[champ27]

Originally Posted by joslicx

The best of all time for me is team Real side that had Puskas and Stefano! This Barca side, as good as they are, could not retain the european cup Actually by that parameter, this Barca side is barely in top 5. The mighty Ajx of Cruyff, Bayern of Beckenbaur and AC Milan in 80s all retained the CL.

Yes, RM of mid 50s and early 60s were almost invincible with these two legends in their ranks. Same goes for Cruyff's (who was later on instrumental in shaping the future of FCB ) Ajax of 70s. I think Barca was never an indomitable force at any point when compared to the likes of the above mentioned clubs. It's only because of the current crop of players, will they go down into the history books as one of the greatest clubs ever.
Where do you put Man U by the way. They have also been served by greats like Bobby Charlton, George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona etc and have a wonderful legacy.

The best young players would want to play for the most successful clubs (for example look at how Neymar wants to move to Real/Barca only while these clubs do not need him necessarily).

There was a talk that even Falcao had expressed his interest in moving over to Bernabeu.

Only Barca has done that (and that is because Spain right now is brimming with hell lot of talent and also they can buy whatever young player they want).

Its a viscious cycle and very difficult to move out.

Fact of the matter is - money speaks now.

High time the administrators of the game stepped in and neutralized the financial clout of the big guns to create a more level playing field. Else this cycle will reduce the club football to only a handful of teams who would share the honors among themselves on the big stage.

Coming to this year's CL, Malaga has been the surprise package, Didn't expect them to sit at the top of the table after 5 games and City's ouster in such a manner was also a bit of a surprise. Expected to see more fight from them.

[joslicx]

Spoiler alert Arsenal fans!!!

Wenger wants to make Wilshere your captain!!

Time to start writing those "Good Bye Wilshere, we'll miss you" placards

[champ27]

So Man City went out of Champions league without a fight. Probably the first instance of a league winner going out in the first round of CL. They never really looked the part except for a brief period in the first leg match against RM.

Maybe now they can focus more on defending their title in England. Upcoming Manchester Derby will be an interesting fight considering the last few encounters between these teams.

[Rohit Manohar]

Hopefully there are many MANUTD supporters here in TBHP.. The latest CL draws are out, The Red Devils playing The Galacticos. First leg to happen in the month of Feb, looking forward to watch Christiano Ronaldo play against mufc for the first time since he left them.

[vb-saan]

Sir Alex Ferguson retiring at the end of the season. Not a fan of Fergie or Man United, but it is indeed end of an era. One of the greatest manager of English football leaving the game at his own terms. True legend!

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Sir Alex Ferguson retiring at the end of the season. Not a fan of Fergie or Man United, but it is indeed end of an era. One of the greatest manager of English football leaving the game at his own terms. True legend!

Just looking at the kind of reaction to his retirement announcement gives a perspective to what a titan of world football he is! Practically anybody having any name in the game and even outside (Nadal, McIlroy, ministers etc to name a few) have not spared any words to comment on his retirement. That is RESPECT! I cant think of any person in the world (except perhaps Steve Jobs) who could have elicited similar reaction (I mean if he were alive and had taken voluntary retirement.)

Manchester United will not be the same again!

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Just looking at the kind of reaction to his retirement announcement gives a perspective to what a titan of world football he is! Practically anybody having any name in the game and even outside (Nadal, McIlroy, ministers etc to name a few) have not spared any words to comment on his retirement. That is RESPECT! I cant think of any person in the world (except perhaps Steve Jobs) who could have elicited similar reaction (I mean if he were alive and had taken voluntary retirement.)

Manchester United will not be the same again!

Not a fan at all of SAF. Thankfully he has gone out and ManU will never be the same again!

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Manchester United will not be the same again!

Indeed! Atleast for a couple of years that buzz will be missing.
Interested to see how Moyes' Man U will evolve, and also the future of his friend Rooney.

I can't believe (being a Liverpool supporter) that I am talking about missing Fergie in the English game next year

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Not a fan at all of SAF. Thankfully he has gone out and ManU will never be the same again!

Actually I hope Arsenal also get a change at the helm. Otherwise Arsenal will remain the same in the coming season as well

[Sprucegoose]

Arsenal need to make Wenger the director of sport and bring in a new manager like Laudrup who like to play football rather than punt the ball up and hope for the best

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Actually I hope Arsenal also get a change at the helm. Otherwise Arsenal will remain the same in the coming season as well

Originally Posted by Sprucegoose

Arsenal need to make Wenger the director of sport and bring in a new manager like Laudrup who like to play football rather than punt the ball up and hope for the best

Arsenal need better players, not a new manager. Wenger is as good as you can get. And replacing Wenger by Laudrup! That would be madness.

