Official Champions League Thread 2007/8

Here we go here we go here we go....

Time for those key questions to be answered...

Who will win it this year?

Which "big" team will flop embarrasingly?

And most importantly, how many times will I be able to defy the blanket alcohol in stadia ban?



Group stage:

(After all the teams in each group play each other home and away (6 games) the 2 teams with most points from each group will go through to the next round.)

Group A
Liverpool (ENGLAND)
Porto (PORTUGAL)
Beşiktaş (TURKEY)
Marseille (FRANCE)

Group C
Olympiacos (GREECE)
Bremen (GERMANY)
Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Lazio (ITALY)

Group E
Lyon (FRANCE)
Barcelona (SPAIN)
Stuttgart (GERMANY)
Rangers (SCOTLAND)

Group G
PSV (NETHERLANDS)
Internazionale (ITALY)
Fenerbahçe (TURKEY)
CSKA Moskva (RUSSIA)

Group B
Valencia (SPAIN)
Rosenborg (NORWAY)
Chelsea (ENGLAND)
Schalke (GERMANY)

Group D
Celtic (SCOTLAND)
Milan (ITALY)
Benfica (PORTUGAL)
Shakhtar (UKRAINE)

Group F
Roma (ITALY)
Sporting (PORTUGAL)
Man. United (ENGLAND)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKRAINE)

Group H
Steaua (ROMANIA)
Arsenal (ENGLAND)
Slavia (CZECH REP.)
Sevilla (SPAIN)

Think its fair to say that without the special one Chelski are doomed.
And if Rafa doesn't stop swapping and changing torres in and out pool should do fine.

Alas, I guess manu are gonna go far this year.... :roll:

what a muppet!

the fan was a dick but didas behaviour is criminal

youtube.com/watch?v=2MVDIYC13cg

stretcher, neck brace, ice pack....muppet

I used to know a very popular girl who was a bit like Dida.

She went down easily too.



Good to see the Milan officials (perhaps embarrassed by their recent corruption-riddled history) playing down the incident. Seeing how the medics seemed to be in on the farce, I thought it would become a re-run of the imfamous Rapid Vienna episode. And well done to the fan for challenging stereotypes. An out-of-control drunken Hoop. What's next? A Liverpool fan running on the pitch to steal something?

And why don't we get female streakers any more? Two years ago, we had a squirrel invading the pitch during a semi-final. At least it MIGHT have been female, and definitely was naked. The only pair of tits I've seen on a pitch lately are Chelsea's 2 Coles (Joe and Cashley)



At least there was plenty of positive stuff in the first two rounds of matches.

Captain, your "Chelsea doomed" prediction isn't looking so good now. Spot on about Benitez, though. Marseille are crap and in turmoil, but Liverpool made them look good.

Man U aren't playing well at all and have lost their 2 first-choice central midfielders for a month. And I don't think their defence is as brilliant as some are saying. They could sort it all out, but they could get found out by a decent attacking side.

Fantastic efforts from Scotland's two representatives. I never saw those coming. Also, I can't believe how bad Lyon have been. They've been very impressive in recent years, and were my outside tip for a semi-final.

Have to mention my boys. Sticking 3 past Sevilla without reply and then playing (relatively) poorly and getting a win in Bucharest is impressive. Almost as impressive as our domestic performances. And that from a team everyone said was f**ked in August. For the record, the entire XI who started against Seville cost less than Shevchenko. Let's talk about Cesc, baby!


Full round-up of results and standings to follow. And don't worry if you're a American who hates "soccer". I'll thrown in some Lucy Pinder just for you.

I used to know a very popular girl who was a bit like Dida.

She went down easily too.

Good to see the Milan officials (perhaps embarrassed by their recent corruption-riddled history) playing down the incident. Seeing how the medics seemed to be in on the farce, I thought it would become a re-run of the imfamous Rapid Vienna episode. And well done to the fan for challenging stereotypes. An out-of-control drunken Hoop. What's next? A Liverpool fan running on the pitch to steal something?

