The Big Europa Conference League Adventure 2022-23

Lukerz

OldCastleSwift said:

Zouma is already looking off the pace. I'd give him one of the games off, but we literally have no available back-up. And we have a big league game on Sunday that I'd rather hold a couple of players back for, personally.

So let me re-word it; we have no real option to rotate any of the first eleven. Do we really need to risk most of our first eleven for a game against a team that in all reality a PL B-team should be able to beat?

I thought Zouma has looked ok first couple of games.

Fortuneseeker

OCS, I agree we should have the option to rest a few but transfers........Remember Astra Giurgiu we need to get to the Group Stages it might just attract a player who wants to play in Europe.

OldCastleSwift

Fortuneseeker said:

OCS, I agree we should have the option to rest a few but transfers........Remember Astra Giurgiu we need to get to the Group Stages it might just attract a player who wants to play in Europe.

Yeah, I do wonder if we've been waiting to see whether we qualify and then base the rest of our signings on that. Don't qualify > fewer games > reduced need to rest and rotate > fewer players needed.

Lukerz

We need to go strong in this. These games have always got potential for slip ups. Let’s not disrespect them. They’re also much more into their season than us. The last thing we need is to start the season with two defeats & then out the Europa Conference.

OldCastleSwift

Lukerz said:

We need to go strong in this. These games have always got potential for slip ups. Let’s not disrespect them. They’re also much more into their season than us. The last thing we need is to start the season with two defeats & then out the Europa Conference.

I agree that's what we should do, but going strong shouldn't necessarily mean playing your 'first eleven'. Having the squad depth to allow the rotation of players without a significant reduction in quality is key.

Unfortunately we don't have that for one reason or another, particularly at the back.

alderz

We should probably have an actual match thread for this so we know who starts (or doesn’t) the Brighton one

Fortuneseeker

KUMB reporting the away leg is being shown on Premier Sports for those who want to pay £9.99 for a monthly subscription.

Lukerz

Soooooooo

Areola
Coufal - Zouma - Kehrer - Johnson
Soucek - Downes
Bowen - Fornals - Benrahma
Antonio

Full strength, get the tie won.

Fortuneseeker

Lukerz, Surely full strength is playing Scamacca & possibly giving Cornet a run out but I agree we do need to get a decent lead for the return leg.

Lukerz

Fortuneseeker said:

Lukerz, Surely full strength is playing Scamacca & possibly giving Cornet a run out but I agree we do need to get a decent lead for the return leg.

I don’t have an issue with one of those starting, but wouldn’t put both in. It’s a play-off game for the group stages, not an experiment.

OldCastleSwift

Lukerz said:

Soooooooo

Areola
Coufal - Zouma - Kehrer - Johnson
Soucek - Downes
Bowen - Fornals - Benrahma
Antonio

Full strength, get the tie won.

That would probably mean eight of those playing again three days later in what is already an important league game. Personally, I think I'd trust Scamacca and Cornet enough to start them over Antonio and Bowen.

IronHerb

I'd start Scamacca over Antonio on Sunday anyway.

Yeoldhammer

Got to start Areola / Downes / Scamacca / Cornet. Get more match fitness and gel with the team.

IronHerb

We are the 8th ranked team left and are in Pot 1 for the Group Stage draw.

This seasons UEFA Conference League Prize Money : -

Participation: €100,000 ✅
Qualified to group stage: €2,940,000 ✅
Match won in group stage: €500,000
Match drawn in group stage: €166,000
Group Draw Pot: €0
1st in Group Stage: €650,000
Runner Up Group Stage: €325,000
Play Off Stage: €300,000
Round of 16: €600,000
Quarter-Final: €1,000,000
Semi-Final: €2,000,000
Runner-up: €3,000,000
Winner: €5,000,000

Coefficient Ranking payment: €44,000 per Coefficient ranking position: €1,100,000 ✅

Market Pool* €11,750,000 / Number of Associations in Group Stage x 100%: €419.642 ✅

Market Pool** (Group Stage) €4,700,000 / Number of Associations x 100%: €167,857 ✅

Market Pool** (Knockout Round) €1,760,000 / Number of Associations x 100% (Min €110,000)
Market Pool** (Round of 16) €2,350,000 / Number of Associations x 100% (Min €146,850)
Market Pool** (Round of 8) €1,530,000 / Number of Associations x 100% (Min €191,250)
Market Pool** (Semi Final Round) €940,000 / Number of Associations x 100% (Min €235,000)
Market Pool** (Final Round) €470,000 / Number of Associations x 100% (€235,000)

Running Total : €4,727,500 😎

Plus home attendances - 30,230

Slacker

All seems like peanuts when you think we’re spending 100 ml plus on transfers let alone the wages.
Mad world innit?

