Champions League Semis Discussion (Tue/Wed)

aplous

aplous

Donkey Hater
<TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#003366 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=235>Team Name </TD><TD align=middle width=55>MoneyLn</TD><TD align=right width=95>Spread </TD><TD align=middle width=95>Total</TD><TD align=right width=85>T1 Total </TD><TD align=right width=85>T2 Total </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#363636><TD width="100%"><SMALL>Apr 28 1:45 pm Graded after regulation time (90 minutes) + injury time </SMALL></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>Barcelona</TD><TD width=45> </TD><TD align=right width=85>-½ -152</TD><TD align=right width=85>2½ -125</TD><TD width=85> </TD><TD width=85> </TD></TR><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>Chelsea</TD><TD width=45> </TD><TD align=right width=85> +123</TD><TD align=right width=85> +100</TD><TD width=85> </TD><TD width=85> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#363636><TD width="100%"><SMALL>Apr 29 1:45 pm Graded after regulation time (90 minutes) + injury time </SMALL></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>Manchester United</TD><TD width=45> </TD><TD align=right width=85>-½ -128</TD><TD align=right width=85>2 -147</TD><TD width=85> </TD><TD width=85> </TD></TR><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>Arsenal</TD><TD width=45> </TD><TD align=right width=85> +106</TD><TD align=right width=85> +115</TD><TD width=85> </TD><TD width=85> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#003366 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Line Changes Made Within Last 15 Minutes Are </TD><TD width="1%" bgColor=#666666>Highlighted.</TD><TD width="98%"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



Never seen lines like these at Greek......so, if you bet Chelsea + 1/2 +123, you win on a draw?

Im used to seeing each side and draw as choices.........


Thoughts on this leg and who will advance?
 
so, if you bet Chelsea + 1/2 +123, you win on a draw?

Yep.

Off hand, I like both the favorites. And that over 2 with ManU. That price sucks, though.
 
The odds are terrible for Barcelona, -140 ML at best? Give me a break. However, although the value clearly lies on Chelsea, I'm still hesitant on a play.
Barca can attack with so many players it can get scary. Hiddink is a tactical genius, but can he shut down Messi, Eto'o, Henry, Iniesta, Xavi? All at the same time? I'm not sure.

Of course, Chelsea love this type of play, wait at half court and counter-attack, especially with Drogba in such a great form.But, how long can they handle Barca's offense for?
 
panos said:
The odds are terrible for Barcelona, -140 ML at best? Give me a break. However, although the value clearly lies on Chelsea, I'm still hesitant on a play.
Barca can attack with so many players it can get scary. Hiddink is a tactical genius, but can he shut down Messi, Eto'o, Henry, Iniesta, Xavi? All at the same time? I'm not sure.

Of course, Chelsea love this type of play, wait at half court and counter-attack, especially with Drogba in such a great form.But, how long can they handle Barca's offense for?
Click to expand...


Agree... I don't think that this matchup is going to be as easy as everyone think. Do I think that BARCA will advance (hell yeah)

It's a "toughy"
 
TEAMS Barcelona v Chelsea
Barcelona: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Marquez, Abidal, Toure, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Henry, Eto'o. Subs: Jorquera, Puyol, Gudjohnsen, Bojan, Keita, Silvinho, Hleb.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, Bosingwa, Lampard, Mikel, Ballack, Essien, Malouda, Drogba. Subs: Hilario, Di Santo, Kalou, Belletti, Anelka, Mancienne, Stoch.
 
guaranteeed said:
TEAMS Barcelona v Chelsea
Barcelona: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Marquez, Abidal, Toure, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Henry, Eto'o. Subs: Jorquera, Puyol, Gudjohnsen, Bojan, Keita, Silvinho, Hleb.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, Bosingwa, Lampard, Mikel, Ballack, Essien, Malouda, Drogba. Subs: Hilario, Di Santo, Kalou, Belletti, Anelka, Mancienne, Stoch.
Click to expand...

No surprises, except maybe from Mikel starting...Smart move from Hiddink, putting another defensive-minded midfielder, as most probably Essien will help Bosingwa with Messi.
 
Fwiw, finally decided to play some coins on Barcelona -0.75 @ 1.93. Although I except Chelsea to give them a run for their money, I do not see how Barca can be kept quiet.

It is definitely going to be a great game. :popcorn:
 
Going with Chelsea win, draw & under I'm hoping Barca will be looking ahead to saturday's clash with Real Madrid BOL everyone.
 
