Champions League 04/05

[Dingbat]

So the third qualifying round has been drawn!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3937579.stm

Graz AK (Austria) v Liverpool

Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan) or CSKA Moscow (Russia) v Rangers

Zilina (Slovakia) or Dinamo Bucharest (Romania) v Manchester United

Deportivo Coruna (Spain) v Hajduk Split (Croatia) or Shelbourne

The rest of the draw:

Juventus (Italy) v Djurgarden (Sweden) or Kaunas (Lithuania)

SK Tirana (Albania) or Ferencvaros (Hungary) v APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) or Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)

Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway) or Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) v Maccabi Haifa (Israel)

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) v Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic)

Pyunik (Armenia) or Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) v Club Bruges (Belgium) or Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Bulgaria)

Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) v Skonto Riga (Latvia) or Trabzonspor (Turkey)

Young Boys (Switzerland) or Red Star Belgrade (Serbia & Montenegro) v PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Basel (Switzerland) v Inter Milan (Italy)

Benfica (Portugal) v Anderlecht (Belgium)

PAOK Salonika (Greece) v HJK Helsinki (Finland) or Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

Nova Gorica (Slovenia) or FC Copenhagen (Denmark) v Monaco (France)

WIT Georgia Tbilisi (Georgia) or Wisla Krakow (Poland) v Real Madrid (Spain)


Poor Shelbourne, they haven't got a chance :(. I think all the UK teams should get through if they play to the best of their ability.

Comments?

[dogincognito]

Yep should be fairly straightforward, although they can't be complacent. Theres a couple that could be intersting games there:

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) v Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic)
Benfica (Portugal) v Anderlecht (Belgium)

[Evil Egg]

Basel (Switzerland) v Inter Milan (Italy)

This game looks quite tasty also. Inter should win, but it won't be easy.

[dogincognito]

i was gonna put that one, but Basel aren't the same team as knocked out Liverpool a couple seasons ago.

[Evil Egg]

i was gonna put that one, but Basel aren't the same team as knocked out Liverpool a couple seasons ago.

true, but still a decent side. Do they still have the Yakin brothers?

[dogincognito]

I think so, they did when it was Euro 2004 and i haven't seen anything since....


I guess this is as good a place as any to post this story:



Brazilian Diego joins Porto

European champions Porto have signed former Tottenham target Diego from Santos for £4.6m.

The Brazilian international midfielder, full name Diego Ribas da Cunha, 19, saw a planned move to White Hart Lane put on hold because of passport problems.

He played for his country in the Copa America final win over Argentina, scoring one of the decisive penalties.

He will be a useful addition to a team that has lost Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Paulo Ferreira since last season.



Thats a very good signing, replacing Deco with a better player :cool:

[Evil Egg]

:eek: that's a great deal for Porto. £4.6m for a player of that quality? Deco has been well replaced :eek:

[Cap'n Zola]

Ooh I've been watching Diego from Santos for a while now. There is also another Deigo from another team in brazil who is quite good. Not as, but still.

Also want to see Degoberto and Robinho move to Europe, they'll both be very big here.

[streety]

I think that is a good draw for us. I was dreading the worst!
I am looking forward to next season and the champions league. We have the fastest strike force in the country! Neeeooooooowwww

[dogincognito]

The worst draw you could've got wouldve been someone like Benfica or Anderlecht, which you could win anyways ;)

[Leonidas]

Rangers have to go East, probably to Moscow. :eek: Doesn't exactly instill me with confidence. I think we are a better team than CSKA, but Rangers always seemt o struggle when they go to Easten Europe. I just hope we can do some damage at home.

[dogincognito]

I like the look of Rangers this season, could get past the group stages :]

Anyone got predictions for winners/ how far British teams/Big teams will get?

I think Real might be dissapointing again.

AC Milan, Chelsea, Barca, Juve, Arsenal could all win it. Unless its like last years then who knows :shock:

All the British clubs except Celtic (sorry Zola) could get past the groups.

[Leonidas]

Yeah, I don't hold out much hope for Real, though Barcalona might do well. I also fancy AC Milan, and maybe Arsenal, if they can keep there team together. Chelsea...... Potentially. Then again, they could potentially fall apart also.

[Dingbat]

Rangers have to go East, probably to Moscow. :eek: Doesn't exactly instill me with confidence. I think we are a better team than CSKA, but Rangers always seemt o struggle when they go to Easten Europe. I just hope we can do some damage at home.
Of course we always remember 1992/3 when CSKA were paid off to lose and thereby stop us from getting to the Champions League final...:(

[Zin]

Yeah, I don't hold out much hope for Real, though Barcalona might do well. I also fancy AC Milan, and maybe Arsenal, if they can keep there team together. Chelsea...... Potentially. Then again, they could potentially fall apart also.

I doubt that Chelsea will pull it together this season, but we'll see how they perform in the early Premiership clashes as to their potential Champions League performance with their new manager.

