*** Official Hearts Europa Conference League Thread**

[Watt-Zeefuik]

15 minutes ago, DC_92 said:

 

That's not how it looked to me.

 

We had spells against Basaksehir in both games and in particular had a couple of great chances to go in front in the home game. Fiorentina barely gave us a sniff.

 

To me Basaksehir spent a lot of time with the ball at the fullbacks. When we started I thought we were getting pressure on them, but they weren't troubled at all by our pressure, they just kicked it around at the back looking at what was in front of them. When they did decide to come forward they cut us open. It was a different approach to football than I think I've seen in years, just actively sitting with the ball in your own third and picking your spots forward.

 

I think they sold a couple of the defenders who were playing that way so that may be their downfall.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

17 minutes ago, DC_92 said:

 

That's not how it looked to me.

 

We had spells against Basaksehir in both games and in particular had a couple of great chances to go in front in the home game. Fiorentina barely gave us a sniff.

I probably should have said based on home games. Thought the red card helped Fiorentina 2nd half while Turks looked like scoring every time they were in our half.

 

Turks also had better of the games directly against Fiorentina 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

2 minutes ago, Led Tasso said:

 

To me Basaksehir spent a lot of time with the ball at the fullbacks. When we started I thought we were getting pressure on them, but they weren't troubled at all by our pressure, they just kicked it around at the back looking at what was in front of them. When they did decide to come forward they cut us open. It was a different approach to football than I think I've seen in years, just actively sitting with the ball in your own third and picking your spots forward.

 

I think they sold a couple of the defenders who were playing that way so that may be their downfall.

Probably the seeds for how we are attempting to play now 

[Stuart Jack]

15 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

I probably should have said based on home games. Thought the red card helped Fiorentina 2nd half while Turks looked like scoring every time they were in our half.

 

Turks also had better of the games directly against Fiorentina 

Having watched both games in their entirety and seen the stats, I wouldn't agree that's a fair reflection at all....

[DC_92]

10 minutes ago, Led Tasso said:

 

To me Basaksehir spent a lot of time with the ball at the fullbacks. When we started I thought we were getting pressure on them, but they weren't troubled at all by our pressure, they just kicked it around at the back looking at what was in front of them. When they did decide to come forward they cut us open. It was a different approach to football than I think I've seen in years, just actively sitting with the ball in your own third and picking your spots forward.

 

I think they sold a couple of the defenders who were playing that way so that may be their downfall.

 

8 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

I probably should have said based on home games. Thought the red card helped Fiorentina 2nd half while Turks looked like scoring every time they were in our half.

 

Turks also had better of the games directly against Fiorentina 

 

Fair enough, and obviously both were far better than us, but I don't fully buy that Basaksehir just had the illusion of vulnerability - Halliday was through on goal and Haring had one off the line before they scored. In the second game we had a reserve team out but still had decent possession in good areas and they had to commit quite a few fouls (one of which should have been a red) before we gifted them a second.

 

Fiorentina held us at arm's length in the Tynecastle game even before the red and then absolutely destroyed us by half-time in the away game.

 

They took 3 points off each other but the emphatic scoreline for Basaksehir in the first game flattered them a bit by all accounts.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

7 minutes ago, Stuart Jack said:

Having watched both games in their entirety and seen the stats, I wouldn't agree that's a fair reflection at all....

Fiorentina looked vulnerable at that point, goals conceded in Istanbul were poor. League form wasn't great either while the Turkish were in form. 

 

Time is showing Fiorentina to be a better side. 

 

Hearts to be fair were incredibly vulnerable in October. 

 

Stats are not necessarily a great indicator of form, what happens in either penalty box is what decides

[soonbe110]

7 hours ago, Led Tasso said:

Well that explains it. Any trams that come to Edinburgh end up being over budget, eh?

 

EDIT: Right, seriously, thanks for looking that up, that certainly makes sense.

👍

[Mikey1874]

Meantime Humphreys has competition

 

 

[Debut 4]

3 minutes ago, Mikey1874 said:

Meantime Humphreys has competition

 

 

It was some goal. Really good game this half (didn’t see first). Lisbon pishing on Arsenal.   Hope they don’t suffer the sucker punch. They’ve been well on top. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Debut 4

[Malinga the Swinga]

Arteta has to take responsibility for Arsenal. Play your best team and they win. Play squad players and you risk defeat.

[Mikey1874]

 

[Mikey1874]

Nice one. Brave performance. 

[Malinga the Swinga]

Yep, all blame on Arsenal manager. Played weak team on first game and didn't bring best player on until extra time in second game.

 

 

[Luckies1874]

Premier League wayyyyy more important so a few less games may help them. City still in Champs League and FA Cup.

 

Really big game at home to Palace this Sunday, chance to go 8 points clear before the International break as City have an FA Cup tie. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Luckies1874

[Luckies1874]

Managed to retain 9th place but an absolutely disastrous season for Scottish clubs in European competition. Poorest points total out of the top 18 countries and only Croatia, Greece, Kazakhstan and Slovenia out the top 32 got less than is. 

