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View Full Version : Welsh and NI clubs to play in 'Scottish' Challenge Cup this season



G B Young
08-06-2016, 05:57 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36483962

Curious move. Surely the tournament needs a name change if there are clubs from other nations involved?

I'd like to think it's a way of putting out feelers to see how a nationwide UK league might appeal to fans but I imagine that day is some way off.

lucky
08-06-2016, 06:01 PM
Linfield away will be an interesting trip

Nakedmanoncrack
08-06-2016, 06:02 PM
Linfield away will be an interesting trip

Yes, I'd go to that.

Mr White
08-06-2016, 06:02 PM
It's an interesting idea.

CB_NO3
08-06-2016, 06:10 PM
Celtic under 20s v Linfield in Belfast sounds like it would be a blast.

Topographic Hibby
08-06-2016, 06:13 PM
TRFC couldn't fill the subs bench at Our Final. Do they have a hope in hell of finding 11 x U20 players?

Imagine the chaos if Neil Lennon has to take Hibs to Ibrox to play Rangers U20 in The Petroleum Jelly Cup or whatever its called this year....

Keith_M
08-06-2016, 06:16 PM
I see they illustrated it with a photo of the new club with the Consolation Cup, wasn't that sweet.

:wink:

adhibs
08-06-2016, 06:20 PM
still bottom of priorities for next season. under 20s for us as well hopefully

Skåne Hibs
08-06-2016, 06:28 PM
still bottom of priorities for next season. under 20s for us as well hopefully

Yeah, agree, field a youth team or reserves. We'll have enough to worry about with winning the league, the league cup, scottish cup and the europa league.

SunshineOnLeith
08-06-2016, 06:51 PM
It's quite novel but ultimately it's just a way to increase the competition's profile and get a sponsor involved rather than any kind of sporting reason for reforming it.

Jonny1875
08-06-2016, 06:52 PM
Wouldn't mind seeing a hibs junior side in Belfast....

LustForLeith
08-06-2016, 06:53 PM
Sky Sports reporting it as the Scottish Cup...

Leith Green
08-06-2016, 06:55 PM
Is it April 1st? Ridiculous...

Velma Dinkley
08-06-2016, 06:58 PM
Did they ask the fans if they wanted this?

Finn2015
08-06-2016, 07:00 PM
I can't even be bothered to even think.... Why?

SteveHFC
08-06-2016, 07:01 PM
Away trip to Belfast or Wales would be decent :wink:

Finn2015
08-06-2016, 07:02 PM
Could get hearts u20

northstandhibby
08-06-2016, 07:06 PM
Is it April 1st? Ridiculous...

:top marks









Glory Glory

Bishop Hibee
08-06-2016, 07:26 PM
I thought this was a joke! Play the Under 20's and the subs bench for this.

jdships
08-06-2016, 07:42 PM
Is it April 1st? Ridiculous...

Thought today was 8th May not 1st April !! :rolleyes:

Austinho
08-06-2016, 07:43 PM
First step towards a future merger of the leagues?

oneone73
08-06-2016, 07:47 PM
First step towards a future merger of the leagues?

No more than the Texaco Cup was, surely?

KWJ
08-06-2016, 07:50 PM
Bit of a challenge for a lot of the amateur clubs to manage Linfield/Crusadors away is it not?

Ryan air fitbaw flights.

jgl07
08-06-2016, 07:51 PM
I think it is a great idea. Unusually imaginative for Scotland.

I would prefer to see Linfield or Crusaders or New Saints than yet another match against Raith Rovers (seven matches last year) or Falkirk (six matches).

It will be a great experience for the fringe players in the first team squad and some youngsters.

Waxy
08-06-2016, 07:54 PM
If we're going to all this trouble we'd might as well invite the lesser English clubs and call it the Uk challenge cup.

Scott Allan Key
08-06-2016, 07:55 PM
A great idea. Fancy trips to Northern Ireland and Wales. Can see Scandinavian Cups too and Benelux countries doing this. Would be nice to keep integrity of League Cup. Can see that format failing due to seeding and regionalisation. Would be very difficult for smaller clubs to progress beyond group stages. Not sure about 2 tier cup competitions. Not everyone has our resources.

