₦airaland Forum

loyika:


In all my years of watching footie

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7255975.stm

What won't we hear/see again

Hopefully will give my views on the game much later But summary is; OUR ATTACKLINE WAS RUBBISH!!

GOONER 89

Dont have any biz posting here but Loyika, plssss give credit to whom it is due, Against the likes of Wigan, Birmingham,Derby with the way u poured forward and attacked , u would prolly have scored 7 goals like against Sparta Prague,

But oga u faced Milan, with excellent tactical positioning and dogged defending and u say ur attackline was rubbish, U should be saying , THEIR DEFENCE LINE IS OUT OF THIS WORLD,

Most neutrals i know gave Maldini (at 39) man of the match especially when he replaced the best CB in the world (Nesta) in the middle

Pls give credit to both sides of the 2 teams but especially to Milan's defence line, Thank you.

MILANISTA TILL I'M 6 FEET.

Liverpool fans have to thenk the Ref for his dismal first half performance.Sending Matrix off even though neither of the challenges were bookable offences.

He destroyed what could have been a fantastic game b/w 2 good sides.

ANywayz wetin concern me


FORZA RAGAZZI

Whoever has keen interest in italian football here would find the exploits of the Egyptians as nothing new. They are so technical and tactically disciplined.

In other words, teams do the playing while the Pharaohs do the scoring. Playing at the highst level in Europe means nothing when u play a tactical team like Egypt.

Nobody should ven try to play dat biased refereeing card.

Truth is our coach is taztically inept.

No pattern of play from his team and too many tactical errors.

At 1-1 Ghana a man down. Essien as a central defender, y still continue with 2 dfensive midfielders when he should have sacrificed one and gone for the kill. WHat did Apam do wrong in the first match??

AT least he kept Kalou quiet for the most part of the game and it was an unlucky ricochet that set the tone for his mazy run for IV's goal.Nwaneri is crap at right back.

He says our team is young.With the 30yr old Yak. Berti gimme a break.

@Dominique,

U need to take a stand as to what club ur heart beats for in Europe. MILAN OR ARSENAL,

No need to worry Milan will take the day.The UCL is Milan's territory and with Pato getting into gear it can only be better.

@Folahann

What things do u know are happening that will not make Milan make it??

How many Milan games have u watched this season??

Do u even see the players on a regular basis b4 u come to hasty conclusions??

With ur numerous posts i'm beginning to doubt ur understanding of the round leather game. Pls focus more on the premiership as i think it is what u get to see more often.

For the rest of Europe, i really doubt ur knowledge of the game in that regard.

All i can say is Berti Vogts is a tactically dead coach. All he can do is identify quality players that he's seen and put em on the field.

As per tactics and setting a pattern of play for a team he cant do it. ANother thing i'm angry about is that he let the public dictate his starting 11 for the Mali game. Every body shouted abt flanks,|Osaze(justifiably so) Uche and Nsofor and he caved in. This shows he's tactically dead. Imagine Nigeria playing long ball like a lower division team. What a shame

Ask Capello wherever he's been ppl always complain abt him being too defensive , playing 11 players behind the ball. But he never listens. Sunmtimes he loses, most times he wins. Not even the English press will dictate his team to him.

This has shamed NFA cuz Eguavoen and Siasia did way better last AFCON wne were in a tough group then too. If they are going to sack they should just revert to Egu and Siasia but only thing is they will not get the respect of the players and might end up inviting the ones they brought up from youth competitions as na dem go hear word.

A fit Obodo is better than Olofinjana in the holding role anytime. But truth is we are at a point in 9ja football where our players are not doing well enuff and we do not have the amt of talent as b4. Check the CAF top 3 players for the last 2 yrs.

No disrespect

But lets try as much as possible to start meaningful threads when we are disappointed with a loss.