Last edited:
Droghba tried to get cute withthe follow up, looks like hiddinck is buried in. Old school Dutch soccer. Barca still very dangerous hoping it stays like this.
 
yeah it looked like he tried to flick it up to himself and get another touch on it instead of just giving it another shot
 
i dont think he tried to get cute, i think it was really hit only option and valdes made a good read/save.

henry i think was even a better chance at the corner of the 6 he had the shot with near side open and the ball got stuck between his feet and he had to reload
 
Hiddink has become Mourinho for one night.

It's hard to create anything when 10 opponents are behind the ball all the time. :down2:
 
Barca had tons of chances at the end of the 2nd half.

However they are not in that bad a position, Stamford Bridge is not the fortress it was under Moruinho. All Barca need is a 1-1 draw and their in to the finals.
 
panos said:
Hiddink has become Mourinho for one night.

It's hard to create anything when 10 opponents are behind the ball all the time. :down2:
Click to expand...

It was ugly. Hiddink saw disaster after the liverpool match. Imo I wouldn't have put in the young kid in. he missed the winning header. I'm surprised Barca didnt try set up more long range shots. soften the back a little.
 
cinderfella said:
It was ugly. Hiddink saw disaster after the liverpool match. Imo I wouldn't have put in the young kid in. he missed the winning header. I'm surprised Barca didnt try set up more long range shots. soften the back a little.
Click to expand...

I lost the bet, ok, fine, but what the heck was that? The whole world was watching, do something for Christ's sake! Even Mourinho and Grant would have blushed today by the 'professional' way Chelsea played!:hang:
Is any Chelsea fan -and i mean football fan, not backer- happy about tonight's performance?

Barcelona players do not take outside shots at goal, this is one of their weaknesses, they feel too talented to shoot from outside.

Guardiola clearly did not have a plan B, when he saw Chelsea's game plan. What did he expect, I wonder.Anyways, even this way, Barcelona easily could have won. If it wasn't Marquez' error, Chelsea would not have stepped foot into Barca's penalty box.
 
cinderfella said:
It was ugly. Hiddink saw disaster after the liverpool match. Imo I wouldn't have put in the young kid in. he missed the winning header. I'm surprised Barca didnt try set up more long range shots. soften the back a little.
Click to expand...

butchered that header.. he'll be thinking about that for a long while to come
 
panos said:
Is any Chelsea fan -and i mean football fan, not backer- happy about tonight's performance?
.
Click to expand...

I hate Chelsea and this is one of the reasons why but their fans are used to it, they have never had the quality of play that Man U has and they dont have the counter that even Liverpool have.

They play 8 men in front of the ball against any of the big 4 in the EPL and any big club in the Champions League, they hope that Drogba gets a chance, which he did today, or Lampard/Ballack can get a decent chance for a shot or they try and score from set pieces which they are very good at.

This was Chelsea Football, it just didnt seem like it because under Avram and Scolari they had a terrible system in place.
 
guaranteeed said:
I hate Chelsea and this is one of the reasons why but their fans are used to it, they have never had the quality of play that Man U has and they dont have the counter that even Liverpool have.

They play 8 men in front of the ball against any of the big 4 in the EPL and any big club in the Champions League, they hope that Drogba gets a chance, which he did today, or Lampard/Ballack can get a decent chance for a shot or they try and score from set pieces which they are very good at.

This was Chelsea Football, it just didnt seem like it because under Avram and Scolari they had a terrible system in place.
Click to expand...

Disagree here mate.

As a Villa fan and football fan in general, the quality between Man Utd and Chelsea is no different. The players are evens it is the backroom staff that makes the difference. Ferguson gets all the credit for his teams performances...but really when you look at his HUGE staff he's got scouts from all over the world, he's had world class Assistant coaches at his disposal and he's got a system he's set up for over a decade.

Chelsea on the other hand have this problem that the Owner, Roman Abramovich makes all the moves. The coaches under him could only do so much with the team because Roman wanted this to be HIS team rather than the coaches team. Imagine being a manager and you want a world class central defender but your owner says no, lets spend on an older midfielder when you already are stacked with midfielders. Why? Cause this is a business.

Man Utd knows how to create business on and off the pitch. Got to remember, Hiddink has a particular system and he is an absolute tactician mastermind. He has installed a similar system into Chelsea that he has done with Russia, PSV, and South Korea. If he knows the opposition is bound for an open game, contain them in the middle, let them pressure because if you look at all the teams he's coached, he's got wingers and fullbacks with blistering pace.

