CL Last 16

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Some cracking games this week, Barca/City and Bayern/Arsenal. Can't see past Bayern and Barca wins. Pellegrini has said he'll attack Barca and I say do so at your peril. This may not be the Barca side from 2010-2012 but its still a very very good side with players in form currently, namely Fabregas, Sanchez and with a returning Messi back in the goals. There's a chance that if they go in with two strikers that they could get torn to pieces. I think against Barca you have to play a 5 man midfield. They keep the ball too well and will just pass their way through you.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:This team don't have the heart Duty.

I suspect like others that they are resigned to the fact they will play somewhere else next season.

Do they look like a team fighting for their jobs?

This is entirely plausible. I mean, Vidic knows he is off next season, Evra the same too as well as Rio. there's 3 of the back 4. Not saying they aren't giving 100% but I think genuinely allot of players have given up on this season, which is why people like Jones/Evans/Fellaini/Januzaj etc need to be playing often as they have a future at the club. Zaha should still be here as imo, I would want shot of Valencia and Young on the wings!!

If you watch our football it is clealy evident that as a team we don't belong in the CL.

What United do is string a few passes together at the back and then someone sends a hopeful cross up to the front 2 that gets intercepted easily and the move breaks down. Rubbish.

Watch Barca. That ball never leaves the ground from the defense to attack. They pass and move untill they are in your 6 yard box proper football.

This is why England will never get close to the World cup.

#MoyesDeservesANewContract
#300kAWeek  

Better sides have gone out the CL in the group stage then United bar Shaktar wasn't a difficult group tbh.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:This team don't have the heart Duty.

I suspect like others that they are resigned to the fact they will play somewhere else next season.

Do they look like a team fighting for their jobs?

Very true. This season, it would appear, has already been written off.

Barring a comeback, which would take an effort that Moyes' side don't seem to be willing to give presently, United's season will be, effectively, over in three weeks.

Worst performance in Greece since Shane Ritchie played Danny Zuko

Roy Keane is the best pundit on TV by a mile.

Needs to get out of ITV ASAP, does Roy!!!

Game isn't over yet, but im sorry to be so blunt, but simply that United squad just won't do it. No belief, some average players, and just not good enough to score 3 goals against a decent team.

Dortmound also through. Most games already look done and dusted.

GSC wrote:Roy Keane is the best pundit on TV by a mile.

Yeah, agree.

Andy Goldstein hilarious tonight on TalkSport. Moyes has been clueless all season. Total shambles United, complete implosion of a club. Players heads have gone, nobelief in the manager at all. Moyes rests Adnan, drops his £27m signing for a huge tie, buys n plays Mata out of position, fails to understand Cleverley should be flipping burgers.......its endless the mistakes. United concede, Moyes just sits back in his chair & closes his eyes. Clueless. Ferguson would of been ripping a##holes.

How on earth can he stay n be trusted to spend £100m in the summer? Astonishing. United need a Van Gaal or someone with authority. Embarrassing mess.

What are you banging on about John?

United were just unlucky.....

 

gazzyD wrote:Worst performance in Greece since Shane Ritchie played Danny Zuko

   

Why he didn't start Kagawa is beyond me.

He was the only one that knew how to pass and MOVE.

This has been one of the worst knock out rounds of the CL that I can remember. Thank god for dortmund v. Zenit. Basically every tie is decided in the first match, redcards ruining good ties.

As for United, I am no fan of United but lets give Olympiacos some credit. They are a tough team to play in that stadium. They have beaten Arsenal 3 times in that stadium and made it this far. No they aren't a great team, but they are a tough team to play on the road. I wouldn't be surprised if United beat them in the next tie they are not out of it yet.

That being said United's failure to buy any quality players other than RVP for a number of years has come back to bite them. It is easy to point the finger at Moyes. He shouldn't let cleverly see the field, he should play Fellaini and Januzaj. But frankly, United have not added very much other than RVP who is now ageing and injury prone like he has been his whole career in the last couple of years. Look at their lineup, there are a lot of overrated and average players or players who are long past their best football. There is plenty of blame to go around, for moyes, for the players, and for the personnel people who have not really kept the talent streaming in the last couple of years.

It remains to be seen is this liverpool in the early 90s or is United set to reload, frankly I can't predict which way it will go. Yes they are huge club, but they don't have super rich owners who are ready to splash the cash. They are not the big money team in the league anymore. And not being in the CL will hurt them, more likely than not they will be back to their winning ways soon, but there is no guarantee and it could go either way.

as a united fan think i bet against my team for the first time last night had 2-1 to them at 14-1, couldnt even get that right!! rvp miss cost me!!

saw this coming a mile off, were terrible under moyes. sooner he goes the better. the fans have been fantastic all season but enoughs enough, would all these fans jump off a bridge if fergie said so?

