LOI in Europe 2022

[joey B]

https://twitter.com/VMSportIE/status/1557395020512198656

Virgin Media will show all of Shamrock Rovers group games......

[EatYerGreens]

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/shamrock-rovers-enquire-aviva-stadium-27707268

Rovers enquiring about using the Aviva for the group stages……

Makes sense to get the info now on it all, ahead of knowing what competition they'll be in and who they could face there. 7,000 is nowehere near enough if they're in a group with anywhere near decent teams. You'd expect they would sell all their home group games out with home and away fans anyway, so Aviva crowds should be largely upside. Hopefully the FAI don't take the pish with the pricing and availability.

[Asterix]

They'll be in Tallaght unless UEFA don't allow it.

[EatYerGreens]

This is the how the co-efficient table is shaping up for 2025, still fairly unlikely for the FAI to hit their top 30 goal but could very well be within that ballpark. https://kassiesa.net/uefa/data/method5/crank2025.html

Part of the jump is due to a couple leagues (Belarus and Kazak) imploding as well.

Unhelpful for it not to list the number of teams still in it by country.

[legendz]

https://twitter.com/VMSportIE/status/1557395020512198656

Virgin Media will show all of Shamrock Rovers group games......Is it at all possible that they could sublet the games to RTÉ? Virgin Media have absolutely no interest in Irish football.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Virgin have the rights already and Declan McBennett have little or no interest in Irish football.

[Knocklyonhoop]

It's absolutely massive but as you say that first game is critical and rovers basically got the kindest draw possible in it. I think we are a few years away from thinking the ECL groups are the minimum target. We had a great draw and we put in some great performances to get there. I'd give future Irish champions a 30% chance of doing it for the next while. It's the right target but it shouldn't be seen as failure if it doesn't happen. You almost need to be seeded and then you still need to dodge so many big clubs.

it’s all about being seeded / lucky for that first draw. Really opens u- thereafter albeit no gimmes. But would expect to see more regular group stages in the coming yrs. the lads at the top table will keep throwing extra few million at the comf level which will dwarf the massive millions extra they get at the top

[EatYerGreens]

https://twitter.com/VMSportIE/status/1557395020512198656

Virgin Media will show all of Shamrock Rovers group games......

Presumably because they have to?

[yurt]

Will be interesting to see who ends up getting knocked out of the champions path tomorrow.


Víkingur Reykjavík (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knattspyrnuf%C3%A9lagi%C3%B0_V%C3%ADkingur)
Match 1
Lech Poznań (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech_Pozna%C5%84)
1–0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_1.1)
11 Aug (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_1.2)


RFS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FK_RFS)
Match 2
Hibernians (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernians_F.C.)
1–1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_2.1)
11 Aug (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_2.2)


Ballkani (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Ballkani)
Match 3
KÍ Klaksvík (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaksv%C3%ADkar_%C3%8Dtr%C3%B3ttarfelag)
3–2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_3.1)
11 Aug (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_3.2)


Zrinjski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C5%A0K_Zrinjski_Mostar)
Match 4
Tobol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Tobol)
1–0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_4.1)
11 Aug (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_4.2)


Shakhtyor Soligorsk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Shakhtyor_Soligorsk)
Match 5
CFR Cluj (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFR_Cluj)
0–0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_5.1)
11 Aug (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_qual ifying_phase_and_play-off_round_(Champions_Path)#Q3_5.2)



I think we're hoping that the Poles, Latvian's, Kosovan's, Bosnian's and Romanian's get knocked out. These are the leagues who are going to be in and around us for the next few years so them not having group stage football will dent their score for the year massively.

[D24Saint]

Presumably because they have to?

Very handy for VM to show games as they have a couple of channels to use. Nearly sure they have the red button option for football aswell.

[legendz]

Very handy for VM to show games as they have a couple of channels to use. Nearly sure they have the red button option for football aswell.If it is so handy, why haven't they utilised one of those channels so far for the League of Ireland attempt at qualification?
Sligo Rovers v Bala could have been shown on Virgin Media Three.
Sligo Rovers v Motherwell could have been shown on Virgin Media Three.
St Pat's v CSKA Sofia could be shown on Virgin Media Three this evening.

