Well... looking at how Wolfsburg and Gladbach perform recently I actually think Heidenheim is more competitive in the ECL than those two would be
UEFA Conference League 2024/25
- Thread starter top1whoisman
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Yeah but it’s also about perception.Well... looking at how Wolfsburg and Gladbach perform recently I actually think Heidenheim is more competitive in the ECL than those two would be
Fantastic from Shamrock Rovers, draw away to Rapid Wien who had a 100% record. Almost guaranteed a playoff with a slight chance of making the top 8. Could be celebrations in Stamford Bridge in a few weeks
Saw highlights of Paul Wanner against Chelsea, had a couple of really good chances (one was an exceptional save from Jorgensen) but overall was impressive. Stagnated this season after a great start but hopefully can still develop (and decide to play for Germany as well )
)Chelsea are about to kick off in Kazakhstan after a 7 hour long flight. Temperature there is currently -11 degrees.
Seems like us when we last played in that part of the world, you've just sent an entire squad of players that aren't going to get a kick at the weekend.
I miss those European nights away in Spartak Moscow or something with snow on the edges of the pitch.
Guiu scored.
"Europa"
Dewsbury Hall out here playing in -10
He's living the life at Chelsea
He's living the life at Chelsea
Dewsbury Hall out here playing in -10
He's living the life at Chelsea
And he’s the worst Chelsea player on the pitch. The Chelsea youth making their pro debuts look better and more composed than him.
I miss those European nights away in Spartak Moscow or something with snow on the edges of the pitch.
The pitch literally looks frozen
I do like these kind of games though, vs unique opponents like this.
The last English team Astana played was Ole's Man United.
Chelsea are going to walk this Mickey Mouse cup
Watching these 17 and 18 year olds make the debuts, it puts into stark perspective what an absolute freak Yamal was at 16 years old.
Tromso away with the orange ball. Vibes.
Shamrock Rovers currently 3-0 up which puts them 6th in the table. A good achievement for an Irish club.
They won and are now through to the knockout stages
Fiorentina might stop them, they are having a great season in Serie A and look like a seriously good team, they are also more likely to take winning this seriously.
Once we reach those stages, the players that have been excluded from the group stage will be available.
Fiorentina lost a final to West Ham at the death(a final they dominated at that) and then another at the end of ET(when penalties looked nailed on) to Olympiakos
They are not beating Chelsea
This Fiorentina team is better than in recent seasons and as you rightly say they deserved to win the final against West Ham comfortably. I am not saying they will win it but they are one of the few teams left in the competition that are capable of stopping Chelsea, particularly if Chelsea remain serious contenders for the PL title and feel like they have bigger fish to fry.
Yeah, but they won a penalty shootout with David de Gea in goal to get into the competition, so the normal rules of football obviously don't apply.
Just realized that the Conference League has only 6 match days. Any idea why? It has the same amount of teams (36) as the Champions League and Euro League.
Will be a tough task to hold on to a top 8 finish with Chelsea away as their final game, but that's a great achievement.
It's fun to see these more obscure names qualify. Shout out to Jagiellonia Bialystok, Pafos, and Olimpija Ljubljana, all into the knockout phase playoff round too. Vikingur Rekjavik and Borac Banja Luka so close to it despite losses.
Yep, only them and possibly Betis could stop Chelsea from winning this on paper.
La Viola will be motivated to win this competition after two back to back final losses. This Fiorentina team is much better than last year and they’re having a great season in Serie A so far. Amazing keeper, too
Let's not forget it's Fiore, they always have been quite Spursy
Víkingur's season finished almost two months ago and here they are with a good shot of qualifying. A loss could even do it but I think they can get a result against LASK seeing that LASK are already knocked out.
Shamrock Rovers have had a great moment here with their goal but they are playing self-destruction football at the back. Unbelievable amount of errors so far.
Yup they'll probably lose 4-1 but fair play to them for trying to play football even if its a little foolhardy.
4-1 it is. Guiu hatrick.
I might have predicted a little too low.
Just catching up with all this.
Mart Poom's son on the scoresheet for Shamrock Rovers is a nice little story.
TSC (Serbia) and Celje (Slovenia) scraping through. I love it that I have to look these teams up, fun to me for some reason.
TSC 1-3 down at home to Noah, coming back to win 4-3. Celje similar, 1-2 down at home to The New Saints, winning 3-2 in the end. Must have been epic for their players and fans.
Well done to all the other more obscure teams to go through. Vikingur, Pafos etc.
Mart Poom's son on the scoresheet for Shamrock Rovers is a nice little story.
TSC (Serbia) and Celje (Slovenia) scraping through. I love it that I have to look these teams up, fun to me for some reason.
TSC 1-3 down at home to Noah, coming back to win 4-3. Celje similar, 1-2 down at home to The New Saints, winning 3-2 in the end. Must have been epic for their players and fans.
Well done to all the other more obscure teams to go through. Vikingur, Pafos etc.
Whats the point of this competition? Bar 3 or 4 sides it looks weaker than the johnstones paint trophy.
Hard to answer that one! I mean what's the point of any competition that isn't the best vs the best if we're going there. Scrap the Johnstone's paint trophy, the football pyramid below a certain level, entire league systems in smaller countries?
I think it's a fun idea. Gives some of these teams the chance of a great experience by having a real European run. The travel, the novelty of facing new opponents that they'd have never faced before, matches feeling huge for them and their supporters.
It's like how playing in Europe must have felt at the start even for clubs like United, a real adventure.
Is it box office stuff for the neutrals or fans of big teams? No. Is it a bit rubbish that it's almost certainly going to be dominated by teams from certain countries as long it exists? Yes. Would arguably be better if they weren't in it, although on the other hand when do some of these clubs get to play someone as high profile as Chelsea? Biggest match in some club's history to face them, even if it's the B team.
It gave West Ham and Roma a trophy who don't win much, a nice moment for them. Olympiacos last season was a bit of an outsider I suppose but they're still a lot bigger than many of the teams participating.
The financials must be great for the minnow teams too. Just hope it doesn't mean they absolutely start annhilating their domestic leagues as a result.
I like the overall spirit or vibe of it.
Really impressed with maresca making these kids play well organised. We are getting there with very good very young squad developing into well oiled machine. Attacking patterns and defending as a unit well drilled into entire squad.
A major benefit of the Conference League, was that it made the Europa League less bloated right?
Previously, lot of teams were having to play in 4-6 qualification matches just to get into the group stage, after which there was a full round of 32.
Previously, lot of teams were having to play in 4-6 qualification matches just to get into the group stage, after which there was a full round of 32.
The tournament is fine. A lot of these clubs are having European moments and that will help the clubs grow financially too.
Exactly, don't understand the criticism of the tournament. What's happening at Shamrock Rovers is a good example. They'd never have these type of moments otherwise
This. A lot of the clubs aren’t the traditional ‘big’ club from a small league either so it helps to bridge the gap domestically.
For example, in Slovenia, Maribor have been able to reach the champions league a couple of times when they had a very kind draw, which is a huge financial advantage. 2nd or 3rd place teams couldn’t really get near Europe. Now you have Olimpija and Celje gaining European experience, and it’s noticeable how much easier it is for these teams to keep their best young players, making the league far more competitive.