Would love to see Arsenal do well in the Champions League this season. They've been unlucky in the past few campaigns.

Not sure who'll win this season's Champion's League, but I have a feeling it'll be another surprise, not a favourite

[dogincognito]

5 minutes into their qualifier and Rangers are one nil down. Oh dear. :(

[Nuclear Spoon]

I've always looked forwards to the CL, probably much more than the new season. Probably because there's much more competition. Ajax, Milan, Inter, Real, Valencia, Juve, and more.

[Dingbat]

5 minutes into their qualifier and Rangers are one nil down. Oh dear. :(
We can still qualify, I think; 2-1 gives us an away goal to play with and hopefully the home support will make all the difference.

Plus, we seemed to have no right midfielder :confused:

[Nuclear Spoon]

Bwahaahaha die Manure!! 1-0 to the Bucharest!!!!!!!!

[Dingbat]

Bwahaahaha die Manure!! 1-0 to the Bucharest!!!!!!!!
It's 1-1 now.

Never do a preemptive post.

[Nuclear Spoon]

Bastards....

[Evil Egg]

I believe Real Madrid have now pushed clear in the race to win the Champions League, they have finally sorted out their defence, which has always been seen as their weakness. If Woodgate and Samuel can stay fit, and form a good partnership, we could once again see Real come out champions of Europe.

[el_diablo5711]

why did you bump this thread?

[Evil Egg]

It would have been bumped next week anyway, after the next leg of the 3rd round qualifiers.

[el_diablo5711]

oh okay, so that makes it ok

asshat

[dogincognito]

That does make it ok. This is a thread that will be going on throughout the season. Foolio.

[el_diablo5711]

theres a difference between bumping a thread for a relevant post, but his was out of the blue... bumping is excusable if its adding to the thread, not for adding asinine posts about real madrid

dont minus me if you dont think it through

[Evil Egg]

So would you rather i remove the post and re-post it on tuesday? Surely its better i bump a thread which will be continued throughout the whole season, rather than start another un-necessary thread to state my opinion. If that was the case we would have so many pointless threads it wouldn't be worth even starting to look through this section. i felt the need to point out that Real Madrid have strengthened some key areas of their squad which could prove to be very inportant as the season progresses.

Also, please try to be slightly more tolerant before you start flying off into a blinding rage, and call people "asshats". Personally i didn't - you, but feel that you deserve what you get.

[dogincognito]

I believe Real Madrid have now pushed clear in the race to win the Champions League, they have finally sorted out their defence, which has always been seen as their weakness. If Woodgate and Samuel can stay fit, and form a good partnership, we could once again see Real come out champions of Europe.


^ Added more to the thread than any post you've made.

I had good reason to minus you. What reason did you have to minus me? :rolleyes:



Kindly stfu.

[el_diablo5711]

fine whatever -- im just pointing out that he bumped the thread

now my point is made, im done

ill quietly shut up now

[jonffm]

ill quietly shut up now

And why you couldn't have done that 3 posts ago is anyones guess.

Tuesday night, the next qualifying round \o/

Luckily. liverpool are already through, barring a miricle from..christ..I can't even remember who we are playing..

[el_diablo5711]

am i allowed to post constructively? thanks

liverpool are who i support, so i really hope they do well -- and i cant remember who we play either

[dogincognito]

That wasn't really very constructive. Evil Egg, for instance, posted more constructively.

AZ Graz, or Graz AK or something....

[jonffm]

Ahh yes...pity Nunez wont be playing. Hopefully we'll get Garcia, he's a bloody amazing player..if we have him, we'll have the best midfield in the premiership.

[dogincognito]

Group A
Deportivo La Caruna
Liverpool
Monaco
Olympiakos

Group B
Real Madrid
AS Roma
Bayer Levekusen
Dinamo Kiev

Group C
Bayern Munich
Juventus
Ajax
Apoel Televiv

Group D
Manchester United
Olympic Lyonnaise
Sparta Prague
Fenerbache

Group E
Arsenal
Panathanaikos
PSV Eindhoven
Rosenberg

Group F
Barcelona
AC Milan
Celtic
Shaktar Donetsk

Group G
Valencia CF
Internationale
Anderlecht
Werder Bremen

Group H
FC Porto
Chelsea
Paris St. Germain
CSKA Moskow

[seaempty]

porto - Chelsea eh? You gcouldn't have written it better if this was some kind of farcical soap opera. The press'll love that one.

[streety]

I was just about to post that.
It is a good draw for us. Deportivo are one of the weakest Top Seeds. Monaco will be a tough team to beat though but you have to beat the best to win a competition of this stature.

Manure and Arsenal have got easy draws and should progress. It is fate that Chelsea have got Porto after stealing their manager and their players. They have to travel to Russia too.

There are some tasty matches though. I can't wait for it to start.

[dogincognito]

indeed. I was half expecting Liverpool-Valencia as well!

