Platini's Fault!...

Scottoffee · October 3, 2008

Still failing to comprehend just how we got drawn against Liege... Somehow I just know that Platini and his anti-Premiership brigade are responsible (failing that, the ref that disallowed the Liege goal against Liverpool which possibly would've seen them through to the Champ's League).

We surely deserved the easiest draw after being the highest qualifying English side (not via League or FA Cup, Intertoto or Fair Play).

Seriously, Liege beat Liverpool - except that their goal was disallowed - and I guarantee they'd be a competitive side in the Premiership, were Belgian Champions last season and well ahead again already this year.

Even we could've steamrolled Omonia (3rd in Cypriot league!!), Litex (3rd in Bulgaria!!), Guimaraes (3rd in Portugal) or Warsaw (1st in the Polish league).

[Poor language removed] waste of time and effort finishing 5th, we should've just finished 8th last season and out of the automatic spots - we were higher up the Fair Play table than City so would've qualified anyway and had a much easier run.

GrandOldTeam · October 3, 2008

The fact that as the seeded team we played the second leg away... meaning if it went to extra time, more of the fixture would be played at their ground.

Look at when they played Liverpool. Extra time and Liverpool had the advantage of being at home...

Gazdalf · October 3, 2008

Liege didn't beat us. We beat ourselves. A severe case of confidence depletion.

Robin Sisland · October 3, 2008

We played badly in both legs, didn't do enough to win either game and didn't deserve to go through. Simple as.
Sure an easier draw would have seen us into the group stage but chances we'd just have hit another brick wall as we did last year. And for what £500k?
I'd be interested to see a financial breakdown of the cost of last year's Uefa run: prize money plus extra gate receipts vs extra travel costs and bonuses and the cost of maintaining a slightly bigger squad than would have been necessary for just domestic competitions.

Scottoffee · October 3, 2008

I'm more worried about the repercussions of not being in Europe when it comes to trying to attract players in January.

Not such a big factor if we're trying to buy British, but it's the first thing that foreign talent's going to look at.

We've just lost a bit more pulling power and hope that the likes of Arteta & Cahill don't see playing in Europe as a yearly prerequisite to them staying.

Neiler · October 3, 2008

We always get a bogey draw in everything we enter, i can remember years where Utd and the [Poor language removed] got to FA Cup finals without playing a prem team. Infact I think the year Liverpool beat Sunderland in the final the didnt play a top flight team.

Sim · October 3, 2008

Neiler said:
We always get a bogey draw in everything we enter, i can remember years where Utd and the [Poor language removed] got to FA Cup finals without playing a prem team. Infact I think the year Liverpool beat Sunderland in the final the didnt play a top flight team.

You know if I didnt know better I'd say it was all fixed!

kenada_blue · October 3, 2008

Pure unlucky bastards like we are is all I put it down to.

What did we all say as a laugh? "I bet we get Liege!" and what happened?

Valencia, AC Milan, a few others and you can throw Liege in there, were teams that no-one wanted to play in the that stage of the competition.

The fact that all the other Prem sides struggled against no-name teams just shows to me that Liege would've battered them also.

Liege are a good side, some great techinical players. We were unlucky to get them. But that's always been the way.

Robert Jarvis · October 3, 2008

We lost the game at GP with two stupid goals against us. I reckon there was poor preparation and not enough attention paid to their right winger.

chicoazul · October 3, 2008

More like Boss Liege.

Its was a shitty draw but we couldnt beat them over two legs so we dont deserve to be in the Group Stage.

Seamus Colemole · October 3, 2008

Scottoffee said:
Still failing to comprehend just how we got drawn against Liege... Somehow I just know that Platini and his anti-Premiership brigade are responsible (failing that, the ref that disallowed the Liege goal against Liverpool which possibly would've seen them through to the Champ's League).

We surely deserved the easiest draw after being the highest qualifying English side (not via League or FA Cup, Intertoto or Fair Play).

Seriously, Liege beat Liverpool - except that their goal was disallowed - and I guarantee they'd be a competitive side in the Premiership, were Belgian Champions last season and well ahead again already this year.

Even we could've steamrolled Omonia (3rd in Cypriot league!!), Litex (3rd in Bulgaria!!), Guimaraes (3rd in Portugal) or Warsaw (1st in the Polish league).

[Poor language removed] waste of time and effort finishing 5th, we should've just finished 8th last season and out of the automatic spots - we were higher up the Fair Play table than City so would've qualified anyway and had a much easier run.

So fix it for us to get an easier draw then?

Wasn't Metalist last year considered an easy draw, unheard of Ukranian team? We made hard work of that.

Of course it would of been nice to got into the group stages but playing the way we have been this year we would of gone out anyway and just wasted more money, time and effort in doing so.

We could of beat Liege but we weren't good enough.

coyney · October 3, 2008

Neiler said:
We always get a bogey draw in everything we enter, i can remember years where Utd and the [Poor language removed] got to FA Cup finals without playing a prem team. Infact I think the year Liverpool beat Sunderland in the final the didnt play a top flight team.

I remember the first time we entered we got Inter Milan Vernon scored a good goal but it was scratched then we lost 1-0 in Milan they went on to win the cup .our luck never changes