Realistically how far can we go in Europe these days?

Seems obvious but it’s the Europa League for us. Minimum is making the group stages and build from there on
 
I was thinking this myself. When i looked at the final round qualifiers, i went down the list and thought 'who would blow us away over 2 legs' and there werent many... maybe wolves?
Obviously there are a number of teams that will drop out of CL qualifiers, and didnt have to qualify. But realistically i would expect us to be competitive in the group stage irrespective of the draw.
Teams will be looking at us and wanting to avoid a trip to Ibrox
 
I guess i'm much more conservatitive than most on here.

Until we're able to get seeding in the 3rd and 4th rounds that's about as far as we should be getting. But the draws have been favourable the last 2 seasons and we've improved on that coefficient.

Entering the group stages is also a hassle due to our pot 4 standing. Meaning we could potentially getting 3 of the best teams within their pot standings, but again the draws have been favourable.

Slowly but surely we're improving on that coefficient which will give us an easier time of it in the future.
 
Into the group stages and perform well, give a good account of ourselves. If we then proceed into the knockout stages after Christmas,then that is a bonus.
Coefficiancy up and Cash in the bank, then onwards to the winning #55 :)) and then into the Champions league next season.
 
No reason we shouldn't be able to get out of the group stages (obviously need a bit of luck with the draw right enough), but I actually think we should've qualified last season.

Perfectly good goal disallowed against Moscow which would've completely changed that game in our favour. Fine margins.
 
I’d say we were 60/40 to beat Legia.

With a favourable draw we could emerge from the group stage. Was certainly possible last season but we lacked sufficient quality to turn draws into wins and chucked away a very winnable game in Moscow
 
Still to make it to the group stages, never mind qualify from that.

We also couldn't beat the fourth best team in Austria in a must-win game.

To quote Taylor Swift, we need to calm down.
He’s asked the question “how far CAN we go”?
Nobody’s saying we’re going to lift the fucking thing.
Also, he’s mainly asking the question due to the very obvious improvements this season, so it’s pretty pointless quoting a game from last season.
 
He’s asked the question “how far CAN we go”?
Nobody’s saying we’re going to lift the fucking thing.
Also, he’s mainly asking the question due to the very obvious improvements this season, so it’s pretty pointless quoting a game from last season.

He also says we could "give anyone in Europe a game" on our day.
 
I disagree.

Funny as it was, Celtic should have easily beaten Cluj midweek. They got a 1-1 draw away. Winning at the Piggery should have been a formality.

Slavia Prague would have been a difficult tie for them but it wouldn’t have been impossible.

You also have to remember that the only reason the co-efficient is so poor right now and that the Scottish champions have to face 4 CL qualifiers is because of our absence from the top flight. Now that we are back, the co-efficient will improve.

If we have a coefficient season like last one (both teams in Europa groups, one gets to knockout round and loses) this season and next season, we would be on the verge of getting a second CL place with the winner going straight in.

This is very achievable. We're zooming up the rankings as a country now that we're back and the future looks pretty positive.

Ironically it probably helps our coefficient that the filth don't make the CL groups - they'll likely get more wins in the EL groups which makes us more points.

The biggest barrier to the above unfortunately is the fact that European reconstruction is coming in the next 2-3 years and the rules re qualification are not yet confirmed.
 
If we have a coefficient season like last one (both teams in Europa groups, one gets to knockout round and loses) this season and next season, we would be on the verge of getting a second CL place with the winner going straight in.

This is very achievable. We're zooming up the rankings as a country now that we're back and the future looks pretty positive.

Ironically it probably helps our coefficient that the filth don't make the CL groups - they'll likely get more wins in the EL groups which makes us more points.

The biggest barrier to the above unfortunately is the fact that European reconstruction is coming in the next 2-3 years and the rules re qualification are not yet confirmed.

I was looking at Bert Kassies' site yesterday - https://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/index.html

Right now, your country needs to be ranked #15 in the co-efficients to get two CL places. The league champions have to face two qualifying rounds in the Champions route, with their league runners-up facing three qualifying rounds in the non-champions route.

I believe this is more favourable than normal due to Spurs reaching the CL final last season. I think usually the champions would need to face three qualifying rounds - but don't quote me on that.

This position is currently held by Greece. PAOK, the Greek champions, were defeated by Ajax in the Champions route in their first qualifying tie, and have now dropped down into the Europa League play off just like Celtic. Ironically, the league runners-up - Olympiacos - have actually gone further than PAOK and will face Krasnodar of Russia in the play off round for a place in the CL group stage.

As far as I can make out, the nation co-efficient used to determine how many CL and EL places each nation gets for the 2019/20 season (and at what stage qualifying clubs enter the competition) is based on results from the seasons 2013/14 to 2017/18 inclusive. Only Celtic qualified for group stage European football over this period (and not always the CL), whereas we were out of the top flight until 2016, and didn't re-enter European football until the beginning of 2017/18, when we were knocked out by Progres in the EL qualifiers.

Based on this period, it is small wonder why Scotland are ranked 26th in the co-efficients. Such a lowly ranking is the reason why we, as last season's runners-up, have to negotiate four qualifying rounds for the EL, and Celtic had to face the prospect of the same number of qualifiers for the CL.

