Champions League 2014/5

[DeLorean]

I could have used my Sky Go app. My battery was running thin though and the charger was all the way upstairs.

[geysir]

The wednesday night CL football was decent enough and the rte 2 pundit talk is much improved with Darragh Maloney but it was Lenny Henry who stole the show later on.

[geysir]

This thread includes the EL?? It's not as the thread is being clogged up so far.
That was superb penalty shoot out in Istanbul, a 9/10.
Even Charlie would have been tickled by some of the postage stamp dispatches.
An 8pm start. Bilbao v Torino is excellent fare so far and a firm 2 fingered gesture to those who condescend towards the EL

[OwlsFan]

Once again the "greatest league in the world" falls short. Interesting article here:

http://www.football365.com/john-nicholson/9732477/Another-One-In-The-Eye-For-The-Premier-League

They all make such a fuss about getting in to the Champions League and in the end it usually ends up in misery. True Chelsea are still in there but overall most English teams fall well short of the required standard both in the CL and Europa League.

[DeLorean]

Good article but I had no issue with Arsenal being clear favourites to progress. They have been pretty solid CL performers for well over a decade. Obviously Monaco shouldn't have been dismissed completely but it was a major upset. I'm not sure anybody expected Tottenham to beat Fiorentina with any real conviction, especially after the first leg. I'd assume most would have viewed it as a fairly even tie.

[geysir]

Since Bielsa moved to Marseilles I've been watching quite a bit of French football and there is no doubt in my mind that it is quite a bit better than than the epl. Monaco's league position is more due to their horrible start to their league campaign, and that was probably down to new coach and new methods, imo they are as good as the top 3 there.
They had sold on their best 2 players (Rodriguez and Falcoa). Against arsenal they had a reserve back 4 playing, which in all is a testament to their youth policy and famed academy tradition.
Strange enough, the emergence of the billionaire back super team, PSG, increasing an economic income gap with PSG well ahead of all the the rest, hasn't translated to a dominance in the league, both Lyon and Marseilles have as good as chance as PSG of winning the league.

[Charlie Darwin]

I wouldn't say Ligue 1 is better than the EPL at all. It's a poor league to watch with often very little invention - like the Premier League in the 1990s at a much slower pace - but there are undoubtedly a lot of very good players. France is producing more quality players than any other country in Europe at the moment.

[geysir]

I wouldn't say Ligue 1 is better than the EPL at all. It's a poor league to watch with often very little invention - like the Premier League in the 1990s at a much slower pace - but there are undoubtedly a lot of very good players. France is producing more quality players than any other country in Europe at the moment.
I'm watching Stoke v Everton this evening and I am struggling to see the invention, never mind the quality.

[DeLorean]

They love their tube stations! (http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/soccer/watch-shocking-brawl-between-spurs-and-chelsea-fans-after-cup-final-665180.html)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJe8ihSuUS0

[Charlie Darwin]

3-3 at the Bernabeu. Schalke still need 2 but what a crazy game.

Basel 2-0 down at Porto. It must be humbling for geysir to realise that English teams are the only ones his boys are capable of routinely thrashing.

[BonnieShels]

That was insane and Schalke had plenty of opportunities to wrap it up too.

[DeLorean]

Sergio Ramos a monumental loss. Think he's back in full training. Himself and Modric should make a big difference.

[OwlsFan]

That was insane and Schalke had plenty of opportunities to wrap it up too.

A classic and almost one of the all time great games if Schalke could have taken one of those couple of chances they had at the end.

[The Fly]

http://oi59.tinypic.com/63up9z.jpg

[Charlie Darwin]

#zlatan

[BonnieShels]

#thelesserof2evils

[BonnieShels]

Bloody Bayern go and ruin my buzz though.

[The Fly]

http://i.imgur.com/CCNawF2.gif

[BonnieShels]

Costa is a fupping thug!

[BonnieShels]

Eamonn has used "cancer on the game".

Full-house.

[Charlie Darwin]

Mourinho is "evil" according to John. The lads on the eckers tonight I think.

[geysir]

3-3 at the Bernabeu. Schalke still need 2 but what a crazy game.

