Europa League 2014-15 - Pt.1

M99 wrote:

McLewis wrote:

S wrote:


But they wouldnt give two *bleep* about the game tho

Welcome back......and pls go.

yeah i don't see why Roma won't be going for it , let lone take it seriously. As i have said before , i believe they can reach at least the semi-finals , it should be the minimum for this Roma .

The general level of this Europa League is very good , much better than last year. You can realize it looking the 2nd POT for example.
It is a shame for a neutral fan the fact that Inter , Liverpool , and Tottenham are shit this year, it would have improved even the level.
Besides the final victory is not elitist matter as in Champions League . It's really difficult to suppose who will win .
GOAT cup , I am serious  Show is guaranteed imo.
And if Lyon didn't get knocked out in that play off FFS ..in August it was another Lyon  , now it could be an important underdog for a victory considered their great league with a Lacazette Benzema2009-esque.

Don't call me James wrote:I really wanted Inter. Besiktas are actually quite decent. They beat Spurs to get first in the group. And they are leading the Turkish league ahead of Gala and Fener

This certifies our decline  All want to face us.
i would have liked the idea of Liverpool because it would have been the most  fascinating match by a mile , worthy of Champions League and both are shit  this year so we could have chances too . Anyway for me it was better so , Celtic is not Liverpool for charm  but it is also   charming ( expecially for them , for that Champions  Cup won ) ,  and of course they are much worse.

Robes that is precisely the reason I wanted to face you guys. Because it would be the most prestigious tie and it would feel almost like a CL tie.

ah ok
it was a common thought for Inter fans , it intrgued the idea. on the one hand all wanted to avoid the 2 English teams firstly ( I wanted to avoid Sevilla anyway) on the other hand the match against Liverpool could give a sense to season  for its great charm, in    a shit season ( 2 last months really so similar for Inter and Liverpool. Both basically always have lost)  
. Well , we hope for Varsavia

Don't call me James wrote:Since when are you a Torino fan?

His father is a Torino fan .
Besides River Plate and Torino fans are much friends

Robespierre wrote:The general level of this Europa League is very good , much better than last year. You can realize it looking the 2nd POT for example.
It is a shame for a neutral fan the fact that Inter , Liverpool , and Tottenham are shit this year, it would have improved even the level.
Besides the final victory is not elitist matter as in Champions League . It's really difficult to suppose who will win .
GOAT cup , I am serious  Show is guaranteed imo.
And if Lyon didn't get knocked out in that play off  FFS ..in August it was another Lyon  , now it could be an important underdog for a victory considered their great league with a Lacazette Benzema2009-esque.

Don't call me James wrote:I really wanted Inter. Besiktas are actually quite decent. They beat Spurs to get first in the group. And they are leading the Turkish league ahead of Gala and Fener

This certifies our decline  All want to face us.
i would have liked the idea of Liverpool because it would have been the most  fascinating match by a mile , worthy of Champions League and both are shit  this year so we could have chances too . Anyway for me it was better so , Celtic is not Liverpool for charm  but it is also   charming ( expecially for them , for that Champions  Cup won ) ,  and of course they are much worse.

Don't really know what you mean by charm? If you mean in terms of support, we have a far better support than Liverpool.

Red Alert wrote:Let's hope Liverpool wins this but can't see it us making it passed the quarters/semi.

TenMenWonTheLeague wrote:

Robespierre wrote:The general level of this Europa League is very good , much better than last year. You can realize it looking the 2nd POT for example.
It is a shame for a neutral fan the fact that Inter , Liverpool , and Tottenham are shit this year, it would have improved even the level.
Besides the final victory is not elitist matter as in Champions League . It's really difficult to suppose who will win .
GOAT cup , I am serious  Show is guaranteed imo.
And if Lyon didn't get knocked out in that play off  FFS ..in August it was another Lyon  , now it could be an important underdog for a victory considered their great league with a Lacazette Benzema2009-esque.

Don't call me James wrote:I really wanted Inter. Besiktas are actually quite decent. They beat Spurs to get first in the group. And they are leading the Turkish league ahead of Gala and Fener

This certifies our decline  All want to face us.
i would have liked the idea of Liverpool because it would have been the most  fascinating match by a mile , worthy of Champions League and both are shit  this year so we could have chances too . Anyway for me it was better so , Celtic is not Liverpool for charm  but it is also   charming ( expecially for them , for that Champions  Cup won ) ,  and of course they are much worse.

Don't really know what you mean by charm? If you mean in terms of support, we have a far better support than Liverpool.

