UEFA Champions League 2013-2014

[PeteEU]

La Liga lack the depth the EPL has this year.

Still dont change the fact that my team has not lost yet in any competition and they are considered by British pundits as in "crisis".. where as Madrid is considered the opposite hehe.. Oh well still a long season ahead.

 

[Andalublue]

Still dont change the fact that my team has not lost yet in any competition and they are considered by British pundits as in "crisis".. where as Madrid is considered the opposite hehe.. Oh well still a long season ahead.

'Your' team is FCB. Have you ever heard of the concept of 'glory hunter'? It's usually applied to kids in all sorts of places that become fans of the most successful, most glamorous football clubs, even when they have no connection whatsoever to the cities those clubs represent. There's a whole generation of kids in London, Singapore, Shanghai and Dublin who call themselves die-hard Manchester United fans but wouldn't even know where Altrincham is. So Pete, what is your connection to Barcelona?

 

[PeteEU]

'Your' team is FCB. Have you ever heard of the concept of 'glory hunter'? It's usually applied to kids in all sorts of places that become fans of the most successful, most glamorous football clubs, even when they have no connection whatsoever to the cities those clubs represent. There's a whole generation of kids in London, Singapore, Shanghai and Dublin who call themselves die-hard Manchester United fans but wouldn't even know where Altrincham is. So Pete, what is your connection to Barcelona?

Ah come on.... FCB has been my team since I was 9. I have stuck with them in good and very bad times..And I find it rather insulting that you think that people only should be "fans" of their local team and none others. If that was true, then I should either be a die hard fan of a 10+th divison team in Denmark made up of local middle age guys with beer bellies or a professional Saudi team in Jeddah.

Not all of us grow up in areas with big national or international known teams.. or even local teams that matter a damn. Hence we choose what team to support, and often choose to support teams in each country. Now if I should be totally honest the first team I ever watched play on TV was Liverpool, and I still support the club to this day. Liverpool is my "English" club, just as Juventus is my "Italian" club and Dortmund is my "German" club. Now these and even Barcelona are based on my childhood heroes and where they played.. Liverpool it was Jan Molby, Juve it was Michael Laudrup, and Dortmund it was Flemming Povlsen. And my love of Barcelona started in large part due to the stories of Alan Simonsen, one of the greatest players ever to play for Barca.. even by today's standards.

So you might think I am a "glory hunter" but in reality I am a football fan without a "home" team due to growing up abroad and living in remote areas long from even mid league teams.

And now back to my Football Manager 14 game, while watching Spurs on ITV 4.. and yes I also watched Swansea... and I will most likely watch ITV this Sunday when two lower league British teams I have never heard off will play live on TV.

 

[Higgins86]

Ah come on.... FCB has been my team since I was 9. I have stuck with them in good and very bad times..And I find it rather insulting that you think that people only should be "fans" of their local team and none others. If that was true, then I should either be a die hard fan of a 10+th divison team in Denmark made up of local middle age guys with beer bellies or a professional Saudi team in Jeddah.

Not all of us grow up in areas with big national or international known teams.. or even local teams that matter a damn. Hence we choose what team to support, and often choose to support teams in each country. Now if I should be totally honest the first team I ever watched play on TV was Liverpool, and I still support the club to this day. Liverpool is my "English" club, just as Juventus is my "Italian" club and Dortmund is my "German" club. Now these and even Barcelona are based on my childhood heroes and where they played.. Liverpool it was Jan Molby, Juve it was Michael Laudrup, and Dortmund it was Flemming Povlsen. And my love of Barcelona started in large part due to the stories of Alan Simonsen, one of the greatest players ever to play for Barca.. even by today's standards.

So you might think I am a "glory hunter" but in reality I am a football fan without a "home" team due to growing up abroad and living in remote areas long from even mid league teams.

And now back to my Football Manager 14 game, while watching Spurs on ITV 4.. and yes I also watched Swansea... and I will most likely watch ITV this Sunday when two lower league British teams I have never heard off will play live on TV.

IS FM14 worth getting?

 

[PeteEU]

IS FM14 worth getting?

YES!.. normally I would say wait a year, but this time around they have actually made some critical changes to the game from last years version. One of the perks is that you actually get 3 games... one for Windows, one for Mac and even one for Linux.. so nice if you have multiple computers. Also there is now an ability to save to the cloud, so you can play a game over multiple computers.

 

[Andalublue]

Oh Boy!

