If Gareth Barry doesn't get an England recall this season I'll personally tear out the tuft of hair on McClaren's forehead.
UEFA..... hmm why is it so unfair? I mean ManU gets the easiest group ever. Arsenal got a tough grouping, but Chelsea's is the hardest.
Arsenal can beat any of the teams in their group. Hamburg is probably the toughest test in the group but I can't see us losing to them home or away. Porto are overrated and easily beatable and CSKA Moscow are pretty much the same. Chelsea on the other hand have one hell of a task, to be honest I'd rate them quite highly if they could even get into the knockout stage. I'm loving the fact that we're gonna see Chelsea vs. Barcelona V and VI, whenever they play each other it's always quite entertaining. Werder Bremen shouldn't be taken lightly either, they have an extremly powerful attack force and an accomplished Midfield and Defence, the only thing I'd be concerned with about them is their keeper. I think Levski Sofia are already out of the competition however Liverpool could have quite a big test ahead of them aswell. PSV, despite being nothing like they used to be, are still a very accomplished side. Bordeaux has some very pacey young talent in their team including Julien Faubert who is tipped to join Arsenal in the near future but should he stay at Bordeaux rest assured he'll give Liverpool a hard time. Galatasaray are always a danger team aswell. This group could give us some good matches. It'll be interesting to see if Manchester United can get their revenge on Benfica this year. Unfortunatly for Celtic I think it'll be Man Utd and Benfica going through however I think they could clinch a UEFA cup spot. I don't expect to see anything special from FC Cophenhagen. As for the other groups: Group B Inter are gonna be an extremly powerful force this year. After bringing in the likes of Vieira and Ibrohamovic from Juve and reclaiming Crespo from Chelsea I can't see anyone going top of this group but them. Bayern Munich will most likely finish second but they'll miss Ballack greatly. On the other hand they do have Schweinstieger and Podolski along with Mackay and Santa Cruz in attack aswell as having Lucio and Lahm in defence and not to mention chilli con Kahn so maybe they could live without Ballack. Sporting Lisbon will most likely get the UEFA cup spot and I'm afraid that Spartak Moscow will have to go home to red square early. Group D Valencia have already topped this with Roma most likely to come second. Valencia vs. Roma should be quite an interesting game. Olyimpikos for third place and UEFA cup spot. Shakhtar Donetsk will be going back to whichever country they play their football in Group E Once again Real Madrid and Lyon have been drawn into the same group. Last year Lyon destroyed Madrid about 3-0 or something and Madrid were quite lucky to even get into the knockout stage however with Fabio Cappello in charge of Madrid and new signings Van 'The Man' Nistlerooy, Cannavaro, Emerson and Mohamadou Diarra maybe it's time for Real's revenge. I also find it terribly ironic that the day before the draw Mohamadou Diarra signed for Madrid from Lyon and said something like ''My heart will always be with Lyon, I don't think I could ever face playing them at my new club'' Dynamo Kiev are always a side to be wary of, I think they've got the UEFA cup spot, I don't see Steaua Bucharest doing much though. Group H I think it's absolutly disgraceful that AC Milan have even been allowed to play in the champions league this year. I can't actauly believe how lenient the Italian FA and UEFA have been towards AC. It actualy angers me now that they've got probably the easiest group aswell. Lille will probably get second place whereas I don't know who will claim the UEFA cup spot, it could be either Anderlecht or AEK Athens but I'd probably say Anderlecht.
Hendrie was decent under O'Leary, but Barry is on a different station completely in terms of ability and now he's back on form.
i wonder....maybe the FA should start a international competition for british isles....it seems really interesting for me to watch England go against Scotland and the Irish...
well said....but i always liked the african-dutch players....they always seem so special in the way they play...
SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB I'm supporting you guys!!!!!!! BENFICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is for PORTUGAL!!!!!!!! And Benfica will win the match against Manchester United!
i'm sure that Northern Ireland and Wales are walkovers but i dont think Scotland or Rep. Ireland are so horrible until they cant even win...
Ireland are quite good, Scotland have some quite good players, and Wales and NI aren't great but they can battle pretty well. I was joking.
Jose Murinho, as so apyly put by the Offside, is definetly strangling Rijkaard this year. . And YEAH Chelsea got DEFEATED (though I'm a bit late)! (...dont ask. even I dont know if I'm supporting them or not)
Well i think the special thing about it is that we use [so called] "Wings". I wish I could explain it more, but I don't know how in English. I hope huntelaar will be in good shape the couple of years that r coming.
Crouch deserved a penalty, Bellamy the goal (well, I didnt see that part properly, but the poor guys been persisting throughout the game, I swear), and that was a very stupid miss by WHU and a stupid miss by Riena as well. Arsenal vs Man City next! I dont know why, I have nothing against Arsenal except Lehmann, but I'd just like them to lose for the sake of the surprise of 'em all. Sorry fans, I just like the contreversy.