Malaga beeling ... http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/malaga-blast-scots-referee-craig-1822303
Alan Brazil on talksport this morning told Malaga to stop moaning about Scottish referees , Celtic have to put up with them every week!!
Just relieved Barca got through but a far from convincing display tonight and in fact that's been happening too often now for my liking! Got to hand it to PSG though - they certainly pushed them. A bit disappointing that the likes of Francesc Fà bregas Soler can't fill in for Lionel Andrés Messi - guess that's what playing in the EPL does to players ...
Yea - an unbelievable genius of a player and a privilege (for me at least) to be able to watch him. A bit worrying that without him Barca are looking like they will struggle though. Both Real and Bayern looking strong.
I was gutted for PSG last night .. wanted them to go through. Hoping for a Bayern/Real final... Bayern to win.
True ... Their style of football was amazing to watch but now, it's pretty boring. You want them to shoot more often but they take another ****in pass to the side or backwards! Last night showed they'd be ****ed if Messi leaves or gets a bad injury! Still some amazing talent in the team though ... Iniestas wee spin in the box !
I have my doubts as to Barca making the final this year but I'm surprised anyone would find their football boring particularly given the absolute crap watched being played week in week out by so many teams - of course maybe that explains the lack of appreciation, shown by one or two people, for good football. To me, though, it does look like a few of the Barca players have lost motivation which is hardly surprising having ruled the roost for so long. If not Barca then I hope Bayern win it ... on the other hand if Barca do win it again I'll be delighted.
I'm not saying it's not skillfull or technical but they've played the same way for years and never mix it up... Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass... SHOOOOOTTT.... NAW,another 5 passes!
Enjoyment is subjective. I try and entertain the argument that it is boring but I just can't get my head around it. The last team to show Barca less than the respect they deserved was Real Madrid in Mourinho's first Classico. They got absolutely gubbed. It takes two to tango and it just so happens that Barca's dance partners are smart enough not to try too many fancy steps. That leads to Barca trying to lure the wallflowers out to try the old two step before messi et al Lambada their way through. Btw Xavi got 96/96 passes last night. A new World record Timmy.
Exactly Reb. Barca's game is all about possession - if they have the ball the other team can't score (and boy how they can retain the ball) ... simples! Teams have caught on, or are catching on, to playing a much more defensively-minded game and hitting Barca's suspect defence on the break thus, in the main, making life much more difficult for Barca. For me, I find it fascinating to see if Barca can break down these opponents' defences or pay the price in successful counter attacks against them. I know Lionel Andrés Messi is most peoples' favourite player in the Barca team but for me it's always been Xavier Hernández i Creus - at 33 years old he's getting on in football terms, yet he's still regularly producing world class performances.
Don't really know what more I can say Pud. The defensive play of opponents is becoming more and more difficult to break down and more and more teams are employing that tactic. I am honestly astounded by your claim to find Barca's play boring but of course, that's your prerogative.
Two more EPL teams bite the dust - the Lily Whites spanked by the Knee Slappers and the Geordies by the Portugeezers. With all the money being thrown at that league, one would have thought that they might have managed to have more than one team get past the quarters in European competitions this year.
I suppose Celtic have been amongst the most successful sides in facing up against it, given the relative budgets of sides that face them. Employing two full backs in an extremely narrow area was the key. In years to come, we'll look at Adam Matthews discipline on the left hand side and give more credit to his display and Lennon's tactics than we do now. I used to listen to talk sport quite a bit but I knocked it on the head a few years back. I switched it on in the car today for some reason and I heard them cite Barca as being a one man team and that last night proved it. At the weekend, Barca were on sparking form with Fabregas nabbing a hat-trick........ Didn't matter at all. One man team.
You've obviously been following Barca games Reb and you're spot on. Every team has off-days and Barca certainly have them as well. Playing at the highest level as they have been doing for some time, however, simply makes Barca's off-days much more noteworthy. As for 'Talk Sport' - your original decision to stop listening seems like it was probably a sound one! Your comment on Celtic is also spot on. Adam James Matthews is a great young player who, if he continues in the form he has shown, is more than capable of playing at the highest level. Celtic's shrewd identification of such talent is an absolute credit to the club and long may it continue.
Germans vs Spaniards. Bayern Munich v Barcelona (Tue: 23RD APRIL 2013). Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (Wed: 24TH APRIL 2013) Couldn't have worked out better, though I think I'd have preferred Barca to meet Dortmund so that Bayern could put Real out and have a Barca v Bayern final. Should be cracking games!
