UEFA Champions & Europa League 2014-15 Season Thread

by Guest Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:38 am

First topic message reminder :

sportform wrote:Messi is no Harry Kane.

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 5:57 am

Juventus 1-0 Madrid - Alvaro Morata

LOL

by monty junior Wed May 06, 2015 5:58 am

Deserved lead, just hope Juve keep pushing. Real aren't used to opponents who defend properly.

by socal1976 Wed May 06, 2015 5:59 am

goal Juve 1-0! Kingraf are you sweating yet?

by socal1976 Wed May 06, 2015 6:02 am

Barcelona are going to win this thing. The trio of Suarez, ney, and messi are absolutely unbelievable. How do you stop all three. Shows the difference between messi and Ronaldo. Messi creates for teammates Ronaldo expects teammates to defer to him. Against Cordoba Suarez, and messi had scored and Neymar drew a PK, messi had Neymar take it despite being neck and neck with Ronaldo for the golden boot. Could you ever imagine Ronaldo doing the same? He actually yells at his own teammates for scoring goals that he thinks should have been passed to him.

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 6:13 am

Juventus 1-1 Madrid - Ronaldo with a 2 yard header.

by monty junior Wed May 06, 2015 6:14 am

Ronaldo is an arrogant fool but that's not really the point here. We have two very competitive semi's here and i think Bayern may have something psychologically over Barca, i mean 7-0 is not something you forget easily especially in a CL semi final. Juve have every chance of going through too.

As i say that Real score, great ball by Rodriguez!

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:16 am

Do my eyes deceive me or is Bale really playing as the #9? Actually feel sorry for him here. Bit of a hospital pass from Ancelotti, that.

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:17 am

Do my eyes deceive me or is Bale really playing as the #9? Actually feel sorry for him here. Bit of a hospital pass from Ancelotti, that.

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:24 am

Ronaldo has like six assists in his last six games or something. He has 18 assists for the season. Not bad given the fact that he doesn't pass

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:28 am

Also I keep telling you guys, and you keep sleeping on him. James Rodriguez. The Future is NOW

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 6:28 am

Well that's a shocking miss by Rodriguez

by monty junior Wed May 06, 2015 6:32 am

Has Bale been playing tonight? he's wasted at Madrid.

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:39 am

Bloody hell, that miss was awfully timed. Just after I sent the post!

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:39 am

Bloody hell, that miss was awfully timed. Just after I sent the post!

by monty junior Wed May 06, 2015 6:45 am

kingraf wrote:Bloody hell, that miss was awfully timed. Just after I sent the post!

Same i was posting laying in to Ronaldo just as he scored Ale

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Wed May 06, 2015 6:53 am

Backed Ronny at 2/1 to score anytime. Love thee Ronny

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 6:59 am

Penalty to Juventus

by NickisBHAFC Wed May 06, 2015 7:00 am

What a run by Tevez.

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 7:01 am

Marcelo booked for tripping Morata on the counter not sure if Carvajal did for conceding the pen.
Vidal got booked for dissent

Juventus 2-1 Madrid - Tevez pen

by GSC Wed May 06, 2015 7:01 am

Terrible, terrible defending. He was never going to score.

Real are lightweight

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 7:06 am

Isco off for Chicharito

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 7:07 am

Sturaro done a good job considering debuted for them in March-ish off for Barzagli

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 7:11 am

Should have taken Bale off for Chicha. Bale shouldn't even be starting, really.

Cue him scoring.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Wed May 06, 2015 7:27 am

CARLITOS

by GSC Wed May 06, 2015 7:34 am

Llorente misses a sitter

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Wed May 06, 2015 7:35 am

That cross deserved a third goal for Juve

by GSC Wed May 06, 2015 7:35 am

Chiellini with a very subtle takeout there.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Wed May 06, 2015 7:36 am

Casillas still nearly missed it. He reminds me of an ageing batsman who just loses his 'eye'

by GSC Wed May 06, 2015 7:36 am

You have to say Juve have shown more than enough to scare Real backwards in Madrid

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 7:45 am

Well, it's better than losing 1-0...

by Jermaine2015 Wed May 06, 2015 7:58 am

I've got to admit I have huge admiration for Carlo Ancelotti, he's one of the greatest managers of all time, but his decision to play Sergio Ramos as a defensive midfielder was a terrible idea. Ramos' ambition outweighs his talent in midfield. He's got a very limited passing range.

