Topic: CL Draw - Chelsea again then Barca/Bayern....

[Hank Scorpio]

The truth is that as far as the CL is concerned you want to be playing the big teams.  You will only better yourself by playing teams of higher quality and raising our game at that point of the season could be decisive.

I was reading an interview with Tymoschuk (Zenith) last night.  He quoted something from a book called The Fundamentals of Chess.

'The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent'

[mightykopite8]

The truth is that as far as the CL is concerned you want to be playing the big teams.  You will only better yourself by playing teams of higher quality and raising our game at that point of the season could be decisive.

I was reading an interview with Tymoschuk (Zenith) last night.  He quoted something from a book called The Fundamentals of Chess.

The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent

chelsea aren't smart...
they are just dumb, sacked one of the best football coach in the world, stupid plastic fans....

[gazzalfc]

I did like the little wry smile from Parry today. Looks like hes still in mourning looking at his 'normal' tie selection

[James B]

Anyone know the dates of our semi final matches against Barca/Bayern? (If we get through that is).

[Suspect Package.]

We've already beaten Chelsea home and away this season.

[mightykopite8]

Anyone know the dates of our semi final matches against Barca/Bayern? (If we get through that is).

Semi-finals
28 - 29 April 2009
05 - 06 May 2009

[KTS]

Anyone know the dates of our semi final matches against Barca/Bayern? (If we get through that is).

28 April & 6th May.

http://www.uefa.com/multimediafiles/download/competitions/ucl/81/22/54/812254_download.pdf

[4pool]

Anyone know the dates of our semi final matches against Barca/Bayern? (If we get through that is).

First Leg 28/29th April

Second Leg 5/6th of May

I believe we'd be away first.

[Franck Le Poof]

We've already beaten Chelsea home and away this season.

Under Phil Scolari, to be fair.

[scouser4eva]

We've already beaten Chelsea home and away this season.

Exactly we are better than them come on the red men revenge time!

[-Daws-]

Chelsea again?

Fuck a duck.

What an anti-climax.

[gazzalfc]

If we get to the final we WILL wear red

[James B]

28 April & 6th May.

http://www.uefa.com/multimediafiles/download/competitions/ucl/81/22/54/812254_download.pdf

Cheers.

[alonsoisared]

what a cunting surprise

its not fixed but for fucks sake chelsea AGAIN whilst united get the piss easy tie as they do in every competition they play.

I'm sure i'll be well up for it closer to the game but right now it just feels like lady luck has shat on our faces once more. I think the winner of us vs chelsea will reach the final, Barcelona are a great team but I would back the english clubs except arsenal to do a job on them. I just hope come may that we aren't relying on other teams to prevent united from winning the league and european cup again.

[itsgunnabebarnes!]

what a cunting surprise

its not fixed but for fucks sake chelsea AGAIN whilst united get the piss easy tie as they do in every competition they play.

I'm sure i'll be well up for it closer to the game but right now it just feels like lady luck has shat on our faces once more. I think the winner of us vs chelsea will reach the final, Barcelona are a great team but I would back the english clubs except arsenal to do a job on them. I just hope come may that we aren't relying on other teams to prevent united from winning the league and european cup again.

sums everything up for me that.

[Dam]

WHEN we get to the final we WILL wear red

Believe! Come on Redmen

[rocco]

Must say i'm more concerned with both Gerrard and Torres already on 1 yellow ... seems unlikely they could go 4 games with out picking up a 2ND yellow .... plus masch out for the first game v chelsea

[Hazell]

Under Phil Scolari, to be fair.

And prior to the game at Stamford Bridge, everyone was raving about him, similar to Hiddink at the moment. Not saying he's a poor manager, but the way people are talking about Hiddink at present is similar to the way they were talking about Scholari at the beginning of the season.

[legoflamb]

If we get to the final we WILL wear red

Correct.  And United's away shirt.....

White.

And the colour of the shirt worn by each of the five teams we've won it against.....


Best get on the blower to Ken and Deidre as well.

[CHOPPER]

Yeah the main one being fake.

Dave you twat, stop spoiling my stereotyping.....you're all the do gooding bloody same from Cheshire.

[drmick]

http://forums.cfcnet.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=41826

Anybody check out the Chelsea forum?  The comments there are exactly the same as here!

Freaky.  Who would have thought that football fans are all the same, regardless of which team they support?

