Mourinho will relish Man Utd test

Good Blog Phil

I also cannot wait for the "Special Ones" return to English soil, as I was also a massive fan of his enigmatic character, he brought something new and fresh to the Premiership that has sadly being missing since he left!

All in all its been a very intriguing and enthralling Championds League draw for a change, normally it always seems to end up with the big teams missing each other and playing the so called 'second seeded' teams?!

Cant wait for Feb/Mar now :-)

Mourinho to manage United? Please tell me it ain't so... he wouldn't know what to do with 2 wingers in a month of Sundays.

Great draw though, there are some big names that are going to bite the dust at the first hurdle. Which will open it up a bit for a dark horse to make a run at getting to the latter stages. There'll be plenty of red button use on Sky match nights to keep up with all the action! It probably been the best draw for some years.

After the patchy performances of the Premierships' top four this season, anything can happen. They aren't the safe bets they were in the last few years.

Barcelona have to be favorites as they have been consistent.

Mourinho will NOT be the next manager of Manchester United. That will be Martin O' Neill.

A great draw. All 4 of the english teams will need to be close to their best to get through - United's looks like the hardest but Juve and Madrid both have excellent champions league pedigree and Roma deserved to beat chelsea in the group stages. I predict 1 english team will go out, hard to pick which one though!

Mourinho is now cursing his luck !!!

He really wanted to avoid Barcelona and Man Utd. Forget what he said before the draw , that was just to get his name in the press.

I have seen Inter play several times this year , they have never looked convincing in what is at the moment the weakest Serie A that I can remember.
I would say that Man Utd will go through comfortably if they play their normal game.
The danger is if Ferguson tinkers with the team tactics which has been Man Utd´s downfall so many times in Europe.

excellent draw, im looking forward to it very much, uniteds as much as liverpools tbh

united should b confident, inter wer spineless last season, n if they play anything like they did against liverpool then united will breeze thru... on that note tho, as we all kno, jose is a genuis at times (met his match with liverpool in this competition, but forged his rep against united) n i dont think he'll play zlatan.. part of inters problem last season against most of the big sides overall but liverpool particullaly was zlatan goes missing in the big games.. its one thing being good enough to score goals against chievo n livorno (all due respect) but when u come up against a top defence, n u wont find many better than uniteds he just doesnt cut it. for me, adrianno will play, big n strong, he'll give nemaja n ria a tough time, n even if he aint up for it, he is still likely to do more damage just bustling for the ball that zlatan will (but i hope he proves me wrong)

liverpools task is still as hard, altho not in great shape, u can count on them turning on the style, they aint played us in competitive cometition since 81 when we beat them.. revenge will almost certainly b on the cards. but even with the inlusion of huntelaar i still dont c madrid doing enough, their squad is still thread bare... which is why they are struggling n the inclusion of the dutchman n diarra wont really make much of a difference for me to the team.

but im going to b totally blunt, i love that we have madrid, the prestige of the tie is amazing... but if we do go out, it may b a blessing in disguise for us, coz i kno im not alone is saying that we want the league n to b able to concentrate on that while the others navigate triky away fixtures to tough opposition will only help us go for that ellusive cup

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oh, n yeah, i too cant c jose being the next united manager, but i cant c it being o neil either.. think united will go for some1 of the callibur of jose, they'll need some1 like that to handle all the big name players n i dont think martin could.. there are alot of egos in that dressing room remember.. maybe(hopefully) 1 less, the biggest of them all (plz go to madrid ronny) :P

GREAT CHANCE OF WINNING THE COMP NOW...THE BEST TEAMS ARE ALL DRAWN TOGETHER, SO IF WE (MAN UTD) CAN GET PAST "THE CHILDISH ONE", WE SHOULD GO ALL THE WAY!!

Top draw!

I love this time of year and love the champions league! I think its even better than the F.A cup most of the time as these are top teams going against each other and I go out of my way to see them every year. The excietment from last year is still strong this year and all the premiership teams will be throwing down the gauntlet with other top teams.

Perfectly formatted tournement in my opinion (UEFA cup is poor in comparison with organisation) and can't wait!