And why don't we get female streakers any more? Two years ago, we had a squirrel invading the pitch during a semi-final. At least it MIGHT have been female, and definitely was naked. The only pair of tits I've seen on a pitch lately are Chelsea's 2 Coles (Joe and Cashley)

At least there was plenty of positive stuff in the first two rounds of matches.

Captain, your "Chelsea doomed" prediction isn't looking so good now. Spot on about Benitez, though. Marseille are crap and in turmoil, but Liverpool made them look good.

Man U aren't playing well at all and have lost their 2 first-choice central midfielders for a month. And I don't think their defence is as brilliant as some are saying. They could sort it all out, but they could get found out by a decent attacking side.

Fantastic efforts from Scotland's two representatives. I never saw those coming. Also, I can't believe how bad Lyon have been. They've been very impressive in recent years, and were my outside tip for a semi-final.

Have to mention my boys. Sticking 3 past Sevilla without reply and then playing (relatively) poorly and getting a win in Bucharest is impressive. Almost as impressive as our domestic performances. And that from a team everyone said was f**ked in August. For the record, the entire XI who started against Seville cost less than Shevchenko. Let's talk about Cesc, baby!


Full round-up of results and standings to follow. And don't worry if you're a American who hates "soccer". I'll thrown in some Lucy Pinder just for you.

aye that celtic 28 yr old will be in massive trouble if celtic get a decision thrown against them....that lad won't be able to bend his knees for months (I figure) theres knee-capping in that blokes future

"Let's talk about Cesc baby, lets talk about Flam-in-i, let's talk about Theo Walcott, Freddie Ljungberg and Henry, let's talk about Cesc."....

ah yes
thats a winner tune allrighty
but the only reason folk thought you were fucked was cos of all the whinger rumours about him leaving ye....henri is now a memory and boy how ye got over him in a hurry but without the whinger gunners would be in trouble....reckon he's your version of fergie....the most valued member of the team...hope big sam will be like that for Toon

and
don't write off chelski's ability to self destruct just yet, they'll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet let me tell ya... :wink: :wink: :wink:

as for manu....what do ya make of Anderson? This years djemba djemba? or a late bloomer? and as for manu defenders? .....falling out with Henise was a mistake, Keeping Wes brown is a mistake....and as for Rio..:roll: :roll: :roll: but isn't it mad that scholesy still can't tackle for shit? :roll: :roll: :roll:

anyhooo,
chose to watch the pool game rather than the parkhead match

jaaaysus
rafa had stevie g outta place, riise on the bench :roll: and that yolk sissoko is quickly becoming the shitus shambles of mersyside...and rafa trying out leto on this level stage? couldn't he try him out in the carling? the fa? against derby? fulham? preston northend? but in the champions league? :roll: :roll: :roll:
gotta say though...veronin looks interesting...


well, one things for sure, didas gonna get abuse in every stadium he visits for the next year at least

aye that celtic 28 yr old will be in massive trouble if celtic get a decision thrown against them....that lad won't be able to bend his knees for months (I figure) theres knee-capping in that blokes future

I thought that sort of thing (knees) didn't happen any more. Guess I was wrong. [*Cancels family holiday in the Gorbals*]

but the only reason folk thought you were fucked was cos of all the whinger rumours about him leaving ye....henri is now a memory and boy how ye got over him in a hurry but without the whinger gunners would be in trouble....reckon he's your version of fergie....the most valued member of the team...hope big sam will be like that for Toon

Wenger was never, ever going to leave. Why gather that many youngsters and f**k off just as they're about to blossom? He'll retire/die on the job. He's more than our Fergie. Fergie inherited his golden youth generation and then bought all his stars when they were already big (ok, apart from fake Ronaldo). Arsene helped design the new stadium, got/developped every one of his stars before they were big names. He made them big names.

