Tackles, balls and Seaman - The footie thread

[Izzy]

i know you guys don't care about non-english football

Not true at all - i found it just as intresting

The French league though.....

[Shoco]

so the champions league draw has been made

The UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco, assisted by Paolo Maldini, has pitted holders Liverpool with Premiership champions Chelsea.

Group G contains the two English sides, who met in last season's semi-final, with Belgian giants Anderlecht and Real Betis completing the line-up.

Manchester United face a reunion with Diego Forlan and Villarreal after Everton's conquerors came out of the draw in Group D. French side Lille and Benfica, the team United played in the 1968 final, are also in the same pool.

Arsenal will come up against Dutch giants Ajax, Sparta Prague and surprise Swiss qualifiers FC Thun.

Scottish champions Rangers will play Internazionale, Porto and Artmedia Bratislava, the Slovaks who dumped Celtic out of the competition.

Group A
Bayern Munich
Juventus
Club Brugge
Rapid Vienna

Group B
Arsenal
Ajax
Sparta Prague
FC Thun

Group C
Barcelona
Panathinaikos
Werder Bremen
Udinese

Group D
Manchester United
Villarreal
Lille
Benfica

Group E
Milan
PSV Eindhoven
Schalke
Fenerbahce

Group F
Real Madrid
Lyon
Olympiakos
Rosenborg

Group G
Liverpool
Chelsea
Anderlecht
Real Betis

Group H
Internazionale
Porto
Rangers
Artmedia Bratislava

[N.I.B]

Well bieng a Bayern Munich fan I'd say the only difficult challenge in our division will be Juventus. Predictions for the divisions, anyone?

[Shoco]

i think all the top seeded teams will win theyr group except liverpool, itl be intresting to see how they do against betis

[Shoco]

woohoo, cork city are through to the uefa cup!!!

[Izzy]

Strange how Man Utd always get such easy groups.....every year

Whole things rigged if u ask me, but whats new? The only difference between the champions league and Serie A is the cheating teams are occaisionally caught

[Shoco]

Strange how Man Utd always get such easy groups.....every year

Whole things rigged if u ask me, but whats new? The only difference between the champions league and Serie A is the cheating teams are occaisionally caught

it aint rigged, i was watching it yesterday, and if you ask me arsenal got the easist group out of the whole lot

[N.I.B]

Strange how Man Utd always get such easy groups.....every year

Whole things rigged if u ask me, but whats new? The only difference between the champions league and Serie A is the cheating teams are occaisionally caught

it aint rigged, i was watching it yesterday, and if you ask me arsenal got the easist group out of the whole lot

Ajax isn't what it used to be, and they are the only other real competitors in that division

[Jamie]

Strange how Man Utd always get such easy groups.....every year

Whole things rigged if u ask me, but whats new? The only difference between the champions league and Serie A is the cheating teams are occaisionally caught

Well, the year we won it we had the group of death (Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Brondby). And this year isn't too easy, Villareal are a very good side.

[Izzy]

Strange how Man Utd always get such easy groups.....every year

Whole things rigged if u ask me, but whats new? The only difference between the champions league and Serie A is the cheating teams are occaisionally caught

it aint rigged, i was watching it yesterday, and if you ask me arsenal got the easist group out of the whole lot

Arsenal do have the easiest group i suppose - i almost fell off my chair when i saw another team steal Man Utd's easy group, its all rigged but i guess Arsenal now pay more

There is no way it can not be rigged - Man Utd can't get the easiest group 5 years running and it just be a coincidence, not only is their group invariably the easiest but its so blatant!

[Jamie]

1998-1999 Group D: United, Bayern, Barcelona, Brondby.
1999-2000 Group D: United, Marseilles, Sturm, Dinamo Zagreb.
2000-2001 Group G: United, Anderlecht, PSV, Dynamo Kyiv.
2001-2002 Group G: United, Deportivo, Lille, Olympiacos.
2002-2003 Group F: United, Leverkusen, M.Haifa, Olympiacos.
2003-2004 Group E: United, Stuttgart, Panathinaikos, Rangers.
2004-2005 Group D: United, Lyon, Fenerbache, Sparta.
2005-2006 Group D: United, Villareal, Lille, Benfica.