[Mimi]

Must say i'm more concerned with both Gerrard and Torres already on 1 yellow ... seems unlikely they could go 4 games with out picking up a 2ND yellow .... plus masch out for the first game v chelsea

Torres just has to keep his mouth shut--- I think he's been booked for dissent before.

As for Masche, we got him for the away leg and that's key IMO. Xabi and Lucas will have a great game at home.

[baboons]

First Leg 28/29th April

Second Leg 5/6th of May

I believe we'd be away first.

No, if we qualify we're home first in the semis and the home team for the final.

[mainstandred]

I think we are all a bit disappointed at playing Chelsea again  not that were scared or anything like that because we can beat Chelsea , its playing them once again that seems to be pissing everyone off .

[Stussy]

I hate this circle of bullshit that goes round after draws, and the tired old cliches and call to arms of bravery and belief.

Sure we can beat anyone on our day, that's unarguable. I remember everyone wanking and having the same attitude when we drew the bitters in the FA Cup, the fucking worst draw any liverpool fan would want. Anyone remember what happened there?

You're right. We should just concede the Champions League and sulk for the next three weeks.

Or maybe we should just play the hand we've been dealt in life.

[mainstandred]

No, if we qualify we're home first in the semis and the home team for the final.

no away first in the semi drawn as the home team in the final

[Ecuared]

I don't understand the logic in having an "open draw" at this stage of the tournament, other than the fact it makes things easy to fix for UEFA. It's clear to everyone that us, the Mancs, Chelsea, and Barcelona are the 4 best remaining teams, and it's un-fucking believable that they don't use a ranking system for their draws. Two of the best should go in one pool, and two of the best in another, it's so painfully obvious. If you want to have the possibility of two of the favourites meeting in the quarter finals then fair enough, but having three of the best on one side of the draw is just a fucking joke, there's no logic there. Yes, I know expecting UEFA to use any logic is in itself illogical, but I do wonder why the media doesn't make any fuss about such a bizarre format being used.

[florida red]

i dont care who we play , we can and i believe will beat anyone . i see the doom n gloom merchants are out in force again ........been waiting for something to moan about for at least a week now eh !
bring on fucking chelsea ,barca , mancs , only going to be 1 winner .

[Blamire]

No need for country protection in the last 16 anyway, if it wasn't for that perhaps we wouldn't have the same sides in the QF draw every year.

[TheRedBull]

Why Manc are so lucky every year? It should be a walk in the park for them to the final...

[lachesis]

You're right. We should just concede the Champions League and sulk for the next three weeks.

Yes. That is exactly what I said. Can you quote the part where I actually said that because for some strange reason it appears you're making shite up.

[Benneh]

Crap draw, Mancs already in the final, and we have another boring as shit all English tie.

Thank fuck we can't meet the c*nts till the final though. Not confident of beating Chelsea at all though, with the away leg second.

Pretty shit, but if we're away in the semi first, that's good, should we get there.

[Stussy]

Yes. That is exactly what I said. Can you quote the part where I actually said that because for some strange reason it appears you're making shite up.

Well, the bit where you admonish people and then say,  "remember everyone wanking and having the same attitude when we drew the bitters in the FA Cup, the fucking worst draw any liverpool fan would want. Anyone remember what happened there?"

I just don't see the point of overwhelming sulking and defeatism over the draw. Which was the tenor of your and many other posts. Why care about who the mancs got, for a start? We can't do anything about them until we meet them in the competition (if we meet them)

Until then, we have to beat Chelsea and either Barca or Munich, and we can do that. Plenty to be positive about.

[CS111]

Id put my mortgage on Manu in the Final again this year, just depends on who's there to meet them
Coin flip between us, chelsea and Barc
Id love a liverpool/barc   manu final and to absolutely stuff them 5-0

Draw fixed again,.  when do they ever get a hard draw

[Kyle Soprano]

Why the fuck do people  support Liverpool if you havent got belief if you dont think we can beat Chelsea then perhaps you should support someone else.

Doesnt matter who United got or whatever ,we got Chelsea and I'm confident that we can do the job at Anfield.

[T-Bone]

I stand by this.

Fucking absolute worst draw we could have got, but they'll never take it away from us when we do it. They'll never be able to say "oh you only won cos you got a soft draw" or "oh all the teams you beat didn't show up" without looking like fucking unhinged muppets (like saying you were the best team after losing 1-4). And you know who I'm talking about when I say "they." I'm talking about everyone outside of this club who has no respect or affection for it or its players and manager. Too many of them around to count, we all know who they are.