Getting "over" Thierry has transpired to mean losing the big ego who intimidated the youngsters. The man was a giant for us, an honour to watch. But it's a team game. Just about everyone else at the club seems to have taken a big step forward in his absence. Also team-spirit is now much much stronger without him. It happens. You missing Shearer?

Have to say, we'd be nothing like in the position we're in if it wasn't for the brilliance of Fabregas. Early days yet, but so far, so awesome. King Henry is dead. Long live King Cesc. Of course, we'll struggle to hold on to him at this rate. Which is why "the Whinger" is bringing Denilson through. I don't have to tell a Toon man about Denilson, do I?

Speaking of which... Big Sam. Now, I'm biased as I hate Bolton, but I think the man's a twat. The Carling Cup was his big one. He's playing just about his best available 11 against a side featuring 8 very young, non-regular starters, a keeper making his debut, and Alex f**ing Song with Senderos at centre back. Does he go at them, try to scare them and make them panic, or sit back and let the kids settle in and slowly develop their passing game? I was at that game, Cap'n and I couldn't believe how little your mob offered. Before kick-off, looking at the 2 team sheets, I thought we'd get beat. In the end, you couldn't even say we were that lucky (other than the clearance off the line - that shot was woefully underhit by a striker lacking confidence...)

That was Big Sam's best chance of a trophy. The man is a cock, I tell you. For him to talk about tiredness and scheduling at the end was just typical.

That said, I sincerely hope you lot finish top 6. And beat the Spuds twice on the way to doing it.

don't write off chelski's ability to self destruct just yet, they'll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet let me tell ya... :wink: :wink: :wink:

As Keggy said: "I'd love it. I'd really really love it" if they do. Couldn't happen to a more deserving crowd.

as for manu....what do ya make of Anderson? This years djemba djemba? or a late bloomer?

Djemba-Djemba. Or Veron. Don't think much of Hargreaves either. Never saw what that was all about. Nani, however, looks decent.

and as for manu defenders? .....falling out with Henise was a mistake, Keeping Wes brown is a mistake....and as for Rio..:roll: :roll: :roll:

Agree about Heinze. Agree about Brown. Always makes me happy to see his name on their teamsheet. Rio is a grade A wanker, but he's been fine (on the pitch) this season. No doubt he'll have a few trademark lapses in concentration sooner or later.

but isn't it mad that scholesy still can't tackle for shit? :roll: :roll: :roll:

He actually gets worse. Not only that, but the rest of his game now seems to have gone. Could it be that he and Giggs are finished now?

rafa had stevie g outta place, riise on the bench :roll: and that yolk sissoko is quickly becoming the shitus shambles of mersyside...and rafa trying out leto on this level stage? couldn't he try him out in the carling? the fa? against derby? fulham? preston northend? but in the champions league? :roll: :roll: :roll:

Yup. Insane. Almost as insane as dropping a 25 million quid man for Peter f**ing Crouch. Maybe Leto's still finding his feet. Maybe he's just as shit as he looks.

gotta say though...veronin looks interesting...

On his day, he's class.

well, one things for sure, didas gonna get abuse in every stadium he visits for the next year at least

He may yet get some retrospective punishment which might mean he doesn't get to visit many grounds outside of Italy. Here's hoping.

OK, Back to the Champions League.

<Cue melodramtic operatic singing>


Results so far:

