AVBwatch

[ralvy]

WHEN?

This is such a stupid statement since you named 2 italian clubs and the fact Serie A has lost a CL place because they didnt take Europa league seriously.

They may of taken it seriously before the expansion of the CL but since then no one big team has taken it seriously. That was further shown by ac milan fielding a second string against Portsmouth and not beating them despite being losing half the team.


2004
Barcelona knocked out by Celtic (barcelona had players like Ronaldinho, xavi, Luis Enrique and etc.)
Inter knocked out by Marseille (inter had some great players much better than marseille)

2008
Villarreal knocked out by Zenit

2009
AC Milan knocked out by Werder Bremen
Valencia knocked out by Dynamo kyiv

2010
Juventus knocked out in quarter finals by Fulham

Big teams never cared about the Europa league and is part of the reason italy is struggling

Inter and Juve pretty much owned the competition during the 90s, making 7 finals between between the two of them. Bayern also won it during the 90s.

And here's a list of the last 10 UEFA Cup finals. Are we really bigger than clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Porto, Dortmund, Valencia and Sevilla? Porto actually won the competition just one year before winning the CL. Not prestigious my ass.



Galatasaray (UCL) 0–0*[A] Arsenal (UCL) Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Liverpool 5–4§http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UEFA_Cup_and_Europa_League_finals#endnote_2001.5E Deportivo Alavés Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
Feyenoord (UCL) 3–2 Borussia Dortmund (UCL) De Kuip, Rotterdam
Porto 3–2

[C] Celtic (UCL) Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville
Valencia 2–0 Marseille (UCL) Nya Ullevi, Gothenburg
CSKA Moscow (UCL) 3–1 Sporting CP Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
Sevilla 4–0 Middlesbrough Philips Stadion, Eindhoven
Sevilla 2–2*[D] Espanyol Hampden Park, Glasgow
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2–0 Rangers (UCL) City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Shakhtar Donetsk (UCL) 2–1

[E] Werder Bremen (UCL) Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul

 

[beats1]

Inter and Juve pretty much owned the competition during the 90s, making 7 finals between between the two of them. Bayern also won it during the 90s.

And here's a list of the last 10 UEFA Cup finals. Are we really bigger than clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Porto, Dortmund, Valencia and Sevilla? Porto actually won the competition just one year before winning the CL. Not prestigious my ass.



Galatasaray (UCL) 0–0*[A] Arsenal (UCL) Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Liverpool 5–4§ Deportivo Alavés Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
Feyenoord (UCL) 3–2 Borussia Dortmund (UCL) De Kuip, Rotterdam
Porto 3–2

[C] Celtic (UCL) Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville
Valencia 2–0 Marseille (UCL) Nya Ullevi, Gothenburg
CSKA Moscow (UCL) 3–1 Sporting CP Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
Sevilla 4–0 Middlesbrough Philips Stadion, Eindhoven
Sevilla 2–2*[D] Espanyol Hampden Park, Glasgow
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2–0 Rangers (UCL) City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Shakhtar Donetsk (UCL) 2–1

[E] Werder Bremen (UCL) Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul

You may of missed the bit where I said CL expansion.

Im taking it you're young and don't know that the CL use to consist of league winners until the late 90's when the competition started to allow the top 2 before allowing the top 4 teams in the country for top nations.

Before this the uefa cup had alot of prestige as the Uefa cup use to have big teams in it.

As soon as they got rid of the UEFA cup winners cup competition, expanded CL to 4 places in 2002. The UEFA cup was no longer prestigious and became the competition for the shitter teams around Europe since then the winners finalists have been:

So do I think we are bigger then the teams left, with the exception of Valencia yes, they are all in either shite leagues or they were never competitive in their own big league.

Of course, porto are the other exception, however them winning the CL doesnt make it more prestigious.

Seville's manager left them for us, should you not forget off the back of 2 uefa cup wins.

Worth noting alot of those Big teams weren't that big in the last 10 years especially considering teams like Dortmund were close to bankruptcy.

 

[Real_madyidd]

Down to us fans to support and stay behind the manager.
It will take time and patients.

It won't be easy for some.

Completely. I have already seen Chiriches calle "car crash" (hilarious) what chance do players have when after two games under a new manager they are mocked?

Plus we always have to have a scapegoat.

 

[SteveH]

Completely. I have already seen Chiriches calle "car crash" (hilarious) what chance do players have when after two games under a new manager they are mocked?

Plus we always have to have a scapegoat.

Vlad did not have a good one thats for sure and I'm not too bothered when the criticism is more frustration and disappointment and usually is just after the match. I got annoyed with Vlad and few others that day myself. As you say its the prolonged mocking which also does my head in.
I was a little guilty when poor old Naughton was asked to play left back last season, but I think he has done well in his proper position, in Walkers absensens.

Scapegoat of the season was definitely Mr D Rose...........one of my favourite players. Ade has still got a few on his case as well, I like our Ade also.

 

[parklane1]

.

Scapegoat of the season was definitely Mr D Rose...........one of my favourite players. Ade has still got a few on his case as well, I like our Ade also.

Used to play for the Arse you know.

 

[SteveH]

Used to play for the Arse you know.

Sadly 'I think' it goes a lot deeper than that. But he is a Spurs player and a bit of an odd ball - so he gets a bonus support point from me.

Me off topic...........I should coco

 

[ralvy]

You may of missed the bit where I said CL expansion.

Im taking it you're young and don't know that the CL use to consist of league winners until the late 90's when the competition started to allow the top 2 before allowing the top 4 teams in the country for top nations.

Before this the uefa cup had alot of prestige as the Uefa cup use to have big teams in it.

As soon as they got rid of the UEFA cup winners cup competition, expanded CL to 4 places in 2002. The UEFA cup was no longer prestigious and became the competition for the shitter teams around Europe since then the winners finalists have been:

So do I think we are bigger then the teams left, with the exception of Valencia yes, they are all in either shite leagues or they were never competitive in their own big league.

Of course, porto are the other exception, however them winning the CL doesnt make it more prestigious.

Seville's manager left them for us, should you not forget off the back of 2 uefa cup wins.

Worth noting alot of those Big teams weren't that big in the last 10 years especially considering teams like Dortmund were close to bankruptcy.

Sorry, I did missed you saying CL expansion.

And yes, Im somewhat young, but I've been following European football since before I was 5 years old (early 90s), so there's no need for the history lesson.

There's no denying the cup lost a lot of weight as the CL grew bigger and bigger, but to say it wasn't prestigious anymore is quite simply not true. You want to make it sound like it had turned into another intertoto or something.

 

[beats1]

Sorry, I did missed you saying CL expansion.

And yes, Im somewhat young, but I've been following European football since before I was 5 years old (early 90s), so there's no need for the history lesson.

There's no denying the cup lost a lot of weight as the CL grew bigger and bigger, but to say it wasn't prestigious anymore is quite simply not true. You want to make it sound like it had turned into another intertoto or something.

Intertoto was the uefa cup and was never a prestigious tournament

Also saying the Uefa Cup is prestigious is like saying the League cup prestigious, it turned in to the League cup of Europe with the big teams playing their second strings

 

[parklane1]

Always makes me laugh when i hear Spurs fans who think we are too big a club to win a European trophy.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

In all honesty the Europa League lost a bit of it's glamour when the name changed from the Uefa Cup and went to a group stage competition rather than the knockout. It's got it back a bit this year with the adage of the winners getting a Champions League berth but while the cast offs from the main Champions League competition are allowed to compete in the later stages of the Europa it will always be looked at as a much less prestigious competition than the Champions League, far less so than what it was when we won it in the 80s.

 

[parklane1]

In all honesty the Europa League lost a bit of it's glamour when the name changed from the Uefa Cup and went to a group stage competition rather than the knockout. It's got it back a bit this year with the adage of the winners getting a Champions League berth but while the cast offs from the main Champions League competition are allowed to compete in the later stages of the Europa it will always be looked at as a much less prestigious competition than the Champions League, far less so than what it was when we won it in the 80s.

I agree its not as big a prize as the CL, however those fans who reguard us as being to big a club to be in it really need to get a reality check.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

I agree its not as big a prize as the CL, however those fans who reguard us as being to big a club to be in it really need to get a reality check.

I'm not sure I've heard a lot of those fans to be honest, for me I want to win every competition we are in, but there are things that make the Europa League a pain in the arse, the Thursday nights/changing everything to a Sunday for a start.

We're not too big for it, it's a very winnable and worthwhile competition with the CL prize at stake.

 

[SuperPav]

Things are looking really good for Zenit and AVB this season. They have qualified for the Europa League Quarterfinals for the first time since they won the tournament in 2008, and after beating CSKA last weekend in the League they look safely underway to win the Championship after having missed out on it the last two seasons. They have a ten point gap to Krasnodar with eight games to go. Also looks like their gonna break the club's record for least goals conceded and most goals scored in a season.

However, the club is currently struggling with quite a segment of fans who are critical of the way the club is being led. The main point of conflict is the exclusion of Kerzhakov from the starting-eleven (who has a very high reputation among the Zenit-fans), instead playing either Rondon or Hulk as the main striker. There are many reasons for this and they are probably not reducible to dispositions by AVB since it relates to long-standing criticism of the Gazprom-ownership and inherent racism in Russian football. Another thing that could potentially limit the Zenit-project over the next couple of years is the economic sanctions against Russia and the devaluation of the currency rates but this is obviously less of a problem for Gazprom than for most of the other Russians club, why this might actually help consolidate Zenit's position as the strongest Russian club.

Being a Zenit-fan myself I just wanted to provide a little update

 

[littlemandefoe]

Things are looking really good for Zenit and AVB this season. They have qualified for the Europa League Quarterfinals for the first time since they won the tournament in 2008, and after beating CSKA last weekend in the League they look safely underway to win the Championship after having missed out on it the last two seasons. They have a ten point gap to Krasnodar with eight games to go. Also looks like their gonna break the club's record for least goals conceded and most goals scored in a season.

However, the club is currently struggling with quite a segment of fans who are critical of the way the club is being led. The main point of conflict is the exclusion of Kerzhakov from the starting-eleven (who has a very high reputation among the Zenit-fans), instead playing either Rondon or Hulk as the main striker. There are many reasons for this and they are probably not reducible to dispositions by AVB since it relates to long-standing criticism of the Gazprom-ownership and inherent racism in Russian football. Another thing that could potentially limit the Zenit-project over the next couple of years is the economic sanctions against Russia and the devaluation of the currency rates but this is obviously less of a problem for Gazprom than for most of the other Russians club, why this might actually help consolidate Zenit's position as the strongest Russian club.

Being a Zenit-fan myself I just wanted to provide a little update

I always liked Hulk and when I lived in Brasil he was loved but recently he just hasn't turned into that world class player everyone thought he would. Maybe going to Russia was a turning point? I think he's all physical and power and not really a smart, technical player. What do you think??

 

[SuperPav]

I don't think there is any doubt that playing in Russia has halted his development as a footballer. The league isn't really that competitive these years and the great surge it experienced when both CSKA and Zenit were doing well in Europe and the National Team that did so well at the Euro's in 2008 hasn't really been followed by what many expected. His numbers are great though and he is definitely the star of the team and we shouldn't forget that he actually managed to secure a spot in Brazil's starting eleven for basically the entire World Cup even though the tournament was quite a disappointment for him personally. Hasn't really been around under the new coach.

I do however think that Hulk has been great this season (and he has - quite surprisingly really - extended his contract recently), and the team is built around him in a more structured way than earlier (where he was also the main man but it was more a question of just giving him the ball). Scored an absolute stunner against CSKA the other day ( http://en.fc-zenit.ru/video/gl4494/ ). The team that AVB took over after Spalletti was quite in shambles (ironically enough I felt they had the exact same problems that season as we had when AVB left us, why I was very critical of those arguing that Spalletti should join us), but they look a great team now and I think the way they are utilising Hulk is critical for this. Now he's out with a lot of other key players for the first leg in the EL-quarterfinals and many are discrediting Zenit's chances for this reason, but if there is one thing we know in here it is that AVB knows how to set a team up for an EL away-game

Also, Zenit made two of the greatest transfers of the entire European window last summer, when they bought Garay for a ridiculous fee and Javi Garcia (whom I think has been amazing this season).

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I don't think there is any doubt that playing in Russia has halted his development as a footballer. The league isn't really that competitive these years and the great surge it experienced when both CSKA and Zenit were doing well in Europe and the National Team that did so well at the Euro's in 2008 hasn't really been followed by what many expected. His numbers are great though and he is definitely the star of the team and we shouldn't forget that he actually managed to secure a spot in Brazil's starting eleven for basically the entire World Cup even though the tournament was quite a disappointment for him personally. Hasn't really been around under the new coach.

I do however think that Hulk has been great this season (and he has - quite surprisingly really - extended his contract recently), and the team is built around him in a more structured way than earlier (where he was also the main man but it was more a question of just giving him the ball). Scored an absolute stunner against CSKA the other day ( http://en.fc-zenit.ru/video/gl4494/ ). The team that AVB took over after Spalletti was quite in shambles (ironically enough I felt they had the exact same problems that season as we had when AVB left us, why I was very critical of those arguing that Spalletti should join us), but they look a great team now and I think the way they are utilising Hulk is critical for this. Now he's out with a lot of other key players for the first leg in the EL-quarterfinals and many are discrediting Zenit's chances for this reason, but if there is one thing we know in here it is that AVB knows how to set a team up for an EL away-game

Also, Zenit made two of the greatest transfers of the entire European window last summer, when they bought Garay for a ridiculous fee and Javi Garcia (whom I think has been amazing this season).

Cheers for the reports. How has AVB got Zenit set up tactically ?

 

[THOWIG]

I do like Pochettino, but we will always rue the day we lost AVB.

 

[ralvy]

I do like Pochettino, but we will always rue the day we lost AVB.

Levy totally fucked it up there, didn't he? And we're deservedly paying the price right now.

 

[Lilbaz]

I do like Pochettino, but we will always rue the day we lost AVB.

Harry maybe. Not AVB. Also remember last season Sherwood having better points per game than AVB. Yet people hated him.

 

[Kiedis]

I did love AVB, and especially the more tactically flexible 2012/2013 version as opposed to the 2013/2014 one. It'll be interesting to see what his next career move will be and how he fares.