I am wary of writing another health blog so soon after the last one, a mere eleven days ago. Jon Arnold says the trick is to illicit understanding without demanding too much sympathy, and I've never known where the line is on that, so I tend to avoid it. However, I did leave off at a cliffhanger before, and it feels unfair not to bring folk up to date on proceedings.
Last Monday, I had a Doctors meeting. We discussed the various side affects I had been suffering on Mitrazopine (including but not limited to: cramps, vomiting, I.B.S, chest tightening, involuntary muscle spasm, permanent headache, etc). After listing three of them, the Doctor decided it was best to stop taking the pills. As this was the 4th attempt at using an anti-depressant, Doctor was uneasy about trying a fifth, especially since all four had produced side affects.
So where to now? Well, CBT has been suggested again and applied for, but I don't think that will be accepted by those in charge, as I already had the top dose in the country. We just fell back a few steps due to problems with previous Doctors. (I still haven't had my liver scan results back, but even I assume if it was something serious, I'd have twigged by now: that was November!)
Its all down to me. Which is simultaneously the most comforting and terrifying thought in the world. Having all the tools at ones disposal, one has to work with them to get better. And that takes time. How long? This is me having worked on them for a year. I guess if you start from the bottom it takes time to reach the surface.
The problem always seems to be the unknowing. Not knowing things makes them worse. For example, since childhood I have had perspective problems. Its not a sight thing, my eyesight has always been top notch. But I can't tell the difference between something going past me and going to hit me.
Trying to explain it. Imagine standing in a street. Children playing two blocks down the road, traffic going down the road, a Church spiral in the distance, shops on the other side of the street. You are facing down the street so you can see all of this, even, say Charing Cross half a mile ahead if you've chosen to imagine Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. Now, when this specific ailment gets really bad, I can see all of them, but I can't see where they are in relation to one another. So the church spiral, shops and traffic are all somewhere nearby, but a sort of sameness. My eyes have been checked, they're fine. Its something mental.
Mandy started to notice it was effecting me more, by my ability to walk into lampposts, signs, car windows,e tc. They seem like I have a distance away from them only for them to suddenly teach me an unfortunate lesson! I've been nearly run over five times since New Year, and all because the cars seemed like parked ones.
I find if I go out on my own, I tend to put my arm out in front of me like a blind man just to check everything is where it ought to be. I can do that to the local shops, but even then, it takes up a lot of mental energy. Went to the shops for some Irn Bru last time I went out alone, it took 5 minutes and I couldn't get out of bed for 2 days after.
So I tend to go outside with Mandy, who holds onto my arm. Then I have a grounding in reality, someone to help cross roads without being killed, etc.
No idea what causes it. I remember when I was younger, I used to walk into lampposts as a kid. I just didn't see them. Then at school, other kids used to take great pleasure in setting off my reflex reactions when they realised they set off regardless if something was going to hit me or not, because my body couldn't tell the difference. It got a lot worse from S5 onwards though, and in the last year or two has degenerated into what it is now.
I feel like the dreamer in Lovecraft's Celephais. The fear is I wind up like him!
I don't feel we need to worry about "extinct nobility" though in my case!
This inability to do things leads to stress. What also leads to stress is living in a dodgy street. Break ins, fights, smashing of glass, you name it, its a normal night here. Weekends are worse. Our bedroom is right next to street level so we hear it all in great detail. Plus with the break in in March and some loud new neighbours, it doesn't add up to much permanent feeling of security.
The trick is to move out. We got our results back from An Other Housing Association last week, which said I had been awarded Nul Points. So now I know how Jemini felt! The housing stock around here is stretched beyond capacity though, and there is no security in private rent. Anyhow, people reliant on Housing benefit often are not welcome in private rent.
A surveyor checked over our house for the Housing Association two months ago. He discovered that the house isn't insulated properly, most of the housing equipment was meant to be repaired in the 1970s, and it is not built to condensate (?) properly, hence mould growths. He concluded the house isn't safe for human occupation and that the flats here would be safer demolished. So that's comforting to know.
As it is, one is left in a house "unsafe for occupation", where the insulation problems have led to several doses of the flu in the last year (and currently a chest-cold0, where the neighbours seem content to live like on Eastenders. Joy.
I am trying, in not so many words, to convey a picture of why I am always ill and missing events. The former explains why I need Mandy to accompanay me to anything (and is just one symptom. Theres no point I think in overdosing people with issues), and why I seem to suffer from a permanent cold. Plus with the chronic asthma I am already suseptible to every bug that walks along.
I think if we knew why things were happening like that. The co-ordination issues I mean, not the housing ones. I can explain away the physical bugs. But the mental ones are the tricky. Known unknowns can be a useful thing, I always say. If you know why something is up, you can deal with it.
To use a hyperbolic explanation for a problem. "Oh, I cant get my thumbs to right click on the laptop anymore, as they wont exercise the pressure needed to make the damn thing work."
"Oh dont worry, you actually have arthritis."
"Well, thats a bummer, but at least we know what causes it now. Stupid arthritis."
That was a deliberately hyperbolic example, but the demonstration works. Once you know why something doesnt work, you feel a lot more secure in getting around it.
Its the not knowing which kills you.
PS - For reasons of highlighting, I have elected to keep all the typos and errors above. Some of them are really stupid, I know, but the point is they didn't come across as such at the time, which, as a sort of hamfisted analogy to the issues I mentioned above, sort of works.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Pills, Horses and Tories
As previously mentioned here, I suffer from clinical depression. Due to an unfortunate oversight involving moving doctors, my health has slipped since New Year, so my new doctor put me back on anti-depressants at the start of March. The longest period I was on pills before, from January 2007 to January 2008, I found myself unable to write at all, so I do as much as I can now to nip that in the bud. After all, I may need to spend much time on pills, when we find one that works for me, and them preventing the flow of words is as bad as a writer just waiting for the Muse to show up, I guess.
This is the fourth set of pills I've been on. Fluxotine I was on for that year. It held back all emotions, but didn't really help with the depression, and so was a double blow when my grandfather died in the middle of that year. Citalopram, which we tried in 2009, produced a one million to one reaction with me of making my asthma worse. And Trazodone was just weird.
So now, we are on Mirtazipine. Have been for a month. Sideaffects? A permanent headache which moves between annoying and preventing anything else happening. Prolonged periods of IBS. A tightening of the chest, involuntary muscle twitches, an overfast heart beat, and, as of this morning, prolonged bouts of vomiting. Worst of all, I was warned the pills may cause drowsiness. I take one at 11pm, it eventually KOs me, and I don't wake up till well into the next afternoon, at which point I am still knackered and unfunctioning till near enough time to take the next one. (Yes, this is being written at 10am. I am making the most of the special circumstances of being up most of the night sick, by indulging in the great writers pastime of whinging.)
I'm not sure I like these pills. But we shall see how the Doctor thinks of them, when we go to see him this week.
This did however lead to the shortest health related Job Centre meeting of all time. You get these every so many months automatically, the Job Centre like to just make sure you are ok. Well, they do with me, I know with other folk its a bureaucratic nightmare, but with me, they take one look at me and decide being nasty would be like kicking a three legged puppy, in a sling. The advisor took one look at me and decided I was nowhere near ready for work. The same advisor had pushed Mandy to apply for DLA on my behalf back in August, I was sceptical as to the success of that then, yet now we get a little bit extra, given Mandy has to double as her husband's carer for things he can't quite do.
**
Before heavier stuff, a quick plug for Winterwind.
They have a site here, the first part of my acclaimed look into the supernatural is here, the interview with Duncan Lunan is here and the forum you can give feedback on all of this and much is here.
I remember watching Miklós Fehér die on live television. He was a Benfica substitute, and had just provided a crisp pass for Aguiar's goal against Guimaraes. Then, he leant forwards, before slumping backwards onto the pitch. He died soon after. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the same thing which saw off Leonard Rossiter, Mark Vivien Foe, and countless young athletes.
I'll tell you what happens with impossible promises. You start with far-fetched resolutions. They are then pickled into a rigid dogma, a code, and you go through the years sticking to that, out-dated, misplaced, irrelevant to the real needs, and you end in the grotesque chaos of a Labour opposition – a Labour opposition! – announcing its opposition to universal health care, all the while wondering why that sound of men turning is coming from graveyards in all the Red parts of the country.
This is the fourth set of pills I've been on. Fluxotine I was on for that year. It held back all emotions, but didn't really help with the depression, and so was a double blow when my grandfather died in the middle of that year. Citalopram, which we tried in 2009, produced a one million to one reaction with me of making my asthma worse. And Trazodone was just weird.
So now, we are on Mirtazipine. Have been for a month. Sideaffects? A permanent headache which moves between annoying and preventing anything else happening. Prolonged periods of IBS. A tightening of the chest, involuntary muscle twitches, an overfast heart beat, and, as of this morning, prolonged bouts of vomiting. Worst of all, I was warned the pills may cause drowsiness. I take one at 11pm, it eventually KOs me, and I don't wake up till well into the next afternoon, at which point I am still knackered and unfunctioning till near enough time to take the next one. (Yes, this is being written at 10am. I am making the most of the special circumstances of being up most of the night sick, by indulging in the great writers pastime of whinging.)
I'm not sure I like these pills. But we shall see how the Doctor thinks of them, when we go to see him this week.
This did however lead to the shortest health related Job Centre meeting of all time. You get these every so many months automatically, the Job Centre like to just make sure you are ok. Well, they do with me, I know with other folk its a bureaucratic nightmare, but with me, they take one look at me and decide being nasty would be like kicking a three legged puppy, in a sling. The advisor took one look at me and decided I was nowhere near ready for work. The same advisor had pushed Mandy to apply for DLA on my behalf back in August, I was sceptical as to the success of that then, yet now we get a little bit extra, given Mandy has to double as her husband's carer for things he can't quite do.
**
Before heavier stuff, a quick plug for Winterwind.
They have a site here, the first part of my acclaimed look into the supernatural is here, the interview with Duncan Lunan is here and the forum you can give feedback on all of this and much is here.
I remember watching Miklós Fehér die on live television. He was a Benfica substitute, and had just provided a crisp pass for Aguiar's goal against Guimaraes. Then, he leant forwards, before slumping backwards onto the pitch. He died soon after. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the same thing which saw off Leonard Rossiter, Mark Vivien Foe, and countless young athletes.
In recent times we saw the horrific incident at White Hart Lane when Fabrice Muamba collapsed. Thankfully, despite the situation looking dire, he seems to be on the mend, though like Clive Clarke I have doubts he will ever play football. But the sport is a mere triffle when a young life was at stake. Yesterday, during a Serie B match in Italy, Piermario Morisini collapsed on the pitch and died. It is not an uncommon phenomena. Even in the decade before Foe brought it crashing into peoples homes live at the Confederations Cup, over twenty young footballers died, either on the pitch or during training. Motherwell lost their captain, Phil O'Donnell. Spain lost two fine stars in Daniel Jarque and Antonio Puerta.
What causes it? Looking back over the history of the horrid thing, you find examples dating back to the 1950s, and the fear is that it always has been, just now, with football more of a worldwide phenomena than it once was, all the cases are in the spotlight. There doesn't even seem to be a connection between over training or too many matches: Japan international Naoki Matsuda collapsed and died after a 15 minute warmup.
What can we do about it? Well, many of these deaths seem to occur from the hypertrophic C mentioned aboved. This effects 2 in 1000 people, so a number of sports people having it is not surprising. A routine medical, as is frequently carried out by sports teams, will catch 3% of these health issues on the spot. An echiocardiograph can detect over 80%. It wouldn't stop all tragedies, nothing is full proof, but it could stop the vast many. Whatever the (many valid) criticisms of the WWE's wrestling medical programme are, it detected irregular heart problems in one of their wrestlers, MVP, and managed to get it fixed. In Italy, there has been a substantial decrease in such deaths since regimented echiocardiographs were implimented for suspect athletes. It feels churlish to mention Italy so soon after tragedy, but it also shows how some will fall through the gaps. An 89% success rate leaves 11% for tragedies, nothing is fool proof. These medical tests are prohibitively expensive, but then, no medical cost is worth more than a life. If FIFA screens all participating footballers in their World Cup in this manner before a ball is kicked, then there is no excuse for extending it to all sports. Andy Murray recently called for regular heart screening in all sports. I heartily agree with him.
But with mention of the Rossiter example, I would hope that in the near future frequent checks could be as vital and as common as smear tests and cancer screenings.
It's all about making sport safer. I saw a lot of people yelling at thin air earlier when the Grand National was on. It lead to the deaths of two horses, one of which was a name horse. Will that lead to a safer sport? I well remember the furore and tears when that wonderful horse Best Mate seized up and collapsed of heart failure during a race. I wouldn't hold my breath. Like motor racing before it, calls to improve the safety of the sport come in like trickles before a deluge, yet during the trickles Jackie Stewart was considered a coward by the sporting press for demanding safety changes. Jim Clark was regarded as the safest driver in Formula One, yet died due to unsafe conditions. The parallels between the sport of kings and sport of drivers may be a tenuous one, but the unsavoury side show of racing threatens to consume it as much as the fire and blood threatened to consume motor racing.
I have no solutions on how to make all sports, involving animals or human, contact or simulated, safer. Inklings but no more. But I am just a humble writer on his laptop. It's not my position to make the games safer. The mantel is on the head of the various sporting bodies to act firmly and humanely.
It is in my cynical nature to believe they'd rather count their shillings.