"Matchday" 1 - 18/19 September 07

Group A
Marseille 2-0 Beşiktaş
Porto 1-1 Liverpool

Group B
Chelsea 1-1 Rosenborg
Schalke 0-1 Valencia

Group C
Real Madrid 2-1 Bremen
Olympiacos 1-1 Lazio

Group D
Milan 2-1 Benfica
Shakhtar 2-0 Celtic

Group E
Rangers 2-1 Stuttgart
Barcelona 3-0 Lyon

Group F
Roma 2-0 Dynamo
Sporting 0-1 Man. United

Group G
PSV 2-1 CSKA Moskva
Fenerbahçe 1-0 Internazionale

Group H
Arsenal 3-0 Sevilla
Slavia 2-1 Steaua



Matchday 2 - 02/03 October 2007

Group A
Liverpool 0-1 Marseille
Beşiktaş 0-1 Porto

Group B
Valencia 1-2 Chelsea
Rosenborg 0-2 Schalke

Group C
Lazio 2-2 Real Madrid
Bremen 1-3 Olympiacos

Group D
Celtic 2-1 Milan
Benfica 0-1 Shakhtar

Group E
Lyon 0-3 Rangers
Stuttgart 0-2 Barcelona

Group F
Man. United 1-0 Roma
Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Sporting

Group G
CSKA Moskva 2-2 Fenerbahçe
Internazionale 2-0 PSV

Group H
Steaua 0-1 Arsenal
Sevilla 4-2 Slavia



League Standings after 2 games:

(After 6 matches, the top 2 teams in each group go through to next phase. 3rd place team gets consoloation of going into the much less highly-regarded UEFA cup. 4th placed team can "concentrate on domestic competitions")


Group A

Marseille 6
Porto 4
Liverpool 1
Beşiktaş 0

Marseille aren't that good, surely? Liverpool have work to do to, but I think they will get through. The matches between Porto and Marseille should reveal the other qualifiers from this group.


Group B

Chelsea 4
Valencia 3
Schalke 3
Rosenbourg 1

Chelsea's surpise and impressive win in Spain has opened up this group but I think the final standings will be the same as they are now.


Group C

Olympiakos 4
Real Madrid 4
Lazio 2
Bremen 0

Nothing to say here except that I don't think whoever finishes second to Real will go far in the second phase.


Group D

Shaktar 6
Celtic 3
AC Milan 3
Benfica 0

Shaktar have a few years' experience at this now, and it shows. Celtic have a chance because they are formidable opposition at home. I still think AC will win the group, but I wouldn't want to call second place. Befica just ain't what they once were. Not even a shadow of it.


Group E

Barcelona 6
Rangers 6
Stuttgart 0
Lyon 0

It looks done and dusted almost. I expect Lyon to bounce back - they're far too good (on paper) but Rangers have started awesomely and that should be enough to see them through. Barca have too many great players not to make it, but interestingly, the real star there now is the youngster Messi who's eclipsing the likes of Ronaldinho, Eto'o and some bloke called Thierry Henry. Only an explosion of egos can stop them. But they do have plenty of explosive egos...


Group F

Man Utd 6
Roma 3
Sporting Lisbon 3
Dynamo Kiev 0

So... United keep winning 1-0 without playing well. Either they start to play well and become unstoppable or they get found out. Dynamo Kiev are not the frightening prospect of yesteryear, but no-one likes to go away to the Ukraine in October/November. Anything COULD happen in this group, but I think it'll finish Man Utd on top and Sporting second. Roma just don't seem ruthless enough.


Group G

Fenebache 4
Inter Milan 3
PSV Eindhoven 3
CSKA Moscow 1

Mathematically, this is close right now. But I think Inter and PSV will end up running away with it in the end.


Group H

Arsenal 6
Seville 3
Slavia Prague 3
Steaua Bucharest 0

Seville looked overawed and out of their depth when they came to London for their first ever Champions League game. In their second game, they took a while to get going at home to Slavia. But they did get going. They've got a lot of good players, but after a terrific season last year, they seem to be suffering under the weight of expectation this time around. I still think they'll finish a comfortable second in this group behind the pride of North London who (this far) really do look shit-hot. I reckon Steaua will grab third place.



And now Lucy with her good friend Michelle:






Which reminds me... where's my sandwich?

Yup. Insane. Almost as insane as dropping a 25 million quid man for Peter f**ing Crouch. Maybe Leto's still finding his feet. Maybe he's just as shit as he looks.

