Chelsea vs Manchester United

[Ciara's Dad]

Sir Furious vewy pwoud !!!

 

[Bigdogx]

OK for the Europe people here, how does this league work? Is this the premiere league championship or was this game for some kind of elite tourney for all of Europe's leagues?

 

[Wildo7]

OK for the Europe people here, how does this league work? Is this the premiere league championship or was this game for some kind of elite tourney for all of Europe's leagues?

The latter, top 4 teams from all the leagues in europe I believe.

 

[Ciara's Dad]

For world soccer, then the World Cup is the No1 tournament.
As Europe is the dominant force in world soccer, then the European Cup is it for most people!!
The SB of soccer? I would say yes. Viewing figures will be a couple of million under that of the SB though.
The competition is made up of teams who finish top in their respective Euro leagues. Some countries, England, Spain, and Italy have 4 clubs in the tournament for various reasons. Others have 3, some 2 and the majority 1.
They are split into 8 leagues of 4. The top 2 go through to the last 16, then it is straight knock out after this.
Money rules this competition as can be seen by England having 2 clubs in the final. Lots and lots of money is ploughed into England by Sky sports.
The downside is that the money is not shared out equally, so it will always be the top 4 English sides who qualify for the Euro cup, ManU, Liverpool, Chelski and Arsenal. They will then earn more and more money for this!! It is not very good for the game. NFL take note!!
If you look into the competition next year, in the early stages, my team here in Scotland, Glasgow Celtic, will get a couple of games before getting knocked out by one of the big guns. We got to the last 16 this year, but it was a bit of a fluke really!! Better teams than us got knocked out earlier. We operate on a fraction of what the English teams earn. To make things worse, I have to suscribe to Sky to watch the NFL, therefore putting more money into the English league!!
All in all, it really is a great competition.

 

[jcdavey]

poor john terry, he played great defense the whole game then to choke at the end, also ronoldo played great only to choke in PKs

luckily terry bailed him out from being a huge goat there at the end....


in my humble opinion, chelsea was the better team before pks

i mean they were actually playing defense and making saves, whereas man U was buckling on D and allowing shots to hit the posts.....

but i won $20 on Man U so it's all good, but yeah, chelsea played better till PKs

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

ronoldo played great only to choke in PKs

I'm just grateful Cronaldo didn't dive eight times during the course of the match. With all skills and flash in the world the guy has, it's flopping that makes me want to give him a flying kick.

in my humble opinion, chelsea was the better team before pks

i mean they were actually playing defense and making saves, whereas man U was buckling on D and allowing shots to hit the posts.....

but i won $20 on Man U so it's all good, but yeah, chelsea played better till PKs

Agreed, but I still think Ballack is overrated and Makelelelelele is underrated. It's a strong side though I do wonder why Ashley Coles needed to stretch his scrotum? Do testes cramp up? Nevermind. I'd rather not know.

-Wildo: Indeed that was a slap and warranted the severe booking in most circumstances, but given the magnitude of the game, I thought it was more a "how are the wife and kids" sort of tap.

-Bigdogx: I'm not European. I live in the greater Boston area, but I still had to watch this game. I still prefer World Cup matches and the setting, mostly due to the great fans from all over the world, but the Champions League finals are some of the highest quality football you'll see. The Euro Cup should also be great fun. If you or anyone else for that matter ever set a chance to see a World Cup match, I urge you to pounce on the opportunity. It rocks and is totally different than NFL, MLB or NBA settings.

-Ciara's Dad: not sure whom you had for match commentary, but we had to listen to Seedorf on ESPN. I never thought it was possible that a commentator worse than Pele could exist, but now I know. I suspect Edgar Davids might have gotten jealous and rubbed him out because Seedorf was nowhere to be heard from in the second half.

 

[Angry Man]

Great game. I only saw the overtime period and the kickout at the end. Both teams put their A+++ efforts in. Chelsea however made the few critical mistakes during the kickout that costed them the game - even if they at one point nearly had it in the bag after Man U's missed kick.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Great game. I only saw the overtime period and the kickout at the end. Both teams put their A+++ efforts in. Chelsea however made the few critical mistakes during the kickout that costed them the game - even if they at one point nearly had it in the bag after Man U's missed kick.

I wanted Chelsea to win so bad ... soccer is such a game of mistakes and they are amplified in big games. Chelsea has nothing to hang their heads about even though what could have been will haunt them for a very long time. Perhaps if they watch baggio kick it over the net a few times it will ease their pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2EOVvr8vic

 

[jcdavey]

I wanted Chelsea to win so bad ... soccer is such a game of mistakes and they are amplified in big games. Chelsea has nothing to hang their heads about even though what could have been will haunt them for a very long time. Perhaps if they watch baggio kick it over the net a few times it will ease their pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2EOVvr8vic

or beckham lol

 

[gomezcat]

Everyone mentions John Terry, but it was Anelka who lost it for Chelsea. I'm a United fan and really dislike the guy. Imagine someone who had played for Miami, Indy and the Broncs and you get the picture. He is a bit of a Fredex type IMHO. Anyway, a win's a win even if we didn't really deserve it.

 

[tmracht]

Everyone mentions John Terry, but it was Anelka who lost it for Chelsea. I'm a United fan and really dislike the guy. Imagine someone who had played for Miami, Indy and the Broncs and you get the picture. He is a bit of a Fredex type IMHO. Anyway, a win's a win even if we didn't really deserve it.