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united should beat inter no probs.

berbatov is a massive liability for us he slows down our counter attacks and has basically ruined our attacking play, hes too slow and doesnt put any effort into the game at all... thats the only worry i have for united.

great draw overall, some really good games to look forward to.

my teams to qualify are:
chelsea
villarreal
bayern
atletico
barca
liverpool
arsenal
united

Juande Ramos you are having a laugh! El Nino will tear them to pieces

Manchester United shall beat Inter Milan in the Champions League, over the two legs.

Great to get Real - this is what the Champions League is all about: England's most successful team versus Spain's, 2 of the big 3 of Europe, Liverpool v. Madrid. Fantastic!

Can see United and Arsenal getting through, but Juve is a very tough draw for Chelsea.

all the ties are 50/50. None of the english teams have looked great in the group stages.

united won 2 of 6 games, chelsea just about reached the KO stages.

Arsenal needed a last minute goal so secure progress against Kiev.

Liverpool didnt impress in a very weak group.

A lot of things can change till february and I expect barca to decline in the 2nd part of the season. Its impossible to maintain that level of consistency throughout a season.

Nothing is ispossible

Oh here we go, one more blog and once more the author is having a laugh.

"I love this time of year and love the champions league! I think its even better than the F.A cup most of the time"


Oh really, coz I had a suspicion that the FA cup is better doh

lay off the tabloid stuff. No one who saw what Ramos did at Sevilla will think he is hapless.

nikosbg is bk... woot.. cant wait for this :)

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Dear SamplattsKronenbourg...

You are being a bit harsh on Jose re wingers...

He won the league in 2005 using Robben and Duff regularly

Mourinho's record is good, but not exceptional, he has never really managed anyone that was struggling, he's never turned a club around.

He started his main jobs with Porto, a club that had finished in the top two in Portugal for 28 of the past 30 years, yes he won the European Cup but he had a sizeable slice of luck when United had a legitimate goal chalked off for offside, got the rub of the draw when getting Lyon and Deportivo, and then struck lucky again when Monaco managed to turn Chelsea over to reach the final, where they lost their captain and talisman Ludovic Giuly to injury in the middle of the first half.

He then took over at Chelsea where he took the reins of a team that finished 3rd in the league and had just been handed the greatest transfer budget in British football history.

Then he was given the job of managing the 3 times reigning Italian champions.

So yes Mourinho's record as a manager is good, but his record at landing plum jobs at the right time is pretty much without peer.

Dont write Inter's chances off.both sides have an array of attacking talent in Ronaldo,Berbatov,Rooney,Adriano,Ibrahimovic and Stankovic.But i do believe the battle down the flanks are gonna be key.The duel between Ronaldo and the equally amazing Maicon will be key.
Defensively while United have Vidic and Rio Inter have the equally talented but unheralded Samuel and Cordoba.The unbelievably inept Burdisso hopefully should not be in the line up.
To me the teams are equally matched but Inter,coming off a winter break,should just have enough to top United coming back from their excursions in Japan and a tough festive schedule!

All the English clubs have tasty ties,but why is everyone saying Man U V Inter is the tie of the round?

How many European cups do they have between them compared to Liverpool and Real Madrid?

The answer? Nowhere near as many and for that fact alone,not to mention Real trying to poach Benitez and the 81 final,this makes Liverpool V Real Madrid THE tie of the round.

If all the English clubs play half decently they should all progress,but if I was to say there was one tie that could cause an upset,it would be the Man U V Inter one.

I just feel that Mourinho will be amped up for this tie after his losses to Liverpool and he will go all out to make sure he is not dumped out three times in a row by an English club.

I agree with whatbill in that all of the English sides will have to be close to their best to go through. All are tough games but Liverpool and Chelsea have avoided the guillotine that is Barcelona. They look immense at the moment and if they can keep Messi fit throughout the season (which has proved hard in recent seasons) then I think they will be the team to beat.

Madrid, at this moment, should be easy pickings for Liverpool but a lot can change in the coming months. This will be a very tricky tie.

The main theme of the draw, though, seems to be England versus Italy.

Roma have had an upturn recently which was sparked by their convincing beating of Chelsea. They're rapidly closing in on the CL places so Arsenal will have their work cut out to make it to the groups.

Talking of Chelsea, Juventus is probably a draw they wouldn't have been too concerned with. But the Old Lady looked very comfortable in the groups and are keeping within reach of Inter in Serie A. They (I think) have the most experienced side in the competition so they know how to close a game out - something Chelsea are also very adept at of course. Avoiding injuries and suspensions are imperative for Juve, though, as they lack the depth that Chelsea have in their squad.

