LoI in Europe 2018

[White Horse]

Bazunu's performance was excellent , his distribution is very good , couldn't fault him for the goal....will be a lot busier in Swedan.

I thought he looked erratic and a little unsteady.

Harsh to critique a 16 year old and any criticism of him is probably taboo at the moment.

[sbgawa]

I thought he looked erratic and a little unsteady.

Harsh to critique a 16 year old and any criticism of him is probably taboo at the moment.

if he is in goals he has to be open to criticism , im used to his body language, thought he looked fairly cool dummying the forward a couple of times even if it was heart in mouth for us fans, but he does exactly the same with the under 17's so he has confidence

[Philosophizer]

True, Watts' blocked shot was a chance, but those big Swedish defenders gave up very little all night.
Correct about Bazunu. I had never seem him play in the flesh before. I was surprised by how good he was with his feet. He side-stepped their attackers more than once with the ball at his feet and he distribution was very impressive.
Would like to see one of Bone/Bolger replaced for the 2nd leg by moving Watts into the centre and maybe bring in Greene on the wing. Watts ability in possession would help them in the middle. Rovers looked better when him and Finn interchanged passes last night. Coustrain and Greene's (when he came on) looked capable of causing them problems on the wings so they're still in with a shout.
Did Greg Bolger pick up a knock in the 2nd half? His game seemed to deteriorate badly and his passing went all over the place before Bradley replaced him with Aaron Bolger.

[sbgawa]

yeah pretty sure he had an icepack on him at the end of the match, his game did go off, he was playing really well earlier.

[dundalkfc10]

2,817 in Tallaght. Very poor really for a European tie.

Only about 1,500 in Derry judging by reports too.

Why was their so little in Tallaght!

[RathfarnhamHoop]

Personally is play A Bolger, Watts and Finner in the centre with Greene and Joel on the wings and carr up top but tell Greene to push up and in and get Kavanagh up more.

They didn't look overly impressive yesterday so I wouldn't write us off yet

[swinfordfc]

No Ireland loses .25 for the 2019 Rankings

2018 Final rankings

2701

Current 2019 Rankings

2702

So with Dundalk's win last night any other result will increase our Total Co-efficient. Remains to be seen if our ranking improves.

Sorry your right there .... And we have move up! But think we should be getting to at least 1 ranking point this year if possible as we lose 2 ranking points next year and doubt we matched it next year unless we get very favourable draws .... But time will tell .... Can only see 1 win next week!

[sbgawa]

Why was their so little in Tallaght!

Couple of things
Nightmare on M50, I nearly gave up and went to the Pub, Bruno Mars concert on one side and accident on other (fire brigades etc etc)
combined with the early kick off. The TV never helps in Tallaght (the match was on in all the pubs around)
But all in all it was disappointing still, id never stay at home to watch Rovers on TV which is clearly what happened as how can we have 5000 at a bohs match and 3k for a European match against decent opposition.

[sbgawa]

Personally is play A Bolger, Watts and Finner in the centre with Greene and Joel on the wings and carr up top but tell Greene to push up and in and get Kavanagh up more.

They didn't look overly impressive yesterday so I wouldn't write us off yet

yeah id go with that, I wasn't a big fan of the move for Greene but he looked good when he came on.
We could really do with Kavanagh pushing on , such a pity Clarke is out with the ACL they will be good on that side together next season.

[Philosophizer]

Traffic yesterday evening was terrible trying to get around to Tallaght on the M50 in fairness. Took me an hour to get around from Blanch whereas it would usually take 20 mins.

[sbgawa]

Traffic yesterday evening was terrible trying to get around to Tallaght on the M50 in fairness. Took me an hour to get around from Blanch whereas it would usually take 20 mins.

I suspect a lot of people went to the pub or home rather than pay in for the second half.
What were Derry at with the 6:05 kick off , were they deliberately trying to make it harder for people who were prepared to pay €28?

€15 in tallaght although you could argue at double the price with half the people they had the same gate receipts but atmosphere must have been poor

[ToberonaTornado]

I suspect a lot of people went to the pub or home rather than pay in for the second half.
What were Derry at with the 6:05 kick off , were they deliberately trying to make it harder for people who were prepared to pay €28?