 

 

 

[leginten]

Italian, Belgian and Portuguese teams looking impressive in the European tournaments in general. Union Saint Gilloise of Brussels absolutely stuffed Union Berlin tonight. Hard to believe that they lost 3-0 at Ibrox back in August.

[Luckies1874]

Just now, leginten said:

Italian, Belgian and Portuguese teams looking impressive in the European tournaments in general. Union Saint Gilloise of Brussels absolutely stuffed Union Berlin tonight. Hard to believe that they lost 3-0 at Ibrox back in August.

 

Rangers and Celtic would actually have done well in the Europa League again this season. The Champions League is just way beyond them but they could easily have had long runs in the lesser tournaments. 

[leginten]

1 minute ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Rangers and Celtic would actually have done well in the Europa League again this season. The Champions League is just way beyond them but they could easily have had long runs in the lesser tournaments. 

Possibly, but I reckon there’s a significant gap between our top clubs and those from the two countries immediately above us in the rankings - Portugal and Belgium - in terms of their ability to compete with teams from the top leagues. Sporting are fourth in the Portuguese league but just eliminated (an admittedly weakened) Arsenal, and USG made a team that has competed well near the top of the Bundesliga look ponderous and limited.

 

Technique, physicality, speed - we’re still sorely lacking, and our clubs have all been embarrassed this season. I’m still wondering how the bluenoses made it to the EL final last year.

[Luckies1874]

1 minute ago, leginten said:

Possibly, but I reckon there’s a significant gap between our top clubs and those from the two countries immediately above us in the rankings - Portugal and Belgium - in terms of their ability to compete with teams from the top leagues. Sporting are fourth in the Portuguese league but just eliminated (an admittedly weakened) Arsenal, and USG made a team that has competed well near the top of the Bundesliga look ponderous and limited.

 

Technique, physicality, speed - we’re still sorely lacking, and our clubs have all been embarrassed this season. I’m still wondering how the bluenoses made it to the EL final last year.

 

I would definitely agree about Portugal. Benfica, Porto and Sporting are all really good which is incredible considering how often they all sell players to the big leagues. This is an interesting read/watch

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64763373

 

 

[Naisys Tackle]

9 minutes ago, leginten said:

Possibly, but I reckon there’s a significant gap between our top clubs and those from the two countries immediately above us in the rankings - Portugal and Belgium - in terms of their ability to compete with teams from the top leagues. Sporting are fourth in the Portuguese league but just eliminated (an admittedly weakened) Arsenal, and USG made a team that has competed well near the top of the Bundesliga look ponderous and limited.

 

Technique, physicality, speed - we’re still sorely lacking, and our clubs have all been embarrassed this season. I’m still wondering how the bluenoses made it to the EL final last year.

Rangers showed last year that isn't the case.  They also emptied USG and PSV in the Champions League this season. 

[JFK-1]

20 minutes ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Rangers and Celtic would actually have done well in the Europa League again this season. The Champions League is just way beyond them but they could easily have had long runs in the lesser tournaments. 

 

I believe that too, I think they're both considerably better than many seem to imagine imagine they are. Which should also bring some perspective to the failure to compete with them. Competing with them in Scotland is like them trying to compete with Liverpool etc. in the CL. And we know how that goes.

[Luckies1874]

Probably not the correct thread for this but anyway..........!

 

Barcelona play Real Madrid on Sunday night but given the 9pt lead held by the hosts the big game throughout Europe, for me anyway, this weekend, is undoubtedly in Amsterdam were Ajax play Feyenoord. The home team are currently 3pts behind the team from Rotterdam who scored 7 against Shakhtar in Europe tonight. Ajax will want a win given how Feyenoord have been churning out results. Should be tasty if a stream is available. 

[Pasquale for King]

Wont do Arsenal any harm to be out of Europe. 
Hope Fiorentina win the EC. 

[John Findlay]

If they are kept apart.

Fiorentina v West Ham could be a tasty final.

[RustyRightPeg]

Have people come round to the fact that we got a ridiculously hard group yet?

[EIEIO]

2 hours ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Have people come round to the fact that we got a ridiculously hard group yet?

Most people realised this from the off. The group finished as per the seeding from memory. We had 2 decent performances against RFS the other games, home and away, were training sessions for our opponents, sadly. We were a bit more competitive in Istanbul to be fair.

I'm still mystified that RFS got a draw with Fiorentina.

[Luckies1874]

2 hours ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Have people come round to the fact that we got a ridiculously hard group yet?

 

What makes you think our group was "ridiculously" difficult?

[Pasquale for King]

40 minutes ago, EIEIO said:

Most people realised this from the off. The group finished as per the seeding from memory. We had 2 decent performances against RFS the other games, home and away, were training sessions for our opponents, sadly. We were a bit more competitive in Istanbul to be fair.

