Champions League Final - Manchester Utd FC v Barcelona FC

[Ridders]

Against Barca you need an enforcer in the midfield, and neither of Man Utd's were available. Fletcher was suspended, Hargreaves has been injured all season. If either of them had played (or better yet both) the Utd midfield would have competed much better. Whether it would have been enough, who knows?

But congrats to Barca. Obviously the better team on the day, although I don't think they were as good as most people are making out.

They just became the first team in Spanish history to win the treble. Explain?

 

[Mad Dogg]

For mine, Ronaldo will never ever get the respect that his talent deserves, because he is an absolute petulant merkin.

Messi on the other hand is a class act.

Messi is a class act, who commits just as many outright dives as Ronaldo (although obviously Ronaldo makes a bigger deal about debatable challenges), spits at opposition players, and deliberately uses his hand to punch the ball into the net and claims, and gets, a goal.

I'm sure he's a nice guy and he comes across much more humble than Ronaldo, but the media hyperbole about him being such an angelic player (compared to the big bad Ronaldo) is vastly over-the-top. And unfortunately is bought by the majority of people.

Best player in the world this season - obviously. Hopefully both players can stay fit and in form next season so we can get a battle for the ages.

 

[Mad Dogg]

They just became the first team in Spanish history to win the treble. Explain?

Not as good in the final itself. Obviously they had an amazing season, scoring a ridiculous amount of goals along the way. But I've heard people describing their performance in the final as one of the best they've ever seen. But considering how bad we were after the first 10 minutes, we actually had far more possession and field position than I would've expected. I honestly don't think they took advantage of us anywhere near as much as I thought they would in that situation.

 

[Mad Dogg]

Disappointing match to watch this morning from my point of view. Barcelona just moved the ball around so well, it was hard for us to break them down. Park is sh*t..... should of replaced him at half time instead of Anderson. I also don't feel confident with O'Shea at fullback, I think that is an area we may need to look in the summer transfers.

Considerng Park and O'Shea were arguably our best players behind Ronaldo, that's a bit harsh. They both did their jobs fairly well, but obviously they aren't capable of covering when their more talented team-mates decide not to turn up (Giggs, Anderson and to a lesser extent Rooney).

Anderson on the other hand -- never rated this guy. I know he's still only young, but everytime I watch him he looks out of his depth. He can pass a ball, but is easily dispossessed under pressure, his defensive positioning in the transition from attack to defence is dreadful, he makes alot of errors and he offers no threat to goal whatsoever. In fact, has he even scored for Man Utd?

He's suffered from second-season syndrome. He started coming good over the last two months, but unfortunately he went back to his early season form in the final. The fact he was played out of position trying to cover for Fletcher's absence didn't help, but had to be done since he was our only available option with a lot of power, athleticism and harrying ability. His best position, and the only one I think he'll ever be able to truly achieve his potential, is as the more attacking central player in our 4231 formation. The position Giggs played in the final.

 

[Follow Me Up To Carlton]

Not as good in the final itself. Obviously they had an amazing season, scoring a ridiculous amount of goals along the way. But I've heard people describing their performance in the final as one of the best they've ever seen. But considering how bad we were after the first 10 minutes, we actually had far more possession and field position than I would've expected. I honestly don't think they took advantage of us anywhere near as much as I thought they would in that situation.

It's certainly the best team performance in a European Cup Final I've ever seen. (Wasnt around in 1967 to see Celtic beat Inter)

Made Man Utd look like Sheffield Utd as someone else put it.