₦airaland Forum

Wenger talks a good game but his actions are starting to do him in. U can't keep bamboozling players, telling them u are serious about winning, sign them, and put them on a pitch with denilson, diaby, bendtner, and the likes.

His players are now under-g telling him to get his act together, or else.

May be too late tho. I doubt arsenal can attract the kind of players they will need to compete, considering they won't be willing to pay up, either in transfer fees, or the high salary demands of top players.

So I guess it's time for "the little engine that almost could, part 7"

slimshay:
Krayola please can we continue this argument when Barca and Real agree to share TV money with the rest of the Spanish league? Lets see whether you will add 40million + Eto'o to waste on Ibrahimovic without thinking .

You talk as if that monetary advantage is limited to Spanish transactions only. It also means Madrid and Barca can go for the best players in Europe to compliment their team and even sometimes to even raise the standard of the team.

True. I'm not disputing any of that. All I'm saying is that this has been the case just in the last few seasons, and the situation was similar in the EPL just a few years back. Of course Barca and Madrid are totally dominating La Liga right now but the other teams will take time to adjust. Some Arab money is in Malaga now and I'm pretty sure Valencia might follow soon. Looking at 2 seasons and and making all sorts of claims is, in my view, not the way to go when assessing things like this.  

Barca has had recent success against EPL teams in the Europe, but trust me it won't last much longer. These things happen, teams dominate for a while, then the others step up and bring them back to earth. Thats just how it goes. See how we destroyed Arsenal 2 seasons ago, and look how they played us this past season. The difference was night and day.

slimshay:
Dont you think it is even funny you are comparing top 2 against top 4? Your arguiments falls flat if you compare top 4 against top 4. The Spanish league is way lopsided and it has carried on into Europe. You wanna speculate as to how much of a force a team like ManU will be if it shared 75% of premiership largesse with say Chelsea?

The teams negotiate their own media deals and what they get depends on how successful they are. That, technically, isn't unfair, it's business. I understand that it gives us a significant advantage, and I as a fan want to see the other teams do better.

As for the top 4 thing, My argument is that we see more variety in the top 4 in spain than we do in England. Barca and Madrid owning the top 2 spots permanently all season is a recent development which I expect to change with time. We've always had the financial advantage, but things haven't always been like this. Barca just turned up the heat and Madrid had to respond to save their rep and prestige.


This Nairaland fit suck person in to the point wey him no go use him life do anything again.   Abeg I dey go chase money

It should have been 05-06. I was in a hurry. My point remains tho. And maybe you should be disputing that rather than some petty irrelevant stuff as what year it was . I'll edit it now.

I meant league title. That I am urinating all over you doesn't mean you should throw away the principle of charity. You know what I meant. 

I'll be back. Go and watch some Barca and Madrid games meanwhile. 

coogar:
stop embarrassing yourself. . . .success = winning titles. otherwise, arsenal wouldn't be getting the stick they get on nairaland about being trophyless. how can a club be successful without trophies?


i am beginning to think i have overestimated your nous. . . .so what is a successful season without titles?

Only one team can win a title. That is absolute. Success, my friend, comes in degrees. Everton making the UEFA cup will be a successful season. Tottenham qualifying for the CL will be a successful season. Liverpool finishing 5th can be called an unsuccessful season, them not making Europe at all will be a failure. Teams know they can't always win the title and set benchmarks with which they measure success. Like this season, Barca's benchmark was to make the Semi's of the CL and finish in the top two. Maybe for fans of the big clubs all that matters is trophies, and that is a reason why we tease Arsenal, but IMO to say success is only measured in trophies is a misrepresentation of reality.  Everybody cuts their coat according to their size. SO when Osasuna, Sevilla, Villareal, Atletico Madrid  make the CL, I think I am right to say they have had successful seasons. If they beat Barca or Madrid to the title, they would have had exceptional seasons.

coogar:
we have a constant top four in england, you have a constant top 2 in spain - more evidence that la liga is a 2-man team. in england, you have a huge gulf between the top four teams and the rest of the league. in la liga, you have a huge gulf between the top 2 teams and the rest of the league.