Wat in the world is the meaning of this one bout U-17 boys

issue:
what has the so-called "bundle of skills" done in a green and white shirt? i believe he was given that nickname to add to the hype, because 1 single skill- i never see o

@ Issue,

I beg to differ.Obodo has been played out of position since he's been playing for Nigeria. Many coaches tend to believe he can play the role of a playmaker. At the last AFCON he was deployed to play on the right side of midfield.

Since he's been playing in the top flight of Italian football he has always been used a holding midfielder. He sure must be doing sumthing right in that position for Lazio to want to cough out close to 7MM $ this January for the signature of a player whos just returning to fitness.

He played in the holding role in our 3rd place match against Senegal at the last AFCON and he did very well. For me he's a better choice than Olofinjana and Etuhu plus he comes with UCL and top flight experience. I would have taken him to the AFCON even if he just returned to fitness for a week jo,

Does anyone know the coach's reason for not taking Obodo to the tourney As far as i'm concerned that guy is way better than Olofinjana and Etuhu even if he just started playing after a long time off.

Berti Vogts is just a normal coach.Nothing extraordinary about him. The only reason why i felt his presence would do us good was cuz he was white and internationally recognized.Our players tend to respect these coaches and behave better when they are in charge. Attacking wise he lacks the tactics but he has the options.

The debut we were all waiting for came and we all saw why CA and Berlusconi have been shouting and screaming about Pato's talent.

Like i have stated in other Milan forums, the system with 2 strikers wit Kaka and Seedorf behind them will fit our style of play at home while the other method suits tough away games where we would be relying on exploiting spaces left by opposing teams.

Pato is incredibly gifted at his young age.Lets hope he can keep it up while working on his stamina.The KA-PA-RO trident will definitely break any defence in the world.

@Dayokanu,Gabriel

Glad to know that u guys saw the game yesterday. STadium filled to capacity cuz of the debut of an 18 yr old and he didnt disappoint.\


Just hope Ronaldo can stay fit so that we can continue with this trident.

Do these Arsenal fans know who Pato is sef I do not think so.

dominique:
fellow milan fans,

if you look at the serie A table. you'll see that milan is about 3 games behind the rest cus of club world cup (which they won). i believe they'll bounce back to the top. my top five is

inter
milan
juve
roma
udinese

you'll see

@ Dominique

I wish i had the type of ur faith and belief at this moment.Mlan finishing second will be one hell of a miracle.

i have belief our performances will improve from January though.

Galliani has stated again that we will not buy players in Jan. With our evident needs in attack and defence. I jus pray it's a gimmick he is playin on the press. I doubt if Amauri will be sold to us given the Luca Toni fiasco and kowing Zamparini.

I think Serie A this season will be better than last season which should be a worry for Milan's hopes of fi nishing in the top 4.

Sides like the Viola,Udinese and Napoli are playing brilliant football at the moment.

Make January come fast.Lets see what Pato can do even if i feel he is being overhyped. A couple performances will tell but he's got quality i must admit.

Another loss to Inter today. I cant stand my Nerazzuri friends as they would tear me apart. 3 victories in a row is bad for Milan.Too many defensive errors. It's easy to blame Dida for the seecond goal but should Maldini be heading a clearance ball like dat.

Cruz's goal again i dont know how he managed to squeeze the shot past all those defenders. They will blame it on jetlag.But we deserved a p[enalty at 1-0 when Cambiasso brought down Kaka.

Guys, we need Amauri or Anelka in january to help Pato. Dont know if Ronaldo will come back.

I's just so disappointed. We deserved at least a draw in dat game. But Inter are a formidable side i must say. All the years of work by Mancio and the players are starting to gel.

Fantastic Draws and muth watering clashes to look forward to.

Let me dissect,

I feel Intern and Barca are the best sides in Europe at the moment. Inter's lack of experience by the coach and players at this level might be their undoing. But if they can beat Liverpool i believe they are good enuff for the final. The team has so much depth mancio can even afford to rest ibra these days. I would give this one to Inter

Barca will whitewash Celtic no doubt about that.