[

ah here now,
leave poor peter alone

it takes him longer to find his feet cos their sooooo far away from his head...he can't see that far what with him being a hybrid cross between a wet tuesday and a ladder

and yes, I do miss shearer every day....but the team is better being a team and not a one-man show....

on an off-topic question - how long do you reckon Martin O'Neill is gonna take to get his villa crew in gear, and before they start luke moore for every game?

he can't see that far what with him being a hybrid cross between a wet tuesday and a ladder

I don't miss Shearer's elbows. The dirty bastard. I loved watching him and monkey-face Keown knocking lumps out of each other.... Awesome, awesome striker though.

on an off-topic question - how long do you reckon Martin O'Neill is gonna take to get his villa crew in gear, and before they start luke moore for every game?

Was having this conversation only the other day. He's had more than a full season. Myself, I reckon O'Neill's reputation is almost shot now. He's made Villa into the image of his Leicester... a solid mid-table team full of solid, middle-ranking players. There was talk a while ago of him being lined up for when Sir Red of Face moves on. Don't seem to hear any of that now. Especially since that nutter from Cork has calmed down and had a decent start with the Mackems. Stick THAT up yer bollix!

So... Dida is banned from his team's next two Champions League matches and the fan turned himself in to the police. I'd call that a happy ending.

And John Terry is still in the wars...may not be fit for a long while and Lampard is out, apparently he is still massively bitter about the Jose dump

chelski will find it hard to progress in champions with those two missing

Cap'n, I'm not ruling them out yet, much as I'd like to. That result away to Valencia was very impressive. I agree they'll miss Terry. Not sure how long Lampard is out. I think it's a "political injury" - like you say he's pining for his hateful ex-boss. He could well be on his way out of Chelsea. Far too high an opinion of himself. Personally, I think they'll find him not so difficult to replace. But, it'd be great if you were right

Well,

Big night tonight

Rangers v Barcelona.........(1-5 ? seriously, T. Henry alone will get an easy brace in)

Gunners v S Prague ........(3 -1, unless theres more goaliegate stuff going on then who knows what'll happen)

D. Kiev v Man u (1 - 1 ......think it'll be a slow affair, barely conscious, unless Fergie lets rip)

Reckon Rangers will get onto that pitch to play kickankle and buckle down for an onslaught.
Reckon Gunners are still sore after the kicking trotters gave them but will still turn on the flair and style.

Man u....I figure Manu are all cocky and delira over the weekend 11 - 9 man slaughter and won't really be on for pouring it on tonight, reckon its gonna be a slow one :roll:

any thoughts?

gunners currently 6 nil up

fantastic entertainment

manu winning 3-1

I was well off the mark

What are liverpool doing?

What are liverpool doing?

Having lost confidence, they now seem to be running out of luck. Or "Clattenburg" as they call it.

Looks like I was right not to write off Chelsea. Not a great day for your predictions. Barca did batter Rangers, but they seem to have that "trying to walk the ball into the net" complex. That Henry bloke you mentioned... didn't he use to be a quite good striker? What's he doing on the wing? (Not a lot, from what I've seen)

Man U were great in attack, Dynamo ain't what they once were.

Slavia were really, really bad. Arsenal, for about 15 minutes in the second half were :shock:

I'll try and post a proper round up later.

Results from Matchday 3:

Group A
Beşiktaş 2-1 Liverpool
Marseille 1-1 Porto

Liverpool had a lot of possession, but never really controlled the game. The proof of that was the way Besiktas were able to close out the game, even after Liverpool had grabbed a goal back. There seems to be a real lack of confidence throughout the Liverpool midfield. The normally inspirational players are going missing for long stretches. At the back, they have injuries, and their replacements don't look up to the job. Hyypia, once a magnificent centre-back, just looks past it now.

