Shels v Lille in UEFA CUP

[thejollyrodger]

The draw is taking place at 11:30.

Shels face one of the following: -


S.S. Lazio (ITA)
Besiktas JK (TUR)
Lille OSC (FRA)
Grazer AK (AUT)
Heart of Midlothian (SCO)

Lets hope its the easyist side there.

[Plastic Paddy]

If the evidence of eL clubs in Europe so far this season is anything to go by, I think Shels would stand a fair chance against either Hearts, Graz and maybe even Lille. I just can't see them overcoming Lazio (even with their well-publicised financial problems) or Besiktas though. It would be great to see them through to the UEFA Cup group stage though. Potentially, that would be worth a few million euro. Nice.

:D PP

[gspain]

Lazio would be the dream draw - great windfall. tv deals, sellout at Lansdowne

Hard to beat any of these teams - Hearts being the most beatable albeit clearly the 3rd best team in Scotland. Nice to hear people say Shels could beat a team that just won 1-0 at Anfield on Tuesday and I agree they really could.

Besiktas are best avoided - too good and a long expensive trip and no real attraction at home.

[namloc]

Shelbourne v. Lille

Shels at home in first leg

[Sheridan]

It's Lille. Shels at home in first leg.

[Plastic Paddy]

Lille it is then. A nice easy journey if nothing else.

:D PP

[thejollyrodger]

not a bad draw, as someone said


Lille only qualified for the UEFA Cup thru the InterToto, so they're not great. They're mid table in France after three games W1 D1 L1. Althouh I suppose they have to be playing reasonably OK to make it thru the InterToto.

They arent the best club in europe : P and Shels have a decent chance of making it to the group stages of the UEFA Cup. I dont know a lot about the french side to be honest :eek:

[Neil]

It's Lille. Shels at home in first leg.
When is the away leg?

[Roo69]

AK Graz v Litex Lovech
Lazio v Metalurh Donetsk
FK Bodo/Glimt v Besiktas
Shelbourne v Lille
HEARTS v SC Braga
Austria Vienna v Legia Warsaw
Dukla B-Bystri v Benfica
Partizan v Dinamo Bucharest
Parma v Maribor
Real Zaragoza v Sigma Olomouc
Sporting Lisbon v Rapid Vienna
NEWCASTLE v Hapoel B-Saknhin
Steaua Bucharest v CSKA Sofia
Wisla Krakow v Dinamo Tbilisi
Utrecht v Djurgardens
MILLWALL v Ferencvaros
FC Schalke v Liepajas Metalurgs
Maccabi Haifa v Dnipro D'trovsk
Terek Grozny v FC Basel
Odd Grenland v Feyenoord
Aalborg v Auxerre
Sevilla v CD Nacional
Gorica v AEK Athens
Standard Liege v VfL Bochum
Crvena Zvezda v Zenit St Peterburg
Trabzonspor v Athletic Bilbao
Ujpesti v VfB Stuttgart
Maccabi P-Tikva v SC Heerenveen
Panionios v Udinese
Levski Sofia v Beveren

[Sheridan]

When is the away leg?
30th September.

[tippex]

To be fair I reckon this is the best draw Shels could realistically hope for in terms of advancing. Lets hope they have a good crack and get to the group stages. Balls just realised I will miss both games as I'm off to florida the day of the the home leg.

Best of luck shels from all in Bray.

[SÓC]

As we saw from Nantes Irish teams have nothing to fear when it comes to French teams. AFAIK Nantes are a stronger team than Lillie so Shels have a decent chance.

[De Town]

As we saw from Nantes Irish teams have nothing to fear when it comes to French teams. AFAIK Nantes are a stronger team than Lillie so Shels have a decent chance.

And Shels are stronger than Cork ;)

[KDonkeyKilbane]

I am not a Shel fan but live quite close to Lille, anyone know about tickets for the away leg??

[thejollyrodger]

Shels should give lille (surrendering cheese eating monkeys) a good run for their money and Im putting money on Shels to go through. The french sides arent great and shels look quite good in Europe.


1or2-0 at home and 0-0 away would be excellent :D :D

[Slash/ED]

As we saw from Nantes Irish teams have nothing to fear when it comes to French teams. AFAIK Nantes are a stronger team than Lillie so Shels have a decent chance.

Lille finished 10th, a full four places behind Nantes last year and have since lost argubley their two best players apparently.