[D24Saint]

If it is so handy, why haven't they utilised one of those channels so far for the League of Ireland attempt at qualification?
Sligo Rovers v Bala could have been shown on Virgin Media Three.
Sligo Rovers v Motherwell could have been shown on Virgin Media Three.
St Pat's v CSKA Sofia could be shown on Virgin Media Three this evening.

I’ve seen it said that they have the rights with UEFA for group games etc. The qualifiers is on a match by match basis.

[sullanefc]

Virgin Media are only showing Shamrock group games because they are contractually obliged to. They are not doing out of national pride/goodness of their hearts etc.

[legendz]

I’ve seen it said that they have the rights with UEFA for group games etc. The qualifiers is on a match by match basis.Yes, the qualifiers are on a match by match basis. If Virgin Media cared about supporting Irish football, they would have broadcasted League of Ireland progress through the qualifiers.

[pineapple stu]

Great work by Rovers last night. That's the 4th time an Irish club has qualified for European group stages in the last 11yrs (since 2012), which is a surprising stat really. If we can continue that trend of one getting into the group stages every 2-3 seasons then I'm sure we'd take that currently - although expectations are increasing to the point where we'll soon expect it every other year.

It does undermine the theory that our best era in Europe was the 2000s.
There's EYG again ignoring everything that was said about the differences between European competition in the 00s and the 20s. Rather defeats the point of debate when points are simply ignored and erroneous views are still held as a result. (To reiterate - show me a season in the 00s, or even the 10s, when beating two minnows like Hibs/Shkupi got you into the groups?)

Oh well.

The ECL could be a financial boon for the LoI - though I do think it's a shame that in expanding Europe, they didn't find a way to offer one more spot per league. The EL is so small there'd surely be room. (I know that's not the point of the expansion - but it's still a shame it couldn't have been factored in)

On tonight's games though - if Pat's play as well (in Sofia heat again of course!) they have a genuine chance. Always the fear of a Legia Warsaw style performance having poked the bear though. Sligo - maybe like Rovers against Ludogorets, having lost so comfortably in the first leg might actually give them a chance of a result at home. Don't think it's unfair to suggest they have zero chance of going through.

[pineapple stu]

Yes, the qualifiers are on a match by match basis. If Virgin Media cared about supporting Irish football, they would have broadcasted League of Ireland progress through the qualifiers.
Virgin Media care about making money for Virgin Media.

Can we stop the bull**** about how we should expect them to care about Irish football "just because"?

[sbgawa]

Virgin Media care about making money for Virgin Media.

Can we stop the bull**** about how we should expect them to care about Irish football "just because"?

Two things on VM is
1. They dont get a TV Licence fee and have no Public service obligation so IMO they are above criticism , if they cant make money showing LOI they shouldn't do it or their staff havr to start worrying about their jobs being safe.

2. I was listening to the LOI Central podcast this a.m and Dan McDonnell made the point that Virgin went after the Conference league rights knowing that their was a good chance of an Irish team making it so while they have to show the domestic team contractually it was something they bought into so its a but harsh to say they are only showing the games "because they have to"

[ger121]

I could easily be wrong here and there are a lot of games and permutations to go yet but if most games go based on seeding, then looking at Bert’s site, Rovers could end up in Pot 3 of the ECL. Long way to go but just an observation.

[sbgawa]

I could easily be wrong here and there are a lot of games and permutations to go yet but if most games go based on seeding, then looking at Bert’s site, Rovers could end up in Pot 3 of the ECL. Long way to go but just an observation.


Yeah i agree with you, i was looking at that too and it could go either way.
It would be great as you have two winnable ties at 500k each.

[legendz]

Two things on VM is
1. They dont get a TV Licence fee and have no Public service obligation so IMO they are above criticism , if they cant make money showing LOI they shouldn't do it or their staff havr to start worrying about their jobs being safe.

