national acrobat
Ancient Mariner
Eddies Wingman said:
True. I find it really quite sad that some clubs/managers/players/fans would rather finish 4th in the Premier League than win the FA Cup.
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True. I find it really quite sad that some clubs/managers/players/fans would rather finish 4th in the Premier League than win the FA Cup.
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
That could be fixed if the FA cup winners got a place in the Champions League. Imagine Portsmouth wrecking havoc among Real Madrid and Juventus 
national acrobat
Ancient Mariner
ROONEY.
That is all.
That is all.
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
national acrobat said:
Spot on, bull's eye and amen to that. I guess all England is happy to see their no1 striker in this kind of form a few months before the World Cup. The French and the Russians might not be that pleased.
The French are, of course, Arsenal - as for who the Russians are, you do the math.
I must add that his striking partner Dimitar Berbatov had some sublime contributions yesterday. The 2-0 goal was top shelf from them both.
In just six days there's the cup final, then - for the visiting team, that is. Should Liverpool, God forbid it, win at Old Trafford on Sunday, I guess it saves the season for a fair share of their fans, even if they don't qualify for the CL ...
Robbiedbee
Trooper
^
We've already beaten United the last three times we played them. I'd say we need the win to keep our CL push on track though.
My prediction: 1-0 to Man Utd
We've already beaten United the last three times we played them. I'd say we need the win to keep our CL push on track though.
My prediction: 1-0 to Man Utd
national acrobat
Ancient Mariner
Liverpool's players visited the local children's hospital this week. "It's good to put a smile on the faces of people worse off than you who face an uphill battle to recovery," said Barry Grant aged six.Eddies Wingman said:
I'd say he's the best striker in the world right now. Sad to read today though that Beckham is injured for the next 5/6 months and will miss the World Cup, and will probably be the end of his international career. He definitely would've been a worthwhile addition to the squad this summer.Eddies Wingman said:
Back in the Village
Invader
It is sad that Beckham will miss the World Cup Finals and it could be arguably the end of his England career. He was never going to be first choice on the right anyway but the spotlight will now be even brighter on the likes of Lennon (if fit), Milner, Wright-Phillips and Walcott. Capello has to decide which one of these guys is going to be his starting choice and stick with them, with one of the others being used as the "impact" substitute.
With the way Man United are playing 4-3-3 with two wingers high up the field to support a lone striker (Rooney) I would like to see England adopt this formation, allowing us to have one defensive midfielder (Barry or Hargreaves if he can get himself match fit between now and May) two attacking midfielders in Lampard and Gerrard (this would mean Gerrard would be playing in a similar role to the one he plays in at Liverpool rather than being wasted IMO on the left wing)
Two high wingers for me would be Lennon if gets fit and Milner with Walcott and Wright Phillips their subs if required.
With the way Man United are playing 4-3-3 with two wingers high up the field to support a lone striker (Rooney) I would like to see England adopt this formation, allowing us to have one defensive midfielder (Barry or Hargreaves if he can get himself match fit between now and May) two attacking midfielders in Lampard and Gerrard (this would mean Gerrard would be playing in a similar role to the one he plays in at Liverpool rather than being wasted IMO on the left wing)
Two high wingers for me would be Lennon if gets fit and Milner with Walcott and Wright Phillips their subs if required.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Saw Chelsea - Inter yesterday. I hope Sneijder will keeps this current form. He made some great passes!
I thought Chelsea's goalkeeper Turnbull was pretty strong. Is he English? Sorry for my ignorance, but would you guys tell me which goalkeepers are likely to go to the World Cup for England?
I thought Chelsea's goalkeeper Turnbull was pretty strong. Is he English? Sorry for my ignorance, but would you guys tell me which goalkeepers are likely to go to the World Cup for England?
Back in the Village
Invader
Forostar said:
Rob Green - plays for West Ham. Good keeper but West Ham are having a miserable season which cant be doing his confidence much good
David James - plays for Portsmouth. Nicknamed "calamity James" in the past but been a regular for England. Again his club having a dreadful season
Joe Hart - up and coming young keeper but not much International experience
Albie
Keeping an open eye on the Weeping Angels.
Yes he is:Forostar said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/bsp ... 243962.stm
Not sure how high up in Capello's thoughts is he, though.
national acrobat
Ancient Mariner
Back in the Village said:
I'm always wary when managers test different formations, because English players know how to play 4-4-2 and nothing else, but here I think I agree with you. Gerrard is wasted on the left, we don't have a second striker as good as our first choice 6 or so midfielders. The problem with Walcott and Lennon is that they seem to blow boiling hot or freezeing cold, and I wouldn't bother taking Wright-Phillips as he's a carbon copy of the other two. Hopefully Joe Cole can pick up some form in the next few months, as I think he's another match-winning sub (along with the crocked Owen and Beckham).
I'm getting less and less optimistic about England's chances: dodgy 'keeper, whoever it'll be; no decent left- or right-backs; growing injury list.
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
Teams qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League:
Arsenal
Barcelona
Bayern München
Bordeaux
CSKA Moscow
Internazionale
Lyon
Manchester United
That's teams from six different nations, something which has not occurred since 1999. Typically the number of nations represented in the quarter-finals has been four or five. More than 6 teams has not happened since 1997 - and that was the last year when a club had to win the league to qualify for the tournament! I think that's a good thing. It makes the tournament more interesting.
I'd say there are four teams whose odds are better. These are, in alphabetical order, Barcelona, Bayern M, Inter and Man Utd.