Next season's (2020/21) European places are based on the co-efficient of the five-season period up to and including 2018/19. This includes our EL campaign last season. Thanks largely to our efforts - and to a degree those of Celtic in reaching the last 32 - Scotland will move up from 26th in the rankings to 20th. Unfortunately, this isn't sufficient to grant Scotland a place in the latter stages of the qualifying rounds for European competition. Should we win the title this season, we will still face four qualifying rounds for the CL, or four qualifiers for the EL should we finish as runners-up again.

But there is no doubt Scotland is moving in the right direction. I cannot bring myself to want Celtic to win, nor I imagine would a Celtic supporter want Rangers to win in Europe, however if they do win then the silver lining is that it makes qualifying for the group stages of European football easier to do.

It really doesn't help when you have the likes of Aberdeen and Kilmarnock letting the country down, however.

As far as Rangers are concerned, we just have to keep on keeping on. Group stage football, whether it's the CL or EL, has to be the minimum requirement each season.
 
Good post and as you say, we obviously don't want Celtic doing well for financial reasons (especially the CL), however I think it'd hinder us domestically if they never at least made the Europa League group stages so I hope they do.

Also spot on about the other teams in Scotland not pulling their weight. Kilmarnock shouldn't be losing to some part time Welsh outfit and Aberdeen should at least be putting up more of a fight.
 
To be honest, after so many years without European football, Europe is a bonus for me.

I have no expectations going into these games. For me it was some achievement last season.

Legia are a good team and we will do very well to get by them. If we reach the EL groups then it would be a massive bonus.

In saying the above, I do feel we have a good team now and with Stevie G's vast experience of playing in Europe we are in a good place.
 
In the Europa getting out of the group stages would be an achievement. After that we would need some luck with the draw to go any further.
At this stage, this is probably a fair assessment. If we can build for a few years and improve our coefficient, then maybe we can attract even better players and have a chance of going further. Regular CL groups and some kind of progress would be wonderful, even if realistically that is more into the latter stages of the EL.
 
In my opinion Scotland as a country and Scottish clubs should be challenging with those of a similar size. The likes of Holland and Portugal at the tougher end through the Scandinavian countries to the weaker end of those that broke up from USSR and Yugoslavia.

Up until 2012 I always fancied us to go Champions League group stage and then see if we can get a good run in UEFA Cup/Europa League knockout stages. A look at the winners of the second tier competition shows that those countries we should be able to match provided winners and finalists up until 2012. After that it’s all Spain and England, CL as a prize as altered the way it’s viewed.

In my view I wouldn’t actually mind the bigger nations breaking away and then us being left in a second tier with the countries I named above. First of all we need to get our ranking sorted to allow us to be in that mix of that ever happens.

I want to see us in a European competition that we can hope to win, even if that becomes EL2. I know the money is in the CL but i have little desire to see some of the hidings that them across the city have had to endure in recent years and even through the bluest of tinted specs it’s hard to see us competing again at the top table.
 
Israel is in Asia

However it is in Uefa. The only fully Asian team to be so. Other countries mostly in Asia such as Turkey or Kazakhstan have a sliver of European territory in their borders allowing them to chose to be a member of Uefa.

Israel is there because of politics. The only federation within reason it would be accepted.
 
Feckin hate these posts even if it is only a bit of banter. One game at a time. We've played no khunt yet.
 
To be honest, after so many years without European football, Europe is a bonus for me.

I have no expectations going into these games. For me it was some achievement last season.

Legia are a good team and we will do very well to get by them. If we reach the EL groups then it would be a massive bonus.

In saying the above, I do feel we have a good team now and with Stevie G's vast experience of playing in Europe we are in a good place.
^
This.
 
Knock out stages and then would need a real favourable draw to progress any further. We won’t be easy for any team but teams with higher quality forwards and midfield will put us away I’m afraid. I hate being pessimistic but I’ve already seen enough chances created against us this season where better quality teams would’ve punished us. That’s not a big negative against our boys it’s just reality and where we are in football terms.
 
it would be interesting to see how the squad today would fare against the heroes of Florence

if the draw is kind to you and with a bit of luck...anything is possible
 
I think in Europa League anything is possible. There's not going to be easy ties, but against every team there's a possibility over two games. Good european run can be physically hard, but it can also build up a momentum.
And I think it suits Rangers well to start at the early stages of qualification just now. Team seems to be growing up round after round, as it did last year, so it's a good competitive practise before the real games start. And if the team is not growing, they're just not worth it. Would you imagine what would Rangers chances be, if they were about to play a Legia-quality team after couple league cup group stages and league games against Killie and Hibs?
 
I think we are capable to get to the group stages.

Realistically would come down to the draw if we are to get any further than that and if we did I wouldn’t think we would go further than the last 32, for the sake of a few hundred grand extra for doing so I don’t think it’s worth the hassle of the extra Thursday night fixtures if we are competing for the league .

That surely takes priority.
 
If we get into the groups then provided we avoided PSV, Moenchengladbach and Frankfurt from Pot 2 and Wolves from Pot 3 I'd fancy our chances at 2nd place.

Some of the pot 1 teams are tasty, however Besiktas, Basel, Sporting Lisbon and CSKA would all be reasonably favourable pot 1 teams.
 
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