**
Over the years I have said many nice things about the SNP. Our friend, Shim, has reminded me of many stirring pro-independence speeches I made at university, when I was younger and my philosophies less thought out. Yet, with complimentary terms must come criticism, and the recent slide into petty party politics is one they need to watch. I am aware the Scottish Labour party do the same, but there is no need to slide to their standards. As Neil Kinnock might have said:
I am aware I have a low opinion of Kinnock, but why not misquote him when you can. The trouble the SNP had was making trying to make political capital of Bradford West, and George "The Cat" Galloways return to parliament. The SNP know what it is like to have a person deemed non gratis becoming a troublesome independent. Lets hope the people of Bradford West dont suffer as much neglect as the people of Bethnal Green did for five years.
It was special circumstances, though. Lets not chalk up Bradford West to the end of the Labour party. A popular demagogue stepped in. The SNP using that as a country wide issue is to, as Sunny Hundal aptly pointed out, make the same mistake Ken Livingstone has in London: to take a local issue and use it as a referendum on national. In London, it will cost Ken "Less Popular Than The Labour Party" Livingstone, a man seemingly still living in the 80s as much as the Thatcherites. As for Boris Johnson, a man whose polling is TWENTY ONE points above his own party, well, a loss to him is like a loss to George. Special circumstances.
And those special circumstances may come back to haunt the Tories: Boris has been spoken off as a potential Tory leader, so his popularity in London at the expense of the Cameron government may cause one or two heart tremors.
In France, Francoise Holland may have the touch of humour, and his politics of hope may sweep away Sarkozy's chances of a second time. And how nice to see Melanchon threatening to overtake Le Pen. Even with the Left breaching as this. Will the Left never learn? Too often we are same page, wrong paragraph. Then we watch people in different books co-operate on the other side.
**
In Memoriam
Norman St-John Stevas, Tory MP
Doug Furnas, pro-wrestler
Ralph McQuarrie, conceptual designer (Star Wars)
Leonard Cimino, actor.
Dave Charnley, boxer.
Robert B Sherman, songwriter
Philip Madoc, actor
Frank Rowland, Nobel Chemistry laureate 1995
Censu Tabone, President of Malta
Margaret Whitlam, activist, Australian first lady.
Jocky Wilson, darts player
Bert Sugar, boxing historian
Tony Newton, MP
Adrienne Rich, poet
John Arden, playwright.
Earl Scruggs, blues musician.
Phil Jenkinson, BBC presenter.
Robert Fuest, director.
**
One aging BBC presenter isn't fond of immigrants or the EU. A pair of lovable TV icons helped blacklist ordinary workers for fear of Socialist uprising. One 60s TV star (in specific) was homophobic. I don't even name names, though it is out there, and some don't even shirk from their nature.
So what do we make of it? Is it possible to enjoy a show fronted by someone whose personal views are abhorrent to you? Well, in a word, certainly.
Let's take a named example, often pilloried now he can't fight back, given that he is forty years dead. William Hartnell. Was he in actual fact a horrid old racist? I can't say. I learnt long ago never to trust anecdotal evidence. Most of it is tit for tat: for every element of unsavouryness, there is a corresponding tale to shoot it down, and vice versa. My suspicions are that he was a man of his time, but was able to put aside personal feelings for his job. (He can't have failed to notice the gay subtext to the character he played in This Sporting Life, yet plays it with aplomb. The rumours of his refusal to act alongside Max Adrian for homophobic reasons stems from Hainings Celebration: the two actors had performed together before, the scripts were not rewritten, and any tension on the set of The Myth Makers came from acting tensions other than nastier reasons, coupled with Hartnell's growing tetchiness due to recent family bereavement and the beginning effects of his horrible illness.) Even if he were a "horrid old racist", the role he was proudest of was of the great fighter for equality and injustice.
So same with the aging BBC presenter. His enthusiasm for his subject boils over, and makes him a national treasure in that regard. That he has personal views of a distasteful nature are neither here nor there. We must seperate the private man from the one on the box. Else, with more and more information coming out about the people we watch, and not all of it enjoyable, then when does it stop?
**
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Euro 2012 Roundtable #1: Euro-introduction!
Did you know that, as a writer, the best chance you have of anyone reading your work (unless you are a name writer) is during a big sports tournament? That is if you write about the actual sport. I don’t want to imply Harry Potter fanfic is read more during the World Cup (and having seen no stats on the matter, nor would I wish to dissuade that idea!). Jon Arnold keeps trying to get yours truly to write more about football, and so I decided to turn the tables on him.
I proposed a Roundtable Article series for Euro 2012, covering the tournament from start to finish. People will drop in and out of it like Les Negresses Vertes, in theory, but the show will have a backbone in contributions by myself (piecing the whole charade together), Jon and our writer pal in Estonia, Gavin Mills.
Many from Bert Kassies’ coefficients forum and some from the Gallifrey Base forum join us. For this edition, we also welcome Andy Francis.
So, time to ask questions.
What country do you support. Did they make the Euros?
Jon Arnold: “a) Wales and b) don't be silly!”
Millerqueen – “Scotland”
Gavin Mills: “I support Estonia during the qualifying round but my native country of England for the tournament due to a dodgy referee.”
João Diogo Reis : “None… Or the 16 participants; I wish to see great football from the 16 participants; I don’t have any preference for the final outcome. “
Karl: Sweden.
Alan Kalter: “Spain; if we go out, Portugal.”
Mikael: “Denmark, and yes we did!”
Dave Beattie: “England - for my sins. And yes they made the Euros. “
Andy Francis: “England.”
Ben List: “England.”
I support Scotland, for my sins. They didn’t make the Euros. No shock there.
What are your Memories of the qualifying route?
Jon Arnold: “Maybe when it expands to 32 teams we'll pioneer new and entirely spectacular ways to blow qualification...”
Karl, Sweden: “Beating Finland 5-0 and stopping Netherlands gaining a 100% Record. Qualifying as Best Runner Up and not having to go through a Play off. “
Dave Beattie: “Actually I don't have too many significant memories of this qualifying campaign. I remember Montenegro made a terrific start to the campaign & looked like they might be the one serious danger to England winning the group after they drew 0-0 at Wembley.
I must admit I missed the games in early June where England came back from 2-0 down against Switzerland to draw & later the same day Montenegro failed to beat Bulgaria. I guess that was the pivotal day of the campaign. If England hadn't come back and/or Montenegro had kept their run going things could have gotten sticky. As it was Montenegro didn't win another game & Switzerland & Wales had both started their qualifying campaigns so badly that they never got close despite improved form later. “
* I'm hoping you've got another England fan who might be better when it comes to this particular campaign.
Dave hoped I had another England fan who could expand on their campaign. Isn’t that what Barnet boy is for?
Andy Francis: “Uninspiring, plodding.”
Ben List: “Just the classic variable England performances where we look good against lower nations then look poor again against opposition with any skill.”
Sounds like we missed a thrill a minute there.
Mikael, Denmark: “My main memory is the home match against Portugal, in which we secured the qualification with a win. It was also the only match that I watched in the stadium. It was overall a very dominant performance by Denmark, starting with a wrongfully disallowed goal after 4 minutes. Portugal also had their chances, but the 2-0 lead was very deserved as the match ebbed out. Then Ronaldo scores from 30 yards in the 92nd minute, giving us a nervous couple of minutes towards the end. We also tried (with limited success) to follow Sweden - Holland as a Dutch point would help Denmark a lot. They lost, but fortunately, we didn't need that help after all. “
Keld, Denmark: “Well, it started out in the most nerve-wracking way against Iceland. After a much criticized performance at the World Cup, it was imperative to start this qualification with a win and regain some optimism. Furthermore, it was essential not to drop any points against the two small teams in a group that was widely considered a three-way battle. I didn't have the chance to see the game myself, but followed it anxiously on Italian TV through a live ticker in the bottom of the screen. It continued to say 0-0 for a very long time, even when the game should have finished, but then finally it changes to 1-0. A stoppage time goal by Thomas Kahlenberg had secured an important victory.
The loss against Portugal and the victory against Cyprus meant that the chance to qualify was still very present, but there was a feeling of slight dismay as the performances were quite weak. That was why the draw in Norway was the turning point despite the Norwegian equalizer ten minutes from time. Denmark had been very dominant against a Norwegian side that seemed very primitive and without creativity. Despite the strong Norwegian start to the qualifiers, this game proved to Danes that we should at least be able to finish ahead of them.
Another win against Iceland was secured, before the decisive battle against Norway. There was quite some optimism as Nicklas Bendtner returned to the team and Niki Zimling and William Kvist had established themselves as a dynamic and energetic central midfield duo. The performance was as dominant as in the first encounter between those two teams but this time we got the result to go with it. Especially the offensive triumvirate Eriksen, Rommedahl and Bendtner were great.
Before the last group game against Portugal, many were expecting that some Dutch help from Stockholm was probably needed if Denmark should qualify directly. But another impressive performance in Parken meant a Danish 2-1 victory and direct qualification. “
João Diogo Reis: “For Portugal… the shocking beginning where almost everything was ruined. Carlos Queiroz was suspended, and Portugal had a caretaker, Agostinho Oliveira, who tied 4-4 with Cyprus and then lost in Norway. Then Paulo Bento became the coach, 5 wins in a row, the most important was the 1-0 against Norway. Portugal finished level on points with Norway, if it wasn’t for that Postiga goal, Portugal wouldn’t be in Euro 2012.
The playoff against Bosnia (again) was also fantastic. “
Memories of failing to qualify (if applicable)
Ben List: “Not from this time, but Shteve McLaren under that brolly will stay with me forever.”
Alan Kalter: “ N/A
for 2012. Regarding other years, the away game vs USSR back in 1971 stands out--goalie for them was Rudakov, who just died a couple of weeks ago. They beat us 2-1 away to knock us out. “ Gavin Mills: “ my main memories of the qualifying stages were of a constant feeling of "woah, they might actually qualify!”
Sadly for lovers of the underdog everywhere, Estonia failed to qualify, undone in the playoffs by the Rep. Ireland.
Jon Arnold: “ As Brian Stimpson, played by the immortal John Cleese, said in Clockwise 'It's not the despair...I can take the despair. it's the hope I can't stand.' Generously, as they so often did under John Toschack, our national football team spared us even the hope this time. Even by our standards this was a spectacular crash as we lost our first four qualifiers under three different managers. John Toshack finally paid the price for always promising jam tomorrow but tomorrow never coming after a 1-0 away loss to what had been the lowest seeded side in the group. Of course, Montenegro's ranking was a deceptive one based on a lack of footballing history (this being their European Chamionship qualifying debut) rather than the dubious footballing merits of being lumped in with the likes of Moldova, Liechtenstein, Armenia and Kazakhstan so there was no real shame in the result, more in the performance against a side lacking one of their best players (Jovetic). We might've scraped a draw but for missed chances and woodwork, but we're outplayed. We followed up by putting in two abysmal performances under caretaker coach Brian Flynn, firstly against Lothar Matthaus' aspiring to mediocrity Bulgaria team and secondly to a rampant Swiss side who'd also lost their first two games. Only Bale provided a bright note in the latter, his pace providing a constant menace which was always snuffed by a lack of accompanying quality in attack. Effectively our hopes of even reaching a qualifying playoff were dead But hey, at least we managed to score! And maybe, just maybe we could slip a banana skin or two into England's qualifying path.
At first glance Gary Speed's appointment appeared to be another cheapskate cock up on the part of the Welsh FA. Rather than fork out for a manager of proven quality they repeated their actions when looking to replace a manager who'd started as an unpopular appointment and gone downhill from there; they appointed a novice at the end of his playing days. For Hughes replacing Gould read Speed replacing Toshack. Even the appointment seemed clumsy with Speed faring badly in his first role at Sheffield United it seemed as if a wait of a month or two might allow us to avoid paying a compensation fee.
At first there appeared to be no change, a limp 2-0 home loss to England coming in the middle of a wretched performance in the Nations Cup. The rumblings of discontent with the way the Welsh FA was running the national side continued, Speed's inexperience and suitability for the job constantly questioned. Unexpectedly though, a Nations Cup win in the wooden spoon match against a depleted Northern Irish team was a portent of change.
Montenegro's victory against us had proved to be the catalyst for a very good campaign for them and they came to us in September 2011 unbeaten. Few were the Wales fans with any optimism at his point, instead they turned up to see the likes of Jovetic and Vucinic and hope for an honourable performance. What they produced was quite probably the best performance by a Welsh side since the famous 2002 win over Italy, Bale and Morrison ripping the defence to shreds to record a 2-1 win that wasn't nearly as close as the scoreline suggests. There was a purpose and an easy on the eye passing style that had been missing the previous season. Only a now infamous miss by Earnshaw prevented them from gaining an impressive draw in a match of few chances at Wembley and Wales confirmed that the present and future wasn't as gloomy as it had appeared by avenging the defeats to Switzerland and Bulgaria, Bale, Morrison and Ramsay providing a sword sharp edge to an attack which had been blunter than a Cambridge based Soviet spy.
The future looked brighter for Wales than at any time since the heady days of 2002. Tragically dark clouds loomed.”
Not sure how I can top that. So over to MQ for the inside track on how Scotland failed to go.
Millerqueen – “We've got to beat who?" "hmm, maybe we've a chance." "No we don't" "Pint of whisky please"
That sums it up quite well.
Earliest European Championship memories.
For me, the earliest memories of the Euros are of Euro 2004. I remember a nervy 2-1 win over Iceland at Hampden as my first Qualifier on the road to Euro 2004. We were hideous, despite a creditable draw against a dire German side, and handily eliminated by the Dutch in a playoff. Though the memory of Christian Daily’s guttural “****in’ Cheat!” towards Tobias Rau reverberating loudly over Bertie Vogts post match interview lives long in the mind.
