LOI in Europe 2011

**sligoman** · 28/04/2011, 9:58 PM

Semi-Final 1st leg results tonight:

FC Porto 5-1 Villarreal CF
Benfica 2-1 Braga

If Benfica go through to final, Rovers are guaranteed to be in the Europa League 3rd qualifying round afaik. Better chance of getting a big draw (Marseille, Birmingham, 6th in Serie A, 7th in La Liga, among others) in that but downside is the home leg wont be in Sligo afaik, whereas if we're in 2nd round it would be.

EL dates I have are:
20th June 1st/2nd round draw.
30th June 1st round, 1st leg.
7th July 1st round, 2nd leg.
14th July 2nd round, 1st leg
15th July 3rd round draw.
21st July 2nd round, 2nd leg
28th July 3rd round, 1st leg.
4th August 3rd round, 2nd leg

**PartySaint** · 28/04/2011, 10:41 PM

I am totally lost by this, Why do Sligo go into the 3rd qualifying round if Benfica get to the Final??

**Red4Eva** · 28/04/2011, 10:47 PM

If the title holder qualifies for any stage of the Champions League

The title holder's place in the group stage is vacated. The title holder loses all entitlement to this place, even if they are knocked out out of the Champions League and re-enter the Europa League. Their place in the group stage is not automatically given to another team. This means that one more team is required to progress from the playoff round to the group stage. To do this:

The domestic cup winners of associations 16 and 17 (Scotland and Bulgaria) are moved from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.
The domestic cup winners of associations 28 and 29 (Belarus and the Republic of Ireland) are moved from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.

**mypost** · 28/04/2011, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by sligoman

If Benfica go through to final, Better chance of getting a big draw (Marseille, Birmingham, 6th in Serie A, 7th in La Liga, among others) in that but downside is the home leg wont be in Sligo afaik, whereas if we're in 2nd round it would be.

What do you want? The progress or the glamour tie?

We need to win 2 CL rounds to get to the UEFA Cup groups minimum. Hence I want 2 winnable rounds, rather than the one only we got last year.

**TheBoss** · 29/04/2011, 12:10 AM

It looks highly likely that Shamrock Rovers will be the highest unseeded team, unless Maribor lose their 10 point lead with 7 games to play.

A very high chance of a difficult game.

Possible:
Celtic/Rangers [SCO]
BATE Borisov [BLS]
Dinamo Zagreb [CRO]
Rosenborg [NOR]
APOEL Nicosia [CYP]
Hapoel Tel Aviv/Maccabi Haifa [ISR]
Viktoria Plzeň/Sparta Praha [CZE]
Sturm Graz/Austria Wien/Rapid Wien [AUT]
HJK Helsinki [FIN]
Litex Lovech [BUL]
Ekranas Panevezys [LIT]
Wisła Kraków/Jagiellonia Białystok [POL]
Senica/Slovan Bratislava/MSK Žilina [SVK]
Zestafoni [GEO]
Partizan Belgrade/Crvena Zvezda [SER]
Malmö [SWE]
Maribor [SLO]

**nigel-harps1954** · 29/04/2011, 12:15 AM

Technically you can see both sides of the story though mypost, in the current financial struggle you'd almost prefer a big glamour tie to fill the ground and make plenty of money off it. Teams in a tight financial situation wont want to travel to some tiny eastern European country and spend a bomb getting there.

Alright for Shamrock Rovers who can afford that sort of luxury and in the process have a good chance of raising their Euro co-efficient. But in the case of Sligo and indeed most clubs, I'm sure they'd prefer a shot at the glamour tie.

**nigel-harps1954** · 29/04/2011, 12:17 AM

Originally Posted by TheBoss

It looks highly likely that Shamrock Rovers will be the highest unseeded team, unless Maribor lose their 10 point lead with 7 games to play.

A very high chance of a difficult game.

