2008-09 ECL

hey did you hear the champions league final is today?!?!?!

who will win?!?! Enron United or the "Més que un club"?!?!?

Anyone else think it'll be a dull 1-0?!??!?!?

Or should I ask: does anyone on this board even care?!?!?

WOOOOO I LOVE HYPE!!!!

 

You really should continue your political hiatus. Unless you're saying you blame the left-wing for AIG?

 

He ain't a thug, he's old and slow -- if you're going to slag off my favorites, at least get the terminology right.

What a performance by Barca, I was much happier to see them win. I thought Barca's back 4 would be their weak link. Shows what I know. Puyol was MOTM for me.

In a funny reversal of norms, I watched the game at the local Claddagh, with an obnoxious Barca fan and several more pleasant ManU fans. Of course, the Man U fans didn't have as much to cheer about, but the Barca fan would just not shut up!! He wasn't belligerantly obnoxious, just loud for 90 minutes. "Puyol clears the ball!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Our midfield is running over Man United -- AAAAAHHH!!!! Iniesta is picking his butt!! AAAAAHHH!!" Like that tool on FSC that screams YEEEAAAAH!!! after ever goal. The bartender was Welsh, and he offered me a 20 pound note to shut him up at the start of the game -- in jest, at least I think so. By the end of the game, I told him the price on the offer was down to a pint of Sam Adams.

 

Puyol needs to cut his hair and grow a pair. What a whiner.

 

You do not speak ill of the Caveman. :twisted: 8)

 

I am sorry JP but I must have been watching a different match. Ronoldiva was hacking at Puyol like he was a pinata with a Champions League trophy inside it. I was beginning to wonder what the great inflated ego was going to have to do to get a card. Barca was the only team that showed any class in the second half and they clearly and cleanly outplayed ManU.

Eto'o, Messi and Henry may have grabbed the headlines all season but if I could kidnap any player from Barca's squad and bring him to Fulham it would be Iniesta. They man is an artist with the ball.

 

I won! I won! I won!

And what does he win Bob?

Bob: A bottle of red, abottle of white,....

 

And a bottle of Port to wash them down!

 

How 'bout a bottle of Old Milwaukee...'it doesn't get any better than this'

concur w/HD's match summary. Tevez not being on the pitch from the outset was stupid.
As for Messi, the kid is simply too good not to succeed in England, but why leave Spain? He has everything he wants on the field (especially the protection) to come up to the cold weather to get mugged every week doesn't come across as a move that seems appealing.

 

I'll meet you anytime you want,...

 

For all the brilliance assigned to Ferguson, I think he really bungled this one. Ferdinand didn't look particularly fit, Park was terrible and Anderson didn't do much. With Tevez and Berbatov as options, it seemed odd to sit on them until halftime against a side with Barca's talent. Tactically, United came out for the first 5-8 minutes pressing 4 men at the front and got some chances on net. Then they stopped and started trying to play one guy through instead, usually offside. Not sure why he called off the dogs so quick.

Meanwhile Barca seemed to follow the gameplan that Roy deployed controlling the ball with passing and pressuring the back four and midfielders, effectively halting any attack before it got going. As a result, United were sloppy with the ball and turned it over quite a bit. While they didn't lose the plot quite to the extent they did against us, they were definitely taken out of their game by Barca.

Of course the real onus falls on the players. Barca just looked like they wanted it more, outhustling ManU to almost every loose ball while meeting the challenge on the physical side.

I was particularly impressed with Iniesta and Puyol. Eto'o looked blazing fast at times. Ronaldo was the only bright spot for United before he went into petulant mode. And Scholes may not be a thug, but he deserved a red card for that tackle.

All in all, not a bad game.

 

Interesting enough, Roy was on the committe that selected Xavi as man of the match. Some good thoughts from Roy in this article along with a nice picture of him and Capello:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... -Xavi.html


Roy is so class, love that guy!

 

Could we skip to the part about Brenda and Eddie? I want to know if they got back together to watch the Barca/ManU match and who they were rooting for.

 

They never reunited.

Brenda was rooting for Man U because she loves David Beckham so much. Sadly, when she found out that he hasn't played for them in six or seven years, she put down her bottle of red, went to the umbrella drink bar across the neighborhood, and hit on the first guy she saw wearing a Ronaldo jersey.

Eddie was rooting for Barca because Man U beat his beloved Arsenal. A guy who buys his paintings from Sears likes how Wenger tries to run his operation on a budget too. Once that happened, he was a staunch ABU.

That's all I know about Brenda and Eddie...

 

Can't think of a better way to end the whole saga,...and this thread.

 

User error.