Champions League 2009-2010 [Archive] - Page 3

DaveyCakes

04/09/2009, 12:29 PM

OwlsFan

01/10/2009, 9:46 AM

I saw Dunphy being dismissive of Wolfsburg as "hopeless" or words to that effect. I thought they played some nice stuff and for much of the game they were as good if not better than Man U at passing the ball. However, One always suspected that Man U could score once they upped their game.

Nice result for Zurich.

Closed Account 2

01/10/2009, 11:17 AM

I might be in Kiev for that as well. It'll be in the Dinamo stadium of course. I wouldn't fancy my chances of getting a ticket if it had been a Moscow team, but Rubin might be a easier.

I was hoping that Shakhtar would have been at home in the UEFA Cup, so I could have got to a match in their new stadium

I got a ticket for the Rubin match in the end, I went to the Dinamo (Lobanovski) stadium the day before and picked one up from the ticket office. Prices went from 100UAH to 500UAH (about $10 - $50) depending on where you wanted to sit. It was sold out in the end and on the day of the match they only had 300UAH tickets left. At that stage (before kick off) there were local touts also selling for 300UAH (but they were selling the 100UAH tickets they'd brought a day earlier) - a Rubin fan offered me a spare ticket for five euros, but I'd already got mine the day before. If you want to watch Barca or Inter in Kiev I think the ticket office will have tickets available before hand (they usually start selling 7-10 days before the match).

It's an interesting group and I think both Barca and Inter will not ease to wins in Kiev and Kazan (as Inter showed two days ago).

briancool21

20/10/2009, 7:50 PM

lads have any of ye a link for the arsenal game???????

Closed Account 2

20/10/2009, 10:21 PM

It's an interesting group and I think both Barca and Inter will not ease to wins in Kiev and Kazan (as Inter showed two days ago).

Or even at home.... hehehehehehehe!

Zizou

22/10/2009, 8:08 AM

Milan-Madrid was a real cracker. Had everything. But for me Clarence Seedorf put in as good a performance as you'll see this season. Never lost the ball and his pass for the winner. Sublime. Milan may have troubles in some areas but I could watch Seedorf Pirlo and Pato all day long.

Sandro

22/10/2009, 10:39 AM

Definitly a stunning performance by Milan AC, despite Dida's early mistake (he then made good saves too, though). In my opinion Nesta was brilliant too, pity he decided not to play for the national team again (couldn't careless about Totti instead). Pirlo was under his standards (same as for Inzaghi and Ronaldinho), but I agree Seedorf and Pato put in very good performance. The real winner is Leonardo, he made the right choice with a very aggressive tactic: who would dare to play at Bernabeu with three attackers (Pato, Ronaldinho, Inzaghi then Borriello)?

geysir

22/10/2009, 1:29 PM

What was the foul the ref blew up for, in Milan's late disallowed goal?

osarusan

22/10/2009, 1:32 PM

What was the foul the ref blew up for, in Milan's late disallowed goal?

I think (but am not sure) he thought there had been a foul on the keeper, but replays suggested otherwise.

Sandro

22/10/2009, 1:36 PM

There was no faul at all. In the first half Zambrotta fauled Benzema in the box, though

OwlsFan

05/11/2009, 8:04 AM

Not beyond the bounds of possibility that Barca won't qualify for the play off stage.

Wasn't impressed with Lyon (I know they were only looking for a draw) and that guy with the loudspeaker did my head in. Goalie looked good though :(

Spent a lot of time channel surfing. I see the papers have 43k attending the Rangers' game in Romania. Barely looked over 4k. Not much protection for the fans from the elements. The stewarts (not police) spent half time spraying some unruly Rangers fans with some sort of disabling spray. Interesting to see the former Wednesday player, Dan Petrescu, as the Unirea coach. Rangers still not out of that group

Arsenal were impressive although their defence was cut open by Alkmaar on a few occasions.

