Liverpool FC Forum

[hicks]

should be a good game tho, if the lose then spurs go into the champs league qualifiers

[Gareth G]

I like Arsenal as a team, well some of their players. But their coaching staff and fan's can be vvankers at times, especially Wenger.

[Dundalk]

i really hope barca crush arsnail and then Henry says sod it and move to Barca and Ronaldinho comes to liverpool on a free. I also hope i'm stuck up to me nuts inside Kiera Knightly tonight but I doubt its gonna happen.

[lakes10]

not sure if its just me i i have always had repect for Arsenal  and west ham, for the team and fans.
i come home on the train with Arsenal fans after they done us 0-2 to with the old div 1  and when we did the in the fa cup.

i like teams that play football and west ham is one of the and the next is Arsenal

[H_K_LFC]

Henry will be missing in the game like he usually is in big games and when Henry plays badly Arsenal play badly so 3-0 barca

[andy_g]

i was a bit drunk by the end of the arsenal - villarreal game and did a massive double take when i realised what henry was talking about. hats off to the guy, it wasn't just a throwaway remark but a sustained burst of praise for gerrard and for the club. lovely bit of va va voom, thierry.

as i've mentioned in the recently forgotten slightly less recent past i don't care who wins really as i'm sure it'll be a great game of football betweenm two real footballing sides. if barca win i get to enjoy the street parties here and if arsenal win my mate'll buy me loads of beer.

it's win win for me!

[anti-hero]

it is nice, and arsenal liverpool is a gerat atmosphere, but today i found an article by arsene wenger: (this is from 23rd may 2005)

Arsene Wenger puts Liverpool's run to the Champions League final down to luck - claiming it is proof of why the Premiership is his top priority.

Wenger insists Liverpool's presence against AC Milan in Istanbul confirms the tournament is no longer the true measure of Europe's best teams.

The Arsenal manager's words were put down to sour grapes from a man who has never made a Champions League impact.

But does Wenger actually have a point? Is it now a devalued tournament?

Wenger said: "The competition is no longer a reflection of the hierarchy in European football. The days of teams winning the trophy three or four years on the trot because they are the best in Europe have gone.

"The European Cup is now a complete cup competition - like Millwall reaching the FA Cup final."

Wenger's outburst will be met with a resounding raspberry at Anfield as they contemplate their sixth appearance in the final.

And Wenger's argument will be answered by the names of Juventus and Chelsea, two hot favourites to win the Champions League who were sent packing by Rafael Benitez's permanent underdogs.

The giants - AC Milan apart - have fallen by the wayside and their cages are rattled as the Champions League becomes the underdog's playground.

Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid fell in the last 16, while Juventus were out in the quarters.

Not what they had in mind when the competition was re-designed to make it the lucrative cash dispenser it is today.

And they have not been slow to express their displeasure.

Manchester United chief executive David Gill suggested the format was wrong after they exited against AC Milan, claiming seeding should be introduced to ensure the giants do not fall before the business end of the tournament.


Mourinho was another underdog to claim the trophy

He said: "At the moment we effectively have a random group stage. It's not good for the big clubs, not good for television and sponsors if there are no Spanish clubs in the quarter-finals."

Once more, Liverpool will care little for that complaint - nor should they.

Gill reveals a fascinating insight into how the Champions League is viewed by competing clubs when he talks of television and sponsors rather than winning football matches.

Liverpool have won the matches that mattered, and this is why the team many claimed were least likely to progress in the Champions League are now in the final.

Some romantics still hanker for the era when the European Cup was the true test of champions alone - but this is not an option because too many clubs would miss out on hitting the cash jackpot.

And despite Wenger's complaints and Gill's demand for new rules, some view the advance of the underdogs as a welcome break from the old order - a welcome invasion of a too-cosy clique.

Liverpool have followed in the footsteps of Porto and Monaco, who outlasted their more illustrious rivals to reach last year's final.

They have been expertly coached by Benitez, then beaten and tactically outwitted supposedly superior opponents.

It is a similar story to Jose Mourinho guiding Porto to Champions League victory last year - and on the international stage Otto Rehhagel leading Greece to Euro 2004 triumph.

The format may be faulty - it will never recapture the drama of the old European Cup - and the prime motivation now appears to be cash rather than glory.

But a tournament is never devalued by an outsider emerging as the eventual winner.

Liverpool and Porto cannot be blamed for the failings of a format or the faults of their rivals.

The only way the Champions League will be discredited is if the format is altered further to suit the richer clubs who feel they have not gone far enough.

It may not have the glamour of old, but the Champions League is still the biggest club competition on the continent and Wenger would claim it in an instant.

Ask Liverpool if they feel the Champions League is devalued if they beat AC Milan on Wednesday - there will only be one answer.

Wenger. That sour poof.

And that whole seeding is just another pile of steaming bullsh't.

Rich clubs are obviously trying to advance their own interests at the expense of smaller clubs.

The gulf between the rich and the "poor" isnt so big anymore.

Villareal's recent run in the Champions League is proof. The propostition of a new format is just another excuse for bigger clubs to rake in millions from sponsorship deals and broadcasting rights and perhaps, avoid humilating defeat at the hands of considered "weaker" oppositions.

Its sad when I think about it.

Money is slowly becoming more important than football itself.

[crazyhorse]

Getting back to the topic of the thread....

I thought what Henry said was class. It shows that he really is a great and that he is the type of person i want to pay money to see as well as a good player.

A pity he is a gooner, but never mind...... You always get the odd rose amongst a sh@it load of pr@@icks!

[Garymac]

I like Arsenal, i think the relationship between us and them is a strong one and there is a mutual respect between the sides which isnt often seen in the game, This comes from us sharing a comman enemy in that we both have rivals living in are shadows and we both hate United to fu*k, and these teams are bitter about the whole thing.

What Henry said was superb and the man is a legend for his honesty and caracter, cant help but like the guy, a true genius of the game.

Ask a lot of Arsenal fans what they think of us and most will say they like us, are manager and are team.

[GOAT]

yeah i hope barca completely wipe them out which they will, they're not going to get another magical night like ours, its the better teams turn to win

[taff]

yeah i hope barca completely wipe them out which they will, they're not going to get another magical night like ours, its the better teams turn to win

As far as Im concerned the better team won last year.

[GOAT]

yeah i hope barca completely wipe them out which they will, they're not going to get another magical night like ours, its the better teams turn to win

As far as Im concerned the better team won last year.

well we did deserve to win last year, but there were better sides, as in stronger sides than us in the competition last year. This year barca are the best team in europe and they will win it

[onizukaeikichi]

hope barcelona tear them apart

[dawson99]

just hope its a good game to be honest. when we arent involved im not usually bothered but this should be a great attacking cup final. henrys swansong maybe as well so should be good but will not be a touch on last year

[redmikey]

i alway think terry henry carries off the arogant side to him as he is fookin brill at footy. but he always deals with other footballers well and he will be missed from our league next year ..

still i hope barca knock the sh*t out of them in paris... no english players = no english support