LOI In Europe 2021

[Kingdom]

Bohs and Dundalk can be rightly happy with their performances over two legs against top opposition.
Was thinking when bohs went 2 nil down after 30 mins that they were lookimg at a hiding so fair play for digging in and keeping the game alive until the end
Dundalk unlucky not to get it to extratime but really gifted Vitesse a handy start.
A pity feck all people got to see it thanks to GAA TV.

Rovers ran out easy winners but it was a 50/50 game up until Rovers scored, dont know why they didnt have a bit of a go in Tallaght they could do it when they wanted to.
Great chance to make group stages now, 50/50 shot with a lot of exciting teams to look forward to drawing if we make it

Fair play Spagawa, that's a really fair appraisal all things considered. Rovers are better than 50/5- though for sure.

[Dalymountrower]

Very pleasant mid week break in Thesalonoki.
PAOK fans and locals were very friendly so hard to know why the alarm bells were rung by the local cops.
Thought PAOK learned a lot from the first leg, set up to to avoid counter attacks and the had an international class player ,Bieswar, who was absolute class.
2 poor goals to concede, but Talbot saved another three gilt edged chances but Bohs had four similar chances and should have scored at least one.
Amazed that Bohs had the physical conditioning to play to the full 96 minutes and be pressing to save the tie right at the final whistle.The heat was horrendous. Toumba is in the bottom of a bowl, no breeze and 31-32 degrees for the game.
A lot of positives and a lot of what if's.

Fair play to Rovers winning away in that heat and hard luck Dundalk after putting it up to Vitesse.

[2 Year Contract]

PAOK battered Bohs first half and if it wasn’t for their poor finishing and lack of luck with the likes of the shot that hit the bar and bounced into Talbots arms, it could’ve realistically been 4/5-0 at half time but fair play to Bohs for keeping just 1 goal in it which always gave them a chance. Ward's clearance in injury time was a proper LOI in Europe horror moment.

Strange game in Tallaght. Great atmosphere for the first 30 and last 20 mins but it was absolutely dead in between that time as was the match a bit. The game itself mirrored that and Dundalk were by far the better team until Vittese's first goal in the 28th minute and again after Hoban's goal in the 71st. They were very unlucky not to have taken one of the chances they created late on but they'll be kicking themselves they didn’t get going earlier into that 40 minute period already mentioned. I thought the likes of Patching, McEleney and Duffy showed they'd be more than capable of playing at Eredivisie level

[2 Year Contract]

Thought PAOK learned a lot from the first leg, set up to to avoid counter attacks and the had an international class player ,Bieswar, who was absolute class.

Brilliant ball for the opener and good finish for the second goal in fairness to him but 4 caps for 139th ranked Suriname isn’t exactly an impressive return of 'international class' but if you think that’s impressive you better recall Bastien Hery from Derry because he’s got a more impressive international CV with his 3 caps for 97th ranked Madagascar

[paul_oshea]

From the IT

"Twenty minutes remained to level a fixture that really deserved to be on television as Dundalk out classed and out muscled Vitesse.

What made this loss so commendable was the way Perth’s men held their shape, stretching the field to prompt big, looping crosses that forced Danilho Doekhi, the enormous Vitesse centre half, to belt clearances in any and all directions. The Dutch were rattled down the home straight"

Any football fan with little to do on a Thursday would have got great enjoyment out of that game last night.

[pineapple stu]

Highlights from Greece last night. That PAOK shot off the bar in the first half does look like it bounced just over the line. Maybe it just clipped it; hard to be entirely sure from the replay of course.

No sign of Ward's late miss and I wonder if the highlights are a little bit biased (it's Greek highlights), though I guess other than that, it seems to tally roughly with the comments from here at the time.

[

[CorribsideSteve]

How on earth did Dundalk not get a second? Absolutely remarkable that Vitesse were hanging on for their lives, and largely need to thank their keeper Schubert. The classic, easily conceded, set of goals haunts another LOI team, and ends up being a crucial difference more often than not. Ireland badly need both McEleney and Duffy in the squad though. What talents. That last 20 minutes as agonizing as it was, McMillans miss especially,was also a joy to watch, showing that when LOI teams have belief coarsing through them, they can elevate themselves from their lowly co-efficient table reality, and take on all comers. Vitesse were reaching for the vallium at the end and that's a great credit to Dundalk. You'd have to think the hunger of this feeling will drive them on to have a sizzling run domestically just to savor this again next year. That should be their focus now.

As for Bohs, I saw most of the match and PAOK were as wasteful as Vitesse last week, if not more, and easily could have won 4/5/6 nil on another evening,BUT, Bohs had their chances too, and it's very admirable that at the end of it all, there was only 1 goal in the tie. One of the Bohs players volleyed the ball away in disgust at the final whistle which told a lot about their ambition and belief; we COULD have levelled the tie. Keep that anger and use it for good next year.