Table after 3 games:
Marseille 7
Porto 5
Besiktas 3
Liverpool 1

The group is still open, and Liverpool can still qualify for the next phase of the competition if they win all 3 remaining games. It has been done before. But they'll need to play a lot, lot better. Besiktas with their fanatical crowd behind them are a tough away fixture, but I don't rate them as a force. The win against Liverpool gave them their only points in the group so far. Marseille are average at best this year, despite topping the group. Ditto Porto. At the moment, it doesn't look like any of the four teams in Group A will be going far in the tournament. I'd expect Liverpool to finish at least third, above Besiktas, and I won't be shocked if they pip Porto for second.




Group B
Rosenborg 2-0 Valencia
Chelsea 2-0 Schalke

As I predicted/feared, Chelsea are not finished. No shocks in their professional victory over second-rate Schalke. The big question in this Group is what happened to Valencia? They've looked so good in recent years and have a terrific squad (on paper).

Chelsea 7
Rosenberg 4
Valencia 3
Schalke 3

Chelsea are going to win the group comfortably. Rosenberg are doing brilliantly (drawing at Chelsea and now the win at home to Valencia) but I still think the Spaniards will grab second spot from them.




Group C
Bremen 2-1 Lazio
Real Madrid 4-2 Olympiacos

Real 7
Olympiakos 4
Bremen 3
Lazio 2

Real needed a comeback to win a game they were expected to win comfortably. They're very off-form at the moment. But they won. And they will win the group, mostly because the 3 other teams are pretty poor so far. I'm surprised by how weak Lazio are. Surprised, but happy. I'd hate to pick the team that will finish second - could be any one of Olympiakos, Bremen or Lazio. Whichever it is, I don't think anyone will be too scared of drawing them in the next round.




Group D
Benfica 1-0 Celtic
Milan 4-1 Shakhtar

Celtic almost hung on in Lisbon. But in the end, they got zero points and a fairly average Benfica team got all three. I thought the Hoops had cracked this playing-away-from-home thing, but last night suggests otherwise. Milan, as expected, had an easy time at home against Shaktar.

Milan 6
Shaktar 6
Benfica 3
Celtic 3

This group is close. In theory, the four teams could finish in any order. I think Milan will win it, but second place will go to whichever of the three other teams sorts themselves out and finds form. If you force me to make a prediction, I'll say Celtic will go through, ahead of Benfica.



Group E
Stuttgart 0-2 Lyon
Rangers 0-0 Barcelona

At last! One of my outside tips for the semis, Lyon, have managed to win a game. True, it was against an awful Stuttgart who seem to have completely fallen apart in the past few months, but maybe this can kick-start Lyon's campaign. Rangers were heroic holding Barca at bay and might even have snatched a victory late on, but the Spanish ego-trippers will know they should have converted one of their many, many chances.

Barcelona 7
Rangers 7
Lyon 3
Stuttgart 0

Barcelona will win the group, although they are yet to really impress, considering their "fantasy" squad. The point Rangers won by holding Barca may well be enough to see off any challenge from Lyon for second place. Stuttgart have bigger problems then their imminent exit from the Champions League...



Group F
Dynamo Kyiv 2-4 Man. United
Roma 2-1 Sporting

Kiev ain't what they used to be, but it's still a hard place to go in November, and United played really well on the night. They'll be worried about the goals they conceded, but as long as they're scoring so freely, that's fine.

Man U 9
Roma 6
Sporting Lisbon 3
Dynamo Kiev 0

It's United's group for me. The next round sees Roma at Sporting. That result may go a long way to deciding second place. Looks like the Ukrainians are out of it though.




Group G
CSKA Moskva 1-2 Internazionale
PSV 0-0 Fenerbahçe

A professional, if not entirely convincing win for Inter. Western European teams hate going to Moscow in November. They needed a bad f*** up from the CSKA keeper to get all three points, but it's a crucial victory, especially in the light of PSV and Fenerbahce's, awful, boring, limp draw.

Inter Milan 6
Fenebahce 5
PSV Eindhoven 4
CSKA Moscow 1

Well done to PSV for handing Inter the group on a plate, although Fenebahce will fancy their chances now. I don't. CSKA could still make an impact in the group, although I think whoever finishes second will be eliminated in the following round anyway.