Roma Madrid will be a tricky one especially if roma get all their players back.I'm taqlkin bout Aquilani,Perotta,Taddei and play their brilliant passing game. They could kill Madrid at the Olimpico. But Madrid have been devastating at the Bernabeu this term. I would give this one to Roma.

I also expect Porto to finish off Schalke.It wont be entertaining but Porto deserve to be in the second round and will seal their entry into the quarter finals.

Lyon vz Man U will also be a cracker. The red devils won all their matches en route to this stage buttttttt this will be their toughest match so far in the competition especially if Lyon have a fit Benzema and Ben Arfa on the flanks they could cause damage. But i fancy Man United to scle thru this one based on their attacking strength. When u have the likes of Rooney,Saha,Tevez,Nani and Ronaldo going forward. Lyon have a poor defence i must say.

Sevilla vz Fenerbahce will also be entertaining believe me. Who has been watching what dat boy Alex has been doing for the Turkish outfit. But i trust Sevilla, with the manpower they have especially with the form of Fabiano and Keita this season to do the job.


Chelsea should have no problems beating Olympiacos home and away. They are the big team with the easiest draw.


Arsenal fans would look back to last yr when they had the draw of facing a depleted Madrid side without focus and a Juve side that were not organized and will say yes they can do it again and make it to the finals. But when u are paired against 3 time finalists in the UCL (who were denied a place in 2006 finals by the ref who disallowed Sheva's goal against barca),current holders and current world champions who have the best player in the world in their books, most promising prospect who will be unleashed in january in their books,old legs who have come up against the Asafa Powell's of football with their tired legs and come out unscathed, then i think they should have a re-think, pat their young lads on the shoulders for making it this far and start thinking about next yr's edition.

This Milan side is diiferent. They are having a miserable campaign in the domestic scene. But in europe they are a different side entirely. It's like they approach it with a different mentality. I pray all the talk about Pato in training will come alive on the pitch even though i saw his clas first hand at the youth champiosnhip. Add Kaka into the mix and then u will have a 2 man wrecking army with Seedorf guiding them from behind. The midfield trio of |Ringhio,Pirlo and Ambrosini will stifle the sleek passing moves of any side in the world.
U know my money is on Milan to take this one,get to the final and give Maldini a perfect sending off.

I have my fears tho as Fabregas comes alive in the big games unlike Henry. But i believe we can get a decent result maybe a 1-nil win at the Emirates and finish off at the San siro 2-nil. I trust Ancelotti as the tactician he is to start studying their tapes now and devise ways of neutralizing their game. I feel we will make the most of our set pieces at the Emirates, We will carry the day, no long talk.

When you talk of coaches available for the job, only sumone like Marcelo Lippi ranks high up there with Don Fabio. Not even Mourinho's record can match up.

Don Fabio's record speaks for itself. he has won everywhere he's been. I do not like the English team but it's hard for me to say they wont win with Fabio in charge. He has nothing else to prove except maybe to win at international level. The British press will be hectic but can never influence Fabio's choices and he will be very strict. Ask Totti,Cassano and Del Piero about him and they will tell you he doesnt look at names when picking his teams but fitness and adherence to his tactics.

For me he's my best coach in the world. But i'd hate to see him coach the English team to glory but with Fabio u kno there is an 80% chance of dat happening. Has it been announced he's got the job yet by the way??

davidif:
The Euros is the real World Cup, UEFA should just Brazil and Argentina to this competition and let the rest of the world forget the fifa world cup, because in earnesty, i would rather watch France vs. Holland than watch Togo vs. Costa Rica. Also for those who say the French would never be as good as when they had "zizou" are probably right, but now they have new exciting players Youann Gourcuff, Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Karim Benzema (highest goalscorer in the french league), the italians only have di Natale.

Oga if u know little about Italian football y dont u just not talk about it.

