Official 07/08 UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread

[troutman]

ManUre wins, though Ronaldo missed his kick

[J pold]

John Terry messed up

[kdogg]

Wow, i can't believe it... Terry misses with the game at his toe.....

that is a heartbreaker....
________
Party Live

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by kdogg

Wow, i can't believe it... Terry misses with the game at his toe.....

that is a heartbreaker....

yeah... slipped at the vital moment.
It was pouring rain.

[united]

Great atmospehere at Ship and Anchor today. About 75% United supporters.
Dominating first half by United and as usual Chelsea needs 3 lucky bounces to convert.
Second half we could have furthered our lead.

I've never been a fan of Ronaldo's stutter free kick tactic and it came back to haunt him, but not to worry no englishmen had missed the net to that point so you knew it was bound to happen. Well done Terry!

Double! Glory glory Man United!

[Thunderball]

That game illustrated perfectly Drogba's problems... he's often selfish and thoughtless... and I personally think he's one of the half dozen players off to another team this summer. My bet is this is the last of Drogba, Shevchenko, Anelka, Carvalho, Bridge for sure, and possibly Lampard, Cudicini and Sidwell as Chelsea players.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by united

Double! Glory glory Man United!

Congratulations. Another championship purchased. He who has the most gold rules.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by united

I've never been a fan of Ronaldo's stutter free kick tactic and it came back to haunt him, but not to worry no englishmen had missed the net to that point so you knew it was bound to happen. Well done Terry!

Double! Glory glory Man United!

That wasn't a stutter tactic, that was a run up to the ball and come to a complete stop tactic. Usually, ROnaldo keeps a forward motion going, but not yesterday. I would have been very curious to see if the ref would make him take it again had he scored, because that was an illegal penalty.

As my Portuguese brethern was stepping up the spot, I was saying out loud,

"Don't be the goat, don't be the goat, don't be the goat!!"

Then I let out a big FFFFFF..........

Then Nani steps up and told my buddies, watch, two Pork chops are gonna be the goats.....thank god he scored and a BIG THANK YOU TO JOHN TERRY!!!! Although, my heart does go out to you. God, soccer can be such a cruel game. I re-watched the 99 final highlights, good god, imagine you were a bayern fan. 1 minute, you're on the fast track to European glory, 2 minutes later, it is ripped from your hands with no chance of winning it in extra time.

[fredr123]

Why are penalty kicks in a football match so much more exciting to watch than shootouts in hockey?

[jofillips]

troutman: man utd don't spend the most amount of money on players, fergie is just a bloody good manager and has collected a great (young) squad of players.

Your comment is relevant to teams like Chelsea and Real Madrid.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by fredr123

Why are penalty kicks in a football match so much more exciting to watch than shootouts in hockey?

Im thinking because there's 2 reasons. One, when they use shootouts, something huge is on the line, not like a regular season game. Two, because the shooter is expected to score, so there is the anticipation of a goat coming out. I dunno, that's my take.

Yes, they are exciting, but they are ridiculously cruel and an awful way to settle a game. I would totally be in favor of them playing a replay match like they used to do and like they still do in certain cups. Unfortunately, logistically, that is not possible.

[united]

Originally Posted by troutman

Congratulations. Another championship purchased. He who has the most gold rules.

Apparently you stopped watching the tournament ages ago.
Manchester United won, not Real Madrid.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by united

Apparently you stopped watching the tournament ages ago.
Manchester United won, not Real Madrid.

I hate when United fans point to the one team that has a slightly higher payroll than them, the difference in dollars spent between Man U and Madrid is marginal, Man U is just the English version of Real.

[united]

Originally Posted by Locke

I hate when United fans point to the one team that has a slightly higher payroll than them, the difference in dollars spent between Man U and Madrid is marginal, Man U is just the English version of Real.

I disagree. This past season Barcelona almost surely spent more than United did as well as Madrid. Chelsea and Juventus would be very close to United. Liverpool somewhat less but still spending an outrageous amount, greater than 50 million Euroes.

The oldest significant United purchase was Hargreaves who is 26? You cannot fault United for buying fantastic young players and selling older players at the end of their prime, as opposed to Real and Chelsea. In my opinion it is brilliant management by Sir Alex.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by united

Apparently you stopped watching the tournament ages ago.
Manchester United won, not Real Madrid.

Fair enough if we are talking about Champions League.

Why anyone follows teams in the EPL (or other domestic leagues) beyond the Big 4 is beyond me. The fans of all the other teams are suckers. Why do they put up with this? I say they should organize and boycott games (live and on TV) until there is some kind of salary cap or revenue sharing. A pro sports league should be a partnership.

[united]

I agree that the spending of the big four, with the exception of Arsenal this year, is getting to be absolutely insane. Even the teams fighting for UEFA Cup spots are starting to spend loads of money. The bottom 5-10 teams and teams getting promoted really stand no chance to compete unless they get bought by someone who is willing to spend a large some of money to make the team a top 8 contender.

However with the way the TV deals are going it isn't going to change anytime soon.

All that being said I'm not complaining!

[troutman]

Originally Posted by united

In my opinion it is brilliant management by Sir Alex.

Not hard to manage, when you are the richest pro sports franchise in the world.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by united

All that being said I'm not complaining!

Sure, but how can you feel good about teams that win because they spend more than everyone else? I'd have a hard time feeling like my team accomplished anything special. It's more of a surprise when they don't win.

[jofillips]

i feel some sympathy for what you're saying troutman, being a flames and luton town fan (DivIII now...)
but sir alex IS a superb manager (he's won european and home trophys before remember with aberdeen and utd without too much money) who also fosters younger players that are British (unlike Arsenal).

It's the Premier League that controls the money and what will happen - and they're not afraid of taking ANY challenge to them to the European Higher Courts.
Basically the FA needs to step in - if only it could grow some balls.

[united]

Originally Posted by troutman

Sure, but how can you feel good about teams that win because they spend more than everyone else? I'd have a hard time feeling like my team accomplished anything special. It's more of a surprise when they don't win.

It's sport, the only goal is to win. My team did accomplish something special by being the most consistent club team in the toughest league in the world as well as winning the tournament made up of the best club teams from around the world. That alone is a huge accomplishment to me. Not to mention doing so while spending less money than a few other teams, and fielding a relatively young squad.

If my team wasn't doing everything within their power to win I would be very dissapointed. Even if it means spending money given to them. For that I am greatful to have a competent manager like Sir Alex. Like Jofillips said, look at this record with Aberdeen in the early to mid 80's.