Jourdan Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 None of the English sides will be quaking in their boots and I think three from our four sides will comfortably advance. United look like the only team in danger to me, because they are the biggest club in England and remain a big scalp for anyone. Everyone wants a win over United, especially so against Mourinho's United. All of their opponents will be hugely motivated. Going to the Mestalla will be tough and it's not hard to imagine them being caught cold at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture, especially this current version of United. Young Boys - an easy six points on paper but in practice, I think they will actually be the two most difficult games - avoiding complacency and finding motivation the big issues. Juventus will be too professional, too experienced and too streetwise to get sucked in by the Ronaldo/Pogba sideshow, and will surely top the group. Spurs will relish their group. Some great trips and some great occasions. PSV and Inter are dangerous but beatable, so finishing second should be more than achievable. Inter have a lot of good individuals and they can put out a very strong eleven on paper, but I don't think they are a serious threat yet. They need a year to blossom. The blend and the balance of the team is not right. I would expect a settled Spurs side to have too much for what is very much a new look Inter side with many new parts and new ideas being moulded together. Liverpool should advance too. The PSG games will be decisive as to whether that's first or second. Napoli are fantastic but they are a touch unreliable. Such mixed performances in Europe, especially lately. They could easily beat Liverpool and PSG at the San Paolo and then lose both games to Red Star Belgrade. Or the opposite. All in all, a great draw for Liverpool fans. Naples and Belgrade are two very interesting cities to visit, and the atmosphere at the games will be red hot. Man City will advance easily. They should win all three home games and then they only need to win one from three away from home. Tricky but manageable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millenniumram Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Andicis said: Spurs will get out that group in first place. Was somewhat tongue in cheek, it’s a tough group on paper but I’d bank on them making it through certainly, though first may just prove a step too far. They’ve got a fantastic side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jourdan Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 49 minutes ago, McLovin said: Madrid and Dortmund were in terrible form when they played spurs and fair play to spurs they capitalised on that. The season before Spurs flopped in the group stage. Inter could go far. They have a world class defence and keeper and have the quality of Icardi and Perisic up front. Inter are not ready. You're right in saying they do have quality in their ranks - Skriniar, Brozovic, Perisic, Icardi is a strong spine - and they've brought in some really good players over the summer to add to that. In Italy, many consider them to be the 'anti-Juve' and Juve's biggest threat this season, so I can see where you're coming from. On paper, it's a sound argument. They have quality individuals, no doubt about that, but it's not yet a team. In flashes, we've seen it, but not consistently. Hence why they had to scrape past Lazio to qualify for this year's CL in the first place. Expecting them to produce consistently enough to get out of a group containing Barcelona and Spurs is a bit much. It will take them time to gel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexydadbod Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 54 minutes ago, Andicis said: I'm not sure that they're overrated, I think they're underrated, considering over the last 3 years they have either the most, or the second most points in England after City. Tell me which of those chances De Gea could have saved? They have Kane and Eriksen who are undeniably world class, supported by the now fit and firing Lucas Moura and Alli. Also probably the best centre back pairing in the world in Vertonghen and Alderweireld, and a wonderful RWB in Trippier. Obviously only time will tell, but I didn't rate Suarez's performances at the World Cup at all. Coutinho was excellent, and Messi is always excellent, but I don't see Barca's defense causing Spurs many problems. If Inter are so good, why have they started so poorly in a weak league? Is this you overrating Inter, as you claim Spurs are overrated. Serie A isn’t a poor league, it’s a lot better than it was. 2 games isn’t fair to judge a team, just like anyone who criticised Lampard and Derby after two games was criticised on this forum. If Inter are in the same position after 10-15 games then that would be fair, but two games? Come on mate that’s not a fair sample size at all. Despite everyone claiming how great they are, Spurs still haven’t won anything and it’s in their DNA to fail in Chiellini’s words. Alderweireld is a good defender but maybe you’re overrating him if Spurs want to sell him? Varane and Ramos and Giminez and Godin still edged we are talking the best of the best. World Cup alone isn’t fair to base a player. Suarez still scored over 30 goals last season and is a great player still. Pochettino is also a Espanyol man, city rivals to Barcelona. Throughout his whole career he has lost to Barcelona, even battered on occasions. This can