Sport Today

by **Savyasachi Bagh** » Thu, 19 Sep 2002 15:02:12

At the Mestella ..

Valencia: 2 ( could have been 5 )
Liverpool: 0

Alongwith Celta, Valencia look awesome in these early
parts of the season. Though RM won quite easily against
Serie A trash, they didnt look half as impressive
as the Ches.

As for Liverpool, well, they apparently ( according to
rsc "experts" have the almost best defender in Europe,
the best midfielder in the world who would have single-handedly
won Angleterre the WC, maybe the almost best GK in Europe
and so on ... its nice to live in illusion in the protected
environment of Premiership football taking last minute
wins against the Boltons of the world.

The EC1 will be won by either RM, Valencia or BM.

by **Benn** » Thu, 19 Sep 2002 20:41:24

Quote:

> Subject : [r] best midfielder, best defenders, best attackers but no

dice

Quote:

>At the Mestella ..

>Valencia: 2 ( could have been 5 )
>Liverpool: 0

>Alongwith Celta, Valencia look awesome in these early
>parts of the season. Though RM won quite easily against
>Serie A trash, they didnt look half as impressive
>as the Ches.

>As for Liverpool, well, they apparently ( according to
>rsc "experts" have the almost best defender in Europe,
>the best midfielder in the world who would have single-handedly
>won Angleterre the WC, maybe the almost best GK in Europe
>and so on ... its nice to live in illusion in the protected
>environment of Premiership football taking last minute

Did you see Liverpool in Europe last season? Where were Valencia?
Liverpool were awful, they didn't play anywhere near as well as we know
they are capable of but full credit to Valencia. Instead of gloating and
taking cheap shots learn to enjoy the victory.

BTW, Gerrard would have made all the difference in the World Cup:)

http://soccer-europe.com

by **Robert Chapma** » Fri, 20 Sep 2002 05:19:29

Quote:

> At the Mestella ..

> Valencia: 2 ( could have been 5 )
> Liverpool: 0

> Alongwith Celta, Valencia look awesome in these early
> parts of the season. Though RM won quite easily against
> Serie A trash, they didnt look half as impressive
> as the Ches.

That last minute loss to Barca courtesy of Rivaldo's wonder goal seems
to have turned out really well for them. Won La Liga undistracted and
now rejuvenated for a fresh attempt for the Champions League.

Quote:

> As for Liverpool, well, they apparently ( according to
> rsc "experts" have the almost best defender in Europe,

*Had*. He's not so far this season.

Quote:

> the best midfielder in the world who would have single-handedly
> won Angleterre the WC, maybe the almost best GK in Europe
> and so on ... its nice to live in illusion in the protected
> environment of Premiership football taking last minute
> wins against the Boltons of the world.

Compare Liverpool's success in the Premiership this season with the
second half of last season. Different teams so far. Given that,
Valencia at the Mestalla were clear favourites. You'd expect Valencia
to be top 5 in Europe right now but the Liverpool game suggests they be
rated even more highly.

Quote:

> The EC1 will be won by either RM, Valencia or BM.

Or Arsenal. If the semifinals could be played tomorrow with the ideal
teams these would be the four.

Rob

by **Jimm** » Fri, 20 Sep 2002 05:46:41

Quote:

> > As for Liverpool, well, they apparently ( according to
> > rsc "experts" have the almost best defender in Europe,

> *Had*. He's not so far this season.

To be fair to Hyypia, he cant be made responsible for all of Liverpool's defensive
problems and has probably still been our best defender, although he is admittedly
well short of his form of the past 2 years.

Quote:

> Or Arsenal. If the semifinals could be played tomorrow with the ideal
> teams these would be the four.

It'll be interesting to see if Arsenal can get over their poor away form of the last
couple of years. IMO, they'd be a match for anyone in Europe if they could play as
well in the CL as they have done in English competition and it still surprises me how
badly they did last year. I'd definately include them in a lost of possible winners
though.

--

Forum - http://www.lfc-1.com/forum/

by **Jimm** » Fri, 20 Sep 2002 06:15:37

Quote:

> At the Mestella ..

> Valencia: 2 ( could have been 5 )
> Liverpool: 0

could have been 1 :)

Quote:

> As for Liverpool, well, they apparently ( according to
> rsc "experts" have the almost best defender in Europe,

Hyypia still is *one of* the best defenders in Europe, although I think that Valencia
over the past year have possibly shown that they have the best overall defence in
Europe and if they attack as well in all their other CL games as they did last night,
they'll go a long way.

Quote:

> the best midfielder in the world who would have single-handedly
> won Angleterre the WC,

If you're referring to Gerrard, then I dont remember anyone here describing him as
the best in the world. IMO, he's a terrific player already and will get better as he
gains more and more experience, but never mind the world, he isnt even the best
midfielder in the EPL.