Possible:
Celtic/Rangers [SCO]
BATE Borisov [BLS]
Dinamo Zagreb [CRO]
Rosenborg [NOR]
APOEL Nicosia [CYP]
Hapoel Tel Aviv/Maccabi Haifa [ISR]
Viktoria Plzeň/Sparta Praha [CZE]
Sturm Graz/Austria Wien/Rapid Wien [AUT]
HJK Helsinki [FIN]
Litex Lovech [BUL]
Ekranas Panevezys [LIT]
Wisła Kraków/Jagiellonia Białystok [POL]
Senica/Slovan Bratislava/MSK Žilina [SVK]
Zestafoni [GEO]
Partizan Belgrade/Crvena Zvezda [SER]
Malmö [SWE]
Maribor [SLO]

In all honesty though, Shamrock rovers would have to fancy their chances against at least half of that list.

**mypost** · 29/04/2011, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Technically you can see both sides of the story though mypost, in the current financial struggle you'd almost prefer a big glamour tie to fill the ground and make plenty of money off it. Teams in a tight financial situation wont want to travel to some tiny eastern European country and spend a bomb getting there.

Alright for Shamrock Rovers who can afford that sort of luxury and in the process have a good chance of raising their Euro co-efficient. But in the case of Sligo and indeed most clubs, I'm sure they'd prefer a shot at the glamour tie.

I see their view, but I prefer a greater chance of progress, (and hence more paydays down the line) from beatable opposition, than getting the likes of Juventus, where you know you have zero chance of progress before you step out the tunnel.

**Acornvilla** · 29/04/2011, 12:49 AM

This is epicly early to start this topic but i love the euro speculation, the prelim rounds in europe are by far my fav time of the season

**Charlie Darwin** · 29/04/2011, 1:29 AM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Technically you can see both sides of the story though mypost, in the current financial struggle you'd almost prefer a big glamour tie to fill the ground and make plenty of money off it. Teams in a tight financial situation wont want to travel to some tiny eastern European country and spend a bomb getting there.

Alright for Shamrock Rovers who can afford that sort of luxury and in the process have a good chance of raising their Euro co-efficient. But in the case of Sligo and indeed most clubs, I'm sure they'd prefer a shot at the glamour tie.

I don't think Sligo really need the money, do they? After Shamrock Rovers, they're probably the best-supported team in the league and not in any debt. And like mypost said, the more games you win, the more you boost your co-efficient and increase the likelihood of a glamour tie.

**SkStu** · 29/04/2011, 1:39 AM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

In all honesty though, Shamrock rovers would have to fancy their chances against at least half of that list.

I really dont think so Nigel... ignoring the fact that the Irish champions last year couldnt beat the Welsh champions...

I think that if Rovers were to be in that seeded group, they would much much prefer their chances. Here are my predictions based on that list. The blanks represent some sort of chance of progression.

Possible:
Celtic/Rangers [SCO] Loss
BATE Borisov [BLS] Loss
Dinamo Zagreb [CRO] Loss
Rosenborg [NOR] Loss
APOEL Nicosia [CYP]
Hapoel Tel Aviv/Maccabi Haifa [ISR] Loss
Viktoria Plzeň/Sparta Praha [CZE] Possibly beat Plzen
Sturm Graz/Austria Wien/Rapid Wien [AUT] Loss
HJK Helsinki [FIN]
Litex Lovech [BUL] Loss
Ekranas Panevezys [LIT]
Wisła Kraków/Jagiellonia Białystok [POL] Loss to Krakow
Senica/Slovan Bratislava/MSK Žilina [SVK] Loss to Slovan/Zilna
Zestafoni [GEO]
Partizan Belgrade/Crvena Zvezda [SER] Loss
Malmö [SWE] Loss
Maribor [SLO] Loss

From a Bohs perspective, given my earlier comment, I'll take a glamour tie in the Europa if its going.