How can u say the Italians have just Di Natale? Ridiculous. Except u r trying to be funny. i will be waiting to see the defence line of Holland that will not leak goals that will send em out of this competition. If they parade the likes Bouma, Melchiot,Ooijer in their backline,

lordimpaq:
italy is a good team no doubt about that,

but holland is a better team

and france is even more excellent,

do you really think italy deserved to win the world cup, they were almost nipped in the bud by australia, they merely scrapped through france,

and they just managed to qualify for euro 2008, and you are telling me that they would win the cup, bollocks, utter bollocks, utter crap, and even bigger shyte

If u say that Holland are a better side, fine it's ur opinion

France even more excellent?, splendid opinion,


But that they didnt deserve to win the world cup and "managed" to qualify for Euro 2008 by winning their group.

What u r telling me is that u r still angry with the Italian  that chap stole ur girlfriend, LOL

Remember almost does not kill a bird, fact is they won against the Aussies not that they were alomost nipped in the bud.

Please give them the full credit they deserve

On a neutral note,

I think first six would be

Inter
Juve
Roma
Milan
Fiorentina
Udinese

But i would love a
Milan
Juve
Inter
Roma
Fiorentina
Napoli

Top 4 just like old times with inter at 3rd LOL.

All that needs to happen to udinese is for Natale to pick an injury. Fiorentina have started slumping already and Roma's too many injury prone players will be their bane.

Inter have so much quality. They can pair players in several ways in attack and still get the result. Napoli's players are still young and need to learn despite their bright start to the campaign. I feel the likes of hamsik and lavezzi will tire as the season progresses.

Kaka shouldnt have played yesterday. But having Seedorf out meant he had to do overtime. And he was visbly tired as his performance highlighted. Good game from Bonera when he came on. And Nesta was superb.

Good to see Gila scoring and Ronaldo back.Oddo was awful yesterday.I think the formation with 2 attackers gives us plenty options in attack. Just hope we can keep the momentum.

What a freekick from Andrea Pirlo!!!!

No side on this earth is as tactically disciplined as the italian side.

Scotland did all the running but they did the scoring.

The technical ability of their players is so amazing. They are so technically gifted and i think by now everyone knows the best coaches come from Italy.

Catch Cagliari vs Milan live at 3 pm today on Rai or supersport 210

Ronaldo and Gila to start

I had a dream about a Milan partnership next year that will shake the world of football.

This partnership will be called 'ROPATO". Watch out.

On a bad note, another weekend of chaos in the italian league


http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/nov11g.html

Who saw Ibracadabra's goal yesterday??

[quote author=I-man link=topic=82464.msg1637155#msg1637155 date=1193857339]What about Drogba playing for Fullham?You no remember that one? [/quote]LOL @ I-Man .

The guy prolly thinks we are discussing ESPN Fantasy Football here. Pls forgive him.

I really feel the Dutch Master Van Basten could have been one of the best strikers ever if not for that injury.


One player that can be easily compared to him now is Zlatan Ibracadabra. Do u know that Fabio Capello used to show Ibra, Van basten clips just so he could model his game like his. And i must say they play alike but Ibra still has a lot to prove.

What about the great Fiorentina squad that had Batigol, Rui Costa,Toricelli (before he moved Juve) Abel balbo. Was it Marchegianni in Fiorentina or at Lazio. I think it was Lazio anyway. Fio had Giovanni the Trap at the helm then and he did well for them.

Amoruso and Bierhoff was a deadly one. But who remembers Vialli and Ravanelli for Juventus Even Del Piero and Pippo was a prolific partnership. Then u had Crespo and Lopez for Lazio. Can we rewind the hands of time somebody?? The football played in those days use to be out of this world. Even Montella and Mancini at Sampdoria.

When i look at some young players in the serie a now.i feel those days of fantastic strong clubs and players could come back. Check out these young and hot players, I pray premiership clubs dont woo them away with big money offers

Lavezzi of Napoli. This guy is just 22 and just arrived from San Lorenzo in Argentina and has been playing wonderful football. Napoli fans think he is the next maradona. He is too much. Who saw the recent Napoli Juve game??

