Champions league draw

[Dodge]

Group A
Liverpool
Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

Group B
Chelsea
Valencia
Schalke
Rosenberg

Group C
Real Madrid
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiacos

Group D
AC Milan
Benfica
Celtic
Shakter Donetsk

Group E
Barcelona
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers

Group F
Man Utd
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kiev

Group G
Inter Milan
PSV
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbache

Group H
Arsenal
Sevilla/AEK Athens
Steaua Bucharest
Slavia Prague

[sligoman]

Group A
Liverpool
Porto

Group B
Valencia
Chelsea

Group C
Real Madrid
Werder Bremen

Group D
AC Milan
Celtic

Group E
Barcelona
Stuttgart

Group F
Man Utd
Sporting Lisbon

Group G
PSV
Inter Milan

Group H
Sevilla
Arsenal

[TheBoss]

I would pick:

Group A
Liverpool
Porto

Group B
Chelsea
Valencia

Group C
Real Madrid
Lazio

Group D
AC Milan
Shahktar Donetsk

Group E
Barcelona
Lyon

Group F
Man Utd
Roma

Group G
Inter Milan
PSV

Group H
Arsenal
Sevilla

[shakermaker1982]

I watched this live today. What a joke it was - it took nearly an hour. How you can make a 32 team competition draw so complicated is beyond me.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Celtic have a tough group. All teams in with a shout of advancing. All other groups seem pretty clearcut, except I think Moscow will get through at PSV's expense.

[Saint Tom]

yawn,


have we not seen these group before? the whole cmpetition is so tired and boring.

[superfrank]

Chelsea will have a tough draw.

I don't watch La Liga so I don't know what to think of Valencia this year, but last year in the tie against them, they impressed me and in the end we were rather lucky, although it was a nice finish by Essien.

Schalke are one of the more exciting German sides. Great stadium and great atmosphere. Technically gifted side, with players like Gustavo Varela, Lincoln and Kuranyi. Didn't they sign Yildiray Basturk as well? They would be one of the best third seeds.

I haven't seen Rosenborg in years but I imagine they are one of the strongest fourth seeds. They're certainly the strongest Norwegian side seen as no other Norwegian side has qualified for the CL since they last did. I have fond memories of Norwegian sides though. 7-1 against Tromso anyone?

[mypost]

Liverpool and Marseille to come through Group A.

[TheBoss]

Lincoln has left Schalke to go off to Galatasaray, superfrank. They replaced him with Ivan Rakitic, an exciting prospect.

[superfrank]

Lincoln has left Schalke to go off to Galatasaray, superfrank. They replaced him with Ivan Rakitic, an exciting prospect.
Oh thanks. I haven't been able to keep up with the Bundesliga this season. Did they sign Yildiray Basturk or was it some other team?

[Risteard]

Can't get the odds at work but I'd imagine Sevilla would be a good outside bet at the CL this year, along with Liverpool of course.

[RogerMilla]

Oh thanks. I haven't been able to keep up with the Bundesliga this season. Did they sign Yildiray Basturk or was it some other team?

basturk is always injured SF , never got his old leverkeusen form back. good player though.

[DaveyCakes]

Basturk joined Stuttgart

[mypost]

About time something like this was considered. (http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cups/championsleague/news/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/08/31/SOCCER_Barwick.html&TEAMHD=championsleague)

[DmanDmythDledge]

About time something like this was considered. (http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cups/championsleague/news/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/08/31/SOCCER_Barwick.html&TEAMHD=championsleague)
God no, the best clubs have to be in the Champions League. Cup finalists are sometimes there due to lucky draw. League is the only way to show the best teams.

[erinfootball]

Theres a lot of groups this year where any four could advance. Im looking at the Inter Milan group. Though I think PSV will get through. Their mostly Latino side looked almost unbeatable at the end of the Dutch league last year.

[Bottle of Tonic]

Theres a lot of groups this year where any four could advance. Im looking at the Inter Milan group. Though I think PSV will get through. Their mostly Latino side looked almost unbeatable at the end of the Dutch league last year.

Ya was thinking that. The top seeds really do look a cut above the other 3 teams in their groups (but we know top seeds don't always come first)but there wouldn't be much between teams 2-4 in almost all of the groups. Bottom seeds are mainly eastern european sides - Greeks, Turks, Ukrainians - usually have plenty of talent, can be mercurial though, but with the partisan atmosphere normally created in those places I can see manys the bigger name falling at that particular hurdle. If some of those sides get their away form sorted any could sneak through at the expense of a snoozing Bremen, Lyon, PSV etc....

Not boring at all Pats lad! Looking forward to it!

[jebus]

yawn,


have we not seen these group before? the whole cmpetition is so tired and boring.

Agreed. The group stages are always such a formality at this stage that I rarely tune in to the Champions League until the knockouts begin. Personally I'd restrict the amount of clubs allowed into the Champions League, knock it back to the top two from the major 7 (Spain, Italy, Holland, Portugal, England, Germany, France) and restrict everyone else to their Champions and start straight into the knockouts after the qualifiers.

[galwayhoop]

God no, the best clubs have to be in the Champions League. Cup finalists are sometimes there due to lucky draw. League is the only way to show the best teams.

if the 'cup winners' system was adopted then i can only assume that the cup runners up would qualify foir the CL if the cup winners had already qualified through the league! that would mean the following 'powerhouses' would have qualified from england in the last 5 years:
West Ham
Millwall
Southampton

they are obviously not the best teams from the country but it surely would add more variety to the competition!

i'm not convinced it is a bad idea! a larger pool of teams competiting in the CL would mean a fairer division of the wealth, an improvement in the FA Cup where it becomes a massive competition again, and ultimately a more balanced league in each country where more than the same 2 or 3 teams win their leagues and qualify for the CL each season!

win,win i say