barca

Looked like a dive from where I was


admittedly I was in the kitchen without a TV, but even so

cheating Barcelona @#%&!s

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

Looked like a dive from where I was


admittedly I was in the kitchen without a TV, but even so

cheating Barcelona @#%&!s

About as blatant a penalty as you are ever going to see.

..'ere we go again, with no sense of perspective and yet again putting another team on such a £#%&!ing high pedestal

Originally Posted by Sparky***

they're untouchable mate.

No they're not, good side, in form but very much on a role and steamrollering sides with their momentum.

I remember the same knee jerk shit when Real Madrid beat us a few years ago.. best side ever ! ..who can stop them ?

...Juventus that's who.. and in the very next round aswell !



Don't forget, we were unbeatable ! ..ooh about a month or so ago,, :shakehead:

Chelsea will knock them out next round.

Originally Posted by Fountz

Chelsea will knock them out next round.

Maybe a couple of years ago, but last night they looked like a more open, attacking side. I think Barca (unlike the vermin) would take advantage of that. Hiddink is a very astute coach and it'd be a close game, but I'd still bet on the Catalans. For what it’s worth, I think they're more then just a good side - they're better then the side they had 2004-2006, which was pretty £#%&!ing special itself.

Guardiola has really impressed me this season. A favourite of mine when he played, I've been really pleased seeing him be a success. Dealt with the egos around the Camp Nou extremely well and kept the side disciplined.

Did anyone notice Marquez getting himself booked for time wasting so he could sit out the return leg and not the semi? Tut, tut.

And they're not untouchable at all. They're favourites and look a good bet. They're also defensively frail and were up against a dreadful Bayern defence. All four goals were pretty on the eye, but all four were avoidable.

We've seen this often enough. Some team blitzes all before them, but then a pragmatic team comes along and stifles them. It might happen, it might not, but reserve the sweeping statements. They're the same kind of hyperbole that saw people on here celebrating our 'easy' fixture against Porto

Butt, Oddo, Demichelis, Breno, Lell, Altintop (Ottl 46), Schweinsteiger, Van Bommel, Ze Roberto (Sosa 76), Ribery, Toni.

is a pretty poor side to be honest so if barca hadnt won comfortably at home against that side they should have been dissapointed.

Originally Posted by Fountz

..'ere we go again, with no sense of perspective and yet again putting another team on such a £#%&!ing high pedestal



No they're not, good side, in form but very much on a role and steamrollering sides with their momentum.

I remember the same knee jerk shit when Real Madrid beat us a few years ago.. best side ever ! ..who can stop them ?

...Juventus that's who.. and in the very next round aswell !



Don't forget, we were unbeatable ! ..ooh about a month or so ago,, :shakehead:

Chelsea will knock them out next round.

Well hush my mouth.

Without Messi they'd be ordinary - Chelsea will see them off.

Originally Posted by Father Christmas

Without Messi they'd be ordinary - Chelsea will see them off.

Yep.

Alves
Xavi
Iniesta
Henry
Eto'o

are all just average players.

I don't buy into the hype buy any means, but £#%&!ing hell :shakehead:

Originally Posted by dunk

Yep.

Alves
Xavi
Iniesta
Henry
Eto'o

are all just average players.

I don't buy into the hype buy any means, but £#%&!ing hell :shakehead:

Indeed. Henry looked back to his best last night. If he can work the left side like that, similar to how he did at Arsenal, with Messi on the right and Eto'o through the middle, with Iniesta and Xavi behind and Dani Alves supporting the attack, it's difficult to see anyone coping with them. It's scary to think how good they could be next season if they bought a proper goalkeeper and a world-class central defender this summer, rather than going for Ribery, Villa etc.

never forget how quickly teams slip off the top if they fail to evolve. the ability to constantly reinvent us is what makes fergie special. that barca team has two, maybe three years before it starts to age badly. is pep guardiola capable of reinventing it?

Originally Posted by borsuk

never forget how quickly teams slip off the top if they fail to evolve. the ability to constantly reinvent us is what makes fergie special. that barca team has two, maybe three years before it starts to age badly. is pep guardiola capable of reinventing it?

Yep, and he probably wouldn't be given the chance, unfortunately. It's quite rare in Spain these days that the same manager reinvents a side, because the fickleness of the fans and press usually puts too much pressure on the club to focus almost entirely on immediate success. They're forever banging on about the end of cycles and mini eras, and everything is geared towards short-term domination and then almost complete rebuilding as soon as there's a drop in level. Even if Guardiola has great success this season, chances are he won't survive the "change in cycle" himself.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Indeed. Henry looked back to his best last night. If he can work the left side like that, similar to how he did at Arsenal, with Messi on the right and Eto'o through the middle, with Iniesta and Xavi behind and Dani Alves supporting the attack, it's difficult to see anyone coping with them. It's scary to think how good they could be next season if they bought a proper goalkeeper and a world-class central defender this summer, rather than going for Ribery, Villa etc.