All the English teams should qualify i think, Liverpool probably have the toughest group. Arsenal will walk theirs. Chelsea and ManU shouldn't have to much trouble either. Celtic are screwed :p

[Nuclear Spoon]

Are there going to be two group stages or do the winners/runners-up go straight to knock-out?

[Dingbat]

Are there going to be two group stages or do the winners/runners-up go straight to knock-out?
The second group stage was abolished.

[Leonidas]

After the first group stage the competition reverts to a knockout format. Much more exciting and no meaningless games.

[Nuclear Spoon]

I prefered the 2 group stages. More football.

[Leonidas]

More football, but alot of it was pretty meaningless. You'd get games where the outcome was already decided, and it just seemed like a cynical "let's sook as much money out of the fans/sponsers/tv as possible" attitude by UEFA. At least this way, and I think most fans would agree, it's more exciting.

[Nuclear Spoon]

I suppose... but when you've only got freeview I like to get as much football as I can.

[dogincognito]

Also FIFa is trying to cut down the amount of matches players have to play...

[Nuclear Spoon]

And now Sky have the bloody rights for everything...at least MOTD is back :)

[Nuclear Spoon]

*bump* Sorry for the double-post and maaajor but seeing as the competition starts in a fornight, I thought it might be appropriate to revive this thread. So the fixtures are:

Matchday 1 - Tuesday, 14 September

Group E
Arsenal v PSV
Panathinaikos v Rosenborg
Group F
Celtic v Barcelona
Shakhtar v Milan
Group G
Internazionale v Bremen
Valencia v Anderlecht
Group H
Porto v CSKA Moskva
PSG v Chelsea

Matchday 1 - Wednesday, 15 September

Group A
Deportivo v Olympiacos
Liverpool v Monaco
Group B
Leverkusen v Real Madrid
Roma v Dynamo Kyiv
Group C
Ajax v Juventus
M. Tel-Aviv v Bayern
Group D
Fenerbahçe v Sparta
Lyon v Man. United

Predictions people? I can't be arsed at the moment because my head hurts.

[streety]

Matchday 1 - Tuesday, 14 September

Arsenal 3-1 PSV
Panathinaikos 1-0 Rosenborg
Celtic 0-1 Barcelona
Shakhtar 1-1 Milan
Internazionale 1-0 Bremen
Valencia 2-0 Anderlecht
Porto 1-0 CSKA Moskva
PSG 1-1 Chelsea

Matchday 1 - Wednesday, 15 September

Deportivo 2-0 Olympiacos
Liverpool 2-1 Monaco
Leverkusen 0-1 Real Madrid
Roma 3-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Ajax 0-0 Juventus
M. Tel-Aviv 1-0 Bayern
Fenerbahçe 1-1 Sparta
Lyon 1-1 Man. United

C'MON YOU REDMEN!!

[dogincognito]

C'MON YOU REDMEN!!

ManU? :confused::p

Piemanchris you do know they start this tuesday not in two weeks right? =/

Predictions:

Matchday 1 - Tuesday, 14 September

Arsenal 4-0 PSV
Panathinaikos 2-0 Rosenborg
Celtic 0-2 Barcelona
Shakhtar 1-3 Milan
Internazionale 1-1 Bremen
Valencia 2-0 Anderlecht
Porto 1-0 CSKA Moskva
PSG 1-2 Chelsea

Matchday 1 - Wednesday, 15 September

Deportivo 3-1 Olympiacos
Liverpool 3-1 Monaco
Leverkusen 0-2 Real Madrid
Roma 3-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Ajax 1-2 Juventus
M. Tel-Aviv 1-1 Bayern
Fenerbahçe 0-2 Sparta
Lyon 1-2 Man. United

I'm backing the British teams (even though i don't usually like ManU, Chelsea or Arsenal :eek: ) and Sparta Prague :D

[Nuclear Spoon]

I just want to watch some decent football. I don't care who wins, as long as I get to watch it.

[streety]

Just switch on Sky Sports Xtra tonight and feast your eyes on the cream of merseyside.
It is time for "el n00bs" to shine.

Oh Garcia... He makes me happy.

[Nuclear Spoon]

Fucking trees...they're the reason why I can't get Sky....

[jonffm]

Off to watch the coverage now..I only just realised after going through all mychannels that I do in fact have Sky Sports Xtra...fucking NTL.

COME ON YOU LIVERPOOL!

[Leonidas]

Watching the Celtic - Barcelona game last night, I have to say that I was very impressed with Barca. They seem to have solved their defensive problems, and with a midfield of Giuly, Ronahldioio, Xavi, Deco, and of course, up front with Larsson, they seem to be one of the strongest teams in the competition. I'm not too sure of the keeper though. Haven't seen much of him. And Eto'o, well he's obviously a talented player, but apparently he's a bit on the selfish side. It's a tough call, between them, Arsenal and Milan, but I would have my money on Barca this year. They just seem to have something about them.

