LOI in Europe 2022

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Originally Posted by Jack B

Congrats to Sligo as well.

Up the minnows.

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To say Sligo were minnows is a bit harsh. You must remember the standard of LOI football has improved greatly and has caught up with its Scottish counterparts. Except Celtic and Rangers LOI teams could compete with everyone else in the SPL. Therefore this was not an unexpected result for me. One of the greatest ever was Bohs 3 v Rangers 2 back in 1984. I was at it and Bohs were by far the better team. LOI has come on leaps and bounds and results like last night are to be expected now. How far will Sligo and Pat's go?? Who knows, but it won't be long until we have teams in the group stages on a regular basis.

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

To say Sligo were minnows is a bit harsh. You must remember the standard of LOI football has improved greatly and has caught up with its Scottish counterparts. Except Celtic and Rangers LOI teams could compete with everyone else in the SPL. Therefore this was not an unexpected result for me. One of the greatest ever was Bohs 3 v Rangers 2 back in 1984. I was at it and Bohs were by far the better team. LOI has come on leaps and bounds and results like last night are to be expected now. How far will Sligo and Pat's go?? Who knows, but it won't be long until we have teams in the group stages on a regular basis.

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it got sligo wound up which i suppose is all that matters. fact is sligo have been average by LOI standards for a good while now, this season they have been worse than last. SPL still has better players imo there should be no way sligo can beat motherwell this comfortably over 2 legs after losing the key players theyve lost over the last 8 months. Huge embarrassment for Motherwell whatever way you look at it. Big boost for sligo especially with next year in mind, when dundalk should be back in europe so will have more cash. Helps them stay in touch with that group of teams.

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Originally Posted by culloty82

SPL heads already moaning about being knocked out by a "pub league" team!

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Unfair comments considering LoI clubs have made the group stages of European competition.
For LoI clubs, the play-off round is like a European final. Sligo and Pat's are effectively in European qualifier semi-finals.
Having 3 clubs in round 3 and at least 1 club in the playoffs is great publicity for the league. If the league can consistently have a return like this, it will improve the standing of the league.

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Originally Posted by Jd2793

Huge embarrassment for Motherwell whatever way you look at it.

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Yep. If it was the other Rovers, you'd think it was a decent result but not much more than that. But I think even Sligo fans will acknowledge they're crap this year - getting past Bala on penalties, taking two points from three games against UCD...and then beating Motherwell home and away?

That's Motherwell's problem though. The next round against Viking will be interesting and might help answer the question of which is the real Sligo. If it's Bala Sligo, then Viking should win home and away handy enough. If it's Motherwell Sligo, well then you'd have to imagine an upset isn't impossible at all.

Don't think I'd hold out much hope for Pat's in Bulgaria, but feck it, it's a free shot.

dare to dream about Rovers Pats and sligo getting through the next round which would give us 1 guaranteed group stage particpant and two in play offs.
Its mad the way European hopes can swing from our league is **** to we are better than we think depending on a couple of results either way.

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Originally Posted by Jd2793

it got sligo wound up which i suppose is all that matters. fact is sligo have been average by LOI standards for a good while now, this season they have been worse than last. SPL still has better players imo there should be no way sligo can beat motherwell this comfortably over 2 legs after losing the key players theyve lost over the last 8 months. Huge embarrassment for Motherwell whatever way you look at it. Big boost for sligo especially with next year in mind, when dundalk should be back in europe so will have more cash. Helps them stay in touch with that group of teams.

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the only teams with better players are celtic, rangers, hearts and possibly Aberdeen. All of the rest are comparable with LOI. I've watched quite a few SPL games between the lower teams and don't think I've ever watched a complete one. I believe LOI teams try to play more football rather than hoof and chase.

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

the only teams with better players are celtic, rangers, hearts and possibly Aberdeen. All of the rest are comparable with LOI. I've watched quite a few SPL games between the lower teams and don't think I've ever watched a complete one. I believe LOI teams try to play more football rather than hoof and chase.

