Liverpool FC Forum

[bunglemark2]

Right so all 4 English teams are through to the last 16, why not just scrap the group games it seems a bit pointless

Yeah..tell that to the 7 teams that have made it into the best competition in football for the first time in their clubs history,securing more money they could ever dream of for their futures in the process!

Thats a very arrogant thing to say lad....Football is a sport,all teams are in the last 32 on merit..all deserve a fair chance.

Oh and you just know that some of these little known about teams will cause an upset here and there.Bring it on!

With any luck Wolfsburg will. I watch a good bit of German footie and they play good footie. Plus, their very wealthy owner has spent a lot of money on the club. There seems to be a lot of camaraderie in the team as well, which hopefully they can translate into a couple of good performances vs. the Scum

[LiverpoolMadman]

Liverpool have most to fear from Champions League draw

[Greavesie]

Its not a bad group, quite happy with it to be honest. Glad we're doing as much travelling as the Mancs

Just thinking I wonder if all them Khasi guys from Besiktas are on the Mancs boards now 

[GOAT]

Right so all 4 English teams are through to the last 16, why not just scrap the group games it seems a bit pointless

Yeah..tell that to the 7 teams that have made it into the best competition in football for the first time in their clubs history,securing more money they could ever dream of for their futures in the process!

Thats a very arrogant thing to say lad....Football is a sport,all teams are in the last 32 on merit..all deserve a fair chance.

Oh and you just know that some of these little known about teams will cause an upset here and there.Bring it on!

That's me told

[bunglemark2]

Handbags at ten paces, gents....

[heimdall]

Happy with our group, it's not too bad.

[bigmick]

Yep, groups good and we'll go through OK. Anyway, better take me little girl to school I suppose.

[Zidane]

I think we'll go through well enough it shouldn't be a problem imo.

[account deleted by request]

I am happy enough with the draw, and we should progress as long as we play to a decent level. Hopefully Lyon will be a little weaker this season and we can finish top...... though how much that matters we will have to wait and see.

[DrPepe]

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIRST GROUP STAGE DRAW

what is this, 2001?   


as for the draw, couldn't expect any better really - given our current form i anticipate a shitty loss somewhere along the line, such as lyon at home or one of the "easier" away games...

but the league format is forgiving of such ballsups so we should be ok to qualify 

[akumaface]

Well, i would be satisfied as this would be an easier draw comparing to the past couple of season. But hope the players would not take them too lightly. It seems we are lacking the killer instinct needed.

[Owzat]

Happy with our group, it's not too bad.

I don't like the group stages as basically you should go through EVERY time. Rafa hasn't failed to get out of the groups once, because it is straightforward in format if not teams. Win three at home, get a point or more away and you're through. If you lose or draw at home, there is often a team weak enough that you can win away.

As for the draw, we got one team with a bit of a record in the CL, two without much of a record. The mancs got a relatively tough group for them.

LIVERPOOL

Lyon - our biggest threat, five consecutive knockout stages for the regular French champions (of seasons past anyway) but never get beyond the QFs. Should be us and them or the Italians go through

Fiorentina -not many excursions into the groups or knock-outs, went out in the groups last season, their only other appearance there or later was in 99/00

Debrecen - Ferencvaros made the last 16 stage of 95/96, I don't believe any Hungarian side has made it very far in the CL otherwise. mancs played Debrecen in qualifiers in 05/06 and stuffed them 3-0 home and away, they lost away to Zalaegerszeg in 02/03 1-0 but won at home 5-0

Man Utd

CSKA Moscow - our opponents in the UEFA Super Cup in 05/06, reached the groups a few times in recent years but no further. Winning in Moscow takes some doing, and can depend on the time of year played there

Wolfsburg - first timers, but a different proposition these days as newly crowned German champions

Besiktas - we stuffed them 8-0 not so many seasons ago, BUT we lost out there and no trip to Turkey is ever easy. Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd have all lost twice to Turkish teams in the CL, only Arsenal haven't but they've only played Turks twice

Chelsea

Atletico Madrid - not easy home or away, reached the L16 stage last time out.

Porto - reached the L16 stage three years in a row, QFs last time out where the mancs narrowly beaten them 3-2 on aggregate

Apoel Nicosia - a rare excursion for Cypriot teams, should be much of a test for a side like Chelsea.

