Hearts in Europe: 23/24 : v Rosenborg - Away leg on Hearts ppv ( updated )

[davemclaren]

3 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

Season after next is still groups, so 3rd and the cup angle covered this coming season and we can hopefully get at least another 4; would be great to beat a decent seeded side and steal their rating, as stated above

 

However, the OF need to be in EL after Christmas; hopefully rangers go straight into EL group & other cheek make 3rd, but all they seem to care about is grabbing the CL money & getting pumped out immediately

 

The parkhead mob are truly deplorable here, some might think they want the coefficient lower to stop the group stages for 3rd, so us & sheep don't get the money to strengthen

 

Some will think we'll be a nap to get celtic very soon in the cup & will cry foul; well, we got hibs away & when we pumped them, their big brothers were next, it certainly stinks; some will think there will be an effort to get hibs or even the midden 3rd next season; then there's the TV deal meddling and that kept low, less for the rest; we'll see, but the ECL money sure has made things exciting; it's really stirred the pot and added an extra dimension to the league

I think you got most of the Scottish football conspiracies in there. 😄

[Ricardo Quaresma]

1 minute ago, davemclaren said:

I think you got most of the Scottish football conspiracies in there. 😄

 

Yep, most of them 🙂

[spacerjoe]

28 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

Season after next is still groups, so 3rd and the cup angle covered this coming season and we can hopefully get at least another 4; would be great to beat a decent seeded side and steal their rating, as stated above

 

However, the OF need to be in EL after Christmas; hopefully rangers go straight into EL group & other cheek make 3rd, but all they seem to care about is grabbing the CL money & getting pumped out immediately

 

The parkhead mob are truly deplorable here, some might think they want the coefficient lower to stop the group stages for 3rd, so us & sheep don't get the money to strengthen

 

Some will think we'll be a nap to get celtic very soon in the cup & will cry foul; well, we got hibs away & when we pumped them, their big brothers were next, it certainly stinks; some will think there will be an effort to get hibs or even the midden 3rd next season; then there's the TV deal meddling and that kept low, less for the rest; we'll see, but the ECL money sure has made things exciting; it's really stirred the pot and added an extra dimension to the league

 

Celtic or Rangers should actively want us and Aberdeen etc to be in the group stages regularly. The money we receive is not a patch on what they get for the CL, so it's no risk to them. Ange has spent something like 45M assembling that squad.

 

Us having a couple of mill extra means nothing to them.

 

But it improves the league's quality and standing and eventually co-efficient, meaning they get better players out of it as a knock-on effect.

 

 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

22 minutes ago, spacerjoe said:

 

Celtic or Rangers should actively want us and Aberdeen etc to be in the group stages regularly. The money we receive is not a patch on what they get for the CL, so it's no risk to them. Ange has spent something like 45M assembling that squad.

 

Us having a couple of mill extra means nothing to them.

 

But it improves the league's quality and standing and eventually co-efficient, meaning they get better players out of it as a knock-on effect.

 

 

 

I know; celtic are pure cowards when it comes to a more competitive league; probably because historically they lose the title a lot more; they're not into rising to the challenge which would make them a better  team when playing in Europe; they'd rather be dirty  sneaky bar stewards and suppress teams in the league to god knows what extent; then moan that the league's not competitive enough to prepare them for Europe

 

Doesn't seem brave or bright, does it?

[tartofmidlothian]

On 30/05/2023 at 14:12, Jambo Buckets said:

We won't beat any of those teams but still looking forward to the trip and just make sure there isn't a humiliation like what happened to Dundee United against AZ. 

 

Big change next year though. Finishing 4th in the league next year qualifies you for the Europa League 2nd qualifying round which means if you lose you drop into the Conference League. That means you get 4 guaranteed European games instead of 2. Hopefully we finish 3rd though and dont need to worry about that. 

 

Is that right? We have no excuses for not being in Europe until Christmas next year.

[Ricardo Quaresma]

On 30/05/2023 at 14:12, Jambo Buckets said:

We won't beat any of those teams but still looking forward to the trip and just make sure there isn't a humiliation like what happened to Dundee United against AZ. 

 

Big change next year though. Finishing 4th in the league next year qualifies you for the Europa League 2nd qualifying round which means if you lose you drop into the Conference League. That means you get 4 guaranteed European games instead of 2. Hopefully we finish 3rd though and dont need to worry about that. 

