UEFA Champions League 2010-11

[Stuttgart88]

There is a template to beat Barca.I think this Barca team is playing much better than back then, and United and Chelsea are weaker.

I think that unless the opposition gets quite a large slice of luck, like Inter last year, this Barca team is going to be really hard to beat.

[dfx-]

The Barca side that Utd beat were a rabble, coming to the end of their time under Rijkaard. The current side would beat them 50-0. They couldn't win away from home at all..

The Barca team that beat Hiddink were pretty much this team...and Iniesta's goal in that game is probably one of the defining goal in the last decade for Barca. Just behind Rivaldo's overhead..

[geysir]

I think you might have got your games mixed up dfx. The Barca team that beat MU in the CL final, played them off the park, imo MU were humiliated.
The previous year, a Barca team managed by Rijkaard lost to Man U in the CL sf, in a tie that Barca dominated but could not score.
That Barca team was no rabble even compared to today's Barca.

[dfx-]

I'm talking about the Utd beating them being a template comment a few posts up. The team Utd beat with Scholes' goal was a shadow of this team, disinterested, not incisive, Ronaldinho, Deco, Henry. They never threatened Utd bar a young Messi. That was a season where they were beaten 4-1 by Real, couldn't win away from home to save their lives..it was sad to see.

The team that beat Utd in the CL final was the year of Eto'o, Henry and Messi in a glorious season...

[old git]

I'm talking about the Utd beating them being a template comment a few posts up. The team Utd beat with Scholes' goal was a shadow of this team, disinterested, not incisive, Ronaldinho, Deco, Henry. They never threatened Utd bar a young Messi. That was a season where they were beaten 4-1 by Real, couldn't win away from home to save their lives..it was sad to see.

The team that beat Utd in the CL final was the year of Eto'o, Henry and Messi in a glorious season...

Dfx ,, your losing yourself in your own mind

henry was on the bench & ronaldinho was not even in squad for game ..

yes it was a p*ss poor barcelona team ( massive sarcasam ) see the disintrested players below who played for barcelona that night.. what a shower of wasters !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!! compared to uniteds 11 world class players :D

Manchester United Barcelona
1 Edwin van der Sar ..... 1 Victor Valdés
6 Wes Brown ....... 3 Gabriel Milito
5 Rio Ferdinand ...... 5 Carles Puyol
3 Patrice Evra ......... 22 Eric Abidal
4 Owen Hargreaves ....... 11 Gianluca Zambrotta
16 Michael Carrick ....... 24 Yaya Touré
18 Paul Scholes ....... 20 Deco
17 Nani ........ 6 Xavi
13 Park Ji-Sung ....... 8 Andrés Iniesta
32 Carlos Tévez ........ 9 Samuel Eto'o
7 Cristiano Ronaldo ........ 19 Lionel Messi

Substitutes
22 John O'Shea Sylvinho 16
11 Ryan Giggs Thierry Henry 14
27 Mikael Silvestre Eidur Gudjohnsen 7
24 Darren Fletcher José Manuel Pinto 13
29 Tomasz Kuszczak Edmílson 15
8 Anderson Lilian Thuram 21
47 Danny Welbeck Bojan Krkic 27

Substitutions
Ryan Giggs for Nani (77)
Thierry Henry for Andrés Iniesta (60)

Darren Fletcher for Paul Scholes (77)
Bojan Krkic for Samuel Eto'o (71)

Mikael Silvestre for Patrice Evra (90)
Eidur Gudjohnsen for Yaya Touré (88)

Yellow Cards

[Stuttgart88]

This Barcelona team is the best team I have ever seen in my life. Even better than Jim McLaughlin's Rovers :)

But football is such a mad game that if that useless stick Bendtner had taken a very very decent chance on 89 minutes, a rag tag Arsenal team would have beaten them. It's not rugby or basketball where the best team is virtually guaranteed to win. Human error - players' or officials' can be really costly. One of the best things about football is that a team that is well set up and that gets a bit of luck can get a result against a superior team, because it's a low scoring game.

