Allocated to Group E? Er, ok then... Long trip to Moscow and no massive names, but it looks like we have a decent chance of progress. I'll take that.
Group A Paris Saint Germain Arsenal Group B Benfica Napoli Dynamo Kyiv Group C Barcelona Man City Group D Bayern Atletico Madrid PSV Eindhoven Group E CSKA Moscow Bayer Leverkusen Spurs Group F Los Ladrones do Madrid Borussia Dortmund Sporting Lisbon Group G Leicester Porto Club Brugge Group H Juventus Sevilla Lyon ...and now I'm getting bundled out the door and have to go home. Charming!
Have to qualify out of this group. No offence to those sides but it'd feel like a disappointment to go out and not at least get to play a top European club, Travel's a bit of a pain but I'm glad we have avoided Rostov as they looked like a pain in the arse to play against. The Russian West Brom.
Arsenal and Leicester are the first teams to have a complete draw. Both look capable of going through. Edit: And we've got Monaco to complete ours. Makes it a little more tricky.
Are Spurs better equipped for the CL now than under Harry Redknapp? New kids on the block back then with Gareth Bale etc. I'm not so sure but I'm happy with the group.
Celtic will have mixed feelings about that group. One massive name, an English club and a short trip to Germany. It's a bloody tough one to get through, though.
If the group fixtures go as in 2010 (we get CSKA away as game 3) , we have to get stuck into the other two before then.
We cannot underestimate the importance of experience at this level of competition. I for one am relieved at the relatively easy, spotlight-free draw we've been given. I think our squad overall is in a better place now than it was under Harry, but the meltdown at the end of last season showed how potentially damaging it can be to expect young players to cope with intense pressure. Back then, we had Ledley, Gallas, Charlie, VDV, Modric, Defoe - all players with bags of experience both in and out of the CL under their belts that enabled younger players like Bale, Lennon and BAE to flourish under the spotlights of the San Siro (twice). An easy group stage allows us to ease our way into the competition. I feared that a trip to the Nou Camp, Allianz or Bernebau would've reopened the same cracks we saw last year.
That's what I mean CK,bags more experience then which tells me Spurs were better equipped. Good point about fading last season and this season 2 goals in 2 matches isn't inspiring. Yes, fairly thrashed last year and I'm wondering if the new signings are up to the mark. I posted whether in Janssen do we have another Darren Bent. For the CL I think we need another big name or two.
The final is on 3rd June. That's almost next season. All English teams should be happy with the draw, although Arsenal have a tricky 3rd rank team in Basel - and who who knows what to expect from Leicester
Like someone else said, despite being in pot 3 i'd be disappointed not to qualify from that group. I might even be a tad disappointed not to win it seeing as CSKA have longer trips away than we do. Is now waiting until this comment bites me painfully in the arse.
This draw also applies to our youth side for the corresponding competition, by the way. Could be a useful experience for the eligible kids.
