₦airaland Forum

Let's not get carried away with the scoreline.It was a decent performance at best from the lad7 by our very high standards.I mean the game was virtually a no-contest the moment Shakhtar were down to 10 men.I'm more concerned with how well we play than the number of goals we rack up per game.We were struggling to string passes together in vital areas and something was just wrong with our general play in the first half, probably due to Shakhtar's aggressive pressing.Alaba was the main culprit for me.Kept overhitting his crosses and didn't offer much attacking outlet as Bernat would.The team was very predictable at times.Things were much better after the break.

Happy Birthday,iice.Wishing you all you wish yourself and more

Well i have decided to go one step further and TRY, TRY being the keyword here and predict the pairings for the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the final.In short mapping out the Road to Berlin.Here we go!
Quarter final pairings:
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Porto vs Chelsea
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
Juventus vs Real Madrid

Semi-final pairings
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Bayern Munich vs Barcelona

Final
Bayern Munich vs Chelsea with Bayern Munich winning!

Action resumes in Europe's premier club competition,the UEFA Champions League as the knockout games take centre stage.The race to be crowned Europe's finest is firmly on but the real business starts here.
At the risk of ruining my reputation(if there is any at all),i have decided to play Nostradamus or better still Prophet T.B Joshua in predicting which club might land European football biggest and most coveted prize.
Now i am no seer neither do i claim to be psychic.No crystal balls, no magic mirrors but i do believe by applying my knowledge of European football, the tools of intuition and logic, a bit of pseudoscience and superstition and of course some common sense, i might just be able to predict who might be lifting the big-eared trophy come June.
I have come up with some rather interesting theories i believe might just lead us to the answer.

THE BACK-TO-BACK CURSE
It is basic knowledge for followers of the European game that no team has won the UCL back to back since its inception/renaming even then only two teams, Valencia(2000,2001) and Manchester United(2008,2009) have to managed to play in consecutive finals.So the chances of Real Madrid, who have been rather poor since the turn of the year making this year's final let alone retaining their title is pretty slim.

POST WORLD CUP EFFECT
Winning the World Cup is the pinnacle of every footballer's career.It's a defining moment.But could there be a link between the World Cup and winning the Champions League?
Since the new millennium,an European World Cup nation has gone to produce the next kings of Europe the year after winning the World Cup.Italy,WC champions in 2006, Milan CL winners.Spain, 2010, Barcelona 2010.I know two is a very small sample size when establishing a pattern but considering the current World Champions are Germany . . Could this be Bayern Munich's year?

THE CATALAN GIFT/CURSE
Beating Barcelona is an herculean task only few teams are capable of completing.With players like Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta in their ranks, they are virtually invincible on their day.But could the key to winning the UCL lie with the Blaugranas?
Barcelona have won the Champions League 4 times(1992,2006,2009,2011) and are usually among the favorites year in year in.But since winning the CL in 2006 and excluding the other seasons they were champions, teams that knocked out Barcelona have gone on to play in the finals.Liverpool(2007), Manchester United(2008), Inter Milan(2010), Chelsea(2012), Bayern Munich(2013), Atletico Madrid(2014). You know what they say; "One is an incident,two is a coincidence, three's a pattern". But here is the twist:Four of Barcelona's conquerors(United,Inter, Chelsea, Bayern) knocked out the Spanish side at the semifinal stage and went on to be eventual winners.The two other sides were not so lucky, Liverpool and Atleti knocked out Barca at the quarter final stage only to end up losing in the final.Lesson's simple:Knock them out at the semi final stage and you go on to be champions but send them packing before then, you experience heartbreak that comes with losing finals.

NUMEROLOGY
Before anyone starts chanting 'Blood of Jesus" and calling me a reincarnation of Aleister Crowley, this has nothing to do with occultism.Almost nothing anyway.Numerology, branch of pseudoscience explores the magic behind numbers.
3:Xabi Alonso is bidding for his 3rd Champions League title with a 3rd different club.The current record is held by Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf.Coincidentally, Alonso wears the jersey number 3 for Bayern Munich. Bayern boss Pep Guardiola is also chasing his 3rd UCL title as a coach after wins with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.

7:Spain's World-conquering squad of 2010 had 7 players who were part of Pep Guardiola's Barca team.Coincidentally, Bayern Munich had the same number of players in Germany's World Cup winning campaign.All coached by guess who . . Pep Guardiola.
Now you must be wondering what has numbers got to do with football? Well just ask Michael Ballack and his infamous jersey no. 13.
The number 3 is a particularly powerful number in numerology.The number is highly revered in ancient religions and traditions such as the Kabbalah and even Christianity in case of the Trinity.
The number 7 is also another powerful number.It is said to be the number of the natural world and is synonymous with good luck amongst other things.

Hello? Anybody home?!

Lord! Just when i thought the coast was clear and we had seen the last of these silly arguments. .