Bayern 2, City 3. What a great result! Bayern are the reigning champions and, by all accounts, the best club side in the world. And City beat them, and beat them well, in their own stadium, for the first time in over a year, with a second string.

No Kompany, no Clichy, no Agüero, no Yaya. Milner outstanding. Silva magisterial. Hart totally on-form. Bring it on! City to win the CL this season. No problem!

 

[PeteEU]

Oh Boy!

Bayern 2, City 3. What a great result! Bayern are the reigning champions and, by all accounts, the best club side in the world. And City beat them, and beat them well, in their own stadium, for the first time in over a year, with a second string.

No Kompany, no Clichy, no Agüero, no Yaya. Milner outstanding. Silva magisterial. Hart totally on-form. Bring it on! City to win the CL this season. No problem!

Yea well played, although Dante had a horrible evening. Plus the funny part was Pellegrini not know the CL rules haha.

 

[PeteEU]

ARGH not Man City vs Barcelona..

Some massive games already. The list is...Bold is predicted winner

Man City v Barcelona (have to, although it will not be easy)
Olympiacos V Man U (Even a wounded Man U is too much for Olympiacos)
Milan v Atletico (Atletico are very strong. Only experience of this competition can save Milan)
Leverkusen v PSG (Leverkusen might surprise but doubt it.)
Galatasaray v Chealski (Chealski are too strong imo)
Schalke v Real Madrid (Real M is a no brainer)
Zenit v Dortmund (Dortmund is way too strong for Zenit. Only issue if they sell Lewendoski in January)
Arsenal v Bayern Munchen (Bayern have to be favourites regardless of Arsenal form)

 

[Higgins86]

ARGH not Man City vs Barcelona..

Some massive games already. The list is...Bold is predicted winner

Man City v Barcelona (have to, although it will not be easy)
Olympiacos V Man U (Even a wounded Man U is too much for Olympiacos)
Milan v Atletico (Atletico are very strong. Only experience of this competition can save Milan)
Leverkusen v PSG (Leverkusen might surprise but doubt it.)
Galatasaray v Chealski (Chealski are too strong imo)
Schalke v Real Madrid (Real M is a no brainer)
Zenit v Dortmund (Dortmund is way too strong for Zenit. Only issue if they sell Lewendoski in January)
Arsenal v Bayern Munchen (Bayern have to be favourites regardless of Arsenal form)

Barca vs City and Arsenal vs Munich stand out for me!

 

[PeteEU]

Barca vs City and Arsenal vs Munich stand out for me!

I see you polished your glasses then! :mrgreen: Gonna be fun!

 

[Andalublue]

ARGH not Man City vs Barcelona..

Some massive games already. The list is...Bold is predicted winner

Man City v Barcelona (have to, although it will not be easy)
Olympiacos V Man U (Even a wounded Man U is too much for Olympiacos)
Milan v Atletico (Atletico are very strong. Only experience of this competition can save Milan)
Leverkusen v PSG (Leverkusen might surprise but doubt it.)
Galatasaray v Chealski (Chealski are too strong imo)
Schalke v Real Madrid (Real M is a no brainer)
Zenit v Dortmund (Dortmund is way too strong for Zenit. Only issue if they sell Lewendoski in January)
Arsenal v Bayern Munchen (Bayern have to be favourites regardless of Arsenal form)

Of all the biggest names in the group winners' pot, I'm happy that we got Barca. I really think we can beat Barcelona at the moment. I'd have been much less confident to have drawn Real, Atletico, or PSG. Dortmund might have been slightly easier, but nowhere near as exciting a prospect as sticking six past them at the Etihad, and then silencing the Camp Nou with a 2-2 draw. Ha! Bring it on.

Man U and Chelsea, as with the group draw, once again, get easy match-ups. I expect Atletico, PSG, Real, Dortmund to go through. I think Arsenal vs. Bayern will be very close. It will depend upon factors that won't become clear until closer to the fixture.

 

[Higgins86]

Of all the biggest names in the group winners' pot, I'm happy that we got Barca. I really think we can beat Barcelona at the moment. I'd have been much less confident to have drawn Real, Atletico, or PSG. Dortmund might have been slightly easier, but nowhere near as exciting a prospect as sticking six past them at the Etihad, and then silencing the Camp Nou with a 2-2 draw. Ha! Bring it on.

Man U and Chelsea, as with the group draw, once again, get easy match-ups. I expect Atletico, PSG, Real, Dortmund to go through. I think Arsenal vs. Bayern will be very close. It will depend upon factors that won't become clear until closer to the fixture.