€15 in tallaght although you could argue at double the price with half the people they had the same gate receipts but atmosphere must have been poor
was a bh up north yesterday,good time for a match after a wee march and a riot :D

[brendy_éire]

The Derry match actually went better than expected.
Minsk are a quality side, better than anyone in the league, they really didn't need to try hard to be comfortable last night.
Pathetic defending for both their goals, Gerard Doherty was terrible for the first. He's making a habit of that. Pulled off a couple of cracking saves later, mind.
We offered very little going forward, maybe lessons learnt from last year after we were tanked by Midtjylland.

I don't think there's any danger of Minsk not winning next week.

On the attendance, the club have stated 1,400. Not a chance there was that number. Even accounting for the 300 tickets given out free to youth clubs, I don't think it topped 1,000. I roughly counted 700 about ten minutes before KO.
Another statement by the chairman today, still completing missing the point. The whole fiasco has really damaged relations between the club and fans, it's completely unnecessary.

[micls]

Surprised the crowd at Tallaght wasn't bigger. Any rovers fans know why? Not surprised with Derry major ÓG by the club.

The constant nonsense about our euro style vs dundalks is tedious to say the least. Our managers play different styles of football. You can prefer Kennys style, I imagine many do! But the prevailing theory that we'd be doing much better in Europe if we just went out and tried to play as Dundalk do is unsubstantiated nonsense.

We are aiming to qualify, not to entertain fans of other clubs watching on a stream. It was a fantastic night at the Cross on Tuesday and city fans walked away proud, if disappointed. Caulfield got it tactically spot on that night, and what we lacked was being clinical, not a different style of play.

We are being told if we just played Kennys way the results would be better. We played Levadia last year, the same style we play now, and we beat them by a goal more than dundalk did away. We're told that's because Levadia are stronger now, despite being in a worse league position.

We played Legia and lost by a goal less than dundalk did at home, presumably we'll be told that's because Legia are worse now. No matter what the results, Caulfield gets slaughtered because people don't like his style of play. And we get told the results would be better if we just did things differently.

It's nonsense. The comparisons themselves are nonsense. The opposition teams are very different than they were in previous seasons. Our own teams are very different than they were. Comparing like with like is impossible. The only worthy analysis is of each game on its own merits.

The reality is, we played very well against Legia. It was a disappointing result but a great performance. The idea that Caulfield doesn't motivate his players is bizarre. Man management is probably his biggest strength. His players have plenty of belief. Belief is not shown only in one particular way of playing football.

On the other side of it, Dundalk had an excellent win in Tallinn and it sounds like they could have won by more. I'd expect them to take them apart in Oriel when Tallinn need to push on more. Kenny is an excellent manager and his style seems to suit his team well in Europe, as evidenced by his achievements.

Caulfield wouldn't replicate these results by trying to be Kenny. Caulfields achievements in Europe, previously and in the future, will come via his own football, the way he plays as a manager. Will he ever match Kenny? Who knows, he's a long way to go to build up the experience Kenny has or match what he's managed at dundalk and Derry.

Both managers have their strengths, and how they do in Europe this season will come down to a combination of the luck of the draw, their motivation skills, and tactical decisions. Netiehr would do better by wholesale changes to their style of play just because its Europe.

Bradley on the other hand, I think he's still finding who he is as a manager. There are games they go all out attacking, and more recently games they've set up very defensively, that pragmatism is no harm (comparing it to Shiels for example) . It sounds like they were unlucky against AIK. Some good signings recently, who knows, hopefully they surprise the Swedes.

#Wow, that didn't seem like such a book when I was typing it. Apologies!!

[White Horse]

Comparing like with like is impossible. The only worthy analysis is of each game on its own merits.

Completely agree, and your point about differing approaches to football is also correct.

Personally, I am not suggesting the Cork should play like Dundalk. Cork are built on different strengths to Dundalk. The teams are put together differently.

What I, and others (I think), are questioning is whether small adjustments to the way Cork are set up would increase your goal threat while not materially opening you up to the opposition. I would be surprised if this is not a subject of discussion among Cork fans. While Dundalk fans have a lot of faith in Stephen Kenny, we do debate how the team is set up, the formation, and the starting eleven.

