UEFA Champions League 08/09

[Darloboy]

What an odious bunch of tossers, their behaviour at the end just showed why lots of people love it when they lose. Like me.

[Matt]

Am I the only one who is fucking proud of Drogba and Ballack for showing a bit of spirit, alright maybe they went OTT but at least it shows they care about football as opposed to just their paycheck. Some awful decisions from what I've seen (the majority of the major ones going against Chelsea) and if I were a fan of Chelsea I'd want my players to be pissed off to the fullest.

That being said I'm glad Barca got through cos with any luck they'll tear United a new one.

[y2gudge08]

I agree, it's not like they're the first team to suffer from some questionable refereeing decisions and lose to an injury time goal. Drogba, Ballack and co. are supposed to be professionals of the highest order, but they didn't conduct themselves as such and Drogba's persistence after the whistle could've easily earnt him a red card, as could Ballack. I didn't see Lampard doing any of this childish whining, in fact what I did see was a show of respect, swapping shirts with his opposite number who scored the winning goal.

And this is why some people should really start respecting Lampard a bit more - even though the rest were going mental Lampard showed a bit of decorum.

Undeserved for Chelsea but Man U/Barca should be a doozy...

[hugobomb]

Am I the only one who is fucking proud of Drogba and Ballack for showing a bit of spirit, alright maybe they went OTT but at least it shows they care about football as opposed to just their paycheck. Some awful decisions from what I've seen (the majority of the major ones going against Chelsea) and if I were a fan of Chelsea I'd want my players to be pissed off to the fullest.

That being said I'm glad Barca got through cos with any luck they'll tear United a new one.

There's showing sprit and there's outright abusing a ref. Argue wiht him yes, but what Ballack and Drogba did was way, way, WAY over the line

[britneyspearsisgod]

Am I the only one who is fucking proud of Drogba and Ballack for showing a bit of spirit, alright maybe they went OTT but at least it shows they care about football as opposed to just their paycheck. Some awful decisions from what I've seen (the majority of the major ones going against Chelsea) and if I were a fan of Chelsea I'd want my players to be pissed off to the fullest.

That being said I'm glad Barca got through cos with any luck they'll tear United a new one.

Nope, I fully agree. I wanted Barca to win so we'd get the final and I'm happy they did. However, the referee had a very shocking game and I'd be fully pissed off too. I'm fed up of everyone expecting these people to be robots and not get angry if they get slighted in anyway.

There's showing sprit and there's outright abusing a ref. Argue wiht him yes, but what Ballack and Drogba did was way, way, WAY over the line

Ballack I'll agree with because he did it during the match and should know better. But Drogba was justified. This is what else pisses me off about refereeing - they are not allowed to be angry? Heat of the moment situations like that should be avoided, yes. However, the fact is Chelsea can honestly look at the game and think "what if?". For a lot of those players, they may not get that opportunity again and it is bound to hurt. Besides which, if they dare say anything they'll get reprimanded and accused of bringing the game into disrepute for essentially telling the referee he did a shit job. If either manager or any player did shit tonight, they'd be rightly told so. Yet you are not allowed to tell the ref how crap he was? How is that justified? You can't condone the swearing and on the field of play it's not justifiable to round on the referee like that. But it's very understandable and at the end of the game, why can't they discuss it with the ref? It was a very poorly handled game and I have every sympathy for Chelsea. Whether they should have won or not can go either way. Ultimately it wasn't to be their night. But the manner of defeat can only raise questions.

Given the referee's performance, I don't think he can justifiably say he didn't deserve a bollocking. Full credit to Hiddink for the way he handled the interview afterwards. Chelsea need to do everything they can to make him their permanent manager.

Also, Jamie Redknapp it a tit. And so is Graeme Souness.

[therockbox]

why can't they discuss it with the ref?

Come on, they were hardly discussing anything. The surrounded and harangued him, with everyone shouting and pointing and getting in his face. I'd like there to be more accountability for referees but it can't be done in that way, by that many players and on the field. They're grown men and they should be able to control themselves enough not to physically intimidate a referee straight after the final whistle because a few decisions went against them.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Well, very guttering for Chelsea. Still haven't seen the game, I'll try and catch it today before speaking about some apparent appalling decisions.

