₦airaland Forum

chic2pimp:
Nope that was always going to happen sooner rather than later.

I agree with you in that the UCL is becoming more interesting.

well, this is happening now. . . . and with the xcitement, is an increase in the competitiveness!

Nani, Valencia, Fabio, O'shea, Gary, Brown, Foster, Berbatov, Welbeck, Carrick . . . bash em all u want, but they're all we got till the close-season and we will stick with em like or not _{unless we want to field a team well short of 11 all the time}

bgees:
u think he was stupid for substituting Torress at Fulham? well u are the slowpoke. torres was struggling,he was barely fit, u are not the manager so u dont know anything about the players' fitness. Moreover we have the Lyon game to think about.

i just hope we get out of this mess so everyone else can STFU.

@ least substitute him for somebody known - somebody that instills a sense of belief in the fans and other players on the pitch. . . . Eccleston, Degen. . . . who the Bleep are those
what in the world happened to the other li'l more familiar faces like Ngog, Nazir etc

RuuDie:
from good teams, evolve great teams, players and managers alike.

like we never saw the best player in the world ever coming from africa. . . . .

slimshay:
In as much as i like your arguments RuuDie, what you have shown there highlights the fact that it is ore interesting not stronger. Upsets are interesting, rooting for the underdog to win is interesting but not necessarily stronger.

It is quite noble of UEFA to attempt to put teams from all elagues into t he top competion i Europe but i'll very much wait for the result of the return leg in Rubin Kazan before i will sart saying Russian league is now stronger because they got a one in ten upset result.

Definitely interesting. . . .  & sure as hell stronger!
By "stronger" we mean good, healthy competition. . . . . . two "big" names against each other doesn't necessarily translate to stronger competition. Two good football playing teams does.

& pls the result in Rubin matters not too much; wait till the roll-call of qualifiers is announced.

chic2pimp:
Balance is shifting ke? I don't think so. The only reason it seems that way is cuz many of em' strong leagues no longer have great teams.

They might have good teams but they don't have great teams

from good teams, evolve great teams, players and managers alike.

hope y'all don't blame it on the cold when you get thunked

IFELEKE:
that's the key. . .

thats also the risk. . . .

on paper, mozambique is far stronger opposition than kenya - so naija have a relatively easier game to play compared to the tunisians, thats why i feel its not all cut and dried yet. tunisia might have felt they did all the hard work over two legs against naija, but in truth, this is the mountain they have to climb (unless of course they have an under-the-table agreement with mozambique).

dayokanu:
That was some spirited comeback from the scumtwats.

thanks for having the grace to admit this much. . . .

dayokanu:
I wish Bayern can clone Effenberg right now and fling plonkers like VBommel to antarctica

shyte happens man. . . . might take a while but y'all will be back - need more quality in you m/f though!

Cristalz:
@Ruudie
I was impressed, honestly. We held on tight till the very end.
I was already getting ready for a loss.

Who says we can't beat Chelsea?

when i first saw 1-3. . . . i really wasn't surprised; somehow i knew UTD could still peg it back - we pushed em back in the latter stages of the 2^nd stanza and it was good pressing cuz chances were coming.

Pato had a good goal ruled off; it shoulda stood. . . . Madrid were lucky to escape that one - all square & marseille are right back in the hunt. . . . great stuff!

So, is the level of competition in the UCL really dropping Is it stronger and much more competitive now

Group F: Barcelona 4pts, Kiev 4pts, Rubin 4pts, Inter 3pts. . . . . . stiff competition or what

Group C: Milan 7pts, Madrid 7pts, Marseille 6pts, Zurich 3pts - isn't there still all to play for here

Group A - Bourdeaux 10pts, juve 8pts Bayern 4pts. . . . who'd have ever envisioned such like 5yrs ago

Cristalz:
Not Valencia.  .  .Georgy Shennikov own goal.
Dude has always admired United secretly.

Okay, so we still top the group. On to the next round we go.

We'd berra play a lot better than this on Sunday.

i think our lads did great considering the team that started and how much time the subs needed to adapt and make an impact on the game. we showed fighting-spirit which is good. . . . . . i always tell my pals that when UTD are playing well, putting pressure on the opposition and creating good chances; i never fear cuz i know the goals will come!

oh laaawwwdy. . . .

poor ol' bayern!

davidylan:
Point of correction - lucky deflection levels.

who the Bleep cares. . . .

3-3

valencia levels

ha aha hahaahahahahahahaha

UTTTTTDDDDD

isn't it just a refreshing break from the baseless 1-way traffic of the past. . . . .

Ibime:
I think its better to concentrate on your match. . . . abi una don score?

not surprised. . . . .

slimshay:
Stronger?, i'm not so sure. More interesting yes, cos upsets like Rubin against Barca is sensational stuff. But really, how many people were tuned in to watch that match in the first place.

More interesting & yes. . . . . Stronger!

Do you think people are not fed up of watching dour Liverpool - Chelsea games yr in and out in the UCL the fact that two "big" names are squaring up against each other doesn't make a tourney strong or interesting. . . . in fact, fascinating spectacles in footie tourneys have been served up by less known / fancied teams.

My point is this. . . . . when we have some of this "small" clubs to "disturb" here and there, it makes the tournament less monotonous.
For instance, look at the Barca/Inter/Rubin group - tell me some1 is not getting excited out there about something unbelievable happening there. . . . . . invariably, these kind of situations heightens tensions and makes teams up their game to scale or fall by the wayside just like UTD seasons ago when they were drawn with Lille, Benfica and Villareal.
Frankly, am tired of seeing teams stroll thru the qualifying stages like they was playing the Carling Cup.
Look at the Europa ligue, do you see any particular pattern of dominance No. . . . . because at every turn, you don't know what to expect and thats just the beauty of the game there.

I predict. . . . and I know the score. . . . First goal's gonna be on a minute that has a four. . . . and Rubin's gonna brush Barca on the cold floor!

[quote author=~Sauron~ link=topic=319383.msg4855129#msg4855129 date=1257270845]@ Ruudie,

United will lose WITHOUT Fletcher.[/quote]he can come in later. . . the man is just fresh off injury, no need to rush im, i don't think SAF will put him in unless he opts for a 4-5-1.
anyways i just want to see a very attack-minded UTD against Chelsea for 1ce; enuf of the drab 4-5-1 thing that hardly does us any good!

Me thinks . . . . ITALY - USA will be the very match!

who the Bleep thot it so bleeping unwise to square Burkina Sofa up with Spain

semid4lyfe:
A draw will see them thru' provided Nigeria doesn't win against Kenya.

depends. . . . if they're still applying away-goal (*not very sure about this) rule then a draw is all tunisia needs.
But if tunisia have to go for a win in Mozambique; then i can confidently say its in naija's hands to throw away.

The UTD team i'd luv to see at the SB on sunday:



EVRA GIGGS

VIDIC CARRICK BERBATOV

VDS

EVANS ANDERSON OWEN

BROWN ROONEY

L'pool will bounce back. . . . thats for sure!

slimshay:
you know somebody is goin to have to ask you how.

inadvertently, priorities would have been straightened out for LFC. the club can then focus on what they have in hand; ligue & FA Cup - perharps then we'll see Rafa make better use of his squad & hopefully, we won't see a repeat of what happened at the weekend in Fulham where even the players on the field were in total disagreement with the manager's decisions!