 

Where did you read this?

[bradleyHMFC]

Does the draw dictate if we are home or away first? Or is that determined by seeding/coefficient ?

[Flimsy]

36 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

Where did you read this?

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/AccessList2024.html

 

[Flimsy]

35 minutes ago, bradleyHMFC said:

Does the draw dictate if we are home or away first? Or is that determined by seeding/coefficient ?

The draw dictates it.

[Ricardo Quaresma]

45 minutes ago, Flimsy said:

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/AccessList2024.html

 

 

Wow, all the excitement of this season's end, I forgot about this mental new format they're bringing in!

 

Right, so, all 3 competitions are INCREASING to 36 teams in the Group Stages

 

The changes are benefitting the top 5 nations (france, a lot, it seems like!) and engurland will probably score another CL place

 

https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/0275-151c779310c3-b92bbf0d24f9-1000--uefa-approves-final-format-and-access-list-for-its-club-comp/

 

But, we'll get a EL place instead of a ECL place

 

In EL, the same format as CL, eight games with 4 home, 4 away

 

In ECL, 2 less games

 

Top 8 progress to last 16; 9th to 24th play eachother to establish the 2nd half of the last 16

[Daveandal]

6 hours ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

Wow, all the excitement of this season's end, I forgot about this mental new format they're bringing in!

 

Right, so, all 3 competitions are INCREASING to 36 teams in the Group Stages

 

The changes are benefitting the top 5 nations (france, a lot, it seems like!) and engurland will probably score another CL place

 

https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/0275-151c779310c3-b92bbf0d24f9-1000--uefa-approves-final-format-and-access-list-for-its-club-comp/

 

But, we'll get a EL place instead of a ECL place

 

In EL, the same format as CL, eight games with 4 home, 4 away

 

In ECL, 2 less games

 

Top 8 progress to last 16; 9th to 24th play eachother to establish the 2nd half of the last 16

 

It is what has been used (kind of) in the European Club Rugby competitions.

 

It will take alot of getting used to. I'm probably against it but I would say it's one advantage is that the final set of group games will be exciting as lots of teams will be able to get into the qualifying positions. But you will be looking out for results of teams you haven't played against.

[JTJ]

Over the years we have hardly ever qualified for Europe in successive seasons. I remember once in the 90s - I think Sandy Clark was manager and we got in because Scotland got an extra place through the "Fair Play" awards. Other than that I don't think so till now (and I can't be bothered with looking through 60+ years on London Hearts 😁).

[SUTOL]

1 minute ago, JTJ said:

Over the years we have hardly ever qualified for Europe in successive seasons. I remember once in the 90s - I think Sandy Clark was manager and we got in because Scotland got an extra place through the "Fair Play" awards. Other than that I don't think so till now (and I can't be bothered with looking through 60+ years on London Hearts 😁).

 

We did it once about twenty years ago.

Well I presume we did because we came third two seasons in a row. 

 

Which is a vary rare thing in our league.

 

If you look at last season's 4th and 5th placed teams, one is relegated the other is 7th.

 

Over recent seasons the 3rd place team one year has ended up 7th the following season.

 

Despite our "horrendous" season we have totally bucked the trend and set a new standard for ourselves and the league.

 

Bring on next season and the hopes, expectations and pressure that will bring!

Hopefully the players, manager and fans can take it. 😀

[Flimsy]

For me, this is the mythical 'next level'. We should be qualifying for Europe every season with our budget.

[The Old Tolbooth]

On 30/05/2023 at 14:12, Jambo Buckets said:

We won't beat any of those teams but still looking forward to the trip and just make sure there isn't a humiliation like what happened to Dundee United against AZ. 

 

Big change next year though. Finishing 4th in the league next year qualifies you for the Europa League 2nd qualifying round which means if you lose you drop into the Conference League. That means you get 4 guaranteed European games instead of 2. Hopefully we finish 3rd though and dont need to worry about that. 

 

I disagree, I reckon we have a chance against a good half dozen of them, remember that some of those seeded teams are only seeded because they've taken their countries seeding points and haven't earned those points themselves, Arouca are tiny, they're usually a yo yo club in Portugal, I'm very confident we would beat them and also give Guimares a very good game too, in fact anyone outside the top 4 in Portugal are dug meat! 