Have a feeling it could be a nil niler tonight in Istanbul! Chelsea packing the midfield and usually happy to just play on the counter and Gala aren't a team who score a lot of goals.

What an annoying game.

Chelsea are really looking sloppy at the end of this.

Mancini has a great shape.

Shalke smashed,

Watch the Schalke game on Sky1 Mysti much better it's 6-1 to Madrid now   

I turned over and couldn't believe it. Cant wait for the highlights

I watched the Madrid game.
Some amazing goals in that one.
Bale's first goal was special. Ronaldo's first was even better but Schalke scored something even more spectacular.

That was almost as bad as last night, only difference is the British team will be reasonably happy.

Bale and Ronaldo just on #flames

Bale has 100% justified his fee IMO, such a legend that guy!!!

Chelsea great result for them. Yes the goal was softer than mash potato, but drawing 1-1 away with an away goal, is decent, very decent. Thought they played very well as well.

Least all being well, we should have one English team in the quarter finals!

Schalke are awful, Leverkusen have been too this season! Fair enough they both got through their groups but that's down to their high seedings more than anything else! As much as the Bundesliga craze has gone on the last couple of seasons these teams are normally very tough to put away at home but have been humiliated 3 or 4 times this season. If you look at the Schalke team they have Huntelaar, Farfan, Draxler, Meyer, Boateng, Goretzka etc yet are utterly hopeless, the defense of the two sides is non existant. The second round ties have been rubbish so far, can't think of any tie that isn't pretty much over bar possibly the Chelsea Gala tie.

I know we can be very disapointed by our teams.. But schalke and Bayer are shocking..

Lets not forget Man U beat Bayer 9-2 over 2 legs either!

and I think chelsea beat schahlke 6-0

I have a sneaky feeling that the one team that can turn this around is Man citeh at the fortress Nou camp..

Can United turn it around at Old Trafford?

It's all down to Tom Cleverley.....

I could see a 2-0 and overtime i suppose..

its certainly not impossible

Overtime - sorry sounding like a Yank!!

Talking about Hockey has messed with my mind

http://www.tomcleverley23.com/

Look how Tom Cleverley spins that ball on his finger. Look! It's poetry in motion.

"If you're a Tom Cleverley fan then why not join the club. Register for free to stay in touch." - Indeed...

I hope you have the cleanex out duty!

Yea meant to mention Man United, they have a chance but they I just can't see them not conceding, being so bad at the back so they will have to score four. No chance City come back, they are useless in Europe, i think Cardiff could have qualified from their group.

Hopefully we get a couple of new bundesliga sides in next year, like the look of Wolfsburg with young Arnold, Dost, Gustavo, De Bruyne, Rodriguez, with their money and a good finish to the season they have every chance of being the clear best third team in Germany. I'd class Schalke and Leverkusen as the worst teams left in the comp, they shouldn't be with their players but how can you justify conceding so many goals at home so many times. Real Madrid had won once in 15 attempts in Germany then win 6-1, somethings gone badly wrong..

well if united conceade they would need to win 4-1

cant see that.

they have to keep it tight somehow!!

mystiroakey wrote:I hope you have the cleanex out duty!

Tom Cleverley? Nahhh...

Now Januzaj on the other hand...

Schalke were shocking but wow, what a goal from Huntelaar. As sweet a strike as you'll ever see.


.

Duty281 wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:I hope you have the cleanex out duty!

Tom Cleverley? Nahhh...

Now Januzaj on the other hand...

Thats a bit more classy Duty. Good stuff

mystiroakey wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:I hope you have the cleanex out duty!

Tom Cleverley? Nahhh...

Now Januzaj on the other hand...

Thats a bit more classy Duty. Good stuff

Yep I'm going for the much more cultured Belgian/Albanian/Kosovo/English/Serbian/Turkish lad, or something.

Is he allowed to represent anymore? Ireland, most probably.

you need to tap him up and make him claim allegiance to the great England

Not for England, he goes down more than Ashley Young...which isn't necessarily a disadvantage with *cough* certain things.

Tell you what, looking at Ronaldo's output and Marketability, there's no way in a million Sundays Bale is worth 86m... but he's been in ridiculous form over the last six weeks

All the group winners except Man U and Chelsea won their away first legs. Some handsomely.

United are the worst side left in the competition, imagine what Madrid would have done to us. A year on from losing to the odd goal with 10 men.

PL being shown up really, I think the league continues to be really low on quality.

Bundesliga, well this is what happens when you only have 1 big club - they buy all the good players in the league. Occasionally another side will pop up and win the odd thing but within 2 years Bayern will have taken all their best players. At least there are 2 teams in Spain.