Barca finished outside the top two just 4 seasons ago. 10 points behind Pellegrini's Villarreal. I believe if Madrid didn't snatch their coach away, Villarreal would still be one of the top teams in Spain.

The recent gulf between the top 2 teams is mainly because both giants happen to have the strongest squads around right now. Pep has built a squad that has dominated all of Europe, and Madrid spent silly money to keep up. I believe both teams will dominate any league in Europe right now. It will take a little bit of time for the other teams to catch up. And by other teams I mean even the English giants, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Spain is currently King of football whether you like it or not and it's mainly because of Barca and Madrid's super squads.

coogar:
man city(3rd) and chelsea(2nd) tied on points last season. . . . .valencia(3rd) and real madrid(2nd) were separated by a whooping 21 points.
arsenal(3rd) and man utd(2nd) had 10 points difference in 09/10. . .valencia(3rd) and real madrid(2nd) were separated by 25 points.
surely, you are a joke!

Two season before that Arsenal(4th) and Liverpool (3rd) tied in points. Both 15 points behind 2nd place Chelsea and a whopping 21 points behind Manchester United
In 05-06 Chelsea ran away with it, beating united by 8 points Liverpool by 9, and Arsenal by a whopping 24 points. The gap between the champs and the last placed team was a mind blowing 76 points.
With time things have evened out. These things happen, and teams need time to react when a team or two run away with it. Yes Barca and Madrid are running away with it but Just 4 seasons ago Barca finished third. About 7 seasons ago we were struggling to qualify for the UEFA cup when Valencia and Deportivo were winning the league, despite us having much more money than they can dream of.

coogar:
no one is disputing this. . . . .the argument is the monopoly in spain is stronger than what you have in england. the league started in england in 1888 and yet the most successful team is man utd with 19 league titles. 19 league titles in 123 years. . . . . .la liga was formed in 1929 and the most successful team(real madrid) has won it 31 times. 31 league titles in 82 years. it's no rocket science knowing which is the most competitive - coupled with the fact that more english clubs have won the champions league than the duo-polized la liga.

do the math!

This is your argument. . . . You have had 2 teams win way more trophies than the competition over time therefore your league is less competitive. I don't even need to know anything about football to rubbish this argument.

That 2 teams win a lot may just mean they have been stronger despite the competition. They have been able to reinvent themselves with the times and remained competitive where others have failed.

Manchester United have been able to reinvent themselves with Ferguson's guidance and have dominated, winning 12 titles in the last 20 years. Does that make the EPL any less competitive as a league in that period?

If only I ruled the world your application of logic in this case would surely earn u a death sentence, by public stoning.  

debosky:
Trends over time show Madrid and Barca dominating the number of La Liga titles won, AND the number of Copa Del Reys won.

What argument do you have?

Titles won is not the only measure of success. If it was Arsenal would be a total failure, so please just tuck your tail between your legs, and go lick some passerby.

Au revouir

debosky:
Even the Copa Del Rey that you are putting up as evidence of Spain's competitiveness tells a different story over its history.

Barcelona: 25 Wins

Real Madrid: 18 Wins

Madrid and Barca have always been the biggest clubs in Spain for reasons you know quite well so this is not news. They really  can't go broke unless something really really terrible happens. Man Utd has won 12 of the last 20 league titles in England, would it be reasonable to conclude based on that that they are the only strong team in England? NO. We can say that in recent history they are the strongest team in england, but any more will be dust. So please stop yarning dust.

debosky:
Apart from Athletic Bilbao who won 23 (but haven't won since 1984 - probably before Krayola was born ) those two monopolise the Copa Del Rey wins, with the next team on a mere 9 wins.

Contrast that with the FA Cup in England

Man Utd: 11 Wins
Arsenal: 10 Wins
Spurs: 8 Wins
Liverpool & Villa: 7 Wins
Chelsea, Newcastle and Blackburn: 6 Wins

It is a mere blip in the Copa Del Rey stats - the league stats show the overwhelming dominance of the big boys, especially in these recent times that the cup competitions have taken a back seat across Europe.