Basel 2-0 down at Porto. It must be humbling for geysir to realise that English teams are the only ones his boys are capable of routinely thrashing.
I can do humble and gladly so, on the most odd occasion that it would be required :) but I don't see your point, you should know by now the epl is currently cráp and Basle can thump most every EPL team, that's no big deal, but playing the best teams from other Euro leagues is another question altogether. ATM, even French League 1 is superior to the EPL in every way.
Most soccer folk would not in any way shape or form be deemed supporters of PSG, but tonight I'd hazard a guess that most were behind PSG all the way.

[The Fly]

Well done PSG for kicking racism out of football.

[geysir]

Kicking racism, cynicism and Costa out of football.

[The Fly]

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/paddysloan/8A042D45-B548-4881-AF76-281691C6E31F_zps38n6hoju.jpg

[KK77]

Poor Jose having to put up with PSG time wasting. Karma!

[OwlsFan]

Poor Jose having to put up with PSG time wasting. Karma!

Football is full of hypocrisy with players feeling aggrieved by (a) an opponent diving, (b) an opponent feigning injury, (c) an opponent wasting time - the list is endless - when they do it themselves.

The thing that disappointed me the most about the WC2014 was when Didier Drogba appeared at some game and the crowd applauded him: the greatest injury feigner in the history of the game! He also gets a gig advertising an airline.

I despair for football sometimes and where it's going.

[BonnieShels]

I read things from when I was growing up and I despair at where we are. I am falling out of love with the game. I'm lucky I still have the LOI.

[Stuttgart88]

I'm actually not that fussed. Football always had dark arts and creeps and spivs. Chelsea has always been a classless institution from top to bottom. They all just have a hundred times more exposure now and too many whingers are too quick to highlight all the negatives. The big story for me was a brilliant PSG performance and two great headed goals from much mocked players. Thiago Silva's determination to make both his late headers was an inspiration. Absolute top quality game.

Obviously there is a lot of room to improve behaviour but as long as the game remains a financial goldmine there is no incentive to fix it. But football is a perfect metaphor for the real world and I wish naive do-gooders would stop whining.

I don't agree with Souness's explanation that imported foreigners are at the root of the problem in English clubs. Not fully anyway. For me the issue is football's zero tolerance to retaliation and violent behaviour. If Jonny Evans could have just grabbed yer man last week he wouldn't have gobbed on him instead! If slight retaliation wasn't automatically followed by a red, opponents wouldn't overeact to retaliation. On one hand zero tolerance to aggression has made the game technically miles better but an unintended consequence is that it makes it easier to cheat and it makes the players look soft.

Some degree of trial by TV should be allowed though and blatantly wrong decisions can be corrected in near-real time if the recent Dutch TMO experiment was followed. This is where a fourth official with a TV monitor in a studio had 15 seconds to notify a ref if something was clearly wrong. It seemed to improve things.

[DeLorean]

Is Thiago Silva a much mocked player?

[Stuttgart88]

I think Luiz and Silva were both mocked during the summer, no?

[OwlsFan]

Some degree of trial by TV should be allowed though and blatantly wrong decisions can be corrected in near-real time if the recent Dutch TMO experiment was followed. This is where a fourth official with a TV monitor in a studio had 15 seconds to notify a ref if something was clearly wrong. It seemed to improve things.

Penalty decisions, sending offs and goals/disallowed where there is a question of offside/fouls should be reviewed at the request of a captain (two reviews like in cricket). Fans wouldn't mind a game being held up to get a decision correct since so many crucial decisions are often incorrect. I know we'll miss the instant delirium of a goal if the opponent decides to review it but just think PARIS.

[DeLorean]

I think Luiz and Silva were both mocked during the summer, no?

I thought Silva was almost single handedly (well, Neymar as well I suppose) responsible for Brazil going as far as they did. He was suspended for the Germany game so was exempt from that criticism and it would have probably been a more normal scoreline had he been there anyway I'd imagine. He was back for the poor showing in the third place match but I can't really remember him getting mocked like Luiz does, or at all really.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Is Thiago Silva a much mocked player?

