QuoteJust imagine it's a giant LOI table, and Chelsea are Derry City, and the top 8 spots are like European places!Originally Posted by Martinho II
Delighted with Rovers performance still trying to get used to new format based on where they are what are their realistic options now?
Gary Cronin is he the right man to manage Longford Town?
Just imagine it's a giant LOI table, and Chelsea are Derry City, and the top 8 spots are like European places!
Well done to rovers. It is good for the league to have glass ceilings broken. When we have clubs doing this regularly then we can have league and cup like emnity but these moments imo are rising tides can lift all boats moments and so should be lauded by all. Ive been critical of Bradley's reserved approach to Europe but credit where its due he has made the most of the group stage, pressure was off but there was expectation with TNS and Larne draw. It shows that even with lesser team ability you can get results with disciplined and calamity free performances like last night. Ifs and buts but Dundalk in 2016 dropped EL group points due to eh keeper calamity v Zenit and missing sitters, at least 2 points were let slip by silly errors that campaign, 2 points that could have meant getting out of an EL group. Rovers stood pretty much steadfast under sustained pressure and it wasnt helter skelter backs to the wall, just difficult to break down. Assuming that there isnt an unfortunate twist that keeps them out of getting through the group it is setting a new bar and with attendances, money increasingly going toward infrastructure improvement well for the worst quality league season ever it is a golden age for LoI and maybe the golden age or its beginnings. Even the new LCC CEO's background is the development and management of the National Sports Campus so maybe even County Louth could see progress on facilities in the coming years....
Last edited by Nesta99; 29/11/2024 at 6:52 PM.
Incredible achievement by Rovers, guaranteed to make it through group now and possible seeded. I dont know if many of lads who were with Rovers from some of their darkest days are still involved, but if they are they should take enormous pride now in where there club is today, a far cry from KRAM.
On a note of caution, I hope that their experience of group stage football before this season has tightened up the bonus system. The figure that I was reliably told that 1 Dundalk player received would give a fair indication of how quickly a large sum can be reduced, which I put down to naivety and inexperience on the clubs part.
My understanding is that one individual when signing up with Dundalk (when they were dicing with relegation) had a clause in his contract that guaranteed him 20% of nett European monies and that plus what the players and other staff received reduced hugely the monies earned.
Our players/staff ( deservedly) are on decent bonuses but nothing like the above .
Never mind all that Nesta Rovers were lucky to get here due to vikingur missing that peno, eh stu!
Ta Calcio, yes thats the learning that a club needs, either through being there before or from other clubs. Of course players deserve a bonus, but within reason.
Not withstanding the 2023 losses, if the prize money for this season is included in 2024 accounts Rovers will turnover close to 8m in the year. Wonder what impact on what Wilson and Desmond put in - I would impagine there long term thinking was for the club to generate its own revenues.
That 8m would be more than the 10 clubs in First Division combined!
Are we referring to Mr Zahibo again? Any European clause is the least baffleing of that cnut's contract, the idiocy of whomever insisted in the signing (not a football person) and the agent that saw a mug for a mug from miles off. That said the rumours are contested on this. That does not mean that a large amount of winnings did go to player bonuses. Its not unusual that there is a natural inflation of wage budgest with league winnings teams when winning year on year, its a norm and new signings demands are inflated especially if a club has banked say €3m from Europe and they know a club is flush. From what Ive heard 20% of a gross figure was divied up among the squad. The dispute with Zahibo on European bonuses is not contained to the season he played in Europe supposedly. The amount that SK alone banked in European bonuses was more than the players, 6 figures sort of stuff but nobody is able to say if that was in total from 2013 to leaving or whether it was from 2016. Imo there is some selective 'reporting' with omissions of relevant detail to spin some things retrospectively in a negative way as cover for the off field people/person that were involved pre, during and post P6 in various roles and are now ummm....estranged from the club.
It is a genuine issue for any club though. Rovers will be very attractive to players they are looking to sign, but those players will want their significant piece of the financial success. It can break wage structures and escalate costs that a season or 2 off the boil and miss Europe and a club is under pressure with multi-year contracts. Id like to see more performance related bonuses that include a wage drop for non qualification for Europe - that players arent all win win. If they sign based on top wages due to success that if they dont perform that they take responsibility in their pocket and not just roll out a few platitudes for the beneft of fans.