go one of two ways, maybe he can be extra motivated to beat Barcelona because of his hatred of them but on the other hand, maybe his passion and emotion may affect his decision making within a game environment? Barcelona have nothing to fear in Spurs. Sure they can be competitive on their day but 9 times out of 10 Barca beat Spurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andicis Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, McLovin said: Serie A isn’t a poor league, it’s a lot better than it was. 2 games isn’t fair to judge a team, just like anyone who criticised Lampard and Derby after two games was criticised on this forum. If Inter are in the same position after 10-15 games then that would be fair, but two games? Come on mate that’s not a fair sample size at all. Despite everyone claiming how great they are, Spurs still haven’t won anything and it’s in their DNA to fail in Chiellini’s words. Alderweireld is a good defender but maybe you’re overrating him if Spurs want to sell him? Varane and Ramos and Giminez and Godin still edged we are talking the best of the best. World Cup alone isn’t fair to base a player. Suarez still scored over 30 goals last season and is a great player still. Pochettino is also a Espanyol man, city rivals to Barcelona. Throughout his whole career he has lost to Barcelona, even battered on occasions. This can go one of two ways, maybe he can be extra motivated to beat Barcelona because of his hatred of them but on the other hand, maybe his passion and emotion may affect his decision making within a game environment? Barcelona have nothing to fear in Spurs. Sure they can be competitive on their day but 9 times out of 10 Barca beat Spurs. Serie A is a poor league. Behind Juventus, what teams there would break top 6 in the Premier League? Napoli potentially, the rest I'm not convinced by. 2 games isn't a fair sample size no, but it's still a poor start to the season. I think Inter are extremely overrated, Serie A teams in general are. DNA to fail? Tell me what exactly they lost which can be considered failing. Juve are even bigger bottlers than Spurs when facing real opposition which they don't face in Italy, so not sure Chiellini should be talking. Spurs want to sell because he won't sign a new contract, you know that, let's not play dumb here. World Cup alone isn't, but Suarez is meant to be elite. Cavani looked pretty good. I think it'll just motivate Pochettino to get one over them. Barcelona have nothing to fear in Spurs? What? If Spurs show up on top form, Barcelona have a LOT to fear from Spurs. Pique is past it, Umtiti is shaky, Kane will bully them. I make it a pretty evenly matched game. Barca will dominate the midfield battle, Spurs will have a better defense and more cutting edge. Could go either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexydadbod Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 7 minutes ago, Jourdan said: Inter are not ready. You're right in saying they do have quality in their ranks - Skriniar, Brozovic, Perisic, Icardi is a strong spine - and they've brought in some really good players over the summer to add to that. In Italy, many consider them to be the 'anti-Juve' and Juve's biggest threat this season, so I can see where you're coming from. On paper, it's a sound argument. They have quality individuals, no doubt about that, but it's not yet a team. In flashes, we've seen it, but not consistently. Hence why they had to scrape past Lazio to qualify for this year's CL in the first place. Expecting them to produce consistently enough to get out of a group containing Barcelona and Spurs is a bit much. It will take them time to gel. Spaletti will get them playing good stuff in time, he did so with Roma and laid the foundations down for Di Francesco. The champions league group stages doesn’t end till December. Not beyond it for them to be producing by then. Spurs were good last year in the group stages but were equally poor the year before. Which one is the real Spurs? You’re right that it will take time but the champions league is a different ball game. Inter are inconsistent in the league but over 6 games in the group they will be competitive. Like Liverpool of last season, inconsistent in the league but the less game format of the champions league helped them. It’s silly righting Inter at this stage in my opinion when they have brilliant defenders, a top keeper, a solid midfield with the likes of Perisic, Brovozic and Nainggolan and a difference maker up front in Icardi. Barca and Spurs will probably go through but I don’t think Inter should be written off yet. It was spent to be a season too soon for Roma last season too but they made it to the semis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie20 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Who did Forest get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexydadbod Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 2 minutes ago, Andicis said: Serie A is a poor league. Behind Juventus, what teams there would break top 6 in the Premier League? Napoli potentially, the rest I'm not convinced by. 2 games isn't a fair sample size no, but it's still a poor start to the season. I think Inter are extremely overrated, Serie A teams in general are. DNA to fail? Tell me what exactly they lost which can be considered failing. Juve are even bigger bottlers than Spurs when facing real opposition which they don't face in Italy, so not sure Chiellini should be talking. Spurs want to