What do you mean by "better"? Lmao. Celtic better support than Liverpool? I've seen the last few home games and nobody is even showing up anymore. Maybe in the 60s or something we could have this argument

Robes is talking about prestige of the tie. Inter-Liverpool is obviously more prestigious than any tie involving Celtic

VendettaRed07 wrote:

TenMenWonTheLeague wrote:

Robespierre wrote:The general level of this Europa League is very good , much better than last year. You can realize it looking the 2nd POT for example.
It is a shame for a neutral fan the fact that Inter , Liverpool , and Tottenham are shit this year, it would have improved even the level.
Besides the final victory is not elitist matter as in Champions League . It's really difficult to suppose who will win .
GOAT cup , I am serious  Show is guaranteed imo.
And if Lyon didn't get knocked out in that play off  FFS ..in August it was another Lyon  , now it could be an important underdog for a victory considered their great league with a Lacazette Benzema2009-esque.



This certifies our decline  All want to face us.
i would have liked the idea of Liverpool because it would have been the most  fascinating match by a mile , worthy of Champions League and both are shit  this year so we could have chances too . Anyway for me it was better so , Celtic is not Liverpool for charm  but it is also   charming ( expecially for them , for that Champions  Cup won ) ,  and of course they are much worse.

Don't really know what you mean by charm? If you mean in terms of support, we have a far better support than Liverpool.

What do you mean by "better"? Lmao. Celtic better support than Liverpool? I've seen the last few home games and nobody is even showing up anymore. Maybe in the 60s or something we could have this argument

We have a much better support. I really can't see how anyone could disagree with that. About 3 English teams have anything resembling a decent support (I don't just mean in terms of numbers)

Don't call me James wrote:Robes is talking about prestige of the tie. Inter-Liverpool is obviously more prestigious than any tie involving Celtic

For us this is probably the game that has the most charm about it. It's a repeat of by far the greatest moment in our history.

Of course that's the cas given they both have much better players than us but then again so do most teams

Yes , exactly McAgger ( don't call me james ) . English is not my language but I meant this

TenMenWonTheLeague wrote:

Don't call me James wrote:Robes is talking about prestige of the tie. Inter-Liverpool is obviously more prestigious than any tie involving Celtic

For us this is probably the game that has the most charm about it. It's a repeat of by far the greatest moment in our history.

Of course that's the cas given they both have much better players than us but then again so do most teams

yes, I remind you invited us also to celebrate your  125th anniversary with that friendly match in summer
I remind a minute of silence before of the match and I asked  to my friends if it was for Rangers   (just bankrupted that year. just kidding)
of course this match has great charm too , it is strange to think it was played just 2 times and both for GOAT moment, CL final 1967 and CL semi-final 72 ( revenge for us after penalty kicks)

We play like we did against Parma and Feyenoord are going to ruin us.

That is all.

Thursday we'll have the next matchday

Totally looking forward to Sevilla vs Gladbach!

This is a good time to play Sevilla. They've got a number of injuries, aren't in great form and the manager's tactics of late have been questionable to say the least.

No doubt the Sanchez Pizjuan will be rocking, but I think the general feeling is worry.

I haven't really followed La Liga, I have to admit, but in the Gladbach forum, the general consensus is "Difficult tie, dunno if we will go through, but we will try."

Gladbach's last 4 matches were the pinnacle of efficiency if you look at the three won games as they managed to get 9 points while they only scored 3 goals. On the other hand, in all 4 matches they only allowed one goal which means they are not an easy nut to crack.

But then they have one of the currently very best goalkeepers in Europe between the posts - Yann Sommer's save percentage even surpasses Manuel Neuer's, and Sommer got twice as many shots on goal!

On the minus side, Gladbach have severe problems breaking down opponents who defend well and they welcome opponents who try to attack as then they can launch their lightning fast wingers in deadly counter attacks.

It is going to be one of those times, when I want to see three games at the same time.
Wolfsburg vs Lisbon, Lisbon as always play some nice football.
Sevilla vs Borussia, will also be a great game.
It is going to good week of football this time.

Wolfsburg and Gladbach don't play at the same time. Wolfsburg-Sporting start at 19:00 GMT+1, while Sevilla-Gladbach start at 21:05 GMT+1

yeah, I just checked and realised that half of the games are at 19:00 and other half are at 21:05, that is really great. I dont remember if it was the same last time also.

It was the same. Looks like the media want to be able to show more than just one match for more commercial value.

rwo power wrote:I haven't really followed La Liga, I have to admit, but in the Gladbach forum, the general consensus is "Difficult tie, dunno if we will go through, but we will try."

Gladbach's last 4 matches were the pinnacle of efficiency if you look at the three won games as they managed to get 9 points while they only scored 3 goals. On the other hand, in all 4 matches they only allowed one goal which means they are not an easy nut to crack.

But then they have one of the currently very best goalkeepers in Europe between the posts - Yann Sommer's save percentage even surpasses Manuel Neuer's, and Sommer got twice as many shots on goal!

On the minus side, Gladbach have severe problems breaking down opponents who defend well and they welcome opponents who try to attack as then they can launch their lightning fast wingers in deadly counter attacks.

I'm not entirely sure how Sevilla are going to play. Depending on who Emery starts with, it could be defensive/counter-attack or a more measured and controlled approach, though either way the defending in recent games hasn't been great.

