[kastor]

Originally Posted by sir roy keane

after a long long time , sir roy makes his return.

after days of 'intense' travelling , after all the dust has settled , sir roy can foresee 2 teams making the finals (absolutely no disrespect intended)

united vs barca

although i missed this beauty , post 90 mins , its advantage united. although ronaldo's miss'er' was nullified by barca's domination , SAF would have taken this scoreline any goddamn day coming into old trafford.

the coming tie would prove to be a cracker , and i would put my money on united to go through.

The draw at Camp Nou is i think Spot on Result for Alex and United. I think from game like these a lot of expectations are foreseen from media, fans but if they get a Affair like this they really feel they got robed off but
i think we have look at the bigger picture, in trying to play better attacking football if you concede 1 or 2 goal then it could be game over for you because at this level Comebacks are rare. The strategy from Alex was nonetheless positive in Playing two strikers(Tevez and Rooney) though rooney played in a more defensive position but he very well know that if you have a second leg home advantage then to give it away by conceding a silly goal would be disaster so 0-0 draw is one which put United into the drivers position going at OT.

One thing that i couldn't make out was the substitution of Messi, he was having a good game but if the substitution is because he was still in that phase of recovery from injury then its okay with me but Other then that Barcelona is almost out of La Liga Title race and winning CL is their only chance of Silverware this season and goal in First leg was going to be crucial factor for them. Going by their players recent form Messi was the only man who could have achieved this.

[anvesh23]

some sad news :

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Chelsea | Lampard mourns after mother dies

Lampard's mother has passed away .

He is now a doubt for the vital Premier League game with Man Utd and the Champions League return with Liverpool.

[fire_kris]

Originally Posted by getintoiimb

Holla holla!!!
Barca back on track!!
after so much criticism from the media and fans theyve come back strongly..
they didnt score but most importantly they created so many chances and didnt concede an away goal ..
Messi is GOD..Man utd where succumbed to pressure..they completely defended the whole game..the ball posession stats tells it all..
someone called the "best footballer in the world",the best dribbler etc etc misses a penalty in the 3rd minute of the game when there is absolutely no pressure on you ..probably ronaldo assumed himself to be zinadine zidane and tried to chip the ball to the top right corner but it only ended in hitting some random non living thing outside the post ..too much over confidence and arrogance..keeps telling the press "im in the form of my life" but this guy cudnt score a simple penalty..im sure even park ji sung wud have scored that penalty(not degrading park ji sung here...jus wanted to point the overhype given to ronaldo) ..
Mess(i)merising stuff from Messi..after back from injury what a beautiful game for him..he is not good but very very good(courtesy FIFA 08 commentary)..henry almost netted one in with a free kick..zambrotta's logn range shot was tipped over the bar by van der sar..good keeping from va der sar..van der sar made some good saves throughout the match...ball posession 65 % for barca 35% for Man utd !!!!
i hardly saw rooney in the match..probably sir alex had too much faith or rather say confidence in ronaldo than rooney..i prefer rooney to ronaldo any day..ronaldo is too arrogant..wanted to give back the jeers to the barca fans by netting the penalty in but it only resulted in muffing up the penalty and increasing the jeers ..now barca have the advantage..all the pressure is on man utd..one goal they concede and theyr done..puyol will be back for the game at old trafford and the backline is going to get even stronger..if barca play the same football as yday they sure gonna head to moscow !!!
ronaldo in espnsoccernet says "They kept the ball a lot but they didn't create great chances. 'We created more chances than Barcelona" !!!!!
ESPNsoccernet - UEFA Champions League - Ronaldo vows to net at Old Trafford
Man utd created more chances that barca???LMAO!!!
the objective of barca was clear,,man marking and ball posession..ronaldo and rooney were clearly man marked..zamrotta rocks!!!
i didnt understand one thing..man utd fans if u can explain this!!
i didnt see a point in sir alex bringing in giggs when the game was almost over..giggs coming on in the 85th minute ????park ji sung was playing for 85 mins for what??????
last yr it was kaka who sealed the door for Man utd
This time it will be Lionel Messi

Ah.... Lets see what a great post.... You seem to have a view that Ronaldo is a worst player than Titus Bramble .... Cant understand why you are so caustic in your remarks...

U can LMAO as much as you want... but apart from a chance when Etoo hit the side netting you never did have a clear chance... Shooting from outside the box with 65% of possesion... Man there is something seriously wrong with Barca...

The build up play was so slow they didnt seem to get past united... We should have had three penalties instead of one... Marquez had no intention of getting the ball, you should thank your lucky stars as that was a penalty as well as a RED CARD as he was the last man... and Abidal with such a lunge didnt seem to get any amount on contact with the ball...

If you say Etoo had a chance dont forget Carrick wasted a similar oppurtunity by hitting the side netting and he had players in the position to tap the ball in... United played similar to the way they played against Roma only thing is they didnt get a goal... I am really delighted by this tactical play by united... Barca had 65% possesion and just 6 shots on target all from outside the box... they were nullified... only thing we didnt do well was hit them at the break... but three penalty shouts... Barca could have had a penalty if Etoo would have gone down to Rio but he didnt... SO CLEARLY UNITED HAD MORE GREAT CHANCES IS A HARSH REALITY

Remember the whole team tactics were turned upside down with vidic having a stomach bug... two things which fergie could have done were...

