Manchester United v FC Barcelona - Champions league Final

Paul Tergat

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Good post. He is allegedly the fastest player at United bar Ronaldo. I cannot remember where I got that nugget from though. Must find a source.

He is also a very good free kick taker.

Yeah i just remembered where i got that from....theres clips on youtube of Hargreaves doing one of the soccer am bits, i think its teammates (or maybe why i love football) and he's talking about who's the fastest at the club and he says he won the trials but when he doesnt do it then its ronnie.

He's someone who IF we can get fit will make a huge difference. Ando can learn a lot from him imo.


what was the woolshed like btw on Wednesday. Sinnotts was steaming busy at like half 5, i got in qtr 5 and there was already no seats/places to stand. I left at FT whistle though just annoyed.

Theresalwaysone

p_larkin99 wrote: »

Yeah i just remembered where i got that from....theres clips on youtube of Hargreaves doing one of the soccer am bits, i think its teammates (or maybe why i love football) and he's talking about who's the fastest at the club and he says he won the trials but when he doesnt do it then its ronnie.

He's someone who IF we can get fit will make a huge difference. Ando can learn a lot from him imo.


what was the woolshed like btw on Wednesday. Sinnotts was steaming busy at like half 5, i got in qtr 5 and there was already no seats/places to stand. I left at FT whistle though just annoyed.

I think the story with him is that he got both knees sorted this year and by all accounts it was a massive success. It will be softly softly though given the scale and type of injury.

Woolshed was jammers and far too hot. We were there from about 4 and it was busyish then. Good laugh though, lots of banter and chanting.

MisterAnarchy

Barcelona (Neutral)

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Good post. He is allegedly the fastest player at United bar Ronaldo. I cannot remember where I got that nugget from though. Must find a source.

Out of interest ,over what distance is this measured,10 yards,20,30 ?
First 10-15 yards is most important I'd imagine.

Theresalwaysone

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Out of interest ,over what distance is this measured,10 yards,20,30 ?
First 10-15 yards is most important I'd imagine.

I have no idea. It would hardly be any longer than 100 yards though and if you cant beat everyone but Ronaldo over any distance < 100yards then you must be quick.

adox

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Judging by the predictions on the poll alot of people got carried away with the hype over United this season.

In what way? Most United fans voted for United(which is kind of natural) while neutrels voted by near enough 2 to 1 that Barca would win.

I think some people are over hyping Barcelona after Wednesday. Sure they were fantastic on the night but lets not forget their two displays against Chelsea where they struggled to break down, albeit, and extremely defensive set up and looked shambolic at the back at times.

United havent gone from being among the top 2 or 3 teams in Europe after Wednesday, while Barcelona havent become some mythical super team, the likes of which we have never seen.

A bit of perspective would be nice.(Not aimed at the poster I`m quoting).

MisterAnarchy

Barcelona (Neutral)

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

I have no idea. It would hardly be any longer than 100 yards though and if you cant beat everyone but Ronaldo over any distance < 100yards then you must be quick.

I guess acceleration over 5-7 yards and speed over 10-20 yards would be the most important .

Sir Alex told the club’s official magazine Inside United – celebrating its 200th anniversary: “We’ve had a lot of quick players here. If you’re talking over certain distances, then Gary Pallister would have taken some beating in a sprint.

“I think he was the quickest in the 100 metres. But speed in football isn’t about running 100 metres on a football pitch. So you’ve also got to consider Kanchelskis, Ronaldo, Giggs, Cole, Paul Parker - he was very, very quick - Anderson, Ferdinand, Lee Sharpe as a young kid was quick before he started to get bigger.

“Paul Ince was very quick. So that group of players would be in it, but over 100 metres, Pallister would have beaten any of them. In a football sense, I’d say Kanchelskis and Giggs, particularly when he was younger.”

Interesting.Gary Pallister ,who would have thought it.

Theresalwaysone

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

I guess acceleration over 5-7 yards and speed over 10-20 yards would be the most important .



Interesting.Gary Pallister ,who would have thought it.

Thats what I said. Its pointless being fastest at distances over 100yards if you arent quick off the bat.

But we know Ronaldo is very quick off the bat and over long distances... and if Hargo can beat anyone BUT him then he is obv very quick in both ways too.