Today he did what he needed to do, frustrate Barca, defend, defend, defend and have Drogba hold that ball as long as he can to kill time.

At the end of the day, as ugly as it maybe, it worked. You can play the fanciest and stylish football around, but if you can't win, it doesn't matter.
 
chelsea wish they could play with style like man united and arsenal.

they brought in scolari in the hope that would bring "champagne" football to the bridge, but unfortunately for them the only thing he brought was "tang-juice" football.
 
<TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#363636><TD width="100%"><SMALL>Apr 29 1:45 pm Graded after regulation time (90 minutes) + injury time </SMALL></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>Manchester United</TD><TD align=right width=45>-140</TD><TD align=right width=85 bgColor=#666666>-½ -141</TD><TD align=right width=85 bgColor=#666666>2½ +111</TD><TD width=85> </TD><TD width=85> </TD></TR><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>Arsenal</TD><TD align=right width=45>+405</TD><TD align=right width=85 bgColor=#666666> +118</TD><TD align=right width=85 bgColor=#666666> -135</TD><TD width=85> </TD><TD width=85> </TD></TR><TR><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=215>- Draw</TD><TD align=right width=45>+240</TD><TD align=right width=85 bgColor=#666666> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
Toronto_Mike said:
Disagree here mate.

As a Villa fan and football fan in general, the quality between Man Utd and Chelsea is no different. The players are evens it is the backroom staff that makes the difference. Ferguson gets all the credit for his teams performances...but really when you look at his HUGE staff he's got scouts from all over the world, he's had world class Assistant coaches at his disposal and he's got a system he's set up for over a decade.

Chelsea on the other hand have this problem that the Owner, Roman Abramovich makes all the moves. The coaches under him could only do so much with the team because Roman wanted this to be HIS team rather than the coaches team. Imagine being a manager and you want a world class central defender but your owner says no, lets spend on an older midfielder when you already are stacked with midfielders. Why? Cause this is a business.

Man Utd knows how to create business on and off the pitch. Got to remember, Hiddink has a particular system and he is an absolute tactician mastermind. He has installed a similar system into Chelsea that he has done with Russia, PSV, and South Korea. If he knows the opposition is bound for an open game, contain them in the middle, let them pressure because if you look at all the teams he's coached, he's got wingers and fullbacks with blistering pace.

Today he did what he needed to do, frustrate Barca, defend, defend, defend and have Drogba hold that ball as long as he can to kill time.

At the end of the day, as ugly as it maybe, it worked. You can play the fanciest and stylish football around, but if you can't win, it doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

:shake:
Looking forward to see what he does next match. I suspect we'll see more of the same until Barca scores.
 
I think Man U gets it done -150
2 team par $100/567
Soccer - Draw (Chelsea FC (ENG) vs FC Barcelona (SPA)) +225 for Game
Soccer - 2203 Arsenal FC (ENG)/Manchester United FC (ENG) over 2½ +105 for Game

BOL everyone
 
Why wouldnt Chelsea fans be happy with what went down yesterday?

Doesnt that result make it more likely that they make the final (or at least more likely than most people were giving them credit for before the game)?

Isnt that the goal?
 
Smokedawg said:
Why wouldnt Chelsea fans be happy with what went down yesterday?

Doesnt that result make it more likely that they make the final (or at least more likely than most people were giving them credit for before the game)?

Isnt that the goal?
Click to expand...

They have to beat Barca at home now unless its a 0-0 draw.

If its 1-1 or 2-2 Barca advance on away goals
 
Manchester United team: Van der Sar, Evra, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez.
Subs: Foster, Berbatov, Giggs, Scholes, Park, Rafael, Evans.
Arsenal team: Almunia, Sagna, Gibbs, Silvestre, Toure, Diaby, Song, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott, Adebayor.
Subs: Fabianski, Eduardo, Denilson, Ramsey, Djourou, Bendtner, Eboue.
 
Toronto_Mike said:
Disagree here mate.

As a Villa fan and football fan in general, the quality between Man Utd and Chelsea is no different. The players are evens it is the backroom staff that makes the difference. Ferguson gets all the credit for his teams performances...but really when you look at his HUGE staff he's got scouts from all over the world, he's had world class Assistant coaches at his disposal and he's got a system he's set up for over a decade.

