eircom League in Europe - 2008

[Schumi]

Live coverage from Cork but not of Pats' game as far as I know.

[holidaysong]

What time does the Pats game KO at?

[Duggie]

What time does the Pats game KO at?

4.00pm irish time i think.

[Duggie]

Live coverage from Cork but not of Pats' game as far as I know.

great hoping there would be.

[Cymro]

Good results for Drogheda and Llanelli. Levadia are a reasonable side with plenty of internationals (yes OK Estonian ones, but they're still not bad) and Ventspils had a Georgian fella who was in the team that beat Scotland. These teams are better than a lot of people give them credit for.

Linfield unlucky but were never going to progress with that draw. They have been unlucky with both the last two years in the draw.

dcfcsteve, did you watch Llanelli on S4C?

[EAFC_rdfl]

Good results for Drogheda and Llanelli. Levadia are a reasonable side with plenty of internationals (yes OK Estonian ones, but they're still not bad) and Ventspils had a Georgian fella who was in the team that beat Scotland. These teams are better than a lot of people give them credit for.

Linfield unlucky but were never going to progress with that draw. They have been unlucky with both the last two years in the draw.

dcfcsteve, did you watch Llanelli on S4C?

I caught the end of the llanelli game on S4C alright. Welsh sounds nothing like Irish :D especially the effort Big John Hartson was making! good result for Llanelli not conceding the away goal, and a great finish for their goal, it was a tight enough angle

[Cymro]

The effort Big John was making sounded more like English than any other language! :o

[micls]

According to this http://www.futbol24.com Riga are down to 10 men after 8 mins

[chipsahoy]

absolutely great performance in the 2nd half by the drogs. cahill, baker and an out of position byrne really showed their class and ran the game for us. robbo did well but as usual was wasteful. i reckon if we had of got AT least one more goal we could go through but now i think they'll make mince meat of us next week. its a shame cause we can beat them, but as someone said earlier, i dont trust them to play to their potential.

[pineapple stu]

To sum up the relevant results from the 4 countries immediately above us in the rankings last year:

Vetra and Suduva both got 1-0 home wins in the UEFA today, against Viking and TNS respectively. TNS hung on until the 89th minute. Latvia lost obviously; Metalurgs play Glentoran tonight.

[ciaraa]

Read the second post and give me your response to that?

Ok - my response is that its even more full of crap than the first one.

and you still dont seem to know what moral victory means despite mandrake and dcfcsteve spelling it out for you.

[A face]

Pathetic (http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=983823&postcount=11)

[higgins]

Very unimpressed with the results so far this year.
Bohs going out to Riga was a disaster!!! Pats only winning 1-0 against 10 men from the bottom team in Latvia ??? Cork coming from behind at home to draw 2-2 and Drogheda messing up at home leaving themselves open to that away goal.

I was expecting more from our league this year.

The four teams we had in europe were the four big players!! They should be coming through these games with some class. You can see in other games teams are winning 6,7 and 8 nil against weaker teams.

[micls]

Very unimpressed with the results so far this year.
Bohs going out to Riga was a disaster!!! Pats only winning 1-0 against 10 men from the bottom team in Latvia ??? Cork coming from behind at home to draw 2-2 and Drogheda messing up at home leaving themselves open to that away goal.

I was expecting more from our league this year.

The four teams we had in europe were the four big players!! They should be coming through these games with some class.
You can see in other games teams are winning 6,7 and 8 nil against weaker teams.

You realise us and Pats were unseeded right?

Now I agree they are weaker teams but 6/7/8 nil weaker? There's a reason they were seeded ahead of us and that their leagues are ahead of ours in the last 5 years.

Dont get me wrong, Im disappointed in our result, but to say we should be coming through games against teams seeded higher than us 'with class' is a bit naive to say the least.

I think some people over-estimate our teams abilities.

Pats won away from home despite playing badly by their own admission. Drogs may have been the big four last year but have yet to hit form this year and seem out of sorts. We've no right winger(which hurt us badly) and are poor defensively(which cost us tonight).

Now I expect EL teams to be coming through the first round(barring a horrible draw) but people who expect it to be easy are fooling themselves, and maybe need more realistic expectations. Only 5 seasons ago we got 0.333 overall, last season we only got 1, we're already on .832 already with at least 3 games to play.

The results haven't been outstanding, but they have been good.

[higgins]

Didn't expect Cork to win through easily but at home they should have come away with a win and give themselves a better chance of going through.

