Dundalk FC . back in Europe 2023 . 👏👏👏

[Johnnybegood33]

Start saving for those Euro trips , to exotic places ⚽️☘️

[Johnnybegood33]

Now lads , it’s time to hit the Credit Union , & plan for all those exotic destinations 😎

[seand]

Dedicated Europe thread already, love it!

We should be seeded for two rounds, so opportunity there to play a lot of Euro football next summer ☀️

[mike]

We will def be seeded two rounds, coefficient might be as high as 7.0 or 7.5 by the time of the draw. Almost sure Rovers were only on 6.0 and got last seeding in their side of the CL draw, so it all adds up.

We could be looking at Wales again, maybe Andora also, San Marino, all first round, then possibly back to Baltics should we progress, decent chance of making a few rounds.

Sligo grossed 850k I think this summer and with very little travel apart from 3rd round, so just shows what can be earned.

I think this is out 9th season in last 10 qualifying, some record.

[seand]

Our coefficient is actually a very healthy 8.5 and won't change. The cutoff for seeding in the THIRD round was 9.0 this season and 8.0 last season, so it's possible we'd even be seeded for three rounds (like last season).

First qualifying round almost certain to be loosely regionalised so a good chance of Wales, NI, Faroes, Estonia, Latvia, etc, and only relatively inexperienced teams will be unseeded in the first round

[mike]

Great stuff Sean, even better than expected then !!

[Louth4sam]

Every year I say it and I'll say it again. San Marino would be great and we could make a holiday out of it. It's guaranteed to be Wales in some shitty stadium with limited capacity for 100 fans isn't it?

[Wexford White]

It's highly unlikely, but theoretically we could actually finish second!

[oldfogey]

Our coefficient is actually a very healthy 8.5 and won't change. The cutoff for seeding in the THIRD round was 9.0 this season and 8.0 last season, so it's possible we'd even be seeded for three rounds (like last season).

First qualifying round almost certain to be loosely regionalised so a good chance of Wales, NI, Faroes, Estonia, Latvia, etc, and only relatively inexperienced teams will be unseeded in the first round

There are dangers lurking in those clubs who get a new owner with loads of cash and appear in Europe with no ranking history. Coefficient doesn't always tell the story of a current side. We're certainly overpriced at 8.5.

[seand]

It's highly unlikely, but theoretically we could actually finish second!

Yep, 10% chance maybe. Finishing second will make no difference in Europe

[mike]

Our coefficient is actually a very healthy 8.5 and won't change. The cutoff for seeding in the THIRD round was 9.0 this season and 8.0 last season, so it's possible we'd even be seeded for three rounds (like last season).

First qualifying round almost certain to be loosely regionalised so a good chance of Wales, NI, Faroes, Estonia, Latvia, etc, and only relatively inexperienced teams will be unseeded in the first round

There are dangers lurking in those clubs who get a new owner with loads of cash and appear in Europe with no ranking history. Coefficient doesn't always tell the story of a current side. We're certainly overpriced at 8.5.

Not sure that's right OF, as it would be 7 or 8 times out of 10 better off with a higher coefficient from R2 upwards. If we get past R2 that's 850k*

*its 250k only for first round, slight increase after

[oldfogey]

Our coefficient is actually a very healthy 8.5 and won't change. The cutoff for seeding in the THIRD round was 9.0 this season and 8.0 last season, so it's possible we'd even be seeded for three rounds (like last season).

First qualifying round almost certain to be loosely regionalised so a good chance of Wales, NI, Faroes, Estonia, Latvia, etc, and only relatively inexperienced teams will be unseeded in the first round

There are dangers lurking in those clubs who get a new owner with loads of cash and appear in Europe with no ranking history. Coefficient doesn't always tell the story of a current side. We're certainly overpriced at 8.5.

Not sure that's right OF, as it would be 7 or 8 times out of 10 better off with a higher coefficient from R2 upwards. If we get past R2 that's 850k*

*its 250k only for first round, slight increase after

My point is that being seeded because of a higher coefficient doesn't always give you a better chance to progress. You can draw an unseeded team which is much stronger than their coefficient indicates. Bate discovered that in 2016. Conversely, we are currently not as good as our coefficient suggests. We need to improve ahead of next July. Luck with the draw in QR1 & QR2 will also play a big part.

I'm not knocking being seeded, I'm just dishing out some realism.

[Richie87]

Dundalk should get past 1 round with it being region based. The Welsh teams are part time and be in pre season when the qualifiers are on. Northern Irish teams be in pre season also. They should move to summer soccer to give themselves a better chance.

Here is a list of the seeded and unseeded teams in the openings rounds during the summer. The likes of Lillestrom, AIK Stolkholm, Djurgården were among the unseeded teams in round 2

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/seedecl2022.html

[oldfogey]

Dundalk should get past 1 round with it being region based. The Welsh teams are part time and be in pre season when the qualifiers are on. Northern Irish teams be in pre season also. They should move to summer soccer to give themselves a better chance.

Here is a list of the seeded and unseeded teams in the openings rounds during the summer. The likes of Lillestrom, AIK Stolkholm, Djurgården were among the unseeded teams in round 2

https://kassiesa.net/uefa/seedecl2022.html

You've kind of reinforced my point without realising it.

• of the 30 QR1 fixtures 10 were won by the unseeded side (including Sligo Rovers)
• those to fall included Flora Tallinn ranked #1 along with #4 , #7 & #9.

Being seeded definitely gives you a better chance to progress, but there is an element of luck in what countries/clubs you are grouped with.

[Richie87]

There is luck. But there would be more winnable games then difficult ones. Most of the unseeded teams are ranked lower then Ireland in the rankings.

But Dundalk will need to strengthen because based on the performances this last few months they would struggle against most teams in the Qualifiers.