UEFA Champions and Europa League 2015/16 Thread

[Dolphin Ziggler]

First topic message reminder :

It begins for the English today as West Ham face FC Lusitans in front of a sold out Upton Park this evening. The team will be a bit mixed. Randolph, O'Brien, Tomkins, Burke, Page. Jarvis, Oxford, Poyet, Amalfitano. Zarate, Sakho.

[Fernando]

You don't need to worry about worse case scenario's for United. They always get the easy draw Arsenal on the other hand will probably end up with Barca/Shaktar & Tel-Aviv.

[GSC]

Why have we Frak around with seeding to get PSV in pot 1 and Real in pot 2?

[Fernando]

Because UEFA wanted to make it easier for league winners

[GSC]

Thatd be lovely if there weren't several teams in the top 3 leagues better than the winners of the Dutch league. Which is the point of seeding

[GSC]

This is where City draw Barca, Roma and Wolfsburg

[Guest]

United' easy draw is happening with a depleted PSV & CSKA, although Wolfsburg will be a test

City having a mare with Juventus, Sevilla & Moechengladbach

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Chelsea got it easiest. United still have to deal with playing in Moscow which no one enjoys. Do Chelsea ever get hard groups?

[CFCNick]

Chelsea got it easiest. United still have to deal with playing in Moscow which no one enjoys. Do Chelsea ever get hard groups?

Games after UCL games

Sept 19th Arsenal (h) 12:45, week before Everton (a)

Oct 3rd Southampton (h)

Oct 24th West Ham (a)

Nov 7th Stoke (a)

Nov 28th Spurs (a)

Dec 12th Leicester (a)

Don't fancy going to Israel and Ukraine and then having to play those fixtures. Easiest one is Stoke because West Ham always try to give us a hard time. Porto also isn't an easy trip.

[Duty281]

United, Arsenal and Chelsea should all get through, though there are some awkward trips contained within. City might get through, but I think Sevilla will edge them out.

[Hero]

Utd's group isn't as easy as it looks.
Sure they lucked out on Pot A, but it's not the matches against the other 'big gun' that usually matters but instead the ones v the third and fourth side, an away day in Moscow is never easy and Wolfsburg showed last year they're a quality side in the Bundesliga.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Chelsea got it easiest. United still have to deal with playing in Moscow which no one enjoys. Do Chelsea ever get hard groups?

Games after UCL games

Sept 19th Arsenal (h) 12:45, week before Everton (a)

Oct 3rd Southampton (h)

Oct 24th West Ham (a)

Nov 7th Stoke (a)

Nov 28th Spurs (a)

Dec 12th Leicester (a)

Don't fancy going to Israel and Ukraine and then having to play those fixtures. Easiest one is Stoke because West Ham always try to give us a hard time. Porto also isn't an easy trip.

Id sympathise but the teams in those more distant places are so bad I'd expect Falcao to start.

[CFCNick]

We don't have a great history of getting good results in far away lands.

[Guest]

Southampton join West Ham in going out of Europe to embarrassingly poor opposition.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Least we went out without trying!

[Hammersmith harrier]

Couldn't have asked for a much easier group, we could have had Chelsea's but that would just be greedy, should get through to the knockout phase without any real alarm.

[Hero]

We got the easiest Pot A team but certainly not the easiest Pot C & D.

[Hammersmith harrier]

It's CSKA and Wolfsburg, we don't deserve to be in the competition anyway but if you're worried about them then we doubly shouldn't be in it.

[Fernando]

You should always be worried about Wolfsburg just purely for Lord Bendtner.

[Hero]

I think Utd will get through but I certainly don't think it's the walk in the park that a lot are expecting.

[Fernando]

United should get of that group comfortably. Apart from Wolfsburg i wouldn't even be slightly worried. CSKA have Doumbia back but their defense sucks & PSV have lost a lot of players over the summer.

#LordBendtner

[Soldier_Of_Fortune]

Rubin Kazan

Watch us draw another 2 eastern block clubs.

[President Trump]

Group A: Ajax, Celtic, Fenerbahce, Molde

Group B: Rubin Kazan, Liverpool, Bordeaux, Sion

Group J: Tottenham, Anderlecht, Monaco, Qarabag

[Lowlandbrit]

[kingraf]

Regarding the Pot system, I seem to have misunderstood it, so can someone clarify it for me?