The Spanish league is rubbish in terms of revenue distribution to be dominated by just two sides. The changing dynamics in England mean that you have 5-6 sides that can logically compete for the title on more or less even standing.

Yeah right. Only 3 teams have won the EPl in since 1995. la liga has had 4, and in one season both giants finished third and forth. A few times sef Barca didnt make champions league. Get your facts right, Mayne!!


Oya I no do again. I gotta run. this stuff dey take too much time.

God bless you all.  

StarBoard:
Could have been a lot more if English teams werent banned for 5 years.Liverpool were at their prime then and could beat any team in Europe in the mid-80s.
Villa(1),Forest(2),have won the competition before.
End of argument.Let Valencia win the CL,then we can start talking.

conjecture

coogar:
only 2 spanish clubs have won the champions league(barcelona and real madrid), please compare that number to the number of english clubs that have won it.

How many English teams have won the champions league?

I'm waiting. This better be good!!

coogar:
2011 - barca
2010 - barca
2009 - barca
2008 - real madrid
2007 - real madrid
2006 - barca
2005 - barca



only 2 spanish clubs have won the champions league(barcelona and real madrid), please compare that number to the number of english clubs that have won it. la liga is a 2-team league. remove barcelona and real madrid from la liga and you can easily forget the history of la liga cos there's nothing to write about the other teams in spain.

2011 Man Utd
2010 Chelsea
2009 Man Utd
2008 Man Utd
2007 Man Utd
2006 Chelsea
2005 Chelsea

Therefore the EPL is dominated by 2 teams. 

coogar:
krayola, you should be ashamed of yourself when you come out with unguarded rants like the one above.

oooooohhh!! oh really? oya nah . . let's go there 

coogar:
the english league was formed in 1888(40 years before spanish la liga was formed) and the most successful football club in england have only won 19 league titles. real madrid have won 31 league titles followed by barcelona with 21 titles and you keep talking balderdash about monopoly in the english league. . . .

I put "monopoly" in quotes. 4 teams can't really be called a monopoly. And I said a monopoly on "success", not a monopoly on titles.  While you seem to be focusing on just the team that finished top of the table, I'm focusing on the teams that finish in the top 4, and showing how we see more teams in these positions over time in Spain, and pretty much the same teams in England. YOu do not have to win a title to have had a successful season. The top 4 in England have remained almost the same for a while now. Tottenham Making the CL was like headline news across the globe. We see new Liga teams in the competition pretty much every season.

Please respond to what I wrote,  not what you prefer me to have written. Thank you so mosh.

Real Madrid have always had a lot of financial backing, same as Barca but to a lesser extent. They have been able to get the best players from around the world. Same can't be said about other clubs in Spain, so it is only logical IMO that they both have been the most successful clubs in Spain.

ritchboy:
Notice how i left Barca out of my comments? They are probably the best team ever and even if they win all 38 games i won't complain. My gripe is Real Madrid averaging 94 points and 102 goals over the last two seasons.

2 seasons ago Pellegrini's Real Madrid finished 3 points behind Barcelona, a team you believe is probably the greatest team ever, scoring more goals than us. You do not have to like them, but give credit where it is due. Pellegrini may have been knocked out of the CL, but that does not change the fact that this Madrid team is very very strong. They have only gotten much stronger since.

ritchboy:
There is no conjecture here. All things being equal, Valencia can never finish above Arsenal(4th last season) after 38 games in any league. Real Madrid can't smell 96 points in England, na beans? I rate Madrid and United on about the same level and even United only managed 80 points and 78 goals in EPL while Madrid were copping 92 points and 102 goals in La Liga.

If Real can do it, Man Utd or even Chelsea will match or better it. You think if we put United and Madrid in the same league, Madrid will finish 12 points ahead of United and score 24 goals more?

