George Street-Bridge wrote: July 27th, 2022, 6:13 am TNS drew 0-0 with Vikingur Reykjavik last night, 0-2 on aggregate. They started well but after about 15 minutes Vikingur took charge and bossed midfield, missing two absolute sitters. The 3G surface played really well and looked like it might be newly relaid.

Josh Pask played 90 minutes as right-sided defender and apart from rare corners seemed never to cross halfway. I didn't realise TNS's manager coached him in the youth team at West Ham.

TNS lacked fight imo - middling quality and poor result - think [perhaps] WPL needs to go to a summer league if they have much hope of competing in Europe

No surprise that TNS have sacked their manager - group stage was the aim this summer.

Alun Evans said that the Welsh League needed to play summer football decades ago. But the clubs didn't want it then and my guess is that they won't want it now. How would you organise Welsh football with most clubs playing in the winter and the 16 WPL clubs playing in the summer. Promotion and relegation and cup competitions would be chaotic.

TNS so unlike the mighty Sligo Rovers. 2-0 victors over Mother not so well, 3-0 on aggregate.

As for summer football, I wouldn't say I am converted but it does have it's merits.

Seems there's no consensus in NI on switching to summer. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/spor ... 53289.html

Spokesman for one club points to a couple of issues - supporters might switch allegiances to clubs in GB during the winter and not return and many part-timers would want to take holidays during the season.

G Guest wrote: July 28th, 2022, 6:59 pm Alun Evans said that the Welsh League needed to play summer football decades ago. But the clubs didn't want it then and my guess is that they won't want it now. How would you organise Welsh football with most clubs playing in the winter and the 16 WPL clubs playing in the summer. Promotion and relegation and cup competitions would be chaotic.

As 'Fletcher' would have said in Porridge - 'ways and means, ways and means' - grass roots Rugby league is a winter sport but professional is summer for example - guess you would promote the following season? - would be a hiatus but it would soon become the norm - in WPL 'licences' have to be applied for anyway - another idea is, as with Gibraltar (punches above its weight in club & international arena) the European prize money, which even in qualifying rounds can run into the £100's of K, is split to avoid one club (like say TNS) becoming perennial champions or dominating, think the formula is that the European representative club(s) gets about 40% and the 60% is dished out to the other clubs even the ones with little hope of making 'Europe' - right now TNS have little incentive to push on as they perennially win stuff, get a few hundred K for essentially failing in Europe then win the league again and so the world turns – you get the odd interloper but it’s usually TNS.

At the moment, notwithstanding ‘County’s history with the WPL and the domestic game in Wales – the [men’s] WPL is slipping into irrelevance as a competition even if the quality of the football is actually pretty good (and agree with us as club scanning that league for talent).

The league needs to professionalise as much as it can. How they go about that, I don't know - but having the clubs with the biggest fanbases outside the top divisions doesn't help. A league with the likes of Bangor, Barry, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Llanelli even adding Merthyr would be much more interesting than what we currently have. Just a shame that the dominant club has a fanbase about the same size as Newport City.

Although luck does play a part in the European runs. Lincoln Red Imps won two of their eight qualifying ties and ended up in the Group Stage of the Conference League last season. No doubt if a number of Welsh clubs had their run, they would've managed the same result.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: July 29th, 2022, 7:24 am TNS so unlike the mighty Sligo Rovers. 2-0 victors over Mother not so well, 3-0 on aggregate.

As for summer football, I wouldn't say I am converted but it does have it's merits.

I watched it Stan. Absolutely superb atmosphere. That first goal by Blaney was superb.

lukerobins wrote: July 29th, 2022, 12:25 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: July 29th, 2022, 7:24 am TNS so unlike the mighty Sligo Rovers. 2-0 victors over Mother not so well, 3-0 on aggregate.

As for summer football, I wouldn't say I am converted but it does have it's merits.

I watched it Stan. Absolutely superb atmosphere. That first goal by Blaney was superb.

I was sat behind the goal. In fairness the way he conned the Motherwell defence that he was going to cross the ball was clever. That said, a strike like that was probably never going to be stopped.

One question Luke. On my one and only seeing I confess that I thought the first booking for Sligo, when the Motherwell player went about 10 feet up the the air could well have been a red. Your thoughts would be intetesting.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: July 29th, 2022, 7:24 am TNS so unlike the mighty Sligo Rovers. 2-0 victors over Mother not so well, 3-0 on aggregate.

As for summer football, I wouldn't say I am converted but it does have it's merits.

I see Motherwell Manager has been sacked on the back of it Stan

Hi Stan.
A very interesting one for sure. Had there have been VAR i’m sure he was walking. The biggest tell tale was only 3/4 Motherwell players crowded the ref, the bench didn’t seem too bothered neither.
The petulance of the sub warming up to leather the ball into the crowd and earn a yellow brought a smile to my face though. In all fairness, Motherwell were shocking. Take nothing away from Sligo (they were really good) I wouldn’t be surprised to see Alexander leave there in the next few weeks.