2016-17 UEFA Champions League

The Talking Bread

SlickRic wrote: »

City are still mentally quite weak. them.

They just had no HeART or AGREUssion : )








I'll get my coat.........

Iused2likebusts

People say the Spanish league isnt great. Throw barca and real in the PL and they would run amok in that too.

Irish_rat

Slattsy wrote: »

Stones is stealing a living, a complete fraud.

That joke wasnt funny the first time.

Ozil doesn't get enough of praise. He's on fire.
Damn you Arsenal!!

StringerBell

The panel hopped off Pep didn't they

Ally Dick

Slattsy wrote: »

Stones is stealing a living, a complete fraud.

Yes. More overhyped Everton tosh

764dak

City's biggest UCL deafeat was only by two goals. And now it's 4-0 with Josep Sala Guardiola in charge. He continues to show how overrated he is.

eagle eye

The Talking Bread wrote: »

tbh, I don't think there is much Celtic following anymore compared to yester year.
The Scottish league has depreciated to nothing, the Old Firm took a back burner for almost half a decade or so, they haven't exactly lit up Europe in a long time (bar that 3-3 draw 3 weeks ago) and they don't attract the quality of players like the Laarsons.

Since the PL started attracting the best players in the world last 7 years or so, there is diminishing interest in Celtic.

Celtic jerseys were all the rage up to a decade ago but you rarely see them anymore.

I think you are wrong. I think there still are a lot of Celtic fans. It's just that they don't go around parading it as much because they aren't doing so well in Europe and there hasn't been the old firm for quite some time.

I know a lot of Celtic fans who will only talk about them when you ask them these days whereas back eight or ten years ago they would talk about them all the time.

It's the same with all clubs really. You don't hear as much from any club who is not doing as well as they were in the past until they come back to the top, that is outside of the mammoth clubs of course.

rob316

Barca not as good as 2 years ago but still light years ahead of anything the premier league has to offer.

Alonso77

This "disrespecting the game" guff being served up by the dunphster is deliciously cringe.

Dirty Dingus McGee

eagle eye wrote: »

I think you are wrong. I think there still are a lot of Celtic fans. It's just that they don't go around parading it as much because they aren't doing so well in Europe and there hasn't been the old firm for quite some time.

I know a lot of Celtic fans who will only talk about them when you ask them these days whereas back eight or ten years ago they would talk about them all the time.

It's the same with all clubs really. You don't hear as much from any club who is not doing as well as they were in the past until they come back to the top, that is outside of the mammoth clubs of course.

That's because general interest in the SPL has fallen off a cliff.It's a poor league in general these days and you won't find too many more Irish people who started supporting Celtic in the last 10 will start supporting them in the future.

The Talking Bread

eagle eye wrote: »

I think you are wrong. I think there still are a lot of Celtic fans. It's just that they don't go around parading it as much because they aren't doing so well in Europe and there hasn't been the old firm for quite some time.

I know a lot of Celtic fans who will only talk about them when you ask them these days whereas back eight or ten years ago they would talk about them all the time.

It's the same with all clubs really. You don't hear as much from any club who is not doing as well as they were in the past until they come back to the top, that is outside of the mammoth clubs of course.

nah, Celtic interest in Ireland has definitely declined the last few years. That doesn't mean there aren't Celtic fans, just that they aren't as much a force of interest at all for young fans.

Plenty of Irish based fans used to hit Scotland at weekends in the past and you won't hear of many anymore. And of course, jerseys on kids is a reflection of support.

eagle eye

rob316 wrote: »

Barca not as good as 2 years ago but still light years ahead of anything the premier league has to offer.

Thing with Barca though is that they were all about bringing through their own players but they seemed to have stopped that now.

Munir can hardly get a game and he would already be a huge name if they put him in the team like they did with their special youngsters ten years ago. I think they have had one player come through since Busquets and Pedro who has got the opportunity as a regular starter and that is Sergi Roberto.

They are all about buying the best now. You seen it there tonight with Alba going off and in comes €17 million Lucas Digne and then Pique gets replace by €20 million Mathieu. They have Turan who would be playing in every other side in world football sitting on the bench along with Paco Alcacer and Andres Gomes.