 

I also know that Bulgarian and Romanian football isn't anywhere near as good as it used to be, and we'd have a cracking chance against one of their teams. Also Rijeka are no great shakes, and neither are APOEL Nicosia, there's definite chances in there for us. 

[West Jambo]

The only problem in playing likes of, for example, Arouca who have a coefficient of 11.263 is that we’d need to beat another high ranked team in the playoff to get to the group stage. Realistically we need to get a higher ranked team who aren’t what they used to be/had a poor season eg CFR Cluj or Basel and get an upset over them. Then we would take their ranking as a seeded team for the playoff match. This is because the draw for the playoff round is made before the previous round has been competed. 

[DETTY29]

18 hours ago, Flimsy said:

For me, this is the mythical 'next level'. We should be qualifying for Europe every season with our budget.

We just sacked a manager who always has or was on track too each season we were in the top league.

 

 

Edit - some of the performances when we got there though.....

Edited June 2, 2023 by DETTY29

[Waterboy]

CFR Cluj added to the list...

 

Club Brugge                 Belgium

FC Basel                       Switzerland

AZ Alkmaar                  Netherlands

AA Gent                        Belgium

Dinamo Kyiv                 Ukraine

Fenerbahce                  Turkey

CFR Cluj                       Romania

Partizan Belgrade        Serbia

PAOK                            Greece

Maccabi Tel-Aviv         Israel

Viktoria Plzen               Czech Rep

Bodo/Glimt                   Norway

Lech Poznan                Poland

Hapoel Beer-Sheva     Israel

Djurgardens                 Sweden

APOEL Nicosia             Cyprus

Besiktas                       Turkey

NK Rijeka                      Croatia

FC Arouca                     Portugal

Vitoria Guimaraes         Portugal

FCSB                             Romania

[Jambo Buckets]

On 31/05/2023 at 21:51, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

Where did you read this?

The new access list was released recently. There's not huge changes in terms of where Scottish teams enter but 4th place now being guaranteed 4 games is probably a positive financially. 

 

 

[Jambo Buckets]

23 hours ago, The Old Tolbooth said:

 

I disagree, I reckon we have a chance against a good half dozen of them, remember that some of those seeded teams are only seeded because they've taken their countries seeding points and haven't earned those points themselves, Arouca are tiny, they're usually a yo yo club in Portugal, I'm very confident we would beat them and also give Guimares a very good game too, in fact anyone outside the top 4 in Portugal are dug meat! 

 

I also know that Bulgarian and Romanian football isn't anywhere near as good as it used to be, and we'd have a cracking chance against one of their teams. Also Rijeka are no great shakes, and neither are APOEL Nicosia, there's definite chances in there for us. 

Hopefully you are correct, but I just don't see it. I watch a bit of Portuguese football and yes there is quite a big gap between the top 3/4 and the rest but I think Vitoria and Arouca are a good bit ahead of us, although they do both have loan players from Celtic (Mikey Johnston and Soro). Despite the gap I still think any Portuguese team qualifying for Europe is stronger than anyone in Scotland bar the top 2. 

 

I don't see any Bulgarian opponents there but I think Cluj would beat us, and do it fairly comfortably as well. 

 

There may be a weaker team or 2 there who it might be close against but I'm looking at some of them, the likes of Brugge, Basel, Fenerbahce, Besiktas, AZ, Dynamo Kiev where it could be an ugly scoreline and the rest I think would be a huge ask. I just hope we can make it competitive and maybe get a draw at Tynecastle to help Scotland's coefficient. 

[West Jambo]

Cluj would be a great draw for us given they’ve had a very poor season for them and they needed ET against 9 men in a playoff to sneak into Europe. We would take their high coefficient in the playoff if we were to progress. Don’t get me wrong still a very very big challenge but doable.

[PTBCAL]

Think it will be just the one game for us this year 

 

No chance we are beating the majority of teams on that list. 
 

Not defeatist but realist

[Italian Lambretta]

8 hours ago, Waterboy said:

CFR Cluj added to the list...

