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andybev1
29-05-2018, 09:53 AM
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/hibs-boss-neil-lennon-targeting-europa-league-group-stages-1-4745840

Neil Lennon has declared that Hibs are targeting the Europa League group stages, as the Easter Road side prepares for a second tilt at European football under the Northern Irishman. Hibs would have to navigate through four rounds, where they could quite feasibly come up against the likes of Sevilla, Besiktas and RB Leipzig, to make it to the group stages but Lennon says his team are targeting that “absolutely”. No club from Scotland has ever managed to overcome those four sets of qualifiers, but the fact that Republic of Ireland duo Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers have made it to the Europa League group stages means Lennon refuses to accept that Scottish teams outside of Celtic should give up to having European football right up until Christmas. ““You have to hit the ground running in Europe but the incentives are great. We’re targeting the group stage, absolutely,” he said. “When you see some of the clubs who are in it – it’s tough but not insurmountable.” “It’s not impossible but the timing makes it hard. A lot of teams are already well up to speed. “We’re back in on 18 June and hopefully the main business will be done by then. The Irish clubs did it on a summer season, they caught a few teams cold. There’s no doubt it’s an advantage. “If it was September we’d be rubbing our hands because five or six games into the league season, you’re bang at it. “Because it’s early, it’s difficult and you’re going to all corners of Europe in different weather and time zones. “You have to acclimatise very quickly and it’s interesting for a manager. “My team surprised me against Brondby two years ago when we beat them [away]. I knew I had a right good group then. “Unfortunately we went out on penalties but they were a very good side. Hopefully that experience will stand us in good stead this year.” • Neil Lennon was speaking at the SPFL Trust’s Annual Golf Day at The Carrick. All proceeds raised will be used towards mental health first aid training in Scottish football in partnership with the Chris Mitchell Foundation. For more information visit www.spfltrust.org.uk

Read more at: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/hibs-boss-neil-lennon-targeting-europa-league-group-stages-1-4745840

Centre Hawf
29-05-2018, 10:24 AM
I can't see it. But I love that this isn't treated as a holiday opportunity and a glamorous tie, but as an opportunity to kick on another level as a club.

Humo
29-05-2018, 10:27 AM
Even if it's not this season I genuinely believe we should be aiming for the group stages within the next 3 years.

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andybev1
29-05-2018, 10:38 AM
Even if it's not this season I genuinely believe we should be aiming for the group stages within the next 3 years.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

It really would be a massive money spinner, would maybe make up for the cash we are ot getting the tv companies.

SouthMoroccoStu
29-05-2018, 10:57 AM
Got to admire Neil's optimism and the group stages would be a fantastic achievement for the club, a massive financial boost, grow the profile of the club and attract better players

But.....

I can't help but feel it would be extremely bad for our league and domestic cup campaigns

We don't have the squad depth to compete on the 2/3 fronts and maintain the league work we've gained last season. Imagine a great european performance followed up by losing to Livingstone or Hamilton who have had 8 days since their last game

Plus all the sunday games would hurt our boosted crowd numbers.

Ok ok, I'm a good and typical hibee, I can find the negative in anything.....:greengrin

Oscar T Grouch
29-05-2018, 11:01 AM
If we were to get to the group stages it would mean a €10mil boost to the club. Which in turn would boost the squad numbers. I love NLs drive and optimism about this and if anyone can do it he can. I will say it is almost an impossible task given our ranking and the teams we may have to beat to get there. Stranger things have happened though.

HibeeHibernian4
29-05-2018, 11:34 AM
Got to admire Neil's optimism and the group stages would be a fantastic achievement for the club, a massive financial boost, grow the profile of the club and attract better players

But.....

I can't help but feel it would be extremely bad for our league and domestic cup campaigns

We don't have the squad depth to compete on the 2/3 fronts and maintain the league work we've gained last season. Imagine a great european performance followed up by losing to Livingstone or Hamilton who have had 8 days since their last game

Plus all the sunday games would hurt our boosted crowd numbers.

Ok ok, I'm a good and typical hibee, I can find the negative in anything.....:greengrin

I respectfully disagree (with the exception of the League Cup).

Our league form may take a dip pre-Christmas because of a hypothetical run to the Europa League group stages, but the benefits of playing in that competition would far outweigh the damage us sitting, say, 6th in the table because we can't fight on all fronts. I will personally look back far more fondly on a season where we won 4 ties in Europe and reached the group stages, earning millions in the process, over a 4th placed league finish.

The Scottish Cup doesn't start until January, after a two week winter break (which I disagree with but there we are), if we were knocked out of Europe in early December, there would hopefully be time to recover ahead of the Scottish Cup games.

Stokesy's on fire
29-05-2018, 11:46 AM
This is exactly the kind of Ambition Hibs should be showing and this is why Neil Lennon is the right man for the job!