I hope Barcelona go on to win this competition without any controversy. They are as close to perfection as I have seen in 35 years of watching football.

wrt Wenger's moaning, I have a strong suspicion that, not just being a sore loser, he is trying to protect his team's mindset. I think he is trying to get them to think that they are victims and not just inferior. He'd be wrong by any objective measure, but although to the public it looks like moaning and sour grapes I think there may be a higher purpose.

Ferguson has achieved something similar - United aren't on poor form - they're victims, in their minds.

[Stuttgart88]

The Barca team that beat MU in the CL final, played them off the park, imo MU were humiliated.True as the game panned out, but what if Ronaldo (?) took a great chance to open the scoring after about 7 or 8 minutes? I think he mis-hit a volley from 12 yards into the ground but I was drunk then and I'm drunk now...

Goals change football matches, sometimes beyond recognition.

[dfx-]

Dfx ,, your losing yourself in your own mind

henry was on the bench & ronaldinho was not even in squad for game ..

yes it was a p*ss poor barcelona team ( massive sarcasam ) see the disintrested players below who played for barcelona that night.. what a shower of wasters !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!! compared to uniteds 11 world class players :D

On paper old git yes..

Barca finished third that season, 17 points behind Real, they were very poor. They picked up 64 points all season. They already have 74 by March. When you see Zambrotta and Milito who even Busquets gets ahead of nowadays, that was a team low on confidence..the team was riddled with in-house disputes between Eto'o and Ronaldinho and Deco and Messi

[shakermaker1982]

I think this Barca team is playing much better than back then, and United and Chelsea are weaker.

I think that unless the opposition gets quite a large slice of luck, like Inter last year, this Barca team is going to be really hard to beat.

Inter were magnificent in the first leg. Ok Barca were unlucky in the 2nd leg with that 'goal' at the end but Inter did play 60 minutes or so with 10 men after a disgraceful bit of play acting by Busquet's (I think).

Chelsea the year before at Stamford Bridge contained them superbly until Iniesta got that goal at the death. How many penalties should Chelsea have had though? Yet the ref failed to give one. If Chelsea had been given a penalty and scored it then Barca would have been out..... Barca have had their fair share of luck as well.

Barca are a magnificent side but they are not invincible. Give Mourinho and Madrid a shot in a Cup game (CL Final maybe?!) and I'd be surprised if Barca tore them a new one like they did in that 5 nil thrashing.

Man Utd-Barca the 2009 final I think (I get my years mixed up) was very one sided after 80 minutes but like you say Stutts Man Utd started very well and should have scored. Ronaldo thought he could win the game on his own and the rest is history. I don't think Fergie got his tactics and his side right on the night. It might have not mattered much but I think they'd have given Barca more of a game if Tevez and Scholes had started.

[DeLorean]

Excellent post SM but for some reason I'm not able to thank it. You pretty much covered everything I was thinking when reading the other posts. Inter did play very well against Barcelona and only got the bit of luck they deserved in my opinion. I think it's ridiculous to talk about Inter being lucky without paying reference to Chelsea being robbed the year before. I also agree about United's tactics in the 2009 Final, unlike the year before where they got them spot on. Not too dissimilar to Sunday, where it was nothing short of brain dead not playing a five man midfield.

Edit: 'Thanks' button suddendly became visible!

[DeLorean]

Why did he need to lie then about not hearing the whistle? Why not say "I was in full motion of lining up a shot and instinctively kicked it towards the goals"

I just don't think it really matters whether he lied or not about hearing the whistle. My point is that the sending off was absolute nonsense. It was probably just easier for Van Persie to demonstrate to the referee that he hadn't heard it and had to keep up the charade in the interview afterwards. Certainly easier than explaining "I was in full motion of lining up a shot and instinctively kicked it towards the goals" in the heat of the moment.

