Barca vs. Man Utd (first leg)

LuckyCharms

Too close to call until i see the team sheets. If united go for an attacking team with nani + anderson from the start then im going united win. If we start with 451 with carrick , hargreaves then 1-1 or 1-0 defeat , prolly 1-1 though since fergie will itroduce nani n anderson in second half.

Sizzler

Unearthly wrote: »

A defensive midfielder man marking barca's best attacking player?

Where do the media come up with it

Mad Ted, MAD

Mr.Alex doesnt usually worry about opposition players that much, usually lets them worry about ours! Can't recall him putting a marker on anybody of late

LostinBlanch

Sizzler wrote: »

Mr.Alex doesnt usually worry about opposition players that much, usually lets them worry about ours!

Eh? Where've you been since 2003?

His abject refusal to play football in Europe the United way after being knocked out by Real in '03 has seen us under achieve big time. Didn't we go two years without an away win?

eZe^

gimmick wrote: »

I think that is slightly misleading. Man Utd have played better sides than Barca in this years competition. Even looking at the knock outs, Man Utd beat Lyon and Roma, Barca beat Celtic and Schalke. IMO, Lyon and Roma are both better than who Barca beat.

I really hope Barca can do this. No doubting the talent there, not to mention a second trophyless season beckons. If those players have any heart, they will turn up tomorrow night and show man U who is boss.

Mes Que Un Club.

We did beat Lyon already, more thorougly than Man Utd over two legs. If I remember correctly, Barcelona are also the only team to beat Celtic away, a place Man Utd lost last season?

Keep the faith brother.

PHB

Can't recall him putting a marker on anybody of late

He often puts Fletcher on people. He put him on Totti, and put him on Fabregas. It works and is important.

LuckyCharms

Evra would be great for taking care of messi imo, hargreaves and fletcher are good at the job but messi is a different bred of player to totti and fabregas, also in a different league imo to almost anyone.Evra would be able to compete for speed with messi which i think would be important, although if messi is stuck on browns wing then well, someone will have to help the poor chap out.

An Citeog

PHB wrote: »

He often puts Fletcher on people. He put him on Totti, and put him on Fabregas. It works and is important.

He also put him on Kaka!:(

LuckyCharms wrote: »

Evra would be great for taking care of messi imo, hargreaves and fletcher are good at the job but messi is a different bred of player to totti and fabregas, also in a different league imo to almost anyone.Evra would be able to compete for speed with messi which i think would be important, although if messi is stuck on browns wing then well, someone will have to help the poor chap out.

It's not Messi's speed that makes him so good, it's his ball control. When he (and to a slightly lesser extent, Iniesta) runs with the ball, it's like it's stuck to him foot. He's in complete control all the time and very difficult to dispossess. Ronaldo has great control aswell but not as good as Messi and this is why Ronaldo has such a difficult time when he comes up against the top defenders. If he could add this to his game, he'd be absolutely unstoppable!:)

PHB

Indeed, I don't think any defender alone can stop a great player like Messi Ronaldo or Kaka, all for different reasons.

Hargreaves needs to double up on him. At the same time though, he has to watch Iniesta, who is just as good a player on his day.

I think we should do what everyone does against great players, double mark him, keep physical, and pray he has an off day. The fact that he is coming back to fitness I hope helps this.

A bit of history about the ties between these two clubs for people who don't know,

Last 6 results from BBC:

1983-84 ECWC q-final
UTD 3-2 BARCA (aggregate)
1990-91 ECWC final
UTD 2-1 BARCA
1994-95 Champ Lge groups
UTD 2-2 BARCA
1994-95 Champ Lge groups
BARCA 4-0 UTD
1998-99 Champ Lge groups
UTD 3-3 BARCA
1998-99 Champ Lge groups
BARCA 3-3 UTD

Some amazing moments and goals in these matches. Rivaldos amazing goal sticks out.

In the last 4 games, there has been 20 goals between them!

Unearthly

More smug goals from Man Utd such as this please:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6EpPWqPejA&eurl=http://www.us-tv.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=162.1100

and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysJ_VtDggpM&eurl=http://www.us-tv.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=162.1100

Xavi6

We all know that the game revolves around one player and if he's on form then there will be only one winner. Step forward please Barcelona's dynamic number 6!