If City want to let everyone know that they have finally arrived then this is their chance. City is pretty physical at the back so Neymar shouldn't be a problem for them, England showed twice how you play against him and that stick a man on him and push him around all game. Up top obviously Messi being fit is huge however City have no problems scoring goals they want too.

 

[PeteEU]

Of all the biggest names in the group winners' pot, I'm happy that we got Barca. I really think we can beat Barcelona at the moment. I'd have been much less confident to have drawn Real, Atletico, or PSG. Dortmund might have been slightly easier, but nowhere near as exciting a prospect as sticking six past them at the Etihad, and then silencing the Camp Nou with a 2-2 draw. Ha! Bring it on.

Man U and Chelsea, as with the group draw, once again, get easy match-ups. I expect Atletico, PSG, Real, Dortmund to go through. I think Arsenal vs. Bayern will be very close. It will depend upon factors that won't become clear until closer to the fixture.

We shall see.. still 2 months to go.. injuries, bad form and so on... plus lets not forget, City will be playing far more games than Barca increasing the risk of injuries.

Oh and about Dortmund.. atm not going too well in the Bundesliga.

 

[PeteEU]

If City want to let everyone know that they have finally arrived then this is their chance. City is pretty physical at the back so Neymar shouldn't be a problem for them, England showed twice how you play against him and that stick a man on him and push him around all game. Up top obviously Messi being fit is huge however City have no problems scoring goals they want too.

If City are physical, then it will depend on what ref the game gets... city could be down to 9 men pretty quickly if they get too physical.

Plus one thing City's defence is not known for.. speed, which is what Neymar and co are known for.

We shall see but there is no doubt that the first game is key. Can Barca score and only loose by 1 or 2... then City are out. No way will they win in Barca with the away form they have at the moment. Of course it is in 2 months and lots of stuff can happen in 2 months, including new buys in January.

 

[Higgins86]

If City are physical, then it will depend on what ref the game gets... city could be down to 9 men pretty quickly if they get too physical.

Plus one thing City's defence is not known for.. speed, which is what Neymar and co are known for.

We shall see but there is no doubt that the first game is key. Can Barca score and only loose by 1 or 2... then City are out. No way will they win in Barca with the away form they have at the moment. Of course it is in 2 months and lots of stuff can happen in 2 months, including new buys in January.

Its going to be a great couple of games, got to say though I think Zenit v Dortmund could end up being a huge upset. I fancy Zenit to pull off a shock win.

 

[PeteEU]

Its going to be a great couple of games, got to say though I think Zenit v Dortmund could end up being a huge upset. I fancy Zenit to pull off a shock win.

Yes and no. Dortmund has 2 months to get the ship up and running again. They play games. Zenit play no games at all as they are in the off season period. That is a problem in my opinion.

 

[Andalublue]

If City are physical, then it will depend on what ref the game gets... city could be down to 9 men pretty quickly if they get too physical.

City haven't had a single player sent off so far this season. Physical = dirty or illegal? Don't think so.

Plus one thing City's defence is not known for.. speed, which is what Neymar and co are known for.

True, although Kompany and Zabaleta proved that not to be the case against Arsenal.

We shall see but there is no doubt that the first game is key. Can Barca score and only loose by 1 or 2... then City are out. No way will they win in Barca with the away form they have at the moment. Of course it is in 2 months and lots of stuff can happen in 2 months, including new buys in January.

Current away form is great; haven't lost in 4 and our last away victory was against Bayern, who are clearly currently the best side in Europe. No need to buy in Jan, did you mean that Barca may strengthen their squad? City won't be doing so.

 

[PeteEU]

City haven't had a single player sent off so far this season. Physical = dirty or illegal? Don't think so.

Well Neymar is a tricky SOB.. so Become too physical with him and well.. Yes they fall easy, but that is part of the game.... it is not a contact sport per say.

True, although Kompany and Zabaleta proved that not to be the case against Arsenal.

Pray that Kompany stays fit... and as for Zabaleta, he is a fullback so he should have some sort of speed no?

When is that young defender expected back?

Current away form is great; haven't lost in 4 and our last away victory was against Bayern, who are clearly currently the best side in Europe.

Current yes, overall no.

No need to buy in Jan, did you mean that Barca may strengthen their squad? City won't be doing so.

I would not be surprised if City and Barca both bought a defender in January.