Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 13 minutes ago, Victorian said: The Europa League will be a bit difficult. The qualifier will be hard enough. Let's assume we're in the Conference for a minute... 6 matches. An 'even' WDL record is 2-2-2 = 8 points. Therefore a team might expect to be around the middle of the table with 8 points. Maybe a bit below. What would achieve 24th place and progression to the last 16 play-off? It might take 8 but might be possible with 6. I couldn't see it being fewer than 6. There's no reason whatsoever that we are incapable of getting 6 points from 6 matches. Entirely reasonable to aim to stay in after the group stage. How are the fixtures decided Ceefax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmfc_liam06 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 minute ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: Obviously changed since the original changes were mooted. However to be clear certain parts of my original reply are entirely correct, what a day you two must be having banging me to rights The Aberdeen bit was right. The rest was tosh 😂 Don't worry about it, I've been wrong once or twice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmfc_liam06 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Just now, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: How are the fixtures decided Ceefax? Computerised draw apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo dans les Pyrenees Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 hour ago, Mikey1874 said: Not sure if this is clear Thanks for this. Europa League could mean a min of GBP 4m even if we finish last in the league stage, plus 5 (4 plus one qualifier) home games bringing in at least another GBP 3m. It would be a fair objective for us to try to hit 24th from 36 and that’d be worth another GBP 2.5m (assuming 2 wins and 2 draws from 8 matches) Conference league numbers are about GBP 3m min even if we don’t qualify and finish last in the league stage, plus 4 home games bringing in another GBP 2.5m. If we finish 24th from 36 (which assumes a win and 2 draws from 6 games) then that’s an extra GBP 1m. So Europa Leauge is likely to net us GBP 7m min, but achievable GBP 10m Conference league is somewhere between GBP 5.5m min, achievable GBP 6.5, Massive fingers crossed for a decent Europe League qualifier draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 (edited) 18 minutes ago, martoon said: And the "away" leg at Djurgarden was at Firhill. Jet set stuff. I recall a poster on dotnut suggesting that a set of medals should be struck for the players (well, their families) who took part in this Hibs trailblazing. About a decade ago now but I still can't believe it. They beat two modest clubs. The competition was very much in a proto state. Aberdeen knocked back the invitation to compete on the basis of their belief that playing under floodlights was unfair. Hibs got 2nd dibs because they had floodlights. Tinpot beginnings involving the kings of tinpot. Edited April 15 by Victorian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 2 hours ago, Luckies1874 said: Posted this on another thread a few weeks ago. Details some dates etc..... Went to have a look at potential dates for European games later in the year, so I could put them in the calendar and I've ended up spending wayyyyy too long looking at the new format etc But to be fair I think it's pretty exciting and it's really huge for our club to be getting involved both because of the financial windfall it brings but more importantly because it raises our profile each and every season we can achieve this. As the capital of Scotland it's important we as the 3rd largest club in a football mad country are competing every season even if it's routinely in the Conference League. There have been plenty of posts with some of this info already on the thread but just to confirm a few things and hopefully save some people the trouble of looking for themselves, I've put the likely dates of interest below. It's my strong view that 3rd is wrapped up so the only 'threat' to the below is Aberdeen winning the Scottish Cup - improbable in my view! Therefore I think this is what things will look like for Hearts: The Europa League Play off Draw is on Monday 5th August and the games are on Thursday 22nd August and Thursday 29th August. The draw for the Group stages of both the Europa League and Conference League are on Friday 30th August so whether we win or lose the Europa League Play Off round we will be involved in that. The difference between the two is that we will either face either 8 games (EL) or 6 games (CL). These will be against either 8 or 6 different teams with 4 or 3 home/away games. This is in a league format. Realistically we will be up against it to win the Europa League Play Off and that being the case we would fall into the Conference League and play 6 matches: Thursday 3rd October Thursday 24th October Thursday 7th November Thursday 28th November Thursday 12th December Thursday 19th December If we did somehow win the EL Play off we would have an additional 2 Thursday matches 23rd January 2025 30th January 2025 Thursday 19th December would also be replaced by Thursday 26th September. Of the 36 teams in the Group Stage (in both EL and CL competitions) only 12 will be eliminated leaving 24 teams so it's not out of the realms of possibility we could be competitive in hoping to avoid elimination. The top 8 teams in the League will automatically qualify for the last 16 with teams 9-24 playing in a 2 legged knock out round. These games are played: Thursday 13th February 2025 Thursday 20th February 2025 That's probably optimistic enough for now 😂 As things stand Hearts would be in Pot 5 for the Conference League draw meaning we fall seeding wise in