Badi's injury doesn't look too serious but i doubt he will make the City game.I'm not comfortable with Alaba playing as a DF in this 3-man defense.I was expecting a like-for-like sub for Benatia.Pep knows sha!

Guess who's eating cake today? It's Der Raumdeuter and ain't talking Dayokanu.Thomas Muller is a year older, people! Probably the most criminally underrated player of all time.He may not possess the slick dribbling skills of Messi, the flair of Neymar or the all-round abilities of CR7 but we at Bayern Munich love him all the same.Happy 25th birthday, man!

Away from all the
Rooney drama, did anyone else see that vine of a bird shitting in Ashley Young's mouth ? I've heard tales of birds shitting on people's heads but that was just
priceless!

And to think just a year ago, a Man Utd side under David Moyes actually trashed this Swansea team 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium.Bring back David Moyes!

I hate to sound like toba but i had a premonition this ish was going to happen.I'm not even going to start analysing what went wrong.It's been a super-depressing day for me and this was just the final blow.

Meanwhile, Thiago has denied claims he has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation programme.Now i can breathe a little easier.Those fvcking tabloids sha.

A40: I don't know what Ginter went to do at Dortmund where they already have Hummels, Subotic and Papastathopoulos

I don't see anything wrong with the move.Klopp seems to have learned from last season when his squad was ravaged by injuries.Ginter is also versatile enough to play at DMF which i think is the primary reason he was signed.BVB are really struggling in that area of the pitch at the moment.Sahin is set to miss the start of the season.Bender has only just returned.Gundogan is still out.That leaves Klopp with an aging Seb Kehl and a rookie in Moris Leitner.With Dortmund's explosive and high-intensity game, there will always be injuries which is where a player like Ginter comes in.Good back-up IMO, might even get a run of games if he impresses.

Don't you just love it when Lordave goes "Jisos Kraist!" ? Whatever happened to the Marcel Schmelzer of old.The guy has not looked the same since coming back from injury.Subotic should take note.




Looking forward to the game on Wednesday.Big chance to start the season on a winning note.

toba: I will not forgive Mkhtaryan cos of the BVB madrid loss. The guy doesnt know how to score like Ozil

I swear! I saw your posts after the second leg.One particular miss kept playing in my head for days.BVB were chasing the third goal and the guy could only hit the post after beating Casillas with the gaping goal at his mercy.It left me scarred for weeks.I would wake up in the middle of the night and mutter his name whilst shaking my head in regret.If only he had scored.It was hell.The thing pain me gaan! I really wanted BVB to knock out Real Madrid.I hated him so much.I remember him scoring against Bayern that weekend and I was like "Comot for here jor, game u suppose score you no score".But still doesn't take anything away from the fact that he had a decent 2014.

raumdeuter: Even elampiros ppl were not spared in Bini. If not for elams fore fathers pace and pawa, he for don dey answer Toby on sugarcane plantation in Barbados

LWKMD!

StarBoard: I believe Toure started at CB vs United in Rome.
Just asking.

Yep.Barca were forced into a defensive reshuffle as Alves and Abidal were suspended.Defence line up was Puyol at RB, Pique and Toure as CBs, Sylvinho at LB.

City started last season with a 442 with Toure and Fernandinho in midfield flanked by two of either Silva, Nasri or Navas with Aguero playing slightly behind Dzeko/Negredo.This formation was employed 19 times.Meaning Yaya is a CAM in theory with the formation looking like a 4132 when City break forward.Navas, Silva and Nasri rarely start together in a 4231, so how i don't understand how Toure plays as CDM.A double-pivot at City is more likely to be Garcia-Fernandinho with Yaya up front with Silva and Nasri.

afrodoc: Let me help pkasso though i don't know him from Adam

According to his source Whoscored.com Toure played as a CM 24 times, as a CDM 9 times and as CAM only 5 times.
Also Toure's best stats were as a CM and CDM......he scored 0 goals and made only 1 assist as a CAM

Fail! 442 was City's default formation for most of last season.His stats in CAM are clearly from a 4231.

afrodoc: Lol are you begging for help from your oga at the top?

Lol I don't even know coogar from Adam! He was buttressing my point of Yaya being a defensive liability.

Nihilist: Before Mata signed for United and even afterwards, Moyes lined his boys up in a 442
Pkasso can you please tell us who was the CDM and who was the CAM?

pkasso: Very rarely do teams employ two destroyers in the middle of the park.

Clearly, a case of the above.No attacking midfielder in the setup.

ritchboy: This PrickAssO chap isn't very bright, is he?

Where on NL do i know this attention-seeking biatch? Guy clear road make better people pass.



Coogar, abeg help me school these boys.Vidal is the Truth!

Dadehmola: What was toure's starting position for city in virtually all games last season?

Toure started in Central midfield.In a basic 442 formation, there is always an attack-minded midfielder paired with a destroyer to break up play.Very rarely do teams employ two destroyers in the middle of the park.Which effectively makes Toure a CAM and Fernandinho a CDM.