This is all conjecture. You can not prove this, neither can I disprove it. I respect your right to hold your view on this. I disagree, but going back and forth on this kinda stuff in pointless IMO.

ritchboy:
All this "over the last decade" talk is beside the point. Depor and Celta Vigo have been relegated and you are using them as examples of how competitive La Liga is AT PRESENT, this doesn't make any sense. The most recent events is what matters here not this prehistoric era you are raving about.

ritchboy:
Which facts? I've already given you the facts. Real Madrid(2nd) have finished (on average) a jaw-dropping 23 points ahead of Valencia(3rd) over the two most recent seasons. You are going to have a hard time convincing any sane man La Liga isn't dominated by two teams.

Trends over a period of time IMO give a more comprehensive view of how competitive a league is. Things can happen that may briefly shock and alter the status quo, but over time things often tend to even out as other teams can plan and react to these happenings. An example is the instant success Chelsea had when Roman took over. They first finished 15 points ahead of 3rd placed United. The following season they finished 24 points ahead of Arsenal, and it seemed for a couple of years the EPL was a 2 horse race between United and Chelsea. Man Utd reacted immediately and over time Arsenal has caught up and can now be somewhat described as a title contender. These things happen. Real Madrid are the only team in Spain capable of immediately investing enough to compete with this Barca squad. So while you are not wrong to say that La Liga is currently dominated by 2 teams, just about 3 seasons ago the same could be said of the EPL if one just took a snapshot of "the most recent events".

slimshay:
Krayola do not mention money and Spain, you will totally defeat your own argument.

Haha


The US military will struggle to defeat my argument, and then fail woefully. 

Barca and Madrid have pretty much always had tonnes more money than the other teams in Spain. Despite that we do not see them "monopolize" success like  we see the big teams in England do.

I'm not saying the Spanish league is perfect. I think it's kinda unfair that both giants get to rake in so much cash while the others have to sometimes struggle to make ends meet. What I'm saying is that in relatively recent history, the record shows that smaller, less affluent teams in Spain have a higher success rate, vs the Spanish money bags, than their peers in England,  . .I believe  that is what the facts tell us.

ritchboy:
La Liga may not be "soft" but a league where 3rd(Valencia) finish 25/21 points behind 2nd(Real) has to be questioned.

A league where their  Champions get totally dominated in a CL final. . . and then destroyed again 2 yrs after, when they came "ready to rumble " should never be allowed to air on prime time. EPL games should be aired around 2am on weeknights, right between the infomercial for hair transplants and those soft p0rn movies.  

Oh. . . let's not forget their most "entertaining" team came to Spain and didn't get ONE shot on goal in 90 minutes.

ritchboy:
There are only two teams in Spain that can go toe to toe with the very best in Europe and the next best team(Valencia) can't smell top 4 in England. Real Madrid can never cop 96 points in England, impossicant!

This is all conjecture
. . . . . . and me sef sabi "conjecturize".

No team in the EPL can EVER EVER cop 96 points in Spain, impossicant!! lai lai!!!

ritchboy:
Even when Real were back to back champions after the Ronaldinho era they were still being disgraced in Europe, losing 3-0 to Lyon, losing 5-0 to Liverpool, losing home and away to Roma.

Madrid won back to back titles during the Ronaldinho era. One of those seasons Villarreal finished ahead of us. In the last ten years, Mallorca, Deportivo, Valencia, Real sociedad, Celta de Vigo,  and Villarreal have finished ahead of either Barca or Real Madrid, and even, once, Valencia and Deportivo finished ahead of  BOTH Real and Barca. IMO It's mainly because of the coming of age of La Masia products trained in Cruyff's system since their early years, the emergence of Messi, and the ridiculous amounts of money that Real Madrid have spent on their squad in the last 3 years, in an attempt to avoid Barca totally running away with it, that we both seem to be running away with it. Madrid and Barca's current squads will, IMHO, dominate any league in Europe, not because the leagues are weak, but because both teams are just that strong.

In the EPL the money bags win, and the rest just make up the numbers. WHich have been the top 4 teams in England in the last decade?

Lets move to other domestic competitions. . . .

Fa Cup vs Copa del rey

Until Man City, besides the "Big 4",  , only Portsmouth have won the FA cup since 1995.