spots 25-30 of the likely participants. One thing that immediately seems obvious is that the football calendar is once again getting squeezed tremendously. When you consider Scotland have 6 Nations League games in Sept-Nov too there are going to be very few free midweeks. A big squad required, so even more reason to be pleased with what has gone down in the last few days. Anyway, I hope this is somewhat helpful! Brilliant cheers. So we got more games, more money in EL, but more chance of winning games in EC to make up for less income? Or is that simplifying it too much? Doesn’t leave much time to get an extra couple of players in if we are playing more games, so probably go with a slightly bigger squad in the hope we play more than the minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 minute ago, Jambo dans les Pyrenees said: Thanks for this. Europa League could mean a min of GBP 4m even if we finish last in the league stage, plus 5 (4 plus one qualifier) home games bringing in at least another GBP 3m. It would be a fair objective for us to try to hit 24th from 36 and that’d be worth another GBP 2.5m (assuming 2 wins and 2 draws from 8 matches) Conference league numbers are about GBP 3m min even if we don’t qualify and finish last in the league stage, plus 4 home games bringing in another GBP 2.5m. If we finish 24th from 36 (which assumes a win and 2 draws from 6 games) then that’s an extra GBP 1m. So Europa Leauge is likely to net us GBP 7m min, but achievable GBP 10m Conference league is somewhere between GBP 5.5m min, achievable GBP 6.5, Massive fingers crossed for a decent Europe League qualifier draw. Thanks for wading through that 👍🏽 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 8 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: How are the fixtures decided Ceefax? You've made a complete shops of it mate. Never chase losses, as the betting firms say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 minute ago, Victorian said: You've made a complete shops of it mate. Never chase losses, as the betting firms say. I'm asking a question, you seem to have all the answers, or am I wrong again this afternoon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRightPeg Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 minute ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: I'm asking a question, you seem to have all the answers, or am I wrong again this afternoon? You've obviously not got deep enough into a FM save lately. That's the answer to all your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oda be a JT Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 My head hurts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martoon Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 9 minutes ago, Victorian said: They beat two modest clubs. The competition was very much in a proto state. Aberdeen knocked back the invitation to compete on the basis of their belief that playing under floodlights was unfair. Hibs got 2nd dibs because they had floodlights. Tinpot beginnings involving the kings of tinpot. Exactly. The entire "first team in Europe" thing is a mere footnote in the history of Scottish football. If that. Look at the fuss they make over it, though. Tinpot, indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 (edited) 4 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said: You've obviously not got deep enough into a FM save lately. That's the answer to all your questions. Obviously not, my mistake for reading something a year ago and not checking my facts I am genuinely interested on how they work out who plays who, CL format I read originally was going to be 4x9 and that it would be replicated in both other comps, 3x36 108 teams, suitably educated and put in my place today. Sure I read also very recently the draw was going to be so complicated it couldn't possibly be done in real time, it would be filtered by a computer, prior to a final stage of the draw for public viewing. Edited April 15 by Lord Beni of Gorgie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRightPeg Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 minute ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: Obviously not, my mistake for reading something a year ago and not checking my facts I am genuinely interested on how they work out who plays who, CL format I read originally was going to be 4x9 and that it would be replicated in both other comps, 3x36 108 teams, suitably educated and put in my place today 😉 Nah just 36 teams, 6 pots of 6, play each other once. There's more to it than that but that's the gist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 5 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: I'm asking a question, you seem to have all the answers, or am I wrong again this afternoon? The answer has already been provided on the thread. I was reluctant to help you out because of these "indicators" you seem to be seeing. EL. 36 teams. 4 draw pots. Every team faces 2 teams from each pot. ECL. 36 teams. 6 draw pots. Every team faces 1 team from each pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGoodLaugh Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 14 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said: Brilliant cheers. So we got more games, more money in EL, but more chance of winning games in EC to make up for less income? Or is that simplifying it too much? Doesn’t leave much time to get an extra couple of players in if we are playing more games, so probably go with a slightly bigger squad in the hope we play more than the minimum. Pretty much - only other thing to consider is that in EC we'd actually have a half decent chance of reaching the playoff and thus getting another two games (taking us to the same total as if we were in EL). I'm not sure how we'd be seeded but we were pot 3 out of a possible 4 last time (there will be 6 pots this time), and would need to finish above at least 8 out of 36 teams in order to get a two leg playoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Just now, RustyRightPeg said: Nah just 36 teams, 6 pots of 6, play each other once. There's more to it than that but that's the gist. And the other 2 comps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Just now, Victorian said: The answer has already been provided on the thread. I was reluctant to help you out because of these "indicators" you seem to be seeing. EL. 36 teams. 