sell because he won't sign a new contract, you know that, let's not play dumb here. World Cup alone isn't, but Suarez is meant to be elite. Cavani looked pretty good. I think it'll just motivate Pochettino to get one over them. Barcelona have nothing to fear in Spurs? What? If Spurs show up on top form, Barcelona have a LOT to fear from Spurs. Pique is past it, Umtiti is shaky, Kane will bully them. I make it a pretty evenly matched game. Barca will dominate the midfield battle, Spurs will have a better defense and more cutting edge. Could go either way. Napoli, Roma, Inter arent any worse than Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal. All you’re going on is a hypothetical scenario . None of us know whether they’d break into the top 6 or not. By the same measure the premier league is a poor league then the way Man City comfortably won the league last season. You may say what have they lost but what about what they have won? At least Juventus win trophies unlike Spurs. Spurs’ main players failed to turn up in big Fa cup games , big European games and big premier league games over the years. Spurs are great when the pressure is off but I wouldn’t put my mortgage on them when it matters, they are like the Arsenal of old in that respect. Pique and Umtiti are rubbish yet they are multiple trophy winners in contrast to Spurs who have won the grand total of 0 trophies! Alderweireld and Vertonghen are good but not elite, otherwise top clubs would have bought them by now. The top clubs don’t want to buy Alderweireld because of his shaky spell when he was at Atletico Madrid and Vertonghen is mistake prone. You’re vastly overrating Spurs in my opinion. Barca are miles better than Spurs. If Spurs get lucky and catch Barca on a bad day if they’re in retched form like they did when they played Dortmund and Madrid they may fluke a victory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 12 minutes ago, Wolfie20 said: Who did Forest get? They won it already. Got 8 stars now you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andicis Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, McLovin said: Napoli, Roma, Inter arent any worse than Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal. All you’re going on is a hypothetical scenario . None of us know whether they’d break into the top 6 or not. By the same measure the premier league is a poor league then the way Man City comfortably won the league last season. You may say what have they lost but what about what they have won? At least Juventus win trophies unlike Spurs. Spurs’ main players failed to turn up in big Fa cup games , big European games and big premier league games over the years. Spurs are great when the pressure is off but I wouldn’t put my mortgage on them when it matters, they are like the Arsenal of old in that respect. Pique and Umtiti are rubbish yet they are multiple trophy winners in contrast to Spurs who have won the grand total of 0 trophies! Alderweireld and Vertonghen are good but not elite, otherwise top clubs would have bought them by now. The top clubs don’t want to buy Alderweireld because of his shaky spell when he was at Atletico Madrid and Vertonghen is mistake prone. You’re vastly overrating Spurs in my opinion. Barca are miles better than Spurs. If Spurs get lucky and catch Barca on a bad day if they’re in retched form like they did when they played Dortmund and Madrid they may fluke a victory. Juventus won trophies in a joke league, yes. Spurs are playing in the toughest league in the world. Juve has choked more finals in recent history than anybody, they're not good with pressure on either. What about Barca, didn't they choke vs Roma? Shouldn't they have comfortably won that, why didn't they? I thought they always show up when the pressure is on, and are multiple trophy winners, so what's the excuse? Spurs are a top club. And Levy won't sell for close to what the other teams could pay. We will see won't we, I'm more than confident in Spurs winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewsFromTheMiddle Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexydadbod Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 13 minutes ago, Andicis said: Juventus won trophies in a joke league, yes. Spurs are playing in the toughest league in the world. Juve has choked more finals in recent history than anybody, they're not good with pressure on either. What about Barca, didn't they choke vs Roma? Shouldn't they have comfortably won that, why didn't they? I thought they always show up when the pressure is on, and are multiple trophy winners, so what's the excuse? Spurs are a top club. And Levy won't sell for close to what the other teams could pay. We will see won't we, I'm more than confident in Spurs winning. At least Juve make it to the finals in the first place unlike Spurs whose whole season is about beating Arsena. Spurs aren’t a top club, they think they are but they’re not. Bale and Modric used and abused them and said goodbye when the right opportunity arose. What top club goes ten years without winning a single trophy? They must be the only ‘top club’ to be happy not winning anything. Arsenal are always criticised for not winning trophies yet they have more than Spurs. The difference between Barcelona and Spurs is probably the same between Derby and Burton. The difference between both clubs is that big. Teams like Barcelona are the pincale of football. You go to Spurs meanwhile, to win absolutely nothing and use them as a