Eyrie
08-06-2016, 08:04 PM
The additional travel costs would mean any club drawn away losing money.

Daft idea.

SJM
08-06-2016, 08:09 PM
Tidy idea and the chance of a dece' trip.

SJM
08-06-2016, 08:10 PM
The additional travel costs would mean any club drawn away losing money.

Daft idea.

Not if it's shown on TV and there is a big crowd there.

Glory Lurker
08-06-2016, 08:16 PM
Sounds a bit daft, but certainly makes it more interesting. Not sure how, say, Brora versus Aberyswyth Town would work out financially, though.

Let's see how it goes (and win it with our fringe and young players). With the right draws, we could put Hearts out of three cups in a year, which I would find agreeable.

jgl07
08-06-2016, 08:18 PM
The additional travel costs would mean any club drawn away losing money.

Daft idea.
What would it cost to play in Belfast? The cost of a trip to Stranraer plus a ferry crossing! Slightly more to go to mid-Wales.

Maybe the sponsors' cash could be used to offset those costs?

bob12345
08-06-2016, 08:19 PM
Didn't see this coming. To reform two cups in the same year so radically is really surprising. However, let's face it, the current product is stale and couldn't remain as is.

- More Highland and Lowland involvement, no brainer.
- SPFL U20s. A tough one to call... There has been much talk about the lack of real competitive football this country's youth players get in the development league. This could help answer that call. On the flip side it would be really disappointing if Celtic U20s started winning this regularly, at the expense of clubs who saw this as their big shot at a historic trophy.
- NI/Welsh teams. Worth a bash. Could be exciting or just a nuisance, only time will tell.

MyJo
08-06-2016, 08:24 PM
Bit of a challenge for a lot of the amateur clubs to manage Linfield/Crusadors away is it not?

Ryan air fitbaw flights.

The Irish and Welsh clubs will only enter the competition in the 4th round by which time there will only be 12 scottish clubs still in the competition.

Chances are by that point it will be the larger, professional scottish league clubs and the best of the u-20 teams that are remaining and likely to be drawn against them.

Plus there will be money involved from the television deals that would, at worst, cover the costs of playing the fixtures.

LancsHibs
08-06-2016, 08:31 PM
Great idea:thumbsup: Freshened up a competition that to be honest I had no interest in before this. Fancy a trip to Wales!

KWJ
08-06-2016, 08:35 PM
The Irish and Welsh clubs will only enter the competition in the 4th round by which time there will only be 12 scottish clubs still in the competition.

Chances are by that point it will be the larger, professional scottish league clubs and the best of the u-20 teams that are remaining and likely to be drawn against them.

Plus there will be money involved from the television deals that would, at worst, cover the costs of playing the fixtures.

I'd guess a fair few of the amateur clubs made the latter stages the past few years. I'd be surprised if the U20s do that well considering many of them will already be loaned out to lower league teams or already in the first team. It's more likely to be U18s or so.

I'm not completely against the idea, certainly as a trial.

To advance it further the winner could play the winner of the Johnston Paint trophy or whatever it's called now.

LancashireHibby
08-06-2016, 09:05 PM
Bit out of the blue and not keen on the U20's part of it, but Hibs in North Wales is a winner for me!

No chance lower league English clubs would be invited purely because of the risks involved. Only speculation of course but there's probably good reason we don't play friendlies don't here any more (Berwick aside).

LancsHibs
08-06-2016, 09:25 PM
Bit out of the blue and not keen on the U20's part of it, but Hibs in North Wales is a winner for me!

No chance lower league English clubs would be invited purely because of the risks involved. Only speculation of course but there's probably good reason we don't play friendlies don't here any more (Berwick aside).

There will be two English clubs in the challenge cup this season mate:wink:

LancashireHibby
08-06-2016, 09:27 PM
There will be two English clubs in the challenge cup this season mate:wink:
I'm not sure TNS count!

LancsHibs
08-06-2016, 09:31 PM
I'm not sure TNS count!

