2005 Champions League

[BOB]

Everybody with eyes can see and knows that Henry doesn't stand up to be counted when his team really needs him most and I am sure he knows that and as much as I LOVE Titi yet I am always the first one to drop the gem on him especially when we (Arsenal) play against United now guys, let me put you all on the spot and ask you this, what do you think is the main reason behind his No-Show antics? We can't just become a typical Somali and claim he's scared, with all our knowledge of the game I think that is rubbish statement to make, he is way too talented to be marked out of the game by rubbish players like Wesbrown, Sylvestre, the Nevilles etc.

 

 

Viking

 

The reason why he doesn't score enough goals for Le Blu is simple sxb, he is unselfish and I will go as far as saying Zizou is even more selfish than Titi and the reason why I say this is simple, for the last couple of years the stats show ( I’ve read this in a magazine that came out just before the Euro04 and I will try to post those stats in the near future Insha Allah) that Titi has set up more goals for his French teammates particularly for his ex-monaco teammate Trez than Zidane did.

 

I am one of those guys who believe had both Henry & Kluivert been little bit selfish when in the kitchen (in the 18 yard) they would have scored more goals than any striker on the planet.

 

About the champions league..here is my prediction for the last eight.

 

1- Juve.

 

2- Inter.

 

3- Ac Milan.

 

4- Chelsea.

 

5- Bayern Munich (this hurts but I am only being honest as i don't see a defense that can shut out Bayern the whole 90 minutes)$187 Sorry Partner .

 

6- Lyon (it was easy to pick them up especially after what happened in Germany)

 

7- Liverpool ( I am not fully convinced simply because of Dudek)

 

8- Monaco (they can score 2 goals and they will).

 

 

Peace, Love & Unity.

[Thinkerman]

I still think it will go down to the wire Viking but ur right if Ancelloti uses his squad right then i'd say that gives them the slight advantage, but the seria teams have learnt how to get resutls from u, away and Home!!!

 

Milan were a class apart though, if they play that christmas tree formation with Kaka and Costa more often i'd say they could win the champions leauge or Seria

 

Dinho bad nes matey my mates just received a letter going around advising about "Conflict of interest" n his suppliers have told him they have suspended ticket allocations pending review :mad: :mad:

[Intel]

Originally posted by Totti:

Zizo btw reminding me why he is the player of his generation, blessed beyond normal imagination.

display of sheer quality, that run on the left wing in the 2nd half and the outside of the foot flick :eek: awesome

what is he now 32 or 33?

sad day for football the day he hangs up his boots

 

Totti wlc back bro longtime...dhibi majirto so'maha

[Keyz 1-8-7]

BOB,

 

I agree with what you say because it will take a crazy night for the Gunners to go through especially since Sol is gonna be out for the return leg.

 

I still have faith that we will go through but Im still 60/40 on it but with the away goal theres always a chance.

 

Arsenal are gonna have to defend by attacking Bayern and not let them get the ball to the attackers , but I still can't see Bayern not scoring at least one goal.

 

By the way did you guys hear the announcer at the Olympic Stadium. Taking the piss!

[Viking]

Originally posted by BOB:

Viking

The reason why he doesn't score enough goals for Le Blu is simple sxb, he is unselfish and I will go as far as saying Zizou is even more selfish than Titi and the reason why I say this is simple, for the last couple of years the stats show ( I’ve read this in a magazine that came out just before the Euro04 and I will try to post those stats in the near future Insha Allah) that Titi has set up more goals for his French teammates particularly for his ex-monaco teammate Trez than Zidane did.

 

I am one of those guys who believe had both Henry & Kluivert been little bit selfish when in the kitchen (in the 18 yard) they would have scored more goals than any striker on the planet.

BOB,

I don't believe it is because he's scared, that would be a silly thing to say. Kluivert and Herny don't play the same way, Henry likes to run from midfield (especially the left) whi Kluivert is a target player who sometimes plays just behind the other forward.

