The European Leagues & Competitions Thread V2

[Pizy 17,860]

Glad City went out because I can't stand the arrogant Guardiola but I'd rather them have gone just a bit further so they're distracted in the PL and have major fixture congestion. Now they'll be in the same situation we are and can focus almost entirely on the league.

They have an extremely tough schedule coming up starting with Liverpool this weekend. If Liverpool beat them and we beat Stoke I think we can rule them out completely as a threat to us. Stoke away may be one of our toughest tests of the season, though.

[11Drogba 2,000]

6 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

I do support what is best for British football but that is neither what I said on this occasion, nor what I meant.

That's ok. I got you.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

1 minute ago, killer1257 said:

But who is the better right winger?We need also creativity in our football and the matches that I saw from Silva this year is that showed me that he had a lots o creativity.How creative is Lemar?

 

Depends how you look creativity. If you talk about dictating play or simply creating chances, Bernardo is the first, both are equaly good at second.

I watch lot of Monaco games this season after seeing how much they score, but both are fantastic. Lemar is more direct, more versatile, stronger, can run more, better of the ball. Silva is quicker, better dribbler, better playmaker. Both are equal in end product. 

We already have our Silva in Eden. But Lemar would add something else, very direct approach. He gets the ball and makes the most of it. His off the ball work is something else tho. 

Dont think Lamar is not creative. Its just different type. Like comparing Iniesta to Lampard. Silva being first and Lamar second. And I think Lemar would do fine on either wing, since he is left footed.

[DYC. 7,542]

5 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Glad City went out because I can't stand the arrogant Guardiola but I'd rather them have gone just a bit further so they're distracted in the PL and have major fixture congestion. Now they'll be in the same situation we are and can focus almost entirely on the league.

They have an extremely tough schedule coming up starting with Liverpool this weekend. If Liverpool beat them and we beat Stoke I think we can rule them out completely as a threat to us. Stoke away may be one of our toughest tests of the season, though.

How is Guardiola arrogant? He always says the players he managed, and not himself, are responsible for his succes. He also said Messi's greatness was the reason for his legendary achievements at Barcelona. He's never bought into the 'Pep Mania' created by those around him and the media, and always praises other managers.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

1 minute ago, DYC. said:

Lemar is not a forward for me. Very much a midfielder. But a much lesser player on the right.

Left midfield in a flat midfield four suits him perfectly but he could possibly adapt to a LWB position as an offensive wingback. But then again, Hazard and Lemar on the same flank is most likely too vulnerable defensively.

I'd risk it tbh. They'd be a nightmare to defend against and they'd compliment eachother quite well.

Plus there don't really seem to be any well rounded wingback options for us to go after so i think our best bet would be to look at attacking players like a Lemar and try and mould them into a wingback. 

 

[Pizy 17,860]

6 minutes ago, DYC. said:

How is Guardiola arrogant? He always says the players he managed, and not himself, are responsible for his succes. He also said Messi's greatness was the reason for his legendary achievements at Barcelona. He's never bought into the 'Pep Mania' created by those around him and the media, and always praises other managers.

Have you seen a single one of his press conferences or pre/post match interviews this season? He's an arrogant twat. He seems personally insulted when asked questions a lot of the time as if he's Einstein speaking to a child.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

Pep Guardiola cost them big time today. But unlike the first leg, his in-game adjustments didn't make up for the early mistakes. 

Moving KDB centrally was a masterstoke in the second half, but how the fuck Jardim didn't switch to a 433 or instruct Mbape/Germain to sit off and only press KDB once he crossed mid-field was shocking. Too many times Bakayoko was rushing out to help close KDB, and he'd simply play one pass to Sane or Sterling and suddenly City are on a 4v4 creating shot after shot. Jardim reacted very poorly to this, or he could have told Mbape to play the role Moutinho had once he was introduced and drop into CM. 

Anyways, Monaco proved me wrong tonight. Had a feeling City would score enough tonight, and they almost did. But again, think this falls on Guardiola, for fucking up that first half so badly. If he makes that adjustment, even after the first goal, City are through. 

