Champions League Quarter Finals

Hobart

super_furry wrote: »

The peno should have been a free-kick. If you watch it back, you'll see that Babel begins to stumble when Fabregas drags him back outside the box. Toure coming in from behind him knocks him over, but it's the Fabregas contact where the initial foul is. Still, can't blame the referee for not seeing that as it all happened so quickly and Toure's clumsiness made it look like he was the guilty party.

You could have a point. The initial contact was made outside the box, at least that's what it looked like to me, and I was at the game. How anybody could call it a "soft" call is beyond me, with Toure climbing all over Babel like Sir Edmund Hillary.

I have to say that Arsenal were quite impressive in the first 30 or so mins and deserved their lead. Senderos looked very much the weak link, and was rightly targeted and exposed for the equaliser. Having not been to a match in some time it was amazing to see the workload these players put in. Gerrard was phenominal. He played all over midfield and was very instrumental in "gee'ing" up the rest of the players when heads looked like they would drop.

There is no doubt in my mind that Torres is the best striker in the Prem at the moment, and probably the best in the world. He was marked out of the game by 2 defenders and still made the time and space to take a stunning goal not 20 yards from me. I can not overstate how good that goal was, he is a legend.

Having read the last 10 or so pages of this it's amazing to see how bitter fans of opposing teams can be. Arsenal did not deserve to go through, they played a mediocre game in the Emirates and were out scored last night. Adeboyour must the the Prem's most over-rated striker. He was shocking last night, and Eduardo could not come back quick enough for me, if I was an Arse fan.

Here's hoping for some shocks tonight and a Liverpool - Roma final in Moscow.

As an aside, I was at the second leg of the semi last year in Anfield between Liv and Chelsea. How anybody could call that a borefest is beyond me tbh. It was a great game of football.

Hobart

PHB wrote: »

This is what Liverpool fans can't seem to get.
Liverpool were lucky.
Liverpool did enough to go through with that.

If Arsenal had been given the penalty they deserved, then the tie would have been completely different. In that sense, Liverpool were lucky.
However, Liverpool in that tie were extremely clinical and determined, in that sense it wasn't about luck.

The two concepts aren't mutually exclusive!

---

Heading up to Manchester now in 30 minutes, pretty nervous about the tie to be honest. Our defence isn't going to be great and it'll be interesting to see. I really hope Ferdinand plays. Would be surprised to see Carrick play.
Tonight will amazingly be my first European home tie (I've been to 5 aways, surprising, it's easier to get tickets on European aways bar the semis and final than it is for anything else as a United fan) and I'm very excited

There a saying I heard once about my Aunt and testicles, your post reminds me of that.

Enjoy the game tonight.

IrishMike

Hobart wrote: »

You could have a point. The initial contact was made outside the box, at least that's what it looked like to me, and I was at the game. How anybody could call it a "soft" call is beyond me, with Toure climbing all over Babel like Sir Edmund Hillary.

The way the season is going Gerrard would have bent it into the far corner
and would have been forever remembered for it
Slotting home the penalty was an anti climax from what would have been

patmac

Schalke

As a Man U fan I'm dissapointed about last night's result and think Arsenal very hard done by, but lack of investment especially in defence has cost them, Senderos is not championship standard let alone CL. So say United and Barca get through tonight's Semi-Finals we have Liverpool v Chelsea and Man Utd v a top team with recent success in the competition, now when did that last happen and who were the eventual winners?

BaZmO*

Hobart wrote: »

Gerrard was phenominal.

Really? I thought he was quite anonymous for most of the game. He even said himself in the postmatch interview that it was probably his worst ever performance in a Liverpool jersey. He didn't mention anything about an English one though!

Hobart wrote: »

There is no doubt in my mind that Torres is the best striker in the Prem at the moment, and probably the best in the world. He was marked out of the game by 2 defenders and still made the time and space to take a stunning goal not 20 yards from me.

You're forgetting that one of those defenders was Senderos!

I do agree that he's class.

Beerlao

Roma

Hobart wrote: »

Gerrard was phenominal. He played all over midfield and was very instrumental in "gee'ing" up the rest of the players when heads looked like they would drop.

yeah he ran all over midfield and constantly gave the ball away, that's what i saw. is that phenomenal?

IrishMike

BaZmO* wrote: »

Really? I thought he was quite anonymous for most of the game. He even said himself in the postmatch interview that it was probably his worst ever performance in a Liverpool jersey. He didn't mention anything about an English one though!



You're forgetting that one of those defenders was Senderos!

I do agree that he's class.

+1
Gerrard even went on TV afterwards and said it was one of the worst games he had ever played in a Liverpool jersey.