I don't fancy Juve, or Real Madrid, and Inter will flatter to decieve as always. Man Utd and Liverpool no chance (sorry Streety) and Porto....

[jonffm]

You all must watch the Liverpool game. Sheer bloody poetry. Got I love Garcia.

If we play like this all season, the silverwear'll have to be carted in :D

1-0! TO THE LIVERPOOL, 1-0 TO THE LIVERPOOL, 1-0 TO THE LIIVVERRPPOOLL, 1-0 TO THE LIVERPOOL!!

[jonffm]

2-0. Bloody great result.

Garcia played amazing, again. Gerrard was his normal self, Kewell played well along with Finnan, and Baros and Cisse..could have scored more but we wont be greedy. Especially Baros, the cheeky git :D

Poor ol' Owen..we win 2-0, while he has to sit and watch Real lose 3-0 to a pretty average european team. Tut tut.

[Leonidas]

And so now what for Roma? After a fan struck the referee Andreas Fisk with a missile, (after rightly sending off Mexes) the match was abandoned with Kiev winning 1-0. Now hopefully UEFA will do the right thing, and instead of replaying the match, just give Kiev the points. Not only this, Roma should be heavily fined. But I can't help but think what the reaction would be if this were a British club. Probably thrown out of the competition and banned for the next 5 seasons. But Roma being Italian, well we'll see....

[jonffm]

Tonights games should be good.

Man U against Fenerbahce might be interesting. Paul Scholes is out, which shouldn't be too huge a blow for manure, but I might actually flick over every now and again if Fergie plays Rooney. I just love to watch Rooney play...that boys a fecking genious...i'm gunna say 3-0 to the manure :P

But to hell with manure :P the REAL game tonight..Olympiacos against teh Pool.

Kewell loosk to be fit, so barring Gerrard, we'll have a full team :D Alonso seems to be making up for our lack of Stevie. Might be dangerous as Rivaldo has a point to prove, but I'm gunna go for a 2-1 win for Liverpool.

COME ON LIVERPOOL!

[Chavvy]

Ok, firstly the way Warnock has been playing for the Reds, he HAS to be considered over Kewell.

Secondly, Xabi has not made as an immediate impact as Garcia did but, instead, developed over a few games into something special. I think he will be a special player for the Reds this year (I hope so.. :) )..

I'm going for 2-1 for the Reds too, although we could get more!

Interesting to see if the scummy Mancs play the Boy/God Rooney. I've a funny feeling he will play as if he hasn't been out injured i.e. like he did in Euro 2004. Part of me wishes he does well (the England part) and a small part hopes he doesn't (the Liverpool hating Mancs part!!).

Just my (biased) $0.02

[jonffm]

Ok, firstly the way Warnock has been playing for the Reds, he HAS to be considered over Kewell.

Secondly, Xabi has not made as an immediate impact as Garcia did but, instead, developed over a few games into something special. I think he will be a special player for the Reds this year (I hope so.. :) )..


Firstly, Warnock has started once in the last 4 games. He also game on as a sub once. He played well when he started, but I still rate an on-form Kewell over him. He still needs a while to mature into a better player.

Secondly, Alonso has been out best player for the past two games. He was brilliant against Norwich and our best player against Manure. i thinkt he partnership of him a Garcia is going to keep us sailing sweetly untill Gerrard returns. Garcia..theres no point of even mentioning, everyone already knows how great he is.

Shows the difference in managment. Houiler spent his whole time at liverpool looking for that special player..messed up quite a few times..and i'm looking at you..Diouf and Dioa. But Rafa's in for about 2 months, and he's already made two of the best signings of the last decade. Not bad eh?

[Chavvy]

I agree to a point regarding Kewell but how much longer can we wait til we see the "inform" Kewell performance that we all know he can produce??

I only rated Warnock above him, not necessarily on ability, but on desire and drive. At the end of the day Warnock has buckets of that, whereas Kewell is left wanting.

Anyhoo, not wanting to argue ( ;)) with a fellow Red, I just want success for the Pool!!

I agree that GH made some shocking (we ALL know who they were!) signings and never gave the youth academy guys a chance. It's refreshing to see Rafa giving these guys a chance now. You never know, the next "Rooney" could be a Red!!

It's also nice for Red fans to be optimistic for a change... It has been too long coming...

[Edit] It's also great to not be so reliant on Stevie G (:notworthy) all the time [\Edit]

[jonffm]

Indeed. Now i'm just hoping that Moyes will just piss off and let someone else buy into the club. He's holding onto it like a spoilt child. It will give us a REAL chance at catching up with Arsenal if we get this £100 million deal from this invester.

We need a better keeper and a solid left-sider for midfield. A backup central-defender would be nice too.

Then we can start to challenge the big boys. Almost there lads, almost there :)

[streety]

I would also go with Warnock over Kewell. Harry has had a poor season and isn't fully fit. Warnock has impressed me in the games he has played. He has bounced back from all the troubles he's had in his career and looks to be another Gerrard/Carragher.