In the same period, Sevilla, Espanyol, Betis, Zaragoza, Mallorca, Atletico Madrid and deportivo have won besides Barca, real madrid and Valencia.Barca have won 3 and Madrid just 1 while Chelsea has won 5 and Man utd and Arsenal have each won 4 in the same period.


I think when EPL fans talk about Spain being dominated by just 2 teams, they are either ignoring the facts, or clueless of the facts. In England money talks and everybody else come sell beans, across the board.


On a side note, lets not forget that 4 UEFA cups and and 5 Champions league trophies have come to Spain since 2000. 

coogar:
it's because their players get bullied, roughened or teams play ultra-defensive tactics against them. . . .

2 points lost to Newcastle after a 4 goal lead and an act of 1diocy from i think Diaby. Despite Arsenal still being title contenders and knowing how important the points were. WHich of those reasons you listed apply?  

coogar:
valdez and casillas make as many silly mistakes as any arsenal goalie. . . .the difference is real madrid and barcelona will outscore their opponents regardless of the mistakes their defence make. [b]the top la liga teams don't have good defenders [/b]but they will outscore any team in most cases because they have more superior offensive players in their ranks.

So. . . Carvalho, Pepe, Puyol, Pique, ALves, Sergio Ramos, Abidal, etc are not good defenders? ok. Please list Arsenal's defence and please explain why I should believe that they would offer any goalie (especially Almunia  ) better protection. . . over the course of a whole season.  Then list their midfield, then their attack. when you are done, tell me how on earth you can make the argument that they will be better over 38 games than Mourinho's Madrid or Pep's Barca.

coogar:
i did not say breeze. i said arsenal would have won at least one league title in la liga in the last 6 seasons.

The season we lost to Schuster's Madrid, maybe Arsenal may have come 2nd or 3rd. I doubt it tho.  Barca had a horrible season and finished 18pts behind Madrid, 10 behind Villarreal  thanks to fatty bombomdinho. Maybe Arsenal could have squeezed in somewhere there.

coogar:
how did dortmund do it in bundesliga? lille in french league? valencia when benitez won it?

They had great seasons while the other top teams didn't perform.  It does happen.  Big teams can get complacent, bad management, etc. There are a lot of things that can happen. I just don't see that happening with Man Utd/Chelsea , or Madrid/Barca in this current era. Everybody eye dey strong except Arsenal

The smaller teams do not come to sell groundnut in any league. If u no strong face dem go twack u. Don't let Barca and Madrid's dominance fool u into thinking La Liga is soft. Deco  Iniesta Xavi midfield got kicked around and we didnt win shite. It would  take an enormous effort from an exceptional squad with excellent coaching to keep up with both spanish giants over the last 3 seasons. I think that for you to assume this Arsenal squad will come to La Liga and beat BOTH these teams to the title is more wishful thinking than informed opinion. Just look at the damn squads, and the kinda coaching they have ffs.

These last few seasons,  one mid-long term injury to Messi or Xavi and IMO we might not have been liga champions.

coogar:
they lack the mental strength because they get bullied all the time. the kind of football and the kind of players wenger buys are not suited to the blood/thunder football in the premier league. of all the 20 teams in the premier league, only 2 or 3 play football the normal way. even man utd and chelsea sometimes use underhand tactics to bludgeon arsenal to stupor.

They lack the mental strength cause they are little b1tches that wenger got for cheap and hopes will perform miracle. deluded old man. Which squad Arsenal wan use win Liga? U think say people no dey injure for spain?

coogar:
arsenal fc will do well in spain.

Yes they will.They do well in England. They just ain't champions and never will be till they get some real football players. Not in England, SPain, Germany, Italy.

Turkey. . .  Bingo!!

Add baba wenger's cluelessness to that and u have a recipe for disaster!!

coogar:
most definitely. . . .arsenal might lose to barcelona twice in a season and still win la liga. rafa benitez once won la liga with an average side so why can't wenger do it down there where football is actually played on the pitch and the referees are harsh on bad tackles.