2. I was listening to the LOI Central podcast this a.m and Dan McDonnell made the point that Virgin went after the Conference league rights knowing that their was a good chance of an Irish team making it so while they have to show the domestic team contractually it was something they bought into so its a but harsh to say they are only showing the games "because they have to"Were the Conference League rights tied in with the Europa League rights?

[sbgawa]

Were the Conference League rights tied in with the Europa League rights?


McDonnell implied not as he said they specifically went after the Conference rights.
Hes normally pretty reliable

[EatYerGreens]

Very handy for VM to show games as they have a couple of channels to use. Nearly sure they have the red button option for football aswell.

Am surprised they could find the space on those channels for Irish football in amongst all their crucual programming - like Emmerdale, Coronation Street, shows about English police forces, shows about English airports, shows about the English countryside....

[legendz]

McDonnell implied not as he said they specifically went after the Conference rights.
Hes normally pretty reliableOpen for correction on this. As the Conference League was only getting off the ground last year, I think UEFA wisely linked the TV rights with the Europa League.

[sbgawa]

Open for correction on this. As the Conference League was only getting off the ground last year, I think UEFA wisely linked the TV rights with the Europa League.


Actually you are right, i did a bit of checking and they were sold together.
To be fair to McDonnell i have been not quoting him correctly , he may just have been making the point that Virgin bought the rights knowing there was a strong possibility that they would have an Irish team in it and bought them anyway as part of the Europa package.

[legendz]

Actually you are right, i did a bit of checking and they were sold together.
To be fair to McDonnell i have been not quoting him correctly , he may just have been making the point that Virgin bought the rights knowing there was a strong possibility that they would have an Irish team in it and bought them anyway as part of the Europa package.Does anyone honestly believe that Virgin Media are broadcasting the Europa League for the opportunity to show League of Ireland teams?!

[sbgawa]

Does anyone honestly believe that Virgin Media are broadcasting the Europa League for the opportunity to show League of Ireland teams?!

They bought the rights to Europa league to be able to show Man Utd / Arsenal but they also knew there would be a good chance they would have to show Rovers in the Conference league.
Maybe all the credit we can give them is that they were willing to do it if it happened and werent so off put that they didnt go for the Europa rights.

My other point still stands though, they have no licence fee and no public service obligation so if they dont want to show LOI because they think they cant make money then so be it.

[Real ale Madrid]

At least there are some actual games soon so we don't have to read rights chat anymore!

Seriously though - as long as the games are on somewhere and we can watch - happy days imo.

[ontheotherhand]

As posted by Karl Reilly, Stephen Bradley now has the highest winning ratio of any League of Ireland manager who has more than 20 games in Europe.

from twitter @HistoryLOI:

Stephen Kenny - 12 out of 44
Pat Fenlon - 11 out of 35
Stephen Bradley - 11 out of 25
Liam Buckley - 5 out of 30

If you don't count group stage games, which I think is fairer given the higher level of opposition there:

Bradley P 25 W 11 = 44% win ratio
Fenlon P 35 W 11 = 31%
Kenny P 38 W 11 = 28.9% ah we'll give him 30%
Young P 22 W 4 = 18%
Buckley P 30 W 5 = 16%
Richardson P26 W 4 =15%
McLaughlin P 28 W 4 = 14%


Obviously many would argue that Kenny has the better overall record given he didn't have the opportunity to drop to the EL/ECL and so losing to one good team didn't open the door to some potentially easier fixtures to bump up the numbers. Fenlon did well considering the era.

To properly judge performance you'd have to look at the teams they beat but it's interesting nonetheless.

If you counted group stage games Kenny would be at 27%. If you assumed Rovers lose the next EL round and all group stage games in the ECL he'd be at 33%.

Bradley's teams also have 32 goals in 25 games. Kenny's had 43 in 44 but again, stronger opposition in the groups so that's still excellent.

Open to correction on all of the above. Using a calculator for basic calculations isn't my strong suit.

[Nesta99]

Atmosphere coming across on TV is incredible, the best Ive seen from Tallaght ever!!

[pineapple stu]

Sligo 1-0 up.

[joey B]

Vaduz of Liechtenstein scoring 4 away at Konyaspor of Turkey is pretty mad..