 

I also don't buy the argument that henry scores less for his country or in the Champions League just because he is "less-selfish". Is he selfish when he plays for the Gunners and less selfish when he players for Le Bleu? I think not. French team has more talented players who can score than the Gunners team. He also playes a bit to the left when teaming up with Trez.

 

Emanuel Petit (the ex-Gunner) was at the Eurosport studio when France played Sweden in a friendly recently and he was asked the same q why Henry doesn't score much for the national team. He said that NO ONE knew the reason why and many people come up all different theories but he said that no one knows why, not even Henry himself.

 

Kluivert scored less goals for Barca and Ajax because he prefers to play slightly behind the forward. Henry doesn't do this with the french national team; he ither plays up-front with Trez orslightly to the left just like he does at Arsenal.

 

 

Totti,

The serie A team might have learnt how to play Milan but that hasn't stopped them from having the best goal difference in the league and going top on Seria A

 

Massive game tomorrow at the Milan derby, I smell the first defeat for Inter because Milan might have boosted their confidence after beating Man U. But with Inter, you never know, they might grab an equaliser in the 94th minute like they did with Samp.

[BOB]

Viking,

 

for once let's pretend to be a football analysts (that is what we are in here.. any way) rather than a critic and try to figure out what could be the reason behind Henry's problem.

 

just think about it for a minute here and I am sure you have seen enough games where he was this devastating player that we all know he can be only when he wants to and then this player that didn't do as well as we expected him to do especially in crunch matches where you would expect him to lead the line for him team.

 

by the way I didn't say he was less selfish when playing for France and I never ever thought even for a single moment that Henry & Kluivert were similar but I took both as an example and how many more goals they would have scored if they were bit greedy whenever they were in the 18 yard.

 

Peace, Love & Unity.

[BOB]

Originally posted by $187$:

BOB,

 

I agree with what you say because it will take a crazy night for the Gunners to go through especially since Sol is gonna be out for the return leg.

 

I still have faith that we will go through but Im still 60/40 on it but with the away goal theres always a chance.

 

Arsenal are gonna have to defend by attacking Bayern and not let them get the ball to the attackers , but I still can't see Bayern not scoring at least one goal.

 

By the way did you guys hear the announcer at the Olympic Stadium. Taking the piss!

Let's keep our fingers crossed sxb .

 

Did you watch the game this afternoon?

We dropped two valuable points, well, some of my friends were pointing fingers at Lehman (yeah, him again) and the rest at Van Persie for getting sent off when everything was in our favour but I am rather worried about the extent of Pires's injury than those two points we dropped this afternoon.

 

but guess what?

 

I just watched Deprtivo beat the arrogance out of Real Madrid 2-0 but Barca dropped two points at Numancia as well so it's not only us who's finding the going tough sxb and our growing injury and suspension list isn’t helping at all but like I said before as far as we are concerned our title aspirations is truly over but watch out for our backlash next season Insha Allah.

 

Chelsea, Man Utd & Liverpool, be scared, be very very scared because Gunners will be back bigger and hungrier than ever before.

 

 

Peace, Love & Unity.

[Baaniyal]

The CL is back,and with it comes the analysts. Cant' say that i was too suprised with the results, especially the lacklustrous gunners. There is a very strange psychological problem with frenchies, starting with the manager who has to be the most stubborn S.O.B i have seen. The confidence fctor begins with the manager, and just like a virus it transmits thru the whole team. When was the last time we have watched Viera asert himself in a CL game? You would think a second shot to prove yourself at the Olympiastadion would be enough,and this time there is no Effenberg to muscle you around. The defence that Wenger put out against Munich cost a total of 4 million pounds,a staggering stat. Isn't 5 million the prize money for winning the CL? Add to that figure a hapless 1.5 million pound goalie. It is known that Wenger suffers from extreme Myopia, but when you concede so much and soo easily, your eyes will start to speak for your mouth. How can he still be the only manager in the EPL and CL that still plays a zonal marking against free kicks and corners? You would think that the # of goals Arsenal have conceded from those situations is proof enough that it does not work. Enough of these cheap buys,build the team from the back, Arsenal are not the poor club they used to be, they have been ranked as the 6 richest club in the world a few days ago, and in 2006-2007 will be the 3rd richest only behind Manu and Chelsea.

