AUGUST: Europe, fitba and the MAGIC OF THE CUP

[Mellberg]

Enjoyed last night. Barca are a fraudulent club and watching them suffer is a favourite hobby of mine. Spanish football could be in for a few years of doing fuck all. Madrid might push on, but Barca are done for a while and Atletico have just blown their big chance.

It tends to work in cycles, so are England about to have a strong decade? City and Liverpool are obviously there. United probably aren't too far away for the first time in a while. National team looks in half decent shape too. And obviously Villa are class.

I don't see much competition at the minute anyway. Bayern. PSG. Erm...

[phonics]

I think reverting back to 2 legged ties will make grander conclusions drawn from this year irrelevant.

[Mellberg]

The number of games means next to fuck all. If you're shit, you're shit.

[randomlegend]

I think reverting back to 2 legged ties will make grander conclusions drawn from this year irrelevant.

Yeah Barca would definitely have come back from 8-2 down if there'd been a second leg.

[phonics]

Raul Sanllehi has been sacked. Rumour is that this lawyer Kroenke appointed to the board looked into his deals (specifically Pepe) and there’s a load of dodgy accounting.

[Mellberg]

At least Arsenal look to be on board for the upcoming period of English dominance.

[Gray Fox]

Madrid are now at the end of that dominant teams life. Ramos, Marcelo, Modrid, Kroos, Benzema etc are all over the hill now and ready to move on. Their original attempt to rebuild hasn't been great either.
Barcelona in a similar situation. Aside from Ter Stegen and De Jong, all the way down the middle of the team needs replacing with starters.

PSG are about as good as they'll get being in that league, but Bayern seem to threaten the big time once every few years.

I'd suggest we may see English winners for a few years.

[Waffdon]

Madrid have recruited quite well. Definitely with the future in mind, Hazard aside.

[Don]

Getting pre-pubescent bums from Rio's favelas does not constitute good recruitment.

[randomlegend]

Madrid have recruited quite well. Definitely with the future in mind, Hazard aside.

On paper it looks not bad but apparently most of the hyped youngsters they've brought in have been dogshit.

[Kikó]

Yeah Barca would definitely have come back from 8-2 down if there'd been a second leg.

I know you're being flippant but obviously both teams approaches would have been different.

[phonics]

I also wasn’t referring to specifically Barca. Atletico are a 2 leg team. Juve are a two leg team. Madrid are a two leg team. City have gone out on away goals 2 years running etc.

It’s two very different sort of matches.

[SincereTheRebel]

The big players Barca have bought are not bad. The likes of Coutinho and Dembele were just overpriced and didn't meet the high Barca expectations. Which was always going to sting them on the resale value. That was clear from the start.

[Shindig]

I feel tempted to have a look at the La Mesia graduates and see where they're at.

[Lewis]

We were meant to be four Champions' League wins into Messi feeding Giovani dos Santos and Bojan by now.

[CJay]

The Ronaldo fanboys winning the long game. I think it was only us and Multi at one point battling away.

Didn’t his team just get knocked out in the second round by some goat herders from France?

[Lewis]

He's scored every knock-out goal Juventus have scored since he got there.

[phonics]

And they got to multiple finals/semi-finals before he was there so maybe he's the issue?

[Lewis]

He was the issue then when he used to eliminate them on his own.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

[Waffdon]

Didn’t his team just get knocked out in the second round by some goat herders from France?

He’s the greatest big game player of all time. Best player to compete in the CL and it isn’t close. Does Messi even have 15 knock out goals

[niko_cee]

For the greatest big game player of all time he's done well to amass a penalty miss and the 4th in a rout as his only notable European Cup final contributions (I'm probably ignoring something here).

Bale and Ramos have carried him.

And he sat out his country's biggest moment.

No doubt he can (could) get you there, less certain he wins it for you.

Messi did actually don that United final.

[Danny]

2017 doesn’t count?

He also scored United’s goal in 2008. Yes he missed a penalty but I would consider opening the scoring in a 1-1 notable.

Edit: I swear that comment on ignoring something wasn’t there

[niko_cee]

I did say I was probably forgetting something, I haven't really followed his career with any sort of interest and a Juve - Real Madrid final is the sort of thing you hope ends up in a major terrorist incident.

[Waffdon]

Before Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid, they were knocked out in the R16 of the Champions League in 5 consecutive seasons. When he arrived they reached the semi-finals for 8 seasons in a row and won the Champions League 4 times in 5 seasons.

GOAT.

[phonics]

Bale did most of that and cut 3 strokes off his golf handicap.

[niko_cee]

Karim Benzema.

[niko_cee]

Additionally, I have a real, probably irrational, hatred of the GOAT concept (and probably people who extol it). The number of people in any given field it could feasibly apply to is vanishingly small, and neither Messi nor Ronaldo can sustain such a claim due to the existence of the other. If there is some guy up the road basically matching your achievements stride for stride, you are not Don Bradman.

[Waffdon]

It’s not that deep mate

[niko_cee]

It's lazy and antagonistic, although I appreciate the second part is intended.

[Shindig]

On a sidenote, I watched a Pele vs Maradona compilation this morning. For a team game, those two really, really ran matches.

[SincereTheRebel]

They played against men who had 12 pints and a hit of cocaine before games

[niko_cee]

What's going on with Joe Hart's neck? Has it always been like that? Puts Cronaldo to shame.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

"Memphis" lolling City out would be ideal here.

[niko_cee]

I also wasn’t referring to specifically Barca. Atletico are a 2 leg team. Juve are a two leg team. Madrid are a two leg team. City have gone out on away goals 2 years running etc.

It’s two very different sort of matches.

Late to pick up on this, but, away goals meaning losing 5-1 to Liverpool yeah?

It was the year before they got done by Monaco (was it?). Was that away goals?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cornet

What a start.

[Waffdon]

Pep really doing his fraud status no harm if he gets thrown out here.

Lyon will probably win the whole thing with an ex Celtic player in their defence. Dembele to come on and finish the game off

[Waffdon]

Mahrez should be starting every game for City

[niko_cee]

Fucks' sake. City need to sort themselves out.

Agreed on Mahrez, he contributes so much more than his role in the squad suggests. Was probably their best player since the restart.

[Lewis]

'Pep'. It's Lyon. Play your best side.

[Raoul Duke]

Best side = Aguero. Jesus is bobbins

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cornet has been watching a bit too much of Neymar.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Been coming, Lyon have just been inviting pressure.

[Waffdon]

Hopefully Sterling gets the winner if they do go on and win

[Gray Fox]

If City defend like this against Bayern we're in for a Cricket score.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

[Waffdon]

There he is. Dembele

[randomlegend]

How has that been allowed to stand

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Holy shit that miss.