Group H
Sevilla 2-1 Steaua
Arsenal 7-0 Slavia

Seville cruised into a 2-0 lead against Steaua and then sat back. Steaua got a goal back early enough to make for a frantic finish, but they could manage to properly test their hosts afterwards. I'm not sure if that says more about Seville's control of the game, or Steaua's ability to test their opponents.

The phrase "out of their depth" was invented for teams like Slavia on Tuesday night. The Czechs started badly against Arsenal in London and then got worse. Unluckily for them, they hit an Arsenal team bang in form. Slavia made it easy, but that would only explain a 3-0 or 4-0 scoreline. As it happened, in the second half, (or 20 minutes of it anyway) Arsenal, and their midfield in particular, were unbelievably good. I mean, really, really good. The 4th, 5th and 6th goals were as magnificent as any that will be scored in this year's Champions League. The 6th, especially, was a thing of absolute stunning beauty. Breathtaking. Football from another planet. The 7th, although a scrappy finish, followed a 14-pass move.

The decision to use Sylar from Heroes in midfield is really paying off for Arsenal. OK, it's not Sylar, it's just a look-a-like: Cesc Fabregas. But the way he's playing, completely running games and scoring goals galore at the age of 20 (20!!! FFS!!!) suggests that maybe he does have superpowers. 7-0 does not happen very often in the Champions League. The scoreline matches the record in the tournament, set four years ago and not otherwise not matched since then. If Arsenal play like this in the rest of their games, they'd win the tournament. No question. Of course, that's asking too much. But no-one's in any doubt about what this young team is capable of now. Can they reproduce it against higher quality opposition?

Arsenal 9
Seville 6
Slavia Prague 3
Steaua Bucharest 0

Arsenal need a draw from any of their 3 remaining games to qualify for the next stage. They might fancy their chances in their next match, the return fixture against Slavia in Prague. I doubt the Czechs are looking forward to it much, but they will want to show their pride in front of their own fans, and stranger things have happened. But the Londoners will surely win the group comfortably. Seville are doing the business without being overly impressive. I expect them to qualify in second place. Steaua and Slavia have to fight it out for the consolation of finishing 3rd in the group, and the place in the less prestigious UEFA cup that comes with it.



"Match day" 4 (in which all the matches in all the groups are reverse fixtures from Matchday 3 - i.e. Liverpool will be at home to Besiktas, Porto will be at home to Marseille etc. etc.) is in a fortnight's time.

Well, I got it all wrong last time.

What say you Conceptfan, got any tips for the bookies*?









(*no worries admin, I'm not going to the bank with conceptfan's tips...tis just a figure of speech)

Well, I got it all wrong last time.

What say you Conceptfan, got any tips for the bookies*?

(*no worries admin, I'm not going to the bank with conceptfan's tips...tis just a figure of speech)

For Matchday 4 *:

Liverpool to beat Besitkas
Valencia to beat Rosenborg
Celtic to beat Benfica
Man U to beat Kiev

Oh, and why are you pretending you're not taking those to the bookies? It's not like it's illegal where you or I live! If you want to throw your hard-earned away on my ill-informed picks, good luck to you I say!

* Cf bares no responsibility for any loss of money or property incurred.

8 nil

fuck


seriously

fuck

8 nil

fuck


seriously

fuck

Bastard scousers stole my team's (shared) record!! We only (jointly) held it for a week!!!

And after 3 minutes, it was looking like an away win.

Seems they got their mojo back. I blame the Besitkas keeper for getting them started...

But credit where it's due. At 3 or 4 nil, a lesser team would have sat back and relaxed.

Funny thing is, they're no better off than if they'd scraped a 1-0. The other result in that group means the Pool still HAVE to win their remaining 2 games to qualify. Although, they'll be pretty confident of achieving that now!