4 draw pots. Every team faces 2 teams from each pot. ECL. 36 teams. 6 draw pots. Every team faces 1 team from each pot. So 4 pots of 9 then, which will explain where I got that from? And likewise for the CL? Conference is obviously different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRightPeg Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 2 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: And the other 2 comps? Yeah, that was just the Conference league as that's what we'll most likely be in. The others are slightly different in terms of seedings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Just now, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: So 4 pots of 9 then, which will explain where I got that from? And likewise for the CL? Conference is obviously different That certainly explains where you got the figure from. All comps are the same apart from the Conference having a 6 pot draw, resulting in 6 matches to play. 3 x 36 team league tables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 2 minutes ago, AGoodLaugh said: Pretty much - only other thing to consider is that in EC we'd actually have a half decent chance of reaching the playoff and thus getting another two games (taking us to the same total as if we were in EL). I'm not sure how we'd be seeded but we were pot 3 out of a possible 4 last time (there will be 6 pots this time), and would need to finish above at least 8 out of 36 teams in order to get a two leg playoff. I thought two years ago that the EC would suit us better, we could’ve got Arsenal if we had beaten Zurich, and we possibly need another term playing at that level before moving up to the EL. Exciting times whatever competition we are in though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 2 minutes ago, Victorian said: That certainly explains where you got the figure from. All comps are the same apart from the Conference having a 6 pot draw, resulting in 6 matches to play. 3 x 36 team league tables. There, thank you, nice when you can get to the bottom of things without the need to be rude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruyff Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 I'd prefer the Conference League tbh. Europa League would be playing sides like Fiorentina every other week. While it's great to see us play great sides, getting our arse handed to us in every game would take the sheen off it. At least in the conference we might get sides we can beat or get a point off and we'd get decent money. Need to walk before you can run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckies1874 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 (edited) 33 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said: Brilliant cheers. So we got more games, more money in EL, but more chance of winning games in EC to make up for less income? Or is that simplifying it too much? Doesn’t leave much time to get an extra couple of players in if we are playing more games, so probably go with a slightly bigger squad in the hope we play more than the minimum. No worries. I think that’s pretty reasonable yep. Assuming Aberdeen don’t win the Cup we are going to be guaranteed 8 European matches. This will rise to 10 if we win the Europa League qualifier or if we finish in the top 24 teams in the Conference League table. Clearly we are more likely to get a couple of results, at a minimum, in the Conference League so from a competitive point of view losing the EL qualifier not a disaster but of course the more high profile and prestigious is the Europa League. What we can say is that we are definitely going to face some elite opponents in both, it’s just how many, that is the question. The aim has to be playing European football in Jan/Feb 2025 which definitely happens if in the EL and should be the target if in the ECL. Edited April 15 by Luckies1874 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 2 minutes ago, Cruyff said: I'd prefer the Conference League tbh. Europa League would be playing sides like Fiorentina every other week. While it's great to see us play great sides, getting our arse handed to us in every game would take the sheen off it. At least in the conference we might get sides we can beat or get a point off and we'd get decent money. Need to walk before you can run. Got a feeling Naismith might adapt better than Neilson, but still rings true, unless the level of signing coming, is way beyond the ones already made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texaco Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 hour ago, martoon said: Everything a Jambo needs to know and a Hibby doesn't. How does the League Cup group thing work? 