Senderos was the best player Liverpool had last night

RE*AC*TOR

Schalke

Over the two legs Arsenal had both the best attacking football and the worst defensive football. Liverpool worked their balls off. Don't think Liverpool were lucky.

Not looking forward to tonight's ManYoo vs Roma tie. In essence its already over, but should ManYoo get the first goal, then it will be snorefest time. To be honest don't expect much from the Barca game either.

Both games will be hugely anti-climatic compared to last night.

Hobart

IrishMike wrote: »

+1
Gerrard even went on TV afterwards and said it was one of the worst games he had ever played in a Liverpool jersey.

Senderos was the best player Liverpool had last night

I didn't see the interview, so can't comment. By his nature, he's fairly shy and self effacing, so it does not surprise me that he would say that.

While he may have given a lot of ball away, his work rate cannot be called into question. He started out of position, and still gave his all. He worked very very hard all over the midfield, left, right and centre. He is a phenominal player, he but ina phenominal effort last night, Liverpool would not have won without him, simple as tbh.

IrishMike

Hobart wrote: »

I didn't see the interview, so can't comment. By his nature, he's fairly shy and self effacing, so it does not surprise me that he would say that.

While he may have given a lot of ball away, his work rate cannot be called into question. He started out of position, and still gave his all. He worked very very hard all over the midfield, left, right and centre. He is a phenominal player, he but ina phenominal effort last night, Liverpool would not have won without him, simple as tbh.

His named was not mentioned until Crouch went off and he went back into the centre.
He was at sea, whether that was down to the role he was asked to play or not doesnt really matter.
Honestly think he had next to no impact on the game except for the peno
and he in no way influenced the outcome of the game outside of that.
To say they would not have won without him is a stretch to say the least.
Carragher had more influence going forward than Gerrard and that says it all.
Im not slaggin him, im just saying last night he didnt turn up.

Mitch Connor

Hobart wrote: »

I didn't see the interview, so can't comment. By his nature, he's fairly shy and self effacing, so it does not surprise me that he would say that.

Shy? HA!

Hobart

IrishMike wrote: »

His named was not mentioned until Crouch went off and he went back into the centre.
He was at sea, whether that was down to the role he was asked to play or not doesnt really matter.
Honestly think he had next to no impact on the game except for the peno
and he in no way influenced the outcome of the game outside of that.
To say they would not have won without him is a stretch to say the least.
Carragher had more influence going forward than Gerrard and that says it all.
Im not slaggin him, im just saying last night he didnt turn up.

Lik I said, I didn't see it on TV, so I can't comment. So his name was not mentioned for 75+ minutes??? Lol. The TV cameras will pick up about 30-40% of what goes on because they follow the ball. Gerrards work rate was second to none last night, and Torres was a close second. I would doubt that Torres got much of a mention either, and yet he was incredible last night.

To say Gerrard did not turn up last night is actually laughable.

BaZmO*

Hobart wrote: »

I didn't see the interview, so can't comment. By his nature, he's fairly shy and self effacing, so it does not surprise me that he would say that.

While he may have given a lot of ball away, his work rate cannot be called into question. He started out of position, and still gave his all. He worked very very hard all over the midfield, left, right and centre. He is a phenominal player, he but ina phenominal effort last night, Liverpool would not have won without him, simple as tbh.

Ah c'mon, it's ok for a player to have a bad game every now and then. In fact you're the only person that thought he had a good game. Even he thought he had a terrible game and the commentators who were at the game said that he had a bad game. Apart from his peno, which was extremely high pressure, he didn't really contribute.

quarryman

Hobart wrote: »

Gerrard was phenominal. He played all over midfield and was very instrumental in "gee'ing" up the rest of the players when heads looked like they would drop.

LOL! That's hilarious, not sure which game you were watching through your Red-tinted glasses!

The guy himself said it was one of his worst ever performances.

Weakest player on the pitch after Sendoros.

Stay away from football punditry whatever you do!

IrishMike

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/live_text/6173791.stm

Player ratings from BBC
Reina 5.74
Carragher 7.07
Skrtel
7.07
Hyppia 7.69
Aurelio 6.63
Gerrard 6.75
Alonso 6.23
Mascherano 6.75
Kuyt 7.40
Torres 7.80
Crouch 6.95

Average enough score for someone who was phenonemal dont you think?
And im sure the penalty skewed most peoples rating too.
He was average at a best and well below an expected Gerrard performance

yom 1

Caught some of the highlights after the match on ITV and they were saying how he was phenomonal and Pool only started ticking when he took the decision to defy rafa and start coming into the centre more and more. Said he got us moving and controlled the game. I couldnt believe it cos he did neither! Some stones on him for the peno though:pac:

IrishMike

yom 1 wrote: »

