ICT in Europe

[Alex MacLeod]

Thanks for clarifying everything with your succinct post.

Its just what happens when suffering post season blues

[Laurence]

Could ICT meet West Ham United ?   Teams below

Full entries
First qualifying round
West Ham United FC (ENG)*
FC Sheriff (MDA)
Rosenborg BK (NOR)
IF Elfsborg (SWE)
HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)
Apollon Limassol FC (CYP)
AC Omonia (CYP)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
AIK Solna (SWE)
Neftçi PFK (AZE)
WKS Śląsk Wrocław (POL)
MŠK Žilina (SVK)
FC Aktobe (KAZ)
Go Ahead Eagles (NED)*
FK Crvena zvezda (SRB)
Debreceni VSC (HUN)
Brøndby IF (DEN)
FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR)
FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)
PFC Litex Lovech (BUL)
FK Vojvodina (SRB)
FC Spartak Trnava (SVK)
FH Hafnarfjördur (ISL)
Saint Johnstone FC (SCO)
FK Željezničar (BIH)
Randers FC (DEN)
Strømsgodset IF (NOR)
KR Reykjavík (ISL)
Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)
FC Botoşani (ROU)
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
F91 Dudelange (LUX)
İnter Bakı PİK (AZE)
Linfield FC (NIR)
PFC Beroe Stara Zagora (BUL)
Valletta FC (MLT)
FC Differdange 03 (LUX)
FK Rabotnicki (MKD)
FC Torpedo Zhodino (BLR)
Aberdeen FC (SCO)
FC Dacia Chisinau (MDA)
NK Koper (SVN)
Saint Patrick's Athletic FC (IRL)
Beitar Jerusalem FC (ISL)
HŠK Zrinjski (CRO)
HB Tórshavn (FRO)
FK Budućnost Podgorica (MNE)
Birkirkara FC (MLT)
NK Domžale (SVN)
FC Vaduz (LIE)
FK Čukarički (SRB)
NK Celje (SVN)
Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)
Nõmme Kalju FC (EST)
FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
FK Sutjeska (MNE)
Skonto FC (LVA)
Víkingur (FRO)
KF Renova (MNE)
Odds BK (NOR)
FK Kukësi (ALB)
Qäbälä FK (AZE)
KF Shkëndija (MKD)
FC Kairat Almaty (KAZ)
FC Ordabasy Shymkent (KAZ)
MTK Budapest (HUN)
FC Shirak (ARM)
FK Mladost Podgorica (MNE)
KF Laçi (ALB)
Ulisses FC (ARM)
FC Saxan (MDA)
Glentoran FC (NIR)
VPS Vaasa (FIN)
FC Dinamo Batumi (GEO)
Tskhinvali (GEO)
JK Sillamäe Kalev (EST)
FC Lusitans (AND)
SJK Seinäjoki (FIN)
FC Lahti (FIN)
Víkingur Reykjavík (ISL)
FK Jelgava (LVA)
FK Olimpic Sarajevo (BIH)
NSÍ Runavík (FRO)
UE Sant Julià (AND)
FK Atlantas Klaipėda (LTU)
Glenavon FC (NIR)
Cork City FC (IRL)
University College Dublin AFC (IRL)*
FK Kruoja Pakruojis (LTU)
SP La Fiorita (SMR)
AUK Broughton FC (WAL)
FK Partizani (ALB)
FC Progrès Niederkorn (LUX)
FK Trakai (LTU)
FK Spartaks Jūrmala (LVA)
Balzan FC (MLT)
Bala Town FC (WAL)
AC Juvenes/Dogana (SMR)
Newtown AFC (WAL)
Alashkert FC (ARM)
College Europa FC (GIB)

*Respect Fair Play entrants

Second qualifying round
FC København (DEN)
PAOK FC (GRE)
Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR)
Legia Warszawa (POL)
HNK Rijeka (CRO)
FC Thun (SUI)
FC Astra Giurgiu (ROU)
FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE)
R. Charleroi SC (BEL)
IFK Göteborg (SWE)
Wolfsburger AC (AUT)
Hapoel Beer Sheva FC (ISR)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (SCO)
PFC Cherno More Varna (BUL)
51 first qualifying round winners tbc

[Laurence]

...why don't they just say "richest wins" and save the bother of playing the tournament? This cr@p drives me mad - all a stitch up to try to manufacture the desired outcome for the sponsors (e.g. Barca v Chelsea in CL). The same is true in the World Cup: of course, we all love to watch Brazil v Germany......but not every tournament! You'll note how slowly these numbers change to reflect performane: English clubs have had a pretty poor laast couple of years, but it's OK because they still rest on previous laurels and the country coefficient, so they retain the 4 CL places. P!sh.