Pats played the bottom team in Latvia who are down to 10 men ?? Only in the league as the number of teams was expanded last season and they didn't get relegated for finishing bottom.
Big four as in wages. I'm sure some championship clubs are not paying the wages Pats are at present!
Bohs being dumped out by Riga is a disaster,, simple as that really.

Having 0.832 after 3 games is ok but I can only see a Pats win as another 0.333. Will Drogheda and Cork win away from home ? Then Pats could get a dodgy team in the 2nd round.

Cork should have won at home.

The results in europe should be better considering the money we pay our players. We don't get value for money here at present. I still have hope, I still believe that Cork Drogheda and Pats are good enough to win the 2nd leg of their games but all too often I've been left wondering where it went wrong, we just don't seem to be able to put a good run together. Look at the teams around us now as we're placed in 32nd, they have teams capable of winning through two rounds in europe, we still seem to be happy with getting past one round.

[Duggie]

i think the results have been ok.
bohs won 3 out of 4 games in fairness, should have went through. no uefa points available until they got through intertoto so not to disapointed there.

Drogs can go through i think out in estonia.
Pats will defo go through and i think cork are well capable of beating haka. cork are well set up to score goals on away trips. done it before and they battered haka in the second half last night. so all in all im quite pleased the way things are going in europe. there really is no easy teams now, well very few. we need to start thinking positive about away trips aswell i think, the ties are over two legs so we should remember this.

[A face]

City actually did very well for a team that only played 45 mins.

If they play for maybe 60-70 mins in the second leg we might have a better chance. God forbid they actually play for the full 90 and fulfil their end of the bargain. Will they be leaving half their weeks wages behind now as well?

[bennocelt]

I don't know why people are getting so down at the moment< the EL teams are doing alright.

Bohs were in the intertwobob cup and yes they disappointed but they were never going to beat Elfsborg, and they might have actually meesed up our co efficients if they qualified.

Drogheda did very well to turn their game around. I fancy them getting a result away from home and progressing in the tie. Whats the problem there?

St Pats won away from home and still people are moaning. Jesus. Should win at home and further increase the co's

Cork City have it all to do, but at least they didn't lose, and if Matthews is brave I wouldn't be surprised if they also nicked a goal or two out in Finland, why not?

3 games - 2 wins and a draw and no team is def out with all to play for in the second legs.
We should improve on last years co efficients, and a few nations above us looks vulnerable (Latvia, Lithuania, slovenia, poland, finland, - even austria lose 7.5 next year!!!).

I think our euro performances are improving all the time, and the stats would confirm this.
So i dont know why people should bash our league just yet, a lot of games are still to be played

:):):)

[bigmac]

Bohs being dumped out by Riga is a disaster,, simple as that really.


How so?

You're being a bit unrealistic I think - 2 wins and a draw and you think that it's all a disaster?

[higgins]

I don't think I'm being unrealistic.
Going on results and the respective league placing Riga are not as good as Bohs simple as that. Anyone at the game seems to confirm they were not as good as Bohs yet Bohs lost.

I'm hearing loads of if we did this if we had of done that ,, etc

Facts to me are that too often we fail to perform in europe when we have the chance. Don't fool yourself into thinking the teams we play are full of superstars. I'd be amazed if the wages at any of those clubs comes close to the ones at the likes of Pats.

It's time now to step up and knock these clubs out every year!

The draw could not have been better for us to be honest and I just think we might be wasting this.

However, as I said I do believe that we are good enough and playing well we'll win through but the 3 managers at Cork Pats and Drogheda leave me with very little confidence.

Maybe,, seen as wages have gone through the roof and the quality of player at the top clubs is getting better each year it's time we brought in a manager to match the talent of the footballer. Seems like we are still on the same manager merry go round for the past 10 years.

Maybe the key to unlocking europe is in a manager with plenty of european experience.

[minty]

Thought Mooneys goal was very good last night

[minty]

actually think mooney is the best striker in the league in the last 10 years

[bennocelt]

However, as I said I do believe that we are good enough and playing well we'll win through but the 3 managers at Cork Pats and Drogheda leave me with very little confidence.

Maybe,, seen as wages have gone through the roof and the quality of player at the top clubs is getting better each year it's time we brought in a manager to match the talent of the footballer. Seems like we are still on the same manager merry go round for the past 10 years.

Maybe the key to unlocking europe is in a manager with plenty of European experience.


actually thats a good point:)

I am always amazed how a lot of these guys keep getting jobs

and the funny thing is they are also studying for their uefa badges, which makes you wonder about the strength of these courses - since every tom, dick and harry of a manager has a badge now (did Bryan Robson get one?)