Inter is one of the teams we, United, wanted to avoid - the other being Atletico Madrid, who should beat Porto over two legs. They have a top class side, who, on their day, can beat anybody. Mind you, so do United. Here's a couple of interesting stats though - the last four defending champions have been eliminated at this stage of the competition and 5 of last years top seeds went out in the last 16 too. I hope United can buck this trend of champions falling at the second hurdle but here's hoping that the fixture congestion doesn't have too much of an effect on us.

I can't see English sides dominating like they have in recent seasons. I can maybe see 1 or 2 getting through to the semis but not 3 that we've seen in the last two years. The competition is more fierce with Barcelona looking very dangerous, Bayern looking free flowing as well and you never quite know what Real Madrid are going to muster by the end of February.

Sorry for the long post.

redandbalck....

didnt inter get quaresma too, dunno how he is doing but i wanted liverpool to get him, pretty arrogant, very skillful, n quick to boot, something that united n chelsea both have n liverpool wer missing. id b intrigued to c if he plays, being portuguese and a winger with lots of skill n ALOT of arrogance... can 1 football field contain 2 arrogant portuguese?

Oh Whoopee !!!!!! NikosBg is back !!!!!!

Seriously Nikos .........................................
have you actually got a life???

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Never understood why you BBC media are so supremely confident in the glory of our lucky -and heavy indebted- football teams... "our" being an oxymoron due to the foreign capital and management involved.

The ties are all very tough, Italian teams have all the qualities to shock EPL teams and so have Real Madrid.

It's a mystery, really, this arrogance, also considering the underachieving constant of our national team: where comes this pride? I read of smashing, walk-over, tear them up... buuu buuu, sheep following the pride of the shepherd to the butcher.

As a Utd fan I did want to avoid Inter the most. Will depend on what form we hit come the new year whether we qualify or not.
Would like to get one over on Mourinho though, still hurts to think about losing to Porto after the worst decision in history, Scholes goal being disallowed with 3 players playing him yards onside.

Think Liverpool should do Real comfortably, they are 1 of the weaker teams this year. Still gutted utd didnt get them.

Roma are nothing special, so providing Arsenal are on 1 of there good days they should go through too.

Think Chelsea have the toughest challenge. Can see the Tinker man knocking Big phil out over 2 legs.

Other than those matches I expect Barca, Bayern, Athletico & Villareal to go through comfortably.

I think all the English teams could go through, but Arsenal have the toughest task in my opinion, not against Roma but against themselves. A confident Arsenal would wipe the floor with them, but they're their own worst enemies most of the time.

If Wenger could add a bit of steel to go with the swagger (but then I'm sure people have been saying that for the past four years) then they'll be a big threat.

Aside from Barcelona, no-one in Europe has really hit top gear yet so you have to make them favourites for the trophy. It'd be interesting to see how they would get on if they were missing one or more of their talismen through injury though - Messi or Eto'o.

What does the BBC know about the champions league?

"Mourinho will relish being the centre of England's attention once more and will drink in every second of the huge attention his return will create."

The above will only happen because the Press will keep pumping it down the rest of our throats. If Man U were treated like all the rest of the clubs it would only get coverage a few days in advance.

It is a meeting of 2 football teams with a pompous Portuguese berk managing one team and a pompous Scottish berk managing the other.

Lonewolf

Phil,

you've mentioned that Real will have Hunterlaar and Diarra eligible to play against us. Correct me if I'm wrong, but only one of these players can be registered for the knock-out stages ofthe Champions League as both have played in the UEFA cup already this season.

romanputin.... sorry

im not a united fan, but lets face it fergie's record kinda takes the mick outta jose's

he just isnt even close to fergies record... n that in itself makes me cry a little inside just thinkin about it

Phil, you know, this is a wheel: Italians were better before, then the Spanish had a run and now our glory... and so how many wins? 12 It vs 12 Sp vs 12 En ...

You can argue AC Milan is out this year and yet Juventus (especially) are a bitter chunk. We fancy our chances and they fancy theirs.

You are giving 4 edges out of 4 to EPL teams. Immodestly IMHO. That said, let's roll the ball.

I so much wanted "The Special One" to manage England. As a Liverpool fan I wouldn't mind if he was to take the helm at Anfield when Benitez decides to move on after a dynasty of success.

i would love jose as liverpools next manager... n i dunno how much truth is in it, but i heard, n subsequently read that jose virtually had the liverpool job b4 rafa n was snubbed... maybe thats why we had such animosity from him :)

I honestly cannot see anyone beating Barcelona this year, unless Messi or Eto'o die in a car accident or their defence falls asleep.

Final: Barcelona vs. Chelsea
Result: 1-0 in an overhyped, probably mediocre game.

norapeti,

you're right he did use Duff and Robben, but he ditched them both fairly quickly after that. I think most would agree that he prefers a powerful midfield to grind down opponents rather than using flair.

Its not a criticism particularly; just that United's play has been largely based on pacey wingers hugging the touchline for decades. I for one, wouldn't want Mourinho's style of play to change that.

GiusCoUK is either drunk or just pretending to be English, because I cannot make head nor tail of what's being said.

I think it's the latter personally...

the Italian teams are ageing, especially Juventus and Ac Milan.

Re: 32. So Mourinho is 10 times the coach Ferguson is? Jog on. Mourinho lasted 3 years before Abramovich gave him the boot. Fergie has out lasted pretty much all his opposition during is time at Utd including the self proclaimed "Special one"

That’s nothing against Mourinho, I like he style, but saying he is the better coach is laughable not to mention stupid.

Regarding the draw, it is fantastic for the competition that I felt was just going through the motions in the group stage. Now all the big teams have drawn each other, which make for some brilliant fixtures to look forward to.

I'd fancy all the English teams to get through with slight doubts over Arsenal as Roma are going on a bit of a run. But for me Barca are the team to beat they look more closer together as a group than last year not to mention they are in form. I heard it was something like 87 shots on goal in their last seven games.

I was wondering Phil what your opinion is on the top 4 of The Premier League reaching the last 4 in the Champions League?

The draw somehow despite their 2nd place has favoured arsenal. People forget that Chelsea were very poor that night in Rome against Roma.

Real Madrid have all the attacking flair but defesnively are always found wanting. Expect Liverpool to do their boring 0-0 away and then a 96th minute Gerrard strike in the second leg.

Man United are better than Inter but the Mourinho factor is the problem.

Chelsea have the ability when Carvalho returns to be very solid at the back, and Drogba or Anelka or both can trouble any defence.

Arsenal need a holding midfielder before their game with Roma - maybe Frings from Werder Bremen to be a serious threat in the Champions League.

Well, I don't share all this rampant optimism. The four English clubs have tough assignments and I'd be very surprised if they all get through to the next round. the most unpreditable is Arsenal, who have to face a resurgent Roma, and I think Liverpool could come a cropper - Real may be struggling a little and have injuries, but their pride will lift them. Also, Liverpool have hardly been impresive of late.

Considering the draw, England has every chance to have no sides after this round.
Great draw for the neutral fan but sqeeky bum time for the supporters of the English teams.

"Never understood why you BBC media are so supremely confident in the glory of our lucky -and heavy indebted- football teams... "our" being an oxymoron due to the foreign capital and management involved.

It's a mystery, really, this arrogance, also considering the underachieving constant of our national team: where comes this pride? I read of smashing, walk-over, tear them up... buuu buuu, sheep following the pride of the shepherd to the butcher."


1.The arrogance, optimism, overconfidence and self-importance is a national characteristic. It's even included in the introduction of one of the top travel guides of England (don't remember which).

2.The treatment of failure or poor performance from school onwards is seacrhing for positives or scapegoats. The treatment of success is praise without being concerned with performance.

3.In most other nations journalists and pundits are constantly critical and occasionally crucify players and managers based on performance, here their main role is to lick their backs in order to keep them talking to them, to create overhyped primadonnas and live off them, as well as to ignore or slag off foreign teams and players, so as to fuel people's arrogance and overconfidence of (1).

4.People by and large are so naive, so stupid, so unfamiliar with failure or so drunk that they are eating like good sheep all the dumbgrass they're fed. In turn this fills the media's pockets and keeps the business going by allowing them to behave as above, a good example being the analysis of this particular blog. Well said mate. Sheep.

#32 - Mourinho had massive resources at chelsea compared to Fergie. And Sir Alex still saw him off in the end. Its a good opportunity for Jose to raise his UK profile again and make some more credit card adverts but if United perform they should go through...

As a United fan, the only person I'd like to succeed Sir Alex is Jose. If it's not gonna be him, I really don't ever want to see the last day of Ferguson at the club.

Also, although I hate Liverpool (:D), I'd love it if they thrash Real Madrid by as many goals as possible! Real is my most hated team after all its idiotic president's comments about Ronaldo! C'mon Liverpool!

I don't think Mourinho will be United's next manager because another Portuguese will be probably looking for a return to Old Trafford in the form of Carlos Queiroz

I look forward to the special one's return to England and feel that United should be able to get the result they need.

"I honestly cannot see anyone beating Barcelona this year, unless Messi or Eto'o die in a car accident or their defence falls asleep."

The same was said a few years back when they played Liverpool and we all know what happened then. Fore!!!!!!!

O Neill is a bit overated. If he said ashley young is as good as Messi then he has lost the plot.

Im not sure he will be employed by anyone big as he wears those dirty white floppy collared shirt jumper things every single match, ever!

But he could do well, but the next manager of man utd needs to be a big name really incase it all goes tits up.

I could see Mourinho one day managing United. I think he is secretly holding out for the job when Sir Alex retires, because its a huge job and a massive act to follow. He enjoys that kind of challenge and he has said before that he plans to manage in the PL again. My only question would be does he fall into that United mantra of playing attacking/entertaining football? As made famous by Sir Matt Busby and SAF?? It's something the club and the fans have come to expect over the years, and I'm not sure if he as a coach thinks that way. Although I am just going by what he did at Chelsea.

Oh, and also think Carlos Queiroz would be ahead of Mourinho on the list, if he was available! He might not have as good a CV as Jose, but he knows the club inside and out and proved to be very effective for us during both of his periods at OT.

Liverpool will lose to Real Madrid without Torres.
Man U will beat Inter Milan but it'll be close (probably penalties).
Roma vs. Arsenal... I have no idea because Arsenal are completely unpredictable this season.
Chelsea will beat Juventus convincingly.

Barca to crush Lyon 3-0.
Villareal to beat the Greek team. The rest are no threat to the richest teams of europe.

One stat to consider is that the defending champions have gone out in the first knockout round in each of the past 4 seasons: Porto in 2005, Liverpool in 2006, Barcelona in 2007, and Milan in 2008.

What odds Mourinho manages to continue that sequence?

Yes whatbill....... poor Fergie and poor Man United, they have had so little resources to draw from, and you would never find man united's name cropping up amongst the record transfer fees would you now?.

In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king, as this must be where you reside sunshine!

Carlos is a great no. 2 but not sure if he has the personality to manage United. He struggled at Madrid and hasn't looked that great for Portugal so far. Mourinho would be interesting at OT but he'd have to commit to more expansive football than when he was at Chelsea...

boring 0-0 away?

should we go bk over the last few results away from home in the CL?

leverkusen, barca, psv, chelsea

liverpool go for the away goals, we more likely to draw 0-0 at home

a sad premisconception on liverpool i think

I think that United can win against Inter given the form that they are in now. however, it will certainly be a very boring game both home and away.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to Liverpool v Real Madrid. now thats an interesting match. this couldn't be a better fixture in the draw today. with Jan-huntlaar coming and the return of Torres, attacking football will be dominant unlike the Inter-Man Utd. As for the Chelsea-Juventus game...It's unpredictable right now, both teams seem to be roller coastering at the moment. and IF arsenal play their cards right, i think they'll get a win against Roma (its a tricky one) lol.

Lyon could beat Barca. i dunno why people are overrating Barcelona, i know with Messi Eto'o and Xavi they're fantastic but still they could lose. Lyon are one of those surprising teams.

Porto is pretty good this season. i didnt expect them to top Arsenal's group. they will be tough competitors if they overcome Atletico.

same goes to Villareal. i think they can overcome surprise newcomers Panathanikos. they've proven themselves in their group stage.

Bayern shouldn't have a hard time getting 6 points against Sporting although Klinsman has thrown away many points this season and chance to go on top of the Bundesliga nevertheless, I'm assuming them to go all the way to the final.

Its been a very interesting draw this year, unlike the previous two years. so looking forward to a lot of exciting football next year.

You might want to look at Inter last year and now, and Man Utd last year and now, before saying Ferguson will be relaxed. I would love United to overcome Inter but I think on UTD's current form Inter will have too much for them.

NikosBg,

So we're ignorant, arrogant etc because we think the English sides have a chance of going through? This after dominating the Champions League in recent years as Phil has said?

I don't think anyone has ignored or slagged off any foreign teams at all, most on here have agreed that Barcelona are the side to beat for instance. But you have to agree that all of the English sides' opposition are beatable.

Damn and blast.

I had flights booked to Madrid for £20 based on the 2/5 chance United had a getting either of the teams from the Spanish capital.

Not only have my hopes of a cheap trip gone up the spout but we've been given the most difficult draw possible too.

"he same was said a few years back when they played Liverpool and we all know what happened then. Fore!!!!!!!"

Can you honestly name a player better than Messi? Only Ronaldo matches him in quality.

And before you give me the whole "it takes a team to win", I'm pretty certain Barcelona is loaded with the best talent money can buy from Henri to Puyol. This doesn't guarantee victory but it's pretty damn close to a guarantee.

A typically biased and rather myopic expectation that all four English clubs should make it through, despite all four draws being extremely tough.

One aspect that has been particularly overlooked in the Madrid/Liverpool tie is with respect to their league campaigns. While Liverpool are sitting pretty atop the Premier League, Madrid have next to no hope of challenging for La Liga. If Liverpool are still top of the league come February I fully expect this to have an impact on how to tie is played.

Ultimately though, this round will count for little as Barcelona are most certainly the team to beat. I know this has been said in past seasons but really they are so far ahead of the rest right now that to not make it to the final would be a huge upset.

Tough call for all teams Phil.

Here goes:

Out - Liverpool

Out- Chelsea

Arsenal and Utd to squeeze through, but by a very, very thin margin.

PS Arsenal are very vulnerable though. Roma is a tie when they may well underperform. Many Gunners (im one of them) would have settled for Juve or Barca however difficult such games would have been.

Ferguson simply wont allow Utd to lose to Mourinho!

Great draw all round.

I seriously think the english sides are going to struggle through this last 16 stage, the only team I feel confident about is Liverpool, and being a Chelsea fan that is painful to admit.

Oh, and also think Carlos Queiroz would be ahead of Mourinho on the list, if he was available! He might not have as good a CV as Jose, but he knows the club inside and out and proved to be very effective for us during both of his periods at OT.
-----------------------------------------------------

Brian Kidd was very effective as Sir Alex's assistant as United established themselves as the dominant English side of the 90's.

As was Steve McClarenm who held the post during our unique, famous, historic, magnificent Treble triumph in '99.

Their subsequent managerial careers have hardly impressed enough to have made them candidates for next Manchester United manager.

Perhaps it is unfair to tarnish Carlos with this particular brush however I doubt that a successful stint as Fregie's number 2 will persuade the Old Trafford boardroom that he is a better option than a proven World Class manager such as Mourinho.

51.

hardly impressive but still top of the pile, i dont agree with these, but i guess thats why we here to have debate...

we aint been impressive, but neither have the others, the reason us scousers have optimism is that of all the teams to draw wen ur on a bad run (reletively speaking) madrid would b the team to get. right now they are on their back sides domestically, hardly world beaters in the CL too this year, no ruud at all for the season, casillias is havin a bad patch (was great against barca even tho they lost but long may it continue well into may for me) and have a managerial change, n none other than ramos, who, regardless of what he achieved with sevilla, was a laughing stock of a manager in england (so by that presumption will not b looking forward to playing an english side who's tactics he just couldnt come to terms with)

#62 - I'm not talking about United's undisputable wealth, I'm comparing it to the time when Mourinho was at chelsea. When he was there they spent money like it was going out of fashion. I know United are loaded but for a couple of seasons they couldn't compete in the transfer market. Duff, Robben, SWP, Sheva, Mikel, Ballack, Essien, Cashley, etc. I know it seems a long time ago now we're back at the peak of english football but for a couple of seasons, United were the underdogs...

"he wouldn't know what to do with 2 wingers in a month of Sundays."

Lmao.

Robben, Joe Cole, Duff.

Can't wait for José's return, still love the man.

The draw was a good one as well today, nice to see so many new fixtures and nice for us to really ponder who'll be in the last 8.