Not that easy if you ask me. We've been drawn against some pretty good sides in the past few years, and only won the Champions League once in those years, and that was the year, we had our hardest group. (1998-1999) I find it hilarious that everyone that doesn't support United is jealous of their success and insists every time we win something we've bribed someone. Quite sad really

[Shoco]

i agree, depertivo beat us tyhanks to a french goalie

luverkussen went to the final

stuttgart beat us

and lyon went further than us last year

[Jim]

There is no way it can not be rigged - Man Utd can't get the easiest group 5 years running and it just be a coincidence, not only is their group invariably the easiest but its so blatant!

Somebodys obviously never seen how the draw's done...

...Though, I'm just going to assume that you're joking. Because, actually believing that would just be too ridiculous.

[Izzy]

There is no way it can not be rigged - Man Utd can't get the easiest group 5 years running and it just be a coincidence, not only is their group invariably the easiest but its so blatant!

Somebodys obviously never seen how the draw's done...

...Though, I'm just going to assume that you're joking. Because, actually believing that would just be too ridiculous.

Somethings up, some how they get such easy groups every year

Believing it to be rigged may be absurd - but surely claiming its just 'luck' is far more absurd. If its not rigged, how do they manage it?

The kind poster above has listed the groups for the last few years - Man Utd have had the easiest group every time, the teams they have been paired with are mostly rubbish but its in comparison with everyone else's group that its most evident

A draw can be rigged if someone cared enough to do it

[Izzy]

I find it hilarious that everyone that doesn't support United is jealous of their success and insists every time we win something we've bribed someone. Quite sad really

Jealous? Hello - we just won the cup for the fifth time

I find it suspicious that their group is always easier than everyone elses

[Jim]

Well, see, I can explain that quite easily...

You understand that everybody is seeded, right? So that pretty much eliminates the possibility of United getting any of the big Guns. What with country protection, that also eliminates Chelsea.

Add that to the fact that half the teams in the Champions League this year are pretty dyer, and you have your answer.

Nobody actually had a 'difficult' group.

Picking first and second for each group is pretty much a no brainer in betting terms.

[2NaFish]

i've always hated the seeding system. Designed to maintain the status quo and keep the big guys rich and give the little guys no chance. like everything else in football.

On a happier note, Hearts have now won 5 games in a row and are 5 points clear at the top of the league. Yay me!

[Jim]

A fan of the Porto Monaco final, you were?   

I don't necesarily like the seeding system, but I appreciate it, and it at least tries to keep the tournament interesting, rather than it burning out in the first round.

[Izzy]

Well, see, I can explain that quite easily...

You understand that everybody is seeded, right? So that pretty much eliminates the possibility of United getting any of the big Guns. What with country protection, that also eliminates Chelsea.

Add that to the fact that half the teams in the Champions League this year are pretty dyer, and you have your answer.

Nobody actually had a 'difficult' group.

Picking first and second for each group is pretty much a no brainer in betting terms.

True and true

But Man Utd always seem to get the easiest of a load of easy groups

Thsi year i believe Arsenal have the easiest group - imagine my surprise. Whether by luck or intention, they have been treated very kindly by the draw for many years now

[Jamie]

I find it hilarious that everyone that doesn't support United is jealous of their success and insists every time we win something we've bribed someone. Quite sad really

Jealous? Hello - we just won the cup for the fifth time

I find it suspicious that their group is always easier than everyone elses

Yeah, and fair play to them for it, just cos they won it I'm not going to say, hey they were lucky, hey they've rigged the groups and so on. It's the same in the Premiership, we've won it year after year after year, we've won the Premiership more than we've lost it, and never finished outside of the top 3. And yet people claim we need to rig things and bribe referees etc. If you actually look at the statistics to the average United game, we'll have more desicions against us than for us, even against Newcastle Van Nistelrooy got booked for what blatantly should have been a penalty.

And as far as the Champions League goes if we rig the groups, draws etc. 1. How come we have not been penalised for it? 2. How come we've only won it twice in the club's history?