[Archived] Champions League

[Tony Diamond Inc]

It's pitiful that - even on a usually balanced and sensible football discussion forum such as this - the match officials are taking the brunt of negative comment.

Terry Henry joined the party, freely slating the match officials in this showpiece final in his post match interview.  Henry himself - when he watches the video - should replace his bitterness towards officials with self criticism.

Crucial chances were missed - and always will be.  Henry creates so many chances for himself that he is allowed to miss a few.  Those misses are mistakes by Henry.  He has no right to slate the ref at the end of this game - at least the ref was putting some effort in.

With 10 mins to go, with desperate Arsenal attacks being reliant on long balls, Henry never moved from a central position - never chased, never harried, never cared!!  He was wearing the armband FFS!  Leave the refs alone and **** off to wherever you want to play.

Lehman's (?sp) sending off was totally deserved, and when you look at the game objectively there is no argument about which team deserves to be Champions of Europe.

The lunatic goalie and the wantaway captain have cost Arsenal.  It's almost a shame that Spurs let them in to the Champs League for next season, but on the plus side they will be screwed when the spine of their team isn't there any more.

Wantaway Terry will have gone, Dennis the Menace will have retired, Pires the puff won't perform, Sol the unbalanced will shoot his last bolt at the WC .... Loony Lehman is probably already in rehab ....

I'd rather be supporting Rovers, to be sure ......

408638[/snapback]

Tris, it would appear your PC is being used by a Spuds supporting colleague.

This game WAS a prime example of football spoiled by referees. The Norwegian's performance was inept at best. Yes he got decisions wrong for both sides, but the balance was massively against the Arse.

I would like to bet, that with so many risible decisions, we won't see this buffoon reffing such a prestige showpiece in the near future.

What was that?... he's officiating in the world cup?... has anyone seen me coat?

[AggyBlue]

The overall feeling from last night's game was that I am now very vary of England getting cheated out of the World Cup this year, maybe by a bad ref decision or opponent diving... It just always seems to be English teams getting the worst of it against Johnny Foreigner

408682[/snapback]

I've said it before, the best cheats will win the WC, not the best team.

[BuckyRover]

I don't think Henry will go to Barca now - I think he saw last night that Barca are a bunch of divers who havent got any sense of good sportsmanship.

The way that Puyol and Ronaldihno (near the corner flag) threw themselves to the ground was pathetic.

The overall feeling from last night's game was that I am now very vary of England getting cheated out of the World Cup this year, maybe by a bad ref decision or opponent diving... It just always seems to be English teams getting the worst of it against Johnny Foreigner

408682[/snapback]

That's exactly what I was feeling too.

It happened in Euro 2004 and it will probably happen again.

[herbergeehh]

Complete Moron.

Enough Said.

You wouldn't happen to be a referee would you herbergeehh?

408649[/snapback]

Why, do referees dislike Ronaldinho? I think "enough said" is the best part of your post. Tosser.

Neekoy: No, of course that (tearing apart Chelsea) counts for something, and I have never questioned his quality whatsoever. (reread my posts if you think otherwise)

My point is, even today people talk about him being fantastic, just for passing a ball ten feet. Whilst there is a worldwide opinion that he's the undisputed number one footballer, I think there's one or two on the same level when it comes to what the player brings to his football club.

[Guest Kamy100]

I am really annoyed with all this Referee cost us and conspiracy theories. Lehman had to go and after that the referee did ok, yes he could have given some yellow cards to Barca defenders but it was nothing out of the ordinary. All this talk of Arsenal being cheated and fears of England being cheated at the world cup is codswollop. They were beaten because simply put Barca took their chances and Arsenal didn't. When Henry missed the one on one in the second half I had a feeling that Barca would make him pay for that miss.

Wenger and Henry's moaning at the end of the game was "sour grapes" of the highest order, they should have been more "dignified" and focused on a heroic display by their team, instead all of that has been lost in this whirlwind of accusations.

[BuckyRover]

I am really annoyed with all this Referee cost us and conspiracy theories.  Lehman had to go and after that the referee did ok, yes he could have given some yellow cards to Barca defenders but it was nothing out of the ordinary.  All this talk of Arsenal being cheated and fears of England being cheated at the world cup is codswollop.  They were beaten because simply put Barca took their chances and Arsenal didn't.  When Henry missed the one on one in the second half I had a feeling that Barca would make him pay for that miss.

Wenger and Henry's moaning at the end of the game was "sour grapes" of the highest order, they should have been more "dignified" and focused on a heroic display by their team, instead all of that has been lost in this whirlwind of accusations.

408692[/snapback]

That's rubbish Kamy. After the sending off Barcelona made a lot of rash challenges including lunges from behind, and no yellow cards were produced. As Henry said, if they had been booked it would have made his job a lot easier.

It happened against Chelsea too, Barcelona players pressure the referee and then the ref buckles under it. I can't believe it was the same ref that sent Del Horno off. Do they not have any other referees?