 

Anyways it looks to be a Real-Milan final,or even Chelsea with that stubborn defence(yes they will eliminate Barca) as for the rest, darkhorses maybe? Who cares am saddened by the pathetic condition of my gunners,who somehow managed to walkaway today from St. Mary's with only a draw, damn tossers.

 

 

P.S.--> Milan put on a masterclass performance at Old Trafford, not your typical Italian team.

[Viking]

Originally posted by BOB:

Viking,

 

for once let's pretend to be a football analysts (that is what we are in here.. any way) rather than a critic and try to figure out what could be the reason behind Henry's problem.

 

just think about it for a minute here and I am sure you have seen enough games where he was this devastating player that we all know he can be only when he wants to and then this player that didn't do as well as we expected him to do especially in crunch matches where you would expect him to lead the line for him team.

I was giving you the views of a football analyst dee, lool. I just thought of one thing that I haven't thought of before. In Arsenal, he is the "top-dog", the man expected to deliver the results. He is a bit arrogant and relishes the challenge ahead of him (I assume that's why he thumps his chest after scoring). But at Le Bleu, the top-dog is Zizou, people know that his form or contribution will decide the outcome of a game, so the pressure is off Henry. He can just chill in the left wing and watch Zizou do his magic. Could this be it? Just another thery but there might be more to it...

 

 

Originally posted by BOB:

by the way I didn't say he was less selfish when playing for France and I never ever thought even for a single moment that Henry & Kluivert were similar but I took both as an example and how many more goals they would have scored if they were bit greedy whenever they were in the 18 yard.

I assumed that you were implying he was not selfish and that was the reason he doesn't score that much for the national team when compared to his efforts for Arsenal. Remember, you said... "The reason why he doesn't score enough goals for Le Blu is simple sxb, he is unselfish and I will go as far as saying Zizou is even more selfish than Titi and the reason why I say this is simple, for the last couple of years the stats show ( I’ve read this in a magazine that came out just before the Euro04 and I will try to post those stats in the near future Insha Allah) that Titi has set up more goals for his French teammates particularly for his ex-monaco teammate Trez than Zidane did." Why doesn't he do the same for Arsenal (set up goals)? For me, Bergkamp is the person who provides the most assists (when he plays) and who's task is to set up for others to score. In 2002 when Ljungberg scored 17 goals and Gunners won the double, Bergkamp set up over 90% of the goals for him.

[Thinkerman]

Thanks Rokko lol, your right sxb there no problems here & no complaints......well not many anyway :cool: .

 

Baay your right sxb, i was cheering on Man U from the Stands with some drunken louts behind me lol, but AC Milan played great, even the drunk louts behind me said " hey op the best team won lads"

 

1hr.45mins to Kick off before Chelsea Lpool Final in Cardiff, and 7.45pm Kick off for the Milan Derby ahh great day ahead

 

salams folks

[Keyz 1-8-7]

Viking,

Why doesn't he do the same for Arsenal (set up goals)? For me, Bergkamp is the person who provides the most assists (when he plays) and who's task is to set up for others to score

If you actually look at Henry's stats you will see that if he doesn't score in a match he always contributes to other goals. lets take the 4-2 loss against utd. Who set up both of the goals that arsenal scored? Henry.

 

Just another thing you might be interested in, Henry was the topscorer and got most assists as a striker last season.

 

Im sure you will come up with a counter reply but make sure you do some REAL research first seen as you're an Analyst .

 

Peace!

[Keyz 1-8-7]

Bob,

 

I am rather worried about the extent of Pires's injury than those two points we dropped this afternoon.

I'm not worried about pires's injury, the points are more valuable. Pires is not the pires of last season. The free scoring midfielder is one of the best goal scoring midfielders in Europe. Sadly, we have not seen any of this this season. Admittedly he took initiative against the chelsea match when he had to help Cesc and young Flamini. He deserves credit for that, but he simply has not put in the performances we know he can when we've needed him.