I'll pretend this is true just cause it's easier. Even though I think it makes little sense.

Basically u are saying a major reason Arsenal do not win the premiership is that football is not played on the pitch and the refs allow bad tackles. Take them to a league without those and they will most likely be champions.

so whenever (or almost everytime) Arsenal lose a game is it because the were not physical enough? Is it always because the refs allow bad tackles?

Arsenal NEVER have bad showings . . noooo. Their goalies never make blunders. . . nooooo. . . The non-top 4 teams never play decent footie. . ,   noooooo. . ,     they never meet mid to lower table teams that show up with their A game and put up a fight and win fair and square (Maybe those don't even exist in the EPL   ) Nooooo. . . They just get bullied and kicked and they lose.   I think this a pathetic approach to making your point.

coogar:
should we just assume barcelona/real madrid have never lost to a bottom side in la liga in the last 6 years, huh?

No. But I guess we should assume that Arsenal will come and just breeze thru them.

coogar:
[
tell us the aggregate when arsenal met villareal and other spanish clubs(bar barcelona) in the last six years? arsenal even tonked barcelona at the emirates last season. it's football. . .anything can happen.

08/09
arsenal 4-1 villareal

07/08
arsenal 4-3 sevilla

05/06
arsenal 1-0 real madrid
arsenal 1-0 villareal.

all these results were in the last six years. . . .matter of fact, only one team in la liga has beaten arsenal consistently and that's barcelona. the others have been beaten by wenger's team in europe in the last six years whether in the group stage or in the k.o. arsenal will win the spanish league conveniently.

Beating teams in knock out games is totally different from topping a table after 38 games. If u said Arsenal could win the Copa del rey, this kind of argument u are making could pass. Over 38 games a lot more is required to be ahead than 1 or 2 strong performances.


Arsenal's problem isn't that they can't come out and play a great game. . .  Arsenal on their day can beat any team. Their big problem IMO is that they lack what it takes - e.g squad depth, mental strength, and just the will to basically do whatever it takes to get the result they need (Barca played dirty against Madrid cause we knew that is what it would take to beat their negative tactics) - to compete at that level consistently over the course of a season.

TBH I do not believe this arsenal squad can win any major league in Europe. Maybe French and Belgian or those kind moin moin leagues. Dem no get am. Being champions no be beans. Dem get small skills, but lack depth and character that it takes to be champions. And these are required to be champs in ALL THE TOP LEAGUES.

@ coogar

U really think arsenal's squad will do better than Real Madrid's and barcelona's over an entire season?

coogar:
. . . . i [b]am confident arsenal can win la liga, [/b]bundesliga, serie a, etc. . . .but with teams like Birmingham, stoke . . . .

Please guys, remember this young man in your prayers. I think he has finally lost the plot completely.

Una was tiff am?

debosky:
As for Arsenal signing Mata, that's only likely going to happen if Cesc leaves, so there's still a long way to go.

I think mata's signing will depend more on Nasri's fate than anything. U'll all be asking "Nasri who?" a few weeks into the season. According to some IMO credible reports he (mata) is next on pep's list if we can't sign Alexis Sanchez.

Mata is a top quality player, someone I want Barca to sign and I'll be shocked if wenger makes such a signing when the French and belarusian leagues haven't yet run out of kids with "potential".

debosky:
Then you need to tell your friends to get a life beyond Arsenal. Football is not a matter of life and death.

We don't talk anymore. I made the "mistake" of insulting Wenger to their faces and all of a sudden I'm the enemy. Be like say that guy don jazz all of una

debosky:
So the solution is to join the suicidal and mentally deranged bunch? Err I don't think so.

I don't know what exactly the solution is, but I know what it is not. Wenger's policies of the past few years are guaranteed to fail every time . . .

debosky:
^^ Keep your nose outta gunner bixnix before it gets broken like a crayon.

PS - the issue isn't really insulting Wenger, it's going beyond the pale when addressing fellow gooners.