1. Asked rooney to not lie so deep... which he tried to rectify in the middle of the second half

2. Substituted Carrick for Anderson..

Barca on the other hand must be kicking themselves... they had a unidimensional form of attack... they wanted to pass the ball into the net... which might be a good idea against lesser teams but against any european giants this will be clearly unsuccesful...

Width was not used properly, I will never saw full backs running on the byline and deliver a swinging cross... nor did Etoo make any runs behind the shoulder of the last defender.... no long ball play... they were playing one touch football and a lot of times their next move was predictable...

United have seen through Barca relentless attack with Elan... They wouldnt see so much ball at old trafford...

Ask anyone and Barca will feel the heat... that is the difference between united of last year and this year... they are more tactically astute.. they would have crumbled easily last year with such a situation but this time this was neglected... Losing 1-3 and winning 4-3 ( which did against madrid few seasons back ) isnt going to get us through.. we should mix caution at such crucial stages, and not to always go gung ho... that we didnt do earlier and thats why we didnt qualify for the finals 4 times after reaching the semis since 99

Cristiano isnt arrogant... anyone who scores 38 ( in a season as a midfielder/winger) which no one might have done... one has got full right to be confident in his abilities... Everyone admires Cristiano... He works damn hard day in and day out... its up to his hard work and dedication he is at the pinnacle... Its just plain jealousy that anyone belittles him... It is your own club running after him like mad (if u have a short term memory)...

As far as his penalty is concerned... pressure or no pressure... He did hit the post ( with valdez clearly fooled) didnt hit way wide into the crowd like de rossi did.... Did you imply that Ji Sung Park or any other player could have scored against Valdez ( man have some faith in your keeper)...

I wouldnt fuss about it even if he misses again in second leg... he has driven united and his commitment or hard work cannot be questioned (atleast by any united supporter)...

Player who impressed me the most from the opposition was Toure & Zambarotta....

Dont say barca have the advantage... if you were expecting a defeat from this match... then only you can have the advantage..

A draw was a good result for united..

If Barca would have drawn 0-0 at old trafford in the first leg... you might have been jumping off your feet...

Follow, Follow, Follow
United are going to Moscow
Follow, Follow, Follow
Cuz United are going to moscow
There'll be thousands of reds, screaming out of our heads,
Cuz United are going to moscow...


Ciao..
Kris

[sumitrocks]

Originally Posted by sir roy keane

off topic
had the honour of meeting sumitrocks during my trip to delhi

one hellava guy. :rockon:

soft spoken , down to earth , no attti whatsoever.

he took the pain of driving 42 sectors :hurray: to come meet me.

his knowledge about various things made me realize how big this world really is (and after a lot of thinking i fnally came to the conlcusion that i've got the intellect of a gnat )

all n all , one legendry figure .

so happy for you for making it to xaviers , here's wishing you all the success and happness in life.

just one request , time your thingy such that we'd end up as batch - mates at the university of liverpool

my sincere respects

Moderator uncle is just being modest. (Let's rename him Modest-orator) It was a pleasure meeting SRK. And no, Sector 56 to Sec 14 is not simple arithmetic (56-14=42).And hey, come one, I'm sure I have as much (or more) to learn about the world as you do. So, plz don't give me that knowledge about the world thingie, for I don't deserve it.

And legendary figure, I am certainly not! Just one of the usual crowd. I'll do my damnedest best to ensure that we get to study at Liverpool together. Liverpool

Honestly folks, after meeting SRK I was able to appreciate this forum so much more. It is great to know that we have puys like him here, to guide and help us all. Seriously, the man has no airs about him, is modest, easy to get along with, and totally chilled out.

I think I picked him from his cousin's home before 10, and it was nearly midnight when we got back after chatting up at the malls. It was a great honour meeting him.

And like I told him earlier, it's never been nicer meeting a Man Utd fan. :rockon:

[Ronticus1002]

What is this, the official PG mutual appreciation thread?

Offtopic (aka spam ), but I have to say its really nice to hear about puy's meeting up. I live far away, and am already a post-grad, so interaction with everyone on PG is a virtual experience for me, but reading things like the above makes the whole excercise seem much more human and makes it feel more like i'm talking to buds over a beer, so I think if puy's on this thread meet up in future it'll be great to hear more about the meet-up experiences..

[Jok3r]

Wasn't able to post after the match...

Barca would be kicking themselves like liverpool for not finishing off United...
no matter how well they played...they needed a goal...& United will go all out in the next leg...

What I am interested in most is how many players will play the whole match against chelsea for United...If the match goes into extra time...Barca might have the advantage...they can even rest all their starting players this weekend as la liga is out of reach for them...(they have a match away to deportivo)

2 big games back to back will tire United...While if Barca start attacking from the word go ...a rested messi will trouble them no end...