Nihilist: Listen here Prickasso, Toure and Ramsey played exactly the same position in the majority of the season - in central midfield.

No need getting your knickers in a twist, boy.By your logic, Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso played the same position since they were both playing in Central midfield.You are a lost cause!

According to Whoscored.com, Aaron Ramsey started 20 PL games last season.17 of those were as a defensive central midfielder in a 4231.

Nihilist: I'm sure when you composed this post in your mind, you had some hidden gem of perspicacity to share. I regret to inform you that you have sadly omitted it.

Toure and Ramsey played the same position last year. Silva/Nasri were the creative forces for City last season.

Infact during the 1st leg of Barca game, I remember Dahdemola expressing his appreciation of Silva's control of City's attacking movement from a position on the left flank.

The Chelsea game saw Toure paired with freaking Demichelis in the middle of the park. How was he expected to perform in tandem with that Whale? I remember Coogar was delighted when he saw the teamsheet and correctly predicted that Luiz-Matic-Ramires combo would destroy the city midfield

Abeg come correct with your arguments or go home. I'm all for explosive debates, but your submissions lack substance...

Ramsey and Toure played the same position last year? Stay off the cactus juice,son.You are making a fool of yourself!

ritchboy: Nowadays everyone thinks labeling people who say EPL Player X is better than La Liga/Serie A Player Y "EPL fanboys" makes them look enlightened... This moronic train of thought needs to be addressed ASAP.

Yaya Toure > Arturo Vidal

Bitchboi, i offend you before?

Nihilist: So you've gone from claiming that Yaya was an AM to labelling us EPL fanboys?

Without a shadow of doubt, the EPL is the most competitive league in the world at the moment, while the Serie A has been regressing faster than Benjamin Button.

Who is to say that Yaya won't have equally beasted in the current Juve setup? Infact the stats suggest he clearly would.

Vidal is a great midfielder don't get me wrong...but 'clearly' better than Yaya? Hell no.

Arturo Vidal, despite playing deeper has more goals than Yaya Toure in Europe in the last two seasons! Vidal was the highest goalscorer with 5 goals in 5 games in a team that had Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente leading the line.He was the only midfielder to score a hattrick in last season's UCL.Yaya T was ra.ped by all and sundry in Europe last season.Lahm and Schweini were taking turns to dissect him.The same Toure was a passenger when he came up against Xavi and Iniesta.He's nothing but a flat-track bully!

Nihilist: Nonsense.
Ramsey must have been a CAM copping all those goals from the Arsenal Pivot.
Juve played a double Pivot ahead of a regista. Man City largely played a 442 similar to United.
Toure was 1 half of a 2 man central midfield, Vidal was one third of a 3 man unit
Yet Toure beasted the EPL like he had 666 stamped on his forehead.
He was even forced to play with Dimichelis in midfield
Tell me again about 'lazy' Toure.

Most of Ramsey's goals were as a result of making late runs into the final third.Toure was definitely an attacking midfielder in a basic 442 formation.He was given the license to roam forward with Fernandinho doing the dirty job.He was a liability when City were pressing and would only make half-hearted challenges.




Beasting the EPL? Loool! More like bullying the smaller sides.Go and take a look at his stats against the sides that finished in the top 5 in the EPL.He went missing in virtually all of City's big games.He was sonned by Matic at the Etihad!

Arturo Vidal is the best central midfielder on the planet.Only a fit and healthy Bastian Schweinsteiger is better than this man.Only EPL fanboys with no knowledge of european football will claim Toure is better.Arturo Vidal is better defensively and the only criterion where Toure edges him is goals.Even then Vidal has a consistent goal-scoring record, hitting double figures in the last 4 season.Yaya has one fluke season and scores loads of freekicks and pks and he is the best? Let Yaya prove he is not a one-season wonder by repeating the feat this season and then we can start to compare.

Nihilist: Vidal was dribbled more times than Toure.
That is a statistical fact.

And Set Piece taking is a very important skill. Why is Vidal not taking freekicks?

Vidal being dribbled more times than Toure is an indication of how committed he was defensively.He is the one responsible for shielding Pirlo in the 3-5-2.Unlike Toure who has Fernandinho or Javi Garcia covering his lazy arss.Yaya was effectively a CAM last season, which is what makes Vidal's stats all the more impressive.

elampiro: Abegi.

Toure has don his bit when he was Barca CM.

Secondly, Toure is one key player who moved City from a no team to EPL two time champions. It's like joining Tottenham and trying to prove yourself. Bale wouldn't win jack if he were still in Tottenham.

Toure is a star among many other stars so don't try and sell that bullshyte of him winning the league all by himself.Aguero and Silva were arguably more decisive in City winning the first of those two league titles.Busquets was the midfield anchor and Toure was reduced to a passenger role when Barca won those UCL and along with other titles.