I'm sorry I can't stay out of goonerr business. I have friends suffering high blood pressure because of baba Wenger and his stunts. Stroke don kill like 2 other ones and one dey mental home after suicide attempt.  

Stay there and be dreaming of the glory days of the invincibles,  Kinda like Nigerians dreaming of a return to the days when Naira strong pass pounds, and still putting crooks in office. Una never Jam.

haha mo gbe o.

SO a player can't be considered "great" unless one can demonstrate that he is better than Rooney? I don't understand how that works

And IMO Pedro is far more efficient than Rooney. Maybe we should go and look up Rooney's 1st 2 seasons in EPL and see how "great" he was compared to Pedro. 

Haters don't live long.

haha Why shouldn't wenger be insulted? That useless old man without a clue.

Fans have a right to take a dump on anyone especially if they feel he is destroying the club. STay there and continue sipping from wenger's "straw" mtcchew. Good riddance to bad opata

ritchboy:
How many "great" Spanish talents have emerged after Rooney besides Cesc?

Sergio Ramos, David Silva, Pique, Pedro, Busquets, right off the top of my head. TBH Cesc is at the lower end of the list sef.

Iniesta also made his 1st team debut the same year Rooney had his at Everton.

ritchboy:
Do these ones qualify as GREAT talents? Are any of them as good as Rooney?

Pique has been a starting CB at Barcelona and Spain since he joined Barcelona. Maybe you need to be reminded about how successful BOTH of those teams have been in that period. Same as Busquets. 
Pedro is a starting forward on arguably the greatest and most offensive football team in the history of the sport, and holds his own alongside the best players on the planet. Thierry Henry was benched for him. 

England as a footballing nation is finished!!!!

dayokanu:
^^ Thats what 7 seasons of trophylessness can do to a fanbase

Tottenham, Citeh, Birmingham and even Portsmouth have won

abeg no forget Man Citeh. Thank u so mosh

*cough cough*


Citeh beat Wenger to a trophy. . .

I can't shout. . . .


I fit laugh sha   

We no dey play . . . next year na premiership.

El Capitan is truly back. . . See as the guy shakara Pique for there. Who no go fear?!?!

https://i51.tinypic.com/swvj1w.gif

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Mourinho the delusional chump.
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The person that made this video is a super hero. The guy try

We wanted this really bad and did whatever it took to win.

Afellay was immense in the short period he was on

Messi is God's true first born.

Pep better go and talk some more $hit in the press conference. . . It seems to be working 

Mourinho's big mouth can go and french kiss wet transformer. 

AjanleKoko:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/912312/pep-guardiola-launches-foul-mouthed-jose-mourinho-rant?cc=3888

What happened here, did Pep actually use swear words?

Its a poor translation. It's something to that effect but not quite as harsh when said in SPanish. . .  well, thats what a spanish friend said. . . me i no undastand spanish,   

I think Pep is just trying to get the guys fired up. Let's face it, the team is in really bad shape going into this game. Against a strong and confident, star studded Madrid team. .  No Abidal, so substitute defenders, makeshift CB in Mascherano, Puyol may play LB, no substitute mid-fielders or forward. Our bench is goin to be pretty much all B teamers. We're going to need one hell of a performance tomorrow and I think this was a calculated response from Pep to get his players to rise to the occasion.

[size=13pt]
José Mourinho's mind games finally provoke response from Pep Guardiola[/size]

• Real Madrid manager accuses Guardiola of criticising referees
• Guardiola responds but promises to concentrate on football

This time it's personal. Barcelona's coach, Josep Guardiola, finally exploded, sending a year of pent-up anger and frustration gushing forth as he responded to José Mourinho on the eve of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.

The question now is whether Mourinho will feel that he has won the mental battle, dragging Guardiola into territory that is not his own, or if Guardiola will feel a release at having at last had his say. And what a say it was. The days of a respectful silence, of turning the other cheek, are definitively over. This was more like the aggressive weigh-in before a prize fight, complete with an air of "you and me outside".