I'm confident, we could have had easier but we could have had much harder, ie Lazio. They're favourites but we wont have anything to fear, Cork showed that by pushing Nantes so close. We're definitely capable of beating them.

[ian]

Lads the best of luck against lille if that is were the ended last season you should do okey. As I say the best of luck.

[A face]

Shels drawn with Lille


Pat Fenlon.Pic: Sportsfile
eircom Premier Division side Shelbourne FC have been drawn against French side Lille in the first round proper of the UEFA Cup after Friday’s draw in Nyon.

Pat Fenlon's Shels will have home advantage in the first leg on September 16, with the return leg on September 30 in France.

Read more at www.soccercentral.ie (http://www.soccercentral.ie/viewstory.asp?mainheading=Eircom&id=13768&viewstory=yes)

[thejollyrodger]

[article]UEFA CUP : Lille bit of work for Shels
UEFA CUP : Lille bit of work for Shels
28th August 2004 The Irish Independent

THE steely professionalism which has guided Shelbourne throughout their European exploits thus far this season was evident in manager Pat Fenlon's reaction to yesterday morning's UEFA Cup first round draw.

"At the moment, I'm more interested in the Cup match against Derry," said Fenlon when asked about the Nyon draw which had paired them with French side Lille.

Speaking from the team coach heading north for tonight's third round replay at the Brandywell, Fenlon was reluctant to begin a detailed analysis of one of this summer's InterToto Cup winners.

"That will all have to wait until Sunday morning when we're over this game. Being drawn at home first doesn't bother me, our away record is quite good this season in Europe so that won't hold any fears for us."

Although not as potentially lucrative a draw as perhaps Lazio may have been, French television are one of the more generous paymasters in European club football and Shelbourne's monetary rewards from the two ties may be known after discussions early next week.

And, although the decision has yet to be finalised, chairman Finbar Flood yesterday hinted at the likelihood that the September 16 first leg would be played in Tolka Park - although Lansdowne Road will remain an alternative should demand for tickets surge in the next few days.

"We sold 24,000 tickets for Dportivo La Coruna and we could easily have sold another 10,000 more," said Flood. "And nobody expected them to have that much pulling power. It might work that way with Lille.

"However, my gut reaction would be that this game would easily fill out Tolka Park and nothing more, although we would never rule anything out. It depends on demand. Playing in Tolka will also give our lads a better chance of qualifying too."

Claude Puel's side have had a mixed start to the French season, defeating Auxerre 2-0, losing 3-0 to Marseilles while last weekend they were held scoreless by Bordeaux at home.

Lille finished 10th in La Championnat last season, four places behind FC Nantes, the side against whom Cork City valiantly struggled before losing on 4-2 on aggregate in this summer's InterToto Cup.

However, Bulgarian international striker Vladimir Manchev, who scored 12 league goals last season, and highly-rated young French defender Eric Abidal, who made his French debut last week, have both left.

Fenlon's initial focus is on tonight's FAI Cup replay where his side will face a side buoyed by the home debut of new manager Stephen Kenny. Both sides should be unchanged.

UEFA CUP DRAW

Grazer AK v Litex Lovech; Lazio v Metalurgs Donetsk; Bodo Glimt v Besiktas Shelbourne v Lille; Hearts v SC Braga; Austria Vienna v Legia Warsaw; Dukla Banska v Benfica; Partizan Belgrade v Dinamo Bucharest; Parma v Maribor; Real Zaragoza v Sigma Olomouc; Sporting Lisbon v Rapid Vienna; Newcastle Utd v Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin; Steaua Bucharest v CSKA Sofia; Wisla Krakow v Dinamo Tbilisi; FC Utrecht v Djurgardens; Millwall v Ferencvaros; Schalke 04 v FK Liepajas Metalurgs; Maccabi Haifa v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk; Terek Grozny v FC Basle; Odd Grenland v Feyenoord; Aalborg v Auxerre; Sevilla v CD Nacional; NK Gorica v AEK Athens; Standard Liege v Vfl Bochum; Crvena Zvezda v Zenit St Petersburg; Trabzonspor v Athletic Bilbao; Ujpesti v Vfb Stuttgart; Maccabi Petach Tikva v Heerenveen; Panionios v Udinese; Levski Sofia v Beveren; Dinamo Zagreb v IF Elfsborg; FH Hafnarfjordur v Aachen; Middlesbrough v Banik Ostrava; Club Brugge v Chateauroux; PAOK v AZ Alkmaar; FK Ventspils v Amica Wronki; Sochaux v Stabaek; Egaleo v Genclerbirligi; Rangers v Maritimo; Villarreal v Hammarby. 1st legs Thurs, Sept 16; 2nd legs Thurs, September 30.