Arsenal

Olympiakos - CL regulars, 11 appearances in a row up until last season but only one QF and two L16 appearances in that 11 season spell. We're the only one of the 'big four' to have lost to them

Standard Liege - we scraped past them last season in the qualifiers, the bitters didn't in the UEFA Cup.

AZ Alkmaar -first time in the CL (proper), up until now PSV had been flying the flag for Holland and not that well in recent seasons since their QF in 06/07 when we beat them 4-0 on aggregate. Never underestimate Dutch sides, but Arsenal should walk this group and the Dutch might well go with them as it's not a terribly strong group


I think Arsenal got the easiest, we got two potentially tricky opponents, Chelsea got two who could both upset them and Man Utd's looks like away fixtures may be their main concern. To fail to go through really is a failure given the set-up, only needing three wins with three home games and three shots at wins away from home. But the way Rafa plays it we could 'settle for a draw' away from home instead of trying to win our first 3 or 4 and rest players for the last fixtures like Man Utd generally do. We might drag it out to the last game or two, but I think we can beat Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen - at least with last season's team we could, not so convinced this season

[Owzat]

RAFA'S REACTION TO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW
Paul Eaton 27 August 2009 
Rafael Benitez is relishing the start of Liverpool's Champions League adventure after the Reds discovered their group stage opponents on Thursday afternoon. 

The Reds will face Lyon, Fiorentina and Debreceni in Group E of the competition following today's draw in Monaco - three sides they have never previously met in European competition.
 
"You know in the Champions League there will always be difficult games and tough teams to play against," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv.
 
"Lyon might not have won the league last season but before that they won it many years in a row, so we know they have lots of good players who can play good football.
 
"Fiorentina are an historic club in a nice city. I know from experience they have fanatstic supporters because I spent some time there when Claudio Ranieri was the coach.
 
"And we have experience of Hungarian football because of our relationship with MTK, so if Debreceni have won their league then we know it means it's because they're a good side.
 
"The important thing as always is that the travelling isn't too bad, we don't have too far to go for any of the games. We're just looking forward to starting the competition now." 

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N165590090827-2055.htm

Playing up the opposition, I'm worried by that more than by them. I bet fergie sees groups as three home games, three games they should win and doesn't worry about the groups at all. Finish top of your group, in their case rely on luck to avoid decent teams all the way, and worry when you eventually do meet decent opponents. I'd have said we are happy with the draw, confident of progressing, but should not underestimate any of the teams we face (cause they all qualified, blah blah blah) Mentioning we pinch kids of MTK and know the Hungarian league has good players just sounds silly. Hungarian teams usually get knocked out before the group stage, the same teams that win their league that Rafa is trying to make sound good. Don't dismiss them by all means, but I think most people who know a little about football will know Hungary is not a footballing force at the moment, like Austria isn't (ha ha villa, bump back down to earth for you!), Switzerland, N.Ireland, Poland etc football isn't (some ok but nothing bigger teams should worry about)

[SouthCoastShankly]

So the fixtures around CL games look like this -

Matchday 1
Burnley (H)
Debrecen (H)
West Ham (A)

Matchday 2
Hull (H)
Fiorentina (A)
Chelsea (A)

Matchday 3
Sunderland (A)
Lyon (H)
Man Utd (H)

Matchday 4
Fulham (A)
Lyon (A)
Birmingham (H)

Matchday 5
Man City (H)
Debrecen (A)
Everton (A)

Matchday 6
Blackburn (A)
Fiorentina (H)
Arsenal (H)

Thoughts?

[DrPepe]

Playing up the opposition, I'm worried by that more than by them. I bet fergie sees groups as three home games, three games they should win and doesn't worry about the groups at all.

they all do it - platitudes, respect etc for the opposition. all standard stuff for fat spanish waiters, myopic frenchies, drunken scots or even legendary italian good fellas

e.g.

Ferguson said: "These are difficult ties, especially the trips to Russia and Turkey. CSKA have developed strongly in the last few years and games in Turkey are always difficult.

"We also know the quality that we're up against with Wolfsburg with what they achieved in the Bundesliga last season."