[old git]

This Barcelona team is the best team I have ever seen in my life. Even better than Jim McLaughlin's Rovers :)

But football is such a mad game that if that useless stick Bendtner had taken a very very decent chance on 89 minutes, a rag tag Arsenal team would have beaten them. It's not rugby or basketball where the best team is virtually guaranteed to win. Human error - players' or officials' can be really costly. One of the best things about football is that a team that is well set up and that gets a bit of luck can get a result against a superior team, because it's a low scoring game.

I hope Barcelona go on to win this competition without any controversy. They are as close to perfection as I have seen in 35 years of watching football.

wrt Wenger's moaning, I have a strong suspicion that, not just being a sore loser, he is trying to protect his team's mindset. I think he is trying to get them to think that they are victims and not just inferior. He'd be wrong by any objective measure, but although to the public it looks like moaning and sour grapes I think there may be a higher purpose.

Ferguson has achieved something similar - United aren't on poor form - they're victims, in their minds.

dont buy into the hype about this current barcelona team... and disagree they are the best team ever... poor goalkeeper dodgy full backs defending / dodgy centre halfs but from midfield up they are excellent and i think alot of teams fear this and set up teams to counter this rather than having a go at attacking them.. liverpool / ajax / milan / madrids etc in their glory day would have been more than capable of beating this current barcelona team

[geysir]

Who claimed they were the best ever team?

Puyol and Pique, dodgy centre halfs? :) I supposed they would have to be artful dodgers to play for the current best teams in the world, Barca and Spain. But what would I know?

[old git]

Who claimed they were the best ever team?

Puyol and Pique, dodgy centre halfs? :) I supposed they would have to be artful dodgers to play for the current best teams in the world, Barca and Spain. But what would I know?

stuggart88 a few posts back ... the same pique who could not get a game for man utd ..!! lots of so called best teams in the world have always had a few dodgy players .. just because you win a world cup medal / champions league it makes you a great player ... traore with liverpool / berg utd / mc manaman madrid to name a few ..

[dfx-]

dont buy into the hype about this current barcelona team... and disagree they are the best team ever... poor goalkeeper dodgy full backs defending / dodgy centre halfs but from midfield up they are excellent and i think alot of teams fear this and set up teams to counter this rather than having a go at attacking them.. liverpool / ajax / milan / madrids etc in their glory day would have been more than capable of beating this current barcelona team

Dodgy centre halves?:rolleyes: Very few strikers will outrun Abidal certainly and possibly Pique, not many strikers will outmuscle Puyol. Their full backs are wing backs..

And dominating the ball, being able to control it and not lose it is as valid a defensive tactic as any. Maybe they're not good at John Terry/Carragher last minute lunges recoveries from mistakes, but you have to have the ball and keep it to attack them...

[bennocelt]

Dodgy centre halves?:rolleyes: Very few strikers will outrun Abidal certainly and possibly Pique, not many strikers will outmuscle Puyol. Their full backs are wing backs..
.

he is muck..........please:rolleyes:

[geysir]

stuggart88 a few posts back ... .
I would be reluctant to speak for young Stutts but he said they were the best he had seen. A bit of a difference to saying they are the best team ever.


the same pique who could not get a game for man utd ..!! lots of so called best teams in the world have always had a few dodgy players .. just because you win a world cup medal / champions league it makes you a great player ..
You said they were dodgy. I presume you mean dodgy at the top level.
No dodgy player would be captain of Barca and Spain, when both teams are in their prime and ruling the football world.
As it happens I rate Puyol as one of the finest captains and players around. No he is not the greatest, far from it, just an indispensable and inspirational component of both those superb teams.

[dfx-]

he is muck..........please:rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

Great player this season, calm and measured...

[bennocelt]

:rolleyes:

Great player this season, calm and measured...
Playing for Barcelona, yeah a lot of tough games there alright:rolleyes:

[DeLorean]

You said they were dodgy. I presume you mean dodgy at the top level.
No dodgy player would be captain of Barca and Spain, when both teams are in their prime and ruling the football world.
As it happens I rate Puyol as one of the finest captains and players around. No he is not the greatest, far from it, just an indispensable and inspirational component of both those superb teams.