With reference to Pot one, I thought it was Champions from the seven top leagues plus the previous edition's champion. This being the case, I thought RealMa would get Pot One due to the fact Barca won both league and CL (RM getting the La Liga "Champs" slot). SO is it instead Top seven plus Champs, with the next best league getting Pot one if there is a League Europe double?

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Qarabag? Typical UEFA, I'm a bag for life guy myself.

[President Trump]

Tough groups for Spurs and Celtic but both doable, Liverpools is handy enough

[Lowlandbrit]

Regarding the Pot system, I seem to have  misunderstood it, so can someone clarify it for me?

With reference to Pot one, I thought it was Champions from the seven top leagues plus the previous edition's champion. This being the case, I thought RealMa would get Pot One due to the fact Barca won both league and CL (RM getting the La Liga "Champs" slot). SO is it instead Top seven plus Champs, with the next best league getting Pot one if there is a League Europe double?

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2273303.html

- Unlike in previous years, following a change in the regulations, pot 1 for the draw will now be formed by the holders and the champions of the top seven associations: Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France and Russia.
- As Barcelona are also Spanish champions, the eighth-ranked Netherlands receive the vacant seeding place.

[kingraf]

Cheers so 7+Champions, in the case of Champions being league champions in the top seven leagues, it's top eight league champions

[Lowlandbrit]

Cheers so 7+Champions, in the case of Champions being league champions in the top seven leagues, it's top eight league champions

Or if you prefer, champions + next best 7 league champions.

[Liam]

Bold line up from Van Gaal tonight which is good to see. Time to build on the second half performance against Liverpool in what is a difficult game tonight. Great to see Mata in the 10 position, and also martial starting. Didn't see it coming but he's played already in the CL and his confidence will be sky high after his debut so why not give him a go. Herrera and Schweinstiger looks a good partnership and one that will look to control possession, expect a difficult game but fancy us to win 2-1.

[Holymiky]

Well PSG didn't take long to start tonight's scoring.

[Hero]

Luke Shaw looks like has a broken leg

[Guest]

Definite broken leg, such a shame

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Looked like the thing was disconnected from the rest of his body. Not nice. Could well cost England their Euros left back, and Daley Blind his chance to be one of United's centre backs.

Just gotta hope it is not gonna be one of those that do long term damage even when "healed."

[Hammersmith harrier]

That was a lovely bit of footwork.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Lovely goal Memphis. He only plays midweek

[Hero]

Looked like the thing was disconnected from the rest of his body. Not nice. Could well cost England their Euros left back, and Daley Blind his chance to be one of United's centre backs.

Just gotta hope it is not gonna be one of those that do long term damage even when "healed."

It looked possibly career ending/changing but I hope not.

I'd keep Blind centrally based on how he's played so far this season and but Rojo on the left being as he plays there for Argentina.

[Fernando]

PSV 1-1 United - Moreno via Blind

[Hero]

Say that and then a minute later he heads into his own goal.

[Lowlandbrit]

Could well cost England their Euros left back, and Daley Blind his chance to be one of United's centre backs.

Left back is his best position though. Bigger problem will be who covers in the middle for United.

[Fernando]

[Hammersmith harrier]

I'd forgotten he existed.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Could well cost England their Euros left back, and Daley Blind his chance to be one of United's centre backs.

Left back is his best position though. Bigger problem will be who covers in the middle for United.

Arguably, but he was obviously not favoured to play there so now he shifts again. The punishment for being a fantastically smart footballer but not a specialist.

[Fernando]

Citeh 1-0 Juventus - Kompany

Blind like Jones is adequate at some & master of nothing.

[Lowlandbrit]

Arguably, but he was obviously not favoured to play there so now he shifts again. The punishment for being a fantastically smart footballer but not a specialist.

The problem Blind has always had is that he's versatile enough that he often gets put where the team is weakest instead of where he's strongest.

[Guest]

Why why why are so many of the few English young promising talent so brittle. Luke Shaw and Jack Wiltshire both have broken legs.

[Fernando]

PSV 2-1 United - Narsingh

[Hero]

Why why why are so many of the few English young promising talent so brittle.  Luke Shaw and Jack Wiltshire both have broken legs.

There's brittle and there's someone hitting the middle of your leg with their entire force. That tackle would have snapped an elephant's leg in two.

[kingraf]

So what happens if it emerges that LvG can't play the European game as well?

[Hero]

PSV 2-1 United - Narsingh

Poor defending across the board for that goal. First time I've seen Darmian make a mistake but then Rojo and Blind totally lose the striker.

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