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Dont you think they will park it if its 0-0 at half??I watched a CL game 2 years ago maybe? where Barca was down 1-0 headed home in the semis I think against Inter. It was just attack...clear...rinse/repeat. I was actually quite entertained by it.
He posted in a recent Werewolf game that he was about to start a new job and that his internet activity would be limited.
I think they are going to park the bus until Barca scores. Once they got the goal today they pretty much dropped into a 6-4-0. I imagine they will put Drogba up to hold the ball on a counter-attack and drop the other nine back.
I don't know much about tactics, but I would think most Barca fans would be happy if Chelsea took this approach. Chelsea is a significantly inferior team talent-wise. Their best hope imo is that they can score first on a lucky counter goal or a penalty, forcing Barca to score 3 to advance. The best way to maintain pressure on Barca is to keep the threat of an away goal alive. If Barca has a weakness, it seems to me it is that their back line - especially Alves - can't resist joining the attack, and that sometimes leaves them vulnerable to a counter.
Cech made a few nice saves today to keep Chelsea in the lead. A very difficult game to watch, but no question about how important the result was.Camp Nou will be a raucous zoo on Tuesday.
Crap. He was a great source of info. His historical knowledge of the game is needed in this thread. Thanks.
They weren't exactly pressing high at the outset of today's game either. I think they're going to stay in a pretty defensive position most of the game. Even if Barca scores late, they might figure they're better off trying to get to PK's or score another counter against the run of play then to go toe-to-toe with Barca.Barca's hit a ton of posts this year. More than any other Liga team, I believe. Everything that broke right for them last year isn't breaking this way (esp. injuries) this time, and today was just an encapsulation of that. It could have very easily been 2-1 Barca, and next Tues. would be a formality.With Chelsea clogging up the front of the box so well, I think it becomes incumbent for Barca to find space attacking from the edges. Not just crossing in, but trying to shake a defender and bringing the ball in for low crosses to guys cutting into the middle. Cuenca came on for Xavi at the break of the Levante game, and it gave them that dimension (and ultimately drew the foul that led to the PK) of another player who can attack from the flanks, whereas Xavi's use was diminished when Levante (and Chelsea) pretty much ceded the territory that he operates so well in.Ideally, I would like to see: Valdes; Adriano, Mascherano, Alves; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Thiago; Messi, Sanchez, Cuenca. When teams play more conservatively, Guardiola tends to send more players forward. The risk, of course, is that Chelsea scores first, as they have consistently through the tournament, leaving Barca needing to score three in regulation time to win. That said, I think Messi draws first blood on Tuesday. 3-1 Barca.
Roma's currently 5th in Serie A, 4 points out of third place and a CL spot.Unless they can close that gap it seems like a lateral move for Dempsey.
I think Roma is a better team, but experience-wise it seems like it would be similar. It's not easy to just grab a starting role on a CL team in one of the big leagues though. He might be able to slide into Tottenham or Arsenal (assuming they make CL) depending on what his transfer wage and fees are, but even that isn't a slam dunk. Tottenham is still paying a lot for their new stadium and training facility and Arsenal isn't exactly free-wheeling.
I grew up with Frankie. We weren't great friends, but we went to Jr. High and High School together and played on a lot of the same teams so obviously you get to know each other. Really a nice, down to earth guy. At least back then. Seemed to care more about surfing than soccer though. I guess it all worked out for him to have both.
Cool stuff- interesting to hear.Hall of fame? guh.
Roma is going to be a really interesting team in a year or two- but this is definitely a transition year for them. IMO, Dempsey needs to be on a team that's there now, rather than later.Am I crazy for thinking CHelsea? I think it suits his style of play pretty well...
Guy was a heart attack special. Every sliding tackle in Central America was just screaming a pk.Here are his credentials. He is going to be a marginal hall of famer but might sneak in as he was supposedly very nice to media through out career. 16 year pro85 caps for USPlayed in two World CupsPlayed in two Olympics5 time MLS All StarWon two MLS CupsWon 5 Supporter Shields
) respect for what they've been able to do this year.
