The Official 2010/2011 Champions League Thread

[Locke]

Oh, Gomes.....oh my God. What a howler.

Green? Meet Gomes.

[d_phaneuf]

was in a meeting during the 1st half and was trying not to check the score because I have it recording....

but I couldn't hold out and checked the BBC, how bad was Gomes on that goal?

Green-esque?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

was in a meeting during the 1st half and was trying not to check the score because I have it recording....

but I couldn't hold out and checked the BBC, how bad was Gomes on that goal?

Green-esque?

It was from range, chest height, no danger or pressure and he put both hands out in front of him to kind of palm the shot, and it popped up and over him and trickled into the net.

Green-esque? Yeah, pretty much.

[SuperMatt18]

Not getting a competent striker really killed Tottenham's chances this year.

Crouch getting a red killed them in leg one and a crazy amount of missed chances killed them in leg 2.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Not getting a competent striker really killed Tottenham's chances this year.

Yep. It'll likely end up being the issue that keeps them out of the top 4 in the PL, too.

[NBC]

What a buffoon Gomes is. I howled when I saw that one.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Not getting a competent striker really killed Tottenham's chances this year.

Crouch getting a red killed them in leg one and a crazy amount of missed chances killed them in leg 2.

yep, although Levy trying to spend 40m on strikers in January shows that at least this summer he will make a move for one or two

and with Modric saying he is staying, same with Bale

I think next season looks good

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

yep, although Levy trying to spend 40m on strikers in January shows that at least this summer he will make a move for one or two

and with Modric saying he is staying, same with Bale

I think next season looks good

The injuries certainly didn't help this year. If Hutton continues to improve and they can re-sign Gallas and/or pick up another CB we should be good. Been really impressed with BAE this year.

[d_phaneuf]

Gallas re-signed for 2 years last week I think. Happy with Gallas/Dawson/Kaboul/Bassong going forward at CB, and Steven Caulker is a really good prospect as well and could be the 5th there

I don't rate Hutton at all, and there are rumors that him and Harry have almost had bust ups multiple times. I think next year at RB we go with Corluka (him and Luka have known each other 10 years so it doesn't hurt having him around) and Kyle Walker who is currently on loan at Aston Villa and has been tipped by many to be the next RB for England

BAE is solid as a rock, he has improved so much this season. I would like a backup though, just to let him rest every once in awhile. I think he has played every game but 2 this year

midfield is pretty set

need 2 new strikers at a minimum, one elite player to play with Rafa, and another who can play in the 4-4-2 and come on as a sub. Maybe someone young.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

yep, although Levy trying to spend 40m on strikers in January shows that at least this summer he will make a move for one or two

and with Modric saying he is staying, same with Bale

I think next season looks good

I like that Levy tried to spend the money but to me it almost was like an attempt to just show supporters "he tried" in order to tide them until the summer and make it look like they tried to solve their biggest weakness.

He went after Aguero and Rossi but both were last minute offers after we hadn't really heard of anything from Tottenham for the whole transfer window.

If he really went hard after a striker, like Liverpool did with Suarez and Carroll, he would have been able to land one with $40 million.

I still think they missed on opportunity by not trying to get in on Carroll as I think he is in the mold of the striker they need. Big, strong, and good with the ball in the air from crosses and can handle creative passes on the ground at his feet.

While Rossi and Aguero are both great talents that any team would love to have, they are both more of a support striker as opposed to the strong target man that Tottenham needs.

[Locke]

Well, looks to me like Barca wins the Champions league again.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I like that Levy tried to spend the money but to me it almost was like an attempt to just show supporters "he tried" in order to tide them until the summer and make it look like they tried to solve their biggest weakness.

He went after Aguero and Rossi but both were last minute offers after we hadn't really heard of anything from Tottenham for the whole transfer window.

If he really went hard after a striker, like Liverpool did with Suarez and Carroll, he would have been able to land one with $40 million.

I still think they missed on opportunity by not trying to get in on Carroll as I think he is in the mold of the striker they need. Big, strong, and good with the ball in the air from crosses and can handle creative passes on the ground at his feet.

While Rossi and Aguero are both great talents that any team would love to have, they are both more of a support striker as opposed to the strong target man that Tottenham needs.

I would have loved Carroll, think he would work great with VDV

but I don't think he was worth what Liverpool paid, even with the 25% up the value goes for a young England international

I think you are right about the late bid to appease the fans, if he really wanted to spend the money he would have been working on the deal in early january. A lot of it probably had to do with the dead weight (Bentley, Keane, Gio) tied to the team in salary.