Either way, what a final. The two favourites and the two teams dubbed the best in the world. I'm sure we'll find out now who really is the better team, going to be a battle, cant wait. Let's find out if they really are the 'best' attacking team in the world when it comes down to these big matches.

[stokeriño]

I've been receiving condolences from Manchester United fans I haven't spoken to in 5 years.

This is bizarre.

[ravenjuice]

Im sorry but who the fuck was marking Iniesta? there was a Chelsea player ten yards closer to Barcelona's half scratching his balls while Iniesta was unmarked. Perhaps Chelsea should look at that before they complain about the referee.

[stokeriño]

Probably Ballack, I think.

[The Quasi Juice]

I think Hiddink handled himself well here and was very clear about his feelings: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8037146.stm

The foul on Malouda was clearly inside the box, but it would have been a stupid spot to get a penalty against because it was at the edge of the box, but the referee thought it was a foul so it should have been a penalty then. Later on (I think it was) Pique clearly handled the ball and that was also a penalty, it would have been 2-0 then or even 3-0. I feel Drogba went a bit overboard with the whole "it's a fuckin' disgrace", but they have the right to be upset because they were screwed. They were clearly the better team, Barca was paralyzed, Messi was basically invisible. Mostly I feel bad for Hiddink because he deserves to finally win a CL. Ballack was hilarious when he jumped around the referee and it's strange how the referee didn't even acknowledge Ballack.

[Dynamite]

I don't think I've seen Ballack run with so much pace and intent for years.

[Baddar]

United have appealed to UEFA to overturn Fletcher's red card on "compasionate grounds". There's no way it's being overturned, but if it was, I'd like to see Abidal's rescinded as well.

[stokeriño]

And now, in addition to Manchester United fans I haven't spoken to in 5 years, I'm now also receiving condolences from my South African aunt who, as far as I were aware, paid attention to no sport besides rugby.

Hmm...

[9 to 5]

Are you really dying, Stok?

[stokeriño]

They seem to think so. :/

[9 to 5]

It is quite bizarre in a sense.

[therockbox]

Referee getting death threats.

It's Frisk version 2.

[Lord Nibbler]

And now, in addition to Manchester United fans I haven't spoken to in 5 years, I'm now also receiving condolences from my South African aunt who, as far as I were aware, paid attention to no sport besides rugby.

She obviously heard about that Kenyan Arsenal fan who offed himself and got a bit worried about you...

[Liam]

Football wins.

I wouldn't agree with that. What's wrong with playing a good game of defence? Barcelona were poor all evening really, and Chelsea didn't need to go all out to push for another goal, as they were still breaking through and making chances whilst sitting back. People seem to forget that the game isn't all about attacking flair, that if a team sets out to defend, and defends better than you attack, that it is as 'good football' as a team who goes out and whacks 6 goals past teams. Barcelona had the possesion and the chance to play all that lovely football because Chelsea gave them the chance to do it, rather than Barcelona at any point actually outplaying Chelsea. I may be biased because I play in defence, but it always irks me when people act like that. Plus, I hate Barcelona, so yeah >_>

And if you mean a Barcelona/Man U final would be better than a Man U/Chelsea final, probably, but the Man U/Chelsea game last year was surprisingly good, so who knows?

I always find it laughable when people say 'well, shit happens, you just have to man up and get on with it', and by no means am I condoning what went on after the final whistle, but the refereeing was atrocious. Even if you take out the ones where you can make the argument for them not being penalties, the Piquet handball was about as set in stone as I can imagine seeing. Chelsea had the chances, sure, and they only have themselves to blame, but the referee was shocking. Chelsea go 2-0 up, the game was all over, because Barcelona never looked like scoring at any point in the game, really. It took a moment of inspiration to put them through. If the decisions went against most of our teams, we'd be steaming.

Edited May 7, 2009 by Jushin 'Thunder' Liam