The Offical Liverpool - Milan Champions League Final Thread (before during & afters)

county

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Boylesport offer 13/5 for Liverpool to win in 90 minutes. Not a bad price, I guess.

better than PP at 11-5

Bateman

Mercantile is decent enough for a match.

Chardee MacDennis

wait whats wrong with sinnotts now?

Drag00n79

Just wondering what everyone's plans are tomorrow. I'll have the Digi Proj home from work, a few mates over, and 5live commentary. Should be great. C'mon the Reds!!

zing

SSN and a bunch of the papers reporting that we'll be playing a 4-4-1-1 with the usual back 4, Pennant, Alonso, Masch & Zenden/Kewell in the middle and Gerrard behind Kuyt up front. Basically packing midfield but trying to give StevieG lots of freedom up front to attack.

Probably just a load of second guessing but it's not a bad formation - main week points would be the wings - Pennant can't defend for **** and Zenden isn't exactly the best crosser of the ball. Kuyt would be the better option up front in such a setup as he'd be better suited to linking up and playing with Stevie than either Crouch or Bellamy.

And Rafa never reveals his team in advance which adds to this all being second guessing..


COME ON YOU REDMEN !!

Santa Claus

probably the best banner in Athens !
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/8333/redsuw7.jpg

fullstop

Whats wrong with posting in the dublin foum?

Chucky the tree

fullstop wrote:

Whats wrong with posting in the dublin foum?

whats wrong with leaving it up too mods to decide where a thread should be?

fullstop

Seeing as there's a thread for dublin...where's the best place to watch in donegal?

Mossy Monk

What a pointless thread. What's wrong with the North West board?

cournioni

mike65 wrote:

Just looking at ITN, Athens is red and ticketless!

Mike.

Of course... Milan wear red jerseys too you know?!

YeatsCounty

Revenge will be Milan's today. Oh yes. :mad:

FORZA MILAN

Victor

http://www.thepost.ie/breakingnews/breaking_story.asp?j=271845128&p=z7y846xxx&n=271846006

Ryanair in urgent warning to travelling Liverpool fans
22/05/2007 - 5:36:32 PM

Due to slot constraints at Athens airport, Ryanair has been forced to bring forward the departure of its special football flight from Dublin to Athens for the Champions League Final.

Passengers are advised that flight FR 5902 will now depart Dublin 3 hours and 20 minutes earlier than scheduled at 6.10am tomorrow morning and arrive in Athens at the earlier time of 12.10pm.

The return flight will depart Athens as scheduled at 6.30am on Thursday, May 24.

As no baggage handling service or check in desk will be in place for this service, passengers must check-in online for this flight and carry hand baggage only.

Passengers should present themselves at the boarding gate no later than 40 minutes before the departure of the flight.

Ryanair apologised for any inconvenience, which the airline claimed was out of its control.

YeatsCounty

At home with my Milan jersey on, my Milan scarf draped across the TV and various other Milan paraphernalia scattered around the place. Food for the match will consist of an appetiser of lightly sauteed butterflies sealed in a stomach which will be followed by the main course of my fingernails. I have yet to decide what drink will accompany my meal, salty tears of anguish or the finest champagne known to man.

I'm serious about this revenge match, you see.

DaBreno

Will be watching it at home with the Father. This will be a family affair.
Come on the Reds!!

gucci

id prefer to see milan start with gillardino up front than that pesky swine inzaghi!! gillardino will be easier managed leaving the defense with more time to cope with seedorf and kaka coming from deep. inzaghi plays an infuriating game based on the offside line and it would murder me to see him score after a marginal decision!!
"life or football,the margin for error is so small, i mean, one half a step too late, or too early, and you dont quite make it, one half second too slow, too fast, you dont quite catch it, the inches we need are everywhere around us... they're in every break of the game, every minute, every second....on this team, we fight for that inch."
please god lads. come on you reds!! great banner btw !!

DaBreno

Woke up at 5 this morning. Stomach is currently in knots. Following this football team is not good for the health.....

Cyrus

Call_me_al wrote:

wait whats wrong with sinnotts now?

itll be jammed by 5

Tusky

Can't wait for tonight. What channel are yea going to watch it on ?

YeatsCounty

Apologies if this has been mentioned already but the last time a Champions League final was played in Athens, Milan destroyed Barcelona 4-0. I'm seriously hoping for a repeat performance to erase the memories of 2005 once and for all but I will take an utterly boring 1-0 victory either. Just as long as Milan win.