The reason why I don't include Arsenal is the way they've fared against the other top teams in England this season, and their performance in Europe since their final in 2007. Their attacking game can be fantastic to watch, but they don't have a team which can handle a war. If their opponents can keep it tight and put aggressive pressure on them, they have nothing - unlike earlier incarnations of the team, with the likes of Patrick Vieira. Their lack of that kind of players makes me think they're not the hottest candidate for glory at the Bernabeu in May.
Inter have typically struggled to achieve in Europe - despite dominating Serie A lately. Their stadium-mates AC Milan have been the opposite - not won the league in some years, still two finals in the last five years. However, Inter's win against Chelsea makes me believe Mourinho has finally added this dimension to his team, and they might go all the way.
Bayern München have slowly built themselves up, after a few bad years for the German clubs. They seem solid, and one can never write off a German club once they get this far.
I don't think including Barcelona and Manchester United need any further justifications. These two met in the final last year, the semi in 2008, and no one should be surprised to see both in May.
Still - the last time France had two clubs in the quarter-finals was in 2004. Back then, one of them (AS Monaco) actually reached the final -where they lost to a team led by a certain Jose Mourinho.
Arsenal
Barcelona
Bayern München
Bordeaux
CSKA Moscow
Internazionale
Lyon
Manchester United
That's teams from six different nations, something which has not occurred since 1999. Typically the number of nations represented in the quarter-finals has been four or five. More than 6 teams has not happened since 1997 - and that was the last year when a club had to win the league to qualify for the tournament! I think that's a good thing. It makes the tournament more interesting.
I'd say there are four teams whose odds are better. These are, in alphabetical order, Barcelona, Bayern M, Inter and Man Utd.
The reason why I don't include Arsenal is the way they've fared against the other top teams in England this season, and their performance in Europe since their final in 2007. Their attacking game can be fantastic to watch, but they don't have a team which can handle a war. If their opponents can keep it tight and put aggressive pressure on them, they have nothing - unlike earlier incarnations of the team, with the likes of Patrick Vieira. Their lack of that kind of players makes me think they're not the hottest candidate for glory at the Bernabeu in May.
Inter have typically struggled to achieve in Europe - despite dominating Serie A lately. Their stadium-mates AC Milan have been the opposite - not won the league in some years, still two finals in the last five years. However, Inter's win against Chelsea makes me believe Mourinho has finally added this dimension to his team, and they might go all the way.
Bayern München have slowly built themselves up, after a few bad years for the German clubs. They seem solid, and one can never write off a German club once they get this far.
I don't think including Barcelona and Manchester United need any further justifications. These two met in the final last year, the semi in 2008, and no one should be surprised to see both in May.
Still - the last time France had two clubs in the quarter-finals was in 2004. Back then, one of them (AS Monaco) actually reached the final -where they lost to a team led by a certain Jose Mourinho.
Albie
Keeping an open eye on the Weeping Angels.
The 'keeper is definitely the Achilles Heel here, but I'd rather get the injuries out the way now than in three or four weeks time. I'm not sure how Capello sees G. Neville, but he looked good going forward against Milan the other day and he had one or two good deliveries. He could be useful to take as a sub, but he is getting too slow to start a game.national acrobat said:
Saying that, the main two injuries have been to what can only be described as bit-part players (albeit, very useful bit-part players). Yes, I would rather Beckham and Owen were there, but England qualified quite easily without Owen and with only sub appearances from Beckham. Ashley Cole is the main worry - I am sure his ankle can recover in time, but his form and match fitness may not.
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
My thoughts on the draw:
Arsenal - Barcelona. Well, Barcelona is one of the not very large group of teams that Arsenal can not run over with their swift attacking. Xavi and Iniesta both have a workrate well fit to tame Fabregas. My tip is this is goodbye to Arsene Wenger's boys.
Inter - CSKA Moscow. I'm very surprised if Inter don't win this tie. They should be able to go to Moscow and defend a lead - if they get one, that is. Mourinho is an expert in defensive tactics, so woe to those who concede first against Inter.
Bayern München - Manchester United. The two teams last met in 2001, when the Germans came out victorious. What happened two years earlier doesn't need to be told, everyone here knows that. Bayern have been improving gradually over the last couple of years, but I still think they have a distance to go before they're back on top. United are favourites for this one, but not by a wide margin.
Finally, Bordeaux - Lyon. An all-French quarter-final. I'll hold Lyon as slender favourites because of their impressive effort in the round of 16.
Should be some fascinating games, this.
2002-2003. Three Italian teams plus Real Madrid. AC Milan won it. Besides, I don't agree that this is so extremely tough for United. Both Barcelona and Inter would be harder. Still, no walk in the park.
Arsenal - Barcelona. Well, Barcelona is one of the not very large group of teams that Arsenal can not run over with their swift attacking. Xavi and Iniesta both have a workrate well fit to tame Fabregas. My tip is this is goodbye to Arsene Wenger's boys.
Inter - CSKA Moscow. I'm very surprised if Inter don't win this tie. They should be able to go to Moscow and defend a lead - if they get one, that is. Mourinho is an expert in defensive tactics, so woe to those who concede first against Inter.
Bayern München - Manchester United. The two teams last met in 2001, when the Germans came out victorious. What happened two years earlier doesn't need to be told, everyone here knows that. Bayern have been improving gradually over the last couple of years, but I still think they have a distance to go before they're back on top. United are favourites for this one, but not by a wide margin.
Finally, Bordeaux - Lyon. An all-French quarter-final. I'll hold Lyon as slender favourites because of their impressive effort in the round of 16.
Should be some fascinating games, this.
Forostar said:
2002-2003. Three Italian teams plus Real Madrid. AC Milan won it. Besides, I don't agree that this is so extremely tough for United. Both Barcelona and Inter would be harder. Still, no walk in the park.