[DaveyB]

I don't think Henry will go to Barca now - I think he saw last night that Barca are a bunch of divers who havent got any sense of good sportsmanship.

The way that Puyol and Ronaldihno (near the corner flag) threw themselves to the ground was pathetic.

The overall feeling from last night's game was that I am now very vary of England getting cheated out of the World Cup this year, maybe by a bad ref decision or opponent diving... It just always seems to be English teams getting the worst of it against Johnny Foreigner

408682[/snapback]

I didn't see all the game - got called out to work just before half-time, but I did catch the post match stuff.

I don't get how Arsenal were cheated out of the game. The sending-off, whilst not necessarily being in the best interests of the game as a spectacle, was the correct decision.

The Arsenal goal came from a blatent dive - the lad should have been shown a 2nd yellow and sent off, thus reducing Arsenal correctly to 9 men. Instead they kept 10 men on the pitch and went 1-0 up.

During the interview with Lehmann after the game, Geoff Shreeves on Sky seemed to intimate that Barca's 1st goal was offside. This was not the case - even Paul Merson addmitted that he was level and therefore on.

There was nothing wrong at all with Barca's 2nd goal - except perhaps the defending.

So unless I've missed some game changing incident, which Sky didn't bother putting into their aftermatch analysis, then I can't see how Arsenal can complain. The only big decision that was wrong was in their favour.

[stegraham]

I don't think Henry will go to Barca now - I think he saw last night that Barca are a bunch of divers who havent got any sense of good sportsmanship.

The way that Puyol and Ronaldihno (near the corner flag) threw themselves to the ground was pathetic.

The overall feeling from last night's game was that I am now very vary of England getting cheated out of the World Cup this year, maybe by a bad ref decision or opponent diving... It just always seems to be English teams getting the worst of it against Johnny Foreigner

408682[/snapback]

I seem to remember Owen diving in the last world cup to get England a penalty in an important game - no?

[rover6]

Eboue dived for the free kick - so I can't see why Arsenal are complaining.

[Ronin]

Don't really think that L'Arse were cheated out. They did however, IMO play very well for the first 20mins until the sending off, with Valdes making a couple of good saves from Henry in the first 5 mins, then once Lehman got sent off, appeared to be hanging on, even moreso after they scored.

I do think some of the officiating was particularly bad, no bookings when there should've been, bookings when there were perfectly legit tackles etc, which did spoil the game a bit, but didn't seem to be really favouring one side or the other. Thankfully, said ref won't be at the World Cup, although I'm sure we can expect more dodgy refereeing

[Anti-Man Utd]

Pleased that genuine champions won this year...that's nothing against Arsenal. The competition's been a farce since 1999 IMO.

[Hughesy]

Don’t think Arsenal & in particular Henry can blame the referee.

If Henry wants to complain, then he should complain about his poor finishing. He failed to perform on the big stage. He had 2 top chances which both times he failed to convert. He is a striker and a very good one and he gets paid alot of money to score goals, which last night he didn’t do.

Barcelona were without doubt too good for Arsenal. Ok Ronaldinho didn’t score a goal but he still had an influence on the game and I think Arsenal paid him too much respect by concentrating on him rather than concentrating on the whole of the Barcelona side as they have talent in every area - As Eto showed when he played a nice 1-2 and then put the ball in the net. As for Offside, it was extremely marginal and his run was very quick in real-time and it would have been harsh to give it offside.

The Arsenal goal came from a free-kick that wasn’t, the soft southern pansy dived.

Eboue & Toure could have quite easily picked up further yellow cards, but didn’t so where does all the referee was against us rubbish come from!!

Lehman without doubt deserved to get sent off as Eto was clean through after dancing round him. He was very lucky that the ref didn’t play advantage, allow the goal and then sent Lehman off.

Arsenal had a couple of chances but I think overall Barcelona could have make it an embarrassing scoreline if they had their shooting boots on. Also don’t forget they were without the impressive Leo Messi.

One worrying moment for me was the ease in which Eto turned Sol Cambell inside out, to create the chance which Aluminium did well to save. Sols defensive work there doesn’t bode well for England.

[OJRovers]

good though for england that Ash Cole had a decent game - looks to have a good level of fitness.

[American]

I am really annoyed with all this Referee cost us and conspiracy theories.

408692[/snapback]

Does that mean you'll stop supporting Rovers!?!?

[RevidgeBlue]

Have to disagree with that totally, thought Arsenal were by far the better side, even with 10 men until Barca scored. Once they got level, it was always going to be an impossible task for Arsenal and there was only one likely winner after that.

Henry was magnificent up front on his own, practically unplayable. Really hope he stays in the Prem. Ronaldhino on the other hand was all full of posey flicks with no real end product. I've only watched barca for a full 90 minutes twice and on both occasions thought Ettoo was their most effective player.

I think Arsenal would have won that game comfortably with eleven v eleven. One of those things that Lehmann was technically correctly sent off which more or less guaranteed a Barca win.