I would add that Spain didn't even concede a goal in the knock-out rounds of either the Euros or the WC. That's 7 games, which is an incredible defensive record given the level they were playing at, and for a side based on playing attacking football. Obviously this is as much down to their incredible ball retention, but it just doesn't happy with a poor defence. Puyol was an ever present, partnered by Marchena in the Euros and Pique in the WC. He got the vital goal in the WC semi against Germany, a real captains goals as well (even though he wasn't the captain obviously). All of Spain's goals in the tournament were scored by Barcelona players, says a lot. This Barcelona side are also the best side I have seen, but they do struggle to not only score, but to even create chances when a top team crowd the centre forcing them to wide areas.

[Stuttgart88]

I have never seen a team as comfortable with the ball as Barca, who can dismantle teams brilliantly without resorting to directness and who win the ball back so quickly. They may have weaknesses but it's pure Harlem Globetrotters stuff and I'm mesmerised by it.

Just look at the first goal from last Tuesday again: OK Fabregas was careless, but Iniesta's footwork was brilliant, the chipped pass to Messi, the way Messi chipped the ball over Almunia and then the volleyed finish. Amazing stuff, made look easy. The second goal, leaving some very good players just sliding on the grass chasing shadows. Wonderful.

Are they as good as Milan in 94 or Real from the 50s? I think the game gets better every 10 years or so. You can only be the best of your era. The Dutch "total football" machine - maybe Ajax were the Barca of their era, but as Geysir says, I was a bit too young.

Chelsea vs Barca: same point in a way. Barca are much better now than they were then. They're better now than last year even. Villa is better than Ibrahimovic in my opinion, a player I've never really got.

Of those 4 "penalties", Malouda actually fouled Alves. It should have been a free out. They ref got that first one doubly wrong!

The second call - Drogba only went down once he saw Valdes was going to get the ball first. Slight tug, yes, but not enough to put Drogba down, or even slow him. It'd have been a soft one.

Pique's handball when the ball dropped over his head? I'd have given it myself, but you could see on the replay that it was accidental and that Pique was looking away from the ball.

The blocked shot in injury time? Hardly clearcut. Sometimes they're given, sometimes they're not.

The ref was villified beyond belief in that game and I'd love the chance to debate each individual incident with Alan Greene or Martin Samuel. 3 half-decent calls doesn't equal 1.5 certain penalties. Barca rode their luck for sure, but I'm not saying Barca from 2009 are the best team I have ever seen. Barca of this season are.

Inter v Barca last year: Was Milito's goal not a mile offside, a bit like Tevez v Mexico? Was Alvez not taken down in the box in the second half? That's a 2 goal swing (one away goal too) in my opinion. Add the arguable but not too contentious handball by Kircic(?) and that's quite a headstart Mourinho's Inter got, even if they did execute a gameplan really well.

[Stuttgart88]

the same pique who could not get a game for man utd ..!! When though? Anyway, he's knocking off Shakira. Who's Rio with?

[old git]

When though? Anyway, he's knocking off Shakira. Who's Rio with?

ok i'll concede pique is the man . just for knocking off shakira :D rio does not have the time he is always on twitter ....

[Closed Account 2]

Draw:

Real Madrid/Tottenham v Barcelona/Shakhtar

Inter/Schalke v Chelsea/Manchester United

[Closed Account 2]

Interesting histories there, Inter v Schalke was the UEFA Cup final 1997, Schalke won on penalties after 1-0s in each leg.
Man Utd and Chelsea was the final in 2008.
Barca played Shaktar in 2009 in the Supercup and also in the CL in 2004 where it was one win each.
Dont think Real and Spurs have played each other recently in competitive matches.