Right back will be a weakness for them as Diogo Figueiras is a very suspect defender and the only alternative is Aleix Vidal who's a right winger; the usual right back, Coke, is injured. Navarro on the other side isn't too solid either (Tremoulinas, who's much better, is also injured). There'll be Sergio Rico, a rookie keeper, in goal, too. Mbia (who'd usually start) and Gameiro and Aspas (both backup forwards) are injured as well.

If I were to take a stab at the starting eleven, it'd be:

Rico; Vidal, Pareja, Carrico, Navarro; Krychowiak, Banega; Reyes, Iborra, Vitolo; Bacca

Iborra is being used as a Fellaini-style battering ram as of late. He wins a lot of balls in the air but his end product is pretty shocking. If Reyes plays you can probably expect the more measured approach where a lot of the play will go through him and Banega. If Vidal plays RW it'll probably be more direct.

Subs would probably be: Barbosa, Arribas, Diogo, Denis Suarez, Deulofeu, Carlos Fernandez (B team) and Juan Munoz (B team), so not a lot of experience or consistency there.

so the GOAT cup is back .
Inter and Liverpool group fans with the job to hype it

So now the main clubs of this Europa League are better than months ago ?

Liverpool is surely better than in December when they relegated in EL, it is another team now , athletic condition is legit , the moment is very good with results ( 6 and 2 ties in EPL if I remind well and got on in FA Cup ) , Rodgers has found  the key with the system 3-4-2-1 and ....... the GOAT Sturridge is back .  It is the club mostly improved during these 2-3 months on paper

Inter hasn't found full consistency for results not even under Mancini, but tbf it got 2 wins in a row  just now for 3-0 and 4-1 so Maybe it might be the turning .. I prefer not deceiving myself though. But anyway it is going to face Celtic in a good moment . Shaqiri might be the difference maker , the real difference with the past

.... but it is a similar matter for Celtic. They were scrub months ago but they got 7 wins in a row in their league and expecially at Celtic Park they looked like legit. Yes, Europe is not Scotland but they looked like improved compared to months ago , the new signings helped for it

Tottenham is another club improved .  We wondered just months ago what was the difference with Tottenham under Sherwood or AVB .... Tottenham turned positively in last 2 months ago .. and expecially they have a Harry Kane more now. And it is not a detail

Fiorentina will be their opponent and they are living a good moment. They were closest to relegation battle than EL place months ago, now they are going to fight for 3rd place.

They have lost Cuadrado but increased the number of players in forward and Salah and Diamanti  are already settled in Montella system

Contrarily Roma is in list of clubs regressed during this months.
They are really in a crap moment. They don't win at Olimpico since Novemmber (!)  and even tied against  this Parma  . Got knocked out in Coppa Italia too . It was  a club close to pass the CL groups months ago with a great performance at Manchester ... Then that 1-7 against Bayern turned negatively their season . They risk against Feyenord with this attitude. Feyenord  is not a great club but it runs so much. And atm it is enough to create problems to Roma.

Everton is another club to turn negatively during these months . It was rated as one of favorites for the final victory ... now who would do it ?

The amazing thing of Europa League is that it is unpredictable, rarely the favorite will be the winner ( Chelsea 2013 was an exception  on the other hand ) , but anyway this Everton does not give great hopes to their fans . Anyway we' ll see , surely they can't play as in Premier League. It was even strange to watch them playing negative as against Liverpool and Chelsea.  It is not  Martinez DNA. But when you must avoid the relegation battle you can even watch  Roberto Martinez turning in David Moyes.

Napoli is standard , they aren't changed much , it is a club very very tough to face in knock out  game, while they are capable to lose points foolishly during league and this is the main reason because they aren't credible for the title . As in last matchday. Basically typical in Benitez. But Europa League is precisely a cup . And Benitez gives his best here as he showed even in Napoli.
So they will be a very serious contender for victory.
For me it is definitely the Italian club with more chances to go on . More than Roma imo.

About Sevilla, I don't know much about them , but anywaw GoonerJay was perfect to decribe them as always.

Same thing for Monchengladbach and RWO.

I think Villareal depends  excessively on Vietto ,although a Spanish club  can be never underrated in Europa League.

I appreciated Anderlecht in Champions League, very young team but even for this reason I don't think they will go far. Same matter for Ajax  imho.

really Robes ? a post that long at this time ?

Well in Robes !

After seeing the absolute borefest that was the CL today, I can't wait until Thursday when the proper football begins.

We've got mouth-watering fixtures such as :

Sevilla - BMG
Wolfsburg - SP Lisbon
Ajax - Legia
Villareal vs. Red Bull Salzburg
Roma vs. Feyenoord
Liverpool - Besiktas
Spurs - Fiorentina
PSV - Zenit
Celtic - Inter

Robespierre

Some real good matches today. Shame I want be able to watch any of them

Pity that. Especially as I expect them to be more entertaining than the CL borefest so far.