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i know almost everyone does it nowadays. but there comes a point where it becomes excessive, and yesterday was the worst i have ever seen. doesn't mean benfica dont deserve their win, they do, their midfield played scum united's off the park. but they didn't have to go to such lengths to waste so much time like it is a ****ing disgrace

Reply 3981

scottweiland

gazza!

haha but seriously, i think peter taylor is seriously underrated, and is one of the best coaches in the country. but even then, i'd rather see someone with a lot more experience managing international sides. guus hiddink is a clear choice for me, with peter taylor his assistant.

Reply 3982

white_haired_wizard

nike_inc

United Big Time Shiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHELSEA ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:rock:

I've yet to see Chelsea 'rocking' against Liverpool in the champs league - i think benitez has you lot sussed...i'd rather liverpool beat chelsea, or win the champs league, than chelsea - this from a united fan too - fúcking hate chelsea - piss me off so much....

--------------

arkbar

Original Poster:
What's it like being a Man U supporter in Hampshire? I imagine there are quite a lot of you abuot, it being 183miles from Manchester.

same old same old...anything 'fresh' to offer? :biggrin:

Reply 3983

NDGAARONDI

wizard

Thing is, a draw for either team would have meant both have gone through. If Benitez really had Chelsea sussed it would show in the Premiership too.

Reply 3984

stirlingboy

Twinkle toes goes to dance among the stars. May you find the peace of spirit in death that the world denyed you life. Sweet dreams George. You deserve them.

Reply 3985

white_haired_wizard

NDGAARONDI

Thing is, a draw for either team would have meant both have gone through. If Benitez really had Chelsea sussed it would show in the Premiership too.

To be honest, i really do think Liverpool know damn well that the Premiership is out of the question, what with Chelsea's limitless resource/finance - what matters to liverpool is Europe, Liverpool will finish top 4 thats certain, Liverpools priorities it seems are in Europe - if not re-capturing the Champs Lge, then the Uefa Cup. FA cup is a possiblity too - they are still in it - i really don't think liverpool could care too much about not having the premier league chelsea sussed out - they are rational and logical about their priorities, about time Man United were too - the league is out of the question, just a small competition out of say 3-4 teams as to who fills out positions 2,3 and 4 - for champs league qualification purposes. Prem is currently out of the question for all teams, apart from the obvious. As for what makes a successful european outfit at the moment im really not so sure, but chelsea cannot beat liverpool - 4 times now, ok Liverpools 1-0 victory debatable, but Chelsea cant do much in the way of opening up the European liverpool version....defensively solid for euro success? God knows, look at this years Champs Lge final, can't make head nor tail of what is required in Europe...that cutting edge...attack the best form of defence employment? Sorry im waffling - i do think barca will win the thing this year, unfortunately not really had the pleasure of watching the current team with ronaldinho, i did take a trip to barca on hooliday last february, take tour around the stadium and so many comments heard revolving around why barca are now successful - the team ethic, not the individualism that plagues Real Madrids 'galacticos' side...i also feel there are one or two unhappy players in Chelseas team - not sure whether joe cole for instance is injured, if not, why on earth wasnt he playing against Liverpool, on current form he should have started - and Wright-Phillips, from big fish in small pond @ city, to small fish, unregularly used fish, in a huge pond - he can't surely be happy with such a transition.

Reply 3986

w8wizz

wwoooohhoooo

GO ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

undefeated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply 3987

filastini

^ Same as Liverpool, but we're better. :cool:

Reply 3988

w8wizz

jusfarhan

^ Same as Liverpool, but we're better. :cool:

was liverpool undefeated?

Reply 3989

filastini

^ Of course, plus 6 games winning streak in the league.

Reply 3990

Rainy

NDGAARONDI

Thing is, a draw for either team would have meant both have gone through. If Benitez really had Chelsea sussed it would show in the Premiership too.