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Have any of the Scottish clubs outside of the Glasgow clubs got a good track record of making the group stages?

Fantastic result last night for Irish Football. SPL is ranked 9th in Europe... Thats a fair achievement (even if we all understand why its ranked so high).

Sligo is 5th, still able to play a much higher league and win twice is a great endorsement for the depth in the League (There might be a gap between Rovers and the rest, but not much from below to say Harps).

Dan McDonnell did say before the Bala game that Motherwell were there to be got. Pity Sparta lost for Sligo in a way, I would have said that away trip would have been one of the best anyone could have.

Pats result is fantastic too. Also, McDonnell did say they have a chance and they would suit European football. A bit mad the either of the teams might not be in Europe next year. Heres hoping both can do the buisness again.

Am I right in saying it was the same stage Bohs and Dundalk reached last year? Becoming a bit of a norm....

What a night. Have enough bad days in the showgrounds that you have to enjoy nights like that. Best atmosphere we’ve ever had in there I would say.

Great to see Pats get through as well.

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Originally Posted by legendz

Have any of the Scottish clubs outside of the Glasgow clubs got a good track record of making the group stages?

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I think Hearts got to the group stages more than 15 years ago.

No one else achieved GS football bar OF clubs.

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Originally Posted by Buller

Great results tonight! Watched the Sligo one, what a show and stellar atmosphere.

Wiki Europa Conference League 2021/22 Prizemoney.
First qualifying round elimination: €150,000
Second qualifying round elimination: €350,000
Third qualifying round elimination: €550,000
Play-off round elimination: €750,000
Qualified to Group Stage: €2,950,000

Looks like 200k per round progressed, are these numbers out of date? Heard different figures branded about everywhere about earnings.

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Those figures are correct for the prizemoney but as I understand it there is also a “participation payment” of €100,000 per round. So Sligo now have a guaranteed €850,000 and Pats (who didn’t play the first round) have a guaranteed €750,000. Winning the next round would add another €300,000. This is very serious money but bear in mind that (certainly in Pats’ case) travel costs are exhorbitant as the aviation business is in chaos, and also players and coaches generally have good European bonuses in their contracts.
Of course the Group Stage money is in a different stratosphere. And the qualification process is specifically designed to give league champions every possible chance of making the Group Stage of at least the Conference League.

Are those figures for winning in the round or participation in the round ?

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Originally Posted by Kiki Balboa

Am I right in saying it was the same stage Bohs and Dundalk reached last year? Becoming a bit of a norm....

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Yeah, it is becoming a bit of a norm. Q3 is becoming the standard expectation, keeping in mind that the qualifiers are fraught with danger.
The likes of Dundalk can enter Europe with high expectations of Q3, be mindful of the pitfalls and hopefully have a right rattle at making the playoffs.

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Originally Posted by D24Saint

Are those figures for winning in the round or participation in the round ?

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It’s €100k for each round you participate in. The prizemoney is what you get when you go out.
If Sligo had gone out to Baha they’d have got a total of €250k. With each subsequent round the prizemoney went up €200k and they got another €100k for participation.

Sligo going to Norway will cost a pretty penny too. Norway is one of the most expensive places in the world! Prague would have been a much more affordable place for thirsty fans but it is what it is.
Norway is still a stunning place to visit and going in summer is the best time to see it.

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Originally Posted by Philosophizer

Sligo going to Norway will cost a pretty penny too. Norway is one of the most expensive places in the world! Prague would have been a much more affordable place for thirsty fans but it is what it is.
Norway is still a stunning place to visit and going in summer is the best time to see it.

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Expensive enough trips for both Sligo and Pats fans. Neither place are exactly cost friendly in terms of flights alone.

We can’t really complain after Wales and Scotland

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Expensive enough trips for both Sligo and Pats fans. Neither place are exactly cost friendly in terms of flights alone.

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Sofia would be cheap once you get there though.

