Football season 2011/12

[McSCOTTYS GHOST]

Sadly outward success is not always an indicator of how a person feels inside, Gary Speed must have had some inner turmoil - In some cases suicidal thoughts are an involuntary affliction, in other cases the are felt the only way out of a predicament for a person- either way one thing it is not is an easy way out (as some folk think) and overall it is just terribly sad.

[Digifiend]

Manchester United are OUT of the Champions League! They lost 2-1.

[matrix]

Manchester United are OUT of the Champions League! They lost 2-1.

Oh dear! Hold on while i get the violin out! Cupboards going to be bare for you this season!

Ps-There is a good team 9kms down the rd!

[Digifiend]

If you mean Manchester City, they got knocked out too. Only difference is, they were relying on another result, so their elimination isn't surprising like United's was.

[matrix]

If you mean Manchester City, they got knocked out too. Only difference is, they were relying on another result, so their elimination isn't surprising like United's was.

I was thinking rest of the season in the league.

So whats going on? Does complacency come to mind?

[Digifiend]

I think Vidic's injury can be blamed. He's United's captain, so losing him would've knocked their confidence. Also, Rooney is badly off form and missed some good chances... maybe he couldn't concentrate ahead of today's hearing about his Euro ban (it got reduced from three games to two, good news for England).

[dreamticket]

I thought United were poor in Europe all this season, and wasn't surprised by the result. I was expecting Chelsea to crash out as well but they surprised me by winning 4-0.

I think Tottenham need a Lyon-esque miracle to progress in the Europa league, and are probably better off out of it considering the teams who'll be joining from the CL.

[Jonny Whizz]

Chelsea won 3-0. I thought they would go through, although I actually thought they were more likely to go out of the tournament than Manchester United, who only needed to avoid defeat. I wasn't surprised by Manchester City's exit, as the matter was out of their hands (a Napoli win was enough to knock them out regardless of what they did), and Arsenal were already safely through their group.

I doubt the Champions League will be heading to an English club this season. I don't think either Arsenal or Chelsea are good enough to beat Real Madrid or Barcelona. Those two are the obvious favourites, though I could imagine Bayern Munich going on another good run as well.

I just read that Vidic is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury. That represents a major blow for United, although the promise of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling does soften it to a certain extent. Also, I personally thought Roy Keane was wrong to criticise the younger players in the team for their Champions League exit, I would blame it on players like Jonny Evans - is he really of the standard required at United? As a Liverpool fan, if we were offered him for nothing I wouldn't take him.

[Digifiend]

That's bad news about Vidic. An overall disaster for United then. Being knocked out of the Champions League is bad enough, but then losing the captain for the season as well...

I wonder, Man Utd's Champions League matches usually get good ratings for ITV1, so I won't be surprised if their Europa League matches get better ratings for Channel 5 than whatever Channel 4 and BBC2 are showing at those times (in fact, it might just get them their best ever ratings). Richard Desmond (Channel 5's owner) must be rubbing his hands with glee!

[stevezodiac]

Just eleven more goals until the 20,000th Premier league goal. Should happen tomorrow night. Or maybe Spurs will get it on Thursday.

[colcool007]

And Suarez has just got a 8 week ban for racial harassment.

[stevezodiac]

And John Terry will discover his fate this afternoon. Personally I think he's the sort of person I would not want to rub shoulders with in a bar.

[stevezodiac]

West Ham fan Russell Brand is divorcing Katy Perry after 14 months of marriage. From Upton Park to Upton left.

[Digifiend]

Are we in Bizarro World? Blackburn, who are bottom of the table, are beating Man Utd! This is as bad as Palace knocking them out of the League Cup.

[Jonny Whizz]

Yes, who would have thought that injury-hit Blackburn, bottom of the table and with a manager who days ago seemed almost certain for the sack, would beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford? That really is a shock, almost more so than the Palace match, where United rested a number of first choice players.

I saw the Liverpool game last night and I have to say Steven Gerrard really showed what we've been missing for so much of 2011. His crossing and passing were very accurate, and he made his goal look easy. Hopefully he'll be able to stay fit in 2012. Craig Bellamy also did well to get his two goals, while Jose Enrique continues to impress. For me he's been one of the bargain signings of the season.