Quote:

> maybe the almost best GK in Europe

Again, *one of* the best in Europe. As you said above, it could have been 5 to
Valencia and one of the main reasons it wasnt was that Dudek made a number of saves
throughout the game. No keeper in the world is unbeatable and if the defence is not
on top form, it makes it even more difficult for the keeper. The first goal last
night was top quality, and even though I havent yet seen a replay of the second goal,
it looked to have been so well placed that Dudek would have have been lucky to have
got near it.

Quote:

> and so on ... its nice to live in illusion in the protected
> environment of Premiership football taking last minute
> wins against the Boltons of the world.

Valencia away was always going to be our toughest match, but we had 3 or 4 players
missing who would be included in a first choice line up, and the players who did play
didn't do themselves justice and were convincingly beaten in the end. As long as we
pick things up by the time we play Basel next week, I still think we'll progress to
round 2.

Quote:

> The EC1 will be won by either RM, Valencia or BM.

My money was on Bayern at the start of the season, but the other two you've mentioned
will certainly challenge. To be honest, I think that there's 7 or 8 teams who, with a
bit of luck, could go all the way, but it's too early to predict just yet.

--

Forum - http://www.lfc-1.com/forum/

by **Daniel R. Smi** » Sat, 21 Sep 2002 06:09:11

Quote:

>> Or Arsenal. If the semifinals could be played tomorrow with the ideal
>> teams these would be the four.

>It'll be interesting to see if Arsenal can get over their poor away form of the last
>couple of years.

No kidding...they haven't lost a road match in the Prem in over a year
but can't seem to beat anyone on the road in Europe...perhaps the'll
be able to pip PSV or Auxerre to give them confidence.

by **Jimm** » Sat, 21 Sep 2002 08:41:09

Quote:

> No kidding...they haven't lost a road match in the Prem in over a year
> but can't seem to beat anyone on the road in Europe...perhaps the'll
> be able to pip PSV or Auxerre to give them confidence.

I honestly think they will get a few results away from home this year. I cant
remember how many away games they had to play without Bergkamp last year, but it
could make a difference if he can make the line up for their away games this year.

Both PSV and Dortmund are pretty close to home, so getting him there by road shouldnt
be too much of a problem. Once they've won one away game, they'll have the confidence
to get over that particular stumbling block without any problems and if they can get
a favourable phase 2 group and get into the knockout stages, they'll have as good a
chance as anyone.

--

Forum - http://www.lfc-1.com/forum/

by **?§?i￥?-ji? W?ll** » Sat, 21 Sep 2002 09:02:19

Quote:

> > No kidding...they haven't lost a road match in the Prem in over a year
> > but can't seem to beat anyone on the road in Europe...perhaps the'll
> > be able to pip PSV or Auxerre to give them confidence.

> I honestly think they will get a few results away from home this year. I
cant
> remember how many away games they had to play without Bergkamp last year,

Fans of a team with Henry, Vieira, Pires, Tony Adams (last season) at its
core should be ashamed of using the "Berkamp excuse". Arsenal is anything
but a one man team, and even if it was a one man team, why is Berkamp
suddenly THE MAN only when it comes to European games away? There is no way
they should've been timid and outplayed playing against Mallora, Schalke,
Panathinaikos and the Juventus reserves.

There is (was?) something more to it.

Quote:

> Both PSV and Dortmund are pretty close to home,

You'd think this "close to home" business would be beneath the level of
Arsenal.

Quote:

>Once they've won one away game, they'll have the confidence
> to get over that particular stumbling block without any problems and if
>they can get a favourable phase 2 group and get into the knockout stages,
>they'll have as good a chance as anyone.

Agreed.

Here is a question - just a question, I'm not making a value judgement.

Can Arsenal sustain their current offensive blitzkrieg for the entire
season?

Something to ponder.

--
I switched my motto -- instead of sayin *** tomorrow
That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto (Nas)

by **Jimm** » Sat, 21 Sep 2002 09:42:52

Quote:

> > I honestly think they will get a few results away from home this year. I
> cant
> > remember how many away games they had to play without Bergkamp last year,

> Fans of a team with Henry, Vieira, Pires, Tony Adams (last season) at its
> core should be ashamed of using the "Berkamp excuse". Arsenal is anything
> but a one man team, and even if it was a one man team, why is Berkamp
> suddenly THE MAN only when it comes to European games away? There is no way
> they should've been timid and outplayed playing against Mallora, Schalke,
> Panathinaikos and the Juventus reserves.