Alonso has been the player that has impressed me most. His ability to dictate the pace of a game and the way he gets the ball and gives it. No messing around just an inch perfect pass. Garcia is lively and will improve once he gets used to being kicked. Look at Reyes now, gets stuck in and doesn't mind getting a whack.

Hopefully we can get a result tonight but I'm not expecting a win. It will be a tough match and with Stevie out we won't have a driving force. I expect a 1-1 draw.

On a more important note. I think banners are being made for tonights math as 21 fans lost their lives in 1981 in a similar incident to Hillsborough.
96 + 21 never to be forgotten
YNWA

[jonffm]

It'll take Garcia a while..he did play in the Spanish league after all..they are used to just getting tapped, followed by a few meters of rolling around claiming their legs are broken.
Must be a shock when it actually does hurt :P

I wouldn't mind seeing Warnock, don't get me wrong, He's a great young tallent, but I'm still sticking by Kewell, because I think he'll come into himself eventually, and when he does, we'll finally have a really great left-sider.

It will be difficult, but I think we can get a result. Just as long as we keep playing with the short pass, and not spend the game trying to knock it over the top. If Garcia and Alonso play as well as they have been, I really can't see us loosing. Which is nice to say :)

I wanna see Cisse improve his finishing touch too..I do expect more from a striker that cost us £14 million (I think)

On a more important note. I think banners are being made for tonights math as 21 fans lost their lives in 1981 in a similar incident to Hillsborough.
96 + 21 never to be forgotten
YNWA


Quoted for truth and respect. YNWA.

[streety]

I wanna see Cisse improve his finishing touch too..I do expect more from a striker that cost us £14 million (I think)

He is nowhere near the finished article yet. He needs to improve on his heading and use his left foot more. People are calling his transfer a flop. They haven't given him time. He cost £10m less than Drogba but has scored the same number of league goals. Give him some time and he will be amazing.

I would just like to point out an idea that Olympiakos have done in their new stadium. 21 seats empty with the names of the deceased. It would be a great tribute if when the new "Anfield" is built they left 96 seats empty in the Kop.

[Dingbat]

Woah woah woah!

This ain't the Liverpool thread! :D

Predictions for tonight's fixtures?

Fixtures can be found here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/champions_league_fixtures/default.stm)

[Chavvy]

...It would be a great tribute if when the new "Anfield" is built they left 96 seats empty in the Kop.
I totally agree. I never wish to see another event like that in my life.

[/on topic - sort of :p ] Cisse' has been amazing for Auxerre in the last few seasons and I was extremely optimistic about his introduction to Liverpool. Ok, I admit, he hasn't looked sharp but then it does take a bit of time for a striker to develop (he is only young after all!!) and to get used to the way the game is played in England.

Give it time and he will be prolific (and I bet he doesn't piss off to Real Madrid the first chance he gets either!!! j/k)

Kewell needs to do something this season to repay the faith we have bestowed to him as fans. For Leeds, he was simply breathtaking and an enjoyment to watch (much like our Garcia then!! ;) ) but for us he has been lacklustre. We all know he is very talented but we need to see it!

I'm hoping for a good game tonight and that the boys do Rafa and us proud... That's all I ask for.

[Edit] This is a public service announcement. This thread has been hijacked by the Reds for a short period of time. Normal service will resume shortly. Thank you [\Edit]

[Dingbat]

Woah woah woah!

This ain't the Liverpool thread! :D

Predictions for tonight's fixtures?

Fixtures can be found here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/champions_league_fixtures/default.stm)
:rolleyes:

Make your own thread if you're all that bothered. This is for the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ONLY.

[Chavvy]

Sorry DB@.. got carried away with the Rafalution. :rolleyes:

Predictions you want eh?

I'll go for:


Olympiakos 1 - 2 Liverpool
Man Utd. 3 - 0 Fenerbahce
Rosenborg 0 - 4 Arsenal
Milan 3 - 0 Celtic
Chelsea 1 - 0 Porto

IMO the most interesting games will be Roma/Real Madrid, Bayern Munich/Ajax and Chelsea/Porto (stating the obvious but hey!)

Just my $0.02

[jonffm]

Hay. You stoleses my predictions from my first post @_@

Olympiakos 1 - 2 Liverpool
Man Utd. 3 - 0 Fenerbahce
Rosenborg 0-2 Arsenal
Milan 1 - 1 Celtic
Chelsea 2 - 1 Porto

[RobW]

This is great! Rooney scoring a hat-trick on his debut!
So far it's 4-1 to ManU.

[AngryPaul]

6-2! Haven't seen a result like that since Brondby '99 (which was away!)

Rooney seems to have settled in nicely *evil laugh* Hopefully he can carry that form over into the Premiership. It was a ice mixture of goals as well. A through ball, one from outsie the box and a free-kick. Who needs Becks?

The future prospect of Rooney is exciting!

Shame about Liverpool. I would have liked them to have gottena draw, but we all have our odd results.