It's nothing to do with Benitez having Mourinho sussed, its Mourinho not knowing how, tactically, to play his system. Chelsea have a ruthless, mechanical aspect to their game. It's not pretty, but it works given the right players. Rafa knows this, and has so created a compact defensive unit. Mourinho really hasn't decided on a way to break this down - other than 'hoofing' it up to Huth up front - with the 4-1 largely down to Liverpool imploding. Full marks to Chelsea for taking advantage though and they deserves the win. Pretty much every other game has been very tight, and they got very lucky in the Carling Cup. But at the end of the day, Chelsea are the better side (as should be expected).

Now is still not the true time to compare the two teams. Benitez still has a long way to go until the team are running how he wants, Mourinho needs only fish out the chequebook and away we go. Let's face it, Rafa makes Mourinho uncomfortable, hence his "voyeur"-esque attitude towards us with his constant bleating and blithering.

Reply 3991

filastini

Rafa v Maureen is a another whole story in itself. It their respectable situations, Rafa comes out on top.

Reply 3992

joe_the_smoe

good to see all the arsenal and chelski fans on our side. Serously though this was probably the worst time wasting I have ever seen and I have been watching football for a long time. Sure when united are winning they might dribble it to the corner flag and make a sub, but no way would fergie have allowed his team to do what benfica did. I'm pretty sure many other managers who have morals and respect for the game would agree (maybe not mourinho, he does seem to do whatever it takes to win). United wouldnt have time wasted like this, and anyone who rekons they would have done obvoisly didn't see the game.

Reply 3993

gordih6

I beleive Benfica did right by themselves. They obviously want qualification and once they were in the lead they knew united would throw everything at them and probably score. I know time wasting is ugly, unattractive and can be classed as cheating underhand tactics, but what over option was there, lie down and let united get qualification? Maybe next year teams should just score own goals or even give you the points, that way you can go back to winning everything again :biggrin:

Reply 3994

Rainy

jusfarhan

Rafa v Maureen is a another whole story in itself. It their respectable situations, Rafa comes out on top.

Paul Tomkins puts it quite well, I think:

Criticism of Liverpool from another team's manager is like your nemesis taking a pop at your wife in public. Even if it's true, it's not their place to say it. And, from Jose Mourinho, too much of it has been spurious nonsense spouted in desperation.

Frankly, Jose Mourinho's had far too much to say about Liverpool these last six months. Then again, he's never short of something to say.

I am utterly, utterly sick of hearing about how Chelsea did not lose the semi-final last year, on account of Luis Garcia's goal 'not crossing the line'. Photographic evidence that suggested it did was conveniently ignored as Sky reconstructed the goal on their over-heating ZX81, placing the players in different positions to reality.

Actually, am I that sick of hearing about it? No. Because it reminds me of who won the European Cup. For the fifth time. What irritates is the complete overlooking of the announcement by the referee, after the game, when he said he was going to award the Reds a penalty and send off Petr Cech. After just three minutes. So in fact, Chelsea had got lucky, as they had so many times against Liverpool under Mourinho.

And he knows it. Attacks are made in life only by threatened people. Defences, such as this, are to be expected, although of course I could ignore the Portuguese rent-a-gob. But Liverpool's emergence as a genuine threat to Chelsea were outlined in May, and confirmed in recent weeks by the league table and a run of nine games without conceding a goal.

It was comical how Mourinho failed to see Essien's assault on Hamann, but felt Sissoko should have been red-carded for his tackle on Gudjohnsen, when the Liverpool midfielder was playing the ball, if a little recklessly. He still made more contact with the ball than the Chelsea player, as he tried to scoop the ball forwards. Can that be said of Essien? Or, for that matter, Gallas, when he stamped on Kewell's ankle when totally ignoring the ball?

The Liverpool midfield does not contain angels and shrinking violets, and Hamann and Gerrard have made horror tackles in the past (Gerrard much less so these days). But the fact that Chelsea made two horrible tackles in the same match shows how rattled they were.

The Reds are not at Chelsea's overall level yet, and money means assembling a comparable squad will be difficult, but the gap grows ever-closer. It puts more pressure on Chelsea, because they have spent excessively for the right to be at the top. And they are top in the Premiership, by a fair distance. But just as they finished runners-up to Liverpool in last year's semi-final, they finished runners-up again this time around, in the group stage.