Look how important the Champions path is. Shams having a solid win in similar heat to Greece and must surely fancy their chances of the group stages now.

2 of our sides lost by the odd goal to multi-multi millionaire outfits, loaded with International level players, and at times, believed they could win. I'm taking positive hopeful signs from that.

[2 Year Contract]

Just saw this angle showing Duffy as clearly being onside for the goal he had disallowed 40 seconds into the game. Brilliant ball from Patching it was and a great finish from Duffy. Who knows how the game would’ve gone if Dundalk had the lead

https://twitter.com/jamesrogersie/st...632649729?s=21

[TonyD]

[QUOTE=CorribsideSteve;

2 of our sides lost by the odd goal to multi-multi millionaire outfits, loaded with International level players, and at times, believed they could win. I'm taking positive hopeful signs from that.[/QUOTE]

Didn’t see the games, but I’d agree with this. Going by the reports Bohs and Dundalk deserve great credit for competing seriously in the ties, when they were up against clubs with resources they (and the rest of the league here) can only dream about. Fair play to them. I’d love that to be Pats next year, hopefully we will qualify for Europe.

Rovers look to have a super chance of making the group stages now.

[EatYerGreens]

I'm wondering about the long term viability of this league to be honest. I know it's to keep the minnows away from the big guns and create a monopoly and kill super League but I don't see how any TV revenue will be generated from it

Well with clubs like Spurs, Roma, Galatasary, Basel, Anderlecht, Copenhagen and Vitesse in it, I'd say the TV rights won't be an issue.

[EatYerGreens]

The Dundalk Vitesse game last night was mental. Highly entertaining stuff, and a huge missed opportunity for the league that it wasn't on TV.

How Dundalk didn't get a second goal at the end I don't know. Had plenty of genuine chances, though all seemed to be straight at the keeper.

For an Irish club to have a Dutch team on the rack like that so late in a game shows the progress our league is making in fitness, quality and confidence in Europe (despite what the begrudgers claim).

[Eminence Grise]

It's a strange feeling to be disappointed for two teams than with them, but Bohs and Dundalk (Rovers, too, though they had a happier result) really showed how far belief, discipline and professionalism can bring a team - and a good sprinkling of young talent that speaks volumes for the quality of coaching. All three make the international team pale in comparison - it makes me think that instead of calling up players from League 1 to pad out squads we should be calling up domestic players who have shown they can go toe to toe with perceived betters. Not wholesale call-ups, but a sprinkle of caps among players who, let's face it, wouldn't get their knickers in a twist playing Gibraltar, Andorra, Luxembourg, or Qatar and haven't been polluted by the sense of gloom that seems to have been hanging over the national squad since Trappatoni's bleak assessment of its quality, would seem to be justifiable.

[Nesta99]

Just saw this angle showing Duffy as clearly being onside for the goal he had disallowed 40 seconds into the game. Brilliant ball from Patching it was and a great finish from Duffy. Who knows how the game would’ve gone if Dundalk had the lead

https://twitter.com/jamesrogersie/st...632649729?s=21

Officials must have bee Dudelange fans - its Bohs fault!! Its very hard not to be disappointed today considering the overall performance but the bottom line is we were beaten and out. We gave ourselves so much to do last night but you could also look at the last minute goal conceded away, and that inexplicable offside decision - hell of a performance, had a good go but the overall context has to include lapses along with plaudits. Maybe a blessing in the long run when we need to get things right domestically, we can still make it count for something if we carry that performance in to the remainder of the league and the cup.

[DCWA]

it makes me think that instead of calling up players from League 1 to pad out squads we should be calling up domestic players who have shown they can go toe to toe with perceived betters. Not wholesale call-ups, but a sprinkle of caps among players who, let's face it, wouldn't get their knickers in a twist playing Gibraltar, Andorra, Luxembourg, or Qatar.

We have been doing just that have we not?

[Nesta99]

It's a strange feeling to be disappointed for two teams than with them, but Bohs and Dundalk (Rovers, too, though they had a happier result) really showed how far belief, discipline and professionalism can bring a team - and a good sprinkling of young talent that speaks volumes for the quality of coaching. All three make the international team pale in comparison - it makes me think that instead of calling up players from League 1 to pad out squads we should be calling up domestic players who have shown they can go toe to toe with perceived betters. Not wholesale call-ups, but a sprinkle of caps among players who, let's face it, wouldn't get their knickers in a twist playing Gibraltar, Andorra, Luxembourg, or Qatar and haven't been polluted by the sense of gloom that seems to have been hanging over the national squad since Trappatoni's bleak assessment of its quality, would seem to be justifiable.

