LOI In Europe 2025

As well as figuring out how to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again; I think this shows that the FAI need to support - from funds they don't have etc etc - other PD clubs in applying for licences to ensure four clubs can go forward in any circumstances.

Geysir, if he is around, might be able to give us the lowdown on how Breidablik compare to the side from 2023.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I think it makes more sense to think of it as Drogheda scratching both games. So even if all our other teams lose all their games, Drogheda are still impacting the coefficient by waiving their chance at contributing to it.

Under your way of looking at it, any side that performs under the average (which would have been everyone bar Rovers last year) would have damaged the coefficient

I think the clause you suggest makes sense if it's reciprocal. The FAI also can't do anything that damages the reputation or integrity of the clubs and their competitions. :)

And joking aside - and without wanting to shift responsibility for this from Trivela - how were they involved in all this? Did nobody push Drogheda? Or was it not until Silkeborg qualified last month that they realised there was a problem?

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This would seem to be the case, Trivela essentially 'gambled' on Silkeborg not making ECL due to them being in mid table and out of cup, but they won the end of season euro play off from 6th or 7th spot and made it.

Worse, a Drogs journo who is well versed Barry Landy flagged this potential minefield in early 2025, but seems no one took notice, and nothing was done to counter the 'what if' scenario happened, which it did.

Then they spent 100k + defending it, lost it, and lost out on 525k min, as they could have progressed remember, plus gate money, could have got 700k.

I'd be abs furious with Trivela if I was a Drogs fan.

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Originally Posted by placid casual

This forum is all about opinions of course,but I personally don't think Pats were below average in Europe last season,I think they were slightly above par if anything. id say Shels were about par on their exploits last year..we won't talk about the pub team winning in the brandywell..

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Well to be clear, I meant in terms of numerical coefficients purely. Pat's did very well in Europe last season - it's just that Rovers did so well that Pat's still dragged our coefficient down when you go by Eminence Grise's thinking. That is, if we had just had Rovers, the LoI would have scored 14.375 points last year. With Rovers/Pat's, our coefficient reduced to 9.188, and so on.

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Originally Posted by Eminence Grise

Thinking overnight… there must be* a participation clause with the FAI that clubs will not do anything that damages the reputation or integrity of the association and its competitions. Trivela have damaged the league’s ranking with the co-efficient of three clubs divisible by four. (I think the only way they definitively can't damage the ranking is if all clubs lose all their European ties.) Should the FAI take action against Trivela? Punitive action, or force ownership into a blind trust, and make that a condition for any club in a multi-club ownership model going forward?

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Surely what you're suggesting would just cause Trivela to pull out of Drogheda/LOI altogther, on the basis that it's more trouble than it's worth, esp when there are a dozen other comparable leagues which would be more welcoming?

And I can't see the LOI wanting that.

Shels vs Linfield. What a tie.

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Originally Posted by sidewayspasser

It's a collective failure of all PD clubs who didn't bother applying. I guess some will learn and put an application in next season, just in case.

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I'd say the only one you can level criticism at would be Derry, at a push, as they should've realised the risk re Drogheda's ownership. Daft to blame anyone else beyond that really. Particularly as there is presumably a decent amount of time, paperwork etc involved in it. Its not as if our clubs aren't busy enough as it is withoiut doing extra work for a miniscule chance that it'd actually be required.

The FAI should mandate it as standard practise now that all PD clubs apply every year moving forwards.

Shels vs Linfield best draw possible on so many levels for us with the exception maybe some security headaches wrapping around the week of July 12th

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Originally Posted by ger121

Shels vs Linfield. What a tie.

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Duffs comments about the troubles and marching will inevitably be more entertaining than the actual game

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Well to be clear, I meant in terms of numerical coefficients purely. Pat's did very well in Europe last season - it's just that Rovers did so well that Pat's still dragged our coefficient down when you go by Eminence Grise's thinking. That is, if we had just had Rovers, the LoI would have scored 14.375 points last year. With Rovers/Pat's, our coefficient reduced to 9.188, and so on.

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Yeah makes perfect sense now.

Great draw for shels,nordie football is absolutely woeful,Dundalk in their current 1st division guise
would give most of the top 4 IL teams a good game id say

Disappointed in Shamrock fans not having the beach balls out in Drogheda last night.

Joking aside, I do feel for Drogs fans. Going on European adventures is class. Miss them a lot.

