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2011-12 Football/Soccer Thread

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Havak said:
UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw​

Group A

FC Bayern München (GER)
Villarreal CF (ESP)
Manchester City FC (ENG)
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (ITA)

Group B

FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA)
Trabzonspor AS (TUR)

Group C

Manchester United FC (ENG)
SL Benfica (POR)
FC Basel 1893 (SWE)
FC Oțelul Galați (ROM)

Group D

Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
AFC Ajax Amsterdam (NED)
GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)

Group E

Chelsea FC (ENG)
Valencia CF (ESP)
FC Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (BEL)

Group F

Arsenal FC (ENG)
Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
Olympiacos FC (GRE)
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Group G

FC Porto (POR)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg (RUS)
APOEL FC (CYP)

Group H

FC Barcelona (ESP)
AC Milan (ITA)
FC BATE Borisov (BLR)
FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
Click to expand...
 
Got a feeling this is the year for United.

Gonna start wearing my United backpack everywhere I go again.
 
So, Shamrock Rovers just qualified for the group stages of the Europa League, scoring an absolute screamer to win the game

Just for reference, Shamrock Rovers are one of the teams rated half a star on the FIFA games that you play against when you want to score in the double digits
 
Its the end of irish football as we know it, theyre going to take that money and sweep their league for the next decade.
 
Europa League groups:

GROUP A:

Spurs
Rubin
PAOK
Shamrock Rovers

GROUP B:
Copenhagen
Standard Liege
Hannover
Vorskla

GROUP C:
PSV
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Rapid Bucharest
Legia Warsaw

GROUP D:
Sporting Lisbon
Lazio
Zurich
Vaslui

GROUP E:
Dynamo Kyiv
Besiktas
Stoke
Maccabi tel Aviv

GROUP F:
PSG
Athletic Madrid
Salzburg
Slovan Bratislava

GROUP G:
AZ Alkmaar
Matalist
Austria Wien
Malmo

GROUP H:
Braga
Club Brugge
Birmingham
Maribor

GROUP I:
Atletico Bilbao
Udinese
Rennes
Sion

GROUP J:
Schalke
Steaua
Maccabi Haifa
AEK Larnaca

GROUP K:
Twente
Fulham
Odense
Wisla Krakow

GROUP L:
Anderlecht
AEK
Lokomotiv Moscow
Sturm Graz
 
i think Spurs would be foolish to actually make a genuine effort in this competition as there's no way they can do well in it and still have any hope of qualifying for the Champion's League and that should really be their priority. The Europa League just isn't what the UEFA Cup was - a Championship team, an Irish team, and a bunch of teams I can't even pronounce playing in group stages over a horribly drawn out competition just isn't doing it for me.

That said, it's fantastic for the fans and it could be their best chance at silverware this season so lets just see what happens. Maybe if they draw some decent opponents early on it will grab their interest and keep the motivated.
 
Well somebody's got to win it and Spurs have the best chance on paper so they might as well give it a go. I agree that CL is the priority for them but realistically they are not favourites so having a go at this could make their season a bit more interesting.
 
Silverware is all well and good but if they miss out on Champion's League football AGAIN next season do you really expect Bale, Van der Vaart, Modric, Lennon etc to stick around? Spurs are at a make or break point in their modern history right now - fuck the mickey mouse cup.
 
Lee said:
Silverware is all well and good but if they miss out on Champion's League football AGAIN next season do you really expect Bale, Van der Vaart, Modric, Lennon etc to stick around? Spurs are at a make or break point in their modern history right now - fuck the mickey mouse cup.
Click to expand...

Agreed. As an avid Spurs fan myself, it's essential for us to make Champions League Football this season, or else Modric and co. will all get sent off to bigger clubs. If we can make the Champions League, we get extra cash too, so we can buy more players, which is what we need to become real contenders.
 
It will be a vicious fight for that 4th place this season. Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool all absolutely need CL football and I have a horrible feeling that Liverpool will get it. It could be a very depressing summer next year for the London clubs. I'm still sad and gutted that Wenger didn't buy Mata when he was at our door... Yet he spends £15mil on Oxlade-Chamberlain... Thinking about it makes me curl up in a fetal position and cry.
 
I personally think that Tottenham should go for the Europa League with all they've got. They're not finishing 4th ahead of Liverpool (or possibly Arsenal) this season IMO. So, I think they should try to win that and finish 6th instead of neglecting the Europa League and still finish 6th anyway. It'd be nice to see another British side have a real go at this competition. Not many of our teams do.

Also, Wenger bidding £6million for Gary Cahill is an absolute joke. Didn't he go for £5million last time he was bought? Surely he's worth at least double that by now. Part of me thinks Wenger made that bid just to make it look like he's trying. He's got money to spend, go in with at least £10-12million if you're serious about buying a good centre back. Seriously..
 
^cool, looking forward to when he gets a ban and then bitches that he has been unfairly treated.

i don't know why so many people are assuming that spurs are incapable of champions league qualification and i don't know why just as many people are assuming Man City are a shoe-in for that 3rd spot. Spurs have a decent edge over City (namely that the squad is settled and they have a better manager) and the additions of Adebayor and Scott Parker (apparently) address their two main weaknesses imo (lack of a primary striker and lack of a midfielder who can sit back and give Bale/Van der Vaart/ Modric free reign to get forward).

I'd say Man Utd and Chelsea are shoe-ins for the first two places but it's anybody's ball game for 3rd and 4th and Spurs have just as good a chance as anyone.
 
Spurs defence is not that safe, especially away from home and i am not really convinced Adebayor is the answer to their striker problem. He has a tendency to drift out of games and sulk, didn't even do that well surrounded by Madrid's midfield.

That midfield will give them a chance Parker/VDV/Modric/Bale/Lennon is a fantastic midfield better then anything Arsenal and Liverpool can boast, maybe even Chelsea with Essien out for the season.

City might not gel but they can play defensively very well and sneak out wins which is something Liverpool,Spurs and Arsenal seem unable to do when its needed.
 
I have to admit Spurs midfield of:

Bale - van der Vaart - Lennon
----- Modric -- Sandro ------

Looks promising, Parker or Huddlestone can replace Sandro at times, but their defence is pretty average and I'm not sure if Adebayor will be enough in attack. Bale and Lennon are still hit and miss, overhyped (I'm guilty of this too). I think Man City will easily clinch third, maybe even second. Liverpool fourth.
 
Well, Sion did something unallowed so it seems Celtic will get its place.

BTW, I really am looking forward to Atletico in Europa League. Will Falcao remain his shape in Atleti? If they do well they can win this like in 2009.

PD: Poor, poor Villarreal. lol Real Madrid and Lyon having to play AGAIN. And lol Barça always getting the easiest groups.
 
^ I wouldn't say Barcelona always get the easiest groups. However, they usually get one good/decent team and then two of the poorer teams, so qualification is usually easily achievable as it's next to impossible for them to not finish 1st or 2nd in the group.

Carling Up 3rd Round Draw is happening now:

Chelsea vs Fulham
Leeds vs Man Utd
Everton vs West Brom
Aston Villa vs Bolton
Stoke vs Spurs

Those are the highlights of the round IMO.
 
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