[micls]

Of course that discussion is fair game. I've never correctly predicted a caulfield team, so the discussion happens constantly. The decision not to play Sadlier or Cummins was obviously a big one, and is debated a lot.

I wouldn't have played the same 11 as JC, but it was very very effective and exceeded my expectations of performance. It's hard to question when he keeps doing that. Who's to say my choice of 11 would have done better? It's more likely they wouldn't have. The tactics worked very very effectively. Unfortunately I think we're short the finisher we needed for it to work perfectly.

Thats not what the overwhelming majority have been saying though (more in other platforms than on here), it's been 'if Cork just had a go and tried to play football they might have won'. They go on about how we're not 'brave' or how we're 'cowardly'. No one at the game Tuesday would have used either word. It's armchair spouting of nonsense. That's the stuff I've an issue with.

[oriel]

And the manager's on holiday.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44702741


This is just unbelievable stuff that yet again one of their managers was on holidays for their Euro games, Baxter from Crusaders missed at least one game due a family holiday in the past. It’s mickey Mouse stuff and so disrespectful to the players.

Not long home from Tallinn, great trip and a lovely city. Levadia were decent in the first half, but Dundalk should really have got a second, should be strong favs to advance how you’d think, but it will all be about the first goal.

[EatYerGreens]

Any of next week's Euro fixtures likely to be shown live on TV ?

[Asterix]

Any of next week's Euro fixtures likely to be shown live on TV ?


The Rovers match is on Eir.

[nigel-harps1954]

Any of next week's Euro fixtures likely to be shown live on TV ?

Cork due to be on RTE, Shamrock Rovers is on Eir Sport again.

[Charlie Darwin]

Cork due to be on RTE, Shamrock Rovers is on Eir Sport again.
Typical, only showing the games in Dublin as usual.

[Pablo Escobar]

Typical, only showing the games in Dublin as usual.

Actually, it's easier with this one. They only have to plug in to the Polish feed. They don't even need to travel out to Tallaght.

[Trevor Carey]

Cork due to be on RTE, Shamrock Rovers is on Eir Sport again.

Where did you see that RTE are showing Legia v Cork City?

[nigel-harps1954]

Where did you see that RTE are showing Legia v Cork City?

Seen someone mention it on Twitter. Only noticed there when I went looking for it though that RTÉ didn't announce it.

[Nesta99]

was a bh up north yesterday,good time for a match after a wee march and a riot :D

Traffic was unreal on Thursday for when the schools are out, took an hour and 20 to get from Griffith Ave to J4 or 5 and wall to wall with yellow plates. People rubbernecking a burnt out car(that had been there 2 days) on the hard shoulder seemed to be issue as things started to move after though he accident on the M50 didnt help.

Anyway on the football, I caught the end of the Dundalk game and I though they looked a bit leggy, slow to the second ball and struggled to get back when hit on the break. Maybe heat was a factor but a good rest is what looks to be needed. With the training camp and the reduced amount of fixtures I would have thought they'd have been fresher. I few very sloppy passes had us scrambling to get back with a couple of 3 on 3 moments that would have been punished by a better side. The missed chances especially by Hoban should have had the tie buried. The bigger pitch in Oriel with a full house and we are unlikely to be as mediocre as Thursday as It was a poor performance by usual standards so we should expect a win. In terms of the whole coefficient stuff clubs and the league have missed chances to push on by not being more ruthless at times. An example being how Dundalk drawing both legs with FH at yet being a better side, the late equaliser conceded in Warsaw albeit understandable when chasing a spot in the CL group stages. Cork drawing at home to KR and Linfield, Rovers drawing in Luxembourg. I know there are results that were good that offset some of these but these add up and do make a difference to pushing up or ranking.

Derry made a mess of things, not as much for getting the pricing wrong but criticising fans for not being too happy with the pricing was just daft. Rovers did quite well against AIK but their confidence mustn't be the best in general as they seemed a bit resigned to not being able to compete, fans too as the attendance regardless of TV and traffic issues, was poor. Greater belief and they are still well in the tie as they should take confidence from the first leg in that AIK are no world beaters. It will be interesting to see how Cork set up this week. Even if they put in an old fashioned Irish clubs in Europe performance by getting men behind the ball, soak up pressure and hope to get on the end of a long punt toward the end of the game they can level the tie. As mentioned before Legia are always under serious pressure from their own fans and the longer the game goes on with things in the balance the crowd turn and the team gets nervy. Parachuting in to QR3 takes a lot of the pressure off Cork too. So plenty to be more positive about this coming week imo.