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Originally Posted by joey B

Are we looking at the possibility of all 3 teams having to play their next round in Tallaght?
I know Sligo would have to put a temporary stand in to host the next round but not sure if it’s feasible…

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Jesus if thats the case then you'd hope the town would pull everything out to make that happen.
I imagine lots of the pubs and restaurants did very well yesterday, add in the spending power of 400 away fans. Things like this mean a lot to the team and town.

UEFA generally don’t allow temporary stands but we’re in discussions with them

The fixtures on the Europa League Conference website had the Pats game down as Tallaght and Sligo in the showgrounds.

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Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah

UEFA generally don’t allow temporary stands but we’re in discussions with them

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They are reasonable enough about it as long as the stand is built on a concrete base/foundation. Not sure about tarmac but could be capacity based on that. I know Richmond isnt available in the next round but if it did meet all the other criteria they would most likely be able to use the 'temporary' stand behind the goal.

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Originally Posted by Asterix

The fixtures on the Europa League Conference website had the Pats game down as Tallaght and Sligo in the showgrounds.

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I see Dan McDonnell confirming it. Don’t even need the temporary stand. Great news.

Great for Sligo,some common sense for a change!

Kind of sad that the league has to scramble so much for a third qualifying round game, but great to see it going ahead in Sligo alright.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Kind of sad that the league has to scramble so much for a third qualifying round game, but great to see it going ahead in Sligo alright.

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Local authorities should take the blame on that one. The SDCC have shown what can be achieved when a council shows a bit of interest in creating facilities.

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Originally Posted by D24Saint

Local authorities should take the blame on that one. The SDCC have shown what can be achieved when a council shows a bit of interest in creating facilities.

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I think the blame is'nt just with local authorities , the FAI have a lot to answer for too

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Kind of sad that the league has to scramble so much for a third qualifying round game, but great to see it going ahead in Sligo alright.

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I do agree, but I doubt there are plenty of options for clubs in a number of similarly ranked/size leagues. Some obviously have incredibly good infrastructure but it not unusual for games to be moved to national stadiums either. Its is great that UEFA are willing to work with clubs that just do not have or need the same scale of criteria that bigger leagues have. As long as the facility is safe, can be televised to sufficient standard etc. who cares about a load of seats for dignitaries or UEFA sponsors or hundreds of media positions.

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Originally Posted by Glen Of Aherlow

I think the blame is'nt just with local authorities , the FAI have a lot to answer for too

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I expect nothing from them , the Church of Scientology is less crooked.

Has anyone ever seen a better free kick by a central defender than the one Shane Blaney scored last night?

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Yep. If it was the other Rovers, you'd think it was a decent result but not much more than that. But I think even Sligo fans will acknowledge they're crap this year - getting past Bala on penalties, taking two points from three games against UCD...and then beating Motherwell home and away?

That's Motherwell's problem though. The next round against Viking will be interesting and might help answer the question of which is the real Sligo. If it's Bala Sligo, then Viking should win home and away handy enough. If it's Motherwell Sligo, well then you'd have to imagine an upset isn't impossible at all.

Don't think I'd hold out much hope for Pat's in Bulgaria, but feck it, it's a free shot.

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But they are crap relative to what's in our league stu and apparently not relative to what's in the SPL. Now we have good European results, as we did last year bar Rovers v Flora (which if played 10 times would come out in Rovers favour I think). Could it be that the league isn't really regressing as much as you think or even at all? Or do we need at least one club to be getting into the EL groups to prove that? Or is it all just random chance in Europe?

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Kind of sad that the league has to scramble so much for a third qualifying round game, but great to see it going ahead in Sligo alright.

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It is kind of sad alright. In UEFA speak it is damaging the LoI brand.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022...ligo-humbling/

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

But they are crap relative to what's in our league stu and apparently not relative to what's in the SPL. Now we have good European results, as we did last year bar Rovers v Flora (which if played 10 times would come out in Rovers favour I think). Could it be that the league isn't really regressing as much as you think or even at all? Or do we need at least one club to be getting into the EL groups to prove that? Or is it all just random chance in Europe?

