Euro 2008 fixtures

[crowie]

Who gives a monkeys about WC2006, everyone knows its Euro 2008 that the big boys are interested in

Scotland, to use pool playing terminology, decide to take the easy ba's first and wrap up a quick 6pts to start with

Scotland's fixtures are as follows:

6th September - Scotland v France
7th October - Scotland v Italy
11th October - Lithuania v Scotland
15th November - Scotland v Faroe Islands
28th March - Ukraine v Scotland
22nd August - Scotland v Georgia
8th September - Faroe Islands v Scotland
12th September - Scotland v Ukraine
13th October - France v Scotland
17th October - Georgia v Scotland
17th November - Scotland v Lithuania
21st November - Italy v Scotland


Booked up for Lithuania this afternoon, £100 return from Gatwick, cannae wait

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Might try myself to get along to one of these games myself Crowie. Lithuania would be the logical choice seeing as i have a mate from there but i will see.

Tricky start but i woudn't put it past us gettin 2 draws maybe as i am sureboth these sides will suffer a few retirements after the WC has finished.

Very bleak though for us isn't it. To finish 3rd we would've done fantastically well

[ONEDUNME]

I'm afraid that's all I have to add.

[Beanie]

I'd love to head to a few of those away ones crowie - I'll be working by then so will have the money to throw around on a few European jaunts.

Is the Scotland Travel Club just about the only way to get tickets for the away games - I remember reading on a few occasions about how much demand there was for some of the away games? And if so, I guess its worth signing up to if I'm intending on going to any away games?

[crowie]

Yep, you can only get tickets for away games via STC, or as its now called, Scotland Supporters Club. Its well worth joining, £40 for the next 2 years and it also guarantees you a ticket for all home games.

Tickets are normally allocated on a points basis, you get one for every away game you attend and they generally work on a last 10 away games rolling basis.

Not quite sure what the last 10 aways are now but I have points from Norway, Italy, Wales, Holland (wasn't there but got a ticket for a mate who was) and Germany in recent years. Think the last 2 might be dropping off the 10 game rolling basis but I will still have 3 pts minimum for next set of away games.

Lithuania's two stadiums are small, about 10,000 & 14,000 meaning we could be end up with only approx 1,000 tickets minimum going on the 10% rule. We may end up with more, say 2,000 to 3,000 and with at least 3 points currently, I should get a ticket no probs.

Its a sort of vicious circle in that to go to away games you need points to get tickets but to get points you need to go to away games!!

If your looking to get join and start getting points on board then Ukraine away would be a good starting point. You will be guaranteed a ticket for that even with no points as we should get 8,000 and we won't take that many. Its a game/trip that I will almost certainly do as France is complicated with a Rugby World Cup semi final scheduled for the same day in Stade De France and Italy liable to not announce the venue til 60 days before the game which is a pain in the arse along with it being a month before Xmas.

Well worth joining, even just for the home tickets guarantee but the real fun is on the away games Think of a big day out at Hampden for a home game.....but about 3 or 4 days long.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Hope you haven't booked anything just yet Crowie...

Scotland's hopes of kicking off their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with back-to-back ties against France and Italy looks certain to be shattered.

Scottish FA chief executive David Taylor fears Uefa will have to step in after Ukraine vetoed fixtures agreed by the other six teams in Group B.

"The indications are that any additional proposals from Ukraine are not welcome," he said.

"The prospect of a draw is looming larger now."

Ukraine rejected the provisional list of fixtures agreed by the other six nations during two days of intensive talks in Paris last week.

They have a fair enough point as it would've left under current proposals France having their last 4 group games being played at home giving them a certain advantage.

[ONEDUNME]

Looks like they'll get their way again. It's a well known fact that they always do.

In fact , if you remember, The Rolling Stones wrote a song about it once...















UKRAINE ALWAYS GET WHAT THEY WA....ANT. UKRAINE ALWAYS GET WHAT THEY WA...ANT.




You won't get that Kiko (and you won't be on your own either ) Just ignore me. It made me laugh and that's all that matters.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

No i don't get it - i am glad it amuses you

[crowie]

Aye we have booked Kiko Only London to Vilnius but still no ideal.

This has been rumbling for a few days now. Ukraine don't want France having last 4 games at home due to it "not being in the spirit of fair play". However the other 5 nations that were at the negotiations were more than happy for France to have this fixture line up. They want to switch their home and away fixtures with France to break up their 4 game home run.

Ukraine also want to reverse their home and away fixtures with Lithuania but that would then mean Lithuania having 4 away fixtures in first 5 as opposed to the 3/2 split currently. I wonder if this is "in the spirit of fair play" too?

Basically the other 6 have told Ukraine to GTF, they are not changing but it needs all 7 nations to agree the fixtures to get them authorised. If not UEFA do the draw automatically by computer, which could lead to

Scotland being at home 2nd September - when the Fat Dancer is playing Hampden
France been given home games when Rugby World Cup is on (although they were playing us when this is scheduled)
Faroes being drawn to play at home on Wednesday nights - which they can't as they don't have floodlights. Game would then have to be played in Denmark
Faroes being drawn to play at home in March - which they can't as they apparently have really bad fog!. Again, game would go to Denmark.
Scotland playing games in June about a month after the domestic season ends
Games being scheduled for Ukraine in the middle of November, with the possibility of really bad weather conditions/postponments.


Thats why people discuss these things rather than letting computers do it!

[Bigkegman]

Home draw on 2nd September is definately on the card and as you say the Fat Dancer is playing then as well !!

This is going to be a farce !!

[CJ Mars]

Well worth joining, even just for the home tickets guarantee but the real fun is on the away games Think of a big day out at Hampden for a home game.....but about 3 or 4 days long.

I was traveling in the Baltics for a month in September 1999. My time in Tallinn (capital of Estonia) was supposed to be two days. It however coincided with the Scotland Estonia game so I decided to hang around for that. I ended up staying for around a week. The game was terrible (scoreless draw) but as one of the Scots guys said “I don’t come for the football” and the atmosphere generally was absolutely brilliant all through the week. The Scottish fans marched the odd mile to the stadium from town cente decked out in surplus Cold War era Soviet gear (gasmasks galore) and I didn’t see a single bad incident before , during or after the game.

I met Craig Brown in a supermarket the day before the game and went up to wish him “good luck”. Ireland were playing Cyprus (I think) on the same day so he says “thanks but aren’t you a bit lost Paddy”.

Cracking week. Some of the Scottish stragglers were there 5 days later.

[crowie]

CJ,

If that was our first game out there (Estonia) then some of the Scottish stragglers loved it so much so they never came home There is at least one pub in Tallin now run by ex TA who loved the place (and probably prices and women!) so much that he stayed on.

What you described is basically the same sort of atmosphere/occasion that I have enjoyed at every away game I have been too, and why it makes you so desperate to get back for more.

On a side issue, I also have to say that I feel sorry for the good decent England fans who want to follow their country abroad as I doubt they will ever get experiences like that due to their history. And its not always their fault, in fact it rarely is these day. If its not the local police locking the place down then its the local nutters out to have a pop at the famous "Hooligans English".

Some Scots lads mentioned that the last time we were in Lithuania the night of the game some local nazi type skinheads apppeared in one of the bars looking for a fight. When things started to get a bit ropey the entire TA that were in the bar basically just laughed at them, said skinheads realised they were getting nowhere and sloped off into the night.