CapitalGreen
29-05-2018, 11:50 AM
But.....

I can't help but feel it would be extremely bad for our league and domestic cup campaigns

We don't have the squad depth to compete on the 2/3 fronts and maintain the league work we've gained last season. Imagine a great european performance followed up by losing to Livingstone or Hamilton who have had 8 days since their last game


and I for one wouldn't be that arsed if it was.

Reaching such a stage would be a tremendous achievement for the team and a great experience for the fans. Any loss of revenue due to poor domestic form would be made up from a run to the Europa group stages.

Stranraer
29-05-2018, 11:50 AM
This is exactly the kind of Ambition Hibs should be showing and this is why Neil Lennon is the right man for the job!

Agree 100%, Lenny is one in a million.

Since90+2
29-05-2018, 11:54 AM
We would need to be very fortunate with the draw otherwise I'll can't see it.

scooby
29-05-2018, 12:02 PM
We absolutely should have that ambition, and if the draws are kind to us there's no reason we can't do it.
Thank God we've got a manager who sets the bar high.

Stokesy's on fire
29-05-2018, 12:03 PM
We would need to be very fortunate with the draw otherwise I'll can't see it.


I don't care who we get i know Lennon will aim to beat any opponent put in front of us. We were really unlucky not to pit Brondby out and they were a very good Danish team. Have faith.

bingo70
29-05-2018, 12:05 PM
People laughed at Lennon when he said we were the second best team in the country and although we never quite made it we got a hell of a lot closer to it than many so called experts expected.

I think we need to give Lennon the credit he deserves and if he thinks it’s achievable then it’s achievable.

IGRIGI
29-05-2018, 12:14 PM
If we could reach the group stages and it was actually worth 10 million it would push us far above Aberdeen and Hearts financially for some time.

danhibees1875
29-05-2018, 12:29 PM
If we could reach the group stages and it was actually worth 10 million it would push us far above Aberdeen and Hearts financially for some time.

Aberdeen's revenue's are c. £6/7m a year more than ours at the moment (we should close that gap a bit this year though). They've brought in over £25m more than us over the last 5 years.

Unfortunately, I don't think it will be quite that easy. Although, it would definitely help. :greengrin

Since90+2
29-05-2018, 12:31 PM
People laughed at Lennon when he said we were the second best team in the country and although we never quite made it we got a hell of a lot closer to it than many so called experts expected.

I think we need to give Lennon the credit he deserves and if he thinks it’s achievable then it’s achievable.

It's only achievable if the draw is kind. If we draw Seville for instance in the second round we will be going out no matter what Lennon does.

bingo70
29-05-2018, 12:36 PM
It's only achievable if the draw is kind. If we draw Seville for instance in the second round we will be going out no matter what Lennon does.

Of course.

But prior to the draw being made and before we draw one of these big teams then it is absolutely achievable. If we get a tough draw then it will obviously become more difficult but at this stage it’s achievable as proven by clubs smaller than us from worse leagues than us making it to the group stages.

Keith_M
29-05-2018, 12:46 PM
TBF, Targeting is not the same as Expecting.


You should set your sights high, else why bother.

bigwheel
29-05-2018, 12:52 PM
Great to hear..I
Hope the board continue to back him and help by getting in players before the qualifiers. They’ve been great so far so expect
To see
Some new faces ...

.Sean.
29-05-2018, 02:17 PM
Aberdeen's revenue's are c. £6/7m a year more than ours at the moment (we should close that gap a bit this year though). They've brought in over £25m more than us over the last 5 years.

Unfortunately, I don't think it will be quite that easy. Although, it would definitely help. :greengrin
25 million is bonkers

Onion
29-05-2018, 03:22 PM
If Lennon gets Hibs into the group stages of the Europa, we can kiss goodbye to any chance of hanging onto him. He'll be gone in a heartbeat. Would be an amazing achievement.

Johnny_Leith
29-05-2018, 03:33 PM
Love the ambition. Take it one game at a time and see how we go. Really hope Boyle is fit for these games.

Halifaxhibby
29-05-2018, 03:36 PM
This is exactly the kind of Ambition Hibs should be showing and this is why Neil Lennon is the right man for the job!


Absolutely mate. Lot of people thought we wouldn't be still pushing for second in the league come the last game of the season. Obviously Neil knows the potential in there. As he says....if Irish teams can do it then there's no reason a Scottish club can't do it.

I admire his ambition and belief.

GGTTH
FTHMFC

Michael
29-05-2018, 03:42 PM
If Lennon gets Hibs into the group stages of the Europa, we can kiss goodbye to any chance of hanging onto him. He'll be gone in a heartbeat. Would be an amazing achievement.

