Now to the UEFA Cup. Rob Smyth of the Guardian asks does anybody care about Europe’s B-list competition? It was once prestigious, like in 1989 when Diego Maradona and Napoli had to beat Bayern Munich and then Juventus to lift the title, but following the expansion of the Champions League four years ago, that competition has easily eclipsed the UEFA Cup in popularity, importance and money. Nowadays, European clubs treat the UEFA Cup like many do their domestic league cup: they send their reserves to play, and if they do well enough to reach the quarterfinals, then they start thinking about fielding a first team. For example, Newcastle, which is in 17th place in the English Premier League, has left out many of its first team players for tonight’s visit to Palermo, currently second in Serie A. You might think that Newcastle must have a big game to prepare for this weekend. Sure, if you consider Sheffield United, one of the odds-on favorites for the drop this season, a big game. It’s not just Newcastle that doesn’t care. Livorno’s chairman recently said he would be happier if his club bowed out of the tournament sooner rather than later. Occasionally, the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool or Roma eke into the tournament after a mediocre season (like in, possibly the competition’s finest year), but recently it’s just become “a consolation prize for Champions League failure,” containing “B-list teams playing for a B-list prize, often in front of C-list crowds.”