[DolansWaistcoat]

Nice draw for shels alright,though I'd say it will be very difficult to qualify.Anyone know if the games are to be shown on the tele?

Whats the story if they get through to the groups,is it the same format as the champions league,four teams in it,play home and away with two qualifing for the second stage?

[pineapple stu]

What's the story if they get through to the groups,is it the same format as the champions league,four teams in it,play home and away with two qualifing for the second stage?

Eight groups of five, play two teams home and the other two away - same as the original InterToto Cup. Group winners only progress, joined by the eight CL third-placers I think, to form the last 16.

[DolansWaistcoat]

Ah nice 1 Stu.

At least four more games for em if they get past lille.

[Slash/ED]

Eight groups of five, play two teams home and the other two away - same as the original InterToto Cup. Group winners only progress, joined by the eight CL third-placers I think, to form the last 16.

I heard it was the top three who progressed and meet the eight cl third placers making a last 32.

[pineapple stu]

Fair enough so - makes it just that bit more possible to create another shock!

[DolansWaistcoat]

two qualifying rounds are staged each over two legs to find the 40 clubs which advance to the group stage. This comprises eight groups of five, with two home and two away matches per club. The winners, runners-up and third-placed clubs from each group advance to the last 32 where they are joined with the eight third-placed clubs from the UEFA Champions League. At this point, the traditional two-match format is used with the exception of the single-match final.

Ya I read that in the paper yesterday too,a lot better chance of shels going further in the comp.

[pete]

The winners, runners-up and third-placed clubs from each group advance to the last 32 where they are joined with the eight third-placed clubs from the UEFA Champions League. At this point, the traditional two-match format is used with the exception of the single-match final.

What a joke. So only the last 2 in each 5 team group get knocked out. Can see a lot of pointless games especially for the top teams: in those groups. Expect to see some spectatcularly small crowd for big teams games when they've already qualified. :rolleyes:

[DolansWaistcoat]

I think it gives the smaller clubs a better chance of progressing with 3 teams going through.Uefa are trying different ways to get more interest in the Uefa cup because the all consuming Champions league has become so big and important financially that it's now the be all and end all for most good european sides.

[Sheridan]

I think it gives the smaller clubs a better chance of progressing with 3 teams going through.Uefa are trying different ways to get more interest in the Uefa cup because the all consuming Champions league has become so big and important financially that it's now the be all and end all for most good european sides.
The obvious, indeed the only, solution for the decline of the UEFA Cup is to award the winners (or highest-placed non-qualifying team) a place in the Champions League.

[pineapple stu]

The obvious, indeed the only, solution for the decline of the UEFA Cup is to award the winners (or highest-placed non-qualifying team) a place in the Champions League.

Or reduce the number of teams in the CL, putting better teams into the UEFA.

Maybe you meant the "only solution which has any plausible chance of getting past the money-grabbing muppets who run UEFA"? ;)

[nicov59]

I'm french and I live near Lille...and my English is not perfect !
I think Lille is not the best team in Europe but Lille was in champion's league in 2002-2003. Group : Manchester United, La Corogne, Olympiakos. We have 1 victory, 3 draws, 2 lost...that's not so bad I think !

Now, it's not the same team because a lot of great player left but the spirit is still there.

Go Lille and Good luck for shelbourne !

NicoV.

[ken foree]

whoa well done shels, thought youse were dead and buried there! :D :o

[Storysham]

Well done shels, didnt watch the last 20 mins, thought it was game over. fair play to ye, brilliant result. Got some shock when i checked online there.

Pity ye got shag all support, should have played at home.

Where have all the fans gone?

[jofyisgod]

In fairness, i was watching the old teletext here in London, got the biggest shock ever at the 2-2!

Nice one Shels!

[Maz]

yeah fair play to shels......good come back!

[thejollyrodger]

great come back !! great result

[KR's Post]

Congrats to shels. everything to play for now over in lille. go on make irish soccer proud again!!! ;)