The first round proper is drawn on Friday....

Will Queens be in the draw? - No

Will Rangers - NO!!

Will Motherwell - Yes!!

Yesssuree; as esteemed broadcaster and chief bellend Stuart would say; the Pride of Lanarkshire are 100% in the draw this Friday and it is fair to say 'Well fans are chuffing giddy at the thought!!

However, we could very shortly be joining Rangers fans doon Mecca bingo on Thursday nights when you take a swatch at the teams in the pot (we are unseeded)

Seeded Teams Selection - Dependant on this week

AC Milan
Sevilla,
Valencia,
Deportivo La Coruna
Atletico Madrid

Aston Villa
Spurs,
Everton
Manchester City
Portsmouth
Ajax,
Feyenoord,
Stuttgart
PSG

Rapid Bucharest
Dinamo Bucharest
Club Brugge
Rennes
Nancy.

Whatever happens, happens. If we get a team from the top group there we can forget it!! However the experience will be out of this world!! (Imagine AC Millan at FP - Dreamland stuff!!!)

A team from the second group and we can probabally forget it too!! Although maybey we could give an English mob a game on a one off - you never know!!

A team from the third group there and we have a chance - still they are seeded teams but we have to take the chance to go through!!

I would love it to be either a team from the third group or an English team for the 'Battle of Britain' - and you never know.

And if it is AC Millan then, f**k it - happy days!!!

X

EDIT - Put this in wrong section - Thanks Mods, Now two of these in Europe section

Second rate tournament

Super Cup on Friday night too - ManUre v Zenit St. Petersburg

All of those teams would hump Motherwell IMO. It would be disappointing if you got somebody like Rapid Bucharest as they are probably the least exciting out of all of the sides. It will be good if you get a side from group 1 or 2.

Unfortunately, I agree. We would get absolutely horsed by every single team on that list.
Its a funny old game though.
Hoping for an easy(ish) team and then group stages. Either that or a team like AC and just enjoy it and try not to count how many they score.

Is the seeds for the group stage or for the first round as there is only 20 seeded?. Are the other 60 just put in for a free-for-all

Hope the 'Well get a good draw.

Motherwell and QoS- Scotland's representatives.

There will be 40 seeded and 40 useeded. The list is incomplete just now as we don't know yet who the champions league drop outs will be that will join for the first round draw.

You can be sure that a number of top notch sides will be joining the list of seeded teams which we might draw.

You mean like Liverpool??

If it was me I'd be hoping for AC Milan and hope you can scare the beejebus out of them in the home game, and enjoy everything about going to play them in their own midden

European football is just different and GREAT!

I've been looking forward to a trip abroad, but seein the 'Well at Anfield would be a pretty good substitute!

Yeah lol I think that would turn me into a motherwell fan for 90 mins. Hopefully you would go down and stuff the scousers...... somhow i can't see that happening

I want Sevilla

Just the 'Well left I'm afraid.

Can't wait for the draw now - watching Queens got me excited again!!

Secretly hoping for an English team actually, think that would be awesome!!

What time is the draw on friday?

Is it on the TV or do we have to check it on the BBC when the draw is done?

1300 CET, will be on Eurosport and, I think, the UEFA site.

BBC will cover it online slightly behind.

Bert Kassies, the international authority on the format of UEFA draws, explains the draw below:




So, if seeded teams win their UC QR2 / CL QR3 matches, Motherwell (71) would be able to draw:

8 - Hamburger SV
10 - Deportivo la Coruna
23 - Feyenoord
26 - Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
39 - Stade Rennais

However, as Bert Kassies observes, this is subject to changes due to teams from the same nation ending up in the same 'mini-group'. Also, you may not see these mini-groups obviously displayed at the draw, or in the press beforehand: it is very much 'behind-the-scenes', artificial conditioning.

Why are Dortmund not seeded Former european champions after all

Can't wait, as has been said watching Queens really has whet the appetite.

If those seedings are true, I'd be pretty happy and confident with Stade Rennais, but knowing our luck, we'll end up in bloody Dnipro in the arse end of naewhere.

As I said, the seedings will change as seeded teams lose their ties this week (Queen of the South for one), plus teams from the same country being seperated. But those are currently the options.

You dont want the Dnipro.

Good pay days their, and you never know maybe an upset?

Hamburger SV
Deportivo la Coruna
Feyenoord
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Stade Rennais


Hate to be a pessimist but I would expect these guys to pump us over two legs too.

Liverpool would be amazing but they will do the business tonight.

Because they've been pish for years...Kloppo has them off to a good start this term though.

I want to avoid someone from Russia, Ukraine, England or Turkey. Beyond that I don't really care.

Stabaek.