 

I think that if he doesn't improve in the coming 10 or so games, we will have to admit that pires has lost his touch and should put on the window for shopping.

[BOB]

Originally posted by $187$:

If you actually look at Henry's stats you will see that if he doesn't score in a match he always contributes to other goals. lets take the 4-2 loss against utd. Who set up both of the goals that arsenal scored? Henry.

You are absolutely right Sxb, last season he scored 30 goals in the premier league and set up around 20-22 goals for the likes of Pires & Bergkamp.

 

Sx, let's stay positive and hope for the best because I got this feeling that we will end the season with some sort of silverware, I am sure of that.

 

Viking,

I believe there’s more to it than meets the eye and someday we will know why.

 

Peace, Love & Unity.

[Viking]

Originally posted by $187$:

Viking,

If you actually look at Henry's stats you will see that if he doesn't score in a match he always contributes to other goals. lets take the 4-2 loss against utd. Who set up both of the goals that arsenal scored? Henry.

 

Just another thing you might be interested in, Henry was the topscorer and got most assists as a striker last season.

 

Im sure you will come up with a counter reply but make sure you do some REAL research first seen as you're an

Analyst

.

 

Peace!

187,

It is the job of every forward to try and pass the ball to his fellow forward if he's in a better position. If you look at the goals Crespo or Tomasson scores at Milan, most of them are set up by Shevchenko. The same thing applies for i.e. Inter, Martins serves Adriano/Vieri or vice versa; but in reality, Kaka and Veron are seen as the person who's job is to work behind the forwards and supply them with passes so that they can score, the playmakers. They open up the game and create attacking options.

 

Look at Roma, Totti, Cassano and Montella usually play as forwards but it's Totti who has the "playmaker's" role. But Cassano or Montella can end up with a higher number of assists than Totti at the end of the season because they pass to each other a lot and also help Totti score a lot of goals (note how they lost when he didn't play this weekend, they lacked ideas). This works ALL ways and often the forward ends up setting more assists that the playmaker. Same thing applies for Man U, their "playmaker" is Scholes, but even in the days of York and Cole, they had more assists than him despite despite the fact that he is the playmaker who's supposed to make those crucial passes (note how Milan managed to lock Man U out only by making sure Scholes didn't get to work freely - even the expert commentators didn't pick up on that ).

 

If you have two players who are supposed to be in the opponents 18 yard box (forwards), do you think it's a suprise that they create assists for each other?

 

Arsenal doesn't have a typical playmaker, but the presence of Bergkamp makes a great difference in their creativity when attacking. Put henry with Reyes and they might not score for many games. If you add bergkamp and push one of the forwards to the left, BANG! Goals are flowing from every corner. Bergkamp doesn't play the away games in the Champions League and it has proven to be a BIG blow for Arsenal. I think his absence is the major reason why they perform horribly on away games.

 

If you saw the Milan derby tonight, a clear example can be seen. Veron was playing very well and Inter were attacking from the beginning and he was providing precise passes even across the field. I know that Milan scored just after they changed him with Emre, but did you see how the options in attack diminished with his absence? Inter are a team that has scored MANY goals in the dying minutes of games, but with the absence of Veron, Martins, Vieri and Adriano looked like lost sheep (not taking credit from the best defenders in the world; Nesta and Maldini ).

 

 

PS: When I said..."For me, Bergkamp is the person who provides the most assists (when he plays) and who's task is to set up for others to score."... I was not counting the forwards but the midfielders. Playmakers are the people who's duty is to "ASSIST" the forwards in attacking. At least that's how I understand it, please correct me if I got it all wrong. Plus, I wasn't speaking as an expert analyst but just a dude who likes football, that's why I had the 'LOOL' at the end of that particular sentence

[Keyz 1-8-7]

I was not counting the forwards but the midfielders.

Isn't Dennis Bergkamp a striker??