Granted SOS but Benfica also ended up tonking us by a similar score to Real. Some managerial stability might sort us out.
They only beat us 5-3 on aggregate. 1-3 and 2-2. A close two legged affair I'd say. Real beat us 5-0 on agg.
Apparently it's just a coincidence that Adebayor, Kaboul, Dembele, Chadli and Rose didn't travel with the rest of our squad to Belgrade...
I'm willing to believe that this was actually down to squad rotation, but it's something of a coincidence, isn't it? If Townsend, Naughton, Paulinho and Lennon suddenly fall ill before the game, then I'll be very suspicious.
Is that true or a joke? I know Rose hasn't travelled, but none of the others? And are Lennon/Naughton and Capoue being offered as sacrifices?
I wouldn't be surprised if the racism factor played some part in keeping them home, though I do also think it's down to rotation purposes too. We have two other strikers in need of game time as well as 57 centre midfielders, two wingers and two full backs.
Pochettino's left out a few players to rest the squad and I think it's just a coincidence that they'd probably all be targets for abuse. Rose was a part of the whole England U21 mess out there and one of our host's players was banned from international games for a year for his part in the debacle. I still can't believe that he ended up being banned himself for kicking the ball away. Absolutely ludicrous from UEFA, as usual. The Serbian FA specifically blamed him afterwards, so he'd probably be left out for that, even if he wasn't rested. Adebayor was back from Togo's ACN games on Friday, so he'll be knackered. Kaboul has hit fitness issues, so that makes sense, especially with our cover for his position. Not sure about the Belgians, though. Dembele hasn't played much in recent months and Chadli's doing well, so perhaps Pochettino doesn't want to risk them? I wouldn't either.
Why the hell has Lloris gone out there? Seems like a total waste of time. Friedel could warm the bench equally well. Can't see Paulinho in any of the training pictures, which would be a strange omission.
I thought that. Lloris has played every game this season too, I appreciate his job isn't as physically demanding as others but he could still use a break every now and then, especially when we have two other good keeper seeking some Vorm of involvement (see what I did there )
Try to feign surprise if our starting line-up looks like this: Friedel; Dier, Vertonghen, Fazio, Davies; Stambouli, Bentaleb; Ceballos, Mason, Kane; Soldado
"Try to feign surprise if our starting line-up looks like this: Friedel; Dier, Vertonghen, Fazio, Davies; Stambouli, Bentaleb; Ceballos, Mason, Kane; Soldado" That would be quite a bold starting XI IMHO. If it happens, and they get a decent result, HIAG could be opening a new 'Pochettino formations' (clinic) article for people to indulge in.
Hello you lot. I can't remember if I've ever been on this board but some of you might have seen me on the Liverpool board. You'll also notice I'm a Partizan supporter as my formerly local team. I'll probably be around during these matches because this is a good opportunity for us to get back in the consciousness of football fans in Europe for reasons other than hooliganism. It should be relatively easy for you though we have some talents coming through (you can see many of our former youth talents around Europe). Ultimately my hope is not to be embarrassed and a point would be surprising. You should walk it. Being 5/5 doesn't say anything about our strength but of the weakness of the league. And yes we took Red Scum Belgrade's spot in the CL after their debt got them slapped by FFP. We deserved that spot anyway, they used the Manchester United school of influence plus some help from government officials to take the title. Look out for Vladimir Volkov (if he's not injured), Danilo Pantic, Andrija Zivkovic, and Nikola Ninkovic (the player banned in the aftermath of the Rose incident - note that he only got reacted to Rose being disrespectful to the fans and had nothing to do with the racism). To be fair Rose had been racially taunted so I'm not blaming him for reacting like that. Ninkovic didn't know that at the time and reacted to what he saw Rose do, and not what the fans did. Stupid but an important distinction. Also hope that there is a great atmosphere at the match - anyone that had travelled will have a great time in Belgrade, just avoid wearing your tops if you win.
I wouldn't expect us to batter you, these kind of European away games are always more difficult than they look on paper. Often factors like a bad pitch(don't know what yours is like), hostile atmosphere, unfamiliar opposition, travelling and weakened line ups take their toll. 3 points and no injuries would be ideal regardless how the result comes.
Team: Lloris, Naughton, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies, Bentaleb, Stambouli, Lennon, Paulinho, Townsend, Kane.
Lloris; Naughton, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Bentaleb, Stambouli; Lennon, Paulinho, Townsend; Kane Subs: Vorm, Chiriches, Dier, Capoue, Eriksen, Lamela, Soldado
Team is: Lloris (c) Naughton Fazio Vertonghen Davies Stambouli Bentaleb Lennon Paulinho Townsend Kane Subs: Vorm, Chiriches, Dier, Capoue, Eriksen, Lamela, Soldado Surprised not to see Vorm start but I guess if we're not going to take Ade or Kaboul with us then Lloris has to start a the remaining member of the captaincy trio. Would have been nice to see Soldado getting a start too but, on the other hand, its always nice to see Kane start games and hopefully further his progression. Edit: Think about 5 of us were typing at the same time haha
A strong side full of newbies and PL non-regulars. Apart from getting the job done, they should be putting in a shift to try and be in the PL starting XI. Note to Pochettino : FFS Townsend on the LEFT and Lennon on the RIGHT !!!
Will be interesting to see Fazio and Stambouli. Looking forward to that. Rest of the team looks strong. Personally think Kane misses too many, would like Soldado given a chance - but I know that's a minority view.
