Champions League Last 16 Draw (16th Dec) 11am.

[GP]

Wumber

[Letters]

truth is you are delusional, you can see the bright side of stepping in a big lump of dog poo

[Master Splinter]

It was always going to be Bayern or Barca.

We would have got Olympiakos if we'd finished first in our group.

If we get through, I'd like to play someone different for once.

Hope Dids Didses Chelsea.

[Ollie the Optimist]

truth is you are delusional, you can see the bright side of stepping in a big lump of dog poo

We routinely bottle our group games and end up with a mountain to climb.....ergo we havent made the QFs for some time now. The same lack of tactics that see us fail everytime we meet a quality team in whichever cup.
Hope Poldi is at least back cos Giroud is fast starting to resemble Aderbayor. Its a game so we have a punchers chance. ali v Chuck Wepner

is that the same lack of tactics that caused us to beat liverpool, spurs, napoli, dortmund away this season?

i just don't get how I'm delusional by saying that although bayern are a better team, as with all cup competitions there is a chance of an upset and we might do it but if we are going to go out, id rather go out to a big team then a small team.

we finished top of the group, we got milan and lost. we finished second and got bayern. there are no easy games in this competition once you are in the knockouts. we fucked up in napoli, i have never said anything different but because i dare to say we could pull off an upset because its a cup competition i get called delusional.

funny enough, someone said the exact same thing, and people agreed with him.

[Dein-machine]

is that the same lack of tactics that caused us to beat liverpool, spurs, napoli, dortmund away this season?

i just don't get how I'm delusional by saying that although bayern are a better team, as with all cup competitions there is a chance of an upset and we might do it but if we are going to go out, id rather go out to a big team then a small team.

we finished top of the group, we got milan and lost. we finished second and got bayern. there are no easy games in this competition once you are in the knockouts. we fucked up in napoli, i have never said anything different but because i dare to say we could pull off an upset because its a cup competition i get called delusional.

funny enough, someone said the exact same thing, and people agreed with him.

Ofcourse we could pull of an upset but I don't get your point on the tactics. Liverpool, Spurs & Napoli were home games where we've gone out to try to score. Dortmund away was a wonderful result but they could have won the game by half time it they had taken a couple of easy chances. Playing the way we did we would get beat 8 times out of ten. Didn't need that away to Napoli who are nowhere near as good as Dortmund. If we scored 1st it would have killed them but he wanted to soak up the pressure using those world famous defensive midfielders Ozil & Cazorla.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I laughed at that on football weekly too!

[IBK]

Last season I would have just laughed and accepted we were out before a ball was kicked, then prayed we could scrape 4th in the league. This year I think we have a slim chance against Bayern, why not, if we are right on top of our game (twice) we are a good side and this is knockout football. Plus we are talking about competing for the PL without it being pure fantasy. Things have certainly improved. Probability suggests we'll win neither, but we've gone from being non-competitive to competitive which is what most of us wanted.

I see what you are saying, but turn it around and recall how we have done in every 'big' game this season save for Liverpool and Dortmund away - and a step change feels far more like hope than expectation.

We have improved. Yes. I'd say mostly in defence. But in reality there is little evidence to suggest that there is anything fundamentally different to this team than other Wenger teams who at stages have tended to flatter then deceive.

I don't want to put a downer on what at times has been a pleasantly surprising season so far. But it is true that the last week or so has been painful.

[Niall_Quinn]

But that's the point, we've actually won a couple of big games this season. Plus we were very unlucky to lose vs Utd, flu and our own ex-striker shouldering one in, Utd themselves had nothing of their own making to threaten us with - not even the ref for once. Everton and Napoli were poor performances and they all have one thing in common, Wenger's negative approach to certain games and opponents. Saturday was a circus, can't read too much into it beyond what we already know, we need options up front. Wenger has put the pressure on us for the Chelsea game by chucking the Everton and Napoli matches in the hope of having more energy against city. But we'd have been just as well off knackered against city but with the points in the bag vs Everton and topping our CL group. This saving and resting bullshit is more counterproductive than anything else.

Or looking at it another way - if we put in an end of season run like last year, we're champions. Some options coming back from injury too. I don't think it's all doom and gloom quite yet.

[IBK]

But that's the point, we've actually won a couple of big games this season. Plus we were very unlucky to lose vs Utd, flu and our own ex-striker shouldering one in, Utd themselves had nothing of their own making to threaten us with - not even the ref for once. Everton and Napoli were poor performances and they all have one thing in common, Wenger's negative approach to certain games and opponents. Saturday was a circus, can't read too much into it beyond what we already know, we need options up front. Wenger has put the pressure on us for the Chelsea game by chucking the Everton and Napoli matches in the hope of having more energy against city. But we'd have been just as well off knackered against city but with the points in the bag vs Everton and topping our CL group. This saving and resting bullshit is more counterproductive than anything else.

Or looking at it another way - if we put in an end of season run like last year, we're champions. Some options coming back from injury too. I don't think it's all doom and gloom quite yet.

Sometimes you see a comment that genuinely helps to change your mindset. Cheers.

[Bumble]

I don't think he was negative against everton. everton played exceptionally well and deserved a draw. Napoli as the players said was because we didnt need to win that they played the way they did. It is the reason we beat bayern. Had the first leg been a draw a doubt we would have won the second leg last season. Top level sport if you don't give 100% you tend to lose. It is very difficult to coast through games.

We can go through against bayern. We just must not lose it after the first leg. Don't chase the result as 0-0 is not a bad result.