[Nesta99]

RTE live stream quits so moved to another working stream which is now buffering like mad so bog off people, its ruining my viewing!!

[pineapple stu]

And a cheap goal for Sofia there.

They've been livelier than last week, though I think their defence is still suspect.

But that goal really opens it up now unfortunately

[yurt]

Hilarious enough goal for Sligo.

They sliced a volley so hard the Viking right back had wrongly assumed it had gone out but the backspin kept it in. When he noticed he'd ****ed up bust a gut to block down the cross which looped way up in the air and somehow landed in at the back post.

[Nesta99]

Free header with a meter around the chap, such a waste of a 1 nil lead!

[pineapple stu]

Hilarious enough goal for Sligo.

They sliced a volley so hard the Viking right back had wrongly assumed it had gone out but the backspin kept it in. When he noticed he'd ****ed up bust a gut to block down the cross which looped way up in the air and somehow landed in at the back post.
Ha! Yeah, scrappy doesn't quite do it justice does it?

1557801003600207880

[yurt]

Sligo with a missed pen and keeper made a really good stop from the follow up. Would have at least made the last 20 a little intriguing.

Also would have made the 0.25 for the co-efficient that bit safer.

[paul_oshea]

Very little in this pat's game.

[ger121]

I did not realise Sligo had missed a penalty. A win would round off a very good season for them in Europe. 4 wins and won through 2 rounds for the first time.

[pineapple stu]

Couple of other games this evening - Dundee United 5-0 down away to Alkmaar at half-time, having won 1-0 at home. KÍ Klaksvik and Ballkani are going to extra time; winners to play Shkupi and give us a first ever Faroese/North Macedonian/Kosovan team in the group stages I think. Basel v Brondby going to penalties; winners to play Pat's or CSKA. Linfield dumped into the Conference League after losing 3-0 to Zurich (5-0 on aggregate); they'll play RFS of Latvia for a place in the groups.

1-0 in Sligo is a result; good win, although RTÉ suggesting that Viking weren't going full pelt given the 5-1 first leg result.

[ger121]

Couple of other games this evening - Dundee United 5-0 down away to Alkmaar at half-time, having won 1-0 at home. KÍ Klaksvik and Ballkani are going to extra time; winners to play Shkupi and give us a first ever Faroese/North Macedonian/Kosovan team in the group stages I think. Basel v Brondby going to penalties; winners to play Pat's or CSKA. Linfield dumped into the Conference League after losing 3-0 to Zurich (5-0 on aggregate); they'll play RFS of Latvia for a place in the groups.

1-0 in Sligo is a result; good win, although RTÉ suggesting that Viking weren't going full pelt given the 5-1 first leg result.

Think Macedonia had a team in the EL within the last 5 years. Some very late goals sending games to ET. Hamrun of Malta winning 2-1 away to Levski and gone to ET. Proves their sides are no great shakes. Hope Pat’s can get a goal and see out the game.

[pineapple stu]

Basel just beat Brondby on penalties

[ger121]

Basel just beat Brondby on penalties

They should have won it long before then by the looks of it.

[pineapple stu]

Think Macedonia had a team in the EL within the last 5 years.
I was thinking the might have, and you're right - Vardar in 2017.

They got thumped in general and are now in the second division, so the money's gone

[Terry]

Have we ever had a co-efficient greater than 10 before, and if so when ?

[ger121]

Have we ever had a co-efficient greater than 10 before, and if so when ?

High 9s but don’t think 10.

[pineapple stu]

Nope - again the second and third bites of the cherry, plus easier draws in the Conference League, help significantly.

This Pat's game is surprisingly poor. Tense, but poor. Possession being lost far too easily by both sides

[ger121]

I was thinking the might have, and you're right - Vardar in 2017.

They got thumped in general and are now in the second division, so the money's gone

No wonder I could not remember who it was.

[joey B]

Real chance for Breslin there…

[Big Ears]

Pat's will be kicking themselves if they don't win this.
They've played well, but not nearly clinical enough at times when it's come to finishing or often the final ball.