Official Champions League & Europa League thread

[Bobby Sands]

^^yea i always admired them too. Its funny how people see Chelsea as a bigger club yet Porto have won alot more than them. Thats not how the status of a club is defined these days though. On the other hand, this match fixing business that is coming out, might tarnish a lot of what Porto achieved. Will be interesting to see how that goes.

Poor match i thought. A fitting way to end an absolutely awful tournament. European football has been complete and utter shit this season. This competition badly needs to return to the old format where its knockout all the way through.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Didn't Porto lose 6 points a couple of seasons ago for match fixing? They do seem to have a shaky recent past.

 

[Flipmo]

I think if we investigated most clubs in depth, you'll find instances of rules being bent or broken. Some more than others obviously, but Im sure most clubs have some cases of it.

 

[2Pax]

The day of reckoning is here! Taking on the mighty Barca, shitting myself. Hopefully my next post here will be one of euphoria.

 

[Bobby Sands]

hopefully not.

 

[DJ Manny]

I'm betting that Barca are gonna win 3-1

 

[Pittsey]

I'm betting that Barca are gonna win 3-1

I thought you'd be at the game. What with you being a Catalonia season ticket holder.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Nerves. I expect a close game, hopefully the game fits the hype.

 

[Kobe]

What a show by Barcelona

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Beaten/dominated by the better team. Every single Barcelona played showed up tonight, Xavi, Messi, Villa, Pedro, Busquets were class.

One thing, I hope Ferguson realises we need a new midfield, yes we won the league by 9 points but when facing the best team in the world the likes of Carrick especially look below average.

Berbatov wasn't even on the bench, I don't understand that decision and looks like hes off in the summer.

 

[Bobby Sands]

they were awesome. Messi in particualar.

the goals were all of a high quality.

Michael Carrick is terrible.

 

[2Pax]

That was painful to watch at times, disappointed in the manner of which Barca's goals were scored but all credit to Barca they fully deserve it. Best team I've seen in my time.

Sir Alex says he chose Owen ahead of Berbatov because Owen is more likely to 'nick' you a goal coming off the bench. Saying that he didn't even use him.

I think Carrick gets too much stick, he's a good player, but he was always going to be playing second fiddle against Xavi and Iniesta. I do agree though we need a more dominant playmaker.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Carrick is too safe. He is a good passer of the ball, which is why some people are frustrated that he rarely plays through balls or passes that can immediately start an attack.

Ferguson dropping Berbatov for Owen was a shock, then to leave him on the bench just causes problems. Berbatov will probably want out but saying that I wouldn't of played Berba anyway, he doesn't do enough, half of his goals this season were against Liverpool and Blackburn, he rarely does it when it matters.

Fabio was the only one who I thought played well, Rooney also but without the ball he didn't track Busquets enough. Park look shattered in the second half and he rarely ever is!

That just shows how awesome this Barcelona side are, I hope Pep stays with them as he is producing the greatest side I've ever seen.

 

[Bobby Sands]

Carrick cant tackle. his passing has gone back so much as you said and he is far too slow. the fact that he is not a regular in the England team says it all. I never really rated him. a very mediocre player. Im just shocked that Ferguson hasnt wielded the axe there long ago and shipped him out. He has been ruthless with alot of better players over the years when their performance levels dropped so makes me wonder why Carrick has lasted so long. I think alot of its down to the financial situation and the Glazers. Gibson and Anderson are other examples. how long is anderson there now? he has done very little for a player that cost so much. a massive flop really when you think about it. will be interesting to see what he does this summer.

hopefully nothing

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Anderson is inconsistent but is good, the problem with him is that when he has 2-3 good games he gets injured and has to start all over again, some of his passes, especially long passes are brilliant and really help the team, plus he can play the final ball. The only downside is his form is far too up and down and that he gets injured a lot, he also needs to really work on his finishing, he can finish inside the box but his long range shooting is awful. Its like his legs have rickets or something.

Gibson showed some form near the end of the season but he still shoots far too much, his long range shooting isn't that good - he can hit the target one out of ten attempts.

Carrick signed a new contract so he's probably he to stay - In his defence he covers more ground than most Man Utd players.

Also, I'm unsure whether keeping Carrick is due to finances, seeing as we are set to spend a lot on De Gea whilst targeting 2-3 more players.

 

[Pittsey]

Europa league is back Thursday.... lol

 

[Flipmo]

Europa league 3rd Qualifying round

• Atlético Madrid v Stromsgodset
• Young Boys v TPS/Westerlo
• Shakhtar Donetsk/FK Ventspils v Crvena Zvezda
• Alania Vladikavkaz v Kecskemeti TE/Aktobe
• Floriana/AEK v Mlada Boleslav
• Zeljeznicar Sarajevo/FC Sheriff v Khazar Lenkoran/Maccabi Tel Aviv
• AZ Alkmaar v Flamurtari/Jablonec
• Olimpija Ljubljana/Bohemians v Rudar Pljevlja/FK Austria Vienna
• Bursaspor v Gomel
• Ferencvaros/Aalesund v FK Suduva/IF Elfsborg
• Minsk/Gaziantepspor v Legia Warsaw
• Hapoel Tel-Aviv v FC Vaduz/Vojvodina
• Olimpi Rustavi/Irtysh v Rennes
• Levski Sofia v SK Tirana/FC Spartak Trnava
• The New Saints FC/FC Midtjylland v Guimaraes
• Dinamo Bucuresti v FC Iskra-Stal/Varazdin
• Karpaty Lviv v Shakhtyor Karaganda/St Patricks
• Vllaznia Shkoder/FC Thun v Palermo
• KR Reykjavik/MSK Zilina v Llanelli/Dinamo Tbilisi
• Omonia Nicosia v FC Tauras/ADO Den Haag
• SK Liepajas Metalurgs/SV Red Bull Salzburg v FK Senica
• Club Brugge v EB Streymur/FK Qarabag
• FC 03 Differdange/Levadia Tallinn v Rad Belgrade/Olympiacos Volou
• Mainz v KUPS Kuopio/Gaz Metan
• UE Sant Julia/Bnei Yehuda v Helsingborgs IF
• Stoke City v Hajduk Split
• FC Gagra/Anorthosis Famagusta v Juvenes/Dogana/Rabotnicki Kometal
• Orebro SK/FK Sarajevo v Sparta Prague
• Glentoran/Vorskla Poltava v Sligo
• Paks/Tromso v Hearts
• Metalurg/Lokomotiv Sofia v Slask Wroclaw/Dundee Utd
• FH Hafnarfjordur/Nacional v BK Hacken/FC Honka
• SV Ried v Brondby
• PAOK Salonika v Mika Ashtarak/Valerenga
• Domzale/RNK Split v Crusaders/Fulham

For fucks sake, out of everyone we draw in our 'pot', we get the worst ones...They're gonna mop us around the floor.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

Some good pics from Hadjuk at Stoke. Did many Toricda travel for the game ?

 

[Flipmo]

Around 150-200 only, I believe. There were supposed to be much more, but some of the flights had to be cancelled at the last minute. Got screwed over pretty much.

It was a poor game on our behalf. I expected much more. I'm hoping on Thursday we finally got over the 'Delap-Factor' and can actually do some damage.

I expect some aggression in the 2nd leg though. Apparently some idiot Stoke fan showed up with a Serbia flag, and our boys went nutty. lol. They probably didn't forget about that. So, I expect some confrontations around Split.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

Stoke should take decent numbers. I'd expcet they'll receive a nice welcome lol.

Anyway what's wrong with a Serbia flag