Eirebear

fullstop wrote:

Whats wrong with posting in the dublin foum?

or heres an idea...seeing as he wants to know where to watch a soccer match....try putting it in the Soccer forum?! Oh wait he did dint he? pfft!:rolleyes:

DaBreno

YeatsCounty wrote:

Apologies if this has been mentioned already but the last time a Champions League final was played in Athens

Lolz! That same scoreline went through my head after we went three nil down last time. I was expecting a slaughter. Nobody could have predicted that second half.

Tusky wrote:

Can't wait for tonight. What channel are yea going to watch it on ?

Rte tonight. Tried Sky last time and was driven to a near red-mist by that "expert" Gray. "Game well and truly over"
I think not Andy!!

RE*AC*TOR

RTE all the way. I loooooooooove George Hamilton. His lyrical ramblings give welcome comic relief.

_blank_

Mulligans on Poolbeg Street.

Lovely Guinness, couldn't give a toss about the result, once it's a decent footballing spectacle with lots of goals.

I think I'll open a book on the amount of bannings between now and the weekend.

YeatsCounty

DaBreno wrote:

Lolz! That same scoreline went through my head after we went three nil down last time. I was expecting a slaughter. Nobody could have predicted that second half.

No-one could have is right. I was settling down, hoping that Liverpool would get a consolation goal because they had been mightily entertaining during their run to the final. When the second goal went in, I started getting nervous. When Dudek made his double save, I nearly knocked myself out on the corner of the coffee table after I collapsed on the ground in disbelief. I watched the rest of the game until the penalties in the same foetal state. I slithered up to the couch for the penalties, then slithered down to the floor again afterwards. Then I got very drunk and waited for the abuse to start coming in.......

DaBreno wrote:

Rte tonight. Tried Sky last time and was driven to a near red-mist by that "expert" Gray. "Game well and truly over"
I think not Andy!!

I'm going to watch it on TSN (Canadian sports channel) this afternoon. Unfortunately, it will have ESPN commentary, probably with Tommy Smyth at the mike. God. I watched the first half in 2005 on ITV and I was driven to change back to RTE because of the whinging and moaning by the commentators and analysts about the "penalty that never was" in the lead up to Milan's second goal. Thank the good Lord that I didn't watch the second half on ITV, I still wouldn't have calmed down! :eek:

gucci

YeatsCounty wrote:

Apologies if this has been mentioned already but the last time a Champions League final was played in Athens, Milan destroyed Barcelona 4-0.

sorry to mention it but the last time they actually played IN athens, this season, they LOST to AEK Athens, and i can safely say neither result will really affect tonights game

jackdaw

YeatsCounty wrote:

Revenge will be Milan's today. Oh yes. :mad:

FORZA MILAN

let's hope so !!
although the bookies are making a mistake by making MILAN favourites...

and 13/5 for Liverpool to win it in normal time ... that's a good bet ..
i think Liverpool could sneak it 1-0 ...

YeatsCounty

gucci wrote:

sorry to mention it but the last time they actually played IN athens, this season, they LOST to AEK Athens, and i can safely say neither result will really affect tonights game

In the lead up to Istanbul, I remember plenty of e-mails and threads right here about how the Pope dying and Ken & Deirdre getting married = definite Liverpool win. Let me have this.

gracehopper

seansouth wrote:

Mulligans on Poolbeg Street.

Lovely Guinness, couldn't give a toss about the result, once it's a decent footballing spectacle with lots of goals.

I think I'll open a book on the amount of bannings between now and the weekend.

Will you get a seat If your in there for around 7? I'm heading in with my liverpool mates. God i hope milan crush them!!! If they play half as well as they did against Utd they'll win. no question.

Royale with Cheese

I just mangled my foot playing that damned sport football. Won't be going anywhere tonight. Guess I'll be watching this one at home.

_blank_

gracehopper wrote:

Will you get a seat If your in there for around 7? I'm heading in with my liverpool mates. God i hope milan crush them!!! If they play half as well as they did against Utd they'll win. no question.

I don't know, but I'm finishing work at half four today, and have to get the Luas from Sandyford, just to get a decent spot before all the suits appear in Mulligans.

I'd say seven would be pushing it to get a seat in any pub showing the match this evening tbh.

HashSlinging

put 20 euros on liverpool to win before christmas, 66 - 1 im gonna be screaming the roof off. :eek:

gucci

YeatsCounty wrote:

In the lead up to Istanbul, I remember plenty of e-mails and threads right here about how the Pope dying and Ken & Deirdre getting married = definite Liverpool win. Let me have this.

The Pope better watch his back for the next few hours, could be a few liverpool supporters willing to do anything to win!!

good luck with your bet hashslinger

gucci

at home, having a few over, considering in 2005 i was studying for exams at college, i watched match with 5 man utd supporters, 1 other liverpool and 4 girls who didnt know why cornation street wasnt on, il be among a few more reds this time!! I just hope the match fulfills all my expectations.

