I'll watch Chelsea/Pool, 3 hours of my life I won't get back but obligated to watch it.
Can't believe Kolo ruined Theo's insane run of death.
Can't believe Kolo ruined Theo's insane run of death.
CL QF Discussion Thread
Over the next week and a bit we will be seeing some dramatic events surely. At this stage last season Man U were lucky to escape from Rome with an away goal, but a week later totally ripped a new hole into AS bit of Roma. Milan were also knocking out Bayern Munich. Can it be a coincedence that Barcelona play a German team? and could have 3 English teams in the SF, similar to Milan... maybe so, maybe not... on barca's form, they must watch out for Schalke though, not as easy as they may expect.
In any case this years QFs should be a good watch. Probably most intriguing is Roma - Man Utd... but certainly the All english clash is being hyped up, particularly on these shores.
I am betting on 4 draws for the first games. lets see.
In any case this years QFs should be a good watch. Probably most intriguing is Roma - Man Utd... but certainly the All english clash is being hyped up, particularly on these shores.
I am betting on 4 draws for the first games. lets see.
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I thought it was a penalty, contact maybe started outside the area but Toure was still tugging on Babel in the area, why he'd do that when Gallas seemed to have Babel covered and Babel's final ball is normally erratic to say the least, I have no idea.
Regardless, any arguments about cheating over what is at worst a debateable decision are ridiculous. If Toure isn't being a retard (and I've been one of the biggest Toure supporters on here over the years), then there's no decision to make.
Toure was still tugging in the area, one arm came up first, other was tugging on the way up. Did Babel go down easy, sure, but if you feel contact in the area in that situation then you go down. Toure's fault for giving him the chance to when he didn't really have a lot on.What? He even put both his arms up to make it more clear that he wasn't tugging anything.
Why doesn't Babel fall over at Cesc's infringement but a brush from Toure and he's down? :howler:
What money are they putting into UEFA that Arsenal aren't?
A ref should call what he thinks is right, time of the game and size of the game shouldn't affect that. He has rules, he has his interpritation, he should follow them.To be honest, I think you and Osman are reading too much into this. In a pressure situation like that, you don't give a cheap penalty like that. You just can't. If it's not clear-cut, don't give it.
lol, I'd say it's highly, highly unlikely. That kind of thing would come out pretty quickly. The way suggested would need to be a pretty large scale conspiracy, if all refs are acting in UEFA's financial interests. Pretty sure someone would have blown the whistle (boom boom) on it by now.illegit money... Im not saying its definite, but at the same time I wouldnt be surprised.
Toure was still making contact inside the box, until youtube proves otherwise, I'm 99% on this.Rob, the "tug" (it was one slight tug) occurred OUTSIDE the box, but Babel did not want to go down until he reached the box, of course. In that case, it's a free kick, not a penalty. The "foul" was committed outside the box. As far as the penalty area is concerned, there was absolutely no tugging.
It's a debateable penalty, 60/40 for me, so I would say it was. Babel did go down easy, but he was impeded by Toure doing something which is outside the rules of the game. Shoulder to shoulder, different story.He 'touched' Babel who was already on his way down. If this is a penalty then I give up watching football.
Basically Toure is an idiot for doing that. Especially as when said before, Babel still had an awful lot to do, he made the decision making process Babel normally finds hard very easy indeed.
Yeah, wanted Arsenal to win, Liverpool deserved to win. Arsenal were on top for 25 mins at the start and maybe 10 mins in the 2nd.
And Walcott's run is one of the most exciting things I've seen this year.
Great game overall, best game between members of the big four this season, by quite a large margin. Probably the CL game of the season. Drama, skill, debateable decisions, timing, insanity, had it all.
And Walcott's run is one of the most exciting things I've seen this year.
Great game overall, best game between members of the big four this season, by quite a large margin. Probably the CL game of the season. Drama, skill, debateable decisions, timing, insanity, had it all.
I would not bet against Man U at this point. They seem to have found the killer instinct in Europe they've been lacking.