Chelsea, still one of the most expensively-assembled teams in the world. Still got Cech, Terry, Lampard, Essien, Drogba, Ballack, Anelka, Cashley and all the rest of the media-hyped Lahndan boys. Do we want to see them win the trophy we hold dearest of all? No? Well, doesn't the saying go that if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself? We already proved in in 2005 and 2007. Don't we want to atone for last year? Don't we want to tune the band up one more time, "Fuck off Chelsea F.C. you ain't got no history"? Well then fucking bring them. Hey lads, no Riise to score your goal for you this time.

Barcelona, top of the Spanish league. Hyped to the fucking clouds above. Star players all over the pitch, except maybe in goal and in defence. We've been here before, haven't we? When certain people laughed at the very idea of us going to the Nou Camp and not getting twatted. Only difference was, we didn't have Fernando Torres back then. We didn't have the most lethal partnership in world football right now playing upfront for us. No Skrtel either. Alonso going through a poor patch of form. No Babel or Benayoun to change things from the bench.

Yes, it's an intimidating task, having to beat both Chelsea and Barcelona. Embrace it. Embrace these nights, cherish them. Imagine the noise levels inside Anfield against Chelsea and Barca. Imagine the memories that are about to be forged. Imagine the laughter and the tears in your eyes and streaming down your face when we do it. Think about whether it would mean as much to beat Porto and Villareal. What do you remember most fondly, the 1-0 win over PSV in 2007? Or maybe the 2-1 over Juventus in 2005? Or even the loss to Barca in 2007?

Get up for it, because it's us that make the difference. The 12th man, a cliche or something tangible? Let's fucking prove it. Let them fear us. Let them emerge from the tunnel to a wall of sheer intimidation that will make them shit their fucking shorts. Our manager just said that he signed the new contract because of us. Don't let him down now. We have nothing to fear. We've just beaten Real Madrid 4-0 and Man. United 4-1. Barcelona, on the other hand, lost at home to Espanol a few weeks ago. Chelsea needed a late goal to beat Wigan at home. We're not perfect ourselves, but we're no worse than them. And we have the best striker in the world today lining up for us.

Let John Terry toss and turn thinking of how in the blue hell he's going to mark Nando. Rub your hands as Rafa no doubt did when we drew Real Madrid and he thought of what Nando and Stevie would do to Ramos and Pepe, only do it with even more glee, because Barca have Puyol, Marquez and the likes, very beatable. And they don't have a defender of Cannavaro's quality, and they don't have Iker Casillas in goal, they have a guy who dragged the ball over his own line the last time we played there.

This is going to be the most magical ride we've ever been on, so if you don't want to be on it, have a look at yourself. If you're so preoccupied about United's draw, go and watch their games. This is history in the making, we're part of it once again. The last time we beat Real Madrid in this competition, we won it. The last time we beat Chelsea, we got to the final. The last time we beat Barca, we got to the final. It's in Rome, where we've won twice already. We have Nando, Stevie, Carra, Masch, Pepe, Xabi, and the best manager in the world. Have some fucking belief, please. We're going to do it. Believe.

Best post in ages this.

[lachesis]

Well, the bit where you admonish people and then say,  "remember everyone wanking and having the same attitude when we drew the bitters in the FA Cup, the fucking worst draw any liverpool fan would want. Anyone remember what happened there?"

I just don't see the point of overwhelming sulking and defeatism over the draw. Which was the tenor of your and many other posts. Why care about who the mancs got, for a start? We can't do anything about them until we meet them in the competition (if we meet them)

Until then, we have to beat Chelsea and either Barca or Munich, and we can do that. Plenty to be positive about.

It's not defeatism, it's a history lesson to prevent this sense of smugness and 'believe' shite that flies round forums. It's tough and it's a shite draw - I'm not moaning about it, what I'm moaning about is people who are telling others to stop being negative when they're simply being realistic. As luck would have it, we've been dealt a tough blow and for me that means it's going to put pressure on an already fading title dream, as well as giving us the toughest route to another triumph in Europe.

I did say we can beat anyone, and I'm not worried - what will be will be. I'm concerned that we have to attack both tournaments now (league and EC), and we haven't got a break in either. It means putting pressure on an already under resourced squad. I would prefer to win one than come close in both. Of course I can close my eyes and sing Rafa in Istanbul and be 'made up' we drew Chelsea. But I'm not, I'm fucking pissed off we're playing them again.

[Billy The Kid]

Why Manc are so lucky every year? It should be a walk in the park for them to the final...

