Village Idiot

And yet you were still only a goal away from grabbing a draw Deceptive scoreline though. You gave us a bath like we say in Spain.

That's just never going to change. UEFA and TV right holders need all these big guns qualifying for the CL by default and playing a bunch of games. That said, I'm not terribly opposed to countries having more than 1 CL spot. The current format forces you to beat tougher opposition in order to lift the cup. The year we won it first we beat a bunch of average teams, and not a single truly top side, while in 2006 with the new format we had to beat the likes of Chelsea, Milan and Arsenal. But I'd probably leave it at 3 spots *tops*.

It was the feeling of utter confidence going into the match - after the show we had been putting the league - and thinking "Barça's back and we are going to win this s*** again" only to spend a whole game chasing shadows and looking massively out of our depth. That game was also a harbinger of times to come, of being utterly average in Europe until the mid 2000s.

That CL game. I'm still scarred after all these years. Ranks up there as one of my 3 worst European memories for Barça.

Man, I loved the old CWC. Coupled with only the league winner going to the EC, made winning the domestic cup feel more momentous.

Oh, I agree about the format thing. Dunno why they insisted in turning it into a CL lite, at least the different format gave a point to the UEFA Cup and made it exciting. UEFA's obsession with group stages is almost sexual in nature. The CL had TWO of them at one point FFS.

Villa haven't even progressed to the group stage two years in the running. They aren't a valid example of European game congestion...

That then would be a one off, I would prefer to build up the squad and have enough strength in depth to qualify on a regular basis. If it takes a little longer then so be it. I don't think the Europa League even brings in much money so it wouldn't pay for an increase in squad depth or quality. So you wouldn't want to qualify for Europe because then you wouldn't qualify for Europe? Fulham qualifying for the EL was a freak result (they barely avoided relegation the year before), so I don't think it hurt their development as club. I really can't see how making the EL would hurt your growing and stabilisation.

Fulham and Middlesbrough struggled in the league though? I don't remember how Boro did, but Fulham finished comfortably midtable last year.

Better lose a few games quickly then, you're dangerously close to 6th.

To be honest I find Mourinho to be extremely entertaining and banter-tastic. He just happens to manage the spawn of Satan so I won't be giving him the time of the day.

2-2? s*** result.

They have booed the team at home repeatedly this season, they're like a feather turning with the wind. The thing they need the most right now is getting one over us and winning something. As long as he does that Mou will be fine. Mou has already prepared his exit, this week he has already said he'll leave at the end of the season if he doesn't feel comfortable (probably bluffing to exact concessions from the board though).

Man, I hate Real Madrid and their late wins by a hair. But they count all the same as our batterings and this league will be a hard one to win.

Bernabéu booing the Lass/Granero swap.

True. That Gago-Granero-Kaká central midfield has been dire, but none of them have started regularly for them this season, less so played together. Probably Mou should have rotated 1-2 of them only.

No, thanks for pointing it out Wish I could afford to sit there.

Kaká trying his best to make me look like a nutter by playing abysmally.

Seriously? He was awesome in the CL in that season when Madrid had a back three of him, Karanka and Helguerra. Though thinking about it now, it would explain how he went from Madrid to Bolton... Ask any Real Madrid fan really, he's considered one of the worst to play there for them. He was good in that CL final, but other than that was slow and clumsy, with Bramble-like mistakes. More than that, he just couldn't cope with the pressure of playing for a big team. He was just more comfy at Bolton, in the same way he had been such a success at Mallorca.

Di María is weird. He looks average for most of the time but yet manages to pop up with important goals. Another thing Kaká has over Özil is that he doesn't disappear in big games. Even last year he scored a few important goals in the last third of the season that kept Real Madrid in the race. It's mostly his fitness that let him down.

Even if it's only the EL it'd get your name out there again. Plus it's always fun to play international teams, and you might get a glamour tie at some point, which is always great as a fan. Still think it's a big ask, table is very tight.

Kaká starting on the hole for Real Madrid, benching Özil. Still think he's twice the player than the German, if he can recapture his form.

Pains me to say that, but Espanyol are in tremendous form this season. Atlético down against Sporting.

Guillaume Smitsmans I don't do Facebook or Twitter so I'm really none the wiser but one ITK has said not bollox but a little bit more to sort out yet. He studies at same uni as I did. Looking up his grades he seems a bit of a lazyarse. Other than that, never heard of him.

Really? Rafael Alcántara, yes. Dad is Mazinho, so football runs in the family.