🤔 😜 Diddy teams do Diddy stuff for crumbs a bit like the bottom six works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmfc_liam06 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 8 minutes ago, Cruyff said: I'd prefer the Conference League tbh. Europa League would be playing sides like Fiorentina every other week. While it's great to see us play great sides, getting our arse handed to us in every game would take the sheen off it. At least in the conference we might get sides we can beat or get a point off and we'd get decent money. Need to walk before you can run. This is where I am. We need to think of the co-efficient as well. Scotland will be in danger of losing the Europa League playoff spot soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watt-Zeefuik Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Something that I don't think has been explained that I think I have right . . . In prior years there would be 4 pots of 8 teams in each level of the group stages. Each group would get one team from each pot. (And of course we drew the short straw and got Fiorentina from pot 2.) Next season there will still be pots of teams, but in the top two competitions there will still be 4 pots each. Every team will play 2 teams from each pot (including their own pot). One big advantage of this is that luck of the draw is diluted. Instead of getting two matches against Fiorentina, we might have still had one of them but the other one could have been FCSB, and likewise we might have gotten Baseksehir but also Slavia Prague or some such. (Also could have gotten West Ham. Never know.) I can't find a reference on it but my best understanding is that the conference league will have 3 pots of 12 teams each, with the same system. 12 minutes ago, Jambo dans les Pyrenees said: Thanks for this. Europa League could mean a min of GBP 4m even if we finish last in the league stage, plus 5 (4 plus one qualifier) home games bringing in at least another GBP 3m. It would be a fair objective for us to try to hit 24th from 36 and that’d be worth another GBP 2.5m (assuming 2 wins and 2 draws from 8 matches) Conference league numbers are about GBP 3m min even if we don’t qualify and finish last in the league stage, plus 4 home games bringing in another GBP 2.5m. If we finish 24th from 36 (which assumes a win and 2 draws from 6 games) then that’s an extra GBP 1m. So Europa Leauge is likely to net us GBP 7m min, but achievable GBP 10m Conference league is somewhere between GBP 5.5m min, achievable GBP 6.5, Massive fingers crossed for a decent Europe League qualifier draw. Either way it's absolutely world-altering money for a club our size. And IIRC, this still doesn't include the "TV pool" money that gets disbursed based on size of TV audience in each country, which added another £2-3m for us two years ago. If we can do this regularly, we can put an end to being out-bid for players by mid-table tier 2 English teams that routinely kick about in half-empty stadiums, which absolutely burns my bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watt-Zeefuik Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 11 minutes ago, Cruyff said: I'd prefer the Conference League tbh. Europa League would be playing sides like Fiorentina every other week. While it's great to see us play great sides, getting our arse handed to us in every game would take the sheen off it. At least in the conference we might get sides we can beat or get a point off and we'd get decent money. Need to walk before you can run. For now, yes. I do think we can grow into the competition, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruyff Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 7 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: Got a feeling Naismith might adapt better than Neilson, but still rings true, unless the level of signing coming, is way beyond the ones already made I think we need to kick on a bit in terms of quality if we are to be more competitive at that level tbh. Could barely string two passes together against Livi at the weekend. I don't think we want to be chasing Serie A, Bundesliga and EPL sides about in the Europa for 90 minutes just to keep the score respectable. Then we have to battle away on a Sunday against sides that are a bit fresher. Just now, hmfc_liam06 said: This is where I am. We need to think of the co-efficient as well. Scotland will be in danger of losing the Europa League playoff spot soon. Yep, of course. Not just that but there's club rankings as well and if we were to do reasonably well in the Conference, we could see ourselves being better seeded in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Of The Cat Cafe Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 (edited) 42 minutes ago, martoon said: Exactly. The entire "first team in Europe" thing is a mere footnote in the history of Scottish football. If that. Look at the fuss they make over it, though. Tinpot, indeed. 1 Edited April 15 by King Of The Cat Cafe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckies1874 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 3 minutes ago, Watt-Zeefuik said: Something that I don't think has been explained that I think I have right . . . In prior years there would be 4 pots of 8 teams in each level of the group stages. Each group would get one team from each pot. (And of course we drew the short straw and got Fiorentina from pot 2.) Next season there will still be pots of teams, but in the top two competitions there will still be 4 pots each. Every team will play 2 teams from each pot (including their own pot). One big advantage of this is that luck of the draw is diluted. Instead of getting two matches against Fiorentina, we might have still had one of them but the other one could have been FCSB, and likewise we might have gotten Baseksehir but also Slavia Prague or some such. (Also could have gotten West Ham. Never know.) I can't find a reference on it but my best understanding is that the conference league will have 3 pots of 12 teams each, with the same system. Either way it's absolutely world-altering money for a club our size. And IIRC, this still doesn't include the "TV pool" money that gets disbursed based on size of TV audience in each country, which added another £2-3m for us two years