Chelsea on the other hand have this problem that the Owner, Roman Abramovich makes all the moves. The coaches under him could only do so much with the team because Roman wanted this to be HIS team rather than the coaches team. Imagine being a manager and you want a world class central defender but your owner says no, lets spend on an older midfielder when you already are stacked with midfielders. Why? Cause this is a business.

Man Utd knows how to create business on and off the pitch. Got to remember, Hiddink has a particular system and he is an absolute tactician mastermind. He has installed a similar system into Chelsea that he has done with Russia, PSV, and South Korea. If he knows the opposition is bound for an open game, contain them in the middle, let them pressure because if you look at all the teams he's coached, he's got wingers and fullbacks with blistering pace.

Today he did what he needed to do, frustrate Barca, defend, defend, defend and have Drogba hold that ball as long as he can to kill time.

At the end of the day, as ugly as it maybe, it worked. You can play the fanciest and stylish football around, but if you can't win, it doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

I think we agree?

I was saying that Hiddink put in a system that works, but its similar to what Moruinho had going when he was at Chelsea. Which is defend, defend, defend.

But when they play Portsmouth or Sunderland etc. they don't play the same system they are much more offensive, under Hiddink they have gone with Drogba and Anelka up front together, which I doubt they would ever start a game with against a Man U or a Barca.

But I don't think Chelsea has anywhere near the talent level that Man U does at this point, maybe a few years ago but not now. Man U has too much skill and depth that Chelsea doesn't
 
guaranteeed said:
They have to beat Barca at home now unless its a 0-0 draw.

If its 1-1 or 2-2 Barca advance on away goals
Click to expand...

Right, im just saying the betting odds for Chelsea to make the final are lower now than they were before the game...

So theoretically chelsea now has a better chance of making the final than they did before the game, so the fans should be happy with the result...
 
Ya they give being at home an advantage, and Barca were huge favorites to win yesterday.

So ya Chelsea's odds of advancing improved after the game yesterday
 
Smokedawg said:
Why wouldnt Chelsea fans be happy with what went down yesterday?

Doesnt that result make it more likely that they make the final (or at least more likely than most people were giving them credit for before the game)?

Isnt that the goal?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess for some people winning at all cost is the goal. But not for everyone.
 
Gunners should definitely be relieved with that score line. Unless Wenger changes the formation, I do not see how Arsenal can score. Adebayor is so alone up front I feel sorry for him.
 
Smokedawg said:
The object of the game is to win...not look pretty whilst losing...
Click to expand...

Sorry, mate. Apparently we see sports from different point of views.

I'd rather lose a game I gave a fair fight for than win by just destroying my opponent's efforts, kill time, try to get to their minds, use assistance from the referree etc. etc.

By doing the former, you can become a Liverpool or a Barcelona or a ManU or a Real Madrid.

By doing the latter, you will always be a Chelsea.
 
What exactly did Chelsea do that wasnt 'fair' yesterday?

It was their gameplan, and it seems to me it was well executed
 
panos said:
Sorry, mate. Apparently we see sports from different point of views.

I'd rather lose a game I gave a fair fight for than win by just destroying my opponent's efforts, kill time, try to get to their minds, use assistance from the referree etc. etc.

By doing the former, you can become a Liverpool or a Barcelona or a ManU or a Real Madrid.

By doing the latter, you will always be a Chelsea.
Click to expand...

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMk5sMHj58I&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMk5sMHj58I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
agree with smoke here... object of the sport is to win at any costs. if it means putting 10 in the box and having drogba running around up top hoping for a break then thats what you do.
should the detroit pistons of a few years ago tried to run with the phoenix suns? or should they have played hardnose defense and a "boring" half court offense en route to the NBA title?
 
based on how each team played arsenal has to be content being down just 1-0 . i dont see chelsea or arsenal making it through to the final though
 
panos said:
Sorry, mate. Apparently we see sports from different point of views.

I'd rather lose a game I gave a fair fight for than win by just destroying my opponent's efforts, kill time, try to get to their minds, use assistance from the referree etc. etc.

By doing the former, you can become a Liverpool or a Barcelona or a ManU or a Real Madrid.

By doing the latter, you will always be a Chelsea.
Click to expand...

I would put Liverpool in to the 2nd category with Chelsea before the one with Barca or Man U.
 
orangemonk said:
based on how each team played arsenal has to be content being down just 1-0 . i dont see chelsea or arsenal making it through to the final though
Click to expand...

Really? I think both Chelsea and Arsenal are in great shape...Chelsea better than Arsenal, but Arsenals got a decent shot...
 
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