Maybe. Didn't Calderwood get Aberdeen to the knockout stages?

heretoday
29-05-2018, 03:43 PM
I like his positivity but I cannot honestly see us challenging the likes of Sevilla.

hibsbollah
29-05-2018, 04:07 PM
I like his positivity but I cannot honestly see us challenging the likes of Sevilla.

Hopefully we won't have to, it's all about the draw. Looking at it, about a third of the teams we have no chance against, another third we have a fighters chance at, and another third of the teams are from leagues I know nothing about, which probably means we have a fighers chance against those too.

How physically prepared the players are is key. I felt in previous European seasons we weren't at the races. I trust Lennon will have addressed this this time.

Smartie
29-05-2018, 04:10 PM
Hopefully we won't have to, it's all about the draw. Looking at it, about a third of the teams we have no chance against, another third we have a fighters chance at, and another third of the teams are from leagues I know nothing about, which probably means we have a fighers chance against those too.

How physically prepared the players are is key. I felt in previous European seasons we weren't at the races. I trust Lennon will have addressed this this time.

I totally agree, and I think there has been a tendency amongst those in Scottish football to accept defeat, poor preparation and mediocre results in this area.

It is music to my ears to hear that Lennon appreciates the importance of doing well in this competition and is working on being ready in plenty of time and having signings in place.

The state we were in going into that Malmo game was an absolute disgrace and we should never be in that kind of state ever again.

johnbc70
29-05-2018, 04:12 PM
Maybe. Didn't Calderwood get Aberdeen to the knockout stages?

They certainly made it to some kind of group stage, whether it's the same format now I am not sure.

B.H.F.C
29-05-2018, 04:24 PM
How physically prepared the players are is key. I felt in previous European seasons we weren't at the races. I trust Lennon will have addressed this this time.

I don’t think we need to worry too much about that side of it these days.

Making sure we have assembled a team to be competitive is the most important thing for me. Remember going to Malmo away and having Rowan Vine up front and Danny Handling on the right wing. Not that it got much better that season right enough. But having a bulk of our team in for the early rounds is huge.

JeMeSouviens
29-05-2018, 04:24 PM
If it went to seeding this would be the line up for the last QR before the groups:


Sevilla ** Esp 113.000 Maccabi Tel-Aviv * Isr 22.500
Zenit St. Petersburg *3 Rus 78.000 Feyenoord *3 Ned 21.500
Besiktas ** Tur 57.000 Rapid Wien *3 Aut 21.500
Olympiakos Piraeus *3 Gre 54.000 RB Leipzig ** Ger 17.000
Sparta Praha ** Cze 34.500 Partizan Belgrade * Srb 17.000
FC København * Den 34.000 Burnley FC ** Eng 15.921
Sporting Braga *3 Por 30.500 NK Rijeka *3 Cro 15.500
PAOK Thessaloniki @2 Gre 29.500 Atalanta ** Ita 15.249
FCSB ** Rom 27.500 Molde FK * Nor 12.500
AA Gent *3 Bel 27.000 Girondins Bordeaux ** Fra 11.283
AZ Alkmaar ** Ned 25.000 FC Ufa ** Rus 10.676
NK Maribor * Slo 22.500 Apollon Limassol * Cyp 10.000
Racing Genk ** Bel 27.000 Sturm Graz @2 Aut 6.570

So that's the kind of standard we'd be looking to muscle in on. It would be a hell of an achievement.

Billy Whizz
29-05-2018, 04:27 PM
Would be great if we could make it, but would cost me a fortune. Need to talk nicely to Mrs Billy Whizz😄

Sir David Gray
29-05-2018, 06:00 PM
I can't see us doing it this year but I absolutely love hearing this from our manager.

It's great that he's so ambitious. I hope we can keep him long term.

theonlywayisup
29-05-2018, 06:02 PM
It would be so funny if the 'big' team failed to get out of the League Cup Groups as per last year and the 'wee' team made the Europa League Groups.

Mick O'Rourke
29-05-2018, 06:19 PM
It really would be a massive money spinner, would maybe make up for the cash we are ot getting the tv companies.

Very Robbie Neilson,that term !
A number of years ago when Hertz played in Europe.
They played a German side and the TV/advertising money they got for the tie at Tynecastle was substantial.
The Germans seemed to dictate the k.o time of the tie to fit German TV schedule and the advertising boards round the track were mostly promoting German companies.

So Aye ...Getting a German side would likely be a "money spinner"
That could happen if we are successful at the first hurdle.
Possibility of RB Leipzig in the next round and that would be a hurdle itself.
But hey....We have beaten the best in Europe in the past at The Holy Ground.
So why not !

jgl07
29-05-2018, 06:19 PM
It really would be a massive money spinner, would maybe make up for the cash we are ot getting the tv companies.

The Europa League has never been a massive money spinner unless you get to (if not beyond) the Group Stages.

