Can Saints get into Europe through the UEFA Fair Play method ? the truth is its not as easy as it might sound so here is all the info on how we could do it.

If you think that qualification for the Europa League is simple then forget it, If you think that Saints can get in it fairly easily either, forget that, to understand how it all works you need a degree in mathematics and a first class honours one at that.

Firstly there is the question as to whether England will actually get a place at all through fair play qualification, the criteria is that only the top three Football Associations in UEFA qualify for a spot, England currently sits fourth in the latest rankings, although reports say that there is a good chance they could rise into the top three, if they do then someone will get a place from the Premier League.

As it stands at the moment Saints sit fifth in the fair play table for the Premier League, but that isnt as bad as it stands in that of the four clubs in front, Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United are all likely to qualify for Europe anyway and not need the spot, so that leaves only Liverpool ahead of us who look unlikely to qualify in any other way.

Liverpool currently have 1066 points with an average of 8.6 per match whilst we sit with 1054 and 8.5. However the latest table seems to be two games behind the actual Premier table, so things could change, in simple terms, using the criteria printed below Saints would have to outscore Liverpool by 0.2 per game to leap above them, it should also be noted that right behind Saints are Fulham averaging 8.49, behind that its Reading & Norwich on 8.27 who look well out of it. 

The Daily Echo seems to think that Brendon Rogers has indicated that Liverpool would turn down the spot if they are offered it, Im not so sure, European tournament participation is extremely important to Liverpool, sadly for Saints I think that they would be likely to take it and scrap the plans for a far east tour.

So could Saints overtake Liverpool anyway ?

The answer is perhaps, the scoring system for the fair play league is extremely complex, if it was just a case of red & yellow cards then we would be home and dry in that we have had less than any other team, however the scoring system is not just based on that. 

Teams are judged on the following criteria:

• Yellow and red cards: If no cards are shown the score will be 10. Every yellow card will deduct this total by 1. A red card will cost a team 3 points in the ranking. If the red card is the result of a second yellow card the deductions of the second yellow card will be ignored. But if a player gets a direct red card after he got a yellow card earlier, the yellow card will be counted as a deduction. This score could become negative
• Positive play: e.g. attacking tactics, acceleration of the game, efforts to gain time, and continued pursuit of goals. A team can score a maximum of 10 points and a minimum of 1 point
• Respect to the opponent: e.g. returning the ball to the opponent at a throw-in, helping an injured opponent: maximum 5 points, minimum 1 point
• Respect to the referee: maximum 5 points, minimum 1 point
• Behaviour of the team officials: maximum 5 points, minimum 1 point
• Behaviour of the fans: maximum 5 points, minimum 1 point

NB: this criterion is ignored when the number of fans is negligible e.g. if there are no fans at all or because of penalty that was given by the UEFA

Confusing eh, so there is a long long way to go before either England qualifies for that nominated space and Saints qualify for the spot should it be awarded, so i wouldnt be getting out the holiday brochures for the UEFA qualifying rounds and trips to places like Latvia just yet.   

Photo: Action Images

slynch added 10:59 - Apr 16 Saints were fined for unsportsmanlike behaviour by the FA. I think UEFA are gonna struggle to see past that?
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SaintNick added 11:33 - Apr 16 Its all done on a points system, so it will factor in unsportsmanlike behaviour etc
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ExiledSupporter added 12:16 - Apr 16 I doubt whether it makes sense for us to harbour these sort of ambitions. Potentially there are a large number of additional games to play, the teams that have progressed to the quarterfinals have struggled to play consistently in the Prem League after long overseas journeys, I think that I am right in saying that the competition can begin before our own season starts and perhaps most pertinently we do not remotely have the depth of squad to sustain any meaningful rotation system to give key players sufficient rest. No, let's concentrate on consolidating our tenure in the Prem League and have a serious go at the two domestic cup competitions.

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simmo400 added 12:16 - Apr 16 IF europe means playing every sunday forget it.
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saintjeff52 added 12:29 - Apr 16 We definitely do NOT want to get involved in the Europy Cup. The adverse effects on the teams in it with Thurs/ Sunday games and fixture backlog are not worth it. In any event we don't have a squad with sufficient depth or quality to be arsed with it. We didn't last very long in our last European endeavour did we. We should concentrate once again on finishing in the top 17 again next season, something I am confident we can achieve

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Mushty added 13:09 - Apr 16 I can wait for the real thing. Who's stadium is that in the pic at the start of the article - obviously very similar to St Mary's.
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moran89thmin added 14:04 - Apr 16 Well as Nick says there are a lot of maths and equations to work out yet - even if England qualify for one of the places, which obviously involves many more numbers and decimals and God knows what... But if by some fluke we get the chance we should take it with both hands - we're a competitive club, right? The point is to win things, yes? The Europa League may be a long old haul from the 1st Qual Round but if you're in a competition then it's worth winning - look at the JPT... I went along to see Fulham's first couple of qualifying games in the Europa League when they got in via the Fair Play method a couple of seasons ago. Their first game was against NSí Runavik and to be honest it was a casual jog around of a game and it was a very pleasant way to spend a June evening. If all the qualifiers are like that then let's have them.

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thedelldays added 17:53 - Apr 16 no
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SaintStu7 added 17:58 - Apr 16 Send the youth team out to play!
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Whatsforpud added 18:15 - Apr 16 So Liverpool might turn the opportunity down if offered. Didn't realise you had the choice. I think the competion is far too long-winded, and should be scrapped. They should just stick with the European Cup (that was a better name as half the clubs in it aren't champions anyway). For sure those that fail in that competition should not then have another chance in the Europa Cup. Maybe I would take a different view of Saints' entry if they earned it properly by league position.

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SkateHater added 14:50 - Apr 19 Wigan will be in Europe next season by getting to the cup final and not league position !!
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