Keld, Denmark: “ EURO 2000. It quickly became apparent that this wasn’t exactly going to be a Danish triumph but luckily there were so many great matches, that I still rank this as the greatest tournament that I can remember. “
João Diogo Reis: “Euro 96, Poborsky, Shearer, Bierhoff… “
Jon Arnold: “ Platini '84 came just too early for me, instead I had to wait til my early teenage years for my first Euros, the Euro '88 tournament in Germany. I'm still convinced that the eight team tournament was the most difficult to win, with only eight teams qualifying there wasn't a weak link in the tournament, as proven when a decent England team went home early with three losses. It wasn't a vintage tournament, with goals being in short supply outside the Spain-Denmark game. But aside from the individual genius of the likes of Laudrup, my memories were all from Group B; a but brave Republic of Ireland team under Jack Charlton (think Stoke but less sophisticated) only bowing out after a late goal by Kieft in the last game of the round sneaked the Dutch through, both goals from Liverpool midfielders. Then there was the last great Soviet side, a footballing machine composed mainly of Dynamo Kiev players, managed by one of the finest football minds of all time, Lobanovsky and inspired by former European footballer of the year Igor Belanov and the rampaging Vasily Rats. But ultimately it was all about the Dutch as a generation who were kids weeping when West Germany foiled one of the greatest sides of all time in the 74 World Cup final avenged that memory in style. After an opening loss to the USSR, a sublime Van Basten hat trick dazzled England and that late Kieft goal put them into the semi-finals where a late comeback avenged the 1974 loss and a rocket fuelled header from Gullit was followed by one of the finest goals ever scored in the Euros, a perfectly executed volley by van Basten from a ridiculous angle against one of Europe's finest goalkeepers. For fans of my generation, that strike is an indelible memory; the one we were talking about and trying to recreate for months afterward. Needless to say, in what seemed like a million tries not one of us ever did.”
Mikael, Denmark: “1988. I was on summer holiday with my grandparents, so not watching any of the decisive matches. Already back then, I had developed a taste for Holland, because of the trio in AC Milan, so I had to call my dad on a pay phone and have him tell me that Holland won the final against USSR. Great joy for a 9-year old kid! “
Millerqueen – “Euro 92. There was a real belief we could actually achieve something and progress from the group stages, ah well.”
Karl, Sweden: “Euro 92 I remember going to Sweden vs Denmark in Solna we won the Game 1-0 through a Tomas Brolin goal. “
Alan Kalter: “We won in 1964--back when I didn't know professional soccer existed. I found out that it did in 1965, and started hearing about "el gol de Marcelino." That, of course, was the winner vs USSR.”
Dave Beattie: “The first World Cup I remember is 1978 but I really don't remember anything significant from the 1980 Euros even though England were in them. My first significant memory is from 1984 with that wonderful French team with Platini, Giresse & Tigana. The game I remember from that year - though I have a feeling I only saw highlights - is the semi-final against Portugal. I seem to remember France being big favourites & typically I was rooting for the underdog. Portugal actually led in Extra Time but France came back with Platini scoring a late winner - set up by Tigana (that last bit from YouTube not memory).”
Andy Francis: “Opening game of Euro 96 against Switzerland. Remember being heartbroken when Turkyilmaz scored a penalty late on.”
Ben List: “Pulling the Czech Republic out of the hat for Euro 2004 competition and being pleasantly surprised.”
Favourite Euro memories of your own side.
Scotland beat France twice in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. That’s just about all I’ve got here.
Andy Francis: “Either of the 2 following games against Scotland or Holland. The game against Scotland took place on the same day as my school fair. Some bright spark (my mother!) came up with the idea of having a tv outside under a marquee, to sell beer and hope for sun. Turned out to be a brilliant sunny day, where the school made 10k everyone had a great time and Paul Gascoigne scored a blinder. The following game v Holland was the first real example to me that England were a force. As an 8 year old boy it was the first opportunity I had to be influenced as a fan and to destroy Holland at that point was a big deal.”
Dave Beattie: “Oof. I guess England's best single performance in the Euro Finals was probably 1996 against Holland. I was actually in Scotland at the time - somewhere on the Isle of Skye (Portree I believe) - & missed the game - though I did listen to most of it on the radio. I was in Kyleakin 3 days earlier when Gascoigne scored that goal against Scotland. That was fun.
The most excited I've been by an England team in recent times was probably in 2004. Although we lost the opening game against France - to two painfully late Zidane goals - we still qualified impressively from the group. It was Wayne Rooney's first major tournament & he was terrific at times. I still wonder what might have happened if he hadn't hobbled off early in the quarter-final against Portugal. You sometimes need that bit of luck in major tournaments & that was an example where England didn't get any. “
Ben List: “Watching Rooney play and thinking 'We really have a player here'.”
GarlicBread of the Gallifrey Base forum: “Euro 88.Ray Houghton slamming his header into the back of the England net.
Whelans spectacular goal against Russia was another highlight from the same championship. We were 7 minutes away from the semis and Holland got the flukiest goal I've ever seen.
That was a hell of a team we had back then.” Karl, Sweden: “Qualifying from the Group Stage at Euro 2004. “
Millerqueen – “ 2003, reached the playoffs to qualify. Our opponents? Holland. First match at home was IIRC largely incident free- or rather I don't recall many details apart from the fact that "Faddy" James McFadden scored the only goal. We had beat them, maybe this time we'd qualify. Real buoyant feeling in the nation for the four days between this and the follow up match in Holland. The team nearly floated across the North Sea lifted by the hope of the Tartan Army alone. Then the game started. Holland qualified 6-1 on aggregate. "We're shite and we know we are!"”
João Diogo Reis: “Euro 2000, Portugal defeating England 3-2 after being 0-2 down;
Euro 2004 again Portugal vs. England, also vs. Spain in the previous game and Holland in the next… “
Keld, Denmark: “Well, the Danish Euro win in 1992 is off course the mythical memory that will be hard to beat. From those two Euros with Denmark, that I can remember, 2000 and 2004, there is one match that stands out. Denmark vs. Sweden in the last match of the group stage. A 2-2 draw would sent both teams through and eliminate Italy; this was off course highly debated before the match. And a Swedish equalizer two minutes from time did indeed bring that exact result, which infuriated the Italians. Especially Gianlugi Buffon was very outspoken against what he called "an international scandal". Thinking of the things that were revealed in Italy a few seasons later, maybe he should have kept a bit quieter!”
Alan Kalter: “In 1967, I saw us beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the Bernabéu--I think the winner was by Pirri. Eire then beat the Czechs away to allow us to advance. And then there was the whole tournament in 2008 . . .
High point: Torres's goal in the Final!” Mikael, Denmark: “Easy-peasy! Euro'92, of course. Again, I was on vacation with my grandparents. This time we were in Crete and we watched the semi final at a bar with a lot of other Danes, mostly. We missed the first few minutes because they couldn't find the right channel, but we got plenty afterwards with ET and PSO. The final was played the day we flew home, so we heard the first half in the radio in the car and watched the second half on the ferry between Funen and Zealand. My grandma still believes that the captain slowed down to allow us to watch the end of the match before docking.”
Jon Arnold: “Being too young to even be aware that we made it to the quarter-finals in 1976 it has to be two matches that proved to be false dawns. The first was the visitor the now reunited Germany to the old Arms Park. Following their reunification this German side had yet to be defeated and despite the talent in the Welsh side - Rush, Hughes, Saunders, Ratcliffe and the man who for my money had been the best British (if not European) goalkeeper of the decade Neville Southall - it seemed fanciful to even dream of a result. But Southall performed heroics; quite probably the finest night of his career and then on the hour Germany were reduced to ten men. And then, gloriously, Ian Rush latched on to a long ball and slotted the ball past Illgner, the one chance we'd create all night. And despite a continuing onslaught we held out for a 1-0 win, three points clear of the Germans in the days of two points for a win. Or course, they had a game in hand and slaughtered us 4-1 in the return but the memory of Rush's strike remains indelible.
The second came eleven years later, with a contact providing a group of us from the office with tickets to the big match of the group against the Italians. Hopes had been stoked with an impressive win away to Finland to open the campaign, still we were at the Millennium Stadium to see the stars of Serie A; Buffon, Cannovaro, Nesta, Pirlo and Del Piero. The pre-game atmosphere was magnificent, the pubs as full of optimism and song as alcohol, Anne Robinson being invited to 'suck my Pembroke Dock' for some anti-Welsh slights. An pre-match appearance by Wales' greatest player John Charles and then the Manic Street Preachers helped fire up the crowd before the game, as did Bryn Terfel's stirring rendition of the national anthem. And the retractable roof being on somehow intensified the atmosphere, none of the crowd's passion leaking into the night. What followed was easily the greatest Welsh international performance of my lifetime. After just 12 minutes Bellamy played in Simon Davies who beat Buffon from an angle. Did we dare to dream with Wales' record of heroic failure? Del Piero's deflected free kick warned us not to, however well we were playing. 1-1 at halftime. Typical Italians, defending well and then sneaking a goal to come out undeservedly level.
But Savage kept up his superhumanly energetic harrying of the Italian midfield, denying them space and time. And chances continued to come our way. Not only were we level with one of the great footballing nations, we were outplaying them. And then with 20 minutes left Hartson held off a defender, slid the ball through to Bellamy. The crowd collectively held its breath as he outran a defender, took the ball round Buffon and coolly knocked the ball home. I swear the roof lifted into orbit at that point.
Of course, it all went pear shaped when Hartson's lack of fitness undid our game plan in the return fixture and we went from holding them 0-0 after an hour to losing 4-0 before Hughes' tactical naivety and Russia flattening the atmosphere by insisting on the roof being open resulting in a 1-0 defeat in the playoffs but for a few months we dared to dream.
With my dad being English I'd be remiss in not nominating England's 4-1 demolition of the Netherlands at Euro 96; as close to perfection as the English side has ever been over 90 minutes.”
Gavin Mills: “ has to be the first leg of the playoffs against republic of Ireland. It took a lot of persuading to get any of my Estonian work colleagues to join me but we made our way to the A Le Coq arena in Tallinn with a strange sense of "we can do this." We couldn't, of course, because the damn Hungarian referee was more interested in making up for a Terry Henry handball than letting the "tiny country that could" have their first go in a major tournament.”
Poor Gav. It’s like the 6-0 in Holland all over again, and I know how long it took to recover from that.
7. Greatest Euro match.
Holland v the Czech Republic, Euro 2004. It still stands as my favourite game I saw live. End to end attacking football by two brilliant sides, it left me breathless. I hear it’s not a popular memory in Holland though, as the Dutch went from 0-2 up to losing 3-2 against a Czech side that ought to have won the tournament. For want of avoiding a Nedved injury, they might well have done. Nedved was one of the finest footballers of his generation, yet he missed out on both the Euro 2004 final (injury) and the 2003 Champions League final (red card due to Steve McManaman histrionics). Tragic for a player of such majesty.
Jon Arnold: “I'm tempted to nominate the Italy-Holland semi-final from Euro 2000, the Dutch coming off a 6-1 hammering of Yugoslavia before thoroughly outplaying the Italians and managing to miss two penalties in normal and extra time before compounding it with another three misses in the penalty shootout. But another two matches from that tournament stand out; the Dutch (again!) in a high quality match against a virtual French reserve team and the one I'll actually nominate, Spain's 4-3 win over ten man Yugoslavia after going into injury time trailing 3-2.”
Karl, Sweden: “Yugoslavia vs Spain at Euro 2000 it had many turns and was a very exciting game for a Neutral. “
João Diogo Reis: “Portugal vs. England, Euro 2000
Keld, Denmark: “It's hard to choose between Yugoslavia’s 2000-games, but Spain - Yugoslavia 4-3 probably just gets the nod, especially as it meant Norwegian exit
. The 3-3 game against Slovenia was extremely spectacular as well. Quite a few of the English collapses have been wonderful games as well. The two 2-3 defeats in 00 against Portugal and Romania respectively and the 2-1 defeat to France in 04. Other honourable mentions are the Euro final 00 and pretty much every game including Turkey in 2008. Apologies for the many mentions, but they were all great games. “ Mikael, Denmark: “2000, Holland - Yugoslavia. I had money on Kluivert and Milosevic as top scorers, so it was perfect when Milosevic scored the 6-1 goal in injury time so I won on both players. Holland - France and Holland - Italy in 2008 were also great. “
Ben List: “Czech/Holland. Had everything. Ran home to watch it.”
Dave Beattie: “Spain v Yugoslavia in 2000. Yugoslavia only needed a draw to qualify but Spain had to win. Yugoslavia led 3-2 until deep in stoppage time but Spain scored two late goals to win.
Happily Norway failed to beat Slovenia in the other game in the group so both teams that played this terrific game qualified. Less happily they both lost in the quarters. “
Andy Francis: “ Either England 4-1 Holland or the semi final at 96. I rewatched it recently and it was a great game, worth so much more than just the miss at the end or the penalties. End to end stuff, I recommend watching it again to really appreciate a midfield of Anderton, Ince, Gazza and McManaman.”
8. Greatest Euro shock.
Mikael, Denmark: “Greece and Denmark”.
Jon Arnold: “It has to be Denmark's 1992 tournament win. A side that initially failed to qualify was only summoned back together at the last minute thanks to Yugoslavia falling apart. It's hard to say what was a greater shock, Denmark winning or John Jensen scoring a goal
Aside from that, probably the Germans actually losing a shootout (in 1976 and sealed for the Czechs with one of the finest, cheekiest penalties of all time).”
Panenka went down in history with that chip, I hasten to add.