Not really the Barca way though is it.

Ribery will end up at OT.

Originally Posted by Part 36 Offer

Not really the Barca way though is it.

Ribery will end up at OT.

I can't see it tbh.

Bayern will want ridiculous money.

Originally Posted by borsuk

never forget how quickly teams slip off the top if they fail to evolve. the ability to constantly reinvent us is what makes fergie special. that barca team has two, maybe three years before it starts to age badly. is pep guardiola capable of reinventing it?

In terms of key players, with the exception of Henry, Puyol and (probably) Eto'o, it's actually a pretty young team. They also have some very promising players coming through their youth system; and this on top of the players, such as Bojan and Busquets, who are already in the first-team squad.

Valdes - 27

Dani Alves - 25
Pique - 22
Marquez - 30
Puyol - 30
Caceres - 21
Gabi Milito - 28
Abidal - 29
Sylvinho - 34

Toure - 25
Iniesta - 24
Xavi - 29
Keita - 28
Gudjohnsen - 30
Sergi Busquets - 20

Messi - 21
Eto'o - 28
Henry - 31
Bojan - 18
Pedro - 21

Xavi could probably keep going for another four years or so, given his playing style; Valdes, Alves, Iniesta, Toure, Busquets, Messi, Bojan, Pique, and possibly Caceres and Pedro should all be in their prime in three to four years. Then you have the likes of (the extremely talented) Thiago Alcantara to come into the squad also. If over the next couple of seasons they bring in a top quality defender (or two), and a striker (I know they're looking here), they would still look in very good shape indeed. Whether they'll be able to maintain their hunger and whether Guardiola will still be there is another matter, of course...

Originally Posted by Sparky***

Well hush my mouth.

He's right though and I completely agree.

It happens every year, mainly with Barca. I think people just romanticize about them too much because they have this tradition of playing attractive football. They've only won the comp twice in their history...they're not this great European team people make out they are.

Originally Posted by dunk

I can't see it tbh.

Bayern will want ridiculous money.

Well, if Ronaldo goes chances are we'll have it. He would seem the obvious replacement, for me.

Originally Posted by sullers

He's right though and I completely agree.

It happens every year, mainly with Barca. I think people just romanticize about them too much because they have this tradition of playing attractive football. They've only won the comp twice in their history...they're not this great European team people make out they are.

To be fair, they have scored 113 goals in 38 games in La Liga and Champions League proper this season. That's pretty special. Absurd, actually.

Originally Posted by Serenity Now

In terms of key players, with the exception of Henry, Puyol and (probably) Eto'o, it's actually a pretty young team. They also have some very promising players coming through their youth system; and this on top of the players, such as Bojan and Busquets, who are already in the first-team squad.

Valdes - 27

Dani Alves - 25
Pique - 22
Marquez - 30
Puyol - 30
Caceres - 21
Gabi Milito - 28
Abidal - 29
Sylvinho - 34

Toure - 25
Iniesta - 24
Xavi - 29
Keita - 28
Gudjohnsen - 30
Sergi Busquets - 20

Messi - 21
Eto'o - 28
Henry - 31
Bojan - 18
Pedro - 21

Xavi could probably keep going for another four years or so, given his playing style; Valdes, Alves, Iniesta, Toure, Busquets, Messi, Bojan, Pique, and possibly Caceres and Pedro should all be in their prime in three to four years. Then you have the likes of (the extremely talented) Thiago Alcantara to come into the squad also. If over the next couple of seasons they bring in a top quality defender (or two), and a striker (I know they're looking here), they would still look in very good shape indeed. Whether they'll be able to maintain their hunger and whether Guardiola will still be there is another matter, of course...

Personally, I don't think it'll do them any harm to phase out Valdes, Puyol and Marquez over the next few years. Getting Fabregas back to replace Xavi should be a priority, imo.

Originally Posted by sullers

It happens every year, mainly with Barca. I think people just romanticize about them too much because they have this tradition of playing attractive football. They've only won the comp twice in their history...they're not this great European team people make out they are.

I agree that people tend to romanticise them somewhat, but they are a huge club and they have been absolutely phenomenal this season - they're averaging three goals per game in all competitions FFS, and almost all the Barca fans I've spoken to this season believe that this is quite probably their best side ever (and they've had some pretty special ones over the past couple of decades).

And if they aren't a great European club, having been to five European Cup finals and won it twice, then are we having been to three and won it thrice? If they win it this season then certainly I don't think can be any doubt about their European pedigree.