They had tfour players who came through the youth ranks to the senior team playing tonight in Messi, Pique, Busquets and Iniesta. They'll try and claim Alba as one but he left Barcelona to make a name for himself while still a kid and came back five years later as a Spanish international who'd been on the team that won the Euros in 2012.

Their bench tonight cost them over €130 million and that is not including any addons that they might have to pay yet.

I loved watching that team that Pep had and there was a bit of romance to it with all the players that had come through the ranks but this team is not like that, they are a great team no doubt but it's just like the Real Madrid team or the Bayern Munich team now where it's all about being a huge club who can just buy up every great player they want.

citytillidie

Results
Group A
Arsenal (ENG) 6 V 0 Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 3 V 0 Basel (SUI)

Group A PL W D L F A GD Pts
Arsenal (ENG) 3 2 1 0 9 1 8 7
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 3 2 1 0 7 2 5 7
Basel (SUI) 3 0 1 2 1 6 -5 1
Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) 3 0 1 2 2 10 -8 1


Group B
Napoli (ITA) 2 V 3 Beşiktaş (TUR)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 0 V 2 SL Benfica (POR)

Group B PL W D L F A GD Pts
Napoli (ITA) 3 2 0 1 8 6 2 6
Beşiktaş (TUR) 3 1 2 0 5 4 1 5
SL Benfica (POR) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1


Group C
Celtic (SCO) 0 V 2 Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER)
FC Barcelona (ESP) 4 V 0 Manchester City (ENG)

Group C PL W D L F A GD Pts
FC Barcelona (ESP) 3 3 0 0 13 1 12 9
Manchester City (ENG) 3 1 1 1 7 7 0 4
Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
Celtic (SCO) 3 0 1 2 3 12 -9 1


Group D
Rostov (RUS) 0 V 1 Atlético Madrid (ESP)
FC Bayern München (GER) 4 V 1 PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Group D PL W D L F A GD Pts
Atlético Madrid (ESP) 3 3 0 0 3 0 3 9
FC Bayern München (GER) 3 2 0 1 9 2 7 6
PSV Eindhoven (NED) 3 0 1 2 3 7 -4 1
Rostov (RUS) 3 0 1 2 2 8 -6 1


Group E
CSKA Moskva (RUS) 1 V 1 Monaco (FRA)
Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 0 V 0 Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Group E PL W D L F A GD Pts
Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 5
Monaco (FRA) 3 1 2 0 4 3 1 5
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
CSKA Moskva (RUS) 3 0 2 1 3 4 -1 2


Group F
Sporting CP (POR) 1 V 2 Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Real Madrid (ESP) 5 V 1 Legia Warszawa (POL)

Group F PL W D L F A GD Pts
Real Madrid (ESP) 3 2 1 0 9 4 5 7
Borussia Dortmund (GER) 3 2 1 0 10 3 7 7
Sporting CP (POR) 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
Legia Warszawa (POL) 3 0 0 3 1 13 -12 0


Group G
Leicester City (ENG) 1 V 0 FC København (DEN)
Club Brugge (BEL) 1 V 2 Porto (POR)

Group G PL W D L F A GD Pts
Leicester City (ENG) 3 3 0 0 5 0 5 9
FC København (DEN) 3 1 1 1 5 2 3 4
Porto (POR) 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Club Brugge (BEL) 3 0 0 3 1 9 -8 0


Group H
GNK Dinamo (CRO) 0 V 1 Sevilla (ESP)
Lyon (FRA) 0 V 1 Juventus (ITA)

Group H PL W D L F A GD Pts
Sevilla (ESP) 3 2 1 0 2 0 2 7
Juventus (ITA) 3 2 1 0 5 0 5 7
Lyon (FRA) 3 1 0 2 3 2 1 3
GNK Dinamo (CRO) 3 0 0 3 0 8 -8 0

eagle eye

The Talking Bread wrote: »

nah, Celtic interest in Ireland has definitely declined the last few years. That doesn't mean there aren't Celtic fans, just that they aren't as much a force of interest at all for young fans.