[KK77]

Some interesting ties there alright. In terms of football the Madrid/Spurs and Barce/Shakhtar games have the makings of great games. I suppose you'd have to fancy the winners of the Chelsea/Man U tie to go all the way to the final but you never know.

[Closed Account 2]

Inter are a dangerous team on their day and I think Eto'o could cause problems for Man Utd's makeshift defence and also for Chelsea's backline (if they were to get through). It still amazes me that Barca offloaded him and paid millions of Euros for Ibrahimovic. Eto'o was the best striker to play there in the last decade, way better than that Villa. Similar story on Wesley Scheidjer, Real Madrid dropped a clanger in lettting him go, should have been world player of the year last year.

[DeLorean]

Wouldn't rule out Inter, they have been far better under Leonardo (not a cheap shot, just a fact really!!), handy enough draw for them too to help gather a bit of momentum...similar to when they drew CSKA last year. That said, Schalke will be no pushover, super results for them against Valencia.

I've a feeling Madrid might make light work of Spurs in the first leg and set up the El Classico semies. Potentially there could be four El Classicos in 19 days.

Chelsea Man Utd is almost too close to call, assuming United have Vidic fit for both legs. I'd give them very little chance without him. United have a desperately poor record at the Bridge in recent years and rarely even score. Chelsea's record at OT is excellent as well. Wouldn't be surprised to see it go to extra time all the same, or somebody to win on away goals.

Great draw.

[KK77]

Inter are a dangerous team on their day and I think Eto'o could cause problems for Man Utd's makeshift defence and also for Chelsea's backline (if they were to get through). It still amazes me that Barca offloaded him and paid millions of Euros for Ibrahimovic. Eto'o was the best striker to play there in the last decade, way better than that Villa. Similar story on Wesley Scheidjer, Real Madrid dropped a clanger in lettting him go, should have been world player of the year last year.

Yeah i suppose they will be a danger and having the experience of winning it last season will help. Would be something special for Leonardo to get to them to the final never mind winning it in his first season as manager!

[The Fly]

Are they as good as Milan in 94 or Real from the 50s? I think the game gets better every 10 years or so. You can only be the best of your era. The Dutch "total football" machine - maybe Ajax were the Barca of their era, but as Geysir says, I was a bit too young.


It's the AC Milan side that won the European Cup back-to-back in 1989 & 1990 that still gets my vote. That side was just littered with great players, like Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta, Donadoni, Rijkaard, Gullit, Van Basten and so on. Whilst the current Barcelona side equal or perhaps surpass that Milan side as an attacking force, their defence pales in comparison.

Besides, I do find the discussion somewhat premature since Barcelona have to successfully defend the title before before being seriously countenanced for such exalted status.

[DeLorean]

Besides, I do find the discussion somewhat premature since Barcelona have to successfully defend the title before before being seriously countenanced for such an exalted title.

Why is defending a title such a benchmark? surely a team winning three titles in five years have done more than a team that won two in a row and no more, even if they have never defended it successfully.

[DeLorean]

Dont think Real and Spurs have played each other recently in competitive matches.

Not recently but...

The two clubs met in the quarter-finals of the 1984/85 Uefa Cup when the Spanish side beat 1-0 Tottenham away before a goalless draw at the Bernabeu helped them advance on the way to winning the trophy that season.

[The Fly]

Why is defending a title such a benchmark? surely a team winning three titles in five years have done more than a team that won two in a row and no more, even if they have never defended it successfully.

It's what of all the greatest European club sides throughout history have in common, whether that be the Real Madrid sides of the 1950s, the Ajax side of the early 1970s, the Bayern Munich side of the mid 1970s, the Liverpool side of the late 1970s, or of course, the Milan side of the late 80s/early 90s. The reason being, rather obviously, that each sides run of success was attained using largely the same players.

The Barcelona side that won the Champions League in the 2005/06 season had a very different composition to the current side, with Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o comprising its main attacking triumvirate. This stands in contrast to the current sides 'holy trinity' of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Indeed, only two of the current Barcelona side (Valdes & Puyol) started the 2006 Champions League final, so for me it's too far removed from the current side to be considered.