It seems bizarre that when Luca Modric is injured, Ancelotti still refuses to play Sami Khedira(I know his contract is ending), Lucas Silva or Asier Illarramendi(this guy cost nearly 40m Euros for crying out loud). When Fabio Coentrao can do a good midfield job.

Secondly Gareth Bale really is failing to justify his 100m Euro price tag, he was a passenger for pretty much the whole match.

Those issues aside, Juventus where fantastic. Arturo Vidal is a warrior and it's pretty clear why he has so many potential suitors.

by Guest Wed May 06, 2015 8:04 am

Carlo got it wrong tonight

by Jermaine2015 Wed May 06, 2015 8:07 am

Forgot to add to my earlier post, Alvaro Morata was also fantastic.

by Fernando Wed May 06, 2015 8:19 am

Raf...

Why did Carlo not play 1 of Illarra/Khedira or Lucas if he didn't have Modric?

Surely all better options then Ramos in midfield?

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 4:44 pm

No clue Nando. Khedira I don't rate in any case, but I'm really not sure what he's doing to justify 100k a week if he doesn't play when we have a crisis in his position. Then again, he's barely played this season, so maybe it was a case of Ancelotti not trusting him to play in a semi final with such little game time. Lucas only just came over, so I guess Ance doesn't quite trust his wares. Illara I just assumed angered him in a past life.

Also don't underestimate manager's ego. ie If Guardiola can turn a one time full back into one of the premier defensive midfielders in the world... Why can't I?

by socal1976 Wed May 06, 2015 6:30 pm

kingraf wrote:Ronaldo has like six assists in his last six games or something. He has 18 assists for the season. Not bad given the fact that he doesn't pass

Every footballer in history passes, does that mean Ronaldo deserves a cookie or something? I find him to be one of the most selfish players overall in world football. Look I get it, he is a lethal goal scorer and his desire and ability for goals is what has allowed him to rack up the records and trophies he gets. But this last weekends games was intriguing because it showed the difference for me between Ronaldo and Messi. Messi in the midst of a golden boot race with Ronaldo gives Neymar the PK when he is the regular penalty taker because he already has a goal. And Ronaldo yelling at one of his teammates because they beat him to rebound tap in that either one could score. He did the same thing to Bale early in the season. And what the hell is up with his free kicks? Maybe the worst most overrated free kick taker in the history of the sport. A four hundred pound stripper with a hair lip and bad body odor gets lucky more often than Ronaldo does on his free kicks. There are like 10 guys on Madrid who could convert at a better rate on the free kick than Ronaldo. But any free kick inside the halfway line Mr. wonderful has to bang 20 yard over the cross bar. Here is a clue Ronaldo, why don't you try occasionally crossing it into the box for a much more high percentage chance than you hitting a shot from 40 yards out. Will someone have the balls at Madrid to tell Ronaldo that he takes free kicks like the Captain of the Exxon Valdez sails drunk. Choosing between Ronaldo and Messi for me is like choosing to hop into bed with Roseanne Barr or Scarlett Johnasson, Messi every day of the week and twice on sunday. I would frankly rather have Suarez than even if he is chomping down on Chiellini and that Ahole Ivanovic.

by socal1976 Wed May 06, 2015 6:33 pm

Seriously I could hit more free kicks in the goal than Ronaldo after half a bottle of Macallan's and half a joint.

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:57 pm

I suppose if you ignore the fact that Ronaldo in his time at RealMa has scored twice the amount of free kicks Messi has.... Or that he averages six odd free kick goals a year. I suppose a case can be made for him being a poor free kick taker. A disproportionately large amount of his free kicks do hit row X, but that's the technique he uses for free kicks. The swerve is unpredictable, and sometimes the spin to make it dip doesn't come, but the Rewards outweigh the mishaps.when he gets it right

by kingraf Wed May 06, 2015 6:57 pm

I suppose if you ignore the fact that Ronaldo in his time at RealMa has scored twice the amount of free kicks Messi has.... Or that he averages six odd free kick goals a year. I suppose a case can be made for him being a poor free kick taker. A disproportionately large amount of his free kicks do hit row X, but that's the technique he uses for free kicks. The swerve is unpredictable, and sometimes the spin to make it dip doesn't come, but the Rewards outweigh the mishaps.when he gets it right

by GSC Wed May 06, 2015 8:43 pm

Part of me wonders if Ronaldo is a good thing for Real anymore. As great as he is, he almost forces the other players to be supporting cast rather than stars in their own rights. He was more of a team player under SAF

by Ent Wed May 06, 2015 8:47 pm

Must be terrible having a guy who regularly scores 50+ a season in your side.