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I thought results didn't matter otoh? :)

Rovers v Flora wasn't last year's only bad result. Sligo losing to FH home and away and Dundalk scraping by Levadia Tallinn with a 92nd minute winner were both poor.

But bigger picture is we're up to 40th in the rankings, which still isn't great - and that takes account getting unexpectedly good teams and teams in crisis and should balance out fairly well (whereas you before were trying to focus just on getting teams who turned out to be good). But last night's results were definitely good and it'd be nice if they could become a regular thing. Whatever about the SPL (which is a weird league in many ways), we should be able to compete against countries Slovenia but we only had one draw from seven matches before this week.

I think it's clear though we've regressed since the peak of the 00s and I still think we've dropped a bit in the intervening decade too (I think the overview of results hints I posted earlier hints at that)

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022...ligo-humbling/

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The only time the Motherwell fans were heard was when they sang “you’re getting sacked in the morning” a couple of times

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I thought results didn't matter otoh? :)

Rovers v Flora wasn't last year's only bad result. Sligo losing to FH home and away and Dundalk scraping by Levadia Tallinn with a 92nd minute winner were both poor.

But bigger picture is we're up to 40th in the rankings, which still isn't great - and that takes account getting unexpectedly good teams and teams in crisis and should balance out fairly well (whereas you before were trying to focus just on getting teams who turned out to be good). But last night's results were definitely good and it'd be nice if they could become a regular thing. Whatever about the SPL (which is a weird league in many ways), we should be able to compete against countries Slovenia but we only had one draw from seven matches before this week.

I think it's clear though we've regressed since the peak of the 00s and I still think we've dropped a bit in the intervening decade too (I think the overview of results hints I posted earlier hints at that)

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I'm only poking the bear stu. I still don't think European results tell us much but wanted your take after the recent results. Reading back over the thread you'd actually swear all the clubs were knocked out weeks ago given the level of analysis and negativity around the leagues current state but here we are. When all 3 clubs are sent packing in the next round maybe we can just delete this current section of positivity.

bradser made a good point after the 2 to 1 win over Ludugrets that people base there naratives off results and noy performances. Rovers shoukd have come away friom the first leg 2 nil ezcept for Lee Grace last minute brain fart (could even have nicked 1) but it was 3 nil and the world is ending. sligo were awful against Bala but made it through, Pats could have lost last night.
im probably in the camp fot getting hung up on results myself but its hard not to be

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Originally Posted by D24Saint

I expect nothing from them , the Church of Scientology is less crooked.

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He listened to them if the report is accurate that he was the one who called the meeting - maybe for once mutual consent was actually mutual. No matter how confident a coach is that they can turn bad performances around and want to stick, you'd have it in yer head that a torrent of vile abuse is heading your direction and family in the social media age are on the front line now also. That or the fact Motherwell was that poor that he gave up on them and cut his losses. Be interesting to see their domestic form.

Is Tallaght the only LOI ground which can host ECLQ3 games? Turners Cross too I'd guess?

Clubs are going to be reaching this round with regularity given that ECLQ1 is going to be between the weakest 20 leagues going forward. It hasn't seemed like too big a deal for Dundalk and Bohs to play games in different stadiums given the proximity but for Sligo to have to travel 2/3 hours to get to a facility good enough to host their game is a scandal. I wonder if them getting permission to go ahead in Sligo will be worse in the long run given the backlash will never arrive like it really should have.

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Originally Posted by yurt

Is Tallaght the only LOI ground which can host ECLQ3 games? Turners Cross too I'd guess?

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Is that Category 3?
If so, it's really just Tallaght. Lansdowne and Windsor would be the only other grounds here that would meet the criteria (both are category 4).

Turners Cross would have the required 4.5k seating capacity, but things like car parking, I presume not?

As we've seen with the Showgrounds, and Tallaght, UEFA seem to have a bit of flexibility in how rigidly they apply the rules.
Considering that, you would imagine Turners Cross and the Brandywell should be fine.

With the extra stand in Tallaght, it should be category 4 handy enough.