Oh well, I got 2 out of 3 right last night. Congratulations to Valencia for completely falling apart this season. With their squad, that's truly pathetic. Let's see if there's any more shocks in the other half of the "Day" 4 games tonight

We've another busy week ahead

wonder will rafa go the way of Davies, McClaren, Tel v and Stan de man if this week doesn't work out?

wonder will there be any surprises on Tuesday

Sevilla won't trouble gunners
sporting may rock the manuseless boat but I'd reckon manu are on their way

can't see rangers winning
Barce cream lyon

PSV suddenly throw on the style and catch moscow with their pants down....


(can't remember other match ups I think roma have a difficult one)

.....so any strong gut feelings out there?

We've another busy week ahead

wonder will rafa go the way of Davies, McClaren, Tel v and Stan de man if this week doesn't work out?

wonder will there be any surprises on Tuesday

Sevilla won't trouble gunners
sporting may rock the manuseless boat but I'd reckon manu are on their way

can't see rangers winning
Barce cream lyon

PSV suddenly throw on the style and catch moscow with their pants down....


(can't remember other match ups I think roma have a difficult one)

.....so any strong gut feelings out there?

So, Matchday 5. Tonight we have:


Group E
Stuttgart vs Rangers
Lyon vs Barcelona

I think Suttgart-Rangers will be a draw. Lyon will raise their game, and either draw or lose narrowly.


Group F
Dynamo Kiev vs Roma
Man U vs Sporting

Roma to win in Kiev. United to win at home to Sporting.


Group G
CSKA Moscow vs PSV
Inter Milan vs Fenebache

I cannot back an away team in Moscow in November. Home wins in both of these matches, IMO.


Group H
Sevilla vs Arsenal
Steaua Bucharest vs Slavia Prague

I predict a draw or a narrow victory for the Londoners in Seville. I think Sevilla will come out all guns blazing, but if they don't get an early breakthrough they will be contained and slowly ground down. Slavia have to win to have any chance of making the next phase of the competition, but I don't think they will.




Tomorrow night it's:







TOMORROW

GROUP A
Besiktas vs Marseille
Liverpool vs Porto

Besitkas to bounce back from their humiliation with a goalless draw at home. Liverpool's game is very winnable, but they absolutely have to win it. Benitez' stubborness and the ignorance of Liverpool's owners has put a huge amount of extra pressure on an already big pressure game. If Porto start well, Rafa and Liverpool could choke.


GROUP B
Rosenbourg vs Chelsea
Valencia vs Schalke

Rosenburg have had some great results, beating Valencia twice and drawing at Chelsea. But they will lose this game I think. Valencia are in self-destruct mode. I think they'll draw with Schalke, a result that will do no favours for either party.


GROUP C
Bremen vs Real Madrid
Lazio vs Olympiacos

Real to win. Lazio to win. Both look certs to me.



GROUP D
Benfica vs AC Milan
Celtic vs Shaktar

I think AC Milan will get the away victory. Celtic surely to win at home to the Ukrainians.

Right then.
I was completely wrong about the gunners. Sevillia have had a lot of social-type problems this year ....but coming from 1 down and slotting 3 in the back of the net against the gunners apparently wasn't one of them. Still, yez are through anyway....so its all a twee bit irrelevant.

Sporting shook manuseless but step-over-fall-down rescued them on the 90th
Top spot for manu

Psv surprised Moscow

Rangers lost

but the lyon/barce draw???
Are Barce gonna accuse Lyon of ' Anti-football' :wink:

interesting stuff, Barce are well clear on 11 points but Lyon and Rangers are tied 7 apiece...will rangers get into Europe?

so
that leaves us with tonight's games

Bremen are screwed
Rosenberg are screwed
Benefica are screwed

as for the rest of the games?
No clue mate, no clue.
I wonder will Celtic buckle or squeeze through? (can't see them flying through, can you?)


and Pool?
At this stage I have no idea what those scousers are capable of. Hot one minute, cold the next. Playing torres, not playing torres, letting that muppet sissoko near a ball....jaysus :roll: