Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 Well done to Liverpool. I have to admit I doubted them and thought that they might throw away their Champions League qualification place, but I'm delighted that they proved me wrong. Surely they will not have any difficulties against the already relegated Middlesbrough next week. I've thought for a while that Coutinho is more effective in a deeper role, than as a forward, and that move by Klopp paid dividends today.
Subscriber Dan+ Posted May 14, 2017 Subscriber Posted May 14, 2017 2 hours ago, Any O'Brien said: Been looking forward to them since our win against Preston and both games have been shocking. Huddersfield love to fanny on with the ball and do fuck all with it. Wednesday are just a big dirty side. Hope winner of this goes up. Was looking forward to them and they have been, so far, absolute snooze fests.
Rick Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 Yep, or if arsenal lose vs Sunderland (lol) then a draw would be enough too.
Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 I didn't realise that Man City still have an extra game to play than Liverpool, at home to West Brom on Tuesday, before finishing at home to Watford next weekend. So you'd expect them to overtake Liverpool to finish 3rd, and qualify directly for the Champions League group stages, while Liverpool will enter the qualifying round. Man Utd will join the 4th placed team in the qualifying round if they win the Europa League final.
Dickie Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 And with that the last one out is Hull. Shame I thought they'd hold on.
LFCMadLad Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 1 minute ago, Hugh Jass said: I didn't realise that Man City City still have an extra game to play than Liverpool, at home to West Brom on Tuesday, before finishing at home to Watford next weekend. So you'd expect them to overtake Liverpool to finish 3rd, and qualify directly for the Champions League group stages, while Liverpool will enter the qualifying round where they will joined by Man Utd if they win the Europa League final. Manchester United go straight to the group stages if they win the Europa League I think? Anyway, even if we do qualify there's still a lot to do to actually get through the qualifying round due to the re-structuring of it all. We could get paired up against a very side from either Spain, Italy or Germany.
Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 9 minutes ago, LFCMadLad said: Manchester United go straight to the group stages if they win the Europa League I think? Anyway, even if we do qualify there's still a lot to do to actually get through the qualifying round due to the re-structuring of it all. We could get paired up against a very side from either Spain, Italy or Germany. I have to admit this thing always confuses me. But I think that the Europa League winner would usually enter the qualifying round, unless a team from their same country both wins the Champions League and also finishes in one of the Champions League qualifying places in their league. Of course no Premier League team progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the CL this season. In the last 2 seasons Sevilla won the Europa League but finished outside the Champions League qualification places in La Liga. However on both occasions they qualified for the group stages directly, as Barcelona and Real Madrid won the Champions League title in those same seasons and finished in the top 2 in La Liga. https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2444525.html It's true that the qualifying round could be difficult, but I do think that Liverpool under Klopp can have a good go at the competition next season and enjoy it.
Subscriber Dan+ Posted May 14, 2017 Subscriber Posted May 14, 2017 12 minutes ago, LFCMadLad said: Manchester United go straight to the group stages if they win the Europa League I think? Anyway, even if we do qualify there's still a lot to do to actually get through the qualifying round due to the re-structuring of it all. We could get paired up against a very side from either Spain, Italy or Germany. The last few opponents have been Steaua Bucharest, Club Brugge, Besiktas and Fenerbahce. You won't face a team from one of the bigger leagues.
DeadLinesman Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 Absolute shambles from us so far, although Wanyama should have seen red for that challenge. Won't hear anyone moan about it though......
LFCMadLad Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 5 minutes ago, Dan said: The last few opponents have been Steaua Bucharest, Club Brugge, Besiktas and Fenerbahce. You won't face a team from one of the bigger leagues. I read the other day (forget where?) that the qualifying rounds have been re-structured which means the better teams have more chance of meeting each other. It's all to do with how UEFA now seed clubs!?
Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 One of the few occasions I remember a Premier League team messing up a Champions League qualifying round was Newcastle in 2003/2004. They beat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 away from home in the 1st leg, but Partizan won the 2nd leg 1-0 at St James's Park and then won the penalty shoot-out. Of course Everton lost to Villarreal in 2005/2006 with big Dunc's controversially disallowed goal in the second leg, and then Villarreal went on to reach the semi-finals.
Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 2 minutes ago, Cannabis said: That wasn't a case of us messing the tie up though, UEFA had quite clearly aligned the stars to dump us out. Yeah that whole saga was dodgy as hell. I do think though that Liverpool as defending champions should have entered the group stages directly, but UEFA made them enter the very first qualifying round in July. They had to come through 3 qualifying rounds just to have a shot at defending their own title. Crazy. I felt sorry for both Liverpool and Everton there. 5 years before that Real Madrid had won the Champions League and finished 5th in La Liga, but they were allowed to enter the group stages without playing in any qualifying rounds.
Subscriber Dan+ Posted May 14, 2017 Subscriber Posted May 14, 2017 19 minutes ago, LFCMadLad said: I read the other day (forget where?) that the qualifying rounds have been re-structured which means the better teams have more chance of meeting each other. It's all to do with how UEFA now seed clubs!? That would surprise me massively as UEFA tend to gear just about everything they can towards the top leagues, but you never know.