Dave Beattie: “Has to be Greece winning the tournament in 2004 I guess. For an individual game I do remember Latvia holding Germany to a 0-0 draw in that same tournament which was a fair achievement. Since I haven't mentioned them anywhere else yet I'll also mention the Czech team from that year. They beat both Germany & Holland in the groups (the game with the Dutch was another contender for best ever) & although you have to give the Greeks great credit for what they did I was really disappointed that the Czechs lost out in their semi-final. I remember they had an incredible number of chances in that game - particularly early on - but just couldn't score. The way they played the game in that tournament was just wonderful & I was sad they didn't win it.”
Andy Francis: “Got to be Greece winning the thing in 2004!”
João Diogo Reis: “Greece winning Euro 2004; Never won a game in previous or following Euros, and wouldn’t have won one at Euro 2004 either, if it wasn’t for Scolari’s stupidity.
“ Karl, Sweden: “Denmark winning Euro 92 followed by Greece winning Euro 2004. “
And for the flipside of that coin,
Alan Kalter: “Elimination at Euro 2004--only major I've ever attended. Sáez played a coward's game--went for a 0-0 vs Portugal, and when we gave one up--to Nuno Gomes, of course, we didn't have what it took to strike back. But no hay mal que por bien no venga (Every cloud has a silver lining)--Sáez stepped down, Aragonés was allowed to prepare the Roja as he saw fit, and the rest . . . is history.
Keld, Denmark: “ Greece's incredible run at the 2004 must be the greatest shock that I can remember, but Latvia delivered some very surprising performances as well at that tournament. They took the lead against Czech Republic in a game they narrowly lost, before they got an impressive 0-0 draw against the mighty Germans. “
The recurrent theme seems to be the two shock winners, Greece and Denmark, though a third mention needs to be made of the 1976 Czech side who upset West Germany on penalties. For those watching this Summer, Germany are undefeated in penalty shootouts in thirty six years now, so folk will want to avoid that scenario against the Germans if at all possible. For me, again the Greeks come to mind, but the specific I wish to dwell on is their elimination of France. Before the Quarterfinals, they had shocked the hosts, nicked a draw, and been beaten by an eliminated team: hardly the form of champions. By eliminating the Champions, Greece laid out a marker for the tournament that none of the other five teams left in the draw could match.
9 Your pick for Euro 2012 winner just now.
Millerqueen: “Gut shot is Spain.”
Jon Arnold: “ It's hard to look past Spain. They still have the bulk of the players who're currently both reigning World Cup and European champions. Germany look like the most likely contenders, though their group is tougher and looks like it'll take more out of the, which may prove crucial. And while they're not precisely dark horses, it's worth keeping an eye on France, whose recent 2-1 win away to the Germans suggests they won't be the disorganised rabble who limped home early from South Africa.”
Keld, Denmark: “just now, Italy!”
Andy Francis: “ I reckon Germany might be the ones to do it.”
Ben List: “Germany. Spain are too narrow and formulaic, and Holland don't seem to have that much at the moment apart from Robben, especially with Sneijder's form.”
Dave Beattie: “I haven't really studied any of the finalists in any detail yet but it's really impossible to look beyond Spain as favourites at this stage with Germany - followed closely by the other usual suspects - as biggest dangers.”
Gavin Mills: “Germany!”
Karl, Sweden: “Germany!”
Mikael, Denmark: “Germany!”
I was beginning to think I’d look really clever with my Germany pick, despite their Group of Death, but they seem everyone’s favourites to beat Spain if Spain fail to take another trophy home.
Alan Kalter: “Us. A por ellos, oé “
João Diogo Reis: “the logical pick is Spain. They win everything (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, under-21 Euro Cup), their clubs win everything… I hope that the difference between the 16 participants won’t be big. Any team can defeat Spain. Switzerland defeated Spain in the 2010 World Cup and they haven’t even qualified now. Serbia defeated Germany and they haven’t qualified now. No game will have a “obvious” winner. “
And that about does it for our introduction to the Euros. Next time: me, Jon, Gav and some friends yet unforeseen tackle an indepth look at Group A in this summers Championships!
*Gavin Mills can be followed on twitter @epiphanyg
*Jon Arnold can be followed on twitter @the_arn
*The Artist Known as Millerqueen can be followed on twitter @millerqueen
*Andy Francis can be followed @Andrew_Francis
*Dave Beattie can be followed @badgerboy1969
*Ben List can be followed @ @ACosmicHobo
*Yours truly can be followed at the usual place.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Europa League group stage
"You can't win the Cup in December, but you can lose it."
Me.
Really, with words of wisdom like that, I should be selling philosophy textbooks.
Digo: a Spanish phrase that translates to "I have spoken" and not, as I once thought, a Spanish philosopher who specialised in writing about the beautiful game.
The playoffs for entry into the Europa League group stage brought us fierce competition. Would the groups themselves be of the same standard? In a word, yes. We saw goals, red mist, thrillers, chillers, upsets, upset and our mistress eye's being nothing like the sun. And everything in between.
Group A
Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan, PAOK, Shamrock Rovers.
"Looks nice enough for the top two seeds"
Dave Beattie
Tottenham were the highest seeds left in the competition, and had seen off the challenge of Hearts quite comfortably in the playoffs. Rubin fell in the Champions League playoff round to Lyon. PAOK had comfortably seen off Valerengen and Karpaty in Qualifying rounds. As for Shamrock? Their route started with a tense 1-0 aggregate victory over Estonian Flora in the Champions League 2nd round qualifiers. In the 3rd round of that competition, they took on FC Kobenhavn, and swiftly lost 3-0, thus being ejected to the Europa League playoff round where they had to take on Partizan Belgrade. Readers of the Playoff Round article may recall their stunning extra time giant killing performance against the European always theres, and so they made up the brunt of this group.
The group started in controversy caught by the BBC:
Chaotic scenes at the Toumba Stadium. Stefanos Athanasiadis surges into the area and is caught by Carlo Cudicini as he tries to go round him. This time, that is a penalty, and Cudicini is booked. Lino steps up to slot coolly home and turns to celebrate. He gets quite far too, before being called back and told to retake it because Cudicini had come off his line. Incredible. Lino has another go, and this time drills the ball low and wide of the left-hand post.
Me.
Really, with words of wisdom like that, I should be selling philosophy textbooks.
Digo: a Spanish phrase that translates to "I have spoken" and not, as I once thought, a Spanish philosopher who specialised in writing about the beautiful game.
The playoffs for entry into the Europa League group stage brought us fierce competition. Would the groups themselves be of the same standard? In a word, yes. We saw goals, red mist, thrillers, chillers, upsets, upset and our mistress eye's being nothing like the sun. And everything in between.
Group A
Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan, PAOK, Shamrock Rovers.
"Looks nice enough for the top two seeds"
Dave Beattie
Tottenham were the highest seeds left in the competition, and had seen off the challenge of Hearts quite comfortably in the playoffs. Rubin fell in the Champions League playoff round to Lyon. PAOK had comfortably seen off Valerengen and Karpaty in Qualifying rounds. As for Shamrock? Their route started with a tense 1-0 aggregate victory over Estonian Flora in the Champions League 2nd round qualifiers. In the 3rd round of that competition, they took on FC Kobenhavn, and swiftly lost 3-0, thus being ejected to the Europa League playoff round where they had to take on Partizan Belgrade. Readers of the Playoff Round article may recall their stunning extra time giant killing performance against the European always theres, and so they made up the brunt of this group.
The group started in controversy caught by the BBC:
Chaotic scenes at the Toumba Stadium. Stefanos Athanasiadis surges into the area and is caught by Carlo Cudicini as he tries to go round him. This time, that is a penalty, and Cudicini is booked. Lino steps up to slot coolly home and turns to celebrate. He gets quite far too, before being called back and told to retake it because Cudicini had come off his line. Incredible. Lino has another go, and this time drills the ball low and wide of the left-hand post.
BBC
Funny listening to Gordon Strachan on ITV4 commenting on the highlights. I guess he doesn't understand the term "encroachment". For the first penalty there was a PAOK player inside the penalty area when the kick was taken & this is what I understand is meant by the term. But for the second penalty - which was missed - Strachan was talking about the goalkeeper doing the same thing (being slightly off his line) as for the first penalty & not understanding why one was being retaken & the other not.
Dave Beattie
PAOK got a 2-2 draw in Russia which I, possibly uncharitably, referred to at the time as an "unexpectedly good result" for them.
This group was summed up by Tottenhams indifference to the Europa League. Weakened sides saw a draw in Greece and defeat in Russia (though a great goal by Pavyluchenko saw them win 1-0 against Rubin at White Hart Lane), whilst everyone was beating poor Shamrock despite some tough Irish displays. On the last day Spurs had to beat Shamrock, and did 4-0, to have any chance of qualifying.
KEY MATCHES
Tottenham 1-2 PAOK
After defeat in Russia, Tottenham really needed to get 6 points from their last 2 games. They were to beat Shamrock comfortably 4-0 on match day 6, to cement the plucky Irishmens 0-0-6 record. The home game vs PAOK, after the controversial 0-0 in Greece, was pivotal.
Five minutes into the match, a nice pass by Georgiadis saw Salpigidis unmarked for a free header into the net that Gomes ought to have done better with. Spurs were stunned, and PAOK carved them apart with some fine passing, Athanasiadis slicing the ball home as it zoomed along the floor of the box. 0-2 PAOK, 14 minutes gone. Stafylidis was sent off before half time for the Greeks (he was judged, possibly unfairly, to have handled on the line), and Spurs began pushing forward after Modric scored the resulting penalty. Despite chances for Modric, Kane, Defoe, Livermore and Bale, PAOK marshalled by their goalkeeper Chalkias kept the result in their favour. So at full time, a remarkable away win for the Greek underdogs, who booked their place in the Knock Out rounds. A just reward for some fine displays.
Spurs victory over Shamrock left them on 10 points. So a Rubin defeat in Greece would help Spurs qualify for the Knock Out stages, but a draw or better for the Russians would knock out the English laissez-faire.
PAOK 1-1 Rubin
It was a crunch game, made all the more by worries that "Zagreb 1-7 Lyon" would repeat itself in the Shamrock/Spurs tie. PAOK were qualified, it was do or die for Rubin. Ten minutes into an end to end game, only a flicked defensive header prevented Rubin taking the lead. Nemov made a great pass in but Nelson Valdez scuffed his shot wide.
PAOK were having chances to extend the score but the Russian defence was just about holding firm, knowing another Greek goal would probably eliminate them from the competition. Arlauskis was helping his side along with some nice saves. Then Ansaldi had a shot for Rubin but ballooned the shot well over the bar. The chances continued to flow at both ends before early in the second half a second goal did come, and it was the equaliser for Rubin, Nelson Valdez rifling home from outside the box. Now the scoreline eliminated Tottenham!
Tottenham's disinterest in key games saw them to an early exit.
For all the fear of conspiracy before the final matches, we could take this idea to extremes.
For example, Otelul get 3 goals against Basel, after 0 in 4! Fixed...badly.
Thistle score 1 after 0 in 6. Thank god.
Man U score 1 in 1 vs Basel after 10 in 5. Hilarious.
This group was summed up by Tottenhams indifference to the Europa League. Weakened sides saw a draw in Greece and defeat in Russia (though a great goal by Pavyluchenko saw them win 1-0 against Rubin at White Hart Lane), whilst everyone was beating poor Shamrock despite some tough Irish displays. On the last day Spurs had to beat Shamrock, and did 4-0, to have any chance of qualifying.
KEY MATCHES
Tottenham 1-2 PAOK
After defeat in Russia, Tottenham really needed to get 6 points from their last 2 games. They were to beat Shamrock comfortably 4-0 on match day 6, to cement the plucky Irishmens 0-0-6 record. The home game vs PAOK, after the controversial 0-0 in Greece, was pivotal.
Five minutes into the match, a nice pass by Georgiadis saw Salpigidis unmarked for a free header into the net that Gomes ought to have done better with. Spurs were stunned, and PAOK carved them apart with some fine passing, Athanasiadis slicing the ball home as it zoomed along the floor of the box. 0-2 PAOK, 14 minutes gone. Stafylidis was sent off before half time for the Greeks (he was judged, possibly unfairly, to have handled on the line), and Spurs began pushing forward after Modric scored the resulting penalty. Despite chances for Modric, Kane, Defoe, Livermore and Bale, PAOK marshalled by their goalkeeper Chalkias kept the result in their favour. So at full time, a remarkable away win for the Greek underdogs, who booked their place in the Knock Out rounds. A just reward for some fine displays.
Spurs victory over Shamrock left them on 10 points. So a Rubin defeat in Greece would help Spurs qualify for the Knock Out stages, but a draw or better for the Russians would knock out the English laissez-faire.
PAOK 1-1 Rubin
It was a crunch game, made all the more by worries that "Zagreb 1-7 Lyon" would repeat itself in the Shamrock/Spurs tie. PAOK were qualified, it was do or die for Rubin. Ten minutes into an end to end game, only a flicked defensive header prevented Rubin taking the lead. Nemov made a great pass in but Nelson Valdez scuffed his shot wide.
Then came amazement and controversy in the same move. A Rubin corner should pause no problems for the Rubin defense. Nobody had told Georgiadis, the star of White Hart Lane, this as he grabbed the ball from Natchos corner and then made a dazzling one man run the length of the pitch. Rubin had mostly all gone up for the corner, and were completely caught out. The sole defender all at sea at Georgiadis swept past him into the box. Only the Rubin keeper Ryzhikov stood between his side and an opening goal that would bring back memories of George Weah. The keeper had to do something brave, instead, he did some brash, and took out the player. You could even see the Russian defenders running up to the scene thinking: "Oh you complete idiot!" It was no surprise to see the red card out for Ryzhikov, nor a penalty given to the Greeks. Twelve minutes gone, red card, penalty. It could not have gone worse. Arlauskis, the sub goalkeeper, had no chance in saving Vierinha's penalty, which was rifled into the bottom left corner. The Greek crowd cheered, but the loudest cheers were coming from the Spurs fans in Ireland.