 

Club Brugge                 Belgium

FC Basel                       Switzerland

AZ Alkmaar                  Netherlands

AA Gent                        Belgium

Dinamo Kyiv                 Ukraine

Fenerbahce                  Turkey

CFR Cluj                       Romania

Partizan Belgrade        Serbia

PAOK                            Greece

Maccabi Tel-Aviv         Israel

Viktoria Plzen               Czech Rep

Bodo/Glimt                   Norway

Lech Poznan                Poland

Hapoel Beer-Sheva     Israel

Djurgardens                 Sweden

APOEL Nicosia             Cyprus

Besiktas                       Turkey

NK Rijeka                      Croatia

FC Arouca                     Portugal

Vitoria Guimaraes         Portugal

FCSB                             Romania

Any chance you could put a score through the teams we don’t want to get. 
Which is probably most of them 😁

[Daveandal]

I assume we might know a little more after this weekend?

[BackOfTheNet]

On 02/06/2023 at 11:44, Waterboy said:

CFR Cluj added to the list...

 

Club Brugge                 Belgium

FC Basel                       Switzerland

AZ Alkmaar                  Netherlands

AA Gent                        Belgium

Dinamo Kyiv                 Ukraine

Fenerbahce                  Turkey

CFR Cluj                       Romania

Partizan Belgrade        Serbia

PAOK                            Greece

Maccabi Tel-Aviv         Israel

Viktoria Plzen               Czech Rep

Bodo/Glimt                   Norway

Lech Poznan                Poland

Hapoel Beer-Sheva     Israel

Djurgardens                 Sweden

APOEL Nicosia             Cyprus

Besiktas                       Turkey

NK Rijeka                      Croatia

FC Arouca                     Portugal

Vitoria Guimaraes         Portugal

FCSB                             Romania

That’s the teams I’d give us a chance against as long as we’re on top of our game. Even then, not great.

 

Really means missing 3rd has terrible consequences, which we knew already. Even if we get through, who do we play in the playoff? Other winners from the previous round, or does anyone else drop in at playoff stage?

[Flimsy]

48 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

That’s the teams I’d give us a chance against as long as we’re on top of our game. Even then, not great.

 

Really means missing 3rd has terrible consequences, which we knew already. Even if we get through, who do we play in the playoff? Other winners from the previous round, or does anyone else drop in at playoff stage?

Only 5 teams join at the playoff stage, one each from England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. Who we would play would depend on who we beat in the 3rd qualifying round. Beat a team that would have been seeded in the playoff round and we would effectively take their seeded place and have an 'easier' tie. This is because the playoff round draw is before the 3rd qualifying round is played. See this link for more information -

 

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/seedecl2023.html

 

[BackOfTheNet]

10 minutes ago, Flimsy said:

Only 5 teams join at the playoff stage, one each from England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. Who we would play would depend on who we beat in the 3rd qualifying round. Beat a team that would have been seeded in the playoff round and we would effectively take their seeded place and have an 'easier' tie. This is because the playoff round draw is before the 3rd qualifying round is played. See this link for more information -

 

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/seedecl2023.html

 

Cheers. Draw very, very important then. Who knows though, we played a seeded side in Zurich last year and looking back we could’ve beaten them if we played the right way. Here’s hoping we get a break and beat a side we’re not expected to for a change.

[Flimsy]

9 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Cheers. Draw very, very important then. Who knows though, we played a seeded side in Zurich last year and looking back we could’ve beaten them if we played the right way. Here’s hoping we get a break and beat a side we’re not expected to for a change.

Zurich weren't seeded, there was no seeding for the Europa League draw.

[BackOfTheNet]

7 minutes ago, Flimsy said:

Zurich weren't seeded, there was no seeding for the Europa League draw.

Really? Had in my head they were. Either way, we could’ve beaten them. Some prospective teams we’d face we could beat too. But can’t say my hopes are the highest.

[Flimsy]

Yep, draw format here -

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/seedel2022.html

 

I would urge every Hearts fan who is any way interested in Euro coefficients and draws to spend a few minutes on Bert Kassies excellent site which has been around for at least 20 years.

 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Flimsy

[Kennyfragg13]

Any one bar paok besiktas fenerbache or brugge

[gregzy2k7]

Cluj have got a 27 co-efficient ranking, if we could beat them we are pretty much guaranteed to be seeded in the play off round as we would take their ranking right?

