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Posts Tagged ‘century’

• ‘We have too many games and injuries as it is’
• ‘We will be playing until the end of the century’

Rafael Benítez became the latest high-profile manager yesterday to condemn proposals for a Champions League play-off when he said that players would be exposed to greater injury risks due to clubs “playing until the end of the century”.

Benítez takes charge of his first Europa League match as Liverpool manager tonight, against the Romanian team Unirea Urziceni at Anfield, but Europe’s elite competition still provided a distraction. The Liverpool manager is incredulous that the Premier League is thinking about using play-offs between the sides who finish fourth to seventh to determine the last qualifier for the Champions League. He ridiculed the idea, revealed by the Guardian, as ill-conceived and dangerous.

“People should analyse carefully what they say and think before they put these ideas in the newspapers,” said Benítez. “Yes it is good for the papers and it’s a good talking point but we have too many games and injuries as it is. We have to be realistic. We have too many injuries in all the top European sides because we play too many games and we have too many competitions. When are we going to play more games?

“I have to agree with David Moyes. He said what would it mean for a team like Tottenham if they finish fourth and, after a fantastic season, have to play a team who finishes ­seventh, maybe 20 points behind, just to keep the competition alive?

“I don’t see the point in having a fantastic season and then having to play the team in seventh. It will be a mess. If we continue playing games we will end up