Caught some of the highlights after the match on ITV and they were saying how he was phenomonal and Pool only started ticking when he took the decision to defy rafa and start coming into the centre more and more. Said he got us moving and controlled the game. I couldnt believe it cos he did neither! Some stones on him for the peno though:pac:

Defied Rafa?
Crouch was taken off, Babel came on and played out on the left and then
Gerrard came into the centre.
Are there any TV stations that have proper commentators for crying out loud.
Thought Giles was going to cry last night when the penalty was given.
Nice and impartial, just what you want :eek:

StickyMcGinty

Schalke

IrishMike wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/live_text/6173791.stm

Player ratings from BBC
Reina 5.74
Carragher 7.07
Skrtel
7.07
Hyppia 7.69
Aurelio 6.63
Gerrard 6.75
Alonso 6.23
Mascherano 6.75
Kuyt 7.40
Torres 7.80
Crouch 6.95

Average enough score for someone who was phenonemal dont you think?
And im sure the penalty skewed most peoples rating too.
He was average at a best and well below an expected Gerrard performance

yea, i wouldnt worry about the BBC ratings too much. i was looking at them last night after the game and they said Walcott was MOM ffs

yom 1

IrishMike wrote: »

Defied Rafa?
Crouch was taken off, Babel came on and played out on the left and then
Gerrard came into the centre.
Are there any TV stations that have proper commentators for crying out loud.
Thought Giles was going to cry last night when the penalty was given.
Nice and impartial, just what you want :eek:

They were actually showing clips of him in the first half:eek: - they only had 2 though his corner and a tackle he made in the centre of the pitch!

Hobart

StickyMcGinty wrote: »

yea, i wouldnt worry about the BBC ratings too much. i was looking at them last night after the game and they said Walcott was MOM ffs

Says it all really.

An Citeog

eZe^ wrote: »

I would like to see;

---

VV

---

-Puyol----Marquez--Milito--Sylvinho-

--Xavi

---

Toure---Guddy--Iniesta--

---

Henry

---

---

Etoo

---

Dont want too much pressure on young Bojan. He can make an impact as a sub if needed.

We all know Frank will end up using;

---

VV

---

-Puyol----Marquez--Milito--Sylvinho-

----Xavi

---

Toure

---

Iniesta--

---Etoo

---

Bojan

---

Henry--

He made Etoo hug the touchline against Getafe, almost nullifying any threat from the striker, stupid stupid tactics.

Rijkaard wont play the first one because Barça are stuck in their 4-3-3 system. That's also the main reason imo why Barça have been so poor this season. Teams (particularly in La Liga) have gotten used to playing against that system and have found ways to nullify it. Rijkaard doesn't seem to have a plan B. Instead, he just tries to force players to fit into his system, even if it doesn't suit them. They've relied far too heavily on individual pieces of brilliance from Messi and Iniesta and late goals from Xavi, which has actually masked how poor they've been as a team this season.

Anyway, I can't see Schalke getting anything out of this game tonight. They'll probably score but I don't think they'll be able to a)keep Barça scoreless & b)win the game. If Barça and United go through, I'll be on to every cule I know looking for tickets!:)

quarryman

yom 1 wrote: »

Caught some of the highlights after the match on ITV and they were saying how he was phenomonal and Pool only started ticking when he took the decision to defy rafa and start coming into the centre more and more. Said he got us moving and controlled the game. I couldnt believe it cos he did neither! Some stones on him for the peno though:pac:

yep, i saw him step up and reckoned it had Row Z written all over it, such was his performance to that point and the pressure of the moment. Season decider basically. I'd pick up the ball.... "Here you go Fernando; your turn"

Pigman II

Hobart wrote: »

To say Gerrard did not turn up last night is actually laughable.

Didn't Gerrard himself say he had had one of his worst ever games? Perhaps he just says that whenever he's played out of position.

gucci

Schalke

quarryman wrote: »

yep, i saw him step up and reckoned it had Row Z written all over it, such was his performance to that point and the pressure of the moment. Season decider basically. I'd pick up the ball.... "Here you go Fernando; your turn"

HaHa.....quality!That would be funny if it wasnt so real! Here's the grenade 'Nando, save us :)

*edit* if you look at Stevies celebration i dont think he knew where he was for about 10 seconds, drifting around with a massive smile on his face!

SantryRed

I'd be happy with yous winning with Gerrard not performing if I was a Pool fan.

Shows that yous can actually do well when he doesn't have his usual performance.

Mr Alan

we've won loads of important games when gerrard hasnt played or performed.

please stop listening to Andy Gray.

mike65

Gerrard is a showboating passenger.

Mike.