It's a tough ask though, realistically we probably wouldn't be able to beat them, so i would rather have Djugarden or Nicosia and hopefully edge past them to set up a glamor tie in the play offs, most likely we are only getting one or two ties in europe next season, although that might ultimately be a good thing as we can then focus on domestic football and ensure we get 3rd next season.

[Ricardo Quaresma]

3 hours ago, Kennyfragg13 said:

Any one bar paok besiktas fenerbache or brugge

 

or Dinamo Kyiv, AZ Alkmaar, Bodo/Glimt or Djurgardens 😄

[Captain Canada]

I'm not overly optimistic seeing that list of possible ties. However, anything can happen in pre-season in terms of recruitment or changes in staff, so we might get lucky in that respect where a team that was decent this year has a poor start to next season. 

 

Hopefully, we'll be a lot stronger as well and appoint a new manager next week so they have time to make the changes they want to. 

[Placid Casual]

On 29/05/2023 at 13:20, Waterboy said:

A one stop shop now that it's confirmed we'll be in Europe next season.  I'm working on the assumption that Celtic beat Inverness (hopefully tempting fate :))

 

Hearts will enter the Europa Conference League in the 3rd qualifying round, as an unseeded team.

 

Key Dates:

Q3 first leg:                10 August

Q3 second leg:          17 August

 

If we progress...

 

Playoff first leg:         24 August

Playoff second leg:   31 August

 

If we progress... group stages commence 21 September.

 

Possible Opponents:

 

The draw for Q3 will be made before Q2 ties have been played.  It's therefore possible we will draw the winner of a Q2 tie, and have 2 possible opponents with the winner still to be determined.  There are still some domestic leagues and cups to be finalised, but at this moment in time, these are the sides who will be seeded and are therefore possible opponents.  This assumes that all of the seeded sides in Q2 win their ties - so some could be replaced by supposedly poorer sides - those in italics are the sides that it's been assumed will qualify from Q2.

 

Club Brugge                 Belgium

AZ Alkmaar                  Netherlands

AA Gent                        Belgium

Dinamo Kiev                 Ukraine

Partizan Belgrade        Serbia

PAOK                            Greece

Maccabi Tel-Aviv         Israel

Viktoria Plzen               Czech Rep

Bodo/Glimt                   Norway

Lech Poznan                Poland

Hapoel Beer-Sheva     Israel

Djurgardens                 Sweden

APOEL Nicosia             Cyprus

Besiktas                       Turkey

NK Rijeka                      Croatia

FC Arouca                     Portugal

 

Hearts Coefficient:

 

Hearts will enter with a coefficient of 7.28, which is the 'Scotland' coefficient, based on the performance of Scottish teams over the past 5 seasons.  Hearts actual coefficient is less than the 'Scotland' coefficient at 4, and so we are given the higher 'Scotland' coefficient.  Info on how this was earned, and the coefficients of other Scottish teams for 23/24:

 

 

If Hearts are eliminated in Q3, which is a real possibility, we will earn 2 pts, taking our total for the 24/25 season to 6.  If we made it to the Playoff round and were eliminated, we would earn 2.5 pts taking our total to 6.5.  Both scenarios would likely result in us again being given the 'Scotland' coefficient if we qualify for Europe in season 24/25.

 

The 'Scotland' coefficient is calculated based on a slightly different method to how the individual club coefficients are calculated, and so won't tie in with the figures you see above.  For season 24/25, the points earned from Scottish sides during the upcoming season will replace the points earned in 18/19.  Scottish sides therefore need to improve on 6.75 if they want to improve their ranking (and European places that come as a result), having only scored 3.5 in the season just past.

 

 

 

Brilliant post, very useful. Thank you.

[tazhearts]

On 29/05/2023 at 13:20, Waterboy said:

A one stop shop now that it's confirmed we'll be in Europe next season.  I'm working on the assumption that Celtic beat Inverness (hopefully tempting fate :))

 

Hearts will enter the Europa Conference League in the 3rd qualifying round, as an unseeded team.

 

Key Dates:

Q3 first leg:                10 August

Q3 second leg:          17 August

 

If we progress...

 

Playoff first leg:         24 August

Playoff second leg:   31 August

 

If we progress... group stages commence 21 September.

