UEFA Champion's League Final

[Toasted]

It's the UEFA Champion's League Final in Moscow tonight. It's the first time in history that there's two Premier League teams in the final, for those of you under a stone or living in America the teams and Manchester United and Chelsea.

I'd really very happy that we're guaranteed an English winner, and that Liverpool and Arsenal did so well this year too.

I'm not a supporter of either team, but I don't like the way that Chelsea have "bought" their squad and I also detest the petulance and prima donna attitude of Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba.

I admire attacking football and United are very much a "total football" team. I hope United win.

Toasted's prediction: 2 - 0 United.

[popinfresh]

Is this that game where they fall over and cry a lot about nothing?

[Higgie]

No, it's the game where the name "Football" is actually correct.

[Toasted]

It's not disimmilar from that "Aussie Rules" game, that one where they took out all the good parts of football and all the good parts of rugby and mixed all the remaning bad parts together into a ridiculous "sport" to entertain convicts.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Toasted

I don't like the way that Chelsea have "bought" their squad .

I find this a bizarre comment - so Manchester United did not "buy" - as in pay huge sums of money for :

Rio Ferdinand (a record amount if I recall?)
Wayne Rooney
Vidic
Evra
Ronaldo(world record for teenager)
Nani
Anderson (Combined transfer fee for Anderson and Nani was £30m!!)
Carrick
Hargreaves
Van der Saar
Tevez
etc etc. ?

I would like to bet that the cost of the Man Utd Transfers, far outweighs the Chelsea bill - considering that Ben Haim, Sidwell and Ballack came on free transfers...


As to the match - I had a very vivid dream last night where I was with the Chelsea coaching staff for the whole thing and it was 3-1 to Chelsea - I'm only saying this to have a record if it actually happens!!

That would be too weird!

[sensible68]

I reckon that the MU Rowdies will draw 1-1 with Red Star Chelsea and Man U win on penalties.

Most of my colleagues seem to have a preference for a 747 (with Arsenal on board) crash into the stadium but that's just their 'knockabout football banter' I think.

[popinfresh]

Originally Posted by Toasted

It's not disimmilar from that "Aussie Rules" game, that one where they took out all the good parts of football and all the good parts of rugby and mixed all the remaning bad parts together into a ridiculous "sport" to entertain convicts.

Thank god we left the good bits, such as lucky to get a goal a game, crying, 'warning' cards, lack of physical contact or any show of virility, metro haircuts, boredom and idiotic 'hooligan' fans to you guys!
Phew

[Toasted]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

I find this a bizarre comment

*snip*

I would like to bet that the cost of the Man Utd Transfers, far outweighs the Chelsea bill

Bruce, I totally take your point (as an aside, Rio Ferdinand is still the most expensive defensive transfer in the UK market) but United have been building that squad for years and supported it with players from their youth setup. That said, I see where you're coming from.

I just checked and Wiki says Chels still have the biggest transfer fee bill.

[Toasted]

Originally Posted by popinfresh

Thank god we left the good bits, such as lucky to get a goal a game, crying, 'warning' cards, lack of physical contact or any show of virility, metro haircuts, boredom and idiotic 'hooligan' fans to you guys!
Phew

I'm sorry, popinfresh can you speak up a bit? I can't hear you for all the sounds of repeated, glorious and emphatic victory going on around me.

[Fontaine]

sorry, don't watch horse racing.

[sensible68]

Now I am confused, I can't tell if Toasted's picture is from the 2007 RWC semi-final or the 2003 final.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Toasted

Bruce, I totally take your point (as an aside, Rio Ferdinand is still the most expensive defensive transfer in the UK market) but United have been building that squad for years and supported it with players from their youth setup. That said, I see where you're coming from.

I just checked and Wiki says Chels still have the biggest transfer fee bill.

Well - Chelsea's captain is a product of their youth team and just because Man U have been doing it longer - Veron , Van Nistelrooy etc. - should't exempt them from the same criticism!

The days of the youth team making it big are long gone - Giggs and Scoles are well past their prime and where are their successors...? They are being bought from all round the world - Man U would have had Mikel if Chelsea hadn't bought him - it's all about money now and basically the teams with the biggest budget have got to the final!

If you want to see good British youth prospects in competitive matches - then you need to come to see my local team - we produced Gareth Barry and Bobby Zamora could have been the England striker we sorely need, if Spurs hadn't ruined him!!

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by popinfresh

Thank god we left the good bits, such as lucky to get a goal a game, crying, 'warning' cards, lack of physical contact or any show of virility, metro haircuts, boredom and idiotic 'hooligan' fans to you guys!
Phew

You must be talking about Harry Kewell!!

Or maybe Schwarzer, Viduka or Tim Cahill....

No wait they didn't make it to the final - despite their best efforts!

[Toasted]

Bruce, I just checked out the world wide rankings of transfer spending. It went like this:

1) Chelsea
2) Real Madrid
3) Inter
4) Lazio
5) Man United

Interesting, isn't it?

You've got to think as well, when Man U won the treble, they did that largely with a team that they brought through the "youth" ranks.

[Barfly]

I'll be watching in glorious HD @9pm this afternoon.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Toasted

Bruce, I just checked out the world wide rankings of transfer spending. It went like this:

1) Chelsea
2) Real Madrid
3) Inter
4) Lazio
5) Man United

Interesting, isn't it?

You've got to think as well, when Man U won the treble, they did that largely with a team that they brought through the "youth" ranks.

I don't believe it - it's just a case of creative accounting. So I never beileve Wiki and especially about football - although it does say Man U is

"is currently ranked as the richest and most valuable club in football, and indeed any sport, with a value of £897 million (€1,333 mil / $1,800 mil) as of May 2008"

However transfer fees are a "dark art" and so looking at the BBC site you see things like this:

Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, undisclosed),
Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed),
Carlos Tevez (undisclosed.)

So we all know that a huge fee was paid for Hargreaves but this won't show up anywhere as there is no figure and this applies to many of Man U's deals - so we can also guess that Tevez's agent is not in it for the love of football and a huge fee must have been involved - but no details...

Find a value for those two and many others - then add it on!

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Barfly

I'll be watching in glorious HD @9pm this afternoon.

I'll be watching in HD from 7.00 pm onwards!

[caligula]

Originally Posted by Toasted

for those of you under a stone or living in America the teams and Manchester United and Chelsea.

Neither living under a stone (or on the moon) nor American. A European and at the same time not interested in football.
I was told once that such a thing can not be possible....do I have to consider myself weird?...ähm....no
All I know is that Jens Lehmann plays in England, isn't it Arsenal?
...and Chelsea is basically a Russian club.
Anyway, let the best team win, no riots, no fights and everything's cool.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Chelsea have the best German player of the current generation in their midfield and he is in very good form - I expect he will score!!

[Kgoodrich]

Originally Posted by Toasted

I'm sorry, popinfresh can you speak up a bit? I can't hear you for all the sounds of repeated, glorious and emphatic victory going on around me.

lol

ENGLAND!!!:hype r:


oh and united 1-0