Hamsik of Napoli again. This smallie is just 20 and from Slovakia. The first time i saw him was in Serie b last season when i was following Juve. He was in Brescia under the volatile Serse Cosmi and this lad caught my eye with excellent displays in serie b. i thot he would struggle to adapt to serie a but look at what he has done for Napoli already.

Walter Gargano of Napoli again 23 yrs. Napoli try for dem transfer campaign o. Who saw Gargano's goals against Roma and against Juve. i dont know which one to pick for current goal of the season. He will go places

Alberto Aquilani. All the talk here has been about Iniesta and Fabregas. But Aquilani is just right up there just that he has been affected by a hash of injuries lately and seems injury prone. has made the senior team and is a wonderful player. Arsenal desperate need him but dont think they will he wants to be a romanista for life

Others are Ricardo Montolivo of Fiorentina and his friend Giampaolo Pazzini, Rosina of Torino, Antonio Nocerino of Juve, matteo Paro of Genoa, and lets not forget the little Giovinco of Juve but has been loaned to Empoli. This guy is about barely 5ft tall but makes up for it in skill,trickery,speed and football sense.

Not Surprising no smallie to talk about in Milan cuz we know d problem with them.

I can smell the glory days coming back again if these premiership clubs steer clear. Guys your other suggestions for young players who might bring back these moments.

@ Sage,

Remember Bruno N'gotty and Desailly gave their best football to Milan before they came to retire in England LOL. O ALbertini, one of the best dead ball specialists i have ever seen in my life. Do u remember Maurizio GanzzLOL Bierhoff in Euro 96 and in Milan.How many goals did he ever score with his foot seff. He could use his head very well.Leonardo and redondo.

. Remember Weah's goal when he took the ball from our area and scored. Wat team was that again. Was it not Parma?? Sheva's goal against Juve in 2000. Glorious moments.

Where are the Bergomi's of this world, the Toricelli's Angelo di livio's, Franco Baresi (the best defender i have seen in my entire life).Roberto Baggio(the LovePeddler cuz he slept with Juve,Inter and Milan), What ever happened to ivan Zamorano?? Pierluigi Casiraghi.Roberto Mancini at lazio and Vieri too when he was Vieri.Remember the Parma squad that had Thuram,Cannavaro,Buffon,Morfeo,Crespo too.LOL. The real glory days of Italian football.

I miss those days o guyz.

dayokanu:
We Had Bixente Lizarazu who did not play the final due to suspension replace bt Michael Tarnat ,I think Markus Babbel was right back, Lotthar Matthaus, Mario Basler,

Matthaus was subbed for Torsten Fink and Basler was subbed too when the crumble began. Jeremies also played

Damnnnn. Michael tarnat and Elber. Do you know i forgot these players completely.LOL. I know Elber left for Lyon right. He struggled for form and with injuries What happened to tarnat. Wasnt he the midfielder with a blistering left foot|??Players don miss ooo.

tkb417:
@I-man, Sage,Gabrielgb,Hustler,Dayokanu
The problem we have with people watching the EPL is just that too many Arsenal fans believe their players are the best in the world. Left to me, Iniesta is a better player compared to Fabregas but we just can't take it away from Fabregas. he has been a superb player this season and im sure Aragones will start looking his way in order to make him more prominent.


The Serie A obviously has got arrays of talents, peeps like Totti,kaka,Pirlo,Seedof, Buffon are players that can light up any game anytime and we saw what happened to my dear United when only Kaka and Seedof, and Gatusso took us to the cleaners. But you guys, what do you think about the Bundesliga?
Can you sit down and watch a game between hamburg and Stuttgart?


@Dayokanu
Bolaoni i think is a United fan. Hes not a Gaynner

A game between Hamburg and stuttgart??WHy not. Growing up i remember when i used to watch bundesliga highlights on NTA.the n i loved dortmund with players such as Andreas Moeller and one of the best players i have seen from Germany, Mathias Sammer.Bundesliga is not that bad its just that ppl dont get to see enuff of it.Dont remember the last time i saw a live bundesliga match.