 

Possible Opponents:

 

The draw for Q3 will be made before Q2 ties have been played.  It's therefore possible we will draw the winner of a Q2 tie, and have 2 possible opponents with the winner still to be determined.  There are still some domestic leagues and cups to be finalised, but at this moment in time, these are the sides who will be seeded and are therefore possible opponents.  This assumes that all of the seeded sides in Q2 win their ties - so some could be replaced by supposedly poorer sides - those in italics are the sides that it's been assumed will qualify from Q2.

 

Club Brugge                 Belgium

AZ Alkmaar                  Netherlands

AA Gent                        Belgium

Dinamo Kiev                 Ukraine

Partizan Belgrade        Serbia

PAOK                            Greece

Maccabi Tel-Aviv         Israel

Viktoria Plzen               Czech Rep

Bodo/Glimt                   Norway

Lech Poznan                Poland

Hapoel Beer-Sheva     Israel

Djurgardens                 Sweden

APOEL Nicosia             Cyprus

Besiktas                       Turkey

NK Rijeka                      Croatia

FC Arouca                     Portugal

 

Hearts Coefficient:

 

Hearts will enter with a coefficient of 7.28, which is the 'Scotland' coefficient, based on the performance of Scottish teams over the past 5 seasons.  Hearts actual coefficient is less than the 'Scotland' coefficient at 4, and so we are given the higher 'Scotland' coefficient.  Info on how this was earned, and the coefficients of other Scottish teams for 23/24:

 

 

If Hearts are eliminated in Q3, which is a real possibility, we will earn 2 pts, taking our total for the 24/25 season to 6.  If we made it to the Playoff round and were eliminated, we would earn 2.5 pts taking our total to 6.5.  Both scenarios would likely result in us again being given the 'Scotland' coefficient if we qualify for Europe in season 24/25.

 

The 'Scotland' coefficient is calculated based on a slightly different method to how the individual club coefficients are calculated, and so won't tie in with the figures you see above.  For season 24/25, the points earned from Scottish sides during the upcoming season will replace the points earned in 18/19.  Scottish sides therefore need to improve on 6.75 if they want to improve their ranking (and European places that come as a result), having only scored 3.5 in the season just past.

 

 

 

 

Any idea what date and time the draw will be for the round that we enter?

[rudi must stay]

I may be optimistic but all those teams we have a chance against. Besiktas the hardest tie and they are not what they were

[Waterboy]

21 minutes ago, tazhearts said:

 

Any idea what date and time the draw will be for the round that we enter?

 

Not until July 24th!

[HMFC01]

I'd say about 6/7 teams we have a slight chance of beating, close not comfortable.   We need to sort the defence out.   A lot rides on our recruitment.   My mood might change after that.   It's not looking good at the moment.   Fitness concerns as well.   Just have to see what state we're in around August nearer the Qualifiers.   Although the other sides might have similar troubles to be fair.  

Edited June 4, 2023 by HMFC01

[SMJ_1874]

Wouldn’t mind going to Basel as I’ve been before and a great city although an expensive city, besides I’ve still got some CHF left over from last year. Cluj would be a good city for cheap drink and maybe give us a chance to get a second trip away from home 

[tartofmidlothian]

On 01/06/2023 at 11:16, JTJ said:

Over the years we have hardly ever qualified for Europe in successive seasons. I remember once in the 90s - I think Sandy Clark was manager and we got in because Scotland got an extra place through the "Fair Play" awards. Other than that I don't think so till now (and I can't be bothered with looking through 60+ years on London Hearts 😁).

 

On 01/06/2023 at 11:23, SUTOL said:

 

We did it once about twenty years ago.

Well I presume we did because we came third two seasons in a row. 

 

Which is a vary rare thing in our league.

 

If you look at last season's 4th and 5th placed teams, one is relegated the other is 7th.

 

Over recent seasons the 3rd place team one year has ended up 7th the following season.

 

Despite our "horrendous" season we have totally bucked the trend and set a new standard for ourselves and the league.

 

Bring on next season and the hopes, expectations and pressure that will bring!