The top 4 teams in England have got to be in the Champions league. No question about that

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United , Manchester City, Could give any team in the world a good game.

[+DoofersDad]

...why don't they just say "richest wins" and save the bother of playing the tournament? This cr@p drives me mad - all a stitch up to try to manufacture the desired outcome for the sponsors (e.g. Barca v Chelsea in CL). The same is true in the World Cup: of course, we all love to watch Brazil v Germany......but not every tournament! You'll note how slowly these numbers change to reflect performane: English clubs have had a pretty poor laast couple of years, but it's OK because they still rest on previous laurels and the country coefficient, so they retain the 4 CL places. P!sh.

The top 4 teams in England have got to be in the Champions league. No question about that

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United , Manchester City, Could give any team in the world a good game.

Of course there should be a question.  If they don't progress as well as teams from nations who have less places, why on earth should they continue to have four places?  Teams should be there on merit.

The real scandal to me is the way that failure in the Champions League system get a 2nd bite of the cherry in the Europa League. 

[Renegade]

...why don't they just say "richest wins" and save the bother of playing the tournament? This cr@p drives me mad - all a stitch up to try to manufacture the desired outcome for the sponsors (e.g. Barca v Chelsea in CL). The same is true in the World Cup: of course, we all love to watch Brazil v Germany......but not every tournament! You'll note how slowly these numbers change to reflect performane: English clubs have had a pretty poor laast couple of years, but it's OK because they still rest on previous laurels and the country coefficient, so they retain the 4 CL places. P!sh.

The top 4 teams in England have got to be in the Champions league. No question about that

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United , Manchester City, Could give any team in the world a good game.

Of course there should be a question.  If they don't progress as well as teams from nations who have less places, why on earth should they continue to have four places?  Teams should be there on merit.

The real scandal to me is the way that failure in the Champions League system get a 2nd bite of the cherry in the Europa League. 

The name of the tournament is the 'Champions' League.  Arsenal haven't won the English Premier League for about a decade.  A couple of years back, Spurs were in it.  They haven't won it since the 1960s!  Hardly 'champions' to take part in the Champions League.  Seems awfully unfair as well that a team in one country wins their league and have to go through a couple of qualifying rounds while another can finish 4th...4th! and get straight in.

If Uefa want to include these teams, they should really look at expanding the Europa League or even bringing back the Cup Winners Cup.

[Kingsmills]

The Champions League is much more about making even more money for the wealthiest clubs and much less about fairness and sporting merit.

The European Cup,where the league champions of each of the European nations competed against one another on merit and on an equal footing was an inspired post war idea and served the continent well until the accountants started running the game.

The view that ' Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City could give any team in the world a good game' is an utter irrelevance. 

[Laurence]

Look  chaps the English clubs are there on merit

The problem they have is that their schedule is much harder than any other league

They have to have huge squads to compete on several fronts. With nail biting games in every competition.

So if they don't quite do as well some years as others with less demanding schedules then it is churlish in the extreme to suggest they have too many places in Europe

We are talking about some of the best football teams in the world.

 

[Renegade]

Whether they're some of the best teams in the world or not is neither here nor there, they're not 'champions'.

Next you'll be telling us the English Premier League is the greatest league in the world... 

[CaleyD]

IMO, the Champions League has done more to damage world (not just European) football than anything else.  It's almost solely responsible for the ridiculous levels of money that gets paid to players at the selected "Top Clubs", whilst the rest of the footballing world is left to feed off the scraps.  There was very little merit in England acquiring the number of positions they did in the beginning and the co-efficient and allocation of places is engineered to ensure that they maintain that privilege.

It's a competition that is run purely for profit...much like the English Premier League these days....and as is, and probably always will be, the case, people buy into the marketing and hype. It's a scenario that only serves to syphon an even larger portion of the money towards the chosen few who were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when it all kicked off.

It's unlikely to ever change as those with the money are the ones who call the shots and there's not a hope in hell they will ever vote to give that up....so Que Sera

[The Mantis]

Could ICT meet West Ham United ?   Teams below

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zzzzzzzzz

Laurence, try reading the previous 7 pages first ?

[Scotty]

Had this very discussion with friends over here recently. I dont watch the Champions League religiously like some folk. I may cherry pick the odd game here or there if the teams interest me, but when you step back and view it for what it is - a pure money-making machine for the elite clubs of a handful of countries - it kind of loses its shine. I think it should be renamed the 'Pigs at the Trough Trophy' or the 'Blatter Bowl' (where everyone is a winner). 

