Made a thread to discuss the performances of Belgium teams in the UEFA Champion's League and Europa League. As we speak, Olympique Lyon - AA Gent has finished and Gent jumps over Valencia to the second spot thanks to a last minute goal of Coulibaly (also thanks to Zenit for beating Valencia)! Recordings: 2015-2016 CL: AA Gent (?) EL: Anderlecht (?), Club Brugge (?)
Gent is #exceptional ... of all the clubs with the lowest income in their group, Gent is the only one to avoid being at the bottom ... even unlucky that they aren't already through to the RO16 ... they deserved more ... now they need a win at home against Zenit (or Lyon can lend a hand) ... reportedly Zenit will double the bonuses of their players if they win against Gent #shitgoddamn Anderlecht did fvck up during that long trip to Azerbaijan yet in Monaco didn't fvck up in the final 10 minutes #unusual ... should be impossible to fvck it up at home against Qarabag though #DoNotFvckUp Club Brugge have put themselves in a situation in which they control their own fate ... need an away win against Midtjylland #MoneyballFC #tricky
Anderlecht was kinda luck with their goals, didn't exactly dominate play, though I didn't watch the game. Still routing for them, I like seeing young players like Tielemans perform. Watched Brugge against Napoli. Credit to Brugge for growing into the game, but still meager given that Napoli didn't select their best players. I really live Vanhaezebrouck, there's more than meets the eye with this guy. Good job with Gent. Zenit will be a tough job, but I do believe they can beat them.
Saw first half of Ghent-Zenit, so many chances for Ghent. Was great to watch them go in the offensive. Hope they get drawn against a killer team next. Ghent vs. Barcelona please.
I can't give Gent enough respect ... also hats off to Hein Vanhaezebrouck ... next they'll face one of Real Madrid, VFL Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, FC Barcelona, Bayern München or Chelsea ... I'd say hopefully Wolfsburg but doesn't really matter ... like Hein said: "if we want to play against a small club, we'll have to play against ourselves." ... I agree with @avdmeers ... Barca will do just fine.
Hmm, Ghent should have a fair shot. Points in group B: Wolfsburg: 12 PSV: 10 ManU: 8 CSKA Moskou: 4 All wins except 2 losses, 1 against PSV, 1 against ManU
Wolfsburg - Ghent started kinda bad for Ghent, unlucky mistakes, but damn, they're destroying Wolfsburg now in the end. That's spirit! I hope they get another goal to wipe out the difference.
Aww... no third goal. Ghent deserved another. At least now all hope is not lost (the three out goals for Wolfsburg is not good though). If they can replicate what they've shown in the second half, they might just push through.
Damn, the ref for Anderlecht-Olympiakos is horrible. Stop putting bums on the field! Ref seems to be seeing "hands" everywhere. He needs to rub one out during the break so he stops obsessing over hands.
Group G: Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, København ... that's about as soft as it gets ... MPH can impress by doing better than Gent.
Not if you consider how poorly Club Brugge has started the season. They need to improve rather quickly and by a very large margin to do anything in the CL. Even against opponents who aren't of the highest tier.
Not uncommon for sides to punch above their weight in Europe ... I'm hoping that Club can repeat Gent's run or does better ... Engels could receive great offers and be in an excellent position to take the next step in his career ... didn't like Meunier's comments (leave Belgium as soon as you get a chance) ... too many Belgian kiddies leave before even having played in the Pro League ... Engels will turn 22 soon but another year in Brugge would be a smart choice.
More info about the 2018 CL reform is being leaked: Top 10 is now the cut-off for a direct CL berth (instead of top 12 in the current format) ... also looks like a guaranteed position in the CL play-offs is reserved for League 11-14.
Unsure how League Route Qs would work ... maybe one of these 2 options? 1. League 5-6 receive a guaranteed LR play-off spot each (and possibly a 3rd CL berth) ... facing a qualifier from League 7-10. 2. League 7-8 receive a guaranteed LR play-off spot each (and possibly a 2nd CL berth) ... facing a qualifier from League 9-12. UEFA Country Ranking ... 2017 will determine the number of places allocated in season 2018/2019 ... new regulations will be made public later ... according to the leaks we'd get 1 direct CL berth and possibly a 2nd via LR Qs as we should safely stay in the top 10.
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/uefa...evamp-a-scandal-for-ligue-1-clubs-union-chief Looks like it will be the first option: leagues 5 & 6 receive a guaranteed LR play-off spot each ... possibly a 3rd CL berth after beating a qualifier from league 7-10 ... or in case the league 5-6 club loses a 2nd CL berth if e.g. our 2018 vice-champion advances to the group phase in 2018/19 (when the reform will be implemented). => our league's runner-up will have to beat a runner-up from probably Turkey, Ukraine or one of Portugal/Russia/France (the league that ends up in 7th place in the 2017 ranking) and then will need a win from the play-off tie with the 3rd-placed club from Portugal/Russia/France (whichever are leagues 5 & 6 in the 2017 ranking) ... much better than having to face e.g. MUFC in play-offs though "The full details of the access list for both competitions will be finalised by the end of the year" - UEFA The big 4 leagues have their 16 direct CL berths and CL & EL winners get 1 each ... lesser leagues can fight over how the remaining 14 spots will be allocated now ... I expect that the regulations will be finalised along the lines of the leaks ... if so, not much changes for us ... the cut-off for direct CL berths moves closer (top 10 instead of top 12) ... still we should safely stay in the top 10 and keep both the direct CL berth + LR qualifying ... over time I'm expecting more reforms to be pushed through ... ATM it doesn't look like we'll lose much despite rumours that we'd lose LR qualifying or that our clubs could have lost the direct CL berth as well ... and earlier this year a lot was made of a possible Super League in which event the Atlantic League proposal was back on the table (seems to be our contingency plan) ... sooner or later shit and fan will meet though.
If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me ... but I didn't, so it doesn't. I heard that Leicester fans are impressed by Bruges ... hoping Club can punch above their weight tomorrow.
FFS Anderlecht ... just finish them off ... should have been another win tonight ... looked like Roef shouted but a dutchie defender fvcked up ... like in Brugge's tie ... Denswil is shite ... heard that nobody has had a worse start than Brugge in the CL ... was looking for a silver lining ... the only one I could find is that nobody will have watched FC Copenhagen - Club Brugge ... Genk & Gent
That's one yuuuuuge morbidly obese lady singing in Bruges ... hoping Club will leave with a win at home against Copenhagen in 2 weeks ... to save face in what's been a terrible CL run and for our coefficient.