IronHerb

I'm guessing Liverpool / City / Chelsea have already qualified for around €60m by virtue of their ranking and CL Group Stage qualification.

MunichHammer

IronHerb said:

I'm guessing Liverpool / City / Chelsea have already qualified for around €60m by virtue of their ranking and CL Group Stage qualification.

True, but looking back at last season - would you have swapped our European run for participation in the group stages of the Champions League, going out of Europe with 5 defeats? We might have got three times the money but then again, money ain't everything.

BubblesNeverDies

Munich, it is when you don't have any.

IronHerb

MunichHammer said:

IronHerb said:

I'm guessing Liverpool / City / Chelsea have already qualified for around €60m by virtue of their ranking and CL Group Stage qualification.

True, but looking back at last season - would you have swapped our European run for participation in the group stages of the Champions League, going out of Europe with 5 defeats? We might have got three times the money but then again, money ain't everything.

Would you rather come 4th or 5th in the league?

Fortuneseeker

Fourth please.

OldCastleSwift

And the FA Cup too, please 👍

MunichHammer

In an ideal world I'd like to come 4th,of course. But I don't think we'd have had the same experience had we got into the CL.
After all the disruption over the past seasons this European cup run was exactly what the club needed. Something for everyone to get together and enjoy.
I don't think an early CL exit (and given the quality in that competition, I don't see us going far atm) would have had the same effect.
It would always have been a place reached because some other club had a bad season (you know how the press never give us credit) and defeats in the CL would have been called upon as proof how we just don't belong.

So retrospectively (and I know, hindsight is a lovely thing), I am happy we didn't get into the CL.

Slacker

Play some great football, turn over the big boys, don’t get involved in a relegation fight and win the FA cup.

yoyo

That would do nicely, I'd love some silverware

ASLEFshrugged

Draw 1:30pm (after the Europa League draw), it will be streamed live on the UEFA website

Pot 1

Villarreal (ESP)
Basel (SUI)
Slavia Praha (CZE)
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
Gent (BEL)
İstanbul Başakşehir (TUR)
Partizan (SRB)
West Ham (ENG)

Pot 2
CFR Cluj (ROU)
Molde (NOR)
FCSB (ROU)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Köln (GER)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR)
Apollon Limassol (CYP)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)

Pot 3
Nice (FRA)
Anderlecht (BEL)
Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU)
Austria Wien (AUT)
Hearts (SCO)
Shamrock Rovers (IRL)
Sivasspor (TUR)
Vaduz (LIE)

Pot 4
Dnipro-1 (UKR)
Lech Poznań (POL)
Slovácko (CZE)
Silkeborg (DEN)
Djurgården (SWE)
Pyunik (ARM)
RFS (LVA)
Ballkani (KOS)

IronHerb

Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Shamrock Rovers, Dnipro would be nice for progression..

Fiorentina, Anderlecht, Lech Poznan would be great to visit.

ValiantIron

This third tier ECL still has some well known European names in it, doesn't it?

I was looking at the results yesterday and saw some of the teams that were knocked out in the ECL qualifying round, e.g. Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Twente, CSKA Sofia, Maribor, Young Boys, Rapid Vienna! All names I recognise from European competition over the years.

PrestonHammer

Didn't Hearts get knocked out?

IronHerb

PrestonHammer said:

Didn't Hearts get knocked out?

No. They lost their Europa League Play Off tie so drop onto the Conference Group Stage.

ASLEFshrugged

IronHerb said:

Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Shamrock Rovers, Dnipro would be nice for progression..

Fiorentina, Anderlecht, Lech Poznan would be great to visit.

The Yossi Benayoun, Joey O'Brien and Jan Lastuvka derbies

Or

The Valon Behrami, Francois Van der Elst and Łukasz Fabianski derbies