Although at the time as the ball was breaking to a Barca player for a tap in, I'm sure both sides would have been happier had the goal stood and Lehmann been yellow carded.

[AggyBlue]

One of those things that Lehmann was technically correctly sent off which more or less guaranteed a Barca win.

408755[/snapback]

You can hardly claim he denied a goal scoring opportunity when the ball ended up in the net.

It was all down to the refs interpretation and the impression i got was that he interpreted everything Barca's way

[Nayef]

A week ago, it was sour grapes of the highest order from Spurs. Arsenal fans were no doubt having quite a chuckle with the rest of us.

Yesterday was Arsenal's go at the sour grapes.

Eboue clearly dived - did Wenger forget about that? Did Henry really forget about it before coming out with "we were robbed" rubbish.

Barca's second goal - Offside my butt! The ITV commentators (incidently I did think Venables seemed a little drunk) kept going on about offside and then when they showed the replay and freezed the frame, they suddenly went quiet, much like kids do when there's no freebie in a freebie advertised cereal packet.

If Arsenal really want to complain about fair refereeing, they should have been 1-0 down with Eboue sent off for diving. Barca's second goal - no complaints eh? OK, that makes it 2-0.

Spurs fans no doubt are having a field day today.

[Rovermatt]

If Henry didn't play for Arsenal I wouldn't have given a toss if they'd won last night or not. However, I fear the league has now seen the last of a true great. The Premiership will be an infinitely duller place without Henry-should he now feel it's time to move on.

[Rovermatt]

Spurs fans no doubt are having a field day today.

408778[/snapback]

Yes because their season was so superior to Arsenal's.

Oh wait...

[yawnsie]

(incidently I did think Venables seemed a little drunk)

408778[/snapback]

Me too! What was up with that Sven impression he did? Methinks Tel enjoyed the hospitality suite a bit too much before he went on air...

[Rovermatt]

Henry was magnificent up front on his own, practically unplayable. Really hope he stays in the Prem. Ronaldhino on the other hand was all full of posey flicks with no real end product. I've only watched barca for a full 90 minutes twice and on both occasions thought Ettoo was their most effective player.

408755[/snapback]

I have to agree. Ronaldinho is a truly awesome footballer but in my opinion Eto'o is Barca's most devastatign player. My dad likened him to a cobra last night. His shot against the post involved him touching the ball twice-once to turn Campbell and then a second time to strike it. The way in which he explodes in to space from a standing start is frightening.

The sheer number of quality goals that he scores is very impressive also. He was La Liga's top scorer this seaosn and some of his strikes were simply brilliant. He doesn't have the audacity or panache of Henry but his technique and consistent quality are certainly up there with the Arsenal captain.

[AggyBlue]

His shot against the post involved him touching the ball twice-once to turn Campbell and then a second time to strike it.

408784[/snapback]

When I played, toe bungs were frowned upon as showing a lack of technique. There's no doubt the kid has pace though.

[Rovermatt]

Didn't Ronaldinho score at Stamford Bridge last season with a toe punt?

It is an extremely effective way of shooting if used in the right situation. If you want to arrow the ball to an exact spot in the goal and you have very little time and space to do it in, then a punt is perfectly acceptable. Eto'o knew exactly what he was doing last night.

[pleasure]

i'm glad barca won, cant stand wenger (his arrogant attitude) and david dein.

i see their point about the sending off, ref blew too quickly and shouldve gave himself some thinking time, given barca a goal and lemon a yellow.

*was great seeing lemon devastated! couldnt of happened to a nicer fellow!*

i was staggered by henry's comments. even taking into account he was interviewed just after the whistle, i've never heard a star player slagging off the opposition's stars!

he should look at his own displays. although he worked hard, and was upfront on his own, his misses were extremly costly and mirrored his FA CUP FINAL performances ,against liverpool and southampton.

i thought TH was a 'real sportsman' and he shouldve followed campbell and cole's example, by being gracious in defeat.

wenger's ints werent any better, but i didnt expect anything else.

as for terry vegetables being drunk, maybe he's just getting some practice in, before teaming up with his drinking buddy- steve gibson.

*gibson is making enquires about billy davies, to start as his assistant and be groomed as his sucessor*

Edited May 18, 2006 by pleasure

[Presty On Tour]

Lehman without doubt deserved to get sent off as Eto was clean through after dancing round him. He was very lucky that the ref didn’t play advantage, allow the goal and then sent Lehman off.

408737[/snapback]

i just want to clear something up, if you deny a clear goal scoring opertunity...i.e. last man(defending player or goal keeper) it is a straight red card right for example lastnight, eto danced round the german and would of gone on to score but his was brought down so fair enough.

so if the ref didn't blow for the free kick, played advantage and let i think it was guily score, he can't award the goal turn round and send off lehmann as he has not stopped a clear goal scoring oppertunity anymore as barcelona have scored?

so to sum up, the ref lastnight sent of the keeper, arse down to 10 and 0-0.

the other option was to play advantage, barca lead 1-0 and it's 11 v 11, simple as that