Well it is kind of true, a sliding door moment where if that peno went in an leveled the tie (which rovers could still have won) we'd be talking about fan ownership being seriously under threat due to financial losses. But its an irrelevance and thats football, luck can win World Cups or send the best side packing so ride yer luck. Id consider BATE away in 2016 as lucky to be still in the tie but we made the luck count as Rovers have now done and that deserves credit.
You have to get a bit of luck, not a single 90 minutes I’d decided on your own efforts, rub of the green has to go your way.
Credit to Stephen Bradley , any time shams have had a big slice of luck, he’s capitalised on it , they haven’t won 4 leagues and consistently been at the top in Ireland, competitive in their European ties on pure luck.
Very impressive imo
Is that me? You don't think there was an element of luck in Viking missing a 90th minute penalty against a Rovers side down to 10 men and losing the plot?
That said, Dundalk and Shels were similarly lucky to have their great runs in 2016 and 2004 after scraping past Icelandic sides on away goals. It doesn't diminish what happened next. It's part of the game.
The games against APOEL and Rapid do seem different to recent years though in that Rovers didn't collapse after a poor start; is Bradley's team finally finding a bit of Euro backbone?
The problem of course is this pushes the LoI dangerously close to the FAI's target of 30th in the UEFA standings - with the FAI not having done a huge amount about it. (Well, there's 3.625 points to go, but 31st is a possibility, which sounds close). Bad form there, Rovers...
Be interesting too to see how Shels do in this next year - and how Rovers (and Drogheda of course) do in the Conference next season. Or even how Pat's do in the CL the year after next!
Is that me? You don't think there was an element of luck in Viking missing a 90th minute penalty against a Rovers side down to 10 men and losing the plot?
That said, Dundalk and Shels were similarly lucky to have their great runs in 2016 and 2004 after scraping past Icelandic sides on away goals. It doesn't diminish what happened next. It's part of the game.
The games against APOEL and Rapid do seem different to recent years though in that Rovers didn't collapse after a poor start; is Bradley's team finally finding a bit of Euro backbone?
The problem of course is this pushes the LoI dangerously close to the FAI's target of 30th in the UEFA standings - with the FAI not having done a huge amount about it. (Well, there's 3.625 points to go, but 31st is a possibility, which sounds close). Bad form there, Rovers...
Be interesting too to see how Shels do in this next year - and how Rovers (and Drogheda of course) do in the Conference next season. Or even how Pat's do in the CL the year after next!
100% spot on, we were 2-3 down at one stage and going out v FH in 2016, ended up 3-3 and we missed a pen, lucky away goals still a thing then. Also FH was the only game that season in Europe that we were favs to win, and still didn't - it was 1-1 at home! Just shows fine margins.
Skip to BATE away, we were absolutely battered in the second half away, Rogers must had a min of 4 one on one shuts outs, seem to recall Gannon also playing a stormer with some last ditch tackles, how we only lost that 0-1 was beyond me, anyway it set it up nicely for the return leg and the 3-0 win.
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
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Excuse my obvious ignorance on this subject, in regards to next season's European games- it's been awhile since Rovers have been involved in the nether regions of European qualification , but why do the cup winner's have a "better" qualifying position than the team that finishes 2nd, or even 3rd for that matter?
Because they won something
A valid point. Thanks for clarifying
Expecting Thursdays game to go close to a sell out ... or am I way off. Tis silly season after all.
You'd hope that it would be close, its another huge game, winnable albeit needs another good performance, important to really drive home the success of this group stage, last home game of the year so party like. So yeah hopefully, but about 6-7k is probably more likely if being conservative on a school night.
The normal kick off time should help numbers as the disastrous 5.45pm kick off time against TNS really hindered attendance imo.
Hopeful of getting 7.5K and if the weather is amenable it could entice a fair few walk ups.
It should be a belter of a game anyway.
If the LoI climbs high enough for the cup winners to qualify for the Europa League, the greater reward for winning the cup should gain a higher profile.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
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