DeLorean

05/11/2009, 9:44 AM

It's the most interesting group stage in a few years. The last two season I think we more or less had the top 2 seeds in each group qualify for the last 16. Could be different this time, at the moment it looks like-

Group A- Bordeaux instead of Bayern
Group B- Man Utd & Wolfsburg (expected-CSKA still have a chance)
Broup C- Marseille pushing Milan and Real all the way. Real most vulnerable
Group D- Chelsea & Porto (very poor showing from Atletico)
Group E- Lyon & Fiorentina (Liverpool need Lyon win in Florence)
Group F- Still expect Inter & Barca to scrape through but great group
Group G- Very interesting. Seville through, think Stuttgart will sneak 2nd
Group H- Arsenal and more than likely Olympiakos

OwlsFan

25/11/2009, 11:20 AM

Group F still seems the most interesting with Barca having a tricky away tie at Dynamo Kiev.

galwayjames

25/11/2009, 5:35 PM

Great to see Liverpool and Rangers out, makes it easier for my bet to win now :)

galwayjames

25/11/2009, 8:47 PM

Man Utd 0-1 Besiktas - A bad week for British teams

old git

25/11/2009, 10:36 PM

Man Utd 0-1 Besiktas - A bad week for British teams

what a pityfull way to end a home 23 game unbeaten record going back 4 years .. the theatre of dreams was like a morgue all night and utd had a few stiffs playing for them as well :D if this is the future for utd the future don't look so bright :p

galwayjames

25/11/2009, 10:44 PM

what a pityfull way to end a home 23 game unbeaten record going back 4 years .. the theatre of dreams was like a morgue all night and utd had a few stiffs playing for them as well :D if this is the future for utd the future don't look so bright :p

Yerra they'll never use those players anyway, they'll probably buy some young Portuguese player e.g. Nani/Ronaldo again and no one'll notice.

superfrank

25/11/2009, 10:48 PM

The CSKA Wolfsburg match earlier on was pretty good. CSKA played some lovely stuff, Krassic was class for them.

I heard that Alejandro Dominguez will be leaving Rubin Kazan in the winter. I think there'll be a few clubs interested: he's impressed greatly for them so far.

rava

26/11/2009, 10:38 AM

Rte really need to shake up their coverage, its just so stale. Terrible commentry and cringeworthy analysis. I would rather watch ITV thats how bad its got.

OwlsFan

10/12/2009, 9:13 AM

So after all those games in the qualifying rounds, only perhaps two of the highly favoured teams didn't get through (Liverpool and Juventus). Very little riding on most of the final games. In fact, the fate of all the British teams had pretty much been determined even before the final games, so much so that RTE did the unmentionable and showed a game not featuring an English team :eek:

Hopefully the knock out phase will be a bit more exciting.

Infadel

10/12/2009, 9:19 AM

osarusan

18/12/2009, 10:25 AM

CL Knockout Stages Draw
AC Milan v MAN UTD

Porto v ARSENAL

Lyon v Real Madrid

CSKA Moscow v Sevilla

Bayern Munich v Fiorentina

Inter Milan v CHELSEA

Olympiakos v Bordeaux

Stuttgart v Barcelona

HarpoJoyce

18/12/2009, 10:29 AM

It's good the way CSKA have joined in with MAN UTD, CHELSEA and ARSENAL.

DeLorean

18/12/2009, 10:59 AM

The main focus will be on Mourinho v Chelsea and Beckham v United but there are some other interesting ties there. Fiorentina and Bayern Munich should be fairly evenly matched and I'd say Porto could cause Arsenal a lot of problems. Benzema going back to Lyon also. Decent draws for Sevilla and Bordeaux I feel and they could be the teams to get in the quarters.

HarpoJoyce

30/12/2009, 7:07 PM

Report commissioned by Master Card on the prize money/monetary benefits of remaining in the Champions League. BBC article condenses some of the information.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8418236.stm
"......Prize money

The 50m euros is comprised of 14m euros in participation and prize money, 12m euros from UEFA's commercial deals, 8m euros from the club's own sponsors and merchandise sales, and 6m euros from increased player values. Professor Chadwick said the increased exposure players get through the Champions League increased their value.

He cited Lyon, which has made no secret of the fact it specifically targets the competition in order to increase the resale value of its players."

".....Europa League

For those teams that have not made it into the knock-out stages of the competition, the financial implications could be severe, even for clubs that will now play in the Europa League, such as Liverpool and Juventus.

"The Champions League is the premier European football competition, offering commercial revenues far in excess of the Europa League. In no way are [the two competitions] comparable," said Professor Chadwick."

OwlsFan

17/02/2010, 9:07 AM

What a great game between Man U and AC Milan last night. Milan should have been out of sight by half time but they didn't possess a finisher of the talent of Rooney. Beckam was on the periphery of the game and SEEMS to be past his sell by date. Just as Andy Gray is writing off Milan they come back to score and then almost equalise. I wouldn't totally write off Milan at Old Trafford (remember Ireland in Paris) as Man U's last few home performances in the CL were not impressive as far as I remember.