Joey Barton said he looks like a "tranny".

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

The panel on TV3 called Monaco's stadium a "church". Have they ever been to The Emirates?

[OwlsFan]

Sometimes people underestimate psychology in football or sport in general. Last night I saw on TV one of the most one sided football games you're ever likely to see. Monaco 0-2 Arsenal with the possession something like 30/70%. Why? Because Monaco reckoned the tie was in the bag and all they needed to do was defend and they just handed the game to Arsenal. Having also seen the first leg it was bizarre. It reminded me of our play-off game against France. They won the first leg against us comfortably enough and thought the tie was over and handed the initiative to us. People said after that game that it showed how Ireland could play if left off Trap's leash. The truth was France just handed us the initiative like Monaco did to Arsenal and both almost paid the price. To a lesser extent the Chelsea vs PSG was also similar. The home side thought they did enough in the away leg but this time they paid the price. Offence, not defence, is the best form of attack and if I may end with another sexist and fattest cliche, it ain't over until the fat lady sings.

[Charlie Darwin]

I don't think they thought it was won - I think they just recognised Arsenal are a much better team and their best chance of winning is to defend deep.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

For all the belittlement of Monaco and posturing about how superior Arsenal are from English pundits, Arsenal's goals came about from silly individual errors from Monaco players, not from their own "superiority".

[DeLorean]

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's fashionable for the Sky Sports merchants to big up the Premier League and it seems fashionable for some to knock it. It's a bit selective to point to two French team's narrow wins (both on away goals) as some sort of indication of Ligue 1 superiority and ignoring the fact that the PL has had by far the better performers in the majority of the previous seasons. I think Arsenal would go through against Monaco nine times out of ten to be honest. PSG have a lot more pedigree I feel and would hold their own against the top English sides every time. I'd expect any of the heavy hitters to make light work of Monaco in the quarters but PSG would be a different story. That said, the heavy hitters would probably make light enough work of Arsenal too.

[Charlie Darwin]

This could become a very embarrassing night for City. Barca are so superior it's ridiculous.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Messi and Neymar f***ing unreal. Such an unselfish player too, unlike Ronaldo; with his skulking after Bale "stole" his goal against Levante. You could cut the tension with a knife.

Rakitic and Alba having unreal games too. Nasri being shown up! Kompany looking very average at this level too, again.

[Charlie Darwin]

What is Fernandinho for, exactly?

[DannyInvincible]

Really poor penalty. What a chance to get City back into the game.

[Charlie Darwin]

It was poor but well-saved by Ter Stegen. Such a strange game, Barca should be about 15 up.

[geysir]

The CL is thee world football competition, it has everything that we love about football. I suppose it also has a good deal of what we don't like about football but fortunately Mourinho has been consigned to CL 2014/15 history
I'd put Monaco's performance down to nerves and as a team hadn't the nous to know how to play the 2nd leg when 3-1 up after the first leg,
With their nerves shot they just kept giving the ball back to Arsenal in their own half, set themselves up to be kept under pressure and ended up gifting them the important 2nd goal.

When it comes to Barca, we have a team that has revolutionised defending, in that active defending starts by winning back possession of the ball as soon as you have lost it. And Messi, 10 seconds of Messi at his best is worth the 90 minutes, on its own.
I enjoy the rte coverage/pundit debate so much more now that Bill has departed, such a positive difference it is to have Maloney in the chair.

[eitoof]

Best league in the world, innit?

[Stuttgart88]

Messi was amazing but as Geysir says, Barcelona's ability to win the ball back within seconds of losing it was unreal.

And as for the criticism of Arsenal's goals being the result of opposition errors, can't one say the same thing about Monaco's goals in London? The tie was basically about one team in each leg being pretty poor.

[DeLorean]

Q/F's

PSG v Barca
Atletico v Real
Porto v Bayern
Juve v Monaco

[Charlie Darwin]

Gary Neville in full bull**** mode, claiming Verratti doesn't work hard off the ball.

[Charlie Darwin]

And Porto 2-0 up against Bayern.