Europa Conference 21/22

[tlg1903]

7 hours ago, manc_don said:

Fuck, you’ve got my hopes up now

Mine too. 

 

Fucks sake Slim. 

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

Anyone else underwhelmed with the whole European journey? Growing up and just missing the glory days, I was never expecting to see the Dons win a European trophy but the lure of qualifying for Europe was the possibility of a glamour tie. We played the likes of Torino, Bayern and Atletico Madrid over the years and seeing some of the great players at Pittodrie was magic. Even the tie against Burnley was glamorous in a funny kind of way.

Now I really start to wonder what is the point of qualifying in the first place in this Micky Mouse Conference League. So far we have negotiated some unknown Swedes followed by a similarly underwhelming draw against a team from Iceland.  If we qualify for the group stages we’ll make a good bit of money but as a fan the balance sheet does not interest me, it’s the fitba I signed up for. Some talk the other night about the lower turnout being due to the ticket price but is that the case or like me, does a game against some Icelandic nobodies have little more appeal than a Scottish Cup tie away at Alloa? 

[RicoS321]

I like playing the "lesser" teams. If we'd have won the cup we'd have been playing some Turkish no marks like the Perth giants. We are where we are, and if we were good enough to be playing the big guns, then it means we'd have sold out spectacularly somewhere down the line. Your point is like arguing that we shouldn't be playing against Livingston, instead playing against the Tims every week.

[DantheDon]

Yeah, its nice to just play someone different competitively. If we do manage to get to the group stages Im sure there will be a couple of decent teams in there. Even if they are not well known Im pretty sure every fixture at this level will be competitive for us.

[Elgindon]

Agreed,hence rather be one of the 15'000 on Thursday to a 5000ish v Dumbarton in the cup.Going by the opposition so far,they havent been that far off our level either tbf  

Edited August 14, 2021 by Elgindon

[tlg1903]

1 hour ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

Anyone else underwhelmed with the whole European journey? Growing up and just missing the glory days, I was never expecting to see the Dons win a European trophy but the lure of qualifying for Europe was the possibility of a glamour tie. We played the likes of Torino, Bayern and Atletico Madrid over the years and seeing some of the great players at Pittodrie was magic. Even the tie against Burnley was glamorous in a funny kind of way.

Now I really start to wonder what is the point of qualifying in the first place in this Micky Mouse Conference League. So far we have negotiated some unknown Swedes followed by a similarly underwhelming draw against a team from Iceland.  If we qualify for the group stages we’ll make a good bit of money but as a fan the balance sheet does not interest me, it’s the fitba I signed up for. Some talk the other night about the lower turnout being due to the ticket price but is that the case or like me, does a game against some Icelandic nobodies have little more appeal than a Scottish Cup tie away at Alloa? 

Getting to the groups is worth about 4 Mill to the club with TV and match revenue.  To put that into context that more than double what we got from the spfl for finishing 4th (1.8 Mill).  It will be more if we win games (500k euros per win) and that should be easier to do than in the europa league. 

 

Whilst I can understand your point to an extent I'm far from underwhelmed at the prospect of a financial injection that would mean we should get in at least 2 players that can go straight into the first team  (I. E. Better than we already have) without having to move anyone on.  

 

It's a massive fortnight for the club if you ask me. 

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

Your point is like arguing that we shouldn't be playing against Livingston, instead playing against the Tims every week.

No, that’s not what I mean Rico. The teams we are playing are a fair reflection of our level, they are certainly competitive and I am not saying we are too good to be playing these teams. There’s just no real glamour or excitement there which was what Europe always meant for me. It’s like we strive every season to qualify then once we do, the opposition is very uninspiring. I’d compare it to Scotland qualifying for a World Cup, getting excited about the draw and then getting grouped with New Zealand, Finland and Saudi Arabia.

I guess it used to feel like your reward for a good league season was getting a crack at one of the big boys which seems to have gone. It was not that long ago St Johnstone played Monaco, Raith Rovers drew Bayern and Motherwell played Dortmund which at the time seemed like massive ties. 

I’d far rather be in Europe once in every five seasons if we could get one really cracking tie (like St Johnstone getting Galatasaray) than being there every year to draw some dross from a minor league.

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

1 minute ago, tlg1903 said:

Getting to the groups is worth about 4 Mill to the club with TV and match revenue.  To put that into context that more than double what we got from the spfl for finishing 4th (1.8 Mill).  It will be more if we win games (500k euros per win) and that should be easier to do than in the europa league. 

You’re spot on of course but we’re fitba fans, not directors sitting around the boardroom. Since when did the club getting in a couple of million pounds become more important than getting a right good tie against a team from one of the top leagues? As a player as well surely an Andy Considine would far rather test himself twice against Bayern than getting half a dozen trips to Azerbaijan and Iceland.

[tlg1903]

1 minute ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

You’re spot on of course but we’re fitba fans, not directors sitting around the boardroom. Since when did the club getting in a couple of million pounds become more important than getting a right good tie against a team from one of the top leagues? As a player as well surely an Andy Considine would far rather test himself twice against Bayern than getting half a dozen trips to Azerbaijan and Iceland.

1.   since the game became so fuelled by money.  2. I think Considine wants to go as far as he can in the competition. 