My money is on United & Chelsea though...

[ankit_insane]

Cardiff can play in the Uefa Cup next season if they win the FA Cup with victory over Portsmouth at Wembley.

The Football Association board have approved the Welsh club's bid to represent England in next season's tournament, should they triumph on 17th May.
source--skysports.com

Brilliant I say. The FA cup had lost a bit of its shine a few years back, but now, although not as big as the BPL or the UCL, it is a wonderful trophy to win.


I so hope Cardiff goes and wins it, imagine what it will mean to a person supporting them. From a first division team, to FA cup champions, and competing in Europe. May get a thrashing, but heck, they would have played in Europe!

[fire_kris]

Originally Posted by ankit_insane

Cardiff can play in the Uefa Cup next season if they win the FA Cup with victory over Portsmouth at Wembley.

The Football Association board have approved the Welsh club's bid to represent England in next season's tournament, should they triumph on 17th May.
source--skysports.com

Brilliant I say. The FA cup had lost a bit of its shine a few years back, but now, although not as big as the BPL or the UCL, it is a wonderful trophy to win.


I so hope Cardiff goes and wins it, imagine what it will mean to a person supporting them. From a first division team, to FA cup champions, and competing in Europe. May get a thrashing, but heck, they would have played in Europe!

nice info... actually that is what FA CUP is famous for... dreams and romance

Defeating Portsmouth will be tough ask... but you never know in a CUP final anything is possible... Maybe Portsmouth can have a bigger stage fright than cardiff....

Actually it would be gr8 to see them win... also to get through qualifying stage of europe... cause it might be great for the fans of the club... but they will only attract viewership and interest if they make it to the group stages

I think sinclair, hasselbaink, fowler, enckelman and mcphail will be crucial... I think it would be better to go with hasselbaink and Ledley... fowler on the bench can be crucial later on... but its too early discussing them now really...

Will cheer for the underdog..

Off topic..

First match that really went to the wire in IPL... gr8 cliffhanger finally won by warnie... not with the ball in his hand but the bat... and that also smashing it in the last over with odds stacked against him

Ciao..
Kris

[ankit_insane]

Originally Posted by Jok3r

Wasn't able to post after the match...

Barca would be kicking themselves like liverpool for not finishing off United...
no matter how well they played...they needed a goal...& United will go all out in the next leg...

What I am interested in most is how many players will play the whole match against chelsea for United...If the match goes into extra time...Barca might have the advantage...they can even rest all their starting players this weekend as la liga is out of reach for them...(they have a match away to deportivo)

2 big games back to back will tire United...While if Barca start attacking from the word go ...a rested messi will trouble them no end...

My money is on United & Chelsea though...

Frankly, I hope we play a totally depleted side at the Bridge. Tuesday is a huge game, and our big players need a rest. A loss at chelsea would still keep us top, and i would back us to win against W Ham at home and wigan away. Then go all out with a fresh side on Tuesday, and beat Barcelona.

Fatigue cannot be allowed to kick in, and to think of it realistically, its not that big a gamble. Chelsea also have a tough away game remaining at Newcastle, tougher than any United game.

Hope Sir Alex rests Ron, Rooney, Rio, Hargo, evra and scholesy, to unleash them against Barca on Tuesday. I know most ppl wont agree here, but realistically thinking, rest for key players is very important to win the double.

[fire_kris]

Originally Posted by ankit_insane

Frankly, I hope we play a totally depleted side at the Bridge. Tuesday is a huge game, and our big players need a rest. A loss at chelsea would still keep us top, and i would back us to win against W Ham at home and wigan away. Then go all out with a fresh side on Tuesday, and beat Barcelona.

Fatigue cannot be allowed to kick in, and to think of it realistically, its not that big a gamble. Chelsea also have a tough away game remaining at Newcastle, tougher than any United game.

Hope Sir Alex rests Ron, Rooney, Rio, Hargo, evra and scholesy, to unleash them against Barca on Tuesday. I know most ppl wont agree here, but realistically thinking, rest for key players is very important to win the double.

I was suprised to no bounds when united team was announced yesterday:

my line up would have been:

Van de Sar
Brown, Pique, Rio, Evra
Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Carrick, Anderson, Nani
Rooney or Tevez

I thought hargo, carrick, anderson were played together against roma at old trafford as an experiment for semis... and what we saw was they dismantled roma free flow nature... roma are known for there revolving attack system... but these three tracked all the players beautifully... maybe fergie didnt want to risk it with Pique at nou camp.. but that led to a lot of chopping and changing

for saturday, i expect giggs, scholes, anderson, carrick to start...

I wouldnt risk hargreaves as he has been injury prone this season...

Pique will play this time leading to the back 4 i mentioned above... Rio would not be rested.. he is too vital in absence of Vida

Ronaldo/Rooney/Tevez (any 2 ) to start...

I might be wrong but these options make more sense to me... players wont be rested... I can see united playing again for a draw and not exerting themselves... they can also try out neville who said he is now feeling same like before

Ciao..
Kris