The Official 2010/2011 Champions League Thread

[Locke]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Ronaldo is still the biggest dickhead in soccer.

Other than the diving around, he was also not a very good player yesterday.

There was a lot of 'hit and hope' and very little real creativity. He was shooting from everywhere. I guess with a lead and Spurs down a player he felt he could take the night off.

I will say that he scored what looked like a pretty goal at the end despite the fact that Gomes really should have had it.

[troutman]

Did Spurs ever cross mid-field in the second half?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

stay on your feet - Ray Wilkins

187 times in the first half

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Di Maria seals it

what a goal

I watched most of the match last night as I'm sicker than hell, and holy crap yeah, 'Stay on your feet.' He just kept repeating it over and over and over, its good advice, its what got Crouch sent off.

Crouch's yellows, I mean, what can you do? He goes in studs up on the first challenge, gets a yellow. And then he does it again right away, whats the ref supposed to do? Not give him a yellow for something hes just given him a yellow for? His hands were tied.

And Di Maria...wow. What a goal, thats as perfectly placed as it gets. The only hope on that goal was a defender making a block.

At the end of the day, they just kept giving the ball away. Spurs were doing fine at 1-0, and that scoreline gives them a chance to go through in London, but Defoe had an opportunity at 1-0 and it immediately went down the field and Adebayor makes it 2 and then when they had some breathing room Madrid went to town.

It has to be said though, the marking on Adebayor was horrible. Hes a huge guy, someone mark him! He got 2 free headers. Yeah, they were excellent headers but he had all the time and space in the world with no pressure on him.

And good on Schalke, theyre mid table in the Bundesliga and they just hammered Inter. I love that, despite going down early they showed excellent resilience and just took it to Inter. Beautiful. Now, why couldnt Bayern have done that?

I have a suspicion that Inter thought Schalke at home was going to be a Sunday kickabout that they were going to walk over easily and they werent properly prepared, but thats just a theory, I didnt actually see the match.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by troutman

Did Spurs ever cross mid-field in the second half?

Yes actually, I thought Spurs were doing really well right up until the second Madrid goal. Once Madrid got that one it was all over but the crying.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Locke

I have a suspicion that Inter thought Schalke at home was going to be a Sunday kickabout that they were going to walk over easily and they werent properly prepared, but thats just a theory, I didnt actually see the match.

This.

Plus they were coming off a huge derby with AC on Sunday and they got embarrassed in that game as well and you could tell that their confidence was shaken after that game.

Also Leonardo is just not a very good coach and I still have no idea why they hired a guy who failed while coaching their main rivals just out of spite.

Crazy how far that team has fallen from last season with Jose being the only real piece that left that team.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

This.

Plus they were coming off a huge derby with AC on Sunday and they got embarrassed in that game as well and you could tell that their confidence was shaken after that game.

Also Leonardo is just not a very good coach and I still have no idea why they hired a guy who failed while coaching their main rivals just out of spite.

Crazy how far that team has fallen from last season with Jose being the only real piece that left that team.

I find that repeats are very difficult for a few reasons. First of all, once you win it all you become a scalp. Everyone plays over their heads to take you down.

Secondly, motivation, sure every player says they want to win it all, all the time, but once you've done it the motivation to repeat isnt as strong because if you dont win it the next time, oh well, who cares, you already won it.

Either way, they didnt take Schalke seriously and they got spanked.

[rubecube]

I thought Van der Vaart played very poorly yesterday. He seemed to really mail it in once Crouch was sent off. Bale played him an excellent ball into the box and Rafa just seemed to let it die on his foot. Sandro also wasn't as strong as he was against Milan, and Corluka was terrible. However, I thought Dawson, Bale, and BAE played quite well.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I thought Van der Vaart played very poorly yesterday. He seemed to really mail it in once Crouch was sent off. Bale played him an excellent ball into the box and Rafa just seemed to let it die on his foot. Sandro also wasn't as strong as he was against Milan, and Corluka was terrible. However, I thought Dawson, Bale, and BAE played quite well.

I honestly thought VdV was far too hot headed. He wasnt focused on the game, he was too focused on complaining to the ref. He certainly didnt have his head in the game.

