The scrapping of the second group stage was welcomed Alex Ferguson from a football point of view because of the fear that players were being asked to play too many matches but the suits aren't happy that the decision cut into revenues.
From teamtalk:
"I think all the big clubs would have preferred to keep the second stage of the Champions League," Gill said. "We don't believe the change actually addressed the problem because the second group stage was actually the better one. There was a higher quality of opposition in the second group phase than the first one and that is something that needs to be looked at. We don't want a smaller competition. There are 32 teams in the Champions League at the moment and the big European leagues will not want a reduction in the number of clubs who can compete in it."