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted May 14, 2017 Subscriber Posted May 14, 2017 Glad we won that one. Should have really been a higher score but can't complain. thinking if we had someone like Mane on the pitch today we'd have definitely gotten more as their defense went to sleep at times.
HK85 Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 Manchester United's first away goal at top-six opponents under Mourinho. Only took 521 minutes of football (431 PL).
DeadLinesman Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 It doesn't get more 'Tottenham' than a pitch invasion for pretty much no reason whatsoever 😂
Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 So Tottenham finish life at White Hart Lane by winning 17 consecutive league and cup matches there, and going unbeaten in their last 23 league and cup matches there. Very fitting indeed. It's nice to see them securing 2nd place as well. They've been a joy to watch this season and for most of Pochettino's reign. As for Man Utd, while of course they could end the season with 2 major trophies in their cabinet which IMO would mark a successful season for them, Mourinho deserves a lot of criticism for the way the team have basically surrendered in the league over the past few weeks. Given how unreliable Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal have been, they had a realistic opportunity to try and finish 3rd (and avoid having to enter the CL qualifying round next season), but Mourinho with his ego didn't want to make a go at finishing 3rd or 4th in case he failed.
Asura Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 10 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said: So Tottenham finish life at White Hart Lane by winning 17 consecutive league and cup matches there, and going unbeaten in their last 23 league and cup matches there. Very fitting indeed. It's nice to see them securing 2nd place as well. They've been a joy to watch this season and for most of Pochettino's reign. As for Man Utd, while of course they could end the season with 2 major trophies in their cabinet which IMO would mark a successful season for them, Mourinho deserves a lot of criticism for the way the team have basically surrendered in the league over the past few weeks. Given how unreliable Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal have been, they had a realistic opportunity to try and finish 3rd (and avoid having to enter the CL qualifying round next season), but Mourinho with his ego didn't want to make a go at finishing 3rd or 4th in case he failed. Is league cup considered a major trophy in england mate? Im just curious
Cicero Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 When was the last time 5 English clubs were in the Champions League? Europa or bust for United.
The Artful Dodger Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 2013 after Chelsea won the Champions League?
Hugh Jass Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 23 minutes ago, Teso Dos Bichos said: Win the EL and man utd will avoid the qualifying round. Great job by tottenham but they HAVE to start winning trophies, playing great football and finishing above arsenal is not enough. As yes you're right. As the Champions League winners will be RM or Juve who are both guaranteed to qualify directly via their respective leagues, Man Utd will go directly in the group stage if they beat Ajax. I always find all these qualifying rules very confusing. Still a very poor league season from them. They have only won 2 matches out of 12 against the other top 7 teams which is not just good enough. Mourinho was right to say that the Europa League was more important to Man Utd than the league, as it is better to qualify for the CL by winning a trophy than by finishing 2nd-4th. But there's no reason why Man Utd with their expensively assembled squad, depth and variety of options couldn't have a combined a much better league showing with their Europa League run. 22 minutes ago, Asura said: Is league cup considered a major trophy in england mate? Im just curious It is. The competition does have a lot of detractors and I do understand complaints that England having 2 domestic cup competitions is excessive. But still it is considered to be a major trophy worth winning. In fact because of it's timing, with it starting and finishing so early in the season ahead of the FA Cup, it can be common for teams to make a real go of winning the League Cup, but then to rest players in the FA Cup as the Premier League reaches its crunch stages. There have been plenty of seasons where the League Cup has been more entertaining than the FA Cup, and has a lot of goal-fests and crazy matches. Mourinho and Benítez were both very keen to win the competition and put a trophy in the cabinet as soon as possible, in their first season in English football in 2004/2005. And Ferguson started to care about this competition more and during his later years and won it 3 times in 5 season from 2006-2010, as he is a pure winner and wanted to win as many trophies as possible. And of course Liverpool, having beaten Chelsea and Man City en-route, were desperate to win in 2012 and end a 6 year trophy drought. Arsenal were also desperate to win in 2011 to end their own 6 year trophy drought but bottled it. It's the only competition that Liverpool have won since 2006 and Tottenham have won since 1991. It has also given smaller clubs like Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Swansea to win trophies in the 21st century and allow their fans to enjoy a big, successful day out in Cardiff or Wembley.
Asura Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 47 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said: It has also given smaller clubs like Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Swansea to win trophies in the 21st century and allow their fans to enjoy a big, successful day out in Cardiff or Wembley. This particular like makes sense and that is what I was thinking too. It does give a lot of joy for smaller clubs, I remember how Martinez was lauded after winning if with Wigan. I probably should have worded better with my previous question. Does a club like United consider league cup a major trophy? Especially after spending so much money and hiring one of the most sought after managers in world football? Isnt League cup mostly used to give a chance to the second team of a club and experiment by the managers?
IgnisExcubitor Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 Enjoyed watching that win. Coutinho looks great as a playmaker CM. Shades of that Arsenal match at Anfield, when he tore them apart. The only issue is the FBs. Whilst both Milner and Clyne are defensively sound, they don't offer anything on the other side of the pitch. Especially Clyne. His final ball and decision making is abysmal. Klopp will most probably sign a LB, but Clyne needs to improve on his attacking for next season.
Panna King Posted May 14, 2017 Posted May 14, 2017 Mourinho embarrassing as ever, saying his players dont want to play anymore premier league matches! what the hell is he doing at this club.
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