And BAE was very good that game, thats bad. When hes the guy you point to as the standout player then you got serious problems.

[d_phaneuf]

BAE has improved a ton this year I think, he has probably been their most consistent healthy player

Dawson was excellent, and is showing his form last year wasn't a fluke, I think he has been the best CB in England the past two seasons outside Vidic

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

BAE has improved a ton this year I think, he has probably been their most consistent healthy player.

Yep, I harped on the guy quite a bit last year for his laziness, stupidity, and general disinterest, but he's been quite good this year. Although, his poor play last year was the reason Bale initially got his shot, so I guess some good came of it.

[d_phaneuf]

Better team won today but Chelsea should have had a pen in the last 5 minutes

I dono how the ref, or his assistants who had clear views, didn't call it


all 4 ties are over now I would think, probly get some good exciting games (everywhere but OT) but the results won't matter

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Better team won today but Chelsea should have had a pen in the last 5 minutes

I dono how the ref, or his assistants who had clear views, didn't call it


all 4 ties are over now I would think, probly get some good exciting games (everywhere but OT) but the results won't matter

As SAF said after the game...first break in 7 years at the bridge

And I would hardly call this one over....

[d_phaneuf]

Ferguson: "if it was a penalty, it's the first [decision] we've had in seven years, so I don't feel guilty"





LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Ferguson: "if it was a penalty, it's the first [decision] we've had in seven years, so I don't feel guilty"





LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Fergie is such a joke, Man U gets every call go there way all season long.

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

Fergie is such a joke, Man U gets every call go there way all season long.

Yup their certainly lucky that all the calls go there way especially when they play they're.

[Locke]

I didnt see the Utd/Chelski game, but theres much complaining about a missed penalty at the end, Gamecast said it was a definite penalty but the refs and assistants missed it. I'll maybe watch the game later. A call goes United's way? No, surely such a thing could never happen.

As for people wondering why Benitez lost his job? It might have something to do with the fact that Diego Milito couldnt hit the broad side of a barn. At least twice in this match he's missed a wide open net.

[SeoulFire]

The first appeal was probably a penalty but as SAF said things hadn't been going United's way at the bridge (in terms of questionable calls) for about 7 years. Torres' dive after that was laughable and he was rightfully booked.

[d_phaneuf]

the first one was a stonewall Pen, 100%, every writer I saw on twitter agreed as well

the second one wasn't, and barbie torres had been diving all game (Rio picked him up after he did it one time and yelled at him) so he deserved a yellow

[Addick]

Spurs - No Racist Chants
Tottenham Likely To Avoid Action Over Fan Abuse To Adebayor

7 April 2011
SkySports

Tottenham have denied their supporters targeted Emmanuel Adebayor with racist chants and are unlikely to face any Uefa action.

European football's governing body have stated that the match delegate did not include anything in their report which would trigger an investigation.

Former Arsenal striker Adebayor, who scored twice in Real's 4-0 victory, claims he was singled out during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg in Spain.

Unless European football's governing body receive official notification of an offence from stadium security or the police, Spurs will not be charged.

The club accept the abuse directed at on-loan Manchester City forward Adebayor - who scored twice in Real's 4-0 crushing win on Tuesday - was offensive.

But they are adamant the chant which contains the words, "Your dad washes elephants, your mother's a whore", is not racist in nature.

Complete Article

The first time I heard this chant being sung by United fans I thought it was terrible and I still do. Even though I think Adebayor is a major ######, I don't think he should be subjected to chants like this. With FIFA and UEFA saying they are committed to kicking racism out of the game, they should have a zero tolerance rule with anything approaching racist chanting.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Addick

The first time I heard this chant being sung by United fans I thought it was terrible and I still do. Even though I think Adebayor is a major ######, I don't think he should be subjected to chants like this. With FIFA and UEFA saying they are committed to kicking racism out of the game, they should have a zero tolerance rule with anything approaching racist chanting.

I read that, and this is the part that stuns me:

But they are adamant the chant which contains the words, "Your dad washes elephants, your mother's a whore", is not racist in nature.

Really? Um, okay. Even so, if its not racist it is still highly offensive.