PAOK were having chances to extend the score but the Russian defence was just about holding firm, knowing another Greek goal would probably eliminate them from the competition. Arlauskis was helping his side along with some nice saves. Then Ansaldi had a shot for Rubin but ballooned the shot well over the bar. The chances continued to flow at both ends before early in the second half a second goal did come, and it was the equaliser for Rubin, Nelson Valdez rifling home from outside the box. Now the scoreline eliminated Tottenham!
The Greeks continued to carve apart the opposition at will, and it was an Alamo stand for the Russians, especially the sub Arlauskis, without whom the game could have ended 5-1 to PAOK. But no more goals were forthcoming, and so both sides qualified.
Tottenham's disinterest in key games saw them to an early exit.
For all the fear of conspiracy before the final matches, we could take this idea to extremes.
For example, Otelul get 3 goals against Basel, after 0 in 4! Fixed...badly.
Thistle score 1 after 0 in 6. Thank god.
Man U score 1 in 1 vs Basel after 10 in 5. Hilarious.
And so on.
Group B
Kobenhavn had qualified for this group stage by the above mentioned victory over Shamrock, as in the CL play off round they were thumped 5-2 by Victoria Plzen. Standard Liege had been ousted at the first stage of the CL playoffs by Zurich but had then won their EL playoff beating Helsingborg. Hannover had defeated Sevilla to qualify in the EL Playoffs, and Vorskla had seen for Dinamo Bucharest.
After Standard got a comfortable win over FCK, I receieved the following communication:
@Michael. Still think FCK will end above Standard after this 3-0?
That'll be Michael S. Collins, football predictor extraordinaire, still coasting on the prediction of Italy winning the World Cup several years ago.
Group B
Kobenhavn had qualified for this group stage by the above mentioned victory over Shamrock, as in the CL play off round they were thumped 5-2 by Victoria Plzen. Standard Liege had been ousted at the first stage of the CL playoffs by Zurich but had then won their EL playoff beating Helsingborg. Hannover had defeated Sevilla to qualify in the EL Playoffs, and Vorskla had seen for Dinamo Bucharest.
After Standard got a comfortable win over FCK, I receieved the following communication:
@Michael. Still think FCK will end above Standard after this 3-0?
That'll be Michael S. Collins, football predictor extraordinaire, still coasting on the prediction of Italy winning the World Cup several years ago.
FCK were massively disappointing, losing to Standard and drawing in Vorskla on the road to an early exit. Vorskla were overmatched, and finished bottom. Hannover, whom many thought would hurt Germanys coefficient, easily finished 2nd, but top spot went to the undefeated Standard Liege. Not a group of much interest, really.
Group C
Rapid Bucharest saw off Slask Wroclaw in the Playoffs. It was another Polish affair for Rapid Bucharest, but Legia were slightly more experienced at Europe than Slask Wroclaw. Legia won a thriller against Spartak Moscow, 3-2 in extra time in Russia after a 2-2 in Poland. Hapoel Tel Aviv beat plucky Ekranas, and PSV beat Reid 5-0.
Rapid's journey started in controversy, with a potential penalty ignored, but they still dug deep to win 1-0 in Israel, a fine win with the goal of Herea. There, the journey went to a hasty end, with five straight defeats.
How can I describe Rapid best? Like a car with 600 HP engine, but with a gearbox that has its 3rd gear ruined. All that immense power is not properly transmitted to the wheels. Therefor, any decent 100 HP car can look like a rocket compared to them. 1-3 & 0-1 with Legia, 0-3 with Pandurii, 1-3 with Hapoel Tel-Aviv. All this within 1 month. This may look as Rapid is an inferior team, that doesn't know any football. Far from the truth. Which is that the potential of the players is not harvested corectly...
Group C
Rapid Bucharest saw off Slask Wroclaw in the Playoffs. It was another Polish affair for Rapid Bucharest, but Legia were slightly more experienced at Europe than Slask Wroclaw. Legia won a thriller against Spartak Moscow, 3-2 in extra time in Russia after a 2-2 in Poland. Hapoel Tel Aviv beat plucky Ekranas, and PSV beat Reid 5-0.
Rapid's journey started in controversy, with a potential penalty ignored, but they still dug deep to win 1-0 in Israel, a fine win with the goal of Herea. There, the journey went to a hasty end, with five straight defeats.
How can I describe Rapid best? Like a car with 600 HP engine, but with a gearbox that has its 3rd gear ruined. All that immense power is not properly transmitted to the wheels. Therefor, any decent 100 HP car can look like a rocket compared to them. 1-3 & 0-1 with Legia, 0-3 with Pandurii, 1-3 with Hapoel Tel-Aviv. All this within 1 month. This may look as Rapid is an inferior team, that doesn't know any football. Far from the truth. Which is that the potential of the players is not harvested corectly...
Disappointed fan in Romania. With such analogies, I couldn't NOT quote it.
PSV qualified comfortably, undefeated in all six group games.
Hapoel's bad start meant they were needing big results away from home in the rest of the group. They won 3-1 in Romania, but had to travel to PSV (lost the home leg 0-1) and Legia (won the home leg 2-0, but Legia won home and away vs Rapid).
Legia 3-2 Hapoel Tel Aviv
An early Match Day #2 crunch game for both sides who had lost 1-0 on Match Day #1. On the half hour, a free header saw Tamuz take the lead for Hapoel. That was the score till twenty five minutes from time, when a similar free header at the same end saw Ljuboja equalise for the Poles. Soon after, Igiebor made the challenge (and saw a yellow card), the ref gave the penalty, and Komorowski smashed the ball down the middle for 2-1. Trying to make up for his efforts, Igiebor had a shot on target for Hapoel which the keeper Kuciak could only parry, allowing a flipping header over the keeper from Lala into the box. 2-2! Legia were not to be undone on this night, however, and in the 89th minute Radovic broke free from the Israeli defence to slot the ball into the net. 3-2 it finished, and a crucial victory for Legia.
However, in the return leg on Match Day #6, Hapoel won 2-0, as detailed above. This means that the Match Day #4 tie in Holland was actually a crucial one, as PSV hosted Hapoel Tel Aviv. Had the Israelis won that match, they would have qualified for the next stage on the head to head rule.
PSV 3-3 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Barely ten minutes in, the Dutch defence were asleep, and Tamuz's ball found Damari who slid it into the net. 1-0 Hapoel, and the dream was alive! The flick of the feet from Tamuz to assist the goal was a trick Cryuff would have been proud of. Hapoel might have been on dream street though, as a cheeky flip of the ankle from Wijnaldum brought an immediate PSV equaliser. Tamuz, who was haunting PSV, scored next as despite frantic defending by the PSV defenders, they couldn't get the ball away from the hitman. Tamuz had set up Damari for his goal, now Damari had set up Tamuz for his.
Early into the second half, Abutbul's free kick careers into the box, Badiers header is going straight into the net but Isaksson the PSV goalkeeper manages to tip the ball off the bar. The ball is still live though and Tamuz - who else? - fires it into the net. 3-1 Hapoel, and as it stood, they would have qualified in the final table.
Just when it was beginning to look good for the Israelis though, they lost concentration, and Toivonen scored for PSV to make it 2-3. The ball caught the defence by surprise, and the Swede had to score from that angle. Strootmans equaliser from outside the box was an adept finish to kill off the Israelis, but it had been coming from Toivonens goal. And so finished a match UEFA called "extraordinary". The result actually qualified PSV for the next stage, and eliminated Hapoel despite how close the table was later to look. But for some calmer defender of a good away lead, it could have been so much more for the dispirited Israelis. A victory here, at least, was the least Tamuz deserved for his Man of the Match display.
Instead PSV qualified with 16 points of a possible 18, and Legia finished 2nd, just about, to continue their fine story. Rapid said farewell with a whimper after an exciting start, and for Hapoel Tel Aviv, the slow start killed what looked to be a fine team before they'd even got properly started.
Group D
Vaslui crashed out in the Champions League to Twente, before notching up a great aggregate win over Sparta Praha in the EL playoffs. Zurich had KO'd Standard Liege from the Champions League before meeting the road block that was Bayern Munich in the final Playoff round. Lazio ended my hopes for Rabotnicki quite viciously, and Sporting edged past Nordsjaelland of Denmark. The group had two clear favourites and two clear underdogs, but how would it progress?
Lazio 2-2 Vaslui
"Vaslui's defenders give the impression they won't be able to stop Djibril Cisse even with baseball bats "
Quote of the round, from Romania
It was Cisse who opened the scoring for Lazio, a thunderous penalty into the net after Baluur had brought down Rocchi in the box. Cometh the hour, Adailtons free kick for Vaslui was knocked into the net by Wesley. Zauri took down Temwanjera in the box, and the Lazio man got a red card for his offense. Wesley scored from the spot and suddenly Vaslui, with a man advantage, were minutes away from a massive shock. As was much the case with Vaslui's group stage though, it was not to be, as a nothing heading from Sculli saw the Rome side level. 2-2 it remained. A good result most times for the Romanians, but here it certainly felt like two points dropped.
And so with Vaslui drawing 2-2 at home also, this time to Zurich, we could turn our attention to the first meeting of the big two in the group.
Sporting 2-1 Lazio
Sporting made the UEFA Cup final in 2005, but lost 3-1 in their own stadium to CSKA Moscow. Lazio used to be good in Europe, but have failed in recent times to make much of an impact. The stage was set for a crucial tie in the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Lazio had several early shots, before Insua missed the target with a great effort. Sporting kept at it thought, and on 20 minutes Van Wolfswinkel, who I saw torment Celtic a few seasons ago, scored the opener for the Portuguese. The crowd went nuts, but were not so happy when Miroslav Klose scored a typical predatory goal to equalise for Lazio, a neat flick off a free kick. Marchetti of Lazio was responsible for several saves keeping the score down. Sporting were on the break, just before half time and of all people, Van Wolfswinkel missed the target, shooting across the goal. Sporting thought that was it heading into half time, but a goal was to come after all: Insua from well outside the box hitting a deflected shot into the net. Liverpool fans can stare in disbelief. There was no goals in the second half, so Insua's lucky shot was the winner in a tight match.
Vaslui 1-0 Sporting
Zmeu scored for Vaslui as they got the biggest win in their history, and left themselves with a great chance to advance, as Lazio had been held away by Zurich. Lazio won their last game at home to Sporting though, which meant Vaslui had to win away in Zurich.
Zurich 2-0 Vaslui.
They couldn't.
So the top two go through, though Lazio did it by the skin of their teeth. Zurich couldn't get two results in a row so went out. Vaslui, plucky, determined, courageous, but concentration lapses cost them dearly
Group E
Eagle eyed Israeli pundits feared this draw, as they would have to start off in the Turkish cauldron and finish in Kiev in the middle of Winter, add in the English double header inbetween and it didn't speak well for qualifying hopes. Besiktas fans feared Dynamo Kiev who had humiliated them in the previous season. Kiev didn't like drawing an English side. Stoke disliked the look of all the travelling. Truly, it was the Group of Disdain!
Dynamo Kiev had been beaten by Rubin in the CL Playoffs, before beating Litets in the EL playoffs.
Besiktas 5-1 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Besiktas also won with good football and 5 goals (6 goals in total, 2 goals cancelled for off-side, most entertaining game of the day so far). Maccabi isn't a weak team at all, they were in a bad day (especially the defence) whereas we played very well
Legia 3-2 Hapoel Tel Aviv
An early Match Day #2 crunch game for both sides who had lost 1-0 on Match Day #1. On the half hour, a free header saw Tamuz take the lead for Hapoel. That was the score till twenty five minutes from time, when a similar free header at the same end saw Ljuboja equalise for the Poles. Soon after, Igiebor made the challenge (and saw a yellow card), the ref gave the penalty, and Komorowski smashed the ball down the middle for 2-1. Trying to make up for his efforts, Igiebor had a shot on target for Hapoel which the keeper Kuciak could only parry, allowing a flipping header over the keeper from Lala into the box. 2-2! Legia were not to be undone on this night, however, and in the 89th minute Radovic broke free from the Israeli defence to slot the ball into the net. 3-2 it finished, and a crucial victory for Legia.
However, in the return leg on Match Day #6, Hapoel won 2-0, as detailed above. This means that the Match Day #4 tie in Holland was actually a crucial one, as PSV hosted Hapoel Tel Aviv. Had the Israelis won that match, they would have qualified for the next stage on the head to head rule.
PSV 3-3 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Barely ten minutes in, the Dutch defence were asleep, and Tamuz's ball found Damari who slid it into the net. 1-0 Hapoel, and the dream was alive! The flick of the feet from Tamuz to assist the goal was a trick Cryuff would have been proud of. Hapoel might have been on dream street though, as a cheeky flip of the ankle from Wijnaldum brought an immediate PSV equaliser. Tamuz, who was haunting PSV, scored next as despite frantic defending by the PSV defenders, they couldn't get the ball away from the hitman. Tamuz had set up Damari for his goal, now Damari had set up Tamuz for his.
Early into the second half, Abutbul's free kick careers into the box, Badiers header is going straight into the net but Isaksson the PSV goalkeeper manages to tip the ball off the bar. The ball is still live though and Tamuz - who else? - fires it into the net. 3-1 Hapoel, and as it stood, they would have qualified in the final table.