What an exciting UCL campaign this has been. 

[DYC. 7,542]

Just now, Pizy said:

Have you seen a single one of his press conferences or pre/post match interviews this season? He's an arrogant twat. He seems personally insulted when asked questions a lot of the time as if he's Einstein speaking to a child.

So he's not a nice man and often stressed out. Difference between a twat and a narcissist. But I understand your issue with him.

4 minutes ago, Belgiannutt said:

I'd risk it tbh. They'd be a nightmare to defend against and they'd compliment eachother quite well.

Plus there don't really seem to be any well rounded wingback options for us to go after so i think our best bet would be to look at attacking players like a Lemar and try and mould them into a wingback. 

 

Maybe too big a risk as you'd also lose a lot of height and power. He's 5'7 and 58 kg.

He's no Alex Sandro or Filipe Luis but I'm fine with Alonso. When he signed I thought he was decent and I still think he's decent. But he's consistently decent. Rarely has a bad game. Least of Chelsea's problems.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

8 hours ago, BlueStorm1003 said:

I wanted Monaco to get through, but I can see why you would rather see city do well.

How does exactly a nation's teams progress affect the amount of teams we can get into the UCL?

I know that if a country does bad, it can lose a spot, but I don't know exactly how it works. What sort of progress should we want from other English clubs to benefit ourselves from it?

Clubs collect coefficient points based on their performances in Europe's two completions. More points are available to be gained in the CL than in the EL but a good run in the EL will earn more points than an early departure from the CL.

These points are aggregated for each country and a table is produced based on points accumulated over the five most recent seasons. The top three nations in this table are awarded a fourth CL entrant. Before this round of matches Spain led, by a mile, Germany were second and we were third though only three points ahead of Italy. The points gained gained by United if they progress, and especially by Leicester, are vital.

Previously the allocation of CL places was made annually. So if a nation fell out of the top three it could at least hope to recover its place during the following season. From now on however, the assessment will be made once every three seasons. This means if we lose our fourth Champions League place, it will be gone for at least three years. Worse, with only three clubs competing in the CL, that means only three lots of CL points which can be added to the total instead of four, and remember more points are gained per round in the CL than in the EL. Over the course of three years we will have nine chances to collect Champions League points while the top three nations will have 12. So to overtake them we would have to score more points than they do despite having 3 fewer CL attempts than they will.

What is more, in another change, the fourth entrant from the top three countries will no longer need to qualify for the group stages.  Instead they will automatically enter the tournament in the last 32. No chance of a team failing to qualify for the group stage, as Everton once did, and missing out on the group stage coefficient points. From now on, once you fall out of the top three it'll be harder to get back in.  The scramble for the top four in the Premier League, will become the scramble of the top three.

It's not only that however. Fewer games for city helps them be competitive in the league and The Cup. I would have loved to see them distracted by Europe, while we ran away with the two domestic trophies. Unfortunately that hope bit the dust tonight.

Nor is it only those two things. Defeat for Monaco would have made it more likely that their players would be ready to move on this summer and that would increase our chances of getting some of the talented footballers we are all raving about. The further Monaco progress this season the more likely the stars are to consider it worth sticking with their current "project". This last bit isn't an exact science and the money offered by Europe's bigger clubs would obviously be a factor but whichever way you cut it, elimination in the last 16, gives players less reason to stay optimistic and continue in the south of France.

