So, how are things shaping up for your team? Celtic need to win at home to Kobenhavn tomorrow night to get back in the mix. Probably good that Kobenhavn drew with Benfica. There?s a school of thought among some Celtic supporters that it?d be best for United to go and dominate the group now. If they win in Portugal and Celtic win then it?ll be 6, 3, 1 and 1 with the round 3 games being Celtic at home to Benfica and United at home to the Danes. I tend to disagree in that United are faltering lately and I don?t think they?re all that good so I still maintain hopes of winning the group. It?d be dangerous to underestimate Kobenhavn though, they must be a decent outfit having put out Ajax and drawn with Benfica. They won?t have experienced anything like a European night at Celtic Park though and if the likes of Barca were so intimidated they crumbled in the atmosphere then I can?t see Kobenhavn living with it. It will be interesting to watch Tommy Gravesen tearing around getting stuck into some of his international colleagues. Big Jan?s a doubt but hopefully he?ll be fit, same XI as Saturday deserves to start imo.
That Kuyt guy looks a player for Pool too. They?re starting to play a bit now.
Cannot wait for this match tomorrow night. Definitely not over-confident and I appreciate that Copenhagen did well against Ajax but we should be too much for them at home. Gronkjaer is out for them. Allback will be decent enough but nothing special, the same for Linderoth and Bergdolmo. I havenât heard of their other players.
Yeah don?t know much about them at all so I?ll be like Johnny Giles when he?s talking about Celtic when I say that they?ll be game, honest lads and will work hard but they?ll lack class. Celtic?s main weakness is probably a lack of pace at the back and in that respect they shouldn?t hurt us with Allback playing up front for them. Should have too much for them if the attitude is right and if they?re defending in numbers then there?s always Maloney, Magic and others to be sprung. Can?t wait to get out of work today and start the countdown to tomorrow.
Was chatting to rock offline there about the plans for the game and whether or not to wear hoops around Glasgow tomorrow or not. It?s kind of mad when you think about it really and so far removed from a GAA game or whatever. I do like the edge and tension though and the real us against them mentality at a big football game. The atmosphere at Old Trafford was just incredible, looking forward to better tomorrow night. I?ll predict 2-0. King Kenny to make it 2 in 2.
Delighted with 3 points last night. First half was just excellent, Naka and Aiden terrorised them on the wings and we could have been more up. The passing was crisp, really quick and fluent and the movement was class. Second half wasnât as good but they never threatened at all. Lennon was quality in this regard as were the 2 centre backs who snuffed out any little bits of danger. Big Jan was missed just to loft a ball up to the strikers in the second half but the result was all that matters. Have come round to the way of thinking that suggests itâs best ManU win all their other games and so was happy with the other result. Great to see King Kenny continue his goalscoring streak too and a mention to Naylor whoâs been a revelation.
Ratings:
Boruc - 7
Telfer - 7
Caldwell - 8
McManus - 8
Naylor - 8
Naka - 8
Lennon - 8.5
Gravesen - 7
McGeady - 8
Magic - 6.5
Miller - 8
Subs:
Maloney, Beattie, Pearson - not on long enough
Manager:
Strachan - 9
Tatics, team selection and timing and thinking behind changes spot on as with Saturday.
Important 3 points for Liverpool despite scaring the bejaysus outta me for the last 25 minutes. Didnât agree with the panelâs assessment that players didnât know where they were playing. Pennant was wide right, Garcia left, Alonso and Gerrard in the middle with the two boys up front. And it worked smashingly save for problems down the left flank due to Garciaâs and Aurelioâs defensive ineptitude. It was the perfect game to rest Sissoko imo as Galatasarray were clearly going to be set up defensively thereby negating the need for a screening midfielder. Liverpool were sharp on the ball, the passing and movement was absolutely fantastic and we ripped through them. Similar to zonal marking, Rafaâs tinkering and the effect on the team seems to be simply something to talk about in the studio. All the Turksâ attacks came down the right. Blame Aurelio. Blame Garcia. Iâll admit the two centre-halves didnât cover themselves in glory for the two goals, particularly Carragher on the second but I was extremely happy with the performance til the second goal went in. Sissoko probably shouldâve been deployed on the hour mark to steady the ship and Bellamy shouldâve come on for Crouch. But all in all a very exciting game of footie and a cracking three points. Garcia may have scored but I agree with Giles who said âif I was Liverpool manager, Garcia wouldnât be playing for Liverpoolâ. We still have problems down the left though. Kewellâs not really up to it despite his improving form last season and Gonzalez doesnât seem to have settled yet. The clips I saw of him in Spain showed him as a very direct, old skool left winger - I havenât seen him beat a man yet! On the other hand Pennant has been fantastic imo. The future is bright for Liverpool I reckon. Genuine chance of winning the Premiership and/or Championsâ League
I half agree with you there Clarkey. I think the panel might have been a bit harsh on the formation but the basic point that Liverpoolâs midfield is very weak without Sissoko stands up. I think it was Farmerinthecity on the old board who was claiming that Liverpool have the best midfield in Europe (maybe it was you?) which is obviously untrue. Alonso is a lovely footballer but he isnât aggressive enough on his own. Gerrard has bags of ability but he doesnât control games, he needed Hamann, now he needs Sissoko. Otherwise the game passes him by.
Also I donât agree that the tinkering talk is just studio pundit fodder. There is huge merit in having a settled team and settled systems. Celtic under Martin OâNeill benefited hugely from playing the same personnel week in, week out. Strachan changes things more but more often than not we field an unchanged team. If he knows his best eleven he should pick it when everyone is fit. Constant changing wonât help the team in the long run.
Finally why des everyone love Gonzalez and pick him in their starting eleven? Heâs done nothing yet.
Twas actually me who said they were the best midfield in Europe and I agree that Liverpool are a better side with Sissoko in the team. As a midfield three I think they are the best in Europe, however, rather than play boring, effective football like Chelsea have the last couple of seasons with a 4-5-1, I prefer a front two which means Gerrard plays wide right (or left given Pennantâs good form).
I also agree that there is great merit in a settled team and do not really like Rafaâs tinkering but Iâm afraid every week weâre going to hear â94 games without putting out the same teamâ. â95 gamesâŚâ. Etc. etc.
Liverpool are a team that interest me. Weâve discussed Gerrard before and I think Giles summed it up pretty well last night. Heâll do good things; rampage forward, have strikes on goal, play a few good passes etc but he doesnât have the tactical discipline and intelligence to revert to a more defensive and less âflashyâ role when the game dictates that he should. As said up above thatâs why he needed Hamann, needs Sissoko and why McClaren has put him out on the right hand side for England.
That said I really enjoyed that game last night. Going back to previous threads I had been moaning about Liverpool being too cagey and saying they should just go out and attack teams because they have the players to do that. Iâve liked what Iâve seen of Kuyt but he was less effective last night. Agree that the trouble originated down their left and Riise would add solidity there. Pennant had a cracking first half too. As for Gonzales, he never failed to impress me in La Liga last year, in particular running Real ragged at the Bernabeu - I think heâll be good. The worry for Pool imo would be the central defensive area where Agger looked shaky enough after being good recently and Carragher was mediocre by his standards.
Watched Valencia outplay Barca on Sunday night and see they had a smashing win over Roma. I think they could be dark horses but once it gets down to the last 16 youâd have to fancy Celtic in straight knock-out. Nobodyâs going to threaten in Glasgow and Strachan has them playing great stuff on the counter away from home.