I don't think that the TV deal with BT Sports kicks in before the Group Stages or the Playoff Round. Previous seasons have seen Hibs televised by obscure companies like Premium Sports. I can't see that being that lucrative. The Qualifying Rounds will be played on Thursday nights in July and early August.

The best that Hibs could do in the First Qualifying Round is probably an Irish or a Welsh club (preferably Cliftonville).

The Second Qualifying Round could bring up the likes Sevilla, Bordeaux, Burnley, Besiktas, etc.

By the Third Qualifying Round Zenit St Petersburg and Olmpiakos come into play.

They should be better bets than Cowdenbeath, Inverness, Raith Rovers, and Cove Rangers, who Hearts will be playing.

Skol
29-05-2018, 07:08 PM
Love it. Hibs targeting getting into the Europa League Group section as signs of improvement meantime Hearts are targeting getting out of the Betfred Group stages to show how far they have progressed

Dashing Bob S
29-05-2018, 07:11 PM
Let's bring the Europa back home to ER.

Col2
29-05-2018, 07:46 PM
Lennon targeting Europa group stages. Levein wants to stay at home for pre season as “trip didn’t feel right”

Lennon has biggest budget in club history. Levein has significant cut due to costs for 3rd year of building one tier basic stand.

Lennon targeting finishing 2nd in league next season. Levein wants to win a few games away from home and not setting targets yet Budge wants a 4th place finish.

Hibs sign up Britain’s biggest sportsman Andy Murray to mentor talented footballers. Hearts trying to get Ronnie Corbett to showcase bake sale and cash cow funding event in the gorgie suite.

Enough said.

Mick O'Rourke
29-05-2018, 07:56 PM
Lennon targeting Europa group stages. Levein wants to stay at home for pre season as “trip didn’t feel right”

Lennon has biggest budget in club history. Levein has significant cut due to costs for 3rd year of building one tier basic stand.

Lennon targeting finishing 2nd in league next season. Levein wants to win a few games away from home and not setting targets yet Budge wants a 4th place finish.

Hibs sign up Britain’s biggest sportsman Andy Murray to mentor talented footballers. Hearts trying to get Ronnie Corbett to showcase bake sale and cash cow funding event in the gorgie suite.

Enough said.

Ronnie Corbett passed away 2 years ago.

Col2
29-05-2018, 08:11 PM
Ronnie Corbett passed away 2 years ago.

They can’t catch a break can they....

andybev1
29-05-2018, 08:39 PM
This is surely the sort of thing that potential signings want to hear too.

Pedantic_Hibee
29-05-2018, 08:49 PM
They can’t catch a break can they....

😂😂😂

davhibby
29-05-2018, 09:21 PM
Some of the bigger teams can be caught out in the early rounds of this too. That Swedish team that got to the last 32 against Arsenal this season beat Galatasary in the qualifying rounds last year. It's not impossible if you get a bit of luck

Pagan Hibernia
29-05-2018, 09:43 PM
The Europa League has never been a massive money spinner unless you get to (if not beyond) the Group Stages.

I don't think that the TV deal with BT Sports kicks in before the Group Stages or the Playoff Round. Previous seasons have seen Hibs televised by obscure companies like Premium Sports. I can't see that being that lucrative. The Qualifying Rounds will be played on Thursday nights in July and early August.

The best that Hibs could do in the First Qualifying Round is probably an Irish or a Welsh club (preferably Cliftonville).

The Second Qualifying Round could bring up the likes Sevilla, Bordeaux, Burnley, Besiktas, etc.

By the Third Qualifying Round Zenit St Petersburg and Olmpiakos come into play.

They should be better bets than Cowdenbeath, Inverness, Raith Rovers, and Cove Rangers, who Hearts will be playing.

that would be beautiful. I live in Belfast :cb

A Hi-Bee
29-05-2018, 10:07 PM
I have been lucky enough to watch Hibs playing against some of the best Europe had to offer in the past, we always expected Hibs to get into Europe and did not give a **** who we were drawn against. Why should that change now, you just got to go for it and see where we end up.
The manager is dead right, no use going into a competition and being scared of who you may or not meet, all part of the game.

Austinho
29-05-2018, 10:46 PM
I know it doesn’t work like that, but one way to gauge our changes of success is by looking domestically. Celtic have a coefficient of 31.000 and we’d be more than capable of knocking them out over 2 legs - our last two games against them would have seen us through on aggregate in fact.

There’s only a small handful of teams in the qualifiers who have a better coefficient than Celtic. I know coefficients aren’t the be all and end all, but in my eyes it’s a good benchmark of what we are capable of on a good day.

Mixu62
29-05-2018, 11:55 PM
speaking of co-efficient scores, does anyone know how far in the competition we would have to progress in order to improve ours? Is there a chance of avoiding the 1st qual round in future?