[SPqR]

Oranje_1986, on Dec 21 2007, 12:00 PM, said:

Come on Panther, put your bias away for a second, at least. Roma over Real?? unless you're a Roma fan, you can't honestly pick them. I'm afraid to ask you who you think will meet in the final. AC v. Inter? Roma v. AC? Roma v. Inter?

Oh please like it's really that much of a stretch to say that Roma will beat Real. I remember that you and some others were betting nothing short of your own lives that Lyon would walk all over Roma in the quarters...they didn't even score a goal.

I'll GIVE you reasons why Roma will win.

If it was Chelsea, I'd say that Roma wouldn't score a goal...that's because Chelsea commits few players forward and will not allow Roma to expose them on the counter-attack so swiftly. Ask Arsene Wegner, Roma play some of the most attractive football in all of Europe. Real's WEAK defense CAN be exposed by Roma's counter-attack. I'm going to say that because Real love to commit players forward, and because Roma can counter-attack with the best, I believe that they are going to take this. Maybe I'm wrong? Oh well, but it's certainly not the case that Real will walk over ANY team in the CL...this isn't 1997, it's 2007. Just look at Real's performance over the last 5 years...And you wouldn't say that you have even just the slightest bit of bias in terms of judging this match...I mean considering that Robben, RVN and Snijder are all playing for Real?

This post has been edited by Panthers_Fan: 21 December 2007 - 02:18 PM

[SPqR]

Gnickers87, on Dec 21 2007, 12:26 PM, said:

My prediction for the final would be Inter v. Chelsea.

[DMB]

Sucks to be Celtic.

Liverpool Inter is going to be the games of this round, way too close to call.

[drdeath]

Barcelona
Manchester United
Porto
Liverpool
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla

Those milan match-ups are going to be awesome.

[Ukrainian_Canuck]

anyone know if nakamura is helathy yet?

maybe hel rain death on barca with his sublime free kicks like he did on manchester united last CL

perhaps if anyone forgot

1st leg at old traffort, nakamura makes it 2-2 just before the stroke of halftime
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=0wY4ZNBAJKQ

2nd leg, Nakamura takes celtic 1-0 up on manchester united with an AMAZING FK at celtic park
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=v8Xx2UpdvzY


sublime.

[ChelseaFC]

My predictions for the first knockout stage:

Celtic v Barcelona
Lyon v Manchester United
Schalke v Porto
Liverpool v Inter Milan
Roma v Real Madrid
Arsenal v AC Milan
Olympiakos v Chelsea
Fenerbahce v Sevilla

The Arsenal and AC Milan matchup will definitely be fun to watch. Celtic definitely got screwed over, but oh well, it will be a huge upset and payout if they can beat Barelona, 100/1 odds on Ladbrokes

[Ukrainian_Canuck]

ChelseaFC, on Dec 21 2007, 03:32 PM, said:

My predictions for the first knockout stage:

Celtic v Barcelona
Lyon v Manchester United
Schalke v Porto
Liverpool v Inter Milan
Roma v Real Madrid
Arsenal v AC Milan
Olympiakos v Chelsea
Fenerbahce v Sevilla

The Arsenal and AC Milan matchup will definitely be fun to watch. Celtic definitely got screwed over, but oh well, it will be a huge upset and payout if they can beat Barelona, 100/1 odds on Ladbrokes

are your kidding? or are you being comepletely serious?
because if those are the odds one would be almost folish not to bet
this is a very realistic upset.

[Oranje]

Panthers_Fan, on Dec 21 2007, 01:18 PM, said:

Oh please like it's really that much of a stretch to say that Roma will beat Real. I remember that you and some others were betting nothing short of your own lives that Lyon would walk all over Roma in the quarters...they didn't even score a goal.

I'll GIVE you reasons why Roma will win.

If it was Chelsea, I'd say that Roma wouldn't score a goal...that's because Chelsea commits few players forward and will not allow Roma to expose them on the counter-attack so swiftly. Ask Arsene Wegner, Roma play some of the most attractive football in all of Europe. Real's WEAK defense CAN be exposed by Roma's counter-attack. I'm going to say that because Real love to commit players forward, and because Roma can counter-attack with the best, I believe that they are going to take this. Maybe I'm wrong? Oh well, but it's certainly not the case that Real will walk over ANY team in the CL...this isn't 1997, it's 2007. Just look at Real's performance over the last 5 years...And you wouldn't say that you have even just the slightest bit of bias in terms of judging this match...I mean considering that Robben, RVN and Snijder are all playing for Real?

I don't remember picking Lyon over Roma in the quarters, so unless you've got a quote, I don't want to hear it.

Is Real's defense really that weaker than Romas? Real has given up 3 more CL goals, but have conceded just 14 goals in 16 La Liga matches. So I don't see how that is as weak as you're implying. Especially seeing as Roma aren't a model of fantastic defending. Roma CAN win this, I'm not going to sit here and say they can't, but your post, and the vast majority of your posts in footy related threads, are bias. They just reek of bias.

And I'm not U_C, I don't support a team because I like a few of the players. I'm not a RM fan, not even close to it. Celtic have Evander Sno and Jan V of H and I'm not picking them to beat Barca.

Inter in the final? That's a laugher

[Eirenuck]

Can't wait for Barca-Celtic.

Obviously nobody will be giving the Bhoys a chance, but there'll be no pressure on them and the Scots usually thrive in an underdog situation.

Barca will find it hard playing in Glasgow, and you never know what could happen.

Can't wait to see McGeady up against their defense, he's been having a fantastic season.

As for Nakamura U_C, he's been injured for weeks now, but I get the impression he's fairly close to returning.

With the games not starting until late February, I'd say he'll be fit and will have got a few games under his belt by then.

[evgeni_malkin]

Eirenuck, on Dec 22 2007, 01:21 AM, said:

Can't wait for Barca-Celtic.

Obviously nobody will be giving the Bhoys a chance, but there'll be no pressure on them and the Scots usually thrive in an underdog situation.

Barca will find it hard playing in Glasgow, and you never know what could happen.

Can't wait to see McGeady up against their defense, he's been having a fantastic season.

As for Nakamura U_C, he's been injured for weeks now, but I get the impression he's fairly close to returning.

With the games not starting until late February, I'd say he'll be fit and will have got a few games under his belt by then.

If u live in ireland its a miracle becuase no one in ireland seems to know anything about the canucks as for football i think Arsenal AC Milan will be the most exciting game.

[Oranje]

evgeni_malkin, on Dec 21 2007, 05:33 PM, said:

If u live in ireland its a miracle becuase no one in ireland seems to know anything about the canucks as for football i think Arsenal AC Milan will be the most exciting game.

His location clearly says Victoria

[Cooke_Hart]

Celtic v Barcelona: I think this match up will be close because of Celtic's grit, recent CL experience, and their advantage in Glasgow but I just can't see them getting points in Nou Camp, particularly if it's a must win for Barca.

Lyon v Manchester United: It's been said that Lyon's not what they once were and I agree. I wonder if Juninho goes his merry way in the summer?

Schalke v Porto: The least interesting match up for me but that's mostly because of Porto who never fail to bore. I enjoy German footy so I hope that Schalke moves on and I think they can.

Liverpool v Internazionale: Liverpool's European pedigree vs. the best domestic team in Europe the last year and a half. I hate to say it (because I loathe Inter) but I think that the Italians are due for a run. It'll be tight though and Liverpool's best chance is to get a decent lead at Anfield which I don't think is out of the question.

Roma v Real Madrid: I was one of the ones who didn't think Lyon would get past Roma last year and I was surprised. Perhaps I'm still disrespecting them because I came away from that really seeing how far Lyon has fallen and I think Real Madrid's a better team then Lyon. This Madrid team isn't the Galacticos and they're a better squad then the one that won La Liga last year. If they win El Clasico against Barca this weekend they'll be in the driver's seat before the new year. Madrid's a handful this imo but I expect this tie to be exceptionally entertaining.

Arsenal v Milan: A really tough call, especially more so since Milan's domestic form is so poor but that's not so different then last season either. Basically my feeling is that learning how to win in Europe is the last step for this growing Arsenal team and although they showed a lot against Chelsea last week I think two weeks of Milan will be too much.

Olympiakos v Chelsea: I don't really know anything about Olympiacos but I do know Chelsea's a solid squad. Their key players out (Drogba and Terry) should be healthy by then and even if they aren't it's hard to imagine them losing.

Fenerbahce v Sevilla: This is another tough one for a couple of reasons. The death of their defender has seemed to really derail Sevilla's season and they've done quite poorly domestically. It's not out of the question that they'll lose their best player (Daniel Alves) in January either. Fenerbahce meanwhile has had some strong results so far this tournament and the intimidation of playing Turkey is well known. Their home field advantage may be bigger then Celtic's.


