It technically is.

But the offsides rule is all kinds of wonky and the referee/linesmen blew the call.

Clear offside.

Surprised Napoli didn't complain? or they did?

Not in the least big surprised by our group. Always a risk when you're in pot 4.

Since we're not favorites to progress, we are under less pressure than if we had landed in an easier group. That said, we still need to make an impression. The goal is to get out of the group and to do that I think we're going to need either Bayern or City's scalp while doing the double over CSKA. For a side as good as the one I think we have, that's attainable. Is it enough to get out of the group? We'll see.

Either way, I want us to either progress or to go out all together. Worst thing that could happen is ending up in the Europa league where we won't get as much money and still have a packed calendar to contend with, which hinders our ultimate goal of the scudetto.

Just to address the earlier conversation, it absolutely would be a failure if we finished below Basel.

El Cujo wrote:Just to address the earlier conversation, it absolutely would be a failure if we finished below Basel.

Said it before and I'll say it again... utter nonsense.

I also agree. RedO is dead wrong here. Would be a massive failure if we can't finish above Basel and Ludo.

Yeap.If we cant finish 2 and qualify then will be a massive failure.

Massive failure in your first year in the CL under an inexperienced manager and squad?

Bit harsh.

RealGunner wrote:Massive failure in your first year in the CL under an inexperienced manager and squad?

Bit harsh.

Massive failure when your opponents are Ludo and Basel, YES. Specially after spending 120+million in one summer. Ludo are some pub team in some village in Bulgaria with all due respect. Basel have sold all of their important players that made them so dangerous and their manager Murat Yakin. Now they have some garbage reject manager that couldn't make a living in the second division of English football.

If we were in a group of death then I would say sure, it's not a massive failure. But this is as great a draw we could've asked for.

Let's write off the entire season (of 4, perhaps 5 competitions) all with regard to what may well come down to a single match or goal difference because we're all too myopic to give another club the proper respect it deserves.

I'd call it unbelievable but then I know most of you too well to find such short-sightedness and hyperbole that surprising.

Dude we're talking about CL here. Our CL campaign will be an absolute failure if we don't progress through the groups.

I said nothing about the rest of the season. We could just as well go to El and win the goddam thing Maybe do a cup treble or win the league.

I was speaking just about the CL campaign.

I agree it would be CL failure for Liverpool if they can't finish 2nd.. You finished 2nd in the league last year ffs

Don't call me James wrote:Dude we're talking about CL here. Our CL campaign will be an absolute failure if we don't progress through the groups.

I said nothing about the rest of the season. We could just as well go to El and win the goddam thing Maybe do a cup treble or win the league.

I was speaking just about the CL campaign.

And I'll say again, I've known you all long enough to know that for the most part that isn't the case. The knee-jerk and doomsaying will be about the season if we should finish third in the group.

And with absolutely no regard to the surrounding circumstances.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwJT9UcCYAAx9DD.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwJT9T2CQAAlSX-.jpg

Watching the CL as a neutral this year (f'n Moyes)..... why are the group stages a bunch of rematches?

Seriously, who drew these groups? Bayern-Man City? Barca-PSG? Arsenal-Dortmund? Chelsea-Schalke?

At least Real Madrid isn't facing Ajax this year

Which of these minnows have the potential to surprise us? By surprise, I mean doing better than 4th:

Malmo
Ludogorets
Anderlecht
APOEL
Maribor
BATE

RedO you can sit on your high horse all you want, but it's not like your whole 'level headed' approach isn't wrong at times either. You just recently told me that you 'couldn't help me' because I discounted that Rodgers said we were categorically not signing Balotelli...and yet he's with us now.

Just because you don't set your expectations high for the club doesn't mean that others can't. I think most people out there would consider it embarrassing to fall out of the CL to one of Basel or Ludo.

NEO ‏@WELCOME_VIDAL 6h
TRICKY DRAW FOR UNITED. NO HOME FIXTURES. OR AWAY. AND NO OPPONENTS. VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO PROGRESS

I'm dying.

It'll be a failure if we cant finish second in that group.

For Liverpool, it would be failure if they cant progress out of that group (will likely finish 2nd). Come on...it would be utter embarrassment to finish 3rd or 4rth in that group. And one big game vs Real could put them first. Just remember Real is great at hammering the minnows, so the goal differential could be a difference

Let's put it this way that in a 38-game league we would finish ahead of Basel, but in a CL group it's certainly possible they'll finish above us. They've got some legit players.

However, our last match of the group is Basel at home and it could be the decider between which one goes through. If so, then we should take care of the business in that game, it would be a failure to, ermm, fail to do that.

In Liverpool's case they should go through to the Round of 16. However that's not the only competition they will be playing in. If they can balance the league/cup and the CL then they will be fine but if not then it could get tricky.

windkick wrote:Just remember Real is great at hammering the minnows, so the goal differential could be a difference

In CL head to head counts ahead of goal difference so not worried about them hammering minnows.

I'm pretty confident that we can do well against them specially at home. Just need to keep the head to head favorable after the Bernabeu fixture.

ffs talk about luck