Champions league football - Chelsea v Liverpool

and Arsenal aren't?

They are definitely cnuts as well

Definitely not!!

They're Tawts!!

bit like Arsenal and Chelsea then really

Oh, And Chelsea are Wanerks

Team News:

Harry Kewell and Milan Baros have been included in Liverpool's squad to face Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
Kewell has been dogged by injury problems all season but with Liverpool short of attacking options, the Australian has declared himself fit.

"Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia have both trained properly and will also be fit."

Liverpool (from): Dudek, Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Traore, Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Alonso, Riise, Nunez, Kewell, Baros, Cisse, Le Tallec, Smicer, Biscan, Warnock, Carson, Potter, Welsh.

Here's a song for the match

London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
Poor old Chelsea
Build it up with Red and White
Red and White
Red and White
Build it up with Red and White
Poor old Chelsea

Kewell is 3/1 favourite for the first one to fall down with a fractured left earlobe after someone hits him on the knee...

is anyone watching tonights game, and where?

not sure tonight's game is on anywhere, is it?
it's not on the telly, I don't think...

its on on ITV1 tonight so i would imagine they will be showing it at The Arc (starting at 8:30CET)

premiere has it though that'll be in german and italian comentary. and i guess sky will show it. so any bar will show it. i guess the dutch will be somewhere in force, and to be honest i hope they win. a dutch english final in turkey. police nightmare.

Edit: ETH has the right info sky dumped itv with the shit game today... ha ha ha!

First time in ages that Liverpool have had almost a full squad to pick from. Think its only really Hamann that is still on the injury list, and he should be fit for the second leg.

Kewell doesn't really matter, he's always injured. Bayern are interested in buying him as a replacement for ZeRoberto when he moves to Spain at the end of the season.

"buying him as a replacement for ZeRoberto" - why was he alwys injured too and want to keep the physio busy

for places showing the football see this cool page

http://www.toytowngermany.com/xtra/pub-events/

We've been getting a fair turnout of Dutch and Italians at The Arc. So should be a good atmosphere tonight

this is news... kewell to munich? you sure?

Still open, the discussion is still whether ZeReberto leaves or not, but apparently Bayern have been scouting Kewell during the first Bayer Champions League game, although they would not have seen much of him since !

bayern management were at ibrox for the old firm game on Sunday, hands off i say!!! hopefully kewell will be enough to satisfy them.

maybe they were watching big john hartson

Wouldn't worry too much, Bayern tend to only buy players that are already playing in the Bundasliga, only exception to that recently was Roy Makay, so guess if they are going to buy anyone, it will first be from the Bundasliga.

Although Bayern do have to start looking for 2 new defenders at the end of the season, as two of theirs are leaving !

well the theory was it was Bobo Balde they were looking at it...

*Bobo's gonna get you...*

C'MON THE SCOUSE!!!

(Getting nervous!)

@Schotte

according to football365 they were looking at bellamy

generally fcb are not averse to buying players that are not in the bundesliga already, but they are very averse to paying going big money for anyone, so they are not likely to buy many players that are already in italy, spain or england as they cost too much!

I hope they buy Bellamy, I cannot describe in words fit for this forum how much I hate him!

I dunno wee mun. Bowyer, Belamy? Belamy, Bowyer?

Bellamy is the worst, Bowyer is a close 2nd.

I hope we (I am a long suffering Toon fan) sell Bellamy, Bowyer, Viana, Butt, Robert and Ameobi. Also hope we do not extend fat Paddy Kluivert's fat contract at the end of the season either. Believe it or not, I would like to keep Dyer, he was looking back to his old self before Bowyer attacked him!!

Butt is fantastic, Sir Alex should never have sold him. You're lucky to have him, WeeMun, you just haven't realised it yet

Butt has merely gone through the motions since joining us, and after the semi with the scum, he was more interested in congratulating his former scum mates rather than applauding the fantastic support the team had received throughout. I believe nufc.com gave him man of the match as a scum player!!

Bellamy is a class act, some pace on that one and nice to see how much he can upset other players and fans. just what the scottish game needs , so i hope he sticks at Celtic, which to be honest I can see happening.

as for tonight, go on Liverpool.

I had one transfer left in Fantasy for tonite. Put Shearer in (I already have Downing and Quedrue for 'Boro).

What do you reckon? Robert looks out of form and favour ...

C'MON THE REDS!!!

butt, fantastic? nah.

butt was no more than a squad player at united. and he looks ordinary at toon. toon are living proof you can't buy silverware. tis a shame the support they have deserves better but i don't think souness is the man to make the breakthrough.

Bring back Faustinho Asprilla, I say. He murdered the Scouse in that classic 4-3 (I think it was).

@latecomer - I suppose you could be right.
I just automatically stick up for ManU players, since they get so much stick from everybody else

What a classic, Chelsea played well, but never got the run of the luck, and Liverpool defended exceptionally well, and even managed to play very well missing the chances they had. Setting up a classic return.

you think it was really a classic Pepper?