Plenty of Irish based fans used to hit Scotland at weekends in the past and you won't hear of many anymore. And of course, jerseys on kids is a reflection of support.

The Celtic Tiger enabled that.

The Talking Bread

Dirt by Cavani for that penalty, 2 up and still feels the need to go down like a ton of bricks in the 93rd minute.

Arghus

Dunphy spoofing for Ireland on RTE.

Athletico Madrid baby.

MisterAnarchy

Alonso77 wrote: »

This "disrespecting the game" guff being served up by the dunphster is deliciously cringe.

He is really coming out with some crazy stuff tonight.
I wouldn't be surprised if he has been drinking.

The Talking Bread

Arghus wrote: »

Dunphy spoofing for Ireland on RTE.

Athletico Madrid baby.

not far off at all with that Atletico shout to be fair.

Arghus

The Talking Bread wrote: »

not far off at all with that Atletico shout to be fair.

Ah yeah, but it was one of those fortunate moments when his spoofing and reality happened to coincide.

The Talking Bread

Arghus wrote: »

Ah yeah, but it was one of those fortunate moments when his spoofing and reality happened to coincide.

ha, thats one way to look at it!! Keep waffling and by the law of averages something will make sense!

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

I was really hoping Darragh Maloney was going to say, coming up next on RTE2 is Pixies Sex Clinic, from all of us here, goodnight. It would have been funny. :pac:

(It is the next advertised show due on btw)

inforfun

4 groups (ADFH) are more or less decided already after 3 matches if you take in mind the results of the last 2 nights. Matchday 4 is the reverse of the same fixtures. The group stages are getting more boring by the year.

Dirty Dingus McGee

inforfun wrote: »

4 groups (ADFH) are more or less decided already after 3 matches if you take in mind the results of the last 2 nights. Matchday 4 is the reverse of the same fixtures. The group stages are getting more boring by the year.

They have to be kept though for financial reasons for the clubs from the smaller countries.

Ardent

Was just thinking the same last week. I think the group stage of the competition has been devalued by the presence of some mediocre teams.

I only really get interested once it gets to the knockout stages.

inforfun

Ardent wrote: »

Was just thinking the same last week. I think the group stage of the competition has been devalued hugely by the presence of a lot of mediocre teams.

The UEFA is going to give you what you want by giving the "big" 4 4 starting places for the group stages.
So that is 16 of the 32 for them. Add the EL winner, most likely Sevilla (or any other Spanish team) to that and you have only 15 places left for "mediocre" teams.

That will be the next nail in the coffin of European cup football.

Ardent

inforfun wrote: »

The UEFA is going to give you what you want by giving the "big" 4 4 starting places for the group stages.
So that is 16 of the 32 for them. Add the EL winner, most likely Sevilla (or any other Spanish team) to that and you have only 15 places left for "mediocre" teams.

That will be the next nail in the coffin of European cup football.

Who makes up the big 4 - spain, England, Germany and who else? Italy ?

inforfun

Ardent wrote: »

Who makes up the big 4 - spain, England, Germany and who else? Italy ?

Yep, the same Italy that couldnt get their teams through the qualifiers in 6 of the last 7 attempts.
But Italy was closing in on England for 3rd spot in the UEFA rankings and if they go past them, England will lose a CL spot.
And since we cant have that of course, they came with this solution.
Gap from no 5 in the list to no4 is enormous so those 4 will be safe.

So people saying the group games are for the smaller countries..... Nah... it is all bout the "big" 4

The Talking Bread

inforfun wrote: »

Ardent wrote: »

Was just thinking the same last week. I think the group stage of the competition has been devalued hugely by the presence of a lot of mediocre teams.

The UEFA is going to give you what you want by giving the "big" 4 4 starting places for the group stages.
So that is 16 of the 32 for them. Add the EL winner, most likely Sevilla (or any other Spanish team) to that and you have only 15 places left for "mediocre" teams.

That will be the next nail in the coffin of European cup football.