Nice to see Lyon beating the money men of Madrid. Sets up an interesting second leg.

shakermaker1982

17/02/2010, 10:01 AM

The game flew by last night. Exciting yet full of errors. Ronaldinho was a pleasure to watch and it's good to see him in that kind of mood. Fergie would have been delighted to see Becks start in a 3 man midfield. Pato, Hunterlaar and Ronaldino don't bust a gut to track back so Man Utd's 5 man MF was up against 3 (1 of which was Beckham!!!).

Milan have to chase the game at OT and that plays to United's strengths. Sit back and break on the counter. Hopefully Vidic is back so Evans can sit alongside Owen on the bench.

superfrank

17/02/2010, 10:14 AM

Lyon did very well last night, Real were a bit blunt if anything. Ronaldo had one of those games where he tries all the fancy stuff but his final ball is lacking. The goal was a cracker but nobody closed Makoun down. I think Lyon could easily win the tie.

rava

17/02/2010, 11:00 AM

Milan have to chase the game at OT and that plays to United's strengths. Sit back and break on the counter. Hopefully Vidic is back so Evans can sit alongside Owen on the bench.

I would think that Rio should be the one to sit on the bench not Evans.

OwlsFan

17/02/2010, 5:08 PM

Evans seemed to be off the pace and the camera picked up on Ferguson using a few expletives in his direction.

I thought Ronaldinho faded out of the same in the second half, like most of the Milan team.

soccerboy

17/02/2010, 8:28 PM

milan are an ageing team...utd will beat them easily in the second leg...watching arsenal now,fabianski is having a stinker,a team will never win anything without a half decent keeper!!

theworm2345

17/02/2010, 9:23 PM

old git

17/02/2010, 10:32 PM

The **** Martin Hansson had a hand in Porto's winner over Arsenal tonight. How this man still has a job is beyond me. Fabiaski is pretty stupid and shouldn't have picked it up but Hansson was woeful as well.

fabiaski & campbell messed up to concede free kick.. fabiaski should have held onto ball and campbell should have got goalside instead of standing with his hands on knees and then slowly trying to walk back ...
referee was correct in letting porto take quick free kick and arsenal were punished .

shakermaker1982

18/02/2010, 7:37 AM

Hilarious stuff.

I don't understand Wenger's moaning. I'm pretty sure his side have taken free kicks before.

OwlsFan

18/02/2010, 9:15 AM

The **** Martin Hansson had a hand in Porto's winner over Arsenal tonight. How this man still has a job is beyond me. Fabiaski is pretty stupid and shouldn't have picked it up but Hansson was woeful as well.

What did Hansson do wrong? I thought he refereed the game quite well. Dunphy going on (for the sake of being controversial again) about his belated signalling of an indirect free kick was pathetic. The only direct free kick in the box is a penalty and everyone knows that. He is also entitled to ask the goalkeeper for the ball if he thinks the keeper is delaying the game. Blame the Arsenal goalkeeper, not the ref and Campbell for not standing in front of the free taker. 100% Arsenal fault.

Sky Panel (Rednapp in particular) going mental about the ref in the Bayern vs Florentina game. Same Norwegian ref for the Chelsea semi final last year ;). Apart from the offside (which was the linesman's job), he pretty much got most decisions right although the Florentina defender might have been sent off for the peno and the Bayern player for an over the top tackle but they'd have criticised him if the game ended 9 vs 10. Got so nauseating that I had to turn back to the RTE Panel.

Schumi

18/02/2010, 11:07 AM

Sky Panel (Rednapp in particular) going mental about the ref in the Bayern vs Florentina game. Same Norwegian ref for the Chelsea semi final last year ;). Apart from the offside (which was the linesman's job), he pretty much got most decisions right although the Florentina defender might have been sent off for the peno and the Bayern player for an over the top tackle but they'd have criticised him if the game ended 9 vs 10. Got so nauseating that I had to turn back to the RTE Panel.
I thought Fiorentina's red card was very harsh. Looked completely accidental to me.

