Long post but please read to end before abusing me!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by namloc
He's right. When City get to the 3rd Qualifying Round of the Champs League then we can say we're bigger/better than Shels, until then ya can't knock their acheivement as much as people might not like it
I'm not knocking their achievement but I think that Shels have been relatively poor in Europe this season. Or to put it in a way that might ease the personal abuse that I'll probably get :D ; Shels have done really well not playing to their full potential.
I think the only difficulties that Shels have experienced so far in Europe have been mental e.g.
- Irish teams are meant to do poorly in Europe.
- Shels hadn't won at home in eleven years in European competition
It really annoyed me at half-time when Shels were obviously the better team and Roddy Collins was talking about being realistic and how many passes Hajduk Split were stringing together. The only thing that was strong about the Hajduk Split team that I saw was their history.
Pat Fenlon has adopted a new formation for Europe irrespective of the opposition. Personally I think Shels are strong enough to have come thru playing 4-4-2 and I abhor the thought of the country's top striker playing in midfield. I think it made things harder for themselves adapting to a new method, but then again they are where they are so who am I to talk, and it will probably stand them in good stead when they play teams who are of a higher quality.
I think that Cork City's run in Europe has been more impressive so far (and I stress so far) but as I have said Shels have been battling their own demons as well as the opposing team. City had only one player with previous European experience (two for Nijmegen away) but they had several players with experience with a winning Ireland u21 team. Even after beating Malmo 3-1 at home the only people who believed they could progress were the players themselves. They won away, kept a Dutch league team scoreless over two legs and frightened the bejesus out of Nantes. If Shels had the same confidence then I believe that they would have strolled thru the two rounds, but their quality saw them through anyhow.
With the confidence they have now they could give Deportivo a right scare.
Which is why I'm a bit disappointed that they're playing it in Lansdowne, I know there's good reasons for it but as Pat Fenlon said
"I hope it’s at Tolka. The crowd were fantastic for this game. If there’s the ticket demand, maybe we’ll have to move the game but I hope it’s here. I think we’ve got a chance against anyone if we play it here." - Eleven-a-side.com
My head understands the decision but my heart thinks that Shels have conceeded before they've begun. They have to play two away games against top class opposition.
This is not meant to be a Shels-bashing or a Cork-arrogance post but I think that the giant-killing, once-in-a-lifetime-achievement, best-result-ever brigade are doing the league a disservice. While tactics and luck and decisions come into it I think that lack-of-belief has been the reason that Longford and Bohs have done badly in Europe, and that Shels and Cork City have (hopefully) broken that duck. Either one would not have been enough, but both teams making history could spell the turning point in eL football.
As for the fear that Shels will dominate; it is a possibility, but only if the other teams allow it. I'm going to speak purely from a Cork City fan's viewpoint now but it applies to other teams as well. With Bohs in turmoil and Shel's likely to have a bit of a slump in the league due to Europe it's all there to fight for. A top two place will get us into the Setanta cup with a possible €300k prize money and European football in either the UEFA cup or (here's hoping! :D ) the champions league. If City can do that then I'd have no worries of them repeating their run in Europe. The money is out there now. Shels got it but they're merely the first to do it.
