best side in europe not on last nights performanceQuote:
Originally Posted by Axe Man
ronaldo / nani / giggs / fletcher / carrick also could not pass a ball last night and not even one good bonecruncher tackler amongst them :D
Printable View
best side in europe not on last nights performanceQuote:
Originally Posted by Axe Man
ronaldo / nani / giggs / fletcher / carrick also could not pass a ball last night and not even one good bonecruncher tackler amongst them :D
They are the reigning champions of a tournament which decides the best team in Europe every year so I think it's easy to assume that Man Utd are the best team in Europe right now. They are not out of third gear yet so expect to see some improvement over the next 2 months.
They werent even go at in it full pelt and they still should have won at a ground where Celtic have a great record in Europe. They are through now so thats all that matters really. The doubt I would have about them is that Rio Ferdinand has thrown in a few shaky performances recently and I think Van der Saar is on the way out. A very solid defence is usually needed to win cup competitions.Quote:
Originally Posted by old git
Dont see them improving this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Their performances remind me of the last time they won European Cup in 1999. They played poorly for the next few years. I know they won the league a couple of times but there was no competition in England then (there is now) and they were easily beaten in Europe.
After watching Arsenal game today looks like their hunger is gone. Ferdinand and Van Der Sar playing very poorly.
Arsenal v Man U was great entertainment.Both teams were almost reckless in their approach but it was good stuff.
Yeah it was also a Premiership match and had very little to do with the Group stages of the Champions League!:rolleyes::cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by cheifo
I was responding to Viagogos post, but anyway you put a :cool: in so I know you are too cool to be a pedant.:p
I think you're doing Brown a disservice. You'll rarely see him play a long pass but he isn't a bad passer at all. He's great at a quick first time pass and that's a big advantage over Hartley or Lennon who'd tend to slow a game down. Pity my bloody youtube account keeps getting closed because I had a good video of Brown teasing Franco Miranda and in it he plays an absolutely superb through ball to Zurawski with the outside of his boot. He's a very good dribbler of the ball and looks like a real natural when running, always with his head up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Axe Man
His aggressive playing style and running onto passes at pace doesn't do him justice in terms of technical ability. I'm not saying he's world class technically but he's certainly not a Gattuso or Lennon.
Brilliantly waiting pass to set up Naka's goal tonight! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
Celtic go out with a whimper. Didn't see the game as I was out at a quiz but their desperate away record continues. I notice the Man U game ended 0-0 which is what both teams wanted :rolleyes: I believe that there is a strong case for awarding 0 points for any game that ends 0-0. It would certainly add to the excitement of both teams having to attack and perhaps end the games where the weaker teams put 11 men behind the ball for 90 minutes looking for a draw.
The first match was a 0-0 draw, iirc. They've also drawn 0-0 twice before that. Is it possible that they're just two evenly matched teams?
Found this fairly interesting. Rooney dives but Fergie lets him away with it because he apologised, then has a cheap shot at Robert Pires.
Quote:
"He apologise to me and said he didn't mean to do that," said boss Ferguson.
"I think he's been watching Robert Pires too much. At least he apologised to their players. You'd never see Pires do that."
All four groups layed last night have been decided with one game to go. Last nights boring 0-0 draw summed up the group stages of the champions league and then we had to listen to Giles and Dunphy have their weekly moan at Ronaldo afterwards.Yawn:rolleyes:
Dissapointed with Zenit... I'd hoped they would make it through and knock out one of the self-obsessed hollywood-esque clubs in their group.
Looks as if the first poster on this thread was correct therefore:Quote:
Originally Posted by trevy
Quote:
Originally Posted by brianw82
Last night was the worst I've felt after a Celtic match in years. Aalborg are a poor team. St Mirren and Hamilton were MUCH harder games. Celtic should have been probably 3 goals up after an hour on overall play. Yet they lose. Horrible feeling. What a chance to end this run of defeats away from home. All it takes is 1 win to relieve the pressure. That's all it is that caused the defeat last night. Pressure.
I was right, I tells ya!