"United are the worst side left in the competition"


the reality is you arnt.


You might be down on your team- but the lesser german two are a league even below you. 


As a PL supporter i am infinitely happier with our teams and leagues than theres - . I mean Bayern are 20 points ahead after 20 games.. And one of the CL teams got beat over 2 legs 9-2 by the shockingly poor united the other has been smashed 12-1 in 3 games v chelsea and madrid!!


citeh and arsernal were very matched v the best two teams in the world with 11 men..


swansea not being out classed by napoli- we have quality all over- its just the top 3 are above our teams..

The premier league is the best in terms of competitiveness no doubt, in terms of the top leagues anyway,but the quality in Europe the last few seasons has been really poor. Besides Chelsea's park the bus win a couple of years back no side has shown any great form since probably Man United in 2011 and in this round they have been rubbish again, Arsenal were great for 15 minutes but they could never keep that up the whole game and were starting to get hemmed in before the red card, City were playing the worst Barca side in ten years yet showed no ambition, kept them out right enough but Sociedad a few days after completely dominated the game in a way City weren't even close too. I don't know if it's mentality, quality or both but there's a long way to catch up, some of the sides are playing dinosaur football with no pressure on the ball, poor control and no control of possession.

arserrnal were up in the game before the sending off incident. they were still attacking its just bayern were getting back into it them selves.

very even before the red card.

Look this is no League bias - but the truth is there are 3 top teams.

two of them played against two of our best 3 and beat them - but didn't beat them in a way to suggest they are leagues ahead. and both had a man advantage

thats it.

Man U have just melted but are still far from being the worst team left- far from it.

Since last year everyone was trying to say the the PL had lost it- they were saying the Bundes was by far the best.

Truth is the PL have the best competitive league but miss out on the top 3 teams.. 

but that sadly comes with the territory.

Our teams will find it so much harder to become Barcas, madrids or bayerns- because our league has real challengers fighting for players- we have high quality contenders. We rarely sell each other our talent.. There is real clear big club bias in Germany and even in Spain. Sadly I am expecting athletico to fall soon enough as well. Due to there big two's brand strength.

Dont be so hard on the PL- It is the best domestic league out there- and with a bit of luck and a more favourable draw we have teams that can still win the CL for years to come- even if our job is so much harder due to having  REAL competition in our league. If Bayerns players were spread out-would they be so good? but I tell you what i might actually watch the bundes instead!!

people cant see this what is becoming an inifinite problem of having a top CL side.. It comes from a bad domestic league in the first place.. When Man u were winning constantly and competing year in year out in europe and winning the odd one they also dominated our league..

Sadly its becoming one or the other these days..

I never said it wasn't the best league Mysti, in terms of competitiveness and excitement i would say it is. Problem is in Europe that doesn't cut the mustard, so some of the sides can be competitive for 40 minutes at home against the best sides in Europe ,that's all it is, I don't see any of the sides with even close to enough quality to win the Champions league. In a one off tie they could get through but they could just as easily be knocked out in the next round, none of the teams command a game, they can't keep hold of the ball. Even Chelsea's result the other night shows the gulf in quality, Madrid won 6-1 in Instanbul and Chelsea scrape a draw and it's seen as a great result, the top sides are in the competition but imo at the moment none are contender, i'd back a team like PSG to beat the lot of them.

The only result that makes the PL look bad is United. Arsenal and City has ten men against teams that could beat them by the same scores 11 v 11. Chelsea drawing at Galatasaray was a good result. We went to Fenerbache and lost 2-1 in the last 16 1st leg in 2008, when the PL was in it's prime and had three semi finalists.

Monty you are missing the key ingredient.

give man united, man citehs and totnehams players.

give Chelsea Liverpool evertons and arsernals.

what do you end up with.

a rubbish league and two dead certs for the cl finals...

its tougher for pl sides. Yet they are still not rubbish.

and our teams are still competing very well. You are misinterpreting results v Bayern and seriously underestimating barca.

I'm not misinterpreting the results, at the end of the day it really doesn't matter about your domestic league, it's just an excuse, with the money at these teams disposals surely they can have a more rounded squad capable of competing on both fronts, they did it a few years ago. It's not like the Bundesliga has always been a one horse race in fact it has the most competitive top league for the last decade with constantly changing top fours and 5 different winners, it's only been the last year and a half it' became a procession. Between the four they played two average sides and two very good sides, but they managed one goal in those four matches, simply not good enough.

there is no excuse. You are just being way to harsh on some teams that are not only way up there but do not have the support of the rest of there league like the no.1 team in Germany does and the top 2 in Spain have..

PL all the way..

Chelsea could still win this Comp. and I can see Citeh really getting close to barca.. They should play with zero fear.