[OwlsFan]

League Table so far:

6 Bennocelt
6 Cfdh Edmundo
6 Shakermaker
5 Delorean
5 Gustavo
5 OwlsFan


Inter Milan v Schalke
Real Madrid v Tottenham
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea v Man Utd

[shakermaker1982]

Inter Milan v Schalke
Real Madrid v Tottenham
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea v Man Utd

I think Shakhtar could pull off a shock though....I don't know why but I don't think Barca will be meeting Madrid in the semi finals.

[Stuttgart88]

As it happens I rate Puyol as one of the finest captains and players around. No he is not the greatest, far from it, just an indispensable and inspirational component of both those superb teams.Anyone who has seen Barca's last few domestic games will have seen how much he is missed. They shipped a bag load of chances against Sevilla and very nearly squandered a 2 goal lead at home to Getafe.

Against Sevilla they were a bit unlucky, hitting the woodwork, having shots cleared off the line and having at least one perfectly obvious penalty denied, but at the same time Valdes saved them at least once from defeat. They are looking very vulnerable without Puyol and because they have not rotated much their star players will have to dig deep to keep standards up.

They're by no means a shoo-in to win the CL, or even La Liga. Real Madrid have kept up the pressure.

[DeLorean]

The reason being, rather obviously, that each sides run of success was attained using largely the same players.

The Barcelona side that won the Champions League in the 2005/06 season had a very different composition to the current side, with Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o comprising its main attacking triumvirate. This stands in contrast to the current sides 'holy trinity' of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Indeed, only two of the current Barcelona side (Valdes & Puyol) started the 2006 Champions League final, so for me it's too far removed from the current side to be considered.

Yeah I agree about the Barca 2006 team in relation to their 2009/current side. I meant a team that consists of largely the same players winning 3 in 5 years? I think this Barca side are going to be considered great regarless of whether they retain the title at some point or not. As I've said previously, it's far harder to retain now than before I think.

[DeLorean]

Inter Milan v Schalke
Real Madrid v Tottenham
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea v Man Utd

[Closed Account 2]

Why is defending a title such a benchmark? surely a team winning three titles in five years have done more than a team that won two in a row and no more, even if they have never defended it successfully.

The thing is there is a sort-of UEFA benchmark associated with it. Or more specifically winning 3 in a row or 5 overall.

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/competitions/UCL/84/52/77/845277_DOWNLOAD.pdf
"Multiple-winner badge
19.14 Subject to a licence being granted by UEFA, multiple winners of the UEFA
Champions League (three consecutive times or a minimum of five times) may
wear a multiple-winner badge on the free zone of the left shirt sleeve..."

It's that blue badge with a white number and trophy outline on it. Real Madrid, Milan, Liverpool, Ajax and Bayern have it (the latter 2 via the 3-in-a-row method); and all have won it more times than Barca. I think the blue badge, while being an asthetic marketing gimmick, is a reasonably good measure of European pedigree. This Barca team is yet to utterly dominate Europe, yes in 2008 and 2010 they went out in semi finals to eventual winners, but Valencia made two finals in a row and Benfica were involved in 5 of the finals in the 1960s (winning 2), in an annual trophy is coming 3rd/4th really a success ?

I can't help but think that a lot of the pontification of this Barca team is media induced. Yes they might currently be the best side to watch, but labelling them as the best-team-in-the-world-ever™, people have already mentioned the Milan team of the 1980s-1990s (in a vastly more competitive domestic league), but you could just as easily make a case for Beckenbauer's Bayern, Cryuff's Ajax or internationally the Wunderteam, Puskas's Hungary etc being better.

[bennocelt]

Inter Milan v Schalke
Real Madrid v Tottenham
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea v Man Utd

[Stuttgart88]

but you could just as easily make a case for Beckenbauer's Bayern, Cryuff's Ajax or internationally the Wunderteam, Puskas's Hungary etc being better.Just speaking for myself, but because the game progresses in terms of absolute standard every ten years or so, the best team of the moment is probably the best there has been.