Mitch Connor

Unearthly wrote: »

More smug goals from Man Utd such as this please:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6EpPWqPejA&eurl=http://www.us-tv.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=162.1100

and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysJ_VtDggpM&eurl=http://www.us-tv.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=162.1100

That Cole goal is one of my favourite goals ever.

Nalz

Looks like Nemanja is a doubt. Big loss if so

Mitch Connor

Trilla wrote: »

Looks like Nemanja is a doubt. Big loss if so

Everything I'm reading at the moment says although he sat out yesterday, he is expected to start tonight.

jackdaw

cheesedude wrote: »

I'm a Barca fan and if they beat Man United, I'd be terribly disappointed if they didn't win the cup.

Admittingly, United are the team I have supported all my life mainly because I was not exposed to anything Barcelona related...the Barca support strongly began when Davids signed...then grew when they signed Ronaldinho...

And now are easily my second favorite team in Europe...they can beat United if they want to. It just depends who shows up.

I live in Barcelona and I pray pray that Man U win ..

you should see the media here .

Today is St Jordi's day

Big Catalan day.

Therefore : Barca have already beaten Man United.



unbelievable .. you think the english media is bad ?

adox

Tauren wrote: »

Everything I'm reading at the moment says although he sat out yesterday, he is expected to start tonight.

Supposedly he has/had a stomach bug but should be ok for tonight.

deisedevil

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_3463322,00.html

I hope Ronaldo shoves those words down his throat tonight.

"However, Xavi has also insinuated that Ronaldo has it easy in England as he given more time and space to showcase his talent, and feels that a real test of his ability would be provided by the tight and uncompromising defences in the Primera Division."

Ronaldo is also top scorer in Champs league. And we haven't played an English team in the competition........yet!

Prufrock

Hope Vidic plays. Starting to look forward to this now.

MIN2511

Really excited about this match, would be watching it with bells on...

I would say 1-0 for United but then after yesterdays match(Liverpool vs. Chelsea) anything can happen and the 90th minute...

deisedevil

MIN2511 wrote: »

Really excited about this match, would be watching it with bells on...

I would say 1-0 for United but then after yesterdays match(Liverpool vs. Chelsea) anything can happen and the 90th minute...

Ya that was pretty funny! But if anyone is going to do damage in the 90th minute then chances are it will be Utd.

PHB

I'm not hugely worried about Vidic being out. Vidic is essential against any team which puts the ball in the air. But on the ground, while he's great and all, Pique isn't much worse. Pique will find this game a lot easier to play in than he would against say Blackburn or Boro [as odd as that sounds ]

ntlbell

PHB wrote: »

I'm not hugely worried about Vidic being out. Vidic is essential against any team which puts the ball in the air. But on the ground, while he's great and all, Pique isn't much worse. Pique will find this game a lot easier to play in than he would against say Blackburn or Boro [as odd as that sounds ]

Pique is more than capable of slotting in the problem is I feel when vidic is not there the OTHER three just dont look as comfortable and for this reason I want him to play.



neeeeeeeeeemanja wooOOooOOoooOOooOw

neeeeeeeeeemanja wooOOooOOoooOOooOw

herbieflowers

PHB wrote: »

I'm not hugely worried about Vidic being out. Vidic is essential against any team which puts the ball in the air. But on the ground, while he's great and all, Pique isn't much worse. Pique will find this game a lot easier to play in than he would against say Blackburn or Boro [as odd as that sounds ]

The fact that he's Spanish and that he's used tot he style of play will probably suit him too

PHB

The nerves are starting to get to me now Think its unlikely I'll get any work done for the rest of the day

deisedevil

PHB wrote: »

The nerves are starting to get to me now Think its unlikely I'll get any work done for the rest of the day

Same here. Can't get it out of my head. The neighbours will be giving out about me again tonight.
Whatever is going to happen I hope we get a fantastic game of football.

PHB

PHB wrote: »

The nerves are starting to get to me now Think its unlikely I'll get any work done for the rest of the day

Judging by the amount we all post in here daily I dont think we get much done anyways!

smemon

Looking forward to this one...

THIS is the sort of match where you're superstars should stand up and be counted.

It's always easier at home in the first leg, keep it tight, nick a 1-0 victory.

Barca are one of the few big sides who don't have the defensive set up to do that so should Utd score early on, they're gonna feel the heat.

Peyton Manning

So. ****ing. excited.