[EatYerGreens]

Traffic was unreal on Thursday for when the schools are out, took an hour and 20 to get from Griffith Ave to J4 or 5 and wall to wall with yellow plates. People rubbernecking a burnt out car(that had been there 2 days) on the hard shoulder seemed to be issue as things started to move after though he accident on the M50 didnt help.

Anyway on the football, I caught the end of the Dundalk game and I though they looked a bit leggy, slow to the second ball and struggled to get back when hit on the break. Maybe heat was a factor but a good rest is what looks to be needed. With the training camp and the reduced amount of fixtures I would have thought they'd have been fresher. I few very sloppy passes had us scrambling to get back with a couple of 3 on 3 moments that would have been punished by a better side. The missed chances especially by Hoban should have had the tie buried. The bigger pitch in Oriel with a full house and we are unlikely to be as mediocre as Thursday as It was a poor performance by usual standards so we should expect a win. In terms of the whole coefficient stuff clubs and the league have missed chances to push on by not being more ruthless at times. An example being how Dundalk drawing both legs with FH at yet being a better side, the late equaliser conceded in Warsaw albeit understandable when chasing a spot in the CL group stages. Cork drawing at home to KR and Linfield, Rovers drawing in Luxembourg. I know there are results that were good that offset some of these but these add up and do make a difference to pushing up or ranking.

Derry made a mess of things, not as much for getting the pricing wrong but criticising fans for not being too happy with the pricing was just daft. Rovers did quite well against AIK but their confidence mustn't be the best in general as they seemed a bit resigned to not being able to compete, fans too as the attendance regardless of TV and traffic issues, was poor. Greater belief and they are still well in the tie as they should take confidence from the first leg in that AIK are no world beaters. It will be interesting to see how Cork set up this week. Even if they put in an old fashioned Irish clubs in Europe performance by getting men behind the ball, soak up pressure and hope to get on the end of a long punt toward the end of the game they can level the tie. As mentioned before Legia are always under serious pressure from their own fans and the longer the game goes on with things in the balance the crowd turn and the team gets nervy. Parachuting in to QR3 takes a lot of the pressure off Cork too. So plenty to be more positive about this coming week imo.

Refusing to listen to your customers is a bad enough business strategy as it is.

Telling them their widely held opinion is wrong is just suicidal.

[micls]

I'd expect us to set up fairly similarly, possibly with Cummins coming back in. I'd imagine the plan will be to keep it tight for the first hour, make sure to not concede again cos that's game over, and then try to nick one. Sadlier will probably come on at that point if we managed it.the wider pitch will stretch us so big performances needed.

I'm not confident, but what a night it would be if we managed it!

[Nesta99]

Many travelling over? One of the warnings or suggestions from Legia to Dundalk fans travelling over was to be careful about wearing club colours openly outside of the stadium match night as an element of the Legia support enjoy targeting visiting supporters as their pre match entertainment. Dont know how serious the risk is and generally Warsaw is a decent spot but take care anyway!!

[micls]

Not sure tbh. About 100 confirmed on our forum, but I'm sure plenty of others who aren't on the forum too.

Yeah won't be packing colours! Thanks.

[Candystripe]

Official attendance at the Derry match was 1,567.

That may have been the amount of tickets either sold or including free tickets given to youth clubs .
I reckon maybe 12 or 13 hundred max actually attended.

My two mates who are also season ticket holders refused to go! I won't knock them for it though.

Another mate couldn't get across the bridge as the main county orange parade was in Derry city that day and they had already had his bought tickets. There rioting by the wee scumbags for the previous 5 nights before that definitely affected the attendance as well. Although the biggest OG was the price of tickets, not so much the adult tickets but the under 12 and under 16 tickets.