If Steven Gerrard so much as sneezes the bookmakers will be widening the odds on Liverpool, if he stubs his toe or drops a saucepan in the kitchen the same will happen. I think Man Utd are going to have a problem scoring if Ronaldo does not, they have a plethora of great players but with Berbatov playing they will not score so many goals. Chelsea need Essien back and Scolari's not so great. Arsenal need time, that's all, time, Roma will be a test but we should be favorites, once players start to recover and luck changes a little Arsenal will be formidable, don't write them off. If Henry is in form then Barcelona have always a great chance, Arsenal are the dark horse team.

Hey everyone

I wouldnt bother responding to anything Nikosbg says, he is a wind up merchant, admittedly a very good one as he always seems to provoke a reaction from numerous others posters whenever I see him post in other topics involing English Clubs.

Lets ignore the fool and hope eventually he goes away.

64, The last year Liverpool won the Champions League, 2005, what were the scores in the Away legs in their Quarter and Semi finals?

No. 2
''Mourinho to manage United? Please tell me it ain't so... he wouldn't know what to do with 2 wingers in a month of Sundays''.

Apart from when he had Robben, Duff, Cole and Swp all under him at Chelsea at the same time? And despite that his system at Chelsea was built around a front 3 including 2 wingers?

I think that NikosBg needs to cheer up a bit. It's nearly Christmas! Perhaps he's worried that Santa won't bring him what he asked for.
I would like to see Arsenal do well in the CL this season, a big trophy like that would do wonders for their confidence. As a neutral I'm missing the Arsenal of old!

"Lyon could beat Barca. i dunno why people are overrating Barcelona, i know with Messi Eto'o and Xavi they're fantastic but still they could lose."

You don't watch much of La Liga, do you? Other than a shock loss to Numancia on the opening game of the season they are thus far unbeaten in the league. Furthermore, it's not the number of victories that is important but the manner in which they have achieved them. So far this season, results in all competitions include 6-1 against Sporting Gijon, 6-1 against Atletico Madrid, 5-0 against FC Basel, 5-0 against Almeria, 6-0 against Valladolid and 4-0 against Valencia. If you can name another team in Europe in better form then I'll accept your argument the Barca are over-rated.

Bergysdeftflicks wrote:

Tough call for all teams Phil.

Here goes:

Out - Liverpool

Out- Chelsea

Arsenal and Utd to squeeze through, but by a very, very thin margin.

PS Arsenal are very vulnerable though. Roma is a tie when they may well underperform. Many Gunners (im one of them) would have settled for Juve or Barca however difficult such games would have been.

Ferguson simply wont allow Utd to lose to Mourinho!

Great draw all round.

****************************

your'e having a laugh m8 if you think Liverpool are going to lose to Real Madrid. madrid are easily the weakest of the big teams this season. just like Barca in 06/07 season. as for Chelsea, you never know, they just seem to win when they're under pressure.

On the other hand i think Arsenal will lose. they're not confident enough.

"He's a character with a good personality and I've always got on well with him," Ferguson on Mourinho.

I seem to remember SAF being quite angry regarding comments made by Mourinho just before the 2007 semis.

Why are you a fan Phil? The man is nowt but arrogant and full of his own self-importance! You must be easily pleased if you think he is entertaining. I suppose you journos will all be slavering over him before the game and using the boring old phrase in your write-ups; "He was a breath of fresh air for the Prem." I'll put my mortgage on one of you lot writing that!

Motormouth Mourinho v/s Flaxfox Alex, its unwaitable for.

"1.The arrogance, optimism, overconfidence and self-importance is a national characteristic. It's even included in the introduction of one of the top travel guides of England (don't remember which)."

I'm sure it is, the usual 'I have read it somewhere, can't remember the name of it though....' bit. The age old method of reinforcing ridicolous comments with a reference to reputable source of which doesn't exist other than in the mind's of deluded individuals. Poor show.

"2.The treatment of failure or poor performance from school onwards is seacrhing for positives or scapegoats. The treatment of success is praise without being concerned with performance."

Perhap's we should beat them instead then! You are talking about young children here, is this how you feel your inadequacies were dealt with? Would explain alot.
As for the last comment,well, surely success should be met with praise?! Result's come first do they not?

"3.In most other nations journalists and pundits are constantly critical and occasionally crucify players and managers based on performance etc etc"

Correct me if I am wrong but our national media is widely regarded as one of the most critical in the world, one of which scrutinises every move made by our sportsmen. Just my thoughts.