I'm still mystified that RFS got a draw with Fiorentina.

I saw a programme about RFS and they were absolutely hammered but scored 1 of the 2 chances they created, sat back and luckily got a draw. Fiorentina had 32 shots and 74% possession, they had 16 against us and 69% possession and won 5-1.

[Pasquale for King]

Lets see what the suits give us in the EC quarters and semi finals. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Pasquale for King

[Luckies1874]

Man Utd v Sevilla

Juventus v Sporting

Leverkusen v Union SG

Feyenoord v Roma

 

Juventus or Sporting v Man Utd or Sevilla

Feyenoord or Roma v Leverkusen or Union SG

[Mikey1874]

 

[Luckies1874]

Lech Poznań v Fiorentina

Gent v West Ham

Anderlecht v AZ Alkmaar 

Basel v Nice

 

Lech Poznań or Fiorentina v Basel or Nice

Gent or West Ham v Anderlecht or AZ Alkmaar 

 

[VALDOS']

5 hours ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Have people come round to the fact that we got a ridiculously hard group yet?

I don't think anyone thought it wasn't difficult, but better results were most definitely achievable.

[RustyRightPeg]

2 hours ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

What makes you think our group was "ridiculously" difficult?

Common sense. 

[Luckies1874]

7 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Common sense. 

 

Brilliant argument. 

[RustyRightPeg]

1 hour ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Brilliant argument. 

It isn’t an argument, it’s the truth.

 

There were fans on here genuinely thinking we could go away to Florence and Istanbul and win. The gulf is so big. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by RustyRightPeg

[Luckies1874]

2 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

It isn’t an argument, it’s the truth.

 

There were fans on here genuinely thinking we could go away to Florence and Istanbul and win. The gulf is so big. 

There were very few fans that thought that. The gulf was big not helped by some dismal performances on our part. Our group was no more difficult than most. Only Fiorentina made it to the last 8 which shows that. Istanbul got hammered by a team who are 5th in Belgian. Neither side are close to being a top team in European terms. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

31 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

It isn’t an argument, it’s the truth.

 

There were fans on here genuinely thinking we could go away to Florence and Istanbul and win. The gulf is so big. 

 

Some were thinking we could go away and muster a draw, because Riga managed it in Florence.

 

That they did so by parking the bus made it unlikely but it wasn't about a gulf.

[Bazzas right boot]

49 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

It isn’t an argument, it’s the truth.

 

There were fans on here genuinely thinking we could go away to Florence and Istanbul and win. The gulf is so big. 

 

 

Scottish teams outside the OF are a laughing stock.

 

Quite rightly too, look at some of our scores, Welsh and iirc Irish teams knocking clubs out.

Hammerings right left and centre.

 

We've been in Europe twice in about 15 years, yet folk got upset we got smashed 4 times of the better teams.

 

I thought we done well to beat RFS home and away, how many Scottish teams do that- at all?

 

We are the shite everyone wants to draw in Europe. 

 

It's like the performances, context and recent European history of non OF European teams has been erased and its up to Bob to reverse that.

 

I worry for these folk, they'll never be happy.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Bazzas right boot

[ToadKiller Dog]

1 hour ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Common sense. 

Any group would have been difficult for us ,we entered with no real european experience ,let alone group stage football , injuries galore .

Budget wise etc behind most .

Even with injuries we performed poorer than we were capable of  .

Still think a mixture of bad fortune ,Halkett injury first leg and poor decision making ,

Great first half at home just didn't make anything we may have got through against Zurich who were still aren't in great shape  .

But the conference was better for us .

 

Away in Florence somthing changed ok we got pumped overall but an attitude changed that game .

 

I doubt we could have got anything off istanbul or Florence it's on a par with playing the uglies you need a hell of a lot to go your way even then it's not likely .

 

I still enjoyed the European night and the away trip was an experience I won't forget ,so hopefully more to come .

[Luckies1874]

On 16/03/2023 at 23:33, Luckies1874 said:

Probably not the correct thread for this but anyway..........!

 

Barcelona play Real Madrid on Sunday night but given the 9pt lead held by the hosts the big game throughout Europe, for me anyway, this weekend, is undoubtedly in Amsterdam were Ajax play Feyenoord. The home team are currently 3pts behind the team from Rotterdam who scored 7 against Shakhtar in Europe tonight. Ajax will want a win given how Feyenoord have been churning out results. Should be tasty if a stream is available. 

 

Did not disappoint

 

 

[Midloth_Iain]

6 hours ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Did not disappoint

 

 

 

What a proper game of football.

 

2 teams going for it, exciting, attacking and plenty needle as well.

 

 

[Mikey1874]

 

[Jambo in Yorkshire]

The seeded teams for the 3rd Qualifying Round;

 

i

Edited June 11, 2023 by Jambo in Yorkshire

[Mikey1874]

See out friends from Turkey have joined the City Group.