**nigel-harps1954** · 29/04/2011, 2:43 AM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

I don't think Sligo really need the money, do they? After Shamrock Rovers, they're probably the best-supported team in the league and not in any debt. And like mypost said, the more games you win, the more you boost your co-efficient and increase the likelihood of a glamour tie.

After costs of flights, overnight stay, etc you're looking at a lot of expenditure for one away trip in Europe. I could be totally wrong, I know being a Harps fan and all, I haven't a great history of witnessing Harps in European competition, but it's just what I'd think. I don't think Sligo are the 2nd best supported club in Ireland by a long way either. Open to criticism from Sligo fans there, but thats just how I see it.

Originally Posted by SkStu

I really dont think so Nigel... ignoring the fact that the Irish champions last year couldnt beat the Welsh champions...

I think that if Rovers were to be in that seeded group, they would much much prefer their chances. Here are my predictions based on that list. The blanks represent some sort of chance of progression.

From a Bohs perspective, given my earlier comment, I'll take a glamour tie in the Europa if its going.

Honestly, at that time last year, nobody expected a TNS win, never mind by how large a margin it was. I don't say it often about an Irish team, but if ever there was a chance of progression in European football like this country has never seen, this is the year.

**mypost** · 29/04/2011, 3:45 AM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

After costs of flights, overnight stay, etc you're looking at a lot of expenditure for one away trip in Europe.

It's one away trip. If you win it, you have more trips. More exposure at home and abroad, improve the league's co-efficient, and the players get invaluable experience. There is also win bonus cash on offer, appearance/prize money to play for, and tv rights deals at home and (depending on the opposition) abroad. If you get a "big name" draw, you'll have your day in the sun. But that's all it'll be. One day.

The CL/EL was restructured to provide more opportunities for clubs from lower-ranked countries to progress further. We are capable of winning 2 rounds in Europe with a good draw, and if we do it, our season goes on until mid-December.

**Dodge** · 29/04/2011, 7:05 AM

Originally Posted by mypost

The CL/EL was restructured to provide more opportunities for clubs from lower-ranked countries to progress further. We are capable of winning 2 rounds in Europe with a good draw, and if we do it, our season goes on until mid-December.

It was structured to help mid ranked teams. We're not mid ranked.

**Hibs4Ever** · 29/04/2011, 9:42 AM

Originally Posted by SkStu

Viktoria Plzeň/Sparta Praha [CZE] Possibly beat Plzen

Wouldn't beat either IMO. Sparta had a great run in Europe last year, including knocking out Palermo, and Plzen are a much better team, top of the league and have already beaten Sparta home and away this season

**Ezeikial** · 29/04/2011, 9:53 AM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

I don't think Sligo really need the money, do they?

Every LoI club badly needs the money......including Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers

**Nah Nah Nah Nah** · 29/04/2011, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

After costs of flights, overnight stay, etc you're looking at a lot of expenditure for one away trip in Europe. I could be totally wrong, I know being a Harps fan and all, I haven't a great history of witnessing Harps in European competition, but it's just what I'd think. I don't think Sligo are the 2nd best supported club in Ireland by a long way either. Open to criticism from Sligo fans there, but thats just how I see it.

Honestly, at that time last year, nobody expected a TNS win, never mind by how large a margin it was. I don't say it often about an Irish team, but if ever there was a chance of progression in European football like this country has never seen, this is the year.

I wouldn't have said so either. Probably fourth after Derry & Cork.

**El-Pietro** · 29/04/2011, 1:41 PM

bigger crowds than us these days though, maybe that changes if we're promoted

**SkStu** · 29/04/2011, 2:07 PM

Originally Posted by Hibs4Ever

Wouldn't beat either IMO. Sparta had a great run in Europe last year, including knocking out Palermo, and Plzen are a much better team, top of the league and have already beaten Sparta home and away this season

hey - i was going on nothing other than the ever popular "I have never heard of them therefore they are beatable" theory.

Which is one small step up from the "I have never heard of them therefore they are crap and we'll definitely win" theory.