I agree with ya, the group stages are pretty boring alot of the time. This year Im finding it hard to be interested in it at all.The competition really doesnt get going until the knockout stages.Quote:
Originally Posted by brianw82
Just as a matter of interest does anyone think that a bonus point system like what is used in Rugby could improve things in the group stages, maybe something like a bonus point for scoring 3 goals. Could be used in qualifiers for International tournaments too.
Real are the only ones that fit in that categoryQuote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
I think this years CL group stage has been the most boring yet. Its pointless imo because of the 16 teams that will make the knock out stages most people would have predicted 15 of them at the start. Unfortunately it is a case of the big leagues taking over and the fact that one/two countries will dominate the quarter and semi finals is not good for football imo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
The CL was at its best in the mid to late 90s, I remember MAn U in a group the year they won it with Brondby, Bayern and Barca. Now Brondby admittedly werent upto much but every game was worth watching. Now i dont even bother with it until the last 16 stage.
I watch the games with Irish teams and then tune out and then come back for the quarter finals.. Having said that, the results by Cluj and Famagusta this year have been a welcome break from the norm. Although it wouldn't be great for our co-efficient, I'd like to see Famagusta get through.Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
Here are the possible knock out draws for each club:
Roma can play: Sporting L, Atletico, Villareal, Lyon, Arsenal, Real Mad,
Panathin. can play: Chelsea, Sporting L, Atletico, Villareal, Lyon, Arsenal, Real Mad,
Barca can play: Chelsea, Inter, Lyon, Arsenal,
Liverpool can play: Inter, Sporting L, Villareal, Lyon, Real Mad,
Man Utd can play: Inter, Sporting L, Atletico, Lyon, Real Mad,
Bayern can play: Chelsea, Inter, Sporting L, Atletico, Villareal, Arsenal, Real Mad,
Porto can play: Chelsea, Inter, Atletico, Villareal, Lyon, Real Mad,
Juventus can play: Chelsea, Sporting L, Atletico, Villareal, Lyon, Arsenal,
Chelsea can play: Panathin., Barca, Bayern, Porto, Juventus,
Inter can play: Barca, Liverpool, Man Utd, Bayern, Porto,
Sporting L can play: Roma, Panathin., Liverpool, Man Utd, Bayern, Juventus,
Atletico can play: Roma, Panathin., Man Utd, Bayern, Porto, Juventus,
Villareal can play: Roma, Panathin., Liverpool, Bayern, Porto, Juventus,
Lyon can play: Roma, Panathin., Barca, Liverpool, Man Utd, Porto, Juventus,
Arsenal can play: Roma, Panathin., Barca, Bayern, Juventus,
Real Madrid can play: Roma, Panathin., Liverpool, Man Utd, Bayern, Porto,
As all 4 English and 4 Spanish teams went through to the knock outs, the potential opposition is reduced for them. The English were split 2 gp winners, 2 runner up, meaning each team has 5 potential opponenets, the Spanish were split 1 gp winner, 3 runner up so this means Barca (the only Spanish gp winner) can only be drawn against 4 teams (Chelsea, Inter, Lyon & Arsenal).
Unless Panathinikos and Sporting draw each other (a la Sevilla and Fenerbache last season) you are going to be left with a pretty strong field by the time of the quarters. I'd say you might get good odds on Atletico and Villareal getting to the next round, assuming they don't draw Man Utd and Liverpool respectivly they should be more than a match for the other potential opposition. You also might get good odds on Barca not making it through to the next round, strong as they are Chelsea, Inter, Arsenal and even Lyons could cause them problems - a very harsh draw for Barca.
(Apologies if this was noted by other posters already)
Champions League Final will be held on Saturday's from 2010. It was noted during a UEFA Exec. Comm. meeting. But I don't know when that decision was made.
http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/k...id=786278.html
"Women's Cup changes
...... with the final taking place over one leg, on the Thursday prior to the UEFA Champions League final – which will be played on Saturdays from 2010. The final will be staged in the same city, but in a different stadium. ..... "
Other stuff decided too.
Yeah they want to make it more of an "event", so in Madrid in 2010 it will be on a Sat instead of a Wed...
*cough* honestly it's not a ploy to bring kick off time forward for the far eastern tv market*cough*
The earlier ko time would be welcomed by locals and ex-pats, anything +4hrs east of CET.Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo