UEFA Cup 2008/2009

[tRiKS]

3rd time lucky, eh?! It definitely looks tougher than in past seasons. Would love to see us play CSKA, Sevilla and Milan.

CSKA - spent a year in Russia so it would be good banter with my mates back there

Sevilla - Revenge

Milan - the club with the most international trophies in the history of football

international? not right word. do you mean euorpean club trophies? and if so.... I'm pretty sure Madrid are top of that list.

 

[Bingy]

The CL team addition was an attempt to satisfy the 'money grabbing' CL light weights who were light enough to be eliminated at an early stage.....BAD MOVE generally. (I was reliably informed that it was the FA who spearheaded this ridiculous idea to compensate the 'drop outs' in the same fashion as above). Football, at the highest levels, is a money game....and we are only 'waiters' at the present festivity! COYS!

 

[Destroyer]

The CL team addition was an attempt to satisfy the 'money grabbing' CL light weights who were light enough to be eliminated at an early stage.....BAD MOVE generally. (I was reliably informed that it was the FA who spearheaded this ridiculous idea to compensate the 'drop outs' in the same fashion as above). Football, at the highest levels, is a money game....and we are only 'waiters' at the present festivity! COYS!

Dont tell me - David Dein ??

 

[worcestersauce]

I thought Milan had crept in to the CL, did they lose their last game then?

 

[SpurSince57]

Losing to Napoli last weekend did for them. They thumped Udinese 4-1 yesterday, but Fiorentina beat Torino and took fourth by two points.

 

[nightgoat]

Strong looking competition... Hopefully this will lead to more big games for us, as we've only really faced two stronger teams in the last two seasons in Sevilla and PSV...

A tie against Milan, Ajax or Benfica would be a great night...

 

[joey55]

I think people are being generous describing PSV as a strong side. The Seville side that knocked us out had many players that would easily have walked into our team (Palop, Navaro, Poulsen, Navas, Adriano and Puerta etc), but there aren't many I'd take from PSV. One or two maybe, but compared to us, they aren't strong.

 

[joey.leone]

Ajax

These teams look potentially very difficult, let's hope for a good draw in the later rounds.

In the current scheme of things, id think we'd beat Ajax quite easily. They arent what they were. FC twente beat them to a CL place. It would be a great tie though.

 

[milkman]

"The Yids are going on a European Tour! a European Tour! a European Tour!" :wink:

 

[nightgoat]

I think people are being generous describing PSV as a strong side. The Seville side that knocked us out had many players that would easily have walked into our team (Palop, Navaro, Poulsen, Navas, Adriano and Puerta etc), but there aren't many I'd take from PSV. One or two maybe, but compared to us, they aren't strong.

Maybe not on paper, but they were vastly more experienced than our side... They passed and kept the ball an awful lot better than we did, too...

 

[joey55]

Maybe not on paper, but they were vastly more experienced than our side... They passed and kept the ball an awful lot better than we did, too...

They definitely played aswell or better than us, but unlike against Sevilla, we didn't have an excuse of being second best on paper. You say they were vastly more experienced but that is just plain wrong (though a fair thing to assume seeing at they are PSV). We were the far more experienced side, in both age and in terms of what levels the players had played at before. Our average age was over 27, whilst theirs was younger than 26. Also we have far more International Caps and top level European and domestic experience. I think people assumed that because it was a PSV side it would naturally mean that it had experience, but they don't currently have players of the usual experience or quality. We just under achieved and should have made light work of them.

 

[Bonjour]

They definitely played aswell or better than us, but unlike against Sevilla, we didn't have an excuse of being second best on paper. You say they were vastly more experienced but that is just plain wrong (though a fair thing to assume seeing at they are PSV). We were the far more experienced side, in both age and in terms of what levels the players had played at before. Our average age was over 27, whilst theirs was younger than 26. Also we have far more International Caps and top level European and domestic experience. I think people assumed that because it was a PSV side it would naturally mean that it had experience, but they don't currently have players of the usual experience or quality. We just under achieved and should have made light work of them.

I concur.

They were no better, really, than the Leverkusen side that we brushed aside the year before.

 

[Kingellesar]

I'm looking forward to it already. I hope:

We draw AC Milan asap
Berbatov scores a hatrick sending them out

And ofc win the cup ;p