I know i saw a cpl last season.ITs amazing that the entire EPL didnt know Berbatov until he came last season. To me he was just one of the numerous quality players in the german league.But in the EPL he has become a KING.Na wa o.What about if the likes of Diego,Lincoln,Frings,Mario Gomez, decide to come to the EPL.

WHat ever happened to players like Mario Basler,Andreas Moeller. I know Sammer used to coach Dortmund at one time.Lars Rickler,Alex Zickler.

WHats Rudi Voeller up to these days

@Dayokanu

This present Bayern squad could become the best ever .Or what do u think. THough i prefer the one that narrowly lost to Man U in 1999.Effenberg??,Jancker,Scholl,Kuffour,a young and fit Kahn who else was in dat squadWAs Linke and Alexander Zickler in dat squad?Where is Jens Jeremies by the way?? Too bad Deisler had to quit. He was promising. Is Andreas Ottl still around. He is promising too.I think u guys should loan Podolski out so it doesnt turn to a bad situation there.

I feel they had the best transfer campaign.Just look at the no of goals your "Kloni" have scored in b/w them. We really miss those scenes of Luca Toni winding his ears in Serie A.

Well said I-man and Sage.

The sad thing in Nigeria now is that everyone thinks football is Arsenal,Liverpool,Chelsea or Man United. Problem is most of these ppl are even fake fans who just had to join the bandwagon when the DST craze stated. How can you have a Liverpool fan who doesnt know John BarnesA Man u fan who never knew Jaap Stam played there.How many chelsea fans were there before Abramovich.

How many Arsenal fans were there before they became a challeniging force in 97 or was it 98 when they won and Anelka was still there.Nowadays drive in Lagos and every car ether has a sticker of Man U,Chelsea,LIverpool or Arsenal. Not that i feel bad bout them not following other quality leagues just that majority of these ppl think EPL is the beginning and end of football. I was so mad in the lst UCL when ppl only stated shouting Kaka after the 2 legged affair with Man United. All the talk before was about Ronaldo and it took Ricky one game to have dem change their minds. They dont even know what other kind of games he played in his league.

PPl in here should try and broaden their understanding of the game and knowledge of quality players by following other leagues instead of thinking that the ones they see and follow everyday are the best.

I look at the Napoli team and how it is shaped around Hamsik(20) Lavezzi(22) and Gargano(23) and i say what a wondefrl transfer campaign they have had. Are we showing too much respect to the veterans, we dont want to make em feel bad and just "dump" them. But wat about the introduction of the next generation for christ's sake. lets have some youth.

Mix Gamberini with Nesta in the centre and have Darmain play some games in the league to make him mature.Relegate Favalli and SImic permanenetly to the bench or sell them. CA u cant please everybody. Serginho and Caf are still useful in a way.Cafu cant sill run like a train every 1 in 4 agames that he appears and Serginho can whip in those harmful crosses from the left. Ronaldo will be back soon and will be gone soon again(no cursing).Pato is too yung to put all dat pressure on. How about Anelka in Jan to hellp us in the league.

Good to see Gila playing well.He will come good.Pippo can be saved for the big european nights.We need a midfielder to understdy Seedorf since CA thinks Gourcuff is doing a bad job at it. We really need to be playing with 2 strikers in the league and i in UCL since thats what works there. Realistically we should just be playing for the 4th spot in serie a this season as it's too late.

Braida and Galliani should know that they have work to do in January and not just to go and tan their skins in south america under the guise of scouting in january or have they also lost it?A couple good siginigs in January will help answer this.

The story of our serie a season so far. Second consecutive home loss. Just like last season whem we lost to Palermo and Roma at home consecutively.

Dis season we have lost to Empoli and Roma at home consecutively. No scudetto to fight for.Just the 4th place as far as i am concerned.

We need re-nforcements come January.An attacker and 2 defenders