"People by and large are so naive, so stupid, so unfamiliar with failure or so drunk that they are eating like good sheep all the dumbgrass they're fed etc"

Amusing, what a load of drival which sum's up your entire post really.
Sheep?dumbgrass?? child.

Like the article Phil, you shouldn't feel the need to reply to everyone who knocks you or misses the point on here.

Great draw, i don't think England will have the CL its own way this season, in fact i would be surprised if all 4 managed to get through this round. Expect one upset...

If i was a betting man i'd say that it would depend which Arsenal turned up.

Many new fixtures to ponder and potential rivalaries to.

Bayern are the team to surprise people this time around, Ribery, Bommel, Podolski, Klose and especially Toni are playing really well at present.

75...........Rooney, Ferdinand and Ronaldo were all signed and playing for United either before or on the cusp of the Mourinho era. Man U were fully resourced and felt they did not need to buy more players, until as Fergie admitted, Chelsea raised the bar, and Mourinho has to take credit for that, not because he had loads of money to spend, but because he is an oustanding football manager. I would not say he is better than Fergie, it is far too early to tell, and he has all the characteristics of marmite, but he is short changed on the credit he deserves when people constantly thow the 'loads of money' argument into the ether.

As a Man utd fan i hate to say it but i think only one English club will progress this time.

In a suprising twist i also would have fancied both Chelsea and Arsenal to beat Barca at this stage of the competition if they had drawn them.

The recent successes of English clubs i think will play against them this year, because all the teams are well known to everyone both tactically and their personnel.

Unless Keane can have an impact at Liverpool or Berbatov can improve at United then both these teams are pretty similar to ;last year. Chelsea although playing a more attacking game have become more vunerable in th process, to the extent where a result at home in the first leg is no longer a foregone conclusion.

Arsenal for me are the team that have the best chance because their game of ball retention really has worked in Europe over the last few years. The youngsters have pulled off some classic performances against experience opposition and i don't see why that would change now.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Mourinho to come to Manchester ? Yes , but it will not be United!

Mourinho vs Ferguson....what a mouth watering tie this will be. Ferguson has only once beaten Mourinhos sides and I expect Inter to knock Man utd out of the cup.Thats with a team of geriatrics. As for Mourinho taking over at Old Trafford,I would hope he returns to Stamford Bridge if Roman can get a bit of humility into his life.

good blog phil as usual, how about mentioning the other games though - the bbc has been covering the whole champions league.

i think 2 teams who are alot more threatening than credited for are Bayern and Atletico - as long as they can keep Ribery and Aguero fit.

Doubt Porto will beat Atletico unless they play defensively.

Also can't see Sporting putting up much of a fight as they are a team built on flair (hence producing players like jao moutinho) and this wont work against the big teams.

Villareal should progress, they have looked impressive this tournament.

Everyone seems to be tipping Barca but one little injury to Messi or Eto'o could spell the end

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I think you being a bit hard on the boy.

I think he's got a lot of interesting things to say, about people in the game.

If Jose does win, he will be centre stage of football and the man to beat. If he doesn't win, he was beaten by the champs in a great game.

Either way, he wins.

He's fantastic!

Roma. Dangerous. :D

Will Mourinho become the nemesis of English football?

I'm a United fan so I'll be hoping we go through.

That being said I've seen Ibrahimovic play some games in Serie A this year and the guy really is a terrifying prospect.

At the moment he just has the aura of a one man team and someone that can't miss. His finishing coupled with his strength and skill on the ball are something I really don't remember seeing in recent years.

I know he is under-rated in England because we don't see him play, but as Phil says, if United allow him to play English football fans will be in for a rude awakening.

Well then if you can't accept criticism and are not up to the standards that you used to have I have the choice not to involve myself with either your website or your broadcasts. You seem to forget something and that is the fact that your jobs are paid for by a system that require people to pay a fee. Think about that when you decide to censor people, there was nothing wrong with my comments, I am a professional and I have considerably more experience than you have. But then come to think of it isn't this what the BBC does well, censor the truth.

once again good blog
think it shows the impact that mourinho made in England that we are talking about Man Utd vs Inter over Liverpool vs Real madrid which for me is a bigger game becuase of their pedigrees in Europe. Chelsea I think have the tougher tie, Juventus were my dark horses going into the champions league and have a point to prove again and with chelsea being less than convincing in the group stage its a tricky tie.