Hopefully the players, manager and fans can take it. 😀

 

If anyone's interested, we've qualified for Europe in successive seasons four times in the last 50 years, including this one. Three of them this century. We've qualified in 19 out of those 50 seasons and since 1985 we've qualified two or three times in every half-decade, which is a great record. Aside from 2015-2020, when we only did it once

 

Here's the list.

 

2023/24

2022/23

2016/17

2012/13

2011/12

2009/10

2006/07 (CL)

2004/05

2003/04

2000/01

1998/99 (CWC)

1996/97 (CWC)

1993/94

1992/93

1990/91

1988/89

1986/87

1984/85

1976/77 (CWC)

[Jim_Duncan]

16 hours ago, rudi must stay said:

I may be optimistic but all those teams we have a chance against. Besiktas the hardest tie and they are not what they were

Exactly. Anyone fearing the draw can hand in their credentials on the way out. 

[PapaShango]

6 hours ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Exactly. Anyone fearing the draw can hand in their credentials on the way out. 

Let’s just enjoy being in Europe it doesn’t really happen back to back seasons too often. We have a chance against any side at Tynecastle if we turn up and play like we can. We’ve pulled some magnificent results out against better teams over the years. Sort the defence out and we have a chance.

[Italian Lambretta]

The teams starting to gather in the Conference league Play Off is more like a Champions League line up.

Even if we manage to get through the 3rd qualifying the oppostion we face will demolish us.

[AC Mallin_51]

Just noticed that if we make it to the playoffs Juventus are a possible opponent 😂😐

[Waterboy]

Rapid Wien added to the list.  5 more to be added.  A reminder that those in italics are the seeded teams in the previous round, and so assumed to qualify for Q3.  Some may be replaced on this list if they lose to an unseeded team in Q2.

 

Also, as it stands, the clubs in bold are projected to be seeded in the following Playoff round too.  So if we were to beat them, we would carry their coefficient through instead of our own, and end up being seeded in the Playoff round.  Probably our best (only) chance of making the groups, if we could luck out and draw the worst of the teams in bold.

 

Club Brugge                   Belgium

FC Basel                          Switzerland

AZ Alkmaar                    Netherlands

AA Gent                           Belgium

Dinamo Kyiv                   Ukraine

Fenerbahce                   Turkey

CFR Cluj                           Romania

Partizan Belgrade        Serbia

PAOK                                 Greece

Maccabi Tel-Aviv         Israel

Viktoria Plzen               Czech Rep

Bodo/Glimt                   Norway

Lech Poznan                Poland

Rapid Wien                   Austria

Hapoel Beer-Sheva     Israel

Djurgardens                 Sweden

APOEL Nicosia             Cyprus

Besiktas                       Turkey

NK Rijeka                      Croatia

FC Arouca                     Portugal

Vitoria Guimaraes         Portugal

FCSB                             Romania

[hughesie27]

We've beaten Basel before. No reason we can't again.

[hughesie27]

So from 24/35 4th should be enough for Conference Group football?

Edited June 5, 2023 by hughesie27

[Flimsy]

1 hour ago, hughesie27 said:

So from 24/35 4th should be enough for Conference Group football?

No. The 4th team (either 3rd or 4th in league depending who wins the cup) will start in the Europa League qualifiers with Conference League as fallback, but will still need to win two ties to get to a group stage. Effectively, would need to win 2 out of 3 qualifiers instead of 2 out of 2 as it is now.

 

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/AccessList2024.html

 

As ever, there is a Kassies link with the answers for those who care to look for it.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Flimsy

[Sooks]

8 hours ago, Flimsy said:

No. The 4th team (either 3rd or 4th in league depending who wins the cup) will start in the Europa League qualifiers with Conference League as fallback, but will still need to win two ties to get to a group stage. Effectively, would need to win 2 out of 3 qualifiers instead of 2 out of 2 as it is now.

 

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/AccessList2024.html

 

As ever, there is a Kassies link with the answers for those who care to look for it.

Not even going to begin trying to decipher all those acronyms and abbreviations and locate us on a spreadsheet on my phone . Seems a decent enough deal going by your post though . Not vastly different to what the situation is now , but slightly better I suppose ? Assuming you mean third and cup remains the same , but fourth ( depending on who wins the cup ) have a tiny slight better deal in qualifying rounds ? Or have I misunderstood your post , and need to suck it up with that brutal spreadsheet