Mick Mac

What should we sing? Is Molly Malone a cricket song?

Jah Lush Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How about this for an elbow? That was either quite amusing, or as low as cheating gets. I can't decide.

Noone should disturb Moos Poos

Sure KPC, not intending to take anything away from Birmingham at all, I was hoping they would win. But I do feel for LG and all Arsenal fans in having such a world class player missing for a big final. I'm a big supporter of Alex McLeish, what an achiever that guy is.

MicksTopTips.com

Ladygooner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just about recovered from the disappointmet. Well > done to Birmingham - their fans were lovely too. > Have to say I think we looked knackered - fighting > on 4 fronts is not easy! Next up Orient, > Sunderland, Barca and Man U all in 12 days! Its was very bad luck in not having Fabregas for the final really, I'm sure he would have made the difference.

I thought you might be lying low today EC.

Well if you win the slam Michael you are probably a shoe in for the other two.

Absolutely right Jah. Bad day for Arsenal by the look of things. Hats off to McLeish for putting an attacker (Martins) on in place of a midfielder with 10 mins to go, showed real ambition.

Hard earned win for Ireland. But too many penalties again. 3 tries to nil and only jsut edged it tells its own story.

Narnia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You can't have it both ways Mick. You say if Spurs > won the CL this year no one would think they are > the best team in Europe. Neither can last years > league winners as that was last year. No Declan - I did not say the second bit. In trying to find the best team in europe for 2011 this should not be restricted to the teams that won their league in 2010. UEFA have realised this some time ago. Otherwise you can have out of form teams like Blackburn once or this year Chelsea representing England. So you open the competition up to the top teams in the best leagues to strengthen the competition. Nothing wromg with that. But Spurs can't make themselves the best team in europe, having never in recent times been the best team in england. If they won it no reasonable person would say they were the best team in europe. But they would no doubt have played above themselves several times to win the CL.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Unfortunatley Keef, that format gives you the best > team in each country but based on their > achievements the previous year. > > For me, that is enough for them to deserve their > place. > > I also don't think there should be a secondary > competition, it's a waste of time (even if > Liverpool win it this season). If you have a competition that hopes so provide Europe's best team of this year then it needs a selection process that is wider than just the league winners of last year.

Noone thinks the top flight did not exist before the Premiership - but the Premiership has been in place a long time now and as time goes by even Liverpools achievements will be seen as past glories to many.

Unfortunatley Keef, that format gives you the best team in each country but based on their achievements the previous year. You get Blackburn, a team in mid table in the premiership (the year after winning the league) representing England, and going out in the early stages. A competition on that basis can have a fair few weaker teams (not playing as well as when they wn their domestic league the previous year) and the genuine strong performers year on year have to play in a minor competition.

If Ireland beat Scotland today they will rue the fact that they did not beat France even more as they mamanged to completely subdue France, which England were unable to do. England gave away 9 penalties against Wales and only 7 against France who are supposedly a better team so I'd say thier discipline might be improving a lttle. But their handling was verging on poor but that might have been partly due to the conditions. Their forwards look very strong. The backs did not really fire.

The Champions League is an excellent format. I love it. I'd be happy for Spurs to win it and I'd support them as i like their style of play. Just think it would be odd if a team that have never been champions of their own league in living memory were to win it. Of course they can do it, but noone would think them the best team in Europe.

Ehhh....good night.

before today - ok, but i thought we were discussing todays performance, in which case the discipline was ok, errors were not ok.

Its not a Sky invention. Nothing to do with Sky. If you qualify to be in it then you can win it, of course. I just don't think Spurs will win it and I also don't think it would be "good" for the competition if Spurs won it.

kpc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So would you put a limitation of say 10 years, or > 20 at a stretch, on the validity of winning the PL > for qualification to CL? This is getting quite > Platini-esque. Not validity - just whether its good for the competition, given its name/history etc.

Don't understand, Quids. It's bad enough that Liverpool won the CL but have not ever won the English premierhip, but of course they have such great pedigree in the competition so noone thinks its odd. If Spurs won it, it would be odd.

Unforced errors I thought was their biggest fault, handling errors etc. They did not give too many penalties away so whether that is lack of discipline I dont know. What Eddie Butler described "counter rucking" was their greatest strength I thought - on any ruck England ploughed into the French forwards with much more ferocity and won lots of turnover ball. This is what Ireland and Munster have been good at for a few years and France just could not match them. Good performance by the England forwards, backs were not so good today though.

kpc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not sure how you can be in favour of a CL format > that allows for the majority of qualifying teams > to be non-champions and then say it would be bad > for one of them to win it. Maybe there should be a > UEFA vetting panel at the semi-final stage. "So, > when exactly were you last champions?" "Oh." Exactly - you can play but you can't get to the final, you don't mind if we put another English team in the final in your place, how about your friends from North London, the red and white team. ;-) No. my point is that the format is good in that its not just the previous years cahmpions that get into the competition, however to win the CL and never to have won your own league, is not a good result for the competion.

Good performance from England today but certainly enough in there to give Scotland and Ireland hope for the last two games. France, I think we can say, having been restricted to one try in two games against Ireland and then England, have limitations, and seem to be out of form.

Moos Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Honestly, this modern age. What's wrong with a > good old-fashioned staking? Is that what girls call it now.