St Pat's have been drawn against FC Hegelmann of Lithuania

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Originally Posted by joey B

St Pat's have been drawn against FC Hegelmann of Lithuania

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Not an easy draw as far as unseeded first round teams go. They sit top of the league after 15 games over there in a league that along with Latvia often gets underestimated. I was over there in 2013 when Pats league winning team played Zalgiris and were knocked out by them in the second leg at home. And that was a Pats team that were far better than the current one. Having said that they’re probably not as good as some of the sides Pats beat in recent years in Europe so here’s hoping the current squad can pull the finger out for the second half of the season like they did last year

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Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract

Not an easy draw as far as unseeded first round teams go. They sit top of the league after 15 games over there in a league that along with Latvia often gets underestimated. I was over there in 2013 when Pats league winning team played Zalgiris and were knocked out by them in the second leg at home. And that was a Pats team that were far better than the current one. Having said that they’re probably not as good as some of the sides Pats beat in recent years in Europe so here’s hoping the current squad can pull the finger out for the second half of the season like they did last year

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Patchy against Lithuanian sides over the last 10-15 years. Definitely a couple of easier ties in that mini-group. Still if they want to go a few rounds again this season they need to be beating a side like this. Pat’s well suited to Europe in the way they set-up and play.

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Originally Posted by Eminence Grise

Thinking overnight… there must be* a participation clause with the FAI that clubs will not do anything that damages the reputation or integrity of the association and its competitions. Trivela have damaged the league’s ranking with the co-efficient of three clubs divisible by four. (I think the only way they definitively can't damage the ranking is if all clubs lose all their European ties.) Should the FAI take action against Trivela? Punitive action, or force ownership into a blind trust, and make that a condition for any club in a multi-club ownership model going forward?

*Well, it’s the FAI after all so maybe not.

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Did you want Dundalk wiped out?......dont answer that!!

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Originally Posted by placid casual

Great draw for shels,nordie football is absolutely woeful,Dundalk in their current 1st division guise
would give most of the top 4 IL teams a good game id say

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That is maybe the nicest thing you have ever said about Dundalk PC, I totally disagree with you but it is very nice of you! ;)

There was a time that I would have trawled through both UEFA and domestic licencing to see what additional work was involved to just submit an application for Europe, i'm not in the mood so hoped someone would do some spoon feeding. I know it'd be a rare enough thing for a side to be bumped but its not unknown, Trivela could have had a financial crisis rather than too many clubs. From now on everyone will be throwing their hat in the ring and such a situation migh never happen unless some county club goes from a new third tier to Europe in a couple of years (another reason not to like the county model......).

I think there is a clause on clubs messing on participation in Europe that could apply to Drogheda but I dont think the FAI will apply it. If someone wants to stick the boot in, insist on all rules being enforced at all times or use non use as a precedence if anyone falls foul of any other rule. I do hope we see the full rulings from UEFA and the CAS appeal and see what the various arguments were and be able to make a comparison with other multiclub issues. It will boil down to meeting deadlines or not but what case Drogs made would be interesting. Did the FAI get notification and not pass on changes in deadlines eg?? There'll be fun with that yet if so. Or it was a massive self inflicted thing by Drogs, did the owners even know. If deadlines passed before all clubs were qualified then there was a case for appeal.

Anyways, time to move on and hopefully, on paper so far, our league reps will progress and 3 out of 4 we'd have taken in advance.

"it'll be a cold day in hell before I lavish praise on dundalk"!!! :)
Might not be true,but having seen a number of games up there over the course of the last couple of years, I don't have a high opinion of IL football - chris shields is one of the better players there and he's about 106..

FAI admits it didn’t send important UEFA circular on multi-club ownership to Drogheda United

Jesus Christ...

Now granted Trivela should still have known because they owned other clubs. But still. Is this the stupidest thing the FAI have ever done?

I can think of way more stupid things they've done over the years. They should have sent it to any clubs that had any kind of multi club set up to be on the safe side because you just never know. But at the same time they said they made Trivela aware of the potential difficulties in November. Yes, again, they could have actually sent them the circular at that point, but if they told them the rules had changed then Trivela should have had enough competent people employed to be able to dig out such things. And as you say they are quite likely to have been made aware of it by the Danish or English FA's.

Decent draws for both clubs. They'll both be favourites I'd imagine. Shels getting an out of season team was really important. Will be watching with interest tomorrow to see what the second round draws might bring for all 3 of the teams.

No real glamour ties to be had in round 2 really. Red Star, Bratislava and Ljubljana look like the most winnable to me while not knowing much about the sides.

Chance they draw Maccabi Tel-Aviv too which would put Shels in a pretty nasty position. If they said 50% of match day sales go to Palestinian aid I genuinely reckon they could sell out Croke Park for a protest dressed up as a Champions League tie.

And get an enormous fine in the process.
European hierarchy have to protect their zionist backers