I watched in my room and the commentry after wasnt exactly praising it, he thought it was dull apparently. (german friend corrected me so i know this is right)

The German commentry ? hmm... well for me, yeah, Liverpool come away with a draw, and every chance of winning the tie.

ok, in that respect it was also a classic for me too :-) there seems to be real promise of liverpool getting thru now

yeah, fair enough they are german, but his comments right after the match in the studio were along the lines of "well they say english football is fantastic, but..." sort of thing.

And two years ago, the Juve v Milan final was a classic ? hmm... I think not, it is always difficult with two teams from the same country.

But for Liverpool this was a good result, Chelsea have not played so well in the away legs of the chumps league to date (during the knock out stages), and Liverpool did not lose, the aim for Liverpool would always be to win at ANFIELD !

Not a classic, Pepper. Certainly an entertaining 0-0 draw. 2nd round promises to be just as entertaining.

Speaking of which, I intend to finish work next week and head to GM's straight after work to grab a seat. Anyone want to join, I know Eric the Hamster was in. Who else.

6pm start!!

Yep, I will be there !

Tuesday 3rd - Liverpool v Chelsea

Just found this

Will Liverpool qualify if they win ?

@pepper

this debate has been raging for a while. apparently the spanish FA put real madrid in instead of the 4th place team when this happened before, but i have no evidence if that is true. my view is that you would think that liverpool fans would be so hyper after winning the CL that the least of their worries would be whether they were playing in it next year - i mean, er, WTF.

but maybe the big thing is how it affects the players: does gerard pack his shiny new CL winners medal and head down to london? i dunno.

anyway, good show from pool last night, is this really the same team got beat by palace on the weekend? i still feel that chelsea can do it up at anfield, they won their in the league after all (aye i know pool were all over them and should have had a pen, but all the same). either way prem league team in the final - and you can't say fairer than that!

Agreed ! The only consolisation for Liverpool would be, they would not actually LOSE the Champions League in 2005/2006, as they would not take part. Whether Gerrard leaves or not, hmm... KEPT YOUR HANDS OFF, with a Champions League medal in his pocket, I think he would stay, he says he wants to win things with Liverpool, well for Europe nothing gets bigger than the Champions League. Then next season work on the Premiership.

It did happen for Real, somewhere around '97, and I think the FA would have a lot of pressure on them, anyway they are due to make the decision this week, that might just be the curse that Liverpool do not need !

Was a great game last night for the neutral and the Liverpool fans, OK, I am bias, and maybe need to be realistic about this, so I will close my comment with an entertaining game, and chances at both ends, although Chelsea did miss the better chances. (some good luck for Liverpool perhaps ?)

i think the FA will put the 4th place team in, i'm afraid. i think that if gerard wins with CL with pool, then it would befit him to stay another year or two to try and win the prem. i mean CL is the biggest prize in european football, and some great players and great teams have not won it, i think he would owe pool his loyalty for a decent attack at the prem next season!

when chelsea win at anfield, he might just put some stuff in the back of franky lampard's car for the run down south. might as well get started on the move

Uefa insists Liverpool are not guaranteed entry into next season's Champions League unless they finish fourth in the Premiership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4496459.stm

But the FA can still ask !

The question is, do the FA have enough balls to do this, or will they leave the apple cart just as it is !

Personally I think they are all cowards, and as a result it will not matter if Liverpool win or not, they will not qualify. But Everton, admitted have had a good season, but I do not expect them to continue this, so how far will they go in the Chumps league next year ? Is that a good advertisement for the Premiership.

Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man U should do OK, but I think Liverpool would go further in the comp than Everton

Dont agree with it at all. Fair enough if Pool dont win the Chumps league, give it to 4th place.

Champions League not having the defending Champions in the following season is a joke. Its about time they stopped calling it a Champions league, when it quite obviously isnt.

@Pepper - They already have asked. UEFA have given the answer, only the top 4 will go in to the CL, it is up to the FA to decide which 4 teams can enter. The FA could if they wanted award it to Liverpool and drop Man U.

Asprilla will always be remembered for his hatrick against Barcelona when we beat them 3-2 in the Champions League.

Eufa came out today and said that it does not devalue the competition if the defending champions are not in it.

I personally think the only way to decide it is a play off on a neutral ground. Make it Old Toilet, then all the scousers can rip the place apart

I've been Red all my life, and I was overjoyed with the draw.

I'm fcuking sick and tired of the Gerrard "angst" we fans seem to display everytime the Sun runs an article about his real estate preferences in London.

Let him go. We can do with the GBP30mil. Look how Everon are flying without Rooney.

'Pool aren't going to die if Gerrard goes.

Actually I am also coming around to that way of thinking, Alonso seems to be the player for Liverpool's midfield now.