Other football

[Anubis]

You're being unkind to the Orcs, there.

[fowler9]

inbred mongs my lord

[polymerpunkah]

Courtois with a gift to Zenit to put them back in with a chance, 1-1.

 

Defender heads a shot up into the air, Courtois drifts back, misses his half-hearted punch/tip, and it goes in.

[Captain]

Dortmund take the lead against Napoli on a pen.

 

I must admit it's fills me with disgust seeing those steel fences behind each goal.

[Mathewbet1]

Ozils been shite for quite a few games now has'unt he?

[Batigol]

Hate players hitting a penalty like Ozil did.  Take a decent run up, pick your spot and put your boot through the cunt.

[FanchesterCity]

Marseille are dire.

Arsenal should have buried this game already.

Ozil's done nothing (positive).

 

To be fair though, Marseille have nothing to fight for.

[Mathewbet1]

Ozil's been a flop apart from his first 3 games. Its not a fashionable thing to say. 45m?

[Dan Vito Corleone]

Nice to see Reina still diving out of the way of penalties.

[fowler9]

Ozil's been a flop apart from his first 3 games. Its not a fashionable thing to say. 45m?

 

don't know about a flop, but he has never been as good as it was made out when they signed him, great player no doubt but people went overboard

[Trumo]

Marseille are dire.

 

 

They're one of those sides that seem to be in the Champions League every year yet do fuck all.

[FanchesterCity]

Well... they did actually win it once!

 

But yes, that's the problem with letting every country put teams in. Not sure what the answer is really.

[Russ Atmosphere]

It's becoming a tedious watch most of these Champions League games. They simply aren't the best teams in Europe, just a selection of each league's finest. Marseille would be relegation fodder in the Premier League. Yawn.

[FanchesterCity]

Not sure how you can fix it really... I mean for years we said "our second and third best, are still better than France's best" etc

 

Maybe if they just went back to straight knockout, that would make it more compelling?

 

Obviously the big boys wouldn't like that, and in some ways, a group stage does filter out most 'freak' wins, but you can't beat a good old fashioned cup format. At least every single game woudl count, and the lesser teams might put up a real fight for their moment of glory.

[Dan Vito Corleone]

Isn't group placing decided by head to head to head and not goal difference anymore?

 

Napoli vs Arsenal in a few weeks could be interesting. Although having said that Napoli back in it at Dortmund now, that's been a very good game.

[FanchesterCity]

I believe it's head to head... yes

 

But now I've got a wierd feeling it's how well you did against specific others.

 

God knows... I think there's 6 different rules on Platini's dice.

[fowler9]

Not sure how you can fix it really... I mean for years we said "our second and third best, are still better than France's best" etc

 

Maybe if they just went back to straight knockout, that would make it more compelling?

 

Obviously the big boys wouldn't like that, and in some ways, a group stage does filter out most 'freak' wins, but you can't beat a good old fashioned cup format. At least every single game woudl count, and the lesser teams might put up a real fight for their moment of glory.

 

Straight knockout no seedings then no-one can argue its fixed for the good sides or prevents all the top sides from getting through

[Adebisi]

They need to spice it up a bit, get some South American teams in there. Some of them may be no better than Basel, Bucharest and the like, but it'd be more entertaining. Plus there'd games at daft o'clock in the morning for insomniacs like me. Or maybe have the knock-outs a one off game in a neutral venue with a replay happening if there's a draw? 

Maybe it's not even the format that's wrong, maybe it's just all the shite. My mates reckon I only moan about it because we're not in it any more, but that's nonsense, it's just boring. Shite teams, shite atmospheres (for the most part), shite games, just boring. I'll have the games on in the background but hardly ever pay attention. 

Still really enjoy the knock-outs for the most part though. 

[Dan Vito Corleone]

Still really enjoy the knock-outs for the most part though. 

 

 

Usually when the English teams are out!

[Mathewbet1]

The group stages are basically a non-event. Yawn fest.

[Dan Vito Corleone]

Dortmund 3-1 up on Napoli now. Fantastic game of football, very good use of the red button.

[FanchesterCity]

For a start, I'd just scrap the seedings. You can probably predict with 80% accuracy which teams will go through. That's crap.

 

Far more exciting if Barca, Real and Bayern get stuck in a group, and plucky underdogs get through - but the purists will argue that the best teams don't win out then. But if that's really what people want... you might as well put Barca, Real, Bayern in on their own, and that's that.

[Batigol]

None of this is new.  The group stages were just as bad the last time we were in it.  Unless you're betting on the game, what interest are you going to have in watching an Arsenal group game?  Tune off if it's so shite.

[polymerpunkah]

Chelsea down 1-0.

 

Mourinho? Still a cunt.

[FanchesterCity]

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