IrishMike

Bit early Mike

ctrl-alt-delete

Schalke

I thought it was a great game of football, highly entertaining, one of the best I've seen in a long time.

I think there was no doubt that Arsenal played the best football, their passing was amazing at times, so quick and precise. Fabregas was unlucky at times that players ran into offside positions because his vision at times is second to none.

I thought Walcott's run was amazing, and as one of the after show presenters said "it could have been career defining" if Arsenal had have progressed at that.

However Liverpool i feel were more clinical, if Arsenal had have thrown in a few more crosses at times it could have been a different game, Adebayour has already proven he is a force in the air. Arsenal also failed to utilise the space created on their right hand side due to gerrard's continual following of the action area.

I don't think Arsenal staff or fans can say in any way that they are not in a semi final because of substandard ref decisions. My reason behind this again points to Liverpool being more clinical...

Torress didnt get many chances during the game, but when he did, and i'd describe it as half a chance - he showed his class,

Adebayour had a glorious chance to win it for Arsenal, but he missed a chance i feel Torres would have buried on form at the moment,

Overall i think liverpool deserve to be in the semi final, their class in europe can not be questioned over the past 3/4 years,

this coming from a Blackburn fan who would love to see them beat on TV this Sunday.

Dave!

Any word on teams yet?

Peyton Manning

Roma

DaveMcG wrote: »

Any word on teams yet?

Kuszczak
Neville O'Shea Pique Silvestre
Park Hargreaves Possebon Anderson Eagles
Welbeck

BENCH:
Foster
Brown
Carrick
Scholes
Evra
Ronaldo
Rooney

This is entirely false.

jesus_thats_gre

Schalke

Is Ferdinand playing? I don't think tie is a done deal yet as Roma defo have the quality to get at least 1 goal. United really should go through though.

mike65

Who?

Mike.

Sherifu

Schalke

I'm looking forward to tonights games after the epicness of last night. Ferdinand won't be playing will he? Unlikely i'd say.

cm2000

Schalke

ronaldo on the bench

andrewie

Roma

Rio starts

Van Der Sar
Brown
Pique
Ferdinand
Silvestre
Carrick
Hargreaves
Anderson
Park
Giggs
Tevez

cm2000

Schalke

unbelievable complacency from united. hope they get done now

jesus_thats_gre

Schalke

No Ronaldo? No Rooney either And Silvestrem and Pique?

The last time I was this surprised by a United line up was the City match. Before that match, I said that the selection was very arrogant and that he got carried away with the occassion of the anniversary. Is he doing the same again?

Sherifu

Schalke

Strange line up

Raskolnikov

Schalke

Can't believe that Ferguson has left the door open to Roma. Giggs is past it and Park ain't good enough. Can see Tevez totally isolated up front.

If Roma can't beat a United team without Ronaldo, Rooney, Vidic and an unfit Ferdinand, they might as well pack in Champions League football.

BrandonBlock

Ah united will pull it off. 1-0 or something.

Guy:Incognito

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Can't believe that Ferguson has left the door open to Roma. Giggs is past it and Park ain't good enough. Can see Tevez totally isolated up front.

If Roma can't beat a United team without Ronaldo, Rooney, Vidic and an unfit Ferdinand, they might as well pack in Champions League football.

Giggs will score a screamer, Park and Tevez will score too and Ferdinand will put in an athleticc performance , defending entirely on his own while coverign the most distance of any player, ever.

Mark my words, and it will all be down to Rasholnikov.:D

Raskolnikov

Schalke

Stekelly wrote: »

Giggs will score a screamer, Park and Tevez will score too and Ferdinand will put in an athleticc performance , defending entirely on his own while coverign the most distance of any player, ever.

Mark my words, and it will all be down to Rasholnikov.:D

:cool:

Dunphy has just said that Bojan is a nothing player and will never amount to anything. Talk about someone (else) sticking their foot in it!

eZe^

Schalke

I found that quite amusing, seeing as his sole benchmark was height. Anyway, Im now very nervous, I hate when Barca are the favourites....

dobsdave

Schalke

eze, what was the music for at the start of the Barca game, looked like a minutes silence, and then music started playing (watching German TV)

estebancambias

The roma fans were stupid. I love hostility, I love mixing politics with sport, but the man died for **** sake.

I think this will be a draw. Roma don't care about the match anyway.

Royale with Cheese

Barca defence is all over the place. They have no hope of getting past United, might even get knocked out tonight.

Guy:Incognito

estebancambias wrote: »

.

. Roma don't care about the match anyway.

Probabky just as well seeing as they wont win.

dobsdave

Schalke

Close one from Schalke

estebancambias

Well done Doni you blank faced bastard.


Awful tackle by Park, should have been a yellow.