Paul Tergat

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

I guess acceleration over 5-7 yards and speed over 10-20 yards would be the most important .



Interesting.Gary Pallister ,who would have thought it.

I always laughed when i saw pally as being the fastest but fergie says it so often. I guess its just as a younger supporter I tend to remember his later games more where he really struggled to keep up with strikers.

eagle eye

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

adox wrote: »

In what way? Most United fans voted for United(which is kind of natural) while neutrels voted by near enough 2 to 1 that Barca would win.

I think some people are over hyping Barcelona after Wednesday. Sure they were fantastic on the night but lets not forget their two displays against Chelsea where they struggled to break down, albeit, and extremely defensive set up and looked shambolic at the back at times.

United havent gone from being among the top 2 or 3 teams in Europe after Wednesday, while Barcelona havent become some mythical super team, the likes of which we have never seen.

A bit of perspective would be nice.(Not aimed at the poster I`m quoting).

Just on Barcelona being a super team. If you follow the Spanish league you would have known about halfway through the season that this was a very special team.
Rijkaard had a fine team but Guardiola has added patience and ruthlessness to that team. I think that this team this season is the most exciting and skillful team I've ever seen in club football. It will be interesting to see if it continues at the same standard next season but if it does they will be rated very highly.
On United, they haven't gone backwards much, just that age is catching up fast with a couple of players. They certainly need to improve in the middle of the park if they are going to challenge Barcelona, but there is no doubt in my mind that they are the second best team in Europe right now with Barca overtaking them this year. It will be interesting to see who they add this year. People are talking about Ribery, but I don't see him being a crucial signing for them or having a major affect on that team, in attack they are as good as almost anybody, its the centre of the park where they got murdered the other night and thats what needs strengthening imo. I don't even think they need Ribery, if they were to sign a decent right back and put JOS at left back, they can use Evra on that side.

gimmick

Manchester United (Neutral)

adox wrote: »

I think some people are over hyping Barcelona after Wednesday. Sure they were fantastic on the night but lets not forget their two displays against Chelsea where they struggled to break down, albeit, and extremely defensive set up and looked shambolic at the back at times.

while Barcelona havent become some mythical super team, the likes of which we have never seen.

No hyperbole is enough for how good that Barca team. Chelsea to one side, any team in the world would have struggled there as they played a fantasticlly rigid defensive game or 120ish minutes, and it came back to bite them.

We have not seen the likes of this Barca side before. 7 academy players in the starting 11, complemented by possibly the most decorated footbller in history in Henry, Etoo, the evergreen Sylvinho and the vastly under rated Toure. What a team.

anplaya

UnitedIrishman wrote: »

To be fair, we're not the Harlem Globetrotters. In any game of football, the best teams around are still going to struggle in around 10% of the games. Against Villa, Fulham, Liverpool, Wigan and Porto - they all took the game to us and we looked shaky. We still won - BAR the Pool game(S).

No matter how good a team you are, unless you are a very special side such as Forest in the 70's or Arsenal a few years back, there are always goingto be blips. The reason Untied are the best around is because when these blips occur, we still win.

dont forget,it was against liverpool twice,especially in the first game when on paper united had a vastly superior team out compared to liverpools. united were missing i think only two regulars whilst liverpool were missing 5 or 6 i think.also fulham beat ye too.

anplaya

nn

That_Guy wrote: »

That Ian Wright article just made my day.

Great performance from Barca last night and unfortunately that first goal really set United back a lot.

Anyone know who got man of the match?

dunno but wudnt say it was a united player .xavi or iniesta would be my guess,pure class both of them.

That_Guy

anplaya wrote: »

nn

dunno but wudnt say it was a united player .xavi or iniesta would be my guess,pure class both of them.

I'd give it to Iniesta myself. Works very hard for his team.

Berti Vogts

gimmick wrote: »

We have not seen the likes of this Barca side before. 7 academy players in the starting 11, complemented by possibly the most decorated footbller in history in Henry, Etoo, the evergreen Sylvinho and the vastly under rated Toure. What a team.

Thierry Henry the most decorated footballer in history????

