Continental Cup Finals Chat
- Thread starter James
- Start date
We could also argue that at least we have a venue. There was a good chance and time that we weren't going to have the backing. However, I think with all the sell out crowds lately it would be a good case now to argue for that larger venue to be built. I doubt very much it will happen any time soon........ If only....... BUT........ surely the council can see how much revenue and sell out crowds the arena is making. Look at CCFC in comaparison and obviously they are having larger crowds, however, look at it on a percentage of seats empty that remain (the council loves their graphs and statistics) and you can clearly see that ice hockey IS the place to be and has far less of a percentage of seats unsold. Wishful thinking but hopefully one day.
The Council couldn’t give a toss about the Devils, we have just been a pain to them,and we could have gone down the pan and they wouldn’t lose any sleep. I once asked Russel Goodway who was high up in the Council , if he thought we would ever get a new venue, and he said we had no chance. As have been said time after time our gaff is far from perfect, but our club still exists, a past owner of the devils once offered me the Devils for £1 he didn’t mention the 100k that was owed to debtors. We are lucky enough now to frequently fill our home, but when we finally succeeded in getting our gaff built, after a 10yr + fight we had regular crowds of 1,200, so a 3,000 seater was a godsend. So no it ain’t perfect by a long shot, and still needs work now but we are still here, and that was the ultimate target back in those dark days.
Haven't got the time to look through the game threads so apologies if I am repeating things but just wanted to say thank you to everyone involved in the tournament finals in whatever way, for making it one of the most memorable weekends for ages. I said after the semis in Cardiff how enjoyable that weekend was but this surpassed it and whilst I think we are all a bit gutted that we didn't win it, it was anther reminder why this is the greatest sport in the world.
A few points:
1) The Angers arena and game presentation is exactly what we should be aiming for. From the moment we walked towards the arena to the moment we left, we were left in no doubt that this was a big event and we were welcome. The layout is superb but it is the little touches - the food, the orchestra section, the light show, the fact that there were 'greeters' wearing Devils shirts..... everything about it was first class.... there are things we can't change about the IAW but we can certainly learn from what they have managed.
2) I will never complain about EIHL officiating again. I know that games are called differently in different countries but some of the calls were horrible. If we are to come back and win this competition at some point then we need to deal with that.
3) The atmosphere throughout the tournament was tremendous. The Angers v Devils opener was 60 minutes of noise and the singing of the anthem after the Asiago game was spinetingling.
4) The Angers v Devils game was one of the most tense games I have experienced. Two teams giving it everything, two coaches constantly tweaking things and two sets of fans absolutely absorbed in the game. It certainly wasn't perfect hockey, there were far too many errors for any claims like that but.... that was why I watch hockey, you couldn't take your eyes off it, you couldn't call it and it was gutting to lose. Oh and I would love to see Cowley in a Devils' NM short at some point.
5) Who would be a coach? I would have hated to make the call of Bowns or Kozun for the Nitra game. Bowns has been great against Manchester and Angers, Kozun red hot before that. A horrible decision to make.
6) We need to improve our face off percentage in the offensive zone. It killed momentum too many times.
7) Brodie Reid has re-found his mojo.
8) Is Reece Kelly the answer to the question about how are we ever going to replace Ritchie when he finally retires?
9) Are Asiago's shirts the worst ever seen at a rink?
10) Stefan Fournier and the Devils fans is a love-in that is going to last for some time.
11) I am secretly gutted that Nitra won, nothing against them but..... a Slovakian team winning the competition feels predictable and this was not a predictable tournament. Both Devils and Angers had the opportunity to win it but when it mattered, Nitra showed why that part of the world has such a good record in these things.
12) Without wanting to be too self-congratulatory..... I thought the Devils fans as a whole were superb. Angers is a beautiful and very welcoming town and the bond between the two teams was evident from the start. The noise the 200+ made throughout was superb but it was the way in which everyone mixed with each other that means that if we ever play any of the three teams again then there will be so many friendships rekindled.
