trox, I was fortunate to pick Everton as my favorite club almost two years ago. I took a lot of crap for it, but look at them now.
- Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen - Liverpool, but it breaks my heart that Donovan, if he plays which I think likely, is in the other shirt. Also, some spending in January is likely for the Reds and may give a bit more depth to make this more winnable. - Real Madrid v Juventus - Juventus if they remain healthy upfront but if Jonathon Woodgate is healthy and in form by then, maybe not. I would love to see Michael Owen get some net. - Porto v Inter Milan - I'm leaning towards Porto but wonder if the win over Chelsea was all that real. Also note that Inter has yet to lose in Serie A even if most results have been draws and so this might end up decided on away goals or PKs - Barcelona v Chelsea - Barcelona has one key advantage: Chelsea has a much busier schedule between now and late February and one or two key injuries, especially a Lampard or Terry, could be the difference while Barca has time for healing. Also, Barca will make a deal or three in the transfer window while Mourinho has said he'll stand pat until Summer. - Werder Bremen v Lyon - Both are quality sides but Lyon is running away from the table in France while Bremen have drifted down a few spots from last season's championship. I also think Bremen will have a tougher time playing at Lyon than vice versa. So Lyon on goal differential. - PSV v Monaco - PSV because they have my second favorite American player racing up the left wing, making himself a worthy successor to Robben. And because I don't care for the Monaco squad at all. - Manchester United v AC Milan - Milan will have a surprisingly easy time and possibly even win both matches. Although Ronaldhino is my choice as best in Europe right now, Shevchenko is not far behind and will give the ManU backline more than they can handle; Rio is in great form but Silvestre is not the answer next to him and I think neither Carrol nor Howard (sadly) are capable of making up for this. - Bayern Munich v Arsenal - Munich, which will have the advantage of a six week break with still three or four matches to be back on pace, should take this in a squeaker. Though I'm not saying Arsenal can't win the big ones in Europe. Also, while Jens/Ollie sounds good on paper, right now Almunia is in goal for the Gunners and will need to make quite a few whoppers to let Lehmann back into the XI. Oh and mayerkyl, why don't you read a bit before putting your foot in your mouth? We have probably as many soccer threads here as any single American sport except maybe baseball and we have three different soccer fantasy leagues going right now. Try and contribute a little something, like one actual FPP, before you slag anyone else's posting.
"right now Almunia is in goal for the Gunners and will need to make quite a few whoppers to let Lehmann back into the XI". What do you mean needs to? Hasn't he made enough already? I seriously cannot fathom why he's in the team. Lehmann isn't all that good, but Alumnia is one of the dodgiest keepers I've ever seen. Wenger has lost it. And back on topic: I think Barca are good for this year's CL. As mentioned above, Ronaldinho is a phenomenon and a joy to watch. I don't watch much Italian, Portuguese or German football, so I can't comment on their teams, but as for the English sides... Man U's defence will let them down, Liverpool (Gerrard aside) simply don't have enough quality, Arsenal are on a bad run and are always rubbish in Europe, and Chelsea... well, they're playing Barcelona.
Almunia has had what, four games in the net since replacing Lehmann, doesn't he get a bit more than that to prove himself?
Put it this way Bill, if I was, by some miracle, picked to play in goal for Arsenal, do you think I'd get a second game? Tough draw for the Spanish sides. Could we have a quarter finals with no Spanish sides left? I would make both Barca and Real underdogs in their ties. For me, the interesting tie is Man Utd v Milan. Man Utd are picking up in the league, but Milan are currently favourites to win the trophy. Oh, and mayerky: piss off back to Fark, or wherever you dragged yourself in from.
Yeah Alumnia has only had four games, but apart from the Chelsea game, he's made howling errors in all of them. Why was Lehmann even dropped in the first place? He has the occasional rush of blood to the head, but he did play in 49 of Arsenal's 50-game unbeaten run so he can't be that bad. He hadn't made any recent errors that would justify his deselection either. I would have understood if Wenger had found a better replacement, but quite obviously he hasn't. I'm no Arsenal fan, nor an admirer of Jens Lehmann, but the goalkeeping situation there truly puzzles me.
I would also point out that the English clubs have to play four games over eight or nine days next week (12/26, 12/28 or 29, 1/1, 1/3 or 4) and this might allow Wenger to give both keepers playing time before making a more definitive choice for the second half of the season or even going out into the market for someone new.
What the hell, I'll stick my neck out and make some predictions: Real Madrid v Juventus: I'll take Juventus FC Porto v Inter Milan: FC Porto Barcelona v Chelsea: Chelsea, because I think it's their year Werder Bremen v Lyon: Werder Bremen Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen: Liverpool PSV v Monaco: PSV Manchester United v AC Milan: Man United, because I see them coming on as of late Bayern Munich v Arsenal: Arsenal squeaks by into the next round.
Manchester United v AC Milan: Man United, because I see them coming on as of late Scholes sure is, had two great goals yesterday and was pretty much responsible for the own goal as well.
Porto winning against Inter?!?! Arsenal making it in Europe!?! Chelsea winning against Barcelona?? jasonbondshow...what position are you in, in the Fantasy League?
Re Almunia again... fair play to him, he had a good game against Portsmouth yesterday and made some good stops. Arsenal, as a whole, though, were quite lacklustre and lucky to scrape the win. Henry and Pires were virtual spectators for the entire match. Times are not good for the Gunners.
AFX, I will agree they've been in a funk the last two months (essentially since ManU broke the streak) and so one wonders if Wenger will look for someone to shake the squad up during the Transfer Window.
I was a bit skeptical of Almunia in goal over Lehmann (who still takes far too many risks for my liking), but his performance in yesterdays match eased my mind a bit. Re Arsenal's recent form: they are definitely down a bit right now, but every team will go through over the course of the season. The main thing is they seem to be hanging around and not losing too much ground. I hoped that thumping Rosenbourg would wake them up a bit, and both sides were very good in the Chelsea match. Yesterday, they clawed out a road win (1 Nil to the Arsenal) and got the necessary points. Am I a little concerned? Yes. Am I ready to panic? Not yet.
Are you Donald Rumsfeld? Yes...