[dogincognito]

I watched the wrong game =/

[dogincognito]

Real Madrid v Juventus
FC Porto v Inter Milan
Barcelona v Chelsea
Werder Bremen v Lyon
Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen
PSV v Monaco
Man Utd v AC Milan
Bayern Munich v Arsenal

Some great games there. Predictions anyone?
Just for the first leg:

Real Madrid 1-1 Juventus
FC Porto 1-3 Inter Milan
Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea
Werder Bremen 1-2 Lyon
Liverpool 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
PSV 1-0 Monaco
Man Utd 1-1 AC Milan
Bayern Munich 2-0 Arsenal

[Chavvy]

Liverpool - Bayer Leverkusen will not be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination although out of all the English teams I think we have the best tie. It could be just us going through to the next round looking at the draws.... :shock:

Predictions:

Real Madrid 3-1 Juventus
FC Porto 0-2 Inter Milan
Barcelona 2-4 Chelsea
Werder Bremen 1-1 Lyon
Liverpool 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen
PSV 2-0 Monaco
Man Utd 2-1 AC Milan
Bayern Munich 2-0 Arsenal

[dogincognito]

I think Liverpool have the best chance I really do. On current form Milan will hammer Man U, Arsenal can't perform in Europe it seems and Bayern are quality, and Barcelona are the best team in the world right now.

Barca-Chelsea really is a mouthwatering prospect....

[streety]

I agree that there are spme great ties in this round. Strangely enough I predicted all 4 of the English clubs opponents.

Some predictions...
Real Madrid 0-1 Juventus
FC Porto 1-1 Inter Milan
Barcelona 1-2 Chelsea
Werder Bremen 1-0 Lyon
Liverpool 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
PSV 0-1 Monaco
Man Utd 0-0 AC Milan
Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal

The teams I think that will progress are in bold

[Cap'n Zola]

AC Milan and Chelsea will both go through fo sho :D

[jonffm]

If I had the choice, I would have picked Leverkusen, and it was the draw I was hoping for, so i'm happy.

They will be very tough, but as Rafa said, it would have been tougher if we got one of the Italians.

Pity Stevie will miss the home leg :(

[AngryPaul]

I think Milan will have us for dinner at the San Siro.

The finishing or Shevvy and the talent of Kaka will be too much for our Carroll or Howard, which ever one gets the nod.

I think it will be quiet at OT and will be a draw one or another.

Predictions:

Man Utd 1 - 1 AC Milan
AC Milan 3 - 1 Man Utd


*le sigh* I'l try to be optimistic/unrealistic.

Others games aggregate predictions:

Real Madrid 1 - 2 Juventus
FC Porto 1 - 4 Inter Milan
Barcelona 3 - 4 Chelsea
Werder Bremen 1 - 2 Lyon
Liverpool 2 - 2 Bayer Leverkusen
(BL away goals - sorry lads)
PSV 3 - 1 Monaco
Man Utd 2 - 4 AC Milan
Bayern Munich 1 - 1Arsenal
(BM on away goals)

[streety]

UEFA SETS FOREIGN PLAYER LIMITS
Uefa has announced clubs competing in the Champions League and Uefa Cup will have to include four homegrown players in their 25-man squad from 2006.

Europe's governing body also wants to implement the plan in domestic leagues but that will have to be agreed by each national association.

Uefa then wants six homegrown players by 2007 and eight in 2008. Of the eight, at least four must be trained by the club's own academy and the rest in the home country.

Uefa defines a club-trained player as one who has been registered for a minimum of three seasons with the club between the age of 15 and 21. Of the 32 sides in last season's Champions League, five clubs would have not had enough homegrown players.

They are: Arsenal, Chelsea, Celtic, Rangers and Ajax.

Uefa's 52 member associations will vote on whether the same rule should apply to domestic competitions at a Congress in Tallinn, Estonia in April. There has already been strong opposition voiced by the Premier League and the Italian federation.

Q. What does everyone think? Good idea?
Maybe this is why Chelsea are going for Ashley Cole...

[Rojo]

I think it's a great idea, it'll enable people to see the good talent clubs can come up with can come up with (if any) instead of how much money they have. This might be a bit of a bugger for Real Madrid though. And Chelsea.

[streety]

Real Madrid are ok though. They have enough homegrown talent. This will put the prices of young English players up.

[Nuclear Spoon]

Oh dear. It appears that Arsenal seemed to have themselves screwed.

Bayern Munich 3 - 1 Arsenal
Liverpool 3 - 1 Bayer Leverkusen
PSV 1 - 0 Monaco
Real Madrid 1 - 0 Juventus

I must say I didn't really expect Arsenal to win, but I didn't imagine they'd play that badly. Credit to Liverpool for an excellent victory against Leverkusen, even though they aren't really as good as they used to be.

[AngryPaul]

The away goal for them will be vital but if they play like that again it will be useless.

