two footed tackle on Ashley cole in training leaves cunt doubtful for final

So ashley will probably take the pitch tomorrow as high as a kite on painkillers.

THIS should become the "official" Champions League Final thread.

Especially if Makelele scores the winnner . . .

I'm finding it very difficult to get excited about tomorrow nights match for some reason, and I don't know why. After years and years of trying to get to the Champions league final, now they are there, it's just a game against the dullest fucking chelsea team in a million years, in fucking moscow. It's not very exotic is it?

It's not just Chelsea's fault.

'The Game of Games?'

Yeah, right, we can't wait.

That's exactly how the Juventini and Milanisti felt about having to go to "fucking Manchester".

And we all know what a classic that turned out to be.

manchester isn't the capital of a grim totalitarian quasi fascist state, 700 miles beyond the closest european capital. There are 000's of empty seats at this final. This hasn't happened in a very long time.

I don't think that man utd being in the final is part of the reason for my lack of enthusiasm for the match. Chelsea definitely are though.

The word is that little Ashley is going to be fine. So lets check out his pupils tomorrow as he goes on the pitch.

I'm not particularly giddy about this either. I probably will be should Manchester United win, however, but that's more to do with my status as the token, professional Northerner among the pub full of Chelsea fans where I occasionally drink.

"I don't think that man utd being in the final is part of the reason for my lack of enthusiasm for the match".

It's not specifically mine, either. You could pair up any G14''s and I couldn't really give much of a damn. Me and millions of others, probably.

The CL is tired.

I think I see the problem here: If you are not a supporter of either club, you probably/possibly dislike both with a passion (youknow what I mean.)

So you probably wish both of them could lose and when one does, you will be very happy that they lost, but on the other hand, be very pissed off that the other shower of bastards won.

Its a dilemma.

I AM looking forward to it. I dislike Chelsea slightly less than Man U, so will be hoping that they dont lose.

*BUT I reserve the right to change my mind if another of those overpaid tossers gets on my nerves before the match.

I wouldn't bet on the thousands of empty seats, aiatl (as Harry and I have been discussing on the "learn from history" thread).

I fully understand Tony's G14 fatigue, but think that "all domestic" finals are by their very nature less interesting than even repeat match-ups between clubs from different leagues. There is a whiff of Game 39 about the entire enterprise that is hard to deny.

That said, what made the Real Madrid-Valencia final more interesting was that it was Valencia's first, and this one at least as that much going for it as well.

The CL final is so last year.

The Carling Cup is where its at these days.

Ursos, I know I've droned on about the misgivings of the CL on these pages for several years now, but my essential point is that a great pleasure of European Cup (as was) was the 'big nights' of the tournaments' heavyweights slugging it out from, say, the quarter final stages onwards.

You now get those match ups on a regular basis from September in the group stages. There is no sense of anticipation, of anything remotely resembling unique experience.

The whole Chelsea-Liverpool semi-final is getting very predictable as well. The only thing unpredictable about this year, was Utd actually getting to a semi, and then actually winning it, for the first time in almost a decade. For a team who have practically dominated English football for 15 years, being in only one previous final seems like a chronic underperformance. Some say they were very lucky to win that one as well, considering the manner in which it happened.

It is sad when matches like Chelsea-Barcelona get played as often as Chelsea-Newcastle. In the old days you could go a decade without playing a particular club. The group stages also remove the likeliness of "shock" results, and make it as unpredictable as who will be in the Premiership Top 4 next season.

Money talks unfortunately, so to make it change we have to stop watching it. How likely is that?

QUOTE:
... grim totalitarian quasi fascist state, 700 miles beyond the closest european capital. There are 000's of empty seats at this final. This hasn't happened in a very long time.

And this is unexotic how, exactly?

QUOTE:
manchester isn't the capital of a grim totalitarian quasi fascist state, 700 miles beyond the closest european capital. There are 000's of empty seats at this final. This hasn't happened in a very long time.

Still, there's always next year, hey?