Europa Conference League 23/24

[Made In Aston]

I think it is ridiculous not to have a thread for the current Europa Conference League campaign... So here it is! 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

I'm sure we do have a thread somewhere mate? 

[LondonLax]

All 4 teams on the same points and same goal difference.

All to play for in the next 4 matches.

Still have the two best teams at home to come so am pretty confident of topping the group (as we should with our financial advantage). 

Edited October 6, 2023 by LondonLax

[Made In Aston]

If anyone thought that we were just going to stream through this tournament, then I think the first two games of our group are a reality check. 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

3 minutes ago, Made In Aston said:

If anyone thought that we were just going to stream through this tournament, then I think the first two games of our group are a reality check. 

Even in Ollie's interview today, he said he thinks people underestimate how difficult these games can be.

About Mostar having 10 men behind the ball etc 

People aslo seem to think it's FIFA ratings and book value which always ultimately decides how a game will go.

[alreadyexists]

2 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Even in Ollie's interview today, he said he thinks people underestimate how difficult these games can be.

About Mostar having 10 men behind the ball etc 

People aslo seem to think it's FIFA ratings and book value which always ultimately decides how a game will go.

Yeah exactly, Zrinjski were Champions of their league last year, and you don’t win any league by giving up easy, even if the league is poor

[Made In Aston]

3 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Even in Ollie's interview today, he said he thinks people underestimate how difficult these games can be.

About Mostar having 10 men behind the ball etc 

People aslo seem to think it's FIFA ratings and book value which always ultimately decides how a game will go.

Even with all the money PSG and Man City have they have both struggled to win the CL. It doesn't guarantee success as football can be very random. 

[WallisFrizz]

Sounds like it all cracked off last night in Alkmaar. Loads of trouble, police knocked unconscious, 2 Warsaw players arrested for violence after they were locked in the stadium. the Warsaw owner assaulted by local police. Alkmaar have still got to go back to Warsaw tho so that should be fun.

[WallisFrizz]

 

[John]

23 minutes ago, Made In Aston said:

If anyone thought that we were just going to stream through this tournament, then I think the first two games of our group are a reality check. 

Agreed, but the bookies seem to be the ones that are thinking it most. Coral have narrowed our odds from 4/1 to 7/2 to lift the trophy now and they are always right aren't they? 

[John]

2 minutes ago, WallisFrizz said:

Sounds like it all cracked off last night in Alkmaar. Loads of trouble, police knocked unconscious, 2 Warsaw players arrested for violence after they were locked in the stadium. the Warsaw owner assaulted by local police. Alkmaar have still got to go back to Warsaw tho so that should be fun.

You just know if that was us, there would be widespread calls to have us thrown out of the cup (like there were in 1982). I suggest a points deduction, starting with their next home game in the cup. 

[Lichfield Dean]

Quote

Leading up to the match, agreements between the Dutch police, the police of Warsaw and Legia were made about how Legia supporters could attend the game. Due to the festivities in the Alkmaar city centre in celebration of the 450^th anniversary of the Siege of Alkmaar, it was not possible to receive visiting fans in the city. It was agreed beforehand that the visiting fans could exchange a voucher issued in Poland at ADO Den Haag’s stadium for the match. These agreements were also confirmed in writing by all parties. During the security meeting with UEFA on the eve of the match, it became clear that Legia Warsaw was not adhering to these agreements. Only a limited number of visiting supporters made use of this arrangement, while the rest of the visitors independently made their way to the stadium in Alkmaar. As a result, the mayor of Alkmaar designated the area around Alkmaar station and the stadium of AZ as a safety risk zone in the afternoon.

From https://www.alkmaar.nl/pers/statement-match-az-alkmaar-legia-warsaw-english-version/

Can't say that I understand this fully but it sounds like Alkmaar didn't want any LW fans in the city at all because some other festival was happening. No idea what all that voucher stuff was about.

And it sounds a bit like AZ locked the LW team in at the end and wouldn't let them out until all the fans had left, and I'm guessing that sparked off the confrontations with the players.

Were AZ being far too heavy handed?

Edited October 6, 2023 by Lichfield Dean

[WallisFrizz]

34 minutes ago, Lichfield Dean said:

No idea what all that voucher stuff was about.

Suggestion on Twitter that the Polish fans were told to collect their match tickets from a stadium 3 hours away. I think they’ve used this festival thing as an excuse to keep the Warsaw fans away. If it was going to be that much of a problem you think they’d have told UEFA in advance not to give them a home game on that date.

[The Fun Factory]

Amazed AZ isn't playing behind closed days after last season's shenanigans with West Ham. For those who are going, be careful.

[MrBlack]

I read the AZ statement...and I don't believe most of it.

The token exchange thing is a farce, and if Legia agreed to it beforehand they're as much to blame. Uefa also largely at fault for not scheduling the match differently.

Closed doors matches in store for both clubs I suspect. 

[JoshVilla]

This competition is like any other cup competition for us. It doesn't matter what league you're in, or your standing in that league. Anything can happen on any given day and it all comes down to who wants it more. With us being one of the favourites to win the thing, we'll probably see a lot of teams set up like Mostar did yesterday, especially at Villa Park. You could see exactly what their gameplan was. No press at all, just stick everyone behind the ball, be resolute in defence and try to make the most of any breakaway that they can get. They did have a couple of moments where they almost caught us out, and it goes to show that it's still a tough competition to win. It may be sneered at as a third tier European Cup, but it's worth winning.

[stewiek2]

I just came on to post regards the Alkmaar game last night. West Ham are still pissed at their game against them and the lack of UEFA action.

Last night sounds mad, please let's make sure our fans are protected and also don't rise to provocation when we play them away...

Even if agreement was made are they tha stupid that away fans aren't going to make the trip!? Not allowing away fans due to a clash with festival is piss poor. It's saying "sorry we can't control our fans so we'll ban yours"!?

[tinker]

For me it's a unwelcome distraction.......... The team that's challenging the top 6 in the PL gets dragged all over the far reaches of Europe to play in Cup finals in every team they face, and that's what's happening  to us.

The whole competition is a nightmare for a small squad like ours .IMHO. 

[bannedfromHandV]

None of them are mugs, Zrinsjki are champions of Bosnia, Legia are second in the polish league currently and likewise AZ in the Eredivisie (unbeaten too), it won’t be a walkover as has already been proved. We’ll need to be much better than we have been thus far to go and beat AZ away.

[est1874]

Typical of our luck.

One of the worst West Ham teams of recent years walks the competition against largely dross, then overnight it becomes filled with decent teams just in time for our arrival, and we get drawn in a group we might not even get out of.