Chardee MacDennis

according to the beeb team is expected to be as follows:

                      REINA
      Finnan Carragher Agger Riise
       
             Alonso Mascherano
      Pennant                    Zenden
              Gerrard
                   Kuyt

Vokes

Flying home later this afternoon, and chauffeured back to Wicklow (thanks sis!).

Will prob be down the local with friends. Should be a good one

The Muppet

I shall be cheering on Milan from the comfort of my sitting room. I hope it's a good game. The stadium and pitch look to be in excellent condition and with the kickoff at 10 PM Athens time the playing conditions should be ok.

patmac

I too will be watching it from the comfort of my sitting room as the Gardai have ensured that the hopping down to the local for 3 pints is no longer an option, will either be enjoying a Milan 3-0 victory or watching in horror at another Liverpool win on penalties after a dull 0-0.

Tusky

That team has been in the papers alot...wonder why. If it is that team I really hope Pennant has a good game because there will be very little supply from Zenden. I would prefer Riise on the left and Arbeloa at left back.

redspider

Call_me_al wrote:

according to the beeb team is expected to be as follows:

                      REINA
      Finnan Carragher Agger Riise
       
             Alonso Mascherano
      Pennant                    Zenden
              Gerrard
                   Kuyt

That is a possible lineout and is a 4-2-3-1. I think I would be happy enough with that and it relieves Gerrard from most defensive duty aspects. It does require a big game from Stevie G in the attacking stakes but he likes roaming forward anyway and trying to get through with pace, attampt one-two's etc. I would be happy with this formation, although I wouldnt be too enamoured by Zenden though. An Arbeloa and Riise combo on the left side would suit, but Rafa may think, and perhaps rightly, that Arbeloa is too much of a risk at the back.

However, the BBC dont know the lineout, so it is conjecture, as Rafa probably wont make his mind up until 6 pm (our time), then mull over it before telling the players and finally releasing it to Uefa at 6:45pm, 1 hr before kick-off. That's the way he always picks his team so anything before that is just a guess.

The clock is counting down now. I still have no butterflies at all and can hardly believe its CL final day. The build-up is much less than that of 2005, which is not surprising. In a way, we are now used to it.

All the talk before the match coming from the camp has been good. The press conference yesterday was very relaxed, all in good mood. Rafa in a good mood, and Pennant on show. He may get a game, and I think his pace will be useful so I would expect him to come on at some stage if he doesnt start. A Crouch target would be better for him I would have though, with knock-downs to Stevie G, Kuyt and Riise.

9 hrs to go .......

Redspider

Drag00n79

Tusky wrote:

Can't wait for tonight. What channel are yea going to watch it on ?

I've thought a bit about this. Sky Sports starts first (6pm) so I'll be watching them until 7pm when the RTE boys start up. ITV also at 7pm so I'll probably end up switching between the three for that 45 mins. For the match itself, I'll definitely have Alan Greene and Mike Ingham on 5Live. Hmmm...getting excited now.

gustavo

Probably McHughs in Sligo , hoping that the best team wins .

mike65

fivelive + TV is good mix but the radio is usually ahead of the tv transmission I find.

I'll proberly end up flicking between RTE and ITV with SSN and fivelive for the build up then RTE and fivelive "606" for afters.

Gillet was asked about the score earlier, he said 2-1 Gerrard and Crouch so maybe he knows something!

Mike.

Drag00n79

mike65 wrote:

fivelive + TV is good mix but the radio is usually ahead of the tv transmission I find.

I find the RTE2 pic tends to be very close to being in sync with 5Live audio. ITV always way off.

mada999

Watched the last champ final in the Bridge bar, near abrakastabra...

Atmosphere was immense....55% LFC fans 45% Milan fans it was brilliant!

leninbenjamin

i usually watch RTE for the build up, and then watch whatever channel comes down in widescreen on the NTL.

mike65

Guardian thinks it knows the formation for tonight, Rafa has been seen in training using Kuyt as lone striker with Gerrard in the hole.

If so that suggests two genuine wide men with 2 DMs and flat back 4

Mike.

woodyg

and where will you be this year??????

_blank_

mada999 wrote:

Watched the last champ final in the Bridge bar, near abrakastabra...

Atmosphere was immense....55% LFC fans 45% Milan fans it was brilliant!

The last CL Final was between Barcelona and Arsenal, why were there so many Liverpool and Milan fans congregated in one place?

mike65

Some comparative statisics

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessionid=KY1UKDF4KDO51QFIQMFSFFWAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/sport/2007/05/22/ufnstat.xml

Liverpool (as a team) have a better shooting accuracy and goals/shots conversion.

Mike.