Mourinho had pricked Guardiola's pride once too often by accusing him of complaining about referees who get decisions right. It was an accusation that Guardiola, normally so measured, was not prepared to let pass – the last straw after a year that has been a war of attrition. Guardiola was finally drawn into battle. "He called me Pep, so I answered," Guardiola said at the end of a breathtaking 45 minutes. "Normally, he talks in general terms about a team, a club or a manager, but this time he named me. If he says: 'Pep,' I say: 'Hey, José.'"

He said more than "hey". Sitting down in the press room at the Santiago Bernabéu, he said: "As Mourinho has spoken so candidly about me and spoken about me by name, and using tú [the informal form of you], then I will do the same." He then asked which of the gathered cameras was "Mourinho's camera" and began.

"Tomorrow at 8.45 we will play a match on the field," Guardiola said. " Outside of the field, he has won the entire year, the entire season and in the future [it will be the same]. He can have his personal Champions League outside the field. Fine. Let him enjoy it, I'll give him that. But this is a game. When it comes to sport we will play and sometimes we will win, sometimes we will lose. We are happy with smaller victories, trying to get the world to admire us and we are very proud of this.

"I can give you an immense list of things [that we could complain about]: 300,000 things. We could remember Stamford Bridge and another thousand things but I do not have that many people working for me. Secretaries and referees and people writing stuff. So tomorrow, 8.45pm, we will take to the field and we will try to play football as best as possible.

"In this room [Real Madrid's press room], he is the chief, the bleeping man. In here he is the bleeping man and I can't compete with him. If Barcelona want someone who competes with that, then they should look for another manager. But we, as a person and an institution, don't do that. I could talk about [Olegario] Bequerença [the referee from last season's Barcelona-Inter semi-final first leg], about the offside goal from Diego Milito or the penalty of [Dani] Alves, but I don't. Well, until tonight!

"If you think after three years, that I always moan, always make excuses and always complain, then there is nothing I can do about that.

Mourinho had provoked Guardiola by referring to comments his rival made after Madrid's victory in the Copa del Rey final last week. Guardiola had noted that his side had been close to winning: had a Pedro goal not been ruled out for a very close but correct offside, described by the coach as "the linesman's good eyesight", Barcelona might have taken the trophy.

"A new era has begun," Mourinho said on Tuesday. "Until now there were two groups of coaches. One very, very small group of coaches that don't speak about refs and then a big group of coaches, of which I am part, who criticise the refs when they have mistakes – people like me who don't control their frustration but also people who are happy to value a great job from a ref.

"Now there is a third group, which is only [Guardiola], that criticises referees when they get decisions right! There is a new meaning to [football] now. In his first season [Guardiola] lived the scandal of Stamford Bridge [in the semi-final], last year he played against a 10-man Inter. Now he is not happy with refs getting it right. I am not asking the referee to help my team. If the referee is good everyone will be happy – except Guardiola. He wants them to get it wrong."

Guardiola worked with Mourinho at Barcelona but considers their relationship to be shattered by this. "We worked together for four years. He knows me, I know him and that's all. If he wants to go by things written after the Copa del Rey by friends from the written press or Florentino Pérez, with his milkmaid's tales, then fine. If that matters more than our relationship, then that's up to him. I am not going to justify my words. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth when someone you had a relationship with does [what he has done]. I always thought that when people didn't understand me, it was because I had explained myself badly, but now I don't. I said the referee [in the cup final] had been smart and very attentive. I said it was right. I pointed out simply that the result can be down to small things, that's all. It was not a complaint. After victory I congratulated Real Madrid and that is what Barcelona does. We congratulated RM for the cup that they won on the field against a team that I represent proudly."

Asked if this was just a tactic, Guardiola replied: "What? You think my players will run around more because I looked for Mourinho's camera? It's a semi-final!"

I think we're goin to witness world war III at the Bernabeau tomorrow. It's goin to be tough but I think we can get a good result if the lads show up in the right frame of mind. Puyol's presence will be a big boost and I'm hoping Keita can give us more of a physical edge we'd be lacking if it was just Xavi, Iniesta.

Mourinho is a fukn ba$tard. He think say na only am get mouth. Iya laya e