I think Rossi comes in the summer and he can work well with VDV, I would keep Crouch as well because of the mismatch factor he has against certain English teams, and almost every team in Europe

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

I would have loved Carroll, think he would work great with VDV

but I don't think he was worth what Liverpool paid, even with the 25% up the value goes for a young England international

I think you are right about the late bid to appease the fans, if he really wanted to spend the money he would have been working on the deal in early january. A lot of it probably had to do with the dead weight (Bentley, Keane, Gio) tied to the team in salary.

I think Rossi comes in the summer and he can work well with VDV, I would keep Crouch as well because of the mismatch factor he has against certain English teams, and almost every team in Europe

And that may be true, but in the words of John Henry, 'Liverpool didnt pay anything for Andy Carroll, Chelsea paid £35M.'

I think Carroll taking in crosses from Bale would be a scary sight for any defender. Well, hes a Liverpool man now.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

3 Portuguese teams in the semis of the Europa League!!

Porto looks dominant and poised to take this title.

Porto v Villareal
Benfica v Braga

A Benfica/Porto final would be HUGE!!

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Locke

And that may be true, but in the words of John Henry, 'Liverpool didnt pay anything for Andy Carroll, Chelsea paid £35M.'

I think Carroll taking in crosses from Bale would be a scary sight for any defender. Well, hes a Liverpool man now.

ya Chelsea obviously overpaid for Torres, but Torres is worth a lot more than 15m more than Carroll as well

Torres is in a bad run of form but its not as though he is over the hill, Rooney was terrible for about 9 months (by his standards) but lately has been great

class is permanent form is temporary

[Nuje]

www.hastorresscoredforchelsea.com

[NBC]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

ya Chelsea obviously overpaid for Torres, but Torres is worth a lot more than 15m more than Carroll as well

Torres is in a bad run of form but its not as though he is over the hill, Rooney was terrible for about 9 months (by his standards) but lately has been great

class is permanent form is temporary

So Spurs lose out on both?

[SeoulFire]

Hey...I thought we weren't allowed to count these one-off massive transfer fees

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

ya Chelsea obviously overpaid for Torres, but Torres is worth a lot more than 15m more than Carroll as well

Torres is in a bad run of form but its not as though he is over the hill, Rooney was terrible for about 9 months (by his standards) but lately has been great

class is permanent form is temporary

Chelsea overpaid for Torres, but Torres is worth more than Carroll, but Chelsea paid more....ya lost me.

I dont consider Carroll to be in the same class as Torres, he was, and may one day again be among the best strikers in the world. But his run of poor form has been going a long time. He had a dreadful World Cup, and he wasnt much better since. Many people thought that was because he was sulking because he didnt want to be at Liverpool, or that he was injured. Well, hes fit and not at Liverpool and still playing poorly for both club and country.

Overall, was Andy Carroll worth £35M? I say no, and Torres isnt worth £50M either. But the fact of the matter is that in an economy of scale thats just the way it works, and the fact that it was at the window deadline just exacerbated the issue.

At the end of the day, fair play rules aside I tend to disregard Carroll's transfer cost entirely. John Henry said it best, he didnt care one bit about the transfer record for a British player, he had zero concern. The fact of the matter was that Torres wanted out, Chelsea made an offer, the club saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone; unload an unhappy player and get paid handsomely to do it.

Then the club understood (unlike Newcastle) that they needed someone to replace him, Andy Carroll was the one Dalglish wanted and Henry said that he had the Torres money to go out and do it.

Thats why he said, 'Liverpool didnt pay anything for Andy Carroll, Chelsea paid £35M.'

Obviously in the scope of the financial fair play rules that will be considered differently as well as in the perspective of future transfer fees. But thats the same as balking that Darren Bent was worth £18M.

[d_phaneuf]

Chelsea overpaid for Torres, I think he is worth based on the previous marks set and taking in to account his age... 35-40m

Carroll is worth about 10-15, when you add in he is English it's probably 15-20

so yes Chelsea overpaid, and so did Liverpool, but the market sets its worth etc.

Just because John Henry said Chelsea paid for it doesn't make it true, because I think for 35m he should have gotten more value than what he got from Carroll. So if he is saying Chelsea overpaying for someone allowed him to make the same mistake and overpay for someone using that money than it's fine but it's not as though he was forced to do so. He could have waited and gotten a better deal in the summer (either with Carroll, or if he was dead set on spending 35m, a better striker)

And I am not trying to put down Andy Carroll because I think he could potentially be a great target man and he seems to have good feet as well, but he hasn't proven anything yet, and 2 years ago he was nothing.