UEFA Cup 2008/2009

[Colossus]

So, Milan and Valência out. Right now, my bet is on Metalist. They have a crappy team, but somehow, are effective as hell

[ONO]

Osbourne*

Oh please, Summers. The lad is clearly not cut out for it at all. He can't pass a ball, can't boss the midfield, he's a boring waste of a jersey!

I actually really feel sorry for the Villa fans that paid over £1000 to watch that shite. Absolutely embarrassing.

Edited February 26, 2009 by ONO

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Glad our B/C team got a run out as well as O'Hara coming back.

[The Quasi Juice]

How come Villa is so shite in Europe, but really good in England....bit weird. lol Valencia out is hilarious.

[alldaws1]

Well they were resting 8 or 9 of their starting 11. If Villa and Spurs had put out full-strength teams for both legs I'm sure we'd be seeing them play each other in the next round.

Speaking of Spurs, good to see Giovani score, what a finish too.

[-A-]

Yeah, Villa have a very good chance of making it into the Champions League next season and their squad is pretty thin. Not only in terms of numbers, but the quality beyond the first XI gets rapidly worse.

Saying that, I think that even if they'd put out their first choice team CSKA would have had a good chance of winning. They've got an excellent team with far, far more European experience than Villa.

[Summers]

Osbourne*

Oh please, Summers. The lad is clearly not cut out for it at all. He can't pass a ball, can't boss the midfield, he's a boring waste of a jersey!

I actually really feel sorry for the Villa fans that paid over £1000 to watch that shite. Absolutely embarrassing.

Sidwell played worse.

& also a full strength Villa team would have won. Our kids were giving it a good go.

[Matt]

Yeah, Villa have a very good chance of making it into the Champions League next season and their squad is pretty thin. Not only in terms of numbers, but the quality beyond the first XI gets rapidly worse.

Saying that, I think that even if they'd put out their first choice team CSKA would have had a good chance of winning. They've got an excellent team with far, far more European experience than Villa.

And have played 1 game in 3 months. I think a fully fit and fully ready CSKA would put up a good match against a fully fit and fully ready Villa, but for CSKA this game was the equivalent of playing in the UEFA cup qualifying rounds in the middle of the summer... but against good teams rather than the Albanian runners up.

[-A-]

Yeah, but in their very first match they got a draw at Villa Park against what was almost the best team they could put out. Yes, Friedel didn't play but Young, Agbonlahor, Carew, Barry, Petrov, Luke Young and Davies did. Considering that, as you say, they haven't played much competitive football and they had to travel thousands of miles for the match, they showed they were a good team there. I can't see how with more practice, playing at home in their own conditions with no travel and against a team with very little European experience they would have done any worse. Russian clubs are used to playing these European fixtures at the beginning of the season and travelling thousands of miles to play in the freezing cold is exactly where lack of experience will hurt even a good team like Villa.

Edited February 27, 2009 by -A-

[Summers]

If our kids & stiffs had some more quality in them, we'd have won last night.

Which is why I say our first team could have.

[-A-]

But your first team (or as close to it as you could have fielded) didn't win. At home. When CSKA had played one competitive match in 3 months. Friedel is the only player who would have significantly improved that team. Why do you think the result would have been different when you have to travel 2000 miles to play in the freezing cold 4 days after playing Chelsea?

Edited February 27, 2009 by -A-

[Summers]

..because CSKA didn't play well. Our kids & stiffs outplayed them.

How do you not understand that simple point?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Harewood must be off soon then. O'Neill preferred to leave a space on the bench rather than include him in the squad.

[Summers]

Harewood was on the bench & came on for the second half.

[-A-]

They didn't have to play well, they were playing a bunch of kids. If a better team had been fielded they would have played better. They were winning because of away goals before the game even started, they must have been laughing when they saw the team sheet.

[Summers]

I give up, you miss/ignore/dislike my point.

[Liam]

For what it is worth, I think Villa would have struggled no matter what team they put out. Thats me not having seen the game yesterday though.

[Summers]

I thought the same, but CSKA were not the same team we played in the first leg, and our better players would have had some luck and chances.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Harewood was on the bench & came on for the second half.

Talksport lied!

[Matt]

Harewood was on the bench & came on for the second half.

Talksport lied!

I'm shocked that this shocks you.