They play in Oswestry, Shropshire. Very much in Ingurland. Rule Britannia:greengrin

LancashireHibby
08-06-2016, 09:38 PM
They play in Oswestry, Shropshire. Very much in Ingurland. Rule Britannia:greengrin
I know, though they're actually originally from a village over the border (no way I'm spelling it) so have always been a Welsh club even though they moved to a ground in England (vacated when Oswestry Town, who WERE an English club, went bust). And it wouldn't even be a 'new' ground for me as randomly I went to watch a mate play at TNS for Bangor City in the Welsh Cup!

Finn2015
08-06-2016, 10:20 PM
Will our u20 or developmental side be barred?

pacoluna
09-06-2016, 08:09 AM
Surely we should be giving permission to remove our first team from this tournament and play our under 20s due to European involvement.

Cant think of anything worse than Hibs being drawn against an under 20s team, it sounds bizarre and slightly embarrassing. If we were to be officially entered into the tournament as hibs not hibs u20s and then go on to play our youth team/reserves and get beat of say hearts u 20s /celtic u20s it would be humiliating due to the fact the fixture would read Hibs v hearts/celtic U20.

BoomtownHibees
09-06-2016, 08:21 AM
Thought today was 8th May not 1st April !! :rolleyes:

Aww no so 21st May was a dream after all?

high bee
09-06-2016, 08:24 AM
Surely we should be giving permission to remove our first team from this tournament and play our under 20s due to European involvement.

Cant think of anything worse than Hibs being drawn against an under 20s team, it sounds bizarre and slightly embarrassing. If we were to be officially entered into the tournament as hibs not hibs u20s and then go on to play our youth team/reserves and get beat of say hearts u 20s /celtic u20s it would be humiliating due to the fact the fixture would read Hibs v hearts/celtic U20.

Hibs dont enter until September under the new system. Will be interesting to see how the u20 teams fare against lower league teams.

jacomo
09-06-2016, 08:32 AM
That must be the most complex knock out format ever conceived.

Finn2015
09-06-2016, 10:58 AM
That must be the most complex knock out format ever conceived.

Bloody daft isn't it. Beggars belief

SunshineOnLeith
09-06-2016, 11:01 AM
Could we, in theory, play the same team in the Europa League and the Challenge Cup?

bigwheel
09-06-2016, 11:03 AM
i think this inter-country games have a real risk for wannabe hooligans to have their "day of glory"...ill conceived in my opinion

Sergio sledge
09-06-2016, 11:07 AM
I quite like the idea, but the execution isn't great. I guess the league cup becoming more complicated made it more complicated to fit the challenge cup in, which in turn made them dream up a more complicated format in order to over-complicate things.

GloryGlory
09-06-2016, 11:07 AM
Hibs dont enter until September under the new system. Will be interesting to see how the u20 teams fare against lower league teams.

I wonder if the rules will state that U20s are genuinely U20s, not bolstered by a few older first teamers not getting a game or coming back from injury.

Diclonius
09-06-2016, 11:21 AM
I wonder if the rules will state that U20s are genuinely U20s, not bolstered by a few older first teamers not getting a game or coming back from injury.

Hoping the former. If we draw Hearts you can guarantee they'll chuck in some first teamers to try and knock us out (literally and metaphorically).

Danderhall Hibs
09-06-2016, 11:55 AM
That must be the most complex knock out format ever conceived.

It doesn't seem that complex? Teams join the Scottish Cup at a later stage than lower seeded teams as wel and no one calls that complex?

lapsedhibee
09-06-2016, 12:07 PM
I can't even be bothered to even think.... Why?

Since we beat them in the cup final (3-2), resulting in :singing: No The Huns In Europe :singing:, it's an innovative way for the The Rangers fans to get to go marauding outside Scotland with full SPFL approval.

Ritchie
09-06-2016, 12:13 PM
I think it is a great idea. Unusually imaginative for Scotland.

I would prefer to see Linfield or Crusaders or New Saints than yet another match against Raith Rovers (seven matches last year) or Falkirk (six matches).

It will be a great experience for the fringe players in the first team squad and some youngsters.

agreed!