It was reported in January that Chelsea lost 68 million pounds in 2011. I must not understand the term "operating income" as Forbes uses it as Forbes shows them at positive $78m for operating income. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2094476/Chelsea-post-68m-losses.html
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111111
An astounding drop off from #1 with $2.235 billion to #10 Schalke '04 with a quarter of that. Schalke '04?Forbes list of the richest clubs in the world.
Arsenal 'outearning' both Chelsea and Bayern. The Arsenal brand is in tremendous shape worldwide - imagine how big Arsenal gets if they ever actually win anything.
Staggering how pitifully Liverpool has performed considering the financial resources they have.
Gotta give both Atletico Madrid and PSG (both Lyon and Marseille out earning the native Paris team
You do realize PSG is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, right? Much like Chelsea and Man City, they don't have to actually earn any money.Forbes list of the richest clubs in the world.
Arsenal 'outearning' both Chelsea and Bayern. The Arsenal brand is in tremendous shape worldwide - imagine how big Arsenal gets if they ever actually win anything.
Staggering how pitifully Liverpool has performed considering the financial resources they have.
Gotta give both Atletico Madrid and PSG (both Lyon and Marseille out earning the native Paris team
Why theSchalke '04?
?Are you shocked to see another German club up there or you've not heard of them?While Schalke hasn't won the Bundesliga, they've finished 2nd four times since 2001 which also gives them a Champions League presence. That CL money along with routinely selling out the Veltins-Arena (60,000+) and the Gazprom sponsorship has increased their European footprint.
What match is on Saturday? Televised?Classico, Classico, ClassicoSaturday can not get here soon enough
I would have expected to see Inter Milan or one of the other teams just below them in #10. Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund (#14), perhaps? I guess it shows even more the importance of the CL cash, if it needed any more emphasizing.Why theSchalke '04?
Madrid at Barcelona, with anything but a Barcelona win pretty much handing La Liga to Madrid. Gol TV and ESPN3 online. 2 ET.What match is on Saturday? Televised?Classico, Classico, Classico
Hosting a party for two teams you don't like?
Stupid ####### Forbes slideshows...Forbes list of the richest clubs in the world.
Arsenal 'outearning' both Chelsea and Bayern. The Arsenal brand is in tremendous shape worldwide - imagine how big Arsenal gets if they ever actually win anything.
Staggering how pitifully Liverpool has performed considering the financial resources they have.
Gotta give both Atletico Madrid and PSG (both Lyon and Marseille out earning the native Paris team
Yup. It's the biggest game of the la liga season, and I'm a la liga fan. It's like not watching the Super Bowl (assuming you're an NFL fan) because you hate the two teams playing.
So will you be happy each time a goal is scored, or sad?
Does it matter? I'm there to enjoy the spectacle.
If somehow the Cowboys ended up playing the Giants in the Super Bowl there is no chance I watch even a second o that game. :X I guess I am more of a Skins fan and fantasy football player than an NFL fan though. If I don't have any fantasy guys going on primetime games I tend to skip them. I'm pissed they moved this game to Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the extra day's rest before Chelsea, but Saturday is a 14hr day for me. I have to go all media blackout while working around 4 TVs and avoid a decent amount of people that know I'm a Barca fan. Sunday morning would have been perfect.
Man City, PSG, and Chelsea might as well be 1, 2, and 3. When you have billionaire owners who tie their bank accounts to the team "richest" takes on a new meaning.Tottenham actually has a billionaire owner ironically. He doesn't pull money out or put money in though. This recent run of form makes me wish he would go Abromovich on the team, but to be honest, I think it's better this way. Becoming a City clone would be painful. It's like a team without a heart.You do realize PSG is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, right? Much like Chelsea and Man City, they don't have to actually earn any money.Forbes list of the richest clubs in the world.
Arsenal 'outearning' both Chelsea and Bayern. The Arsenal brand is in tremendous shape worldwide - imagine how big Arsenal gets if they ever actually win anything.
Staggering how pitifully Liverpool has performed considering the financial resources they have.
Gotta give both Atletico Madrid and PSG (both Lyon and Marseille out earning the native Paris team
I think you mean a 4-3-3
