TRADING ACES
CBS Sports pundit Peter Schmeichel not given Man City clash to cover after controversial rant about former club
Ex-Man Utd and City keeper instead saw son Kasper at the centre of an unwanted goal record
PETER SCHMEICHEL covered Celtic instead of Manchester City - following a controversial rant about his old club's support.
CBS Sports sent the former keeper to see Borussia Dortmund thump the Scottish champions 7-1 in Germany - rather than watch City triumph 4-0 at Slovan Bratislava.
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The Dane's unexpected destination for Tuesday's Champions League action follows a blistering verdict on a "dead" Etihad atmosphere in the 0-0 draw against Inter Milan last month.
It did give him the chance to see son Kasper in goal for Celtic - but the 60-year-old might have flinched as Dortmund were 5-1 up by half-time.
Schmeichel Senior retired as a player in 2003 after a single season with City, following a career dominated by eight years at Manchester United.
So it was perhaps no wonder his outburst ruffled feathers - although no specific reason has been given for him missing out on the Bratislava feast.
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Schmeichel responded to the September 18 Etihad stalemate in front of 50,922 spectators by telling CBS: "I love good football and I like excitement from the crowd but it was dead - the Etihad today was absolutely dead."
He added: "The only people we could hear were the Inter supporters, who were quite good, but there was no atmosphere in the Etihad.
"Normally, you’d think ‘well big European night’, but it didn’t happen for them."
Schmeichel wasn't much more impressed with City themselves that night.
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The ex-Aston Villa stopper said: "I don’t think it was a good draw.
"I thought it was a really, really boring game and I’m sorry to say that.
Watch awkward moment for Micah Richards as Jamie Carragher tells Peter Schmeichel 'secret role' he had in son's career
"I thought Inter did really well in stopping Man City."
Some fans thought Schmeichel was too harsh, especially as many regular followers struggle to afford tickets amid a wider cost of living crisis.
And this time he saw Celtic become the first British team to let in five goals before the break in a European match since 1997-98.
That was when Cwmbran Town exited the Cup Winners' Cup 12-2 on aggregate against Progresul Bucharest.
New Champions League format is a snorefest
By Dan King
UEFA sold the idea of expanding the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, with each playing eight games instead of six in the opening phase, as a way of creating more competitiveness and excitement.
The biggest clubs would have two matches against their peers, rather than having to wait until the knockout stage to meet.
The smaller clubs would meet teams of a similar level twice and have a chance of tasting victory that was so hard to achieve if you were the bottom seed in a group of four.
Ignoring for a moment the fact that the real motivation was the simple equation of more games = more money, the theory itself already looks flawed.
None of the matches between European giants has delivered a compelling contest yet.
And why would they? At the start of the long season with more matches in it, why would any team with ambitions to win things in the spring, go out all guns blazing in the autumn?
Especially when they know they have six games NOT against big sides to make sure they accrue enough points to qualify at least for the play-off round (and even more games).
There is even less jeopardy than before.
Read the full column on the Champions League format fail and why everyone - including YOU - needs a rethink.