We're heading down the pub within the hour, I cant wait...!

jesus_thats_gre

deisedevil wrote: »

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_3463322,00.html

I hope Ronaldo shoves those words down his throat tonight.

"However, Xavi has also insinuated that Ronaldo has it easy in England as he given more time and space to showcase his talent, and feels that a real test of his ability would be provided by the tight and uncompromising defences in the Primera Division."

Ronaldo is also top scorer in Champs league. And we haven't played an English team in the competition........yet!

As tight and uncompromising as Barca's like?

I am pretty sure that United will be able to get a goal or two tonight if they play to their strenghts. There is no doubt that Barca will be a massive threat going forward so it will boil down to how well United will defend. Over the two legs, I expect the United defence to be the difference.

If they don't play to their strenghts though and get knocked out again, I think serious questions has to be asked of AF. This is going to appear very biased as it is hard to explain but I actually had United supporters agreeing with me earlier in work.

Liverpool's win in the CL against Ac Milan is often dismissed as being a complete jam. Since then, we have managed to get to another CL final and are still in the running of getting to another one. As much as some would like to begrudge that win, it is blatantly obvious that Rafa and his Liverpool squad have their tactics against European opposition down to a tee. They just can't bring that form to the PL and this is a major problem.

Man United won the CL in 1999. They done so with two last minute goals. Since then, they have won the PL a handful of times but have not really come near to achieving any sort of real consistency in Europe since then. The lack of any real achievement in Europe makes the way in which they won that CL final really stand out as a memorable occassionn. It also makes it all the more dismissable as being complete luck as they have have not been able re-create it. If anything, I would be pretty confident in saying that AF performance in Europe would be very disappointing for United fans when you consider the success they have had at home.

In the same way that major questions are now being asked of Wenger after quite a honeymoon period, should serious questions be asked of AF for United's under achievement in Europe?!? Especially if they are knocked out this round due to him ****ing around with the system instead of playing to their strenghts.

genericgoon

Well there was questions being asked about SAF's position a couple of seasons ago. However, if he continues to win the league then Man U supporters will be behind them. Any real football fan appreciates the larger element of luck in any cup competition and while some of SAFs desicion making in Europe has been questionable, as long as we make the QF of the CL and continue winning the league, I think Man U supporters will be behind him all the way.

CountingCrows

All setup to be a cracker, the RTE panel along should be worth watching although it'll be hard to beat last night;

John "When I was managed in Leeds by Jimmy Armfield..."
Eamon "Sorry John, the late Jimmy Armfield"
John "Eh Eamon - he's still alive"
Eamon "oh"

Classic!

PHB

Personally, if we never win a CL for the rest of Fergie's time with us, I still wouldn't want him to go.

In the league, there is noone better. The League is still the most important trophy to me every year, this year included, and he is better than any manager in the world right now at winning it.

In Europe, I don't agree with him. But the reason I don't agree with him is the reason you think Rafa is good in Europe. Rafa goes defensive, plays a defensive style, tries to hit teams on the counter and dominate possession.
Fergie does this in Euro aways, which is what most United fans get annoyed about. The problem is he tries to be too continental. If we just went with our natural way of playing, attack and outscore them with a solid defence, most United fans think we'd do better. Fergie doesn't agree because he's been burnt in the past playing that way.

My problem with Fergie's Euro tactics is he tries too much to be like Rafa. It works for Liverpool. It doesn't work for United. Why? Because it's not in our players instincts to play like that.

buckfast4me

I'd go for a low scoring affair, 1-1 . Barcelona going ahead in the first half with a goal from Messi, then United equalizing in the 70+ minute with a goal from Ronaldo.

Mr.Nice Guy

I want to see this game as soon as possible. I didn't get any sleep last night and I'm getting dangerously close to nodding off. :eek:

irish.rugby.fan

+1.5 Goals @ 1.5

Lashed €20 on for the craic, hope its an exciting game!

zAbbo

Probably already mentioned, but Vidic is out

PHB

Wow, Pique will surely leave in the summer now. Alas

---

VDS

---

--Hargreaves---Ferdinand

---

Brown

---

Evra---

---

Carrick

---

Scholes

---

--Ronaldo

---

Tevez

---

Park----

---

Rooney

---

Scared about Brown there up against Eto
Gona be a tough game.