On another note: United to win? :D

[Shave]

chelsea 1-0

did you see the guy miss the glorious one on one chance (which was just offside) in the arsenal match

[AngryPaul]

Drogba off for being a mardy-get.

So they say... :ninja:
Didier Drogba is harshly dismissed. The forward goes in for a 50-50 challenge with Victor Valdes and when the goalkeeper goes down referee Anders Frisk shows Drogba a second yellow card.
Edit/ Ruuuud is back on!

Edit2/ Chelski are pegged back to 1-1 (Maxi Lopez)

[streety]

He should never have been sent off. The first and second offences weren't worthy of bookings. This ref is an absolute cunt and just wants to be in the limelight. I know, someone throw a coin at him. *cue media swarms*

Hopefully Chelsea can hang on.

*MID POST EDIT*
They've scored.
Axel Rose 66 minutes.

[AngryPaul]

2-1 now.

Samuel Eto'o.

Edit/ Carroll needs sacking. Wanker.

[dogincognito]

Man U are out. Chelsea, 'pool to go through. Arse will if Campbell plays.

[Explosivo]

Chelsea team-£100 million pounds

Game ticket -£65

Seeing Chelsea stick 3 class goals past barcalona in under 20 minuets........Priceless

Really what is barcas defence doing??

[Nuclear Spoon]

I have a feeling it'll stay like this until half-time, then Barca will rip through Chelsea. Just a feeling. Personally, I don't think Chelsea deserve to win. In fact, I think they should be fined. Just for buying their way to success.

edit: Barca are 'winning' at the moment, and this has to be the game of the European season.

[AngryPaul]

United doing ok.

Giggs hit the post, Kaka' hit the bar.

Still wish Wes Brown wasn't so average.

United just need to keep the ball a bit more and therefore force some pressure on Milan. Milan seem good on the break so Wes Brown needs to stay back!

I think the Chelski/Barca game can swing either way. Hopefully more goals though. :D

[Disgruntledgoat]

edit: Barca are 'winning' at the moment, and this has to be the game of the European season.
All I have to say is:

:eek:


Which I think says everything that needs to be said....

[Nuclear Spoon]

Ronaldinho's second goal was :eek:, :shock:, and :rad:.

[Disgruntledgoat]

I've said it once, I'll say it again....

Who needs strikers when we've got John Terry?

[Garry2]

That game......

I'll be in the bathroom :D

[jonffm]

You could almost feel the nation uniting in a mass 'wanker' sign at Ronaldinho as he was dragged from the pitch.

Damn good player, but his arrogance isn't needed. Liverpool, Arsenal and Man U didn't need his views on their chances either. We'll see who's in the next round then, while he's soaking up the sun in his lovely villa.

[AngryPaul]

United lost. But at least my munehs safe on a bet for Milan to win the compo.

Werder Bremen lost 7-2 to Lyon (Wiltord hat-trick) [10-2 agg] :eek:

[OKO]

You could almost feel the nation uniting in a mass 'wanker' sign at Ronaldinho as he was dragged from the pitch.

Damn good player, but his arrogance isn't needed. Liverpool, Arsenal and Man U didn't need his views on their chances either. We'll see who's in the next round then, while he's soaking up the sun in his lovely villa.

That's very true, but I really dont know why that sparked off. Maybe it was Mouhrinio's celebrations on the Pitch, maybe they were annoyed with Colligna with the late goal; though Carvallio (spelling?) was pulling the Barcelona Keeper.

And I heard about Lyon, I honestly dont know why Arsene let him go, he was a great Kepper. He won the League for us at Old Trafford a few years back, what a night that was. :notworthy

[dogincognito]

What a game :cool: I was a Chelsea fan tonight :eek:

[FoxTrot]

I think all of england were chelsea fans tonight! Sick that in your big buck teeth ronaldinho

[streety]

Glad to see Chelsea go through, we'll see them in the final :)

Ronaldinho again showed why he is a genius and is one of the best players ever. Anyone see when he exchanged shirts with Paulo Ferraira at HT? He is built like a brick shit house!

Manure... outclassed by the best all-rounder in the competition. Cheerio :D

COME ON YOU RED MEN!

[jonffm]

Yeah...what was with that? They just nodded at eachother before they exchanced shirts, so they must have had something arranged before the game...was it to do with him giving away the penalty and Ron putting it away? :S

COME ON LIVERPOOL!

That away goal lost us our real edge, but to be honest, if we lose 2-0 on the night, we don't really deserve to go through so you can't be too gutted if we do go out. Pity that whinging git Kewell couldn't be bothered to make the effort to come. He may be 80% at the moment, but if he was really commited to the club, he would put one of the biggest games of the season over a SLIGHT chance of injury...considering he still gets 65k a week, which is insane if you look at how well he plays...

God I hope we sell him and Baros, and get in some real professionals. Not whinging little girls...i'm getting rather sick of both their attitudes, and it's not helping the rest of the club. I wouldn't be that bothered, but neither of them are even playing very well..

