Fulham undone by last-gasp header

Fulham were undone by a sucker punch last night as they were knocked out of the Europa League by an injury-time header by Odense BK of Denmark.

Fulham were seemignly curising into the last 32 at half-time with a 2-0 lead, and needed to win to remain above Wisla Karkow in the group. But two second-half goals put paid to Fulham's Europa League ambitions. So ends a 14-game run in the competition which started way back on 30 June - nearly six months ago!

Despite a 3-1 defeat in Turkey, Stoke City qualified for the knock-out stages last night, but they could be the only British team to make it through the Europa League groups.

All of Celtic, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City are starting this evening's round of matches in third place and all look unlikely to qualify.

But will they be sad or happy?

Celtic will be left to push for the SPL title. Tottenham will be left to push for (ahem) a European place, although they will hope to qualify for the Champions League; and Birmingham will be left to catch up their league games and settle down to plotting a way out of the Championship.

It makes you wonder why they bother to qualify in the first place.

Manchester City and Manchester United, take note.

What's the Europa League all about?

The bloated new Europa League limps on. Starting with an unbelievable 162 clubs from every corner of Europe, it has now been reduced to 48 clubs, grouped in 12 groups of four. Only two games into the six-game groups, it's already tiring even the most avid football-watchers.

After the group stages the 12 winners and 12 runners-up will be joined by the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League to create a final 32. This farce of adding some form of "best losers" from another competition only serves to devalue the Europa Cup further. Why stop at the third-placed teams from the Champions League groups? Surely the losers from the round of 16, the quarter-finals or semi-finals are more deserving of a place? Why not just put the losing Champions League finalists straight into the Europa League final? I'm being silly? Hey, UEFA started it!

Nor do I quite understand the apparent obsessive desire of English clubs to get into Europe when many of them then do their best to get straight out again! Aston Villa managed it in the qualifying rounds this year, having frustratingly qualified out of their group last season (luckily, they got knocked out in the first knock-out stage by playing a weakened team in Moscow!).

Last night Fulham made five changes and Everton were "without" 10 first-teamers.

What's the point?