PHB

Barca:

---

Valdes

---

--Zambrotta

---

Milito

---

Marquez---Abidal--

---

Toure

---

---

Xavi

---

Deco

---

--Messi

---

Iniesta---

---

Eto

---

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote: »

Personally, if we never win a CL for the rest of Fergie's time with us, I still wouldn't want him to go.

In the league, there is noone better. The League is still the most important trophy to me every year, this year included, and he is better than any manager in the world right now at winning it.

In Europe, I don't agree with him. But the reason I don't agree with him is the reason you think Rafa is good in Europe. Rafa goes defensive, plays a defensive style, tries to hit teams on the counter and dominate possession.
Fergie does this in Euro aways, which is what most United fans get annoyed about. The problem is he tries to be too continental. If we just went with our natural way of playing, attack and outscore them with a solid defence, most United fans think we'd do better. Fergie doesn't agree because he's been burnt in the past playing that way.

My problem with Fergie's Euro tactics is he tries too much to be like Rafa. It works for Liverpool. It doesn't work for United. Why? Because it's not in our players instincts to play like that.

This goes back to my point. Rafa has Liverpool set up a specific way and he virtually plays the exact same way whether in Europe or the PL. Whether he ever achieves success in the PL is anyones guess but there is no doubt that he setting the club up so that they can be successful on both fronts. This is of massive importance in my opinion. A team that dominates their domestic league should be able to achieve success in Europe - from the big leagues of course. This is something that United have never done. It is not as if AF has not tried either. The fact that a large percentage of United fans here would be of the opinion that if Unitedplayed to their strenghts, they would have more success in Europe.

AF changing the formation, line up or style of play just for Europe and generally failing just doesn't seem to get the coverage that it should. A club of United's stature should have aspirations on a part with Real, Milan, Liverpool, Bayern and so on. It doesn't look like they will ever reach those heights in Europe under AF.

I would be majorly disappointed as a United fan in the same way I am massively disappointed by Liverpool's league form. I am tolerent of Rafa's under achievement due to him being there a few seasons.

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote: »

Wow, Pique will surely leave in the summer now. Alas

---

VDS

---

--Hargreaves---Ferdinand

---

Brown

---

Evra---

---

Carrick

---

Scholes

---

--Ronaldo

---

Tevez

---

Park----

---

Rooney

---

Scared about Brown there up against Eto
Gona be a tough game.

Oh oh!! Gonna make for one heck of a game!

eZe^

PHB wrote: »

Barca:

---

Valdes

---

--Zambrotta

---

Milito

---

Marquez---Abidal--

---

Toure

---

---

Xavi

---

Deco

---

--Messi

---

Iniesta---

---

Eto

---

Pothead got it right. If Man Utd beat us, then I'll safely admit you've beaten the strongest possilbe Barca line up.

PHB

I just don't see the European Cup as that important.

League is by far more important. European Cup is great, just like the FA Cup, but for me the league is all that matters. Find me someone who can maintain Fergies league record and do better in the CL and I'll be happy

PHB

Alright, I'm off to the pub. I've no idea what is going to happen in this match, but I'm hopeful

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote: »

I just don't see the European Cup as that important.

League is by far more important. European Cup is great, just like the FA Cup, but for me the league is all that matters. Find me someone who can maintain Fergies league record and do better in the CL and I'll be happy

I don't really believe that you believe that it is not that important.

dc69

whats iniesta gona be like in that position?
I thought he was a central mifielder.

where henry,ronaldhino?injured

LegacyUser

PHB wrote: »

I just don't see the European Cup as that important.

League is by far more important. European Cup is great, just like the FA Cup, but for me the league is all that matters. Find me someone who can maintain Fergies league record and do better in the CL and I'll be happy

That is crazy talk...

zAbbo

I'll go a 3-0 win for Barcelona, 4 or 5 if Eto'o shows up.

That or a 1-1 draw

KdjaCL

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

I don't really believe that you believe that it is not that important.

I dont either, smokescreen of the green eyed monster



kdjac

RasTa

The European cup is VERY important. Don't agree with PHB at all there. Very happy with our team minus Vidic of course.

Harpy

ahh im so nervous!!!this is gonna be a tough match and everyone keeps sayin united will have no problem which is annoying me more..its barcelona when it comes down to it they coud slot 2 or 3 goals past us in 20 mins if they get in form....i can't take this will the match just start!!

Sherifu

Lollers!