Champions League Draw – UPDATED – DRAW/FIXTURES

Nice bloglet and we need blogettes on this site.

I think the science of football tournaments has devised about as good a system as one can hope for. it mixes enough football (games) and revenue through the group stage to eliminate only one half the field and then engages in the home and away 3 rounds to work down to a single pairing for the “final”.

But I personally don’t like the one-off final or at least that it might end in penalty kicks after 9 months of quality football and games. I realize the old FA Cup system in which ties could go to multiple replays was a bit much (arsenal was a key beneficiary of that system when we drew Leeds like 4 times before beating them in our run to the FACup and League Double in 1971. But what else could work? A simple one-off midweek replay that could then end in penalties (i.e. the modern FA system)?

From Wenger’s press conference today!

“We are where we are – we have four great keepers and it is important we give confidence to them for the next game,” Wenger said.

“I do not rule it out, but at the moment I say I am not in a position to sign anybody. At the moment, it is all dead.”

Another season with Almunia & Co and we are back to square one…here’s hoping & praying!

@ mjc – I defer to your superior knowledge of grammatical and spelling conventions in the French language! Perhaps we should officially consult l’Académie Française!

@goonamerica/John in America – replays were used right up to the final in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup (forerunner of the Champions League) until the 1970s. The last final replay was Bayern Munich v Atletico Madrid in Brussels in 1974. The replay was played two days after the original game. Chelsea’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup Final against Real Madrid in Athens in 1971 also went to a replay.

Some many years earlier ties in the competition also went to a third game at a neutral third country venue in the event of a draw.

The same system applied in the final of the Copa Libertadores which has always been over two home and away legs. The last final to go to a third game neutral venue/country replay was in 1976 when Cruzeiro of Belo Horizonte beat my beloved River Plate of Buenos Aires in a replay in Santiago de Chile after drawing over two legs.

Ironically the increase in travelling supporters now makes replays logistically more difficult. I to dislike penalties, we’ve been on the wrong end of them twice in European finals (1980 and 2000, which wasn’t fun!)

If we can’t have at least one replay in the final I’d favour reducing the current two periods of extra time to 10 minutes each way. If the scores were still level then further periods of 10 minutes BUT with a sudden death golden goal. A further wrinkle might be to require each side to withdraw one player at the start of each period of sudden death extra-time.

I really don’t think FIFA and IFAB really thought through the golden goal concept when they introduced it. The fact that penalties followed after two periods of extra time if there was no scoring almost guarenteed that teams would become more not less cautious.

Vic! Perhaps the yeomen and yeowomen of AISA or AST, know something about The Arsenal professional footballers’ contract details?
Checking out how many hurdles a transfer has to go through before it becomes “official”, I came across – Registgration Bulletin August 2010.
NOW does The Arsenal contract have a bonus clean sheet element?
HERE could be the answer to our defensive problems. Let the other bonuses be affected by the number of goals conceded?
If The Arsenal are top of the 2009-2010 Fair Play table, I cannot mention who was second, why not a Clean Sheet Table. 1-nil to The Arsenal ?

JiN,

parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus!

yeah I understand why they do it but still just feel there must be a better way. something that creates a truly memorable final moment actually playing football and not a one v one with a keeper. its like a rugby match ending and they finish it with penalty kicks taken from the 22m line. I realise someones gonna bottle and miss but still. not to mention I missed a penalty in a shootout once … but that has nothing to do with it!!!

According to a Spanish press report Squillaci as still to sign???
Arsene has said Squillaci will train etc., it still seems to me that all the signatures are not yet present! SO, he Squillaci cannot play on Saturday as the Secretary of the Premier League has NOT given a certificate.

So, looks like we’ll be welcoming back Eduardo to the Grove then!

by football I meant football and not gridiron.

GROUP FIXTURES

Wed 15/9/10 SC Braga (h)
Tues 28/9/10 FK Partzan Belgrade (a)
Tues 19/10/10 Shaktar Donetsk (h)
Wed 3/1110 at Shaktar Donetsk (a)
Tues 23/11/10 at SC Braga (a)
Wed 8/1210 FK Partizan Belgrade (h)

ok