My dyed in the wool Kilkenny mad hurling uncle made a very similar comment last night, he actually enjoyed watching 'that soccer' compared to the years of dross by the Republic of Ireland. Tbh I think Stephen Kenny would agree also but he has to be in self preservation mode - can you imagine some of those international results, albeit a complete rethinking of how that team plays, if there were LoI players taking up slots in the squad.

[paul_oshea]

Well with clubs like Spurs, Roma, Galatasary, Basel, Anderlecht, Copenhagen and Vitesse in it, I'd say the TV rights won't be an issue.

I can't see the likes of Roma or spurs taking this too seriously. It's third tier European football. The other clubs mentioned are hardly massive tv money spinners. It's the big leagues that draw interest I know but it's a handful who'll probably play their 'b' team

[paul_oshea]

The Dundalk Vitesse game last night was mental. Highly entertaining stuff, and a huge missed opportunity for the league that it wasn't on TV.

How Dundalk didn't get a second goal at the end I don't know. Had plenty of genuine chances, though all seemed to be straight at the keeper.

For an Irish club to have a Dutch team on the rack like that so late in a game shows the progress our league is making in fitness, quality and confidence in Europe (despite what the begrudgers claim).

The one thing that stuck out here for me though in terms of differences was the physicality of paok to bohs players. The bohs lads are young I know but they had that athletic gaa build about them, whereas paok look like physically imposing men on them, and I'm not racial stereotyping here as I'm aware they had a lot of black players but that zikovic and pole were all big strong looking guys.

[EatYerGreens]

I can't see the likes of Roma or spurs taking this too seriously. It's third tier European football. The other clubs mentioned are hardly massive tv money spinners. It's the big leagues that draw interest I know but it's a handful who'll probably play their 'b' team

Clubs will take European football seriously - as it's about the money, recruitment and access to the bigger UEFA tournaments. Whether they do or not doesn't matter, as the TV broadcasters won't wait to see what teams the managers pick before deciding whether or not to air them. The rights are sorted way before that.

Turkey has the joint-highest population in Europe (ignoring Russia, most of which is in Asia. A bit loike Turkey really ) and Galatasary are their biggest club. There is also a large Turkish diaspora in places like Germany and England. So don't underestimate the appeal of their games being broadcast.

The group stages will be on TV in the relevant countries. There is no doubt about that.

[Eminence Grise]

We have been doing just that have we not?

Sporadically, e.g. Mandroiu and Talbot, when it might appear we've run out of L1 players! And then we don't play them, so all they get is a few training sessions, and we don't deepen the pool. It's no more than saying you're needed to pad out the five a sides in traning but a game? No chance.

My dyed in the wool Kilkenny mad hurling uncle made a very similar comment last night, he actually enjoyed watching 'that soccer' compared to the years of dross by the Republic of Ireland. Tbh I think Stephen Kenny would agree also but he has to be in self preservation mode - can you imagine some of those international results, albeit a complete rethinking of how that team plays, if there were LoI players taking up slots in the squad.

I genuinely think some LoI players may have more fight in them than some players he's used. There are a few senior internationals trading on past reputations at this stage who look jaded and uninterested. McEleney, Duffy, Scales - I wouldn't be fearful of one or two on the pitch against the bottom seeds, or in a friendly. Portugal might be too soon, though!

[pineapple stu]

Clubs will take European football seriously - as it's about the money, recruitment and access to the bigger UEFA tournaments. Whether they do or not doesn't matter, as the TV broadcasters won't wait to see what teams the managers pick before deciding whether or not to air them. The rights are sorted way before that.

Turkey has the joint-highest population in Europe (ignoring Russia, most of which is in Asia) and Galatasary are their biggest club. There is also a large Turkish diaspora in places like Germany and England. So don't underestimate the appeal of their games being broadcast.

The group stages will be on TV in the relevant countries. There is no doubt about that.

Some clubs will take it seriously - those medium-sized clubs who now have a genuine chance at going deep into Europe like Galatasaray, as you mention.

Others won't too much. It's €3m for the group stages - but it's €2m for every place in the Premier League. If an injury in the group stages means you drop two places in the Premier League, you're losing money. If it means Spurs drop from fourth to sixth, you're losing millions. We've seen this before with English teams in particular and the sides they field in the Europa League.

Yes, there'll be interest in the games. But they're going head-to-head with the Europa League (5:30/8pm kick-offs on Thursdays), so the question really is how much extra interest the Conference League will generate.

(BTW, 80% of Russia's population lives in Europe. And population leads to money, not empty square miles of course)