And to be fair Drogba probably would have made Terry unneeded. Really that hurt even more than just getting a red late in the match.

 

[gomezcat]

And to be fair Drogba probably would have made Terry unneeded. Really that hurt even more than just getting a red late in the match.

Indeed. The ref had a crap game and it was only a matter of time before someone got sent off.

 

[Scouse Patriot]

Laughed at the "Scouse Free Zone" flag from the southern whoppers. Won't be next year...Chelsea, simply had to win it. And they never.

Terry deserved what he got anyway after spitting at Tevez. I really don't understand how the man gets so much credit. This is a lad who laughed at Americans over 9/11, spitting, sly digs at Torres thinking he's the big hard man and then cries his eyes out once a month. A great England captain? Then again he probrably looks like one considering the other has been banned for "forgetting" a drug test. Then Drogba goes and shows the world why he's the biggest nugget I've ever seen. Brilliant player, massive embarassment to "soccer". Sooner he leaves England the better...

Chelsea should have won it in the second half, cracked the woodwork (whats not even made out of wood) twice and dominated the play, but the worst thing that could happen to a Liverpool supporter happened. That lot went and won it...

To make it better we're stuck with two clowns for owners who are waaay out of their depth here and whilst I hear they're talking about selling, our situation is still up in the air. That, mixed with Uniteds season makes me physically sick...

 

[Ciara's Dad]

Sir Furious thinks they can win it again next year. He may not be wrong. In fact the only difference I can see from this year is that there will be 4 English clubs in the semis instead of 3! I cannot see a challenge from a club from any other country breaking up what is fast becoming an English monopoly.
The 6/5 rule cannot come quickly enough for me. It is the only way forward for European soccer. The playing field, pardon the pun, has to be levelled somehow or what is the point anymore? Just give the European cup to team with the most money.

 

[Scouse Patriot]

Fifa's proposal goes against European laws so it's a non starter. Blatter can have all the backing he wants from Fifa and even various FA's but it's against the law, freedom of movement and trade. It's also a little offensive and discriminating don't you think? Sorry, you can't play here your foriegn. Players have the right to play for whoever they want and they have the right to play for the best clubs in the world. The ruling would restrict proffesional players and it's wrong, tbh.

Quite simply, they've got a problem with the English domination of European football both at club level and from a league setup point of view. English teams are amongst the best in the world and the Premier League is the best league in the world and FIFA don't like it. UEFA hate us and it's showing. Theres a fuss about English players not coming through often enough but it runs deeper than the influx of foriegn lads, a hell of alot deeper but FIFA shouldn't expect teams to suffer because of it. Clubs are still a buisness and still have to be run in order to survive, thats where the restriction of trade law comes into play. How can teams compete if they're not allowed to strengthen with the best players possible?

It's not as if other countries can't compete either. Barcelona, Madrid, both Milan sides, Roma...other countries have exceptional sides too. Thats just sport, in competition theres a winner and a loser. I didn't hear any of this fuss when Italy was the dominant force in the 80's/90's. Sport evolves and right now English teams are having the run of the green, but it wont stay like that forever. Funny enough some of the richest clubs in world football are not English and most contain some of the worlds best players in ever posistion.

I can't see how they can get the ruling in because it breaks so many European laws and quite frankly, it is border line discrimination.

 

[Ciara's Dad]

Is it possible that Blatter is using the 6/5 rule to kickstart a discussion on the wealth of certain countries? By that I mean does he know that he won't get the rule into practice but in order to placate him, will the top leagues in Europe agree to distribute the tv money more evenly across the poorer Euro leagues, if you see what I mean.
From a Liverpool perspective, other than the in-fighting between the co-owners, you are in a great position along with Chelski, Manyoo and Arsenal. Top 4 every year in the EPL and therefore Euro cup inclusion. But from the perspective of the other 16 clubs, what chance is there? If the Sky money was shared evenly throughout the league, it would give everyone a chance to get to the top table. The same 4 clubs also earn millions from competing in the Euro cup. Same goes for the top clubs in Spain and Italy. Why can't that money be shared equally between all the Euro leagues and give other clubs the chance to buy the top players?

 

[Scouse Patriot]

I see what you mean, and you never know with that mad man in charge. I think it goes back to clubs being a buisness and alot of the money teams get is dictated by how succesful you are, so if you've earned your money would clubs be willing to part with yet another percentage? I say another because I think a small percentage is actualy poured back into the grassroots game, although I'm not certain on that. I don't see how spreading it across europe would work, that would be up to to individual nations but maybe a more even keel could be established within each nations leagues which you mention further into your post. To be honest with you I don't have the head for both figures and buisness and it's frustrating for me to see football so controlled by money and the arguments it creates.

 

[Seymour93]

in my humble opinion, chelsea was the better team before pks

i mean they were actually playing defense and making saves, whereas man U was buckling on D and allowing shots to hit the posts.....

but i won $20 on Man U so it's all good, but yeah, chelsea played better till PKs

Pretty late to be talking about this match, but I just now saw this post.

United should've been up at least 2-0 at halftime if Carrick (whom I think is one of the most underrated players in Europe) had finished properly when he was clear on goal after Cech saved from Tevez. After United missed their chances to extend their lead, out of nowhere Lampard got a fluke goal via some miskicks from United defenders in the 45th minute. Goals right before the half are a real buzz kill and this is probably one of the main reason why Chelsea were the better side in the second half. But overall I thought United had the better opportunities even after halftime considering Giggs' effort in extra time.