to and including 17 March. For the current standings, only national associations that have played a minimum of 31 games are considered. This cut-off point is calculated by dividing the total number of UEFA matches by the number of national associations.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

So the draw will be held at the City of Manchester Stadium, ahead of the UEFA Cup Final they're hosting, while Man City themselves are one of the clubs in the draw?

No potential for "warm balls" there, then ...

[Sonny Pike]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Heh, "warm balls"...

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Told you ...

You never believe Uncle Rogin, you lot, do you?

[Gerontophile]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

I thought Volendam had won...?

[Ball Comrade]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

What round do the fair play entrants qualify for?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

I think they have to start playing pretty much next week, like Liverpool had to in the summer of 2005.

[Oldelpaso]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

First qualifying round (of two), a July start. Potential opponents in QR1 are from Ireland, N Ireland, Wales, Iceland, the Faroes, Estonia, Luxembourg or possibly Lithuania.

This is a round earlier than when Manchester City got a Fair Play place in 2003. Winning two ties gets you to the first round proper, so in this respect it is the same as entering the Intertoto Cup - Intertoto qualifiers enter in the second qualifying round.

[Guest]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Blimey, a July start to the season.

Well Man City are lucky in that they have an established manager who knows his squad and is going to build on this in years to...

Oh.

[the cantering captain]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

How many men do they have to have sent off tomorrow to lose the spot ?

[Outside Agent]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Not sure if it will have any impact on tomorrow's proceedings, but I wonder does this method of securing places in European competition have consequences for sporting fairness? As in, a team hoping to achieve a particular outcome that has nothing to do with the result of the game.

I think this happened in 1998/99, when mid-table Sheffield Wednesday were in the running for a UEFA Cup place via their disciplinary record. They were playing Charlton, who were battling relegation, on the final day. It would be in their interest to not exert themselves and pick up sanctions, thus making Charlton's task easier. I don't think England secured that extra UEFA Cup spot in the end, but I remember the discussions at the time centring on this scenario.

If Middlesboro hadn't beaten Portsmouth last week, we would have a situation tomorrow where one team needing points to decide their league status were playing another for whom avoiding sanctions in order to secure a 'prize' was the goal.

[statto99]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Cut-off points
The overall UEFA Fair Play rankings will cover all matches played in UEFA competitions between 1 May 2007 and 30 April 2008.

Therefore tomorrow's matches don't count for this season's rankings.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Notwithstanding the point that this year the final matches don't appear to count, I agree with impact sub that the principle behind how this extra place is awarded does seem a little warped. About the only thing to say in its favour, I suppose, is that someone at UEFA HQ must honestly believe in an alternate reality where "fair play" doesn't affect results on the pitch, but is merely an aesthetic value.

The fact that Man United and Chelsea are all but top, and bottom, of the English fair play league, going into the final round of matches, is interesting in that respect. Would Chelsea not be top if they didn't commit so many niggly fouls? Would Man U have won the league already if they had a couple more Paul Scholes-type cloggers in midfield?

[David Agnew]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

statto99 wrote:

Cut-off points
The overall UEFA Fair Play rankings will cover all matches played in UEFA competitions between 1 May 2007 and 30 April 2008.

Therefore tomorrow's matches don't count for this season's rankings.

That's just for the league rankings apparently. So Richard Dunne's red card a few minutes back reduces the gap to five points.

[Tony C]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

Five Live just announce that we are indeed in Europe next season.

Apparently the lap of honour didn't go down too well.

[Gangster Octopus]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

So, the fact that Rotherham United went an entire season without having a player sent-off, and having fewer bookings than matches played, doesn't mean that we get to play in Europe?

[boris]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

England is in Europe, silly.

[Gangster Octopus]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

You're just bitter 'cos of '86...

[Harbinger of Hope]

Manchester City, applauding every decision

It was saying on Sky Sports News today that because Dunne got sent off, miraculously Fulham might be in Europe??!!