When he arrived in England, you could not stop Mourinho saying "I am a European Champion", as if he won the cup on his own. It was announced as if it was the greatest achievement possible in the game, and he's right. Then, a year later, Liverpool won the competition due to 'good fortune'.

Both Benítez and Mourinho have won the European Cup and a major European league title. Both of Benítez's achievements were on a relatively low budget; one of Mourinho's was on the greatest budget ever seen in football. Well spent, but quality is always easier to find if you have the cash to shop in the exclusive outlets.

In October Mourinho accused the Reds of being 'long ball' due to the presence of Peter Crouch. This from a manager whose team aerially bombarded Bayern Munich for 90 minutes last season, and have twice resorted to artless punts up field against us at the end of Champions League games. Or is it okay as a tactic when you're desperate to win?

Desperate is apparently something Liverpool were over the summer, as Mourinho took time to criticise the Reds' transfer policy. In some ways he was right. But it's such a pathetic thing to say from a position where money has bought you everything. Well, everything except Steven Gerrard. And history. And class.

There was a lot more rebuilding work needed at Anfield than at Chelsea (let's not forget a total of ten players of various ages arrived this summer) than at Stamford Bridge. Rafa didn't have the option to throw wads of cash at clubs to lure his targets. He got a lot of them; a few more eluded him. C'est la vie.

But let's not overlook the part Chelsea played in disrupting Rafa's plans. Much of last summer was spent negotiating to keep Steven Gerrard, while exploring the alternatives should he leave. If you read Gulliam Balague's excellent take on last season, you will discover that Rafa earmarked Michael Essien (now revealed to be a talented thug) and Momo Sissoko to replace Steven Gerrard.

Rafa's budget depended on whether or not Gerrard was sold. If centre back and right wing were priorities, central midfield would have been the number one requirement had Gerrard left.

Selling Gerrard would have given the boss an extra £35m to spend, would have given him extra options regarding the players he was chasing for other positions. Instead of chasing Figo on a free, he might have offered £18m for Joaquin. (I'm merely hypothesising.) At the very least it would have allowed the Reds to bow to Benfica's demands over Simao.

Thankfully, our manager goes about his job in a quiet, dignified manner, concentrating on his own team and not trying to steal the limelight from his players. Mourinho is the man who ran onto the pitch at Old Trafford, and then, after Porto won the final, went to hide – so as the whole world was wondering where he was rather than focusing on the team.

Meanwhile, the more Mourinho focuses and obsesses about Liverpool, the greater the compliment he pays our team, and our manager.

Reply 3995

filastini

^ Lol, exactly the article I read. He puts it well.

Reply 3996

Bottekrank

Do you agree with Harry Redknapp's decision to return to Portsmouth? I couldn't believe he'd moved to Southampton last year, and then going back to Portsmouth stunned me even more....
Why did he leave Portsmouth in the first place? I heard he had a bust-up with Milan Mandaric...but then to go to the rival club!? Doesn't make sense to me. As a neutral, it'd be interesting to see what Southampton/Portsmouth fans thought...or anyone with an opinion.

Reply 3997

Economist

The whole of his appointment was a scandal. One day he's ruled out of returning because they couldnt agree a compensation fee with Milan Manderic saying that he was looking at other prospects such as Sanchez who they contacted the Irish board about. Then all of a sudden he is appointed the next day. They knew all along!

Reply 3998

Rainy

UEFA

UEFA has today instigated disciplinary proceedings against Michael Essien, charging the Chelsea FC midfielder with gross unsporting conduct following the English club's UEFA Champions League game against Liverpool FC on Tuesday.

The charge relates to Essien's tackle on Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann, which occurred out of the sight of both the referee and his assistants during the 0-0 Group G draw at Stamford Bridge. Any statement about the above, as well as any evidence, can be submitted to UEFA by 14 December 2005. The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body will decide on the matter at its next meeting on 15 December.