tarapoa

"Thanks for the add" No need.....

From AFC's perspective we played three times in QR1 over the last three seasons.. 14/15 - Daugava Riga were the worst side I've ever seen - but I reckon the 180 minutes of competitive fitba helped us beat Groningen, and then we were competitive enough against Sociedad. Two seasons back, it was Shkendija of Macedonia at that stage. Not sure if we underestimated them (and I notice they've been ripping up these early rounds since), but we were very lucky to go through that one due to an away goal.......as they bossed they last half hour in the second leg at Pittodrie and should have taken at least one of their chances. Again, though we were much better in the next two rounds, beating Rijeka in their fortress (where Sevilla, Lyon and Feyenoord couldn't) and having a close tie with the rich Kazakhs, Kairat. Last year, we were dreadful ourselves in Luxembourg against Fola Esch, but did enough at Pittodrie in the first leg to squeeze through. It was the worst I'd seen us under McInnes over in the very stadium where Sevco lost, but then in the next round, we beat the seeded Ventspils comfortably - and really should have beaten Maribor, but for missed chances in both matches, including Rooney's first ever penalty miss and a scandalous referee. Conclusion - from the evidence I have seen in the past three seasons - it's the fact our very first competitive match is a European tie seems to be extremely dangerous for Scots clubs, and for that reason the Siroki Brijeg tie coming up worries me more than it would if it was in September like the good old days. Maybe it's the fact we need to play at pace and tempo to have any chance against technically better opponents - if the players are breathing out of their erses in the heat of the summer, they will be incohesive and error-prone - with the outcome that the whole thing is over before it starts. I'm a traditionalist and against a complete summer season - but some kind of hybrid compromise may be possible, with two shorter breaks, and matches timed so that the first European ties are on the back of at least four domestic matches.

Hmmmm

Barry Fergushun, in his column, has written that the 'expectations' of Sevco will be night and day from what Ryan Jack experienced at AFC. Fair comment or otherwise?

Record's link to the story no longer works.

Agree that the paper in question is not shy about making stuff up and should have at least verified such a match took place - but then you have to wonder what kind of hallucinogenic drugs Joe Miller is on to feed them that in the first place.

AFC Heritage site keeps a good record of these things - mentions Shelbourne and Dundalk matches, but nothing in N.Ireland around that period. http://afcheritage.org/matches/cups/index.cfm?season=1999-00&competition=Friendly&squad=Senior

I did read that Joe Miller article - and thinking I was anorakish enough to even remember vague enough details of the whereabouts of most of our pre-season friendly tours from about the past 25 years - I just couldn't recall Linfield. I think we did play a few matches in Ireland (NI and ROI) in that era - losing to Dundalk who had John Hewitt as their manager at the time was certainly one. I suspect there was something in what Miller was saying, but (i) it was not Linfield we played (ii) he completely exaggerated his tale. It's a grim indictment of the tabloid press these days that they don't allow facts to get in the way of a story - and it's a shame that Scottish clubs are not as good as Linfield clearly are in knocking them quickly into their place.

Sounds like he's like he's had a bit of the uselessjockitis in that league......

Interesting to see the 'loophole' that will be applied to ensure this funding has no implications whatsoever for the Barnett Formula.

Long-term planning is one thing - having Europa qualifiers looming in a couple of weeks with a threadbare squad is another. Anyway, what's the point of youth systems and long-term planning, when players developed from the age of 8 into club captain sod off to Ibrox for nothing as soon as they're old enough to do so.....

But we've got Dave Cormack - another million in the bank fairly irrelevant compared to the meltdown if the club actually did this......

Not sure where you're coming from with that one. I suspect it will be Ordabasy. Currently 3rd in Kazakh league, which is in mid-season and improving each season with a lot of finance behind it. They are 2pts behind Kairat who knocked us out a couple of seasons back - and have pumped Astana (recent CL qualifiers) 3-0 already. Given that will our first 180 minutes of the season with a "transitional" team against one at full match fitness, I am not expecting "no problems".

Nearby Mostar (or even Split - couple of hours) would be the place to pitch up if we played Siroki Brijeg - as I recall stopping there once, and it was a nothing place. I reckon Ordabasy are winning that tie though.

Last year UEFA had published the sub-groups for QR2 by now.....

Great seethe from this Sunderland fan.

......but then whinge about the lack of domestic competition when you're papped out of the Champions League

I see your point. Given you've had a season of Sinclair and Roberts, getting Hayes cannot be that exciting. He is better than Forrest though. I'm struggling to see what's in this for Celtic - as not sure he'd fit the bill of taking you to the "next level" you want for CL fitba. For that, you'd need someone that won't f**k up the final ball in a manner that Jonny did in the cup final when he was bearing in on goal with McLean standing in space equivalent to the Gobi Desert waiting for a tap in. Christie's a cracking player, but needs regular football - if the outcome for AFC at the end of this is 7-figures worth of dosh for a 30 year old, and Ryan Christie in our squad for next season - then I will certainly live with that (as much as Jonny will be a huge miss for us).

I heard that interview on Radio Scotland too. Was actually discussing Neil's comments on waiting for another English job with the ex-Dons player that works with me, and his response was something along the lines of "...and I'd like a blowjob from Megan Fox" (...he then informed me he thought Alan Archibald would be a shoe-in)

My eyes bleed every time I watch us play St Johnstone. It's effective at times as they're definitely a sticky opponent for any of the bigger clubs. However, one thing McInnes has improved season by season is how to break down the majority of sides that sit in with everyone behind the ball, especially at Pittodrie. I'd fear Wright would take us back to Craig Brown days in this respect - organised, but loads of dire matches. As for the Scottish Cup win and our need to achieve that. I'd agree, but this season's team would likely have won it in any of the recent seasons when someone else kindly knocked out Celtic - including us in the season St Johnstone won it. McInnes' report card in leagues, cups, Europe, signings, handling the media and in showing general improvements is all good.........it's worrying that in Scottish football, that will inevitably lead to the whole thing being picked apart by either the weegie uglies or rich English clubs. Really hoping we keep our manager, but the one guy I think could sustain us to an extent would be Alex Neil.

Let me educate you on their recent home record.

Dons have been unseeded in QR2 the last two seasons, and won each time. Of the three sides we knocked out at that stage - I could see this Sevco squad taking care of Ventspils, but not Groningen or Rijeka. Good to see Sevconians retain their sense of entitlement and assumption that some lavish budget is about to thrown their way to produce an all-conquering Euro team - even if some big wages are thrown at them (a la Barton, Garner, Senderos, Kranjcar etc), having them up to speed for these early rounds is a tall order.

I was all for this one - but I'm worried that I'll completely forget to go and download it again for the 17th time in 17 weeks time, and it might get knocked off the top spot by a re-release of Shaddup Ya Face by Joe Dolce.