Only an Arsenal fan can really tell us why they've been so ***away from home in
Europe, and you're 100% correct to say that it is not a valid excuse to simply say
that they've been poor because Bergkamp has been missing, but the reason I mentioned
him is that he does give them something extra. No matter how talented their other
midfield/forward players are, IMO when Bergkamp is on top form, he's still the most
influential player at the club and is also one of those players who you'd have in
your team because of their footballing brain.

Quote:

> >Once they've won one away game, they'll have the confidence
> > to get over that particular stumbling block without any problems and if
> >they can get a favourable phase 2 group and get into the knockout stages,
> >they'll have as good a chance as anyone.

> Agreed.

> Here is a question - just a question, I'm not making a value judgement.

> Can Arsenal sustain their current offensive blitzkrieg for the entire
> season?

I think not, although they may be able to keep it up for long enough to get into a
comfortable position in the league and be able to concentrate more on Europe during
the latter stages of the season. They'll lose points eventually, and they'll lose
games eventually, both domestically and also in Europe.

Teams know that they're the side to beat, and that puts added pressure on them, which
they only just seemed to cope with during some of their games at the end of last
season (poor performances and late winners in a few games). They'll do well to win
the league as impressively as they did last season, but they'll still take some
beating if anyone else wants to take the league title off them.

--

Forum - http://SportToday.org/

by **The Doct** » Sat, 21 Sep 2002 10:29:01

Quote:

>Here is a question - just a question, I'm not making a value judgement.

>Can Arsenal sustain their current offensive blitzkrieg for the entire
>season?

>Something to ponder.

?Yes, ANd think that means the League Cup, The PRem, The FA CUp and
the UEFA CL title is Arsenal's!!

--
Member - Liberal International On 11 Sept 2001 the WORLD was violated.

Society MUST be saved! Extremists must dissolve.
Beware of defining as intelligent only those who share your opinions

by **Robb** » Sat, 21 Sep 2002 20:27:06

Quote:

> Here is a question - just a question, I'm not making a value judgement.

> Can Arsenal sustain their current offensive blitzkrieg for the entire
> season?

Yes.

by **Robert Chapma** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 09:29:19

Quote:

> > > As for Liverpool, well, they apparently ( according to
> > > rsc "experts" have the almost best defender in Europe,

> > *Had*. He's not so far this season.

> To be fair to Hyypia, he cant be made responsible for all of Liverpool's defensive
> problems and has probably still been our best defender,

He's not been awful by any means but the crown of best defender in
Europe isn't about to be placed on his head at the moment.

Quote:

> > Or Arsenal. If the semifinals could be played tomorrow with the ideal
> > teams these would be the four.

> It'll be interesting to see if Arsenal can get over their poor away form of the last
> couple of years. IMO, they'd be a match for anyone in Europe if they could play as
surprises me how
> badly they did last year. I'd definately include them in a lost of possible winners
> though.

I believe they will mostly overcome the poor away form. It's
psychological, a matter of just not feeling comfortable in the
situation, and I think the incredible team spirit and confidence they
have right now is going to turn it around. HOWEVER, I don't think they
will totally overcome it, I don't think they will be as good away as
Real or Bayern. But then those two are the other two contenders for
best club in Europe.

Rob

by **Robert Chapma** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 09:34:43

Quote:

> > > No kidding...they haven't lost a road match in the Prem in over a year
> > > but can't seem to beat anyone on the road in Europe...perhaps the'll
> > > be able to pip PSV or Auxerre to give them confidence.

> > I honestly think they will get a few results away from home this year. I
> cant
> > remember how many away games they had to play without Bergkamp last year,

> Fans of a team with Henry, Vieira, Pires, Tony Adams (last season) at its
> core should be ashamed of using the "Berkamp excuse". Arsenal is anything
> but a one man team, and even if it was a one man team, why is Berkamp
> suddenly THE MAN only when it comes to European games away? There is no way
> they should've been timid and outplayed playing against Mallora, Schalke,
> Panathinaikos and the Juventus reserves.

> There is (was?) something more to it.

Definitely. They had bad luck a couple of times, narrowly missing out
on the latter stages, and it started to affect them psychologically.

Quote:

> > Both PSV and Dortmund are pretty close to home,

> >Once they've won one away game, they'll have the confidence
> > to get over that particular stumbling block without any problems and if
> >they can get a favourable phase 2 group and get into the knockout stages,
> >they'll have as good a chance as anyone.

> Agreed.

> Here is a question - just a question, I'm not making a value judgement.

> Can Arsenal sustain their current offensive blitzkrieg for the entire
> season?

> Something to ponder.

Same goes for Bayern and Real though doesn't it? (Bayern have scored
the same number as Arsenal in, I think, the same number of games) There
are going to be dips for sure by all three, it's just a question of the
timing.

Rob