20 assists this season, definitely not a team player.

by Guest Wed May 06, 2015 8:51 pm

That's the thing though, 20 assists in a dominant side, whereby you win 75% of your la Liga games by about three or four goals+, is actually not difficult to do. Look Di Maria had people creaming their pants with assists figures last year & Ozil was the same.

by GSC Wed May 06, 2015 8:57 pm

A post so sarcastic and pointless I'm surprised I didn't make it.

The point wasn't Ronaldo isnt an all time great player (obviously), more whether Real are a one man team to their detriment with him. Actually quite interested in opinions on that.

by Hammersmith harrier Wed May 06, 2015 8:58 pm

The set up at Real Madrid is all wrong, you have three players who want and need to the focal point of everything which in general leads to a lack of cohesiveness at times, they're still a very good team but they're not the sum of their parts.

Hammers going to talk about Man United again but Ronaldo for us was the sole focal point supported by a team of hard working but still very skillful players like Rooney, Tevez, Park and Fletcher.

It's why the Barca front three works not that I rate Neymar as high as others but Suarez and Messi are both all about the team and are capable of frequent individual pieces of brilliance. I think Ronaldo has gone downhill a lot in the past couple of years, the player capable of taking on defender after defender is gone and has been replaced by a player who expects everything to be set up on a plate for him.

The constant changing of managers doesn't help it gives players a sense that they're the boss when players at Arsenal for instance know that Wenger is ultimately more important than they are.

by socal1976 Wed May 06, 2015 9:18 pm

kingraf wrote:I suppose if you ignore the fact that Ronaldo in his time at RealMa has scored twice the amount of free kicks Messi has.... Or that he averages six odd free kick goals a year. I suppose a case can be made for him being a poor free kick taker. A disproportionately large amount of his free kicks do hit row X, but that's the technique he uses for free kicks. The swerve is unpredictable, and sometimes the spin to make it dip doesn't come, but the Rewards outweigh the mishaps.when he gets it right

Ok if Ronaldo averages 6 free kick goals a year for Real Madrid I will castrate myself with a dull butter knife and change my sign in name to Phyllis. I want evidence of that. Because I have watched Real and Barca games regularly, maybe not as much as you KR but the guy is nowhere near that number. Especially considering that he takes almost every single free kick. He is the most overrated free kick taker I have ever seen, ever. The guy takes 90 percent of free kicks and he just isn't good at it. Please verify his six goals a season off of free kicks, because he must be hitting them in during 6 or 7 games a year of theirs that I miss. The swerve isn't unpredictable at all, if you are sitting in rows 20-30 behind the goal make sure to protect your beer because CR's free kick is coming into your general area. Not to mention how many goals they lose every year because he refuses to actually pass off the set piece, like ever.

by Guest Wed May 06, 2015 9:20 pm

Ronaldo is rubbish at FK's, I believe he's banged one this season

by Hammersmith harrier Wed May 06, 2015 9:21 pm

Agreed Liam, he has to be the single worst regular free kick taker i've ever seen who plays for a high profile club.

by Stella Wed May 06, 2015 9:23 pm

Roberto Carlos was more overrated.

by socal1976 Wed May 06, 2015 9:23 pm

GSC wrote:A post so sarcastic and pointless I'm surprised I didn't make it.

The point wasn't Ronaldo isnt an all time great player (obviously), more whether Real are a one man team to their detriment with him. Actually quite interested in opinions on that.

I actually think a very good argument can be made that Ronaldo takes away from the other great players on his team as opposed to making them better. I think he has become obsessed with out scoring Messi. For me that is the difference between Messi and Ronaldo. Messi makes the players around him better and Ronaldo doesn't. I am not a Barca fan, or Real fan. But honestly, I was very impressed with Messi in the heat of golden boot race with Cristiano deferring to Neymar who earned the PK when he almost always takes that PK for Barca. Messi makes Suarez and Neymar as good as they are better. I can't say the same thing about Ronaldo vis a vis James or Bale.

by monty junior Thu May 07, 2015 1:53 am

Agreed.

I get the feeling most of the players are just content to feed the machine. I mean Kroos to me has so much ability and long range shot quality but just seems content to keep things neat and not take any risks. He's squandering his talent imo, ok he's dependable but he's very skillful for a CM but doesn't make the most of it.

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