As a supporter of football rather than filthy lucre, I would go back to the scenario where the "champions" league required you to actually be champions of your country. If UEFA want multiple teams from one country then I might stretch it a little and allow cup winners into the competition as they too could be called 'champions' of a competition in their country, but not this ridiculous situation where you can finish 3rd or 4th in your league and go straight to the group stages whereas a true champion of a "lesser" country is forced to play 3 or 4 qualifying rounds to get that far. its not fair, its skewed against smaller nations has nothing to do with sporting achievement but everything to do with money, power and sponsorship.

never going to happen though so I guess we just get on with it. I look forward to the day when ICT and TFC playoff in the Club World Cup !!! 

   

 

[Sneckboy]

Talking of world football, Scotty, I see Canada safely negotiated their opening World Cup 2018 qualifier (6-0 aggregate v Dominica) to progress to the next phase The 2nd leg was in Toronto, too, I note!

I'd expect them to overcome their next opponents, later this year, to qualify for next year's group stage - before perhaps in 2017 trying to qualify for the actual World Cup in the 'Hex'....as it's known over there!

[Scotty]

Talking of world football, Scotty, I see Canada safely negotiated their opening World Cup 2018 qualifier (6-0 aggregate v Dominica) to progress to the next phase The 2nd leg was in Toronto, too, I note!

I'd expect them to overcome their next opponents, later this year, to qualify for next year's group stage - before perhaps in 2017 trying to qualify for the actual World Cup in the 'Hex'....as it's known over there!

indeed .... TFC's ground - BMO Field - is officially the 'national stadium' but I haven't been to a Canada game there yet as I pretty much gave up on intenrational football during the Vogts and Levein eras. Have a few friends who are part of the 'voyageurs' supporters group and who go to most games. I keep getting asked to go along but despite now being an official citizen of Canada the timing just hasn't worked out for me ... and if I am honest, I would find it hard to cheer for anyone other than the dark blue in an international game !

 

   

[+Feb82000]

what tv channel is the draw on Monday is it morning or afternoon

[TheKarl]

Jesus christ, this has turned into the most morbid thread on here.. which should probably be one of the most exciting.

 

I'll not bother going to Europe to support my club.. it's just killing them anyway.

 

Aye.

[CaleyD]

Jesus christ, this has turned into the most morbid thread on here.. which should probably be one of the most exciting.

 

I'll not bother going to Europe to support my club.. it's just killing them anyway.

 

Aye.

We're not in the Champions League.....yet!!

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

This is worse than the transfer window debate. Thank feck the final feckin answer is on the feckin horizon.

[CaleyD]

what tv channel is the draw on Monday is it morning or afternoon

Only place I know that's showing it is the Uefa website 

[Laurence]

Whether they're some of the best teams in the world or not is neither here nor there, they're not 'champions'.

Next you'll be telling us the English Premier League is the greatest league in the world... 

Not saying it is the greatest it is surely the hardest a blind man on a galloping horse can see that

[Laurence]

Could ICT meet West Ham United ?   Teams below

......................

 

zzzzzzzzz

Laurence, try reading the previous 7 pages first ?

I work to hard to read all the pages on this  web platform , some of us have work to do

[Renegade]

Whether they're some of the best teams in the world or not is neither here nor there, they're not 'champions'.

Next you'll be telling us the English Premier League is the greatest league in the world... 

Not saying it is the greatest it is surely the hardest a blind man on a galloping horse can see that

Rubbish.

[davieB]

They should just start the Champions League at the quarter final stage cos it's near enough the same teams every year.

The Europa is where it's at!

[Alex MacLeod]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't this thread titled ICT in Europe. I dont think the opening poster intended it to be a debate on the merits of English clubs Laurence. If you want a debate on such then please start it in Other Football.

[Sneckboy]

This time tomorrow, all the speculation will finally be over!

The Champions League draw comes first at 11am (UK time), followed by the Europa League 1st Qualifying Round at 12-noon.

Our 2nd Qualifying Round should be at 1.30pm. Thanks to PerthICT for clarifying my earlier error where I was 'an hour out' in trying to convert GMT/BST to CET/CEST.

Am unable to watch it live on UEFA, where it will no doubt be a long and drawn-out affair, but look forward to discovering our opponents, hopefully before 2pm!

 

[Iain]

Hope we draw a team that enters from the second qualifying round. Otherwise we will find out who we are playing on the 9th with a game on the 16th!