Arsenal need a world class goalkeeper, two defenders and a pair of world class forwards at the least! Thats what is lacking.

As for liverpool, they are where they belong. Long it may continue

[absynthguzzler]

SAF had in all his teams , no matter who played , even if it consisted of 11 reserve players always ensured that the pace of team's play never changed depending on the score. Any slackness in play until the very last minute resulted in the "hair dryer" treatment.

There is no other manager in almost all European leagues that managed this trait.The following lines were common with all the other good coaches, but never with SAF

" The team played out the game"
"The team had their handbrakes on in lieu of the next crucial match"
"I felt my team was technically good , but lacked character"

38 trophies in 26 years. Exceptional indeed.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Arsenal need better players, not a new manager. Wenger is as good as you can get. And replacing Wenger by Laudrup! That would be madness.

Arsenal need a world class goalkeeper, two defenders and a pair of world class forwards at the least! Thats what is lacking.

As for liverpool, they are where they belong. Long it may continue

Wenger was good, but now he just look like someone who just whines at every possible instance. I really feel that he either need a new challenge, or probably think of retirement.

And Arsenal fans maybe really wishing that they don’t get any new world class players in the rolls – because they will get sold to rival clubs sooner or later.

As a Liverpool supporter, it is quite heartening to see one Mr. Torres struggling in the Chelsea shirt. But on the other side it will be damn frustrating for an Arsenal fan to see RVP shining in Man U shirt, and lifting the premier league trophy

Liverpool is doing no good now, but they are still better as far as trophies are concerned, be it the Champions League, FA cup, League cup etc. When was the last time Arsenal managed a trophy?

[absynthguzzler]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Arsenal need better players, not a new manager. Wenger is as good as you can get. And replacing Wenger by Laudrup! That would be madness.

Arsenal need a world class goalkeeper, two defenders and a pair of world class forwards at the least! Thats what is lacking.

As for liverpool, they are where they belong. Long it may continue

We had all of them, but AW couldnt hold onto them . What was lacking is not salary or medals tally , but his inability to imbibe Loyalty. Yes, there was this stat that showed 56 medals were won by ex-Arsenal players since 2005, but its a failure by AW to not have them commit to the club's cause even after 5 yrs or more in converting them to superstars.

Henry, Viera, Cole, Toure, Flamini,Gilberto,Pires - These guys were proper World class and pure Arsenal within.whilst the fans use money as a hate motive, It baffles me why they left, These players should have played out their careers here. The rest who left were never 100% true Arsenal faithfuls and we made a good chunk of profit from them too.

Transistion - this failed at Arsenal since 2005 , lets see how United cope.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Wenger was good, but now he just look like someone who just whines at every possible instance. I really feel that he either need a new challenge, or probably think of retirement.

And Arsenal fans maybe really wishing that they don’t get any new world class players in the rolls – because they will get sold to rival clubs sooner or later.

As a Liverpool supporter, it is quite heartening to see one Mr. Torres struggling in the Chelsea shirt. But on the other side it will be damn frustrating for an Arsenal fan to see RVP shining in Man U shirt, and lifting the premier league trophy

Liverpool is doing no good now, but they are still better as far as trophies are concerned, be it the Champions League, FA cup, League cup etc. When was the last time Arsenal managed a trophy?

Oh I am a Manchester Untied red and a proud one that Always was and always will be. And I write nice things about l'Arse as they are no longer a rival

My association with united is now 11 years old. It all started when I moved to Netherlands (at the height of world cup fever which unfortunately they had missed qualification despite being a top team). I became a fan of one Ruud van and started following United as he was a red at that time. Have been left hooked to united since. I also follow PSV Eindhoven sometimes as I lived barely 200m from the PSV stadium

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by joslicx

My association with united is now 11 years old. It all started when I moved to Netherlands (at the height of world cup fever which unfortunately they had missed qualification despite being a top team). I became a fan of one Ruud van and started following United as he was a red at that time. Have been left hooked to united since. I also follow PSV Eindhoven sometimes as I lived barely 200m from the PSV stadium

Started closely following the game at the same time. I was on an assignment in Bangkok and these clubs are extremely popular there, especially Liverpool and Man United