Very true, he can play in that holding midfielder role. However, it strikes me that Lampard has a more deliberate pace of attack than, say, Meireles. Meireles will shunt the ball forward as quickly as possible, whereas Lampard will bring it up himself, and if he can't find a good pass he'll play it to the side.

I think Meireles plays better in AvB's system that focuses so much on the almost blitzkrieg counter-attack with Mata, Meireles, and Torres.

I have half a worry that Lampard and Drogba, the two players I'm so used to seeing in Chelsea blue, aren't even in AvB's plans right now. Although Drogba is still an excellent player, and I hope to see him in plenty of games when he recovers from that really sickening clash of heads that left him in real bad shape.

thanks man, i'm gonna cross my fingers and see if they have it tomorrow, if not, I may take you up on that offer.

Game day brooooos

Baaaayernnnnn

Baaaaayernnnnnnn

Never thought I'd see the day you support them :icon18:

Just let me know.
:happydance: I'm looking forward to it. I hope it lives up to the hype & isn't cagey like a lot of group stage big games tend to be.
+1

With the form Bayerns currently in I doubt it. Also, as nasty as Robben is....Im wondering if they should keep him on the bench for the first half and use Kroos instead. Their chemistry right now is unbelievable and it just makes you wonder if they should mess wth it for a game of this caliber.

What's Bayern's league goal difference? Isn't it something retarded like +20 after five games?

7 games.....6 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss. 21 goals for, 1 against for a +20 diff. Their only conceded goal was in the first game. Neuer hasnt let up a goal in like 880min or something.

I don't think Robben will start, I would actually prefer Kroos to, just for what you're saying, don't mess with the good chemistry the team has going for it right now. Really funny, before a ball was ever kicked, I had a feeling this was Bayern's year to run the Bundesliga ragged. I just hope Dortmund can keep up!

Especially b/c Robben is a angst-ridden time bomb bahahaha

Gooners: Miquel, Djourou, Koscielny, Squillaci are all out. We have Mertesacker / Song as CB pairing.

Scary, huh?

Yup and it seems the players are enjoying themselves more than they did under Van Gaal.

+1 on Arsenal injuries

Arsenal players get hurt more than emo hoes's feelings.

Lamps time is coming, we all know it. Same with JT. Behind the scenes, they're trying to model Josh McEacharan to be a long term replacement for Lampard, product of Chelsea's youth academy. I do believe Drogba is happy in London, but sometimes I fear a move to another English club, or even possibly back to France as imminent. It would be a real shame to see him go too, but he'll always be a Chelsea cult hero no matter where he ends up. As far as them being in the managers plans, we would love to see them on the field as much as times past, but even more than that, we would love to see JT lift the Champions league trophy for the first time. If not winning the Champions league, winning the Premiership again.


Inter and Moskow have already played, and what a BIG 2-3 win for Inter on the road. Claudio Ranieri has started his career at Inter on the right foot.


We have lineups for Bayern/City:

Bayern:
Manuel Neuer
Jerome Boateng
Daniel van Buyten
Philipp Lahm
Rafinha
Luis Gustavo Dias
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Franck Ribéry
Thomas Müller
Mario Gomez
Toni Kroos

City:
Joe Hart
Kolo Touré
Vincent Kompany
Gaël Clichy
Micah Richards
Gareth Barry
Yaya Touré
David Silva
Samir Nasri
Edin Dzeko
Sergio Agüero


Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Robben on the bench. I wonder if Bastuber is injured, he's not even available for this match?

Welbeck, quick draw brace!

Gomez with the brace!!

FC basel i'm sorry i short-changed you. well done.

Munich said take your billions and shove it up your arse, fvck yeah. Munich and Basel FTMFW.

oops i jinxed basel. still well played to the swiss.

Fvck you Ashley Young.

how great would it be if Man Shitty didnt make it out of the group?

still pulling for Lille to bow out, in the off chance it might help force a move for Hazard...

full credit to Munich for bossing the match, they look ridiculously strong this year.

Thriller at the Theatre of Dreams. I had a feeling Basel would stun United, or at least take them to limit, and they delivered. Ashley Young's equalizer though crushing Swiss hearts ftl. :shakes head:

Napoli look impressive. I think they could be a surprise team to make it to the Quarters this season.

Lyon :tup:

Dammit Ajax, breaking my heart. :shakes head:

;).

Next Round of Group matches today :icon17:

Marseille and Dortmund should be a great one.

On the previous round, that MCFC & Bayern match was a blast to watch. I love German crowds.

Also, I haven't gotten to play FIFA yet. Picked it up but haven't unpacked the Xbox yet.

SOON.

Amazon is shipping mine late :(

The Bundesliga is becoming the Serie A of the 90s, I love it.

They're showing some whack games on FSC today. FSC, Y U NO SHOW MILAN?!
Germany ftw.
:tup: Bring on Napoli

Napoli - Edison Cavani = Udinese :(

Udinese is still pretty good lol

I didn't say they were bad, I'm just saying they'd be too reliant on Hamsik. Just like Di Natale is the man at Udinese.

Actually, no. Di Natale is the man. Period.

Valencia and Chelsea are on FSC....:(



And yes, Germany ftw.

First result of the day:

Zenit St.Petersburg 3 - FC Port 1

It says they are showing crap like Barca here

Come on Dortmund, you're better than Marseille...

Lamps with a goal in the 56' :tup:

Arshavin looks lively this game!

Very, VERY sloppy play from the Gunners this game though. I'm disappointed AOC went off, he was making everything tick.

hey...uhm, jon? care to explain what the hell just went through kalou's head for that penalty?

we grinded out the result, not the prettiest but i'm happy AOC got on the scoresheet for the seniors, it'll do wonders for his confidence. For a team missing most of its starters, not an awful showing. I really am starting to gain an appreciation for Merte, those long ass legs of his stopped countless balls from skipping across the 6, still hasnt impressed me from set pieces yet, the few heads he's put to the leather, they've gone horribly wide or out of the stratosphere. Annnd i've come to realize that Santos is Roberto Carlos without the defensive ability.

picked my copy up today BTW, add me, SchmittyA7X, I dont like the new defensive scheme one bit but i'm starting to get used to it after a few matches.