Isn't the Europe League place at the cost of a place in the CL. ie say United win it and come 5th behind Liverpool, (4th) in the league, Liverpool miss out on their place?
Or has it changed.
Also what happens WHEN Leicester win the CL and finish 6th, Does that come at the expense of one of the top 4 positions?

Potentially a country could have 6 places or am I right in thinking max is 4 regardless?

elefant

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Isn't the Europe League place at the cost of a place in the CL. ie say United win it and come 5th behind Liverpool, (4th) in the league, Liverpool miss out on their place?
Or has it changed.

Spain had 5 teams this year with Sevilla winning the Europa league. Villareal just lost vs. Monaco in the qualifiers.

I would assume a country could have 6 places then, if teams outside the top 4 won both the CL and EL.

citytillidie

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Isn't the Europe League place at the cost of a place in the CL. ie say United win it and come 5th behind Liverpool, (4th) in the league, Liverpool miss out on their place?
Or has it changed.
Also what happens WHEN Leicester win the CL and finish 6th, Does that come at the expense of one of the top 4 positions?

Potentially a country could have 6 places or am I right in thinking max is 4 regardless?

Max is 5 but only if the Champions League winners also qualify via their league position. Spain got 5 because Real won the Champions League but also qualified via the league so the Champions League winners spot was no used and the Europa League spot got promoted from the play off to the group stage allowing Sevilla into the groups.

If Man Utd and Leicester both win and finish outside the top 4 then Leicester will go back into the group stage and Man Utd into the play offs and 3rd & 4th will miss out under current rules.

The Talking Bread

elefant wrote: »

Spain had 5 teams this year with Sevilla winning the Europa league. Villareal just lost vs. Monaco in the qualifiers.

I would assume a country could have 6 places then, if teams outside the top 4 won both the CL and EL.

Wasn't sure, I think they changed the Champ League winners situation post 2012 after the Chelsea win robbed Spurs of their place, didn't they?

Although England had 5 places in 2005 2006, albeit Everton didnt makeit out of the qualification phase.

They must have gone back and forth on the ruling a few times.

Forgot about Villareal's exit. They did very well both times they made the group phases. Diego Forlan, Rossi and Pellegrini

The Talking Bread

citytillidie wrote: »

Max is 5 but only if the Champions League winners also qualify via their league position. Spain got 5 because Real won the Champions League but also qualified via the league so the Champions League winners spot was no used and the Europa League spot got promoted from the play off to the group stage allowing Sevilla into the groups.

If Man Utd and Leicester both win and finish outside the top 4 then Leicester will go back into the group stage and Man Utd into the play offs and 3rd & 4th will miss out under current rules.

would it not just be "4th " that misses out in that situation? Given England 5 places?

citytillidie

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Wasn't sure, I think they changed the Champ League winners situation post 2012 after the Chelsea win robbed Spurs of their place, didn't they?

Although England had 5 places in 2005 2006, albeit Everton didnt makeit out of the qualification phase.

They must have gone back and forth on the ruling a few times.

Forgot about Villareal's exit. They did very well both times they made the group phases. Diego Forlan, Rossi and Pellegrini

Nope that happened with Spurs was always the rule as it happened before the Liverpool situation.

Real won it on 2000 and finished 5th outside the qualification via the league but they were in the 2000-01 Champions League group stage

English FA did not have the balls to let Liverpool in at the expense of Everton so UEFA had to change about qualification and have Liverpool start in the 1st round.

citytillidie

The Talking Bread wrote: »

would it not just be "4th " that misses out in that situation? Given England 5 places?

Nope to have the 5th team the Champions League winners also need to have qualified via their league position so the Champions League winners spot is not used.

The Talking Bread

citytillidie wrote: »

Nope to have the 5th team the Champions League winners also need to have qualified via their league position so the Champions League winners spot is not used.

ha, fair enough!

So if Leicester finish in top 3 and win CL and United finish 6th but win Europa League, England will have 5 places, yeah?

citytillidie

The Talking Bread wrote: »

ha, fair enough!

So if Leicester finish in top 3 and win CL and United finish 6th but win Europa League, England will have 5 places, yeah?