[kingdomkerry]

Can someone post up a link the latest Co-efficient table?

[pineapple stu]

Maybe the key to unlocking europe is in a manager with plenty of european experience.
What, like Fenlon?

Though I do agree with you that the results have been unimpressive to date.

[pete]

Can someone post up a link the latest Co-efficient table?

Latest Table (http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method3/crank2009.html)

The Inter Two Bob Cup does not really matter.

Results have been ok & there are more ranking points up for grabs. Pats have security of the away goal & should win at home. Note sure about Drogs as they gave up away goal to unseeded team.

Disappointed City did not win but from 0-2 we battering Haka with penalty denied & hit bar & post 3 times. They barley left this half of the pitch for 30 minutes & could not handle high tempo game. We missed John O'Flynn badly & thin squad means few options. If he had played would have won. See no reason why we cannot win away.

1.5 - 2.0 points for season is definitely realistic.

[higgins]

I didn't include Fenlon because he has experience and is still sh!t :)

In general we seem to be stuck with ex LOI players all trying to manage. I'm sure for the money being paid that there are better options now. Not saying a LOI player can't make a good manager but we don't seem to bring in outside managers too often.

Our teams are good enough but yet we seem to slip up every year. Progress is being made but with players in the league earning 3K a week you would want to be brushing aside the likes of Olimps and Riga. Haka and Levadia would be more of a test I agree but the two home results are not what I expected.

I mean any Shels fan will tell you we were as good as Odense over there the year we lost 3-0! We were also a good deal better than Hibernians when they knocked us out, doesn't add up.. Cork were better than Haka and drew 2-2, Bohs were better than Riga and lost on away goals ?? Something not right somewhere.

Do we take it serious enough ?

[bigmac]

I mean any Shels fan will tell you we were as good as Odense over there the year we lost 3-0! We were also a good deal better than Hibernians when they knocked us out, doesn't add up.. Cork were better than Haka and drew 2-2, Bohs were better than Riga and lost on away goals ?? Something not right somewhere.


I reckon that the better teams are able to get a result despite not playing well - I've seen it lots of time with Waterford being equal or better than a team on the night and still not winning. Teams that play in stronger leagues may be matched on the night, but I think that their class and perhaps experience comes through. They are also (imo) less likely to lose concentration/ make stupid mistakes/ give away soft goals because mistakes in a higher level league get punished more than here.
I agree with your points about managers and high salaries but I still think that you're being harsh on Pats especially - look at Man City - needed two stunning goals to beat the Faroese team - hardly a resounding victory but they were much better than them on the night. An away victory of any kind is a good result - especially for the coefficient purposes.
As for Cork, I'd be inclined to give them a lot of credit for recovering from a position in which it looked like the tie was over. If positions were reversed and Cork had given away a 2-0 lead in Finland in the first leg, then you'd probably be criticising them as well.

[Duggie]

ya i thought man city would thump that team - prob will tho in the 2nd leg. all three will go through IMO.

[minty]

ya def all 3 to go thru

[TheBoss]

St Pats Highlights
http://esports.lv/futbols/eirokausi/video/18072008_0118_kristaps_drikis_olimps_pret_st_patri

After Match Conference
http://esports.lv/futbols/eirokausi/video/18072008_0757_kristaps_drikis_olimps_-_st_patrick_

[paul_oshea]

They are also (imo) less likely to lose concentration/ make stupid mistakes/ give away soft goals because mistakes in a higher level league get punished more than here.


i think you have hit the nail on the head on this one, and was always something i thought when watching hawkins playing, always thought he was class and wondered how he wasn't in the premiership, but like most other players in the league they cant apply themselves for 100% of the game and even though they might be hammering a team in terms of possession etc, end up losing a goal from an unforced error i.e. doing something stupid or lackin gin experience. I think the manager has to take a lot of the blame here. The only team I have ever seen apply themselves correctly was Derry. Even pats those years ago against celtic - they were very good - but at home then some silly mistakes.

[micls]

The results in europe should be better considering the money we pay our players. We don't get value for money here at present..

This point is only relevant if you can tell me that we're paying far more than the teams we're playing against. I have no idea, maybe you do?



Cork were better than Haka and drew 2-2, Bohs were better than Riga and lost on away goals ?? Something not right somewhere.

Do we take it serious enough ?

