Someone on a Juve forum asked people to post comparisons between the success of La Liga, the EPL, and Serie A. Most people responded with UCL, Uefa cup, and Ballon d'Or records. (Serie A has marginally the best record) A lot of people brought up their ideas that the EPL is not nearly as competitive (within itself) as Serie A, and brought up giant-killers Cagliari, Livorno (Roma, Milan?) and other relegation-threatened squads compared to oh, say Derby County or Fulhamerica.
Which gave me the idea for an awesome tournament. The Uefa "oh my god, I can't believe we made it" tournament, which would pit say 16th and 17th placed teams (that just avoided relegation) against their counterparts in foreign leagues. It could be in the summer, like the soon-to-be-discontinued Intertoto Cup, or during the season. Winning team gets a good chunk of the TV money (if it got any) and some prize money to do whatever they want, most likely buy a good player to try and keep them alive the next season.
How entertaining would that be? Sunderland v. Cagliari? The Toro v. Osasuna? If it actually brought a real reward, I think the teams would fight for it (especially if it didn't conflict with league schedules) and it would be pretty damn entertaining. It would also be the only chance for some of these teams to play in Europe.
Yay mediocrity! (sorry royals fans)