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Posted:
Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:20 am
by Ciggy
Shelbourne now seeded, Im glad we cant play against them they played well in the last qualifiers and probably the type to knock us out.
Shels denied Liverpool meeting
June 11, 2005
eircom League champions Shelbourne cannot face Champions League holders Liverpool in next month’s first qualifying round for the 2005/06 tournament - despite the fact that the Anfield side were handed a place in the earliest possibility preliminary round draw by Uefa on Friday.
Liverpool had fought to earn the chance to defend the trophy they won in most dramatic circumstances against AC Milan last month.
Having finished fifth in the Premiership, they were in danger of being consigned to the Uefa Cup, but Uefa changed its Champions League rules to allow the Reds back in for next season.
That decision had given rise to the possibility that two-time eircom League kingpins Shels could land the most high-profile tie in Europe in mid-July.
However, Shels success in the competition last year, when they defeated KR Reykjavik and Hajduk Split before bowing out after a good performance against Deportivo La Coruna, has ensured that they, like Liverpool, are one of the 12 seeded teams for the first qualifying round draw.
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds of the tournament takes place in Nyon, Switzerland next Friday week, June 24th.
Shels, Liverpool and 22 other sides – including Total Network Solutions from Wales and Irish League representatives Glentoran – will go into the hat for the first qualifying round draw.
Turkish side Fenerbahce benefited most from Liverpool’s inclusion in the competition, stepping up from the third qualifying round to take the place in the group stages normally given to the holders.
The full list of clubs to enter Champions League at the first qualifying round is as follows:
Seeded teams: Artmedia Bratislava (Slovakia), NK Gorica (Slovenia), Shelbourne (Republic of Ireland), Liverpool (England), Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus), Sheriff (Moldova), FC Skonto (Latvia), FC Haka (Finland), NK Zrinjski (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia), FBK Kaunas (Lithuania), FH Hafnarfjördur (Iceland).
Non-seeded teams: FK Rabotnicki (Macedonia), Dinamo Minsk (Belarus), Sliema Wanderers (Malta), FC Pyunik (Armenia), Total Network Solutions (Wales), KF Tirana (Albania), Glentoran (Northern Ireland), Levadia Tallinn (Estonia), F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg), PFC Neftchi or FK Khazar Lenkoran (Azerbaijan), HB Tórshavn (Faroe Islands), Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan),
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Posted:
Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:24 am
by MilitiaRusher
Lets hope we draw Glentoran or TNS. No need to choke up so many airmiles...
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Posted:
Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:03 am
by zarababe
.. look at this way this will be a great money spinner for some minnow somewhere...
.. the boss and Parry are gonna be finalising there transfer targets this weekend.. and we'll defo start seeing activity.. I wonder if Biscan's services could be retained given this decision.. but mosts important is getting the right players in to begin a long campaign
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Posted:
Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:36 am
by dawson99
i dont see the prob. whats the difference between pre season friendlies and playing some team from malta?
be a good little warm up excersise for the team, so its all good if u ask me.
im just happy we are in it
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Posted:
Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:59 pm
by dawson99
parry latest:
Parry says Reds must strengthen
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry admits the Champions League winners must strengthen their squad.
Parry said: "Wherever the best players are, we will be going. We will be looking for players of quality and players who have heart.
"We need lads who are going to battle for 38 matches a season."
He added: "Our first 11 is fine, but it's when you get below that and you have to battle for points. That's where we have fallen short."
Liverpool's transfer plans will have to be brought forward after they were allowed back into the Champions League at the first qualifying round, which means their season will start on either the 12 or 13 July.
They finished fifth last season and Parry said: "At the end of the season the league table doesn't lie. We need a better squad, we need more strength and depth.
"How do you improve a team? You get better players of course."
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Posted:
Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:42 pm
by stmichael
having had the weekend to reflect about this whole issue, i'm like the majority on here who just can't be bothered whinging anymore and am just happy for us to be getting a shot at defending the trophy. at the end of the day, as incompetent as UEFA and the FA are, we should be grateful in some respects.
if you look back, when we won our first european cup, if i'm not mistaken, we beat a team called "the hurricanes" from northern ireland in the first round. the next year we stuck 10 past some random danish team, so it's not as if this is anything new to us.
we just have to get on with it.