QuoteJust been pointed out to me that Dundalk were fined for Palestinian flags last year (or the year before?) and are now hosting an Israeli team...
Top two goes through (that's 24) plus 8 third placed CL teams which makes last 32 - right ?
Just been pointed out to me that Dundalk were fined for Palestinian flags last year (or the year before?) and are now hosting an Israeli team...
I've been to Alkmaar, nice enough clean/modern stadium. Dundalk fans will be behind a glass screen. Bit of a walk to the ground from the bars in Alkmaar itself. Most AZ fans seem to cycle to the ground.
Horrible draw otherwise.
What's change that Tallaght isn't good enough but was okay in 2011/12?
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
ya, the second that first three teams were drawn to it, I knew Dundalk were certs to get it.Originally Posted by El-Pietro
That draw confused the hell out of me.
Kept thinking, well at least group d is gone, only for the team that was drawn to be placed into a much nicer group further down.
Very disappointing draw.
Zenit is an interesting ground - it's on an island, and the address just is "2 Petrovsky Island".
Though not sure if their new stadium will be open for the match - or if they'll even play Dundalk there, as it's a 68000 capacity ground v 21000 for their old one.
St Petersburg is a stunning city of course.
No harm for the rest of the league that Dundalk didn't land any plum ties.
This isn't a tourist trip, it is a competion.
Fcuk pubs and flights, Dundalk will be competing in that group.
Yeah, groups A-F and G-L were separate. They'll alternate the 6:05 and 8:05 kick offs between them - so clubs from the same country couldn't end up in the same half of the draw.
So if they an Italian team was drawn for group D, but an Italian team was already in group A, then the second team would be moved to the first available of G-L.
Was straightforward once you got the hang of it - but a bit confusing if you missed the explanation at the start alright!
When I said it was a horrible draw, I meant in every respect. You haven't gotten any of the glamour teams, you haven't gotten too many easy trips, Alkmaar aside, and there won't be any "easy" points in that group. There were many better possible combinations out there for Dundalk. This one is pretty horrible. Maybe a home point against Tel Aviv or Alkmaar if one of those teams is already knocked out? I dunno, maybe Dundalk will prove me wrong and win the group but I don't see it.
If it were my team I wouldn't be too bothered of course, I'd be delighted with getting this far, and looking at the upside of the draw.
What, so we only have to finish ahead of 2 other teams to qualify for the knockouts?
Whoa - here we go..................
When will the fixtures be out?
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
I don't think they will be really though.
A decent target would be to get two points. I think Tel Aviv is your best shout for points, unless it's Alkmaar at home and they're already out.
Presume Tallaght is back on to cards now?
I think Dundalk can give Tel Aviv and Az a game of it, I wouldnt be so down about it.....
Didn't LoI teams knock out Dutch and Israeli teams the last time they met?
Cork v NAC Breda and Rovers v Bnei Sakhnin.
Not as good as Alkmaar and Maccabi of course, but then Dundalk are arguably better than Cork and Rovers too.
Wouldn't be quite as dismissive of Dundalk's chances of picking up a few points - and of course Zenit won the competition outright a few years ago - but don't think it's quite that bad.
If approved by UEFA, it is the logical choice for those ties.
As for you predictions, I am a lot more confident in Dundalk's ability to get results.
Jordi Cruyff and Shota Arveladze are the management team at Maccabi btw. They got the worst ever Champions' League record last season I think (lost all six games, scored once, conceded 19). They beat Hajduk Split on penalties in the EL play-off round to qualify this year, and Hajduk only beat Dundalk by one goal two years ago.
Alkmaar got four points last year and finished bottom of their group - though they did beat Bilbao at home and draw away. They've Ron Vlaar (ex Villa) and Ronald Muhren (nephew of Arnold)
Zenit have Axel Witsel - who scored for Belgium against us in the Euros - and Kerzhakov, who scored against Ireland in the 4-2 win in 2002 and in the 3-2 win in 2010. Ezequiel Garay is a good player too; ex Real Madrid. They won the UEFA Cup in 2008, and now have in Mircea Lucescu a bloody experienced manager.
not that seeding/coeffecient is indicative of performance (so feel free to update with analysis of last few years plus this years performance of these teams) but
Zenit St. Petersburg were ranked the second highest in pot 1 (93)
AZ Alkmaar were ranked highest in Pot 2 (43)
Granted Tel Aviv were ranked mid way in pot 3 at 20.225 and Dundalk should aim to be above them given their performance this year, but travelling there could be tricky to get a result & hostile.
(for further reference BATE were ranked 34 but have been elimnated and Legia Warsaw were ranked 28).
For the co-efficient any win/draw will benefit the leagues co-efficient but for their own they need a third point (ie 3 or more draws or a win & a draw or better).
8 points is the kind of minimum points theyd need for qualifying. Realistically aiming for 6-7 and hoping for some luck?
Im just peeved they didnt draw an Austrian/Czech team (and Maribor/Zagreb werent there) so I could tag along.
Not one full house in tallaght for dundalk there. Hopefully the Dundalk fans don't do quite so much damage at these games as they did at the Bate game. The council have only just replaced the section of seats that were destroyed, and repaired the toilets under the west stand.
Not sure if that's a realistic target tbh.
After the Rovers draw, there was plenty of similar predictions, and we know how well that went.
I don't think Dundalk's draw is as tough (but it's still tough), and I think Dundalk are a better team, but if they got 4 points, it'd be quite a successful campaign. Obviously the first target is any sort of a result.
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