Just when it was beginning to look good for the Israelis though, they lost concentration, and Toivonen scored for PSV to make it 2-3. The ball caught the defence by surprise, and the Swede had to score from that angle. Strootmans equaliser from outside the box was an adept finish to kill off the Israelis, but it had been coming from Toivonens goal. And so finished a match UEFA called "extraordinary". The result actually qualified PSV for the next stage, and eliminated Hapoel despite how close the table was later to look. But for some calmer defender of a good away lead, it could have been so much more for the dispirited Israelis. A victory here, at least, was the least Tamuz deserved for his Man of the Match display.
Instead PSV qualified with 16 points of a possible 18, and Legia finished 2nd, just about, to continue their fine story. Rapid said farewell with a whimper after an exciting start, and for Hapoel Tel Aviv, the slow start killed what looked to be a fine team before they'd even got properly started.
Group D
Vaslui crashed out in the Champions League to Twente, before notching up a great aggregate win over Sparta Praha in the EL playoffs. Zurich had KO'd Standard Liege from the Champions League before meeting the road block that was Bayern Munich in the final Playoff round. Lazio ended my hopes for Rabotnicki quite viciously, and Sporting edged past Nordsjaelland of Denmark. The group had two clear favourites and two clear underdogs, but how would it progress?
Lazio 2-2 Vaslui
"Vaslui's defenders give the impression they won't be able to stop Djibril Cisse even with baseball bats "
Quote of the round, from Romania
It was Cisse who opened the scoring for Lazio, a thunderous penalty into the net after Baluur had brought down Rocchi in the box. Cometh the hour, Adailtons free kick for Vaslui was knocked into the net by Wesley. Zauri took down Temwanjera in the box, and the Lazio man got a red card for his offense. Wesley scored from the spot and suddenly Vaslui, with a man advantage, were minutes away from a massive shock. As was much the case with Vaslui's group stage though, it was not to be, as a nothing heading from Sculli saw the Rome side level. 2-2 it remained. A good result most times for the Romanians, but here it certainly felt like two points dropped.
And so with Vaslui drawing 2-2 at home also, this time to Zurich, we could turn our attention to the first meeting of the big two in the group.
Sporting 2-1 Lazio
Sporting made the UEFA Cup final in 2005, but lost 3-1 in their own stadium to CSKA Moscow. Lazio used to be good in Europe, but have failed in recent times to make much of an impact. The stage was set for a crucial tie in the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Lazio had several early shots, before Insua missed the target with a great effort. Sporting kept at it thought, and on 20 minutes Van Wolfswinkel, who I saw torment Celtic a few seasons ago, scored the opener for the Portuguese. The crowd went nuts, but were not so happy when Miroslav Klose scored a typical predatory goal to equalise for Lazio, a neat flick off a free kick. Marchetti of Lazio was responsible for several saves keeping the score down. Sporting were on the break, just before half time and of all people, Van Wolfswinkel missed the target, shooting across the goal. Sporting thought that was it heading into half time, but a goal was to come after all: Insua from well outside the box hitting a deflected shot into the net. Liverpool fans can stare in disbelief. There was no goals in the second half, so Insua's lucky shot was the winner in a tight match.
Vaslui 1-0 Sporting
Zmeu scored for Vaslui as they got the biggest win in their history, and left themselves with a great chance to advance, as Lazio had been held away by Zurich. Lazio won their last game at home to Sporting though, which meant Vaslui had to win away in Zurich.
Zurich 2-0 Vaslui.
They couldn't.
So the top two go through, though Lazio did it by the skin of their teeth. Zurich couldn't get two results in a row so went out. Vaslui, plucky, determined, courageous, but concentration lapses cost them dearly
Group E
Eagle eyed Israeli pundits feared this draw, as they would have to start off in the Turkish cauldron and finish in Kiev in the middle of Winter, add in the English double header inbetween and it didn't speak well for qualifying hopes. Besiktas fans feared Dynamo Kiev who had humiliated them in the previous season. Kiev didn't like drawing an English side. Stoke disliked the look of all the travelling. Truly, it was the Group of Disdain!
Dynamo Kiev had been beaten by Rubin in the CL Playoffs, before beating Litets in the EL playoffs.
Besiktas 5-1 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Besiktas also won with good football and 5 goals (6 goals in total, 2 goals cancelled for off-side, most entertaining game of the day so far). Maccabi isn't a weak team at all, they were in a bad day (especially the defence) whereas we played very well
View from Besiktas fan.
It wasn't to be happy for Besiktas for long though, as:
I was expecting a Stoke win, but I feel frustrated after this game. All of the English team's tactic is based on set pieces. The players only think about getting free-kicks, and for this, they fall on the ground extremely easily in every challenge. Touch them with your finger, and they'll fall. Whereas when they made fouls on Besiktas players, it was nearly red card positions in each of them. The penalty position - it was clearly ridiculous. If Stoke's penalty is considered as a penalty, then there should be a lot of penalties in every match. Not only this, a penalty for Besiktas wasn't given when a Stoke's player (Upson?) touched the ball with his hand/arm in the penalty area, and noone of the referees did see that.
Same fans view after Stoke 2-1 Besiktas
The only bit of this that surprises me is the "falling over easily". Stoke are well known as a "hard" team who are very reliant on set pieces & grit & determination for their success. Not far off the old Wimbledon. That said they can (occasionally) play a more attractive style than given credit for and supposedly have upgraded their level with their summer signings this year. Unfortunately I often think that almost every English team (including the national side) has a mental block/default when there is a tall guy up front. They can't help but lump the ball in their general direction. Even Liverpool - a team far more inclined towards the patient build up - have had the same issues with Andy Carroll. On the falling over easily - though not a good excuse it's possible they have already taken a (bad) lesson from their earlier European games. I seem to recall some Stoke players being frustrated at some of the free kicks awarded against them in Kiev & perhaps they've decided that if European referees are inclined to make "easy" awards for minimal contact they should take advantage. Saw the penalty incident & concur it looked very, very soft.
Dave Beattie's response to Besiktas fan.
Stoke's draws against Kiev, and wins over M Tel Aviv saw them qualify for the next stage, a fine result for both. The matter of who would join them was settled in three games.
Stoke's draws against Kiev, and wins over M Tel Aviv saw them qualify for the next stage, a fine result for both. The matter of who would join them was settled in three games.
M Tel Aviv 2-3 Besiktas
Seven minutes in, Besiktas defence day dreamed and allowed the Israelis in, but they huffed and puffed about taking a shot and the Turks recovered. Then Itzhaki's shot balloons wide. Colautti then missed the target when it looked like he had sliced the ball into the net. Gonen of Besiktas had to make several saves as the Israelis bombed forward for their opener. Besiktas had their own attempts, and though the Israeli defense was somewhat akin to Keystone Cops in trying to get rid of the danger, to this point it was working. Just after the half hour, Atar missed for Maccabi, despite having an open goal to fire into!
Had Almeida put any effort into a header, Besiktas would have scored in the forty-fifth minute, but not to worry for him, as Besiktas did have a 1-0 Half Time lead, courtesy of a Quaresma goal in the 2nd minute of added on time. He was on the edge of the box and neatly smashed the ball home. It was cruel for the Israelis, who had scorned chance after chance.
Into the second half, Quaresma went for a repeat of his previous, but this time Levy of Maccabi made the save. From the resulting corner, Toraman scored a free header to make it 2-0 Besiktas. So after all that concerted Israeli effort, suddenly they were 0-2 down! Besiktas could taste the Knock Out round.
Tel Aviv could have shut up shop and gone home or bombed forward. They chose the latter option. A miscommunication allowed Israilivich to fire in a shot which Gonen just kept out. From the corner, the ball fell everywhere, before a low bicycle kick from Yeini found the back of the net. It was a slice of beauty carved out of a farcical exchange.
When Atar was fouled by Kavlak, the Israelis had a free kick. Eventually the fussy referee, Guimenny, decided everything was as he liked it, and allowed play to continue. "I'm the referee, I decide when the ball is played!" He must be a joy at parties. Atar calmly knocks the ball to Logasi, who takes one step forward from the half way line and fires the ball into the net. A proper "OMG" goal followed by mass delirium in the stands! From 0-2 down, Maccabi Tel Aviv are level! Logasi's wide opened disbelief at his own effort as he was swamped by team mates reminded one of Tardellis joy in the 1982 World Cup final.
The wind was in the Israeli sails, though Quaresma and Hugo Almeida were coming closer to knocking at the door for Besiktas. Even so, it was a cruel blow in the 3rd minute of added time when Quaresma slotted the ball home. The Israelis had given so much to the match, now they were down and out. Besiktas, so long under the cosh, had been clinical when it really mattered, and were a good result against Stoke away from the last 32.
A cruel end to a fantastic match.
D Kiev 3-3 M Tel Aviv
Maccabi were now out, with only one point to show for their superlative efforts, but in this game they could take Dynamo Kiev out with them. A side some predicted to even win the tournament, in serious trouble. And so they did with a 3-3 draw away from home, responding to going 2-0 down to winding up 3-2 ahead. I'm sure it was a great match, but I can't find decent highlights of it anywhere. Nevertheless, Tel Aviv had taken Kiev out with them. A great end to a brave showing for the Israelis, disappointing compounded for the Ukraine after Shakhtars similar early exit in the Champions League.
BEsiktas 3-1 Stoke
Pressure off both sides, Besiktas got revenge for their early issues in England, with a comfortable win to top the group. The runners up would go on to face Valencia in the last 32, so this match was more crucial than it may have seemed at the time.
Stoke City FC is the biggest surprise for me this season!! They are based in Stoke-on-Trent (population about 200,000). Their stadium's capacity is just 27,598! Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County.
They were promoted to the PL just in 2008; prior to this Stoke had not participated in top flight football for 23 years!! Its first, and to date only, major trophy was won in the 1972 Football League Cup Final, when the team beat Chelsea 2–1. The club's highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which was achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. Stoke have competed in European football in 1972 and 1974; and are competing in Europe just for the 3rd time in 2011!
They are 9th in Premier League after all the 'big boys' and Newcastle Utd. This year they have earned the 3rd highest amount of points of all the english clubs, above Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham!! They started in the Third qualifying round, and were ranked 8th in pot 3 for this year's EL GS!
Seven minutes in, Besiktas defence day dreamed and allowed the Israelis in, but they huffed and puffed about taking a shot and the Turks recovered. Then Itzhaki's shot balloons wide. Colautti then missed the target when it looked like he had sliced the ball into the net. Gonen of Besiktas had to make several saves as the Israelis bombed forward for their opener. Besiktas had their own attempts, and though the Israeli defense was somewhat akin to Keystone Cops in trying to get rid of the danger, to this point it was working. Just after the half hour, Atar missed for Maccabi, despite having an open goal to fire into!
Had Almeida put any effort into a header, Besiktas would have scored in the forty-fifth minute, but not to worry for him, as Besiktas did have a 1-0 Half Time lead, courtesy of a Quaresma goal in the 2nd minute of added on time. He was on the edge of the box and neatly smashed the ball home. It was cruel for the Israelis, who had scorned chance after chance.
Into the second half, Quaresma went for a repeat of his previous, but this time Levy of Maccabi made the save. From the resulting corner, Toraman scored a free header to make it 2-0 Besiktas. So after all that concerted Israeli effort, suddenly they were 0-2 down! Besiktas could taste the Knock Out round.
Tel Aviv could have shut up shop and gone home or bombed forward. They chose the latter option. A miscommunication allowed Israilivich to fire in a shot which Gonen just kept out. From the corner, the ball fell everywhere, before a low bicycle kick from Yeini found the back of the net. It was a slice of beauty carved out of a farcical exchange.
When Atar was fouled by Kavlak, the Israelis had a free kick. Eventually the fussy referee, Guimenny, decided everything was as he liked it, and allowed play to continue. "I'm the referee, I decide when the ball is played!" He must be a joy at parties. Atar calmly knocks the ball to Logasi, who takes one step forward from the half way line and fires the ball into the net. A proper "OMG" goal followed by mass delirium in the stands! From 0-2 down, Maccabi Tel Aviv are level! Logasi's wide opened disbelief at his own effort as he was swamped by team mates reminded one of Tardellis joy in the 1982 World Cup final.
The wind was in the Israeli sails, though Quaresma and Hugo Almeida were coming closer to knocking at the door for Besiktas. Even so, it was a cruel blow in the 3rd minute of added time when Quaresma slotted the ball home. The Israelis had given so much to the match, now they were down and out. Besiktas, so long under the cosh, had been clinical when it really mattered, and were a good result against Stoke away from the last 32.
A cruel end to a fantastic match.
D Kiev 3-3 M Tel Aviv
Maccabi were now out, with only one point to show for their superlative efforts, but in this game they could take Dynamo Kiev out with them. A side some predicted to even win the tournament, in serious trouble. And so they did with a 3-3 draw away from home, responding to going 2-0 down to winding up 3-2 ahead. I'm sure it was a great match, but I can't find decent highlights of it anywhere. Nevertheless, Tel Aviv had taken Kiev out with them. A great end to a brave showing for the Israelis, disappointing compounded for the Ukraine after Shakhtars similar early exit in the Champions League.
BEsiktas 3-1 Stoke
Pressure off both sides, Besiktas got revenge for their early issues in England, with a comfortable win to top the group. The runners up would go on to face Valencia in the last 32, so this match was more crucial than it may have seemed at the time.
Stoke City FC is the biggest surprise for me this season!! They are based in Stoke-on-Trent (population about 200,000). Their stadium's capacity is just 27,598! Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County.
