red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I actually feel a bit sorry for Celtic that > despite winning their domestic league, albeit a > weak one, and making the last 16 last year, they > still had to go through all the pre-qualifying > games for this season's competition... I dont mind playing one qualifier but 3 is ridiculous for a team getting the the last 16 last year. Whats wrong with the system (imo) is that Celtic's euro coefficient is heavily influenced by the performance of the other teams in its league... ie the strenght of the other scottish league teams and their european records. There is then an assumptuion that if you come from a weak league you are a poor team and should go through all the qualifiers. Its difficult to see that changing with Rangers out of europe for a while. To be fair Celtic were seeded and should have been able to get through - we certainly cant complain about the draw. Its just that we haven't sorted our team out for the season yet, as we have sold but not bought, but we face getting chucked out before the transfer window has even closed. Hey ho.