But I take the point - Andy Murray who has won eff all is probably a better player in absolute terms than Bjorn Borg ever was, but Borg was a legend and Murray has a lot to do to become anything other than Britain's best player for a long time.

For me, Barcelona are the best team I have ever seen, but they are not as great a team (yet?) as some of those mentioned above. Absolute quality versus relative quality in a temporal context I suppose.

[osarusan]

In terms of the extent to which a particular team has been better than every other team around them, AC Milan of the early 90's would be my choice. There was a bigger gap between them and everybody else than any other team I've seen in any era.

[DeLorean]

The thing is there is a sort-of UEFA benchmark associated with it. Or more specifically winning 3 in a row or 5 overall

Yeah, it really is UEFA driven. I suppose the 5 overall bit doesn't really apply to 'the best team ever' discussion as there were more than likely going to be completely different sets of players from the first to the fifth, Real Madrid 1950's aside. I think any team that win three in a row have to be taken seriously in this discussion, much more so than two in a row. Man Utd weren't a million miles from winning two in a row in 2009, with a team that could hardly be considered 'great' even if they did.


people have already mentioned the Milan team of the 1980s-1990s (in a vastly more competitive domestic league)

More competitive league, yes...but more competitive European Cup competition?? probably not.

[gustavo]

Inter Milan Schalke
Real Madrid Tottenham
Barcelona Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea Man Utd

[Junior]

Great Freudian slip from 'arry when being interviewed after Spurs' 4-0 defeat to Real. When talking about Crouch and his early Red card "he's the most ineffective player you could meet" or words to that effect, what he meant was inoffensive.......made me chuckle anyway.

[KK77]

Great Freudian slip from 'arry when being interviewed after Spurs' 4-0 defeat to Real. When talking about Crouch and his early Red card "he's the most ineffective player you could meet" or words to that effect, what he meant was inoffensive.......made me chuckle anyway.

I had to laugh when he was bemoaning Krankjaer being injured on the bench.....since when did he give a f*ck about him.

[Closed Account 2]

I've missed predicitions on the two games last night, but for the other two qaurters I'll go:

Barca Shaktar
Chelsea Man Utd

[DeLorean]

I had to laugh when he was bemoaning Krankjaer being injured on the bench.....since when did he give a f*ck about him.

He has always rated Kranjcar. Why else would he sign him for two different clubs? He's just not in his best eleven at the moment and, to be fair, it's hard to see where he would fit him in. Who would you drop for him with everybody fit?

Redknapp on Kranjcar (http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/tottenham-boss-redknapp-kranjcar-genuine-matchwinner-1434371)


I've missed predicitions on the two games last night, but for the other two qaurters I'll go:

Barca Shaktar
Chelsea Man Utd

Who would you have gone for before last night's games, we'll believe you? (except maybe Bennocelt, serious trust issues that fella!:rolleyes:)

Surprised to see you go for Man U, any particular reason or just a hunch?

[KK77]

He should really play him more often if he rates him that highly. Recent results against struggling teams in the league would surely warrant giving the fella a chance mind you i heard him and an interviewer at the weekend saying that recent results are more to do with these struggling teams being very good. Bale didn't play Saturday so he could have played him then instead of Jenas or he could easily have played him in place of Lennon against West Ham or brought him on at at some stage, he could have played him against Wolves or even Blackpool seen as he rates him so highly. All those results have been extremly poor for Spurs and here's a player he rates highly getting five minutes here and five mintes there if that and he is moaning about him last night among other excuses. Amazing how things can be spinned.

[DeLorean]

Yeah, it's strange that he doesn't get more game time alright, especially after his winning goals against Bolton and Sunderland. Jenas is awful alright, he should always play ahead of him. Maybe he doesn't trust him in the centre.