They were promoted to the PL just in 2008; prior to this Stoke had not participated in top flight football for 23 years!! Its first, and to date only, major trophy was won in the 1972 Football League Cup Final, when the team beat Chelsea 2–1. The club's highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which was achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. Stoke have competed in European football in 1972 and 1974; and are competing in Europe just for the 3rd time in 2011!
They are 9th in Premier League after all the 'big boys' and Newcastle Utd. This year they have earned the 3rd highest amount of points of all the english clubs, above Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham!! They started in the Third qualifying round, and were ranked 8th in pot 3 for this year's EL GS!
Stoke catching the eye of Greek commentator.
Group F
PSG and Bilbao both had similar passages to the group stage. PSG had originally drawn Olympiakos Volos, only for the Greeks to be thrown out of Europe for "match irregularities" and for their vanquished foes, Differdange of Luxembourg, to be put in their place. And easily beaten. Bilbao had Trabzonspor, who benefited from Fenerbahce's removal from the Champions League for similar reasons. This time, Bilbao had a bye to the group stage as the first meaningless leg of Bilbao/Trabzonspor had been played.
PSG 3-1 Salzburg: A good win for PSG, yet the injury time goal of Sekagya for Salzburg wound up being a crucial one.
Bilbao 2-2 Salzburg: Salzburg went 0-2 up, before the Bilbao Flair Machine went into overdrive for a draw.
Salzburg 2-0 PSG: Here we saw a disinterested PSG losing 1-0. Fair enough, all ok. But then in the 95th minute Svento scores, and suddenly PSG are losing the head to head.
Bilbao went through comfortably, Slovan Bratislava (conquerers of Roma) went out comfortably. It all came down to the final two.
Despite the 2-0 lead for Slovan giving PSG some hope, Salzburg pulled back to win in Slovakia, so that PSG's admittedly impressive victory over Bilbao counted for nowt.
And once again, I got to see none of it. Hence the cribnotes.
PSG are out, and they have only themselves to blame, really.
Group G
Malmo's campaign had seen wins over HB Torshavn and Rangers before defeat to Dynamo Zagreb put them in this group.
Austria Wien got a 2-1 away win in Malmo, getting off to a flying start with a great goal from Barazite from outside the box.
Despite the best efforts of Austria Wien, AZ scrapped through to the next round. Metalist qualified in style, undefeated. Malmo were out of their depth even at this level.
Group H
Maribor had defeated Dudelange before being knocked out of the Champions League by Maccabi Haifa, before then defeating Rangers in a playoff round for the Europa League group stage.
To say people were unhappy in Portugal after Club Brugge's surprise win in Braga was to slightly understate the matter:
Sick game in Braga. A totally controlled win, Braga best team in the field and all of a sudden an illegal goal: the belgium forward pushes the defender against the goalkeeper making him to miss the ball. The forward then throws it into the net. Braga got surprised, lost control, tried to go forward to make amends and win the game, and got some dangerous counter attacks. in a corner they suffered the second. I'd say it was a very unfair result in the way it was (illegaly) obtained. But this just shows how naive Braga was and how "stick to the plan" they were and unable to deal with an unexpected circumstance and a bad refereeing.
Group F
PSG and Bilbao both had similar passages to the group stage. PSG had originally drawn Olympiakos Volos, only for the Greeks to be thrown out of Europe for "match irregularities" and for their vanquished foes, Differdange of Luxembourg, to be put in their place. And easily beaten. Bilbao had Trabzonspor, who benefited from Fenerbahce's removal from the Champions League for similar reasons. This time, Bilbao had a bye to the group stage as the first meaningless leg of Bilbao/Trabzonspor had been played.
PSG 3-1 Salzburg: A good win for PSG, yet the injury time goal of Sekagya for Salzburg wound up being a crucial one.
Bilbao 2-2 Salzburg: Salzburg went 0-2 up, before the Bilbao Flair Machine went into overdrive for a draw.
Salzburg 2-0 PSG: Here we saw a disinterested PSG losing 1-0. Fair enough, all ok. But then in the 95th minute Svento scores, and suddenly PSG are losing the head to head.
Bilbao went through comfortably, Slovan Bratislava (conquerers of Roma) went out comfortably. It all came down to the final two.
Lyonnais
The likely elimination of PSG is a clear under-achievement. For the Salzburg game, Kombouaré rested players like Pastore, Menez, Gameiro (who entered as a sub) but still, most observers thought that they could grab a point at Salzburg (at least not lose by 2-0!). Well, this performance will not add to the glory of the club but again, I am not sure that PSG management are that annoyed of this elimination. They are much more concerned by the situation in the league because they see that the team is struggling and their minimum objective this season is to get the Champions League at the end of the season (and Paris anyway don't have the bench to play the 2 competitions).
Slovan 2-3 SalzburgPSG 4-2 Bilbao
Despite the 2-0 lead for Slovan giving PSG some hope, Salzburg pulled back to win in Slovakia, so that PSG's admittedly impressive victory over Bilbao counted for nowt.
And once again, I got to see none of it. Hence the cribnotes.
PSG are out, and they have only themselves to blame, really.
Group G
Malmo's campaign had seen wins over HB Torshavn and Rangers before defeat to Dynamo Zagreb put them in this group.
Austria Wien got a 2-1 away win in Malmo, getting off to a flying start with a great goal from Barazite from outside the box.
Despite the best efforts of Austria Wien, AZ scrapped through to the next round. Metalist qualified in style, undefeated. Malmo were out of their depth even at this level.
Group H
Maribor had defeated Dudelange before being knocked out of the Champions League by Maccabi Haifa, before then defeating Rangers in a playoff round for the Europa League group stage.
To say people were unhappy in Portugal after Club Brugge's surprise win in Braga was to slightly understate the matter:
Sick game in Braga. A totally controlled win, Braga best team in the field and all of a sudden an illegal goal: the belgium forward pushes the defender against the goalkeeper making him to miss the ball. The forward then throws it into the net. Braga got surprised, lost control, tried to go forward to make amends and win the game, and got some dangerous counter attacks. in a corner they suffered the second. I'd say it was a very unfair result in the way it was (illegaly) obtained. But this just shows how naive Braga was and how "stick to the plan" they were and unable to deal with an unexpected circumstance and a bad refereeing.
View from Portugal
Braga seemed to be coasting with home and away wins over Birmingham, despite this Brugge set back. Maribor were everybodys whipping boy. Birmingham, despite their problems, got ever so close to the last 32, but Brugge escaped: they were 3-0 down in Maribor at one point, but rallied for a 4-3 victory.
Group I
How seriously will Atlético take the EL? Think of it this way--they won't be "competing" to win la Liga. Their big push will be for third or fourth place. I think it's fair to say they'll take the EL very seriously up to crunch time in la Liga--and with Manzano as coach, they'll probably go for it. Remember, Atleti has only won two trophies in what seems like forever to their fans (EL and European Supercup in 2010), so the idea of winning something will probably be the determining factor.
Atletico 4-0 Udinese
Atletico were through, Rennes out. The crunch game was Udinese/Celtic.
Udinese 1-1 Celtic
Much to my shock, Celtic took the lead!
@ Michael: Rumor has it that a team from Scotland just scored.
My response to this was captured for posterity:
AEK Larnaca succeeded, tonight, another glorious for Cypriot football triumph. AEK dominated the game for the first 70 minutes and in the next 20 the game was balanced, Maccabi attacking achieving a goal and AEK having chances in the counterattacks. Fair result 100% but it could be with a bigger margin. Gonzalo Garcia scored again and is certainly the MVP of the game
Our man AEK4ever.
Schalke 2-1 Steaua
Steaua 3-1 AEK
AEK Larnaca had huffed and puffed but it was the end of the road for them. Maccabi Haifa were out despite two big victories. Schalke were through with minimum fuss, and so were Steaua, who on the last day decided to play, and qualified.
Group K
Wisla's campaign had started in the Second CL round, where they had seen off Skonto Riga, followed by a victory over Litex Lovech in the next round before a narrow playoff defeat to APOEL saw them consigned to the Europa League. Odense won a thriller in the CL playoffs against Panathinaikos, before losing narrowly to Villarreal. Twente saw off Vaslui before crashing to Benfica in a thriller in the CL qualifiers.
Wisla 1-3 Odense
Wisla, if they had better defenders, and attacking players who can put the ball in the net, could have even won the game. So basically half the team needs to be better for them to win. OB did start off better but all 3 of their goals were big errors by the Wisla defence and/or goalkeeper. The 3rd one was just an absolute gift. The OB coach said he felt his team was in charge and Wisla only dominated for 15 minutes in the 2nd half. I think that is a bit over the top. Odense was better in the first half, then in the second Wisla was dominating, and scored. They managed to dominate, Biton even missed a 1 on 1 with all the time in the world. They they conceded the 2nd goal that I agree was not a foul, just poor goalkeeping, [77th minute I think or something like that] and then it evened up with Wisla attacking and Odense obviously having a lot of counter attacks that eventually brought them the 3rd goal. Overall Odense was more disciplined and deserved their win.
View from Poland
The referee largely decided this game - which was very dull at least in the part I saw. Krakow player reacted ridiculously to the raised hand of the Fulham player so in that sense it was a very soft card but still all players should know by now that any raised hand in such circumstances is a potential red card regardless of whether the opponent reacts like a little girl.
Dave Beattie
Odense 1-4 Twente
Fulham 4-1 Wisla
Odense were out, Twente were through. It came down to the last two games. If Fulham were to slip up, a victory for Wisla would qualify them at the English sides expense.
Wisla 2-1 Twente
Not that it'll matter, but Wisla leads 2-1.
Group I
How seriously will Atlético take the EL? Think of it this way--they won't be "competing" to win la Liga. Their big push will be for third or fourth place. I think it's fair to say they'll take the EL very seriously up to crunch time in la Liga--and with Manzano as coach, they'll probably go for it. Remember, Atleti has only won two trophies in what seems like forever to their fans (EL and European Supercup in 2010), so the idea of winning something will probably be the determining factor.
AlanK, the man in Spain
"Goodbye Rennes!" was the post-draw opinion from France, and they were right to fear the two big sides. At this point Sion were in the group having KO'd Celtic. However, Sion played several ineligible players in the Playoff round, despite being told not to, and so were thrown out of the competition, with Celtic replacing them. Sion then sued UEFA for their place, and were re-awarded it by a civil court, but then that got over turned so they went to a higher court. Local courts ordered match day cancellations and UEFA ordered in the CAS to settle the matter. Eventually Sion were threatened with points deductions in the Swiss league (they wound up with minus 36 points), after a suggestion only the winners of Group I advanced and Sion automatically advanced as "reward", but are likely to stay up anyway as Neuchatel Xamax went bust. Despite the threat of Swiss invasion hanging over this Group, and the various court actions where Sion seemed to be on the verge of suing UEFA, FIFA, the SFA, the Swiss FA, Disney World, Fabio Capello and the estate of Terry Nation, the group went on like any other. In the opening tie, most Celtic fans did not show up in Spain, and neither did the Sion team, but several Sion fans did. None of this was confusing at all, as you can guess.
Not that a group which lead Dave Beattie on the draw to exclaim "Bloody hell!" needed much more excitement than the football itself!
Udinese had drawn and lost to Arsenal in the CL playoffs.
Udinese 2-1 Rennes
Celtic 3-1 Rennes
The domestic league is seen as a much more important competition to get access to the Champions League. Moneywise, our clubs need the money from the Champions League and this is the biggest priority for all of them (and to some extent as much important as getting the title). As a result, the Europa League is often seen as a problem for domestic affairs (no money to earn, games played on Thursdays which is annoying for the domestic WE games , little interest of media and public, sometimes exotic trips with long distances, etc.). I would say that the Europa League is seen a bit like the League Cup. If you can do well, this is fine but it cannot be a problem for domestic games. That's the reason why most teams send "mixed teams" so that they can rest their best players for the league. Lille for example last season openly sacrificed the Europa League to concentrate on domestic affairs and sent their substitutes to play PSV (and they were not that ridiculous). This is not a franco-Frenc issue. I understand that most Italian and possibly English teams (Tottenham) have the same kind of behavior.
"Goodbye Rennes!" was the post-draw opinion from France, and they were right to fear the two big sides. At this point Sion were in the group having KO'd Celtic. However, Sion played several ineligible players in the Playoff round, despite being told not to, and so were thrown out of the competition, with Celtic replacing them. Sion then sued UEFA for their place, and were re-awarded it by a civil court, but then that got over turned so they went to a higher court. Local courts ordered match day cancellations and UEFA ordered in the CAS to settle the matter. Eventually Sion were threatened with points deductions in the Swiss league (they wound up with minus 36 points), after a suggestion only the winners of Group I advanced and Sion automatically advanced as "reward", but are likely to stay up anyway as Neuchatel Xamax went bust. Despite the threat of Swiss invasion hanging over this Group, and the various court actions where Sion seemed to be on the verge of suing UEFA, FIFA, the SFA, the Swiss FA, Disney World, Fabio Capello and the estate of Terry Nation, the group went on like any other. In the opening tie, most Celtic fans did not show up in Spain, and neither did the Sion team, but several Sion fans did. None of this was confusing at all, as you can guess.
Not that a group which lead Dave Beattie on the draw to exclaim "Bloody hell!" needed much more excitement than the football itself!
Udinese had drawn and lost to Arsenal in the CL playoffs.