I think the only reason they lost last season was they played a very Euro savvy team. I don't think Barca have that same level. Not that I don't see them beating Man U (60/40 tie in my opinion), but I don't think they can do a Milan to them in that fashion. Plus Uniteds big players have a years more experience, and Ronaldo and Rooney are now consistent performers on the Euro stage, which they weren't at this time last year.
Don't be silly Yatta, clearly Schalke will get a couple of pens tomorrow so they can go on to lose to Liverpool in the final.
Yeah, running past 4 players starting inside your own half and keeping the cool to not go for one of the best goals of all time for yourself and laying it off to someone perfectly happens all the time.
Anyway, if there's two pluses I'll take from something that lead to another boring Chelsea/Pool tie, it's that 1) It was a great game and 2) We saw what Walcott can do when he's being decisive, if he stops dithering around so much and demands the ball more he could be incredible, which is obviously great for an Englishman.
Well I wouldn't like to count you out. Messi should be fit by then and I don't know if Vidic will be 100% by the time the tie comes around. Plus Rooney could get injured, and Man U without Rooney this season have been very beatable.60/40? You're very nice with us. :moan:
Hargreaves could be key, imo. They'll need him at your place to try and take Xavi out of the game.
But anyway, neither team is even through yet.
Milan don't have the pace to put pressure on Arsenal, to beat them you have to be prepared to play at a silly tempo when you have the ball, be prepared to lose it a lot trying to attack quickly, load up for set pieces and run a lot when they have the ball to avoid them switching possession around too quickly while being careful to avoid them suckering you out of position. Don't think Milan have the energy for that, other than Rino.Anyway I also think these games showed how clueless Italian teams really are now (and probably shit would be a good word)... The tactical battles to beat Arsenal (putting high pressure on them, maybe playing a big striker) and Liverpool (keep the God damn ball) was quite clear... yet both Italian teams had absolutely nothing. Inter at Anfield didnt pass the halfway line while Milan were scared for the whole 180 minutes against Arsenal... played 7 defenders and still didnt bother to pressure Arsenal higher up.
Inter just don't have the midfield to really trouble Liverpool.
Roma would have been a good bet to beat Liverpool if they'd drawn each other though, styles make matches sometimes.
Roma's problem against Man U is that Man U is basically Roma with mostly better players, so you're always going to find the odds tough there.Of course Man U met Roma at the best time... we were without Totti our best player, and Juan our best defender in the first leg... of course it also shows that the 2nd best team in Italy cant even live without their best player. Its a sad state for Serie A, but take Totti out of Roma and maybe Kaka out of Milan and you are left with a bunch of decent footballers, but no one with much creation, or a team with pace, or even a team with any real strength. If Man U did lose Ronaldo, Id still be damned sure they could play a great game...
Hopefully the big Italian teams start buying the best again, they have good players already, and in some cases world class ones, but they are also buying the wrong players. Milan sign players like Favalli, Emerson etc. I mean seriously...
And the big teams screwed Serie A in the end. In their greed, they didn't think that keeping the money among themselves would lead to a less attractive competition and that at the end of the day, it is the mid table teams that make a league.
Well at any rate, financial strength is always going to effect what quality of teams you can put out. EPL mid table sides with spend a shitload of money this summer, Serie A sides will probably lose their best players to the big clubs. The cycle of the league screwing itself continues.
Squad wise I'd say they have to envy them, tend to have a lot of depth. If they make some smart signings on starters they can have a team which competes, though. Premiership teams tend to have internationals sitting on the bench and in the stands though. There's about 8 teams who could turn into very good ones if they spend wisely this summer, imo. But we'll see.Soend money on what? Lets face it, alot of the mid-table EPL teams spend their money on crap. Sure Man City improved the squad I thought and a couple others did, but I wouldnt say the likes of Udinese, Sampdoria or Napoli have to envy these teams squads. Also I prefer the teams of Serie A who also give chance to the youth currently and have many Italians in the squad too... this I dont have a problem with... indeed Im probably over-reacting generally anyway because only last year Milan won the CL, but I felt this year both Milan and Inter didnt do themselves justice... especially Inter.
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