I can't help but notice Oranje that you didn't have any Italian teams pegged to go through. Is it possible there's a little bias going both ways?

[mattiasbrundin]

nerazzurri will hopefully, and rightfully, take it all... but we're talking about pazza inter and anything can happen. celtic may have a reinforcement of henrik larsson and with their biggest legend the team can find strength, especially morally, to actually rock barca's star parade.

also, the entire "england" vs "italy" is getting tired and crippled by inane assumptions and a lack of understanding for club football. you love a team and hate its local rivals. if you love inter you want ac fascista to lose. if you love man ure, you want the liverpudians to fail. it's about team colours, about passion, about something much bigger than the silly national league patriotism.

io sono interista!

[ChelseaFC]

Hmm....anybody else here watching the North London derby right now? I give the edge to the Yids in the first half, plenty of chances, lots of buzz in the Arsenal end, the Gooner defenders were all over the pitch trying to chase down the Yids instead of marking up.

[Oranje]

Cooke_Hart, on Dec 22 2007, 12:44 AM, said:

I can't help but notice Oranje that you didn't have any Italian teams pegged to go through. Is it possible there's a little bias going both ways?

It's sub-consciencely possible. The only tie that I think favours an Italian side is AC/ Arsenal. Milan has class and experience, but like I said before, being a Gunners fan, I don't want to pick against them. I did pick Nesta, Pirlo, Toni and Ancelotti for my team of the year on UEFA.com, so how bias am I really?

Liverpool and Inter are complete opposites when it comes to the CL. One overachieves, one underachieves, and I don't see that being any different this term.

This post has been edited by Oranje_1986: 22 December 2007 - 09:19 AM

[Oranje]

While we're on the topic of European Cup draws...

Quote

Uefa Cup last 32 draw in full:

Aberdeen v Bayern Munich

AEK Athens v Getafe

Bolton v Atletico Madrid

Zenit St. Petersburg v Villarreal

Galatasaray v Bayer Leverkusen

Anderlecht v Bordeaux

Brann v Everton

FC Zurich v Hamburger SV

Rangers v Panathinaikos

PSV Eindhoven v Helsingborgs

Slavia Prague v Tottenham

Rosenborg v Fiorentina

Sporting Lisbon v Basle

Werder Bremen v Braga

Benfica v FC Nurnberg

Marseille v Spartak Moscow

There are some great matches ups here. Atletico - Bolton, Leverkusen - Galatasaray, Pana - Rangers, Marseille - Spartak. I feel sorry for poor Aberdeen. The poor Scot teams never seem to get the luck of the draw. The Spurs got a fairly favourable draw in my opinion, although Slavia did hold Arsenal to a draw. Looks like a Bayern/ Everton final could be on the cards.

[Oranje]

double post

This post has been edited by Oranje_1986: 22 December 2007 - 09:18 AM

[mattiasbrundin]

Oranje_1986, on Dec 22 2007, 08:45 AM, said:

Liverpool and Inter are complete opposites when it comes to the CL. One overachieves, one underachieves, and I don't see that being any different this term.

... then i guess holland will have very small chances to actually ever win a world cup? after all, inter has a much more successful history in the european cups than holland in world cup.

[Oranje]

mattiasbrundin, on Dec 22 2007, 10:32 AM, said:

... then i guess holland will have very small chances to actually ever win a world cup? after all, inter has a much more successful history in the european cups than holland in world cup.

I've never said Holland are a favourite for a World Cup not even the upcoming Euro cup, and I'm the first one to say they underachieve. I've also been critical of their recent run of results and form.

This post has been edited by Oranje_1986: 22 December 2007 - 12:47 PM

[Scar Tissue]

Ukrainian_Canuck, on Dec 21 2007, 03:52 PM, said:

anyone know if nakamura is helathy yet?

maybe hel rain death on barca with his sublime free kicks like he did on manchester united last CL

perhaps if anyone forgot

1st leg at old traffort, nakamura makes it 2-2 just before the stroke of halftime
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=0wY4ZNBAJKQ

2nd leg, Nakamura takes celtic 1-0 up on manchester united with an AMAZING FK at celtic park
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=v8Xx2UpdvzY
sublime.

i will have an orgasm if Naka plays against Barca