[Johnnyeye 7,402]

Congrats Monaco, deserved winners today and deserved to go through in the end, that City win in the first leg was mostly because Monaco were very tired after battering City and it almost cost them dearly when City turned it around in the first leg, but in the end Monaco showed everyone they mean business, PSG take note. Cheers

[Johnnyeye 7,402]

4 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

 It's not only that however. Fewer games for city helps them be competitive in the league and The Cup. I would have loved to see them distracted by Europe, while we ran away with the two domestic trophies. Unfortunately that hope bit the dust tonight.

we are 10 points clear at the moment, we only depend on ourselves to win the title and to try and win the FA Cup too, we have had lesser games all season compared to City so no excuses for us, no room for complancency now, we must be focused and treat each game like a final until we are crowned Champions. Cheers

[DYC. 7,542]

Aguero is a bonafide legend in English football. But he's been such a dud in Europe. Ghost for Argentina as well. A shame in a way. I used to love him. He was one of the best teenage players I've seen.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

12 minutes ago, DYC. said:

So he's not a nice man and often stressed out. Difference between a twat and a narcissist. But I understand your issue with him.

Maybe too big a risk as you'd also lose a lot of height and power. He's 5'7 and 58 kg.

He's no Alex Sandro or Filipe Luis but I'm fine with Alonso. When he signed I thought he was decent and I still think he's decent. But he's consistently decent. Rarely has a bad game. Least of Chelsea's problems.

Alonso is decent but i feel both Alonso and Moses are too easily nullified going forward.

He's a good squad player but i'd really be looking for an upgrade in the summer. Next season if we actually want to achieve something in the CL we need better players then just decent ones.

 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

15 minutes ago, Johnnyeye said:

we are 10 points clear at the moment, we only depend on ourselves to win the title and to try and win the FA Cup too, we have had lesser games all season compared to City so no excuses for us, no room for complancency now, we must be focused and treat each game like a final until we are crowned Champions. Cheers

Agreed that there is no room for complacency. That means that, while the 10 points are a tremendous cushion, I don't want to reject any possible further advantage which might be available to us. We are not celebrating being out of Europe. We desperately want to be in and being out is a sign failure. The only consolation for that failure comes from the lighter program we have enjoyed. That advantage ended last night.

I don't care how much we have already gained from it; I wish it had continued all the way to May 27. 

[DYC. 7,542]

5 minutes ago, Belgiannutt said:

Alonso is decent but i feel both Alonso and Moses are too easily nullified going forward.

He's a good squad player but i'd really be looking for an upgrade in the summer. Next season if we actually want to achieve something in the CL we need better players then just decent ones.

 

You can't upgrade your entire XI in one summer. You're lucky if you get two. Three at a stretch. If  And if I could only pick two positions, I'd go for replacing Matic and Moses. For me it's CM>RWB>RW>CB>LWB in terms of importance.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

6 minutes ago, DYC. said:

You can't upgrade your entire XI in one summer. You're lucky if you get two. Three at a stretch. If  And if I could only pick two positions, I'd go for replacing Matic and Moses. For me it's CM>RWB>RW>CB>LWB in terms of importance.

The only difference of opinion between us here is that I would swap CB and LWB in your list.

[kmk108 1,186]

19 minutes ago, Johnnyeye said:

we are 10 points clear at the moment, we only depend on ourselves to win the title and to try and win the FA Cup too, we have had lesser games all season compared to City so no excuses for us, no room for complancency now, we must be focused and treat each game like a final until we are crowned Champions. Cheers

Exactly. IMO, the story of the season isn't that other teams haven't been able to capitalize on our mistakes, it's that we've been able to get points even when we haven't played well. We've truly played like champions. If we somehow don't win it with a 10 point lead at this point in the season, it won't be because City or some other team is out of Europe and can focus, it's because we threw away the lead.

I don't care how we look anymore. The only thing I care about is points and two wins at Wembley.

[Pizy 17,860]

8 minutes ago, DYC. said:

You can't upgrade your entire XI in one summer. You're lucky if you get two, three at a stretch. If  And if I could only pick two positions, I'd go for replacing Matic and Moses. For me it's CM>RWB>RW>CB>LWB in terms of importance.

I personally think Moses can be trusted more in big games than Alonso. As we've seen numerous times this season, Alonso is rendered useless when the other team has a pacey, athletic winger. He so slow defending and is awkward on the ball going forward. Valencia almost completely negated him going forward the other day.

Moses at least has blistering pace and dribbling that will always cause problems.