Anyway, that's my take on it. Disappointing not to be flying home with silverware but, a tremendous competition that could have been won by any of three teams.... hopefully we get another crack at it soon.
A few points:
1) The Angers arena and game presentation is exactly what we should be aiming for. From the moment we walked towards the arena to the moment we left, we were left in no doubt that this was a big event and we were welcome. The layout is superb but it is the little touches - the food, the orchestra section, the light show, the fact that there were 'greeters' wearing Devils shirts..... everything about it was first class.... there are things we can't change about the IAW but we can certainly learn from what they have managed.
2) I will never complain about EIHL officiating again. I know that games are called differently in different countries but some of the calls were horrible. If we are to come back and win this competition at some point then we need to deal with that.
3) The atmosphere throughout the tournament was tremendous. The Angers v Devils opener was 60 minutes of noise and the singing of the anthem after the Asiago game was spinetingling.
4) The Angers v Devils game was one of the most tense games I have experienced. Two teams giving it everything, two coaches constantly tweaking things and two sets of fans absolutely absorbed in the game. It certainly wasn't perfect hockey, there were far too many errors for any claims like that but.... that was why I watch hockey, you couldn't take your eyes off it, you couldn't call it and it was gutting to lose. Oh and I would love to see Cowley in a Devils' NM short at some point.
5) Who would be a coach? I would have hated to make the call of Bowns or Kozun for the Nitra game. Bowns has been great against Manchester and Angers, Kozun red hot before that. A horrible decision to make.
6) We need to improve our face off percentage in the offensive zone. It killed momentum too many times.
7) Brodie Reid has re-found his mojo.
8) Is Reece Kelly the answer to the question about how are we ever going to replace Ritchie when he finally retires?
9) Are Asiago's shirts the worst ever seen at a rink?
10) Stefan Fournier and the Devils fans is a love-in that is going to last for some time.
11) I am secretly gutted that Nitra won, nothing against them but..... a Slovakian team winning the competition feels predictable and this was not a predictable tournament. Both Devils and Angers had the opportunity to win it but when it mattered, Nitra showed why that part of the world has such a good record in these things.
12) Without wanting to be too self-congratulatory..... I thought the Devils fans as a whole were superb. Angers is a beautiful and very welcoming town and the bond between the two teams was evident from the start. The noise the 200+ made throughout was superb but it was the way in which everyone mixed with each other that means that if we ever play any of the three teams again then there will be so many friendships rekindled.
Anyway, that's my take on it. Disappointing not to be flying home with silverware but, a tremendous competition that could have been won by any of three teams.... hopefully we get another crack at it soon.
CHL announce this morning that Conti cup winners wont be given a wild card spot after all. Almost as if they waited to see who won it and then decide if they fancy them or not. What a shame that the once great competition for a club like ours seems to have been taken over by morons (or money) and lost everything that made it great
Continental Cup is for the Playoff Winners ISTR whereas League Champions used to go into the CHL.
With the changes at the CHL who knows after this season.
Even if CHL was being re-worked to make it more commercially viable for some of the bigger teams (like when UEFA expanded the Champions League) they have handled it abysmally. The big sides don't care unless they make it to final or semis, and before then are more likely to stage the games at their training rinks...
There needs to be a pathway for the lesser leagues, even if it's longer pre-qualification rounds, but to just fallback on wildcards undermines the credibility of the competition.
Given how useless the CHL seem I half expect them to give the wildcard to Angers!
With the changes at the CHL who knows after this season.
Even if CHL was being re-worked to make it more commercially viable for some of the bigger teams (like when UEFA expanded the Champions League) they have handled it abysmally. The big sides don't care unless they make it to final or semis, and before then are more likely to stage the games at their training rinks...
There needs to be a pathway for the lesser leagues, even if it's longer pre-qualification rounds, but to just fallback on wildcards undermines the credibility of the competition.
Given how useless the CHL seem I half expect them to give the wildcard to Angers!