Is it the group stages straight away ?

No, the First Round is a series of knock-out matches with the winners progressing to the group stages. That's why I'm hoping for a weaker side in the First Round rather than a glamour tie - it would give us a better chance of reaching the group stages where we would be guaranteed another four European games, potentially against some huge teams.

Ahh I see. Yup If you get to the group stages then it's a good bonus - money wise.

Correct. Rennes are going out tonight. Too many injury problems. Jimmy Briand's vastly over-rated at the best of times but he's about their only fit striker tonight. They're going to rely on some magic from Jérôme Leroy I think.

At least I was kind of right!

Just shows the value of the away goal, that really hurt Stabaek's confidence and tonight looks like a poor effort on the face of it. Really felt they were one of the more under-rated teams in the competition too.

Excellent results for St Patricks and APOEL not to mention the mighty Borac.

Motherwell (rated 64) will draw one of the following five teams, subject to UEFA's own alterations*:

AC Milan (1)
Besiktas (16)
Spartak Moscow (17)
Hertha BSC Berlin (32)
Partizan Belgrade (33)


*i.e. alterations caused by 2 or more teams from 1 nation being put in the same draw mini-group

Milan or bust, not impressed with the others.

I wouldn't mind a wee trip to Berlin.

Although it is much more complicated than this, the teams listed adjacent to those above (which, according to the theory, would be 'next in line' if adjustments are needed), are pretty tough too:

Sevilla; then a further step to Valencia
Rapid Bucharest, Paris St Germain; then a further step to Club Brugge, Sparta Prague
Sampdoria, Nancy Lorraine; then a further step to Galatasaray, Portsmouth


EDIT TO ADD: Heroic individuals with more time than myself have ran the '2 teams per country' rule through their systems, so it is likely that Milan/Besiktas/Spartak/Hertha/Partizan lie in wait.

http://kassiesa.com/uefaforum/view.php?top...bdcc805147b257a


EDIT TO ADD AGAIN: Ach!! But now a similar anorak comes in with a totally differernt set of mega calculations suggesting it will be Tottenham/Ajax/Udinese/Levski/Racing Club. So I give up!!

http://www.m9700.com/sport/D-UC08.htm

well that'll be another scottish team fucked home and away. our coefficient is going down the pan this season

the second guy hasn't udated tonight. he's still got dnipro and doesn't have st pats in amongst others.

looks like it's milan, berlin, istanbul, belgrade or moscow. moscow and belgrade seem a pain in the arse to get to so hopefully it'll be berlin or istanbul (which i've costed as not being too dear) as i don't fancy milan at all. you never know though uefa might suprise us all yet.

Official UEFA list for the draw

Motherwell's possible opponents are:

Valencia
Club Brugge
Sparta Prague
Manchester City
Nancy

Bugger

That is a great group. Apart from AC Milan the other potential group could have us going to Turkey or Russia That would have cut our travelling support by 50%.

All these teams and countries are easily accessible. Would love Valencia or Man City for Glamour, but the other 3 for an outside chance to get through.

I hope you guys get a good draw and have as much fun as we had in Copenhagen. It would also be nice to see you go through.

Anyway good luck for the draw and all the best.

Berlin rules but I'd rather have a proper trip than a 10 minute walk and an S-Bahn ride to the away game!

Bruges
Valencia
Prague/Nancy
Man City

would be my order of preference.

Nordsjaelland will get one of:

Hamburg (Ger)
Olimpiacos (Gre)
Feyenoord (Ned)
Braga (Por)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Isr)

Good luck to them wherever it may be.

For anyone interested in such things, we would NOT have gotten the same draw as, had we gotten through, we'd have been seeded higher than they are and all of the groupings would have changed as a result.

Motherwell v Nancy of France.

All over the draw!!

Away leg first too!!!

Home and away pumping by the Nancy Boys.

Nordsjaelland got Olimpiacos of Greece.

A little bit of research reveals that, had we qualified, we'd have taken the place of Metallist Kharkiv in the draw and everyone else would have moved down a place in between them and Nordsjaelland subject to avoiding country clashes. So it's likely we'd have gotten............

Besiktas of Turkey

had we sneaked through.

had we beaten you in the scottish cup we would have got ac milan

Does ANYBODY fully understand how these draws are made? Or is it (as I mentioned in a post god only knows where) UEFA deliberately over-complicating things simply to protect the biggest and (already) wealthiest clubs?

Lets face it, unless you go on the jammy run of a lifetime you're getting fucked left right and centre - unless you happen to come from England, Spain, Germany or Italy.

Best of luck to 'Well anyway. Fight the power!!

Was that not one of Henry VIII's wifes?

http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/seeduc2008.html