ago. If we can do this regularly, we can put an end to being out-bid for players by mid-table tier 2 English teams that routinely kick about in half-empty stadiums, which absolutely burns my bottom. You may be right but my understanding of the Conference League was that the 36 sides are in 6 pots and you play a home and away game against a team from Pots 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. Thus 6 games. My understanding is that currently Hearts would be in Pot 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971fozzy Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 3 hours ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said: So long as Aberdeen dont win the cup we are in Europa League final round qualifier, Win the qualifier Europa League group of 9, 4 home 4 away, lose the qualifier Conference League group of 9 4 home 4 away. Europe stretches into January 2025. just beautiful . The last year of guaranteed groups and (depending on the sheep) we will be in it. after that it’s all qualifiers until our co-efficient goes back up . We really want Celtic to beat them on Saturday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971fozzy Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 41 minutes ago, Cruyff said: I'd prefer the Conference League tbh. Europa League would be playing sides like Fiorentina every other week. While it's great to see us play great sides, getting our arse handed to us in every game would take the sheen off it. At least in the conference we might get sides we can beat or get a point off and we'd get decent money. Need to walk before you can run. Im on this train too. Maybe glass half empty but I don’t want to be playing teams that may well pump us and hit our confidence. Awful to say I know . The CL will give us better opportunities to get wins / draws and the money that goes with that. I’m sure it’s £500k a win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 41 minutes ago, Luckies1874 said: No worries. I think that’s pretty reasonable yep. Assuming Aberdeen don’t win the Cup we are going to be guaranteed 8 European matches. This will rise to 10 if we win the Europa League qualifier or if we finish in the top 24 teams in the Conference League table. Clearly we are more likely to get a couple of results, at a minimum, in the Conference League so from a competitive point of view losing the EL qualifier not a disaster but of course the more high profile and prestigious is the Europa League. What we can say is that we are definitely going to face some elite opponents in both, it’s just how many, that is the question. The aim has to be playing European football in Jan/Feb 2025 which definitely happens if in the EL and should be the target if in the ECL. Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 35 minutes ago, hmfc_liam06 said: This is where I am. We need to think of the co-efficient as well. Scotland will be in danger of losing the Europa League playoff spot soon. Strangely enough the coefficient gets better when the uglies are in the EL not get humped in the CL, think we were the only team to win a group game two years ago too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watt-Zeefuik Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 17 minutes ago, Luckies1874 said: You may be right but my understanding of the Conference League was that the 36 sides are in 6 pots and you play a home and away game against a team from Pots 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. Thus 6 games. My understanding is that currently Hearts would be in Pot 5. That does make more sense, thanks. 4 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said: just beautiful . The last year of guaranteed groups and (depending on the sheep) we will be in it. after that it’s all qualifiers until our co-efficient goes back up . We really want Celtic to beat them on Saturday An easy mistake to make, but incorrect. This is the distribution for the 2024-2025 Europa League. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_UEFA_Europa_League By dropping from #10 to #11, Scotland lost the guaranteed Champions League group stage. The cup winner (which often converts to the third place spot . . .) still gets Europa League playoff round status, which guarantees Conference League "league stages" (since there aren't groups anymore it's not the "group stage"). To lose the guaranteed EL playoff round for the cup winner/third place team, Scotland would have to be passed by two more associations, which can't happen this season, and no association is close yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971fozzy Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 minute ago, Watt-Zeefuik said: That does make more sense, thanks. An easy mistake to make, but incorrect. This is the distribution for the 2024-2025 Europa League. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_UEFA_Europa_League By dropping from #10 to #11, Scotland lost the guaranteed Champions League group stage. The cup winner (which often converts to the third place spot . . .) still gets Europa League playoff round status, which guarantees Conference League "league stages" (since there aren't groups anymore it's not the "group stage"). To lose the guaranteed EL playoff round for the cup winner/third place team, Scotland would have to be passed by two more associations, which can't happen this season, and no association is close yet. thank you. So 3rd effectively can get guaranteed groups season after next also (cup winners aside) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Munro Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 I really like the new format. One thing to think about though, we can't afford to get our arses handed to us every other week like last time. There's every chance that goal difference could determine if we make the top 24 and continue to the next round. Both ourselves and Aberdeen managed 6 points from our groups over the last 2 years. They had a GD of 0, we had -10, the worst of any 3rd placed team and worse than most of the bottom placed teams aswell. And comparing our performances against POAK (1-6 on agg for us, vs 4-5 for them) shows we didnt get any better this season. Aberdeen are a much worse team than us, we should be able to match them in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Munro Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 hour ago, 1971fozzy said: thank you. So 3rd effectively can get guaranteed groups season after next also (cup winners aside) We will have it next season but are very likely to lose it for the cup winners/3rd place team in 2026. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Berry Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 2 hours ago, martoon said: Exactly. The entire "first team in Europe" thing is a mere footnote in the history of Scottish football. If that. Look at the fuss they make over it, though. Tinpot, indeed. They have never played in the European Champion Clubs Cup as League Champions. We have. Twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooks Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 3 hours ago, Victorian said: They beat two modest clubs. The competition was very much in a proto state. Aberdeen knocked back the invitation to compete on the basis of their belief that playing under floodlights was unfair. Hibs got 2nd dibs because they had floodlights. Tinpot beginnings involving the kings of tinpot. We knocked it back too . We went on a tour of North America instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971fozzy Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 20 minutes ago, Bunny Munro said: We will have it next season but are very likely to lose it for the cup winners/3rd place team in 2026. That’s what I thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martoon Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 1 hour ago, Chuck Berry said: They have never played in the European Champion Clubs Cup as League Champions. We have. Twice. Aye. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour22 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 8 hours ago, Luckies1874 said: Not necessarily true as we are far less likely to get many results in the Europa League than we are in the Conference League as we saw with winning the 2 games v Riga. Yes an extra 2 games but could be 2 heavy defeats and means we have the workload of Thursday-Sunday. Tricky one as obviously higher profile. Money is changing for this now. Even this season europa league teams have made more without winning games due to the money involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Berry Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 3 hours ago, Sooks said: We knocked it back too . We went on a tour of North America instead We didn't, and tours happen during the close season anyway. First European Cup was during 1955-56 season, we were in South Africa in May/June 1954, and then Canada in May/June 1958. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watt-Zeefuik Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 5 hours ago, 1971fozzy said: thank you. So 3rd effectively can get guaranteed groups season after next also (cup winners aside) yes 4 hours ago, Bunny Munro said: We will have it next season but are very likely to lose it for the cup winners/3rd place team in 2026. I disagree, but it’s also in a measure in our own hands. The conference league means that the rest of Scotland’s European contingent needs to start bringing in more coefficient points. We got 4 two years ago, Aberdeen got 5, we need to aim for 6. McInnes has done okay in Europe in the past and any points from Killie would be gravy. Scotland is hurting because of a couple of absolutely terrible years by the OF but also no other teams are helping prop it up. We need to change that next season for our own good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooks Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 7 minutes ago, Chuck Berry said: We didn't, and tours happen during the close season anyway. First European Cup was during 1955-56 season, we were in South Africa in May/June 1954, and then Canada in May/June 1958. Genuinely surprised by this . I was told differently . I have had a look though and I can not see any mention of what I was told anywhere . I notice we finished above them in the table the season before , but back then it was not always about finishing position and their floodlights apparently swung it in their favour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Findlay Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 8 hours ago, Sooks said: Genuinely surprised by this . I was told differently . I have had a look though and I can not see any mention of what I was told anywhere . I notice we finished above them in the table the season before , but back then it was not always about finishing position and their floodlights apparently swung it in their favour No, their chairman being head honcho at the SFA, at the time, swung it in their favour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooks Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 24 minutes ago, John Findlay said: No, their chairman being head honcho at the SFA, at the time, swung it in their favour. It was my old man that told me about is turning it down as well , and he is generally pretty accurate with these things . Not like him to get something like this wrong . Happens to the best of us though I suppose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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