[Ezeikial]

A wonderful article by John O'Sullivan on an emotional Champions League night in Turners Cross, especially for those who experienced the worst of times.

http://www.the42.ie/john-osullivan-column-legia-warsaw-4126090-Jul2018/?utm_source=shortlink

[micls]

A wonderful article by John O'Sullivan on an emotional Champions League night in Turners Cross, especially for those who experienced the worst of times.

http://www.the42.ie/john-osullivan-column-legia-warsaw-4126090-Jul2018/?utm_source=shortlink

He summed it up perfectly. Amazing night.

[Real ale Madrid]

Cork due to be on RTE, Shamrock Rovers is on Eir Sport again.

Any link to this info?

[nigel-harps1954]

Any link to this info?

Never found it. Must have dreamed that..

[EatYerGreens]

Never found it. Must have dreamed that..

#FakeNews

[White Horse]

Dundalk have sold out the home tie against Levadia Tallinn.

However, a reduced capacity of 3,300 apply Europa League games in Oriel.

[micls]

Always good to see the sold out signs! Rovers and Derry attendances were disappointing for the clubs I'd imagine, sold out signs always bring buzz with them

[oriel]

Dundalk have sold out the home tie against Levadia Tallinn.

However, a reduced capacity of 3,300 apply Europa League games in Oriel.

I think the capacity will be restricted to 3k WH due to seating, but home fans will be also housed in the 'away' section now, they usually use the first 10 rows or so in that area in these games.

Only catching up on a lot of other euro games now, I knew the Coleraine manager missed his sides away game due to his holiday (still can't believe this) but now I read his assistant was also on holiday, how are they putting up with this kind of mickey mouse stuff ? Crusaders manager was at it twice too last few years, do they be texting instructions I wonder ??????

Not like these dates are not known for months before, only one you wont get is obv when you are home or away.

[Duggie]

Why were derry not wearing names on their shirts against minsk? I thought you had to for europe but apart from that they have them in the league. Anyone know?

[pineapple stu]

We didn't have names on our shirts in 2015. So I don't think it's a requirement.

[Duggie]

I thought it was a rule for european games. Either way it looks so unprofessional. How you cant have names on the back of shirts in this day and age ill never know. Its not hard.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Don’t see what the big deal is

Cork looked very unlucky going by the highlights on Soccer Republic. Definite penalty.

[marinobohs]

Never found it. Must have dreamed that..

RTE do have staff out there. They did a link on RTE news Sport (talking about Bray fiasco). Not sure if it is being shown 'live' but seems a lot of money (even for RTE) to spend unless it is to be shown somewhere on RTE.

[Martinho II]

RTE do have staff out there. They did a link on RTE news Sport (talking about Bray fiasco). Not sure if it is being shown 'live' but seems a lot of money (even for RTE) to spend unless it is to be shown somewhere on RTE.

its definitely not on the rte channel tonight at all. I very much doubt its live on radio.. i safely hazard a guess its for radio and tv updates!

[pineapple stu]

I see TNS are 3-0 up on Shkendija already, having lost the away leg 5-0. Dean Ebbe with the first. That would be one of the greatest ever European turnarounds if they could pull it off. Wonder what the odds are?

While we're waiting on Cork, here's a slightly nerdy little montage of all 75 Europa League first round clubs' home grounds. Some quality stadia in there, large and small. Not so sure about Derry's ground though! Probably a couple of other mistakes in there too, but still, a nice effort I think.

dISiDhHo7QY

[White Horse]

Just saw the Cork line up. Great to see them playing a striker, but surprised to see Sadlier on the bench.

Beattie at right back too, which is a positive move.

[CorribsideSteve]

Would be an amazing result for TNS! Shkendija got to the EL Play-offs last year. Fairly pessimistic about the Cork game, but who knows, if they have a good first half.

[pineapple stu]

I see Rangers - under Steven Gerrard - only drew with a mid-table Macedonian team today as well. They did win the home leg 2-0, but still. Shkendija finished 40 points ahead of Shkupi; TNS are playing the former while Rangers knocked out the latter. Pretty poor stuff from Rangers, though better than last year at least!

[CorribsideSteve]

Suduva Marjampole just knocked out APOEL at the 1st hurdle. CL Quarter Finalists in 2011/12, regular EL Group Stage outfit. Lithuanian football clubs have had some great results recently. Shows you what is/should be capable with our clubs.

[osarusan]

Any stream for the Cork game?