Why is everyone going on about this? Everyone I've talked to today have said "Oh well that Utd in the final then"

Its total bollox. Firstly, its a cup competition and anything can happen. Secondly, its not beyond the realms of possibility for Porto to actually knock the fuckers out. Granted on paper Utd are the better side, but that dont mean shit. Juve's favourites tag didn't mean shit to us either in 05 did it?

Arsenal certainly wouldn't roll over for them either, nor would a Villareal team who were just one spot kick from reaching the final 3 years ago. Theres no certainty that the mancs will just part the seas and fucking stroll to Rome like the press will probably portray.   

[Franck Le Poof]

I stand by this.

Fucking absolute worst draw we could have got, but they'll never take it away from us when we do it. They'll never be able to say "oh you only won cos you got a soft draw" or "oh all the teams you beat didn't show up" without looking like fucking unhinged muppets (like saying you were the best team after losing 1-4). And you know who I'm talking about when I say "they." I'm talking about everyone outside of this club who has no respect or affection for it or its players and manager. Too many of them around to count, we all know who they are.

Chelsea, still one of the most expensively-assembled teams in the world. Still got Cech, Terry, Lampard, Essien, Drogba, Ballack, Anelka, Cashley and all the rest of the media-hyped Lahndan boys. Do we want to see them win the trophy we hold dearest of all? No? Well, doesn't the saying go that if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself? We already proved in in 2005 and 2007. Don't we want to atone for last year? Don't we want to tune the band up one more time, "Fuck off Chelsea F.C. you ain't got no history"? Well then fucking bring them. Hey lads, no Riise to score your goal for you this time.

Barcelona, top of the Spanish league. Hyped to the fucking clouds above. Star players all over the pitch, except maybe in goal and in defence. We've been here before, haven't we? When certain people laughed at the very idea of us going to the Nou Camp and not getting twatted. Only difference was, we didn't have Fernando Torres back then. We didn't have the most lethal partnership in world football right now playing upfront for us. No Skrtel either. Alonso going through a poor patch of form. No Babel or Benayoun to change things from the bench.

Yes, it's an intimidating task, having to beat both Chelsea and Barcelona. Embrace it. Embrace these nights, cherish them. Imagine the noise levels inside Anfield against Chelsea and Barca. Imagine the memories that are about to be forged. Imagine the laughter and the tears in your eyes and streaming down your face when we do it. Think about whether it would mean as much to beat Porto and Villareal. What do you remember most fondly, the 1-0 win over PSV in 2007? Or maybe the 2-1 over Juventus in 2005? Or even the loss to Barca in 2007?

Get up for it, because it's us that make the difference. The 12th man, a cliche or something tangible? Let's fucking prove it. Let them fear us. Let them emerge from the tunnel to a wall of sheer intimidation that will make them shit their fucking shorts. Our manager just said that he signed the new contract because of us. Don't let him down now. We have nothing to fear. We've just beaten Real Madrid 4-0 and Man. United 4-1. Barcelona, on the other hand, lost at home to Espanol a few weeks ago. Chelsea needed a late goal to beat Wigan at home. We're not perfect ourselves, but we're no worse than them. And we have the best striker in the world today lining up for us.

Let John Terry toss and turn thinking of how in the blue hell he's going to mark Nando. Rub your hands as Rafa no doubt did when we drew Real Madrid and he thought of what Nando and Stevie would do to Ramos and Pepe, only do it with even more glee, because Barca have Puyol, Marquez and the likes, very beatable. And they don't have a defender of Cannavaro's quality, and they don't have Iker Casillas in goal, they have a guy who dragged the ball over his own line the last time we played there.

This is going to be the most magical ride we've ever been on, so if you don't want to be on it, have a look at yourself. If you're so preoccupied about United's draw, go and watch their games. This is history in the making, we're part of it once again. The last time we beat Real Madrid in this competition, we won it. The last time we beat Chelsea, we got to the final. The last time we beat Barca, we got to the final. It's in Rome, where we've won twice already. We have Nando, Stevie, Carra, Masch, Pepe, Xabi, and the best manager in the world. Have some fucking belief, please. We're going to do it. Believe.

Phenomenal post.

[Billy The Kid]

Further more, why are people going on about the fact that we have Barca at home in the 2nd leg of the semi? Smacks a little of arrogance does it not? Theres a big difference between confidence and arrogance. I'm confident we can beat Chelsea, but thats as far as I'm looking for now. Worry about the semi if we manage to get there. You never know, it could even be against our 4 time winning compatriots from Munich