It's an open secret that the EL is designed to be a potential energy barrier to the entry of clubs not on the preferred list into the Champions' League. Every change of format it has undergone has reinforced that position. I don't think it's any coincidence that, in this most unexpected of domestic seasons, we're once again hearing about discussions among interested parties about the possibility of forming a breakaway European super-league. The trouble with football as we have come to know it is it's still far too unpredictable for those with their hands on the tillers of the "top" clubs, and the more stupid the money at stake becomes, the more they've got to lose with every passing season. It scarcely takes a genius to predict what the likely outcome is, given that scenario.