[Chavvy]

Come on TEH LIVERPOOOOOOOOL!

We need this like a crack addict needs to mug a granny for his next fix. Goddamnit! As long as we give 110% out there tonight I think we will do fine.

*coughwelldonechelseacough*¬_¬ ;)

[OKO]

Unfortunate for us Gunners; we didnt play up to our usual performance, and I thought with the Thierry Henry goal, we might of won. But it wasn't to be the case. :(

[Chavvy]

*sniggers*

Come on teh Pool. Just how good were we?? My God, we played so well. Come on the Quarter Finals...

One thing though. WHAT THE HELL WAS THE STATUS QUO THING ALL ABOUT????

Scary Germans...

[Disgruntledgoat]

*Spidy sense tingling*

I predict....

Chelsea getting knocked out by AC Milan in Semis...
Liverpool losing out to Juventus in Quarters.....
Munich getting to the semis....
AC Milan vs. Juventus final.....

*Spidy sense going.....*

EDIT: Oh crap I forgot Lyon.....er.....lose to Munich in Quarters in some kind of freaky German revenge?

[Dingbat]

Congratulations to Liverpool. Well worth their win tonight and themselves proud.

Also, well done Juve. They absolutely PWNED!!!1 Real tonight.

[AngryPaul]

At least half of us English folk got through.

And with some style. Best 'Pool performance for a while. I was genuinley impressed.

Lyon still beat you on the highest aggregate score though: 10-2 :eek:

[jonffm]

This is what annoys me though...to watch them play like that..then to watch them in games like the Birmingham defeat...

Still, our consistancy in England is questionable, but our european preformances have been spot-on for the most-part. Supurb tonight.

EDIT: Oh, and a quick hats-off to the german fans. What fans should be like. They stayed loud even when they knew they where out, and I think it kept their teams moral from hitting rock-bottom, which may have played a part in getting them that late goal. What the hell was with those..phallus-like baloons?! As chavvy said, the status quo was also...interesting...ah well...they ARE germans after all. They are all a tad odd.

I also thought it was kind of them to play YNWA at the end for us. Good sports.

[dogincognito]

Marvellous stuff from Liverpool. If the can sort out their intconsistensy (sp?) they will be challenging for the title next season.

[jonffm]

We need to get in another striker (assuming we sell Baros) a left-back so Riise can go into left midfield and feel safe, and one or two defenders. A backup or two would be great, but it's abit unrealistic based on our transfer cash.

[dogincognito]

Unless a certain player leaves..... :ninja:

[jonffm]

Here's the odds (which will probably chance on the day of the draw) for who will win the Champs League.

Chelsea - 3/1
Milan - 7/2
Juventus - 4/1
Bayern Munich - 6/1
Lyon - 7/1
Liverpool - 8/1
Inter - 9/1
PSV - 16/1
Porto - 80/1

Tisn't too bad odds on liverpool winning. Might just have to put a tenner on that.

[streety]

Unless a certain player leaves..... :ninja:
I am starting to think, if the money's right then let him go. :nana:

Good win for us though. Hopefully we'll get PSV in the next round. We can beat anyone on our day. Istanbul here we come.

[jonffm]

I think we can survive without him. We're not as totally dependant as people think. The only thing is that Gerrard brings inspiration and leadership unlike anyone else. Just by being there, he improves everyones moral and ups their game. Alonso would be a suitable replacement for his expert passing, and he is also a good defensive player (thoughnot as good) but we need an attacking-like midfielder with him. Someone like Aimar. That's the thing about Gerrard. He's like two players rolled into one.

I would be very sad to see him go, but at the end of the day, footballs run on money, and he would bring in one hell of a payday.

If we finish 4th and/or win the Champs League, there's no way he will go IMO, but any less and he'll be asking himself questions. He's got to put his own future ahead of the clubs, because he really is an exception. I just pray he doesn't do an Owen and go to a club like Real. Barca would be the ideal place for him away from Liverpool. I'm just wondering if his passion comes from his love for Liverpool, and wouldn't be evident in his game if he was playing in another country.

Look at Everton though. They lost their star player, and ended up better for it because the whole team learned to play as a team, and not around one player.

[Chavvy]

LIVERPOOL v Juventus
AC Milan v Inter Milan
Lyon v PSV
CHELSEA v Bayern Munich

Shit. Nice milan derby though...

[streety]

Brings back memories of 85'.
We can beat them.

[jonffm]

We can beat anyone at Anfield. It's a pity it's home first, but still..

We have to beat these teams if we're going to win..and with Lyon or PSV definatly in the semis, we could do this...Juve where the second teams I didn't want to get though...AC and Juve where the only ones I didn't want..

Ah well. Anfield, we'll beat them, it's the away leg i'm worried about.

EDIT: Wait..we get Bayern v Chelsea.....ah well, we do well against german teams..usually..and we all know we can beat Chelsea.