OwlsFan

18/02/2010, 1:08 PM

Side on view of the ref it looked quite vicious with the elbow high. Presumably the linesman (who got the offside wrong) agreed with the ref that it was a red card. Oh for technology and we wouldn't have to end 75% of games talking about decisions.

tetsujin1979

18/02/2010, 4:09 PM

Dunphy going on (for the sake of being controversial again) about his belated signalling of an indirect free kick was pathetic. The only direct free kick in the box is a penalty and everyone knows that. He is also entitled to ask the goalkeeper for the ball if he thinks the keeper is delaying the game. Blame the Arsenal goalkeeper, not the ref and Campbell for not standing in front of the free taker. 100% Arsenal fault.Dunphy withdrew the complaint when they showed the ref running up to the penalty box with him arm in the air, indicating an indirect free.

old git

18/02/2010, 9:58 PM

Dunphy withdrew the complaint when they showed the ref running up to the penalty box with him arm in the air, indicating an indirect free.

but then agreed when giles still insisted referee should have stood over ball and then raised his arm to let all the arsenal players see it was an indirect free kick :confused:

OwlsFan

25/02/2010, 1:14 PM

In the "I agree with Eamonn I agree with John" show last night, they both castigated Zlatan Ibrahimovic and sung the praises of Eto'o. Needless to say, apart from one nice pass leading up to an Inter goal, the latter was pretty anonymous and was subbed while Ibrahimovic scored the previous night. Doubt if there was any mention of this at the end of the "analysis". Chelsea should have won the game on the amount of possession and chances but they didn't and might rue that yet. I for one will shed no tears as they would be my least favourite Premiership team. If they didn't have Droghba, my second least favourite.

At least all the ties are still competitive and no gimmies.

tetsujin1979

25/02/2010, 1:16 PM

Owlsfan, you do know there are other punditry teams you can watch, right?

shakermaker1982

25/02/2010, 2:13 PM

Owlsfan has a love/hate relationship with Dunphy!

OwlsFan

25/02/2010, 4:25 PM

Owlsfan, you do know there are other punditry teams you can watch, right?

Not last night there wasn't if I wanted to watch that game. I drifted over occasionally to Spurs vs Bolton whenever George Hamilton starting spouting on about the "priceless away goal". No great interest there with Andy O'Brien playing like, err, Andy O'Brien. It would appear to George H that even if a team loses 10-1, no worries, they've got the priceless away goal. Perhaps I should watch it all with the sound down ;)

osarusan

10/03/2010, 8:50 PM

RTE lads, shut the f**k up about Beckham.

gustavo

10/03/2010, 8:59 PM

Let me guess , They're deriding him?

I thought he done well enough when he came on created a few chances for them

osarusan

10/03/2010, 10:15 PM

Let me guess , They're deriding him?

I thought he done well enough when he came on created a few chances for them
They were talking about how his fame came through celebrity and not football, but well done to him for making what he did (fame-wise) of himself, despite his lack of ability.

It wasn't so much what they were saying, just the fact that they never shut up. RTE just goes on and on with 'analysis' until the highlights from the night's other game are ready to be shown - invariably this means they end up talking crap for about 15 mins, just waiting for Bill to tell them it's time to look at the highlights.

KK77

11/03/2010, 8:16 AM

They were talking about how his fame came through celebrity and not football, but well done to him for making what he did (fame-wise) of himself, despite his lack of ability.

It wasn't so much what they were saying, just the fact that they never shut up. RTE just goes on and on with 'analysis' until the highlights from the night's other game are ready to be shown - invariably this means they end up talking crap for about 15 mins, just waiting for Bill to tell them it's time to look at the highlights.

They say Beckham is a celeb and a shirt seller etc etc yet they spend the 15 minutes directly after the game talking about him and him alone. Unreal when they could have talked about the game and Rooney.

OwlsFan

11/03/2010, 9:21 AM

It's called "being controversial" upon which they have based the show for over 20 years.

I watched the Real Madrid vs Lyon game. Great game with Real dominating the first half but failing to put Lyon away. They were always on a tightrope though for a Lyon goal would bring disaster and sure enough it did. Ronaldo, if a bit petulant at time, was still their best player.

I didn't see the Man U game but I saw the stats afterwards which showed AC Milan dominated possession and had as many shots as Man U and yet were hammered. Strange one.

KK77

11/03/2010, 9:34 AM

It's called "being controversial" upon which they have based the show for over 20 years.
I watched the Real Madrid vs Lyon game. Great game with Real dominating the first half but failing to put Lyon away. They were always on a tightrope though for a Lyon goal would bring disaster and sure enough it did. Ronaldo, if a bit petulant at time, was still their best player.

I didn't see the Man U game but I saw the stats afterwards which showed AC Milan dominated possession and had as many shots as Man U and yet were hammered. Strange one.

Directly after the game they should have been talking about the game and Rooney imo. They laugh at Beckham yet they give him the coverage they gave him. Joke!