stepping stone. Spurs will always be the bridesmaids and never the bride. They’ve been the same since the premier league began and will continue to be the same in the future. The only signing they have made in the last year is a player who wasn’t good enough for the PSG bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zag zig Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 2 hours ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said: Some very tasty games to look forward to. Man City will be delighted with their group. Liverpool, Man U and Spurs have their work cut out. You’re not wrong on both counts. For me Man City definitely got one of the easier groups, in truth with the exception of Group G, I’d say it’s real hard to nail 2 teams in most of those groups. UEFA have got a well balanced group stage for the first time in what seems ever in the C.L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jourdan Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 2 hours ago, McLovin said: Spaletti will get them playing good stuff in time, he did so with Roma and laid the foundations down for Di Francesco. The champions league group stages doesn’t end till December. Not beyond it for them to be producing by then. Spurs were good last year in the group stages but were equally poor the year before. Which one is the real Spurs? You’re right that it will take time but the champions league is a different ball game. Inter are inconsistent in the league but over 6 games in the group they will be competitive. Like Liverpool of last season, inconsistent in the league but the less game format of the champions league helped them. It’s silly righting Inter at this stage in my opinion when they have brilliant defenders, a top keeper, a solid midfield with the likes of Perisic, Brovozic and Nainggolan and a difference maker up front in Icardi. Barca and Spurs will probably go through but I don’t think Inter should be written off yet. It was spent to be a season too soon for Roma last season too but they made it to the semis. Your two examples are odd. Roma and Liverpool were able to prosper in the Champions League but were able to do so from much more stable foundations. Roma haven’t been poorly run, out of the CL picture for more than 5 years, and in a constant state of flux. Inter have. Liverpool have a well balanced and tight knit team working to a clear philosophy. Inter are still establishing that. Spalletti is an excellent coach but he needs time to stabilise Inter before they can become a real force, especially in Europe. OK, they have six one off games that they can treat like cup finals and play above themselves, so you’re right that they can’t be ruled out entirely. I certainly don’t think they’ll go out with a whimper. But I’d be very surprised if it’s not a Barcelona-Spurs 1-2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bris Vegas Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 I think Man Utd could be in trouble. Valencia are better than Sevilla right now, and they have the technical ability to punish United’s poor defence. I expect Barca and Spurs to go through. Inter will be tough, but I’m not sure they’re back at that elite level yet. City will breeze through, while Liverpool have a brilliant group. PSG and Napoli are mouthwatering propositions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuespachRam Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 18 hours ago, Andicis said: Juventus won trophies in a joke league, yes. Spurs are playing in the toughest league in the world. Juve has choked more finals in recent history than anybody, they're not good with pressure on either. What about Barca, didn't they choke vs Roma? Shouldn't they have comfortably won that, why didn't they? I thought they always show up when the pressure is on, and are multiple trophy winners, so what's the excuse? Spurs are a top club. And Levy won't sell for close to what the other teams could pay. We will see won't we, I'm more than confident in Spurs winning. Spurs playing in “the toughest league in the world” give me strength it’s not even the toughest league in the country..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andicis Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Just now, MuespachRam said: Spurs playing in “the toughest league in the world” give me strength it’s not even the toughest league in the country..! Since I know I'll never persuade you here, I'll have to respectfully disagree, Championship isn't tougher than the Premier League, it's just more competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 14 minutes ago, MuespachRam said: Spurs playing in “the toughest league in the world” give me strength it’s not even the toughest league in the country..! Just out of interest can we get you to rank the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A in order of thoughest as you don't appear to rate any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuespachRam Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 1 hour ago, David said: Just out of interest can we get you to rank the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A in order of thoughest as you don't appear to rate any. Toughest... Championship, Bundesliga, Serie A, Premiership, La Liga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 1 minute ago, MuespachRam said: Bundesliga, Serie A, Premiership, La Liga Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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