Yea as the Europa League winners take the unused Champions League winners spot and Top 3 go into the group stage and 4th will be in the play off just like Spain this season

The Talking Bread

Really does do your head in this sh1te. UEFA are a joke.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37720274

What next, the Euros being held on Mars??

A_Sober_Paddy

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Really does do your head in this sh1te. UEFA are a joke.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37720274

What next, the Euros being held on Mars??

So sad that all football decisions are all being down to bleeding as much money outta every possible thing...

Myself and the oh are probably going to London in march. And I said I'd like to go to a game. She said who arsenal, Chelsea...my response was nah maybe Leyton Orient or welling united, lower league football is always better value imo

Dirty Dingus McGee

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Really does do your head in this sh1te. UEFA are a joke.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37720274

What next, the Euros being held on Mars??

Nah, after today's news around the apparent failure of the European Space agency's Mars Probe I think that idea has been put off for a while.

inforfun

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Nah, after today's news around the apparent failure of the European Space agency's Mars Probe I think that idea has been put off for a while.

You underestimate the arrogance of of UEFA and FIFA.
After all they do think a WC in Qatar will work. We saw last week how well the world championships cycling went And those are guys who go up the mountains in July in France.

batistuta9

Isn't it really the ECA that are behind all this, uefa are just scared of them leaving.

Muff_Daddy

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Really does do your head in this sh1te. UEFA are a joke.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37720274

What next, the Euros being held on Mars??

I believe a shortlist of venues have been mooted, and UEFA have been most impressed by the following:

Vatican City
Lapland
Ballyfermot
The Lost City Of Atlantas
Area 51
The Great Barrier Reef
The Dead Sea
Purgatory
Nasa space station

Dirty Dingus McGee

inforfun wrote: »

You underestimate the arrogance of of UEFA and FIFA.
After all they do think a WC in Qatar will work. We saw last week how well the world championships cycling went And those are guys who go up the mountains in July in France.

UEFA might not be perfect but they are nowhere near as big a problem as the big European clubs most of whom would happily jack in their national leagues and all the tradition and history that goes with for a European Super league. UEFA are living under constant fear of this breaking out and pretty much every decision they've made has been to try and keep these types of clubs happy.Just look at the bull**** of certain clubs asking for guaranteed places in the champions league and you see the kind of rubbish they have to put up with.

inforfun

I say... let them go and have their "super league"

See how well they do playing some "league" in the desert together.
See how popular those matches will be once the likes of Messi and Ronaldo are finished.
I really couldnt give a flying 4-letter word.


But then again, i am fan of a club that still tries to be a club instead of a MNC.
Any match they play, even if it is a 1st round cup match against Oss like a few weeks ago, will forever have me more interested than even a cl final between 2 of those "big clubs"

citytillidie

Playing Tuesday
Group A
Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) V Arsenal (ENG)
Basel (SUI) V Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Group B
Beşiktaş (TUR) V Napoli (ITA)
SL Benfica (POR) V Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

Group C
Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) V Celtic (SCO)
Manchester City (ENG) V FC Barcelona (ESP)

Group D
Atlético Madrid (ESP) V Rostov (RUS)
PSV Eindhoven (NED) V FC Bayern München (GER)

Playing Wednesday
Group E
Monaco (FRA) V CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) V Bayer Leverkusen (GER)

Group F
Borussia Dortmund (GER) V Sporting CP (POR)
Legia Warszawa (POL) V Real Madrid (ESP)

Group G
FC København (DEN) V Leicester City (ENG)
Porto (POR) V Club Brugge (BEL)

Group H
Sevilla (ESP) V GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Juventus (ITA) V Lyon (FRA)

Vincent Vega

citytillidie wrote: »

Group B
Beşiktaş (TUR) V Napoli (ITA)

This one's on @ 5:45pm. Anybody know if/where it's being shown?

NIMAN

didn't even know the CL was on this week, shows you how gripped I am by the group stages .

Chardee MacDennis

city v barca on tv anywhere?

GavRedKing

Chardee MacDennis wrote: »

city v barca on tv anywhere?

BT, RTE are showing Celtic.