Boggles

eagle eye wrote: »

don't even think they need Ribery, if they were to sign a decent right back and put JOS at left back, they can use Evra on that side.

Wes Brown?

The Recliner

Does anyone have RTE's coverage of the game recorded that they could mail to me or copy for me

I was at the game on Wednesday and I would like to see how the atmosphere came across and what the lads in studio had to say

Boggles

The Recliner wrote: »

Does anyone have RTE's coverage of the game recorded that they could mail to me or copy for me

I was at the game on Wednesday and I would like to see how the atmosphere came across and what the lads in studio had to say

Believe me you don't want RTEs coverage, Picture was shíté and the George Hamilton sounded like he was doing his commentary on a meteor mobile.

You can download it in full, plenty of copies available.

The Recliner

Boggles wrote: »

Believe me you don't want RTEs coverage, Picture was shíté and the George Hamilton sounded like he was doing his commentary on a meteor mobile.

You can download it in full, plenty of copies available.

Will have a look around so

Not sure if it came across on the coverage but the atmosphere was fantastic, obviously the United fans were a little subdued but the Barca fans were mental, great game to be at

gimmick

Manchester United (Neutral)

Possibilities wrote: »

Thierry Henry the most decorated footballer in history????

He has pretty much ticked all the boxes hasn't he? EPL, Spain PL, France PL (Monaco i think????), FA Cup, Copa Del Rey, CL, World Cup, Euro Championships.

Has he won a Scudetto, or anything in Italy?

Unearthly

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

gimmick wrote: »

He has pretty much ticked all the boxes hasn't he? EPL, Spain PL, France PL (Monaco i think????), FA Cup, Copa Del Rey, CL, World Cup, Euro Championships.

Has he won a Scudetto, or anything in Italy?

Nope

but still amazing how much he has won. It's a shame the personal awards like Ballon d'or passed him by

ccosgrave

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Just checking in on this thread now, I was in Edinburgh on a (surprise) holiday for the match. It was surprising to me that there weren't a quarter as many United fans over there as I'm used to seeing back in Ireland, presumably due to the popularity of the SPL. There wasn't a great atmosphere as a result.

Because of the circumstances, I didn't really get around to analysing much of the performance, but I'll have another look at the game sometime soon and see what I think. I'm not sure if I could bear to look at it just yet though.

It was a terrible night all-in-all though. So bad that I ended up getting in a drunken fight with my girlfriend in the middle of the city :pac: Oh, how seriously I take football..

Mikeyt086

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Also making my first post in this thread.

Dissappointed with the result, but the better team won. I think even the most biased fan knows that United were outclassed.

Would Fletcher have made a difference? Who knows. I think we would have put up a bit more bite, but when Iniesta plays the way he did, nobody can stop him. What an exellent performance.

I had a go at Messi after his performances against Chelsea, coupled with those against other English teams. And i didnt think he was incredible, but he played well, and my god didnt he take his goal well. I feel sorry for Ronaldo. After all the bull**** about Ronaldo vs Messi, Cristiano never had a chance i felt, the team behind him were dominated, but he looked dangerous, however so did Messi, and he got the supply and he came up with the goods.

I was so optimistic after 8 mins, Ronaldo looked like he was up for it. Unfortunatley he was the only one. As soon as Eto'o scored the game had changed, i knew we couldnt get it back, we were not set out that way. Had the shot been saved and we frustrated them a bit longer we could have won, but not chasing the ball from Xavi and Iniesta.

So in summary, gutted to have lost, but there is no way i can be anything but gracious in defeat to a brilliant Barcelona team who did it on the day. Congratulations to them.

Spider_Baby!

Barcelona (Barcelona fan)

gimmick wrote: »

He has pretty much ticked all the boxes hasn't he? EPL, Spain PL, France PL (Monaco i think????), FA Cup, Copa Del Rey, CL, World Cup, Euro Championships.

Has he won a Scudetto, or anything in Italy?

Wasnt he a winger for Juventus when Arsenal picked him up? Definately nothing won there?

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

Red Crow

Spider_Baby! wrote: »

Wasnt he a winger for Juventus when Arsenal picked him up? Definately nothing won there?