 

Are you not excited about the potential bigger picture though?   A few years consistently getting group stage football really ups the standard of player that we are able to afford making us far stronger domestically.  The stronger we are domestically the more chance we have of getting a shot at the CL.  Imo there's no danger Cormack isn't eying that up as a long term aim. Imagine how transformative that kind of money would be?  I wouldn't  give a rats ass if we got horsed every game if we made the CL groups

 

 

[wee toon red]

Fuck drawing a big name just to get knocked out. Give me shotts bon accord in the qualifiers, Lapland in the groups and San Marino in the final please. You enter competitions to win them, not to play against “fancy” teams.

[Slim]

34 minutes ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

I’d compare it to Scotland qualifying for a World Cup, getting excited about the draw and then getting grouped with New Zealand, Finland and Saudi Arabia.

It's not a good comparison though, the games against Hacken and Anders Breivik XI are qualifiers, if we beat Qarabag that's when we actually qualify and see who we get grouped against.

The excitement comes from getting closer and closer to the group stage as the quality of opposition slightly increases round by round.

In this round we could have been drawn against Tottenham, instead it should have been Austria Vienna had they not lost to the Icelandic mob. Last season we got Sporting Lisbon. I'd rather go through a few rounds of unknown teams before the glamour ties than be knocked out before the domestic season starts.

[HaarDon]

Aren't WE the 'big draw' anyway?

 

[donsdaft]

Couldn't disagree more.

European football for me.

The excitement of the draw, checking out where these teams are actually from.

Organising the flights (for some) and just seeing something different.

Yes, eventually the big name glamour tie.

It's a real downer having to go back to only playing Livingston or Motherwell again when we get knocked out.

Heads down, work hard and qualify for Europe again.

Edited August 14, 2021 by donsdaft

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

1 hour ago, tlg1903 said:

A few years consistently getting group stage football really ups the standard of player that we are able to afford making us far stronger domestically.  The stronger we are domestically the more chance we have of getting a shot at the CL.  Imo there's no danger Cormack isn't eying that up as a long term aim. Imagine how transformative that kind of money would be?  I wouldn't  give a rats ass if we got horsed every game if we made the CL groups

 

 

A few years of group stage football,

Champions League,

You been drinking? 
 

[wokinginashearerwonderland]

1 hour ago, wee toon red said:

Fuck drawing a big name just to get knocked out. Give me shotts bon accord in the qualifiers, Lapland in the groups and San Marino in the final please. You enter competitions to win them, not to play against “fancy” teams.

We can’t win it though, that’s the reality. In an ideal world Forres Mechanics could win the Scottish Cup but their players and fans ideally want an away day at Ibrox rather than a home tie with Cove.

[OxfordDon]

2 hours ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

I guess it used to feel like your reward for a good league season was getting a crack at one of the big boys which seems to have gone. It was not that long ago St Johnstone played Monaco, Raith Rovers drew Bayern and Motherwell played Dortmund which at the time seemed like massive ties. 

I’d far rather be in Europe once in every five seasons if we could get one really cracking tie (like St Johnstone getting Galatasaray) than being there every year to draw some dross from a minor league.

I get where you're coming from min but none of the teams you mention won any of those games - on aggregate Saints lost 6-3 to Monaco, Raith 4-1 to Bayern, Well 3-0 to Dortmund.

The problem is that your argument is based on the premise that we will lose the game anyway, so better to lose it to a more glamorous name.

I'd much rather actually progress in the competition than revel in short-lived glorious failure in the first round, it feels too much like the football equivalent of the elderly pub drunk mumbling about how he "could've had" the hulking punter that's just laid him on his arse.

Anyways, if we reach the group stages we both may get to have our cake and eat it - progress in the competition AND an arse-kicking from some more glamorous names into the bargain.

[tlg1903]

1 hour ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

A few years of group stage football,

Champions League,

You been drinking? 
 

Sorry for having ambition more than just getting papped out by a 'big name' 

[Madbadteacher]

5 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

Sorry for having ambition more than just getting papped out by a 'big name' 

Seems the LL clubs have just that ambition. An 8 goal and 10 goal win for the arse-cheeks “B” teams this week

[Panda]

12 hours ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

No, that’s not what I mean Rico. The teams we are playing are a fair reflection of our level, they are certainly competitive and I am not saying we are too good to be playing these teams. There’s just no real glamour or excitement there which was what Europe always meant for me. It’s like we strive every season to qualify then once we do, the opposition is very uninspiring. I’d compare it to Scotland qualifying for a World Cup, getting excited about the draw and then getting grouped with New Zealand, Finland and Saudi Arabia.

I guess it used to feel like your reward for a good league season was getting a crack at one of the big boys which seems to have gone. It was not that long ago St Johnstone played Monaco, Raith Rovers drew Bayern and Motherwell played Dortmund which at the time seemed like massive ties. 

I’d far rather be in Europe once in every five seasons if we could get one really cracking tie (like St Johnstone getting Galatasaray) than being there every year to draw some dross from a minor league.

I don't understand your point at all. Are we not trying to get to the group stages in order to get those glamour ties? I wish we were playing dross from a minor league in the playoff round.

It was all well and good getting Burnley but after two games it was over.

Someone worked out the likely pots in the group stage a few weeks ago based on all the favourites winning, which granted will be out of date now, but there was potential for a group of:-

Roma, Feyenoord, Union Berlin, Aberdeen. 

Alternatively: Tottenham, Rennes, Ferencvaros, Aberdeen.

I'd say either of those groups would provide a few decent European nights.

Then again, easiest group if we want to make the knockout stage: Viktoria Plzen, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Alashkert, Aberdeen. Which aye, fair enough might not be quite as enticing on paper, but it's still six cracking European nights if you like that sort of thing.