And we were better than Rovers a few weeks ago at the cross too, and better than Bray at the start of the season etc etc.

This is football, its not as simple as better team technically always wins. We played poorly for 60 minutes, defended like 12 year olds(a problem we've had all season) and paid the price.

Haka were poor but they were very fast up front and had 2 quality players.

We should have won, but I could say that about many many games this year.

Its certainly taken seriously but I think last night some nerves from the Euro first, timers, the fact that we didnt know much about the opposition and the conservative way we started cost us the game.

We can beat them over there but it will be very very tough

[bennocelt]

St Pats Highlights
http://esports.lv/futbols/eirokausi/video/18072008_0118_kristaps_drikis_olimps_pret_st_patri

After Match Conference
http://esports.lv/futbols/eirokausi/video/18072008_0757_kristaps_drikis_olimps_-_st_patrick_

just want to say that i find it a bit shocking to see EL players diving like big girls,
who was that fool? thats simply not on at all:mad:

[Dodge]

St Pats Highlights
http://esports.lv/futbols/eirokausi/video/18072008_0118_kristaps_drikis_olimps_pret_st_patri

After Match Conference
http://esports.lv/futbols/eirokausi/video/18072008_0757_kristaps_drikis_olimps_-_st_patrick_


Thanks for these. was at the game. We totally dominated against a team that played with everyone behind the ball. It took us a while to break them down but we had 4/5 good chances to their none.


As for the ****ing dramaqueens here calling every result a disgrace. Get ****ing real lads...

[pete]

Do we take it serious enough ?

City always take European games seriously & I don't think anyone can criticise our results. Teams play to progress to the next round & don't worry about coefficients or larger winning margins.

[Higgo]

City always take European games seriously & I don't think anyone can criticise our results. Teams play to progress to the next round & don't worry about coefficients or larger winning margins.

People who follow their teams through thick and thin are entitled to criticise Euro results imo. I am being critical but am doing so 'cos I care passionately about domestic football and not because I get a kick out of other teams getting knocked out. I follow Shels and have done for 14 years but I wish all EL clubs the best of luck in Europe. The reason for this is that I'm sick and tired of the EL being a laughing stock and the best (maybe only) way for this to change is to make progress in Europe. IMHO we are making some progress, but not as much as we could be making. I'm sorry, I just can't see how beating Levadia 2-1 at home is a good result for example. Don't get me wrong, there is no shame in it or anything. I just feel Drogheda are more than capable of knocking them out comfortably. It's almost as if managers like to make a big deal out of Euro matches, they overestimate teams to the point where they create fear amongst the players. The result is that we tend to be happy with scraping wins or even draws. This is the way I see it anyhow.

[bennocelt]

One game on tonight that might affect our co efficients.
It would be great if Llanelli held out for a draw tonight. Man what an easy round they got and the winners play Brann B from Norway. It would be nice to see a Welsh team do something in Europe

[higgins]

Would do us a massive favour but can't see it happening to be honest. The good news is that Brann should win home and away in the next round anyway.

Drogheda need to match this result when they play tomorrow night.

[bigmac]

Would do us a massive favour but can't see it happening to be honest. The good news is that Brann should win home and away in the next round anyway.


I thought that about Stavanger as well :(

[pete]

Betting for tomorrow.

Talinn 1/1
Draw 9/4
Drogs 12/5

[bigmac]

Betting for tomorrow.

Talinn 1/1
Draw 9/4
Drogs 12/5

that's a good price for Drogs in a 2 horse race.

[pete]

that's a good price for Drogs in a 2 horse race.

This Drogs horse is carrying handicap weigh though. :p

[swinfordfc]

Latvia team Ventspils are leading 1-0 tonight so the gap is widening!

[HarpoJoyce]

JFK Olimps picked up an away point in the latvian League today.

SK Blazma Rezekne 1:1 JFK Olimps/ASK

http://www.lff.lv/lv/virsliga/fixtures/2008/r2/m-86/

[Saint_Charlie]

Latvia team Ventspils are leading 1-0 tonight so the gap is widening!

Finished 4-0

[swinfordfc]

Cyprus have now gone another 0.333 ahead of us going up to 9.915! :eek: ......no chance of catching them i think! :D

[pateen]

Any update of drogs Lads :eek:

[pineapple stu]

livescore.net's your best bet.

[superfrank]

Any update of drogs Lads :eek:
http://www.rte.ie/radio/liveplayer_av.html?10,null,200,http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/radio/radio1extra.smil
You can listen to it there.

Still 0-0.