The Round Ball Game

[EdgeleyRob]

Looking forward to this. I've had a little flutter on Rooney 1st scorer and MU to win 2-1 .

[teamsaint]

i only want manyoo to win if they are playing p****mouth. so its barca for me. at least i have a vague family connection to justify this.
Not that having any connection seems to bother most manyoo fans. no doubt there will be dancing in the streets of guildford if they win.

Hope barca lay off the diving tonight though.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Not that having any connection seems to bother most manyoo fans. no doubt there will be dancing in the streets of guildford if they win.

Evidently Beethoven supported Man U. He must have done because he didn't come from Manchester.

[scottycelt]

Evidently Beethoven supported Man U. He must have done because he didn't come from Manchester.

Yes, he has now been reincarnated as Auferstehen2 and currently resides in Malta ...

[LeMartinPecheur]

Looking forward to this. I've had a little flutter on Rooney 1st scorer and MU to win 2-1 .

Hmm, you were a bit closer with the first bit, Rob, but not VERY close even there

[Auferstehen2]

Yes, he has now been reincarnated as Auferstehen2 and currently resides in Malta ...

Failing to appreciate any humour currently Scotty.

I WILL get over it in time...

Mario

[scottycelt]

Failing to appreciate any humour currently Scotty.

I WILL get over it in time...

Mario

Don't get too depressed, Mario.

Like so many others, I've been observing the good, bad and downright ugly of football all my life and can honestly say I've never seen a team like the current Barcelona side ... one almost goes dizzy just watching these wonderful players perform. It's not just the amazing individual skills and superbly accurate and bewilderingly swift passing, but also the total physical fitness, commitment and awareness of all.

United contributed to what I thought a super first-half (the second really ended as a contest when Barca scored early in the second). I've never seen my near-neighbour Sir Alex look so relaxed and even smiling after a defeat. He obviously knew like the rest of us that we had just witnessed something very special indeed, and no other team in the world would have lived with this astonishing Catalan side.

Man Utd were certainly not disgraced, and even the magnificent Partick Thistle have a wee bit further to go yet, I fear ...

[EdgeleyRob]

Hmm, you were a bit closer with the first bit, Rob, but not VERY close even there

Never mind, it was a joy to watch the fantasy football that Barcelona played.

I hear some Barca fans unveiled a banner 'MUFC 19 times' in recognition of how many times they touched the ball last night

[aeolium]

Yes, wonderful football by Barca - the best club team I have seen (best national side Brazil 1970). How many times did that triangle of Xavi-Iniesta-Messi interpass with United players looking on helplessly?

It shows how well Arsenal played against Barca earlier at the Emirates, in one of the best European games this season.

[eighthobstruction]

>>>I hear some Barca fans unveiled a banner 'MUFC 19 times' in recognition of how many times they touched the ball last night<<<

....nicely done ER....

Yep, that Arsenal match was so so memorable....

....great to see Utd didnt up end the trio hardly at all, had Roy Keane been on the pitch, there would have been a few taking flying lessons....but the result would hav been the same....amazed how much United laid off them, with Evra flying into the middle and giving Barce extra width....all the defending seemed to happen in the last 25yards....I guess so that they didn't get too tired....surprised there wasn't an attempt to man mark anyone....prob' coz Barce seemed to have 15 men on the pitch [did anyone check]....

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

... the Messi and Villa goals were gifts .... it was an incredible match eh .... there is no club side in UK can come close to Barcelona ... they were supposed to be tired and beatable in the final 20 mins having played the same team in so many matches, all that showed was how important to teamwork and smooth execution such continuity is .... they don't have to run they just make the opposition run ...... what impresses most about their play is how fast and tough they are in getting the ball back, anywhere on the field ... they closed MU out very effectively ... brilliant game and sobering if not chastening when considering the game in these islands ...

[eighthobstruction]

Yep and with Mascherano in back 4....must have been a fair amount of rubbing hands with glee...

....Hernandez is a find though Eh??....you can see his heart bursting out of him....

....ONCE AGAIN...Nani as a defender anywhere in the final third....NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo oooooooooooooooooooooo

[eighthobstruction]

Also size matters....tichy little Spanish liddlyfleetfootedbillywhizzes....NOT fair they should play in a special league for dwarves....

[eighthobstruction]

Just listened to a good programme re the history of FIFA....Fifa:Fotball power and Politics 1330 R4 Sunday.....but no iplay link as yet....


AND....where does Michele Platini stand in all this one wonders....seems to be a golden boy....Hmmmm 'golden'....Hmmmm????

[BBMmk2]

Ah, another season ends, with Man Utd loosing to Barcelona but what a match!! Even good old sir alex giving the opposing side praise! This what its all about, eh? Sportsmanship, or has it all but disappeared?