Udinese 2-1 Rennes
Celtic 3-1 Rennes
The domestic league is seen as a much more important competition to get access to the Champions League. Moneywise, our clubs need the money from the Champions League and this is the biggest priority for all of them (and to some extent as much important as getting the title). As a result, the Europa League is often seen as a problem for domestic affairs (no money to earn, games played on Thursdays which is annoying for the domestic WE games , little interest of media and public, sometimes exotic trips with long distances, etc.). I would say that the Europa League is seen a bit like the League Cup. If you can do well, this is fine but it cannot be a problem for domestic games. That's the reason why most teams send "mixed teams" so that they can rest their best players for the league. Lille for example last season openly sacrificed the Europa League to concentrate on domestic affairs and sent their substitutes to play PSV (and they were not that ridiculous). This is not a franco-Frenc issue. I understand that most Italian and possibly English teams (Tottenham) have the same kind of behavior.
Lyonnaise on French issues in the Europa League
Atletico 4-0 Udinese
Atletico were through, Rennes out. The crunch game was Udinese/Celtic.
Udinese 1-1 Celtic
Much to my shock, Celtic took the lead!
@ Michael: Rumor has it that a team from Scotland just scored.
AlanK
My response to this was captured for posterity:
I....uhm....errrrr.....bloody hell!
Dear Mr Platini
I hear you like to rig games for countries now. Can you rig some games in Scotlands favour please? We cannot afford many suitcases of money, but we can offer you a free ticket to see our newly acquired pandas.
Dear Mr Platini
I hear you like to rig games for countries now. Can you rig some games in Scotlands favour please? We cannot afford many suitcases of money, but we can offer you a free ticket to see our newly acquired pandas.
Me. It didn't work.
Udinese's equaliser finally ended Scottish hopes in Europe this season.
Group J
Steaua had some insider information on the Israelis, as their manager Ronny Levy had previously managed M. Haifa! Not to worry, Steaua's temperamental owner Gigi Becali is not one to accept gift horses in the mouth, as he fired Levy after the sides draw with AEK Larnaca on 30/9/11. This was, at a rough estimate, the twenty millionth managerial sacking by Steaua under Becali. Not to worry for Levy's sake, he walked into a new job twenty-four hours later at Anorthosis: maybe AEK put in a good word for him! Also, as a bit of spice for the group, Ton Caanen, the AEK manager, had previously worked for Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Steaua's opening game with Schalke had to be played in Cluj due to the unsatisfactory condition of the Bucharest pitch. Becali claimed he had brought in a team who had laid pitches at the Bernebeu within a week, so naturally the game had to be played elsewhere or face postponement. In the end it was a dull 0-0.
There is a real problem with the IQ level of Steaua's player. I am extremely annoyed by this game. This draw could hurt Steaua very much. We must take 4 points from the next 2 matches at least. We really should have won this game and we could have won one it we just needed a little brain. But what they do, Brandan gets 2 yellow cards in the middle of the field, Stanca the goalkeeper injures himself while shooting the ball. While AEK's goal wasn't deserved Steaua goal was pure luck and chance the strikers didn't know were to stay, I am not even sure if we had strikers. And now I wonder how many matches Steaua will have to play with a 16 years old goalkeaper after the other 2 injured themselves. By the way did I mention I am extremely annoyed of the game.
View in Romania after aforementioned 1-1 draw in Cyprus. I get the slight impression they weren't too happy.
M Haifa 5-0 Steaua
Steaua 4-2 M Haifa
AEK 2-1 M Haifa
Group J
Steaua had some insider information on the Israelis, as their manager Ronny Levy had previously managed M. Haifa! Not to worry, Steaua's temperamental owner Gigi Becali is not one to accept gift horses in the mouth, as he fired Levy after the sides draw with AEK Larnaca on 30/9/11. This was, at a rough estimate, the twenty millionth managerial sacking by Steaua under Becali. Not to worry for Levy's sake, he walked into a new job twenty-four hours later at Anorthosis: maybe AEK put in a good word for him! Also, as a bit of spice for the group, Ton Caanen, the AEK manager, had previously worked for Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Steaua's opening game with Schalke had to be played in Cluj due to the unsatisfactory condition of the Bucharest pitch. Becali claimed he had brought in a team who had laid pitches at the Bernebeu within a week, so naturally the game had to be played elsewhere or face postponement. In the end it was a dull 0-0.
There is a real problem with the IQ level of Steaua's player. I am extremely annoyed by this game. This draw could hurt Steaua very much. We must take 4 points from the next 2 matches at least. We really should have won this game and we could have won one it we just needed a little brain. But what they do, Brandan gets 2 yellow cards in the middle of the field, Stanca the goalkeeper injures himself while shooting the ball. While AEK's goal wasn't deserved Steaua goal was pure luck and chance the strikers didn't know were to stay, I am not even sure if we had strikers. And now I wonder how many matches Steaua will have to play with a 16 years old goalkeaper after the other 2 injured themselves. By the way did I mention I am extremely annoyed of the game.
View in Romania after aforementioned 1-1 draw in Cyprus. I get the slight impression they weren't too happy.
M Haifa 5-0 Steaua
Steaua 4-2 M Haifa
AEK 2-1 M Haifa
AEK Larnaca succeeded, tonight, another glorious for Cypriot football triumph. AEK dominated the game for the first 70 minutes and in the next 20 the game was balanced, Maccabi attacking achieving a goal and AEK having chances in the counterattacks. Fair result 100% but it could be with a bigger margin. Gonzalo Garcia scored again and is certainly the MVP of the game
Our man AEK4ever.
Schalke 2-1 Steaua
Steaua 3-1 AEK
AEK Larnaca had huffed and puffed but it was the end of the road for them. Maccabi Haifa were out despite two big victories. Schalke were through with minimum fuss, and so were Steaua, who on the last day decided to play, and qualified.
"So that was the end of a sensational game, wouldn't you say so, Romanian MOTD pundit?"
"Yes, you don't see a 10-all draw very often."
"What do you put it down to?"
"Well, the lack of goalkeepers, really."
"Yes, you don't see a 10-all draw very often."
"What do you put it down to?"
"Well, the lack of goalkeepers, really."
Just my little joke about the Romanian teams: they played that weekend, and it was only 3-2, not the 10-10 predicted!
Group K
Wisla's campaign had started in the Second CL round, where they had seen off Skonto Riga, followed by a victory over Litex Lovech in the next round before a narrow playoff defeat to APOEL saw them consigned to the Europa League. Odense won a thriller in the CL playoffs against Panathinaikos, before losing narrowly to Villarreal. Twente saw off Vaslui before crashing to Benfica in a thriller in the CL qualifiers.
Wisla 1-3 Odense
Wisla, if they had better defenders, and attacking players who can put the ball in the net, could have even won the game. So basically half the team needs to be better for them to win. OB did start off better but all 3 of their goals were big errors by the Wisla defence and/or goalkeeper. The 3rd one was just an absolute gift. The OB coach said he felt his team was in charge and Wisla only dominated for 15 minutes in the 2nd half. I think that is a bit over the top. Odense was better in the first half, then in the second Wisla was dominating, and scored. They managed to dominate, Biton even missed a 1 on 1 with all the time in the world. They they conceded the 2nd goal that I agree was not a foul, just poor goalkeeping, [77th minute I think or something like that] and then it evened up with Wisla attacking and Odense obviously having a lot of counter attacks that eventually brought them the 3rd goal. Overall Odense was more disciplined and deserved their win.
View from Poland
The referee largely decided this game - which was very dull at least in the part I saw. Krakow player reacted ridiculously to the raised hand of the Fulham player so in that sense it was a very soft card but still all players should know by now that any raised hand in such circumstances is a potential red card regardless of whether the opponent reacts like a little girl.
Dave Beattie
Odense 1-4 Twente
Fulham 4-1 Wisla
Odense were out, Twente were through. It came down to the last two games. If Fulham were to slip up, a victory for Wisla would qualify them at the English sides expense.
Wisla 2-1 Twente
Not that it'll matter, but Wisla leads 2-1.
Our man AlanK in Spain
Fulham 2-2 Odense
Substitute Djiby Fall scored with the final move of the match to dump Fulham out of the Europa League.
Began the BBC website match report.
The final LiveScore update on the BBC before the equaliser read:
2154: Injury time. We're in it. Odense haven't really stepped up since their goal. Fulham looking good for qualification.
Fulham 2-2 Odense
Substitute Djiby Fall scored with the final move of the match to dump Fulham out of the Europa League.
Began the BBC website match report.
The final LiveScore update on the BBC before the equaliser read:
2154: Injury time. We're in it. Odense haven't really stepped up since their goal. Fulham looking good for qualification.
And yet:
2158: It was literally the last kick. That's full-time. Craven Cottage is in shock. Utter shock.
Odense goal: Absolutely. And. Utterly. Incredible! How? Seriously, how has this just happened? Well, I'll tell you. Odense were gone. It was over. And then in a flash they strike. Espen Ruud swings over a hopeful cross from the right andDjilby Fall steals in to head Fulham out of the Europa League!
Despite everyone's shock, it was as true as it came: Fulham were out of Europe. They could blame the dodgy red card in the away game at Wisla, but equally they could blame their own disinterest in the away leg at Twente. Wisla lost the head to head to all the other sides in the group, yet scrapped through by the smallest of margins.
Group L
"Not a bad draw for AEK!" came the word from Greece.
Sturm had seen off Videoton and Zestafoni before crashing to BATE in the Champions League playoffs.
Much as I'd like to claim otherwise, Sturm were no hopers here, as Anderlecht and Lokomotiv gobbled up the points. AEK were done and only a win in Austria on the final day prevented an 0-0-6.
And so to the final Group Stage match, for ownership of top spot in Group L
Anderlecht 5-3 Lokomotiv
Ignatyev scored early on for Lokomotiv, and on the half hour, Glushakov had a shot blocked for the 0-2. This miss seemed to galvanise Anderlecht, and everybody's favourite American loony Sacha Klejstan bombed forward in the middle of the field, before setting up his own looping equaliser! He'll either get sent off or score brilliant goals, that man. Anderlecht were in the ascendancy, and Klejstan floated the ball down for Fernando to slash it home.
In the Belgian studio at half time, the pundits admitted it hadn't been too bad a match so far. Ten minutes into the second half, Maracek took the free kick, and Wasilewski was able to head into an empty net. There was a hint of handball by Suarez in the build up but the referee ignored it. 3-1 Anderlecht. On the hour, Jovanovic shot the ball into the box, and Suarez finished it off for four, before celebrating with Jovanovic.
Lokomotiv were bombing down the wings though, and won a penalty when the explosive Ignatyev was tumbled in the box by Kouyate. Sychev, dependable, stood up and made no error from the spot. 4-2.
With fifteen minutes to go, Proto launched the ball up field, catching the Russians completly unaware, and allowing Gillet to finish for 5-2. He looks like Fernando Torres and does the triple somersault goal celebration: that's Guillaume Gillet.
Lokomotiv were not finished, though Ivanov was as he took an early bath for a second yellow after a foolish foul. Late in the game, Anderlecht went to sleep allowing Sychev to score again.
It finished 5-3, with one red card, and two attacking sides. Anderlecht finished top of the group, but really football was the winner here in a great game.
Anderlecht have become one of the few sides to go 0-0-6 in an European group stage, and 6-0-0 as they did here. A remarkable feat.
And that was The Group Stage that was!
Odense goal: Absolutely. And. Utterly. Incredible! How? Seriously, how has this just happened? Well, I'll tell you. Odense were gone. It was over. And then in a flash they strike. Espen Ruud swings over a hopeful cross from the right andDjilby Fall steals in to head Fulham out of the Europa League!
Despite everyone's shock, it was as true as it came: Fulham were out of Europe. They could blame the dodgy red card in the away game at Wisla, but equally they could blame their own disinterest in the away leg at Twente. Wisla lost the head to head to all the other sides in the group, yet scrapped through by the smallest of margins.
Group L
"Not a bad draw for AEK!" came the word from Greece.
Sturm had seen off Videoton and Zestafoni before crashing to BATE in the Champions League playoffs.
Much as I'd like to claim otherwise, Sturm were no hopers here, as Anderlecht and Lokomotiv gobbled up the points. AEK were done and only a win in Austria on the final day prevented an 0-0-6.
And so to the final Group Stage match, for ownership of top spot in Group L
Anderlecht 5-3 Lokomotiv
Ignatyev scored early on for Lokomotiv, and on the half hour, Glushakov had a shot blocked for the 0-2. This miss seemed to galvanise Anderlecht, and everybody's favourite American loony Sacha Klejstan bombed forward in the middle of the field, before setting up his own looping equaliser! He'll either get sent off or score brilliant goals, that man. Anderlecht were in the ascendancy, and Klejstan floated the ball down for Fernando to slash it home.
In the Belgian studio at half time, the pundits admitted it hadn't been too bad a match so far. Ten minutes into the second half, Maracek took the free kick, and Wasilewski was able to head into an empty net. There was a hint of handball by Suarez in the build up but the referee ignored it. 3-1 Anderlecht. On the hour, Jovanovic shot the ball into the box, and Suarez finished it off for four, before celebrating with Jovanovic.
Lokomotiv were bombing down the wings though, and won a penalty when the explosive Ignatyev was tumbled in the box by Kouyate. Sychev, dependable, stood up and made no error from the spot. 4-2.
With fifteen minutes to go, Proto launched the ball up field, catching the Russians completly unaware, and allowing Gillet to finish for 5-2. He looks like Fernando Torres and does the triple somersault goal celebration: that's Guillaume Gillet.
Lokomotiv were not finished, though Ivanov was as he took an early bath for a second yellow after a foolish foul. Late in the game, Anderlecht went to sleep allowing Sychev to score again.
It finished 5-3, with one red card, and two attacking sides. Anderlecht finished top of the group, but really football was the winner here in a great game.
Anderlecht have become one of the few sides to go 0-0-6 in an European group stage, and 6-0-0 as they did here. A remarkable feat.
And that was The Group Stage that was!
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