Yes, a left winger IRRC. He played about a dozen games and was moved on. Didn't he win the French FA Cup or it's equivalent? I remember Monaco being able to win a treble that year. But lost in the CL semis. 97?

Waster

Manchester United (Neutral)

Slash/ED wrote: »

Exactly, the arrogance from people to assume Man U could have beaten Barca on that night had they 'shown up' is breathtaking given the display and how well Barca played on the night. They did show up, they were just outclassed by a superior team.

Agreed. It was more to do with Barca being good than Utd being bad.
Last season's utd team played much better than this season in my view. What's changed besides Bebatov in for Tevez? Last year they destroyed the opposition while this year they've done the minimum and got a lot of 1-0. Goals scored and goal difference are down.

Dave!

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Waster wrote: »

Agreed. It was more to do with Barca being good than Utd being bad.
Last season's utd team played much better than this season in my view. What's changed besides Bebatov in for Tevez? Last year they destroyed the opposition while this year they've done the minimum and got a lot of 1-0. Goals scored and goal difference are down.

Ronaldo was ridiculous in 07/08 and 'merely' very good in 08/09

Man Utd GS 07/08: 80
Man Utd GS 08/09: 68
Difference: 12

Ronaldo GS 07/08: 31
Ronaldo GS 08/09: 18
Difference: 13

(Premiership)

That's the difference I guess! We only conceded 2 more goals this season over last season also

ghouldaddy07

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Dave! wrote: »

Ronaldo was ridiculous in 07/08 and 'merely' very good in 08/09

Man Utd GS 07/08: 80
Man Utd GS 08/09: 68
Difference: 12

Ronaldo GS 07/08: 31
Ronaldo GS 08/09: 18
Difference: 13

(Premiership)

That's the difference I guess! We only conceded 2 more goals this season over last season also

I think Scholes decline in form as hurt utd badly also. When he isnt on form we cant tear apart teams the way we did in i 06/07 and 07/08.

PHB

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Goals concedded against top teams are much much higher than before, largely due to the lack of Hargreaves imo.

Goals concedded against poorer opposition is down to compensate.

Warper

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

The fact of the matter is Barcelona are a better team than Utd. They have won the CL twice in the last 4 years which illustrates this.

There is nothing to suggets that this Barcelona team wont improve next year as well. Iniesta is getting better and is only 25, Messi just 21. Also this was Guardiola's first year in senior management and he has won every competition available playing dream football.

A7X

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Warper wrote: »

The fact of the matter is Barcelona are a better team than Utd. They have won the CL twice in the last 4 years which illustrates this.

There is nothing to suggets that this Barcelona team wont improve next year as well. Iniesta is getting better and is only 25, Messi just 21. Also this was Guardiola's first year in senior management and he has won every competition available playing dream football.

So... the only way is down?

Davaeo09

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

Pep has declared he needs to buy during the summer.

I see Hleb being sold, Sylviniho retiring and Barca's 3rd goal keeper going on loan to some where else.

He needs to get some one whop can play left side of the front three more effective than Bojan so Iniesta doesn't get forced out wide, if Henry is out for what ever reason. We also need another CM imo. We really felt the strain when players were injured over the last 2 months.

Ribery and Silva are options

Any way, I know this is slightly off topic but with these players coming we will have a powerful bench! Ready to step up and fill in who ever's shoes. I think Barca can do a treble again next season.. Honest!

Highsider

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

If Barca get Ribery and Silva they will be unstoppable. They already are for god's sake.

Bonavox

redout wrote: »

I await the Dream final between the best two teams in the world.

I think your getting your teams mixed up, it says Manchester United, not Liverpool.

One of the best teams, not the two.

PHB

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

vflhp wrote: »

I think your getting your teams mixed up, it says Manchester United, not Liverpool.

One of the best teams, not the two.

You'll do well here.

Bonavox

PHB wrote: »

You'll do well here.

I seriously have to make my jokes more obvious.

Nah, it was a good match, and obviously, for both teams to make it into the final, they were the best. At saying that, I think Barca is a tad bit better overall.

I enjoyed the match, thought it was a good game and had a good time watching. I'm not a troll, seriously.

_blank_

Barcelona (Barcelona fan)

vflhp wrote: »

I'm not a troll, seriously.