Champions League Final 2007 Athens May 23rd Offical Thread

[The Real Laoislad]

This is my first chance i got to post since last nights match..Im very disapointed,they left it behind them and the goal just before half time was a killer
Hindsight is a great thing and people now are questioning Benitez for playing certain people and not doing this or that during the game..Fact is i think no matter who he brought on or what formation he played Liverpool are just not good enough,they need a massive clearout in the summer.. Pennant,Zenden,Bellamy,Arbeola,Crouch,Kewell and they need to bring in top class players who can change a game on it's head.Liverpool simply did not have anyone on the pitch or on the bench who could have done that last night
I think last night was there for the taking but it took until the 89th minute for Liverpool to score,it might have been there for the taking but did they have anyone that could take it?
As gutted as i am i am surprised as i thought i would be more upset reason im not more upset is that i do think the future is bright and maybe this defeat will do them no harm in the long run if anything it could spur them on to greater heights
I think the main aim now has to be the Premiership,Champions League is brilliant and i hope we do as well in it next year but the Premiership is what is needed to bring Liverpool back to the top
As for the fans,I think it's a disgrace that some of them tried to get in without tickets,and too hear them on Sky Sports blaming UEFA etc is a joke,There could have been serious injury too people last night
As for the fans who did have tickets and were in the gronud i thought they were amazing and really could have done no more to spur Liverpool on

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Oh dear

[corn02]

Have read several reports and witness reports on the various forums, These people were not allowed in because the stadium was said to be full, hence the reaction. I take it you would not wlak away in a dignified manner if your paid hundreds of pounds for a legitimate ticket only to find out ten minutes before kick off that forgeries had stopped you taking your seat?

Rossie I would have no problem playing the same style. Its results and not the style of play that counts. The problem is that even our system of stifling an opponents game does not always work because the quality is not there e.g speed on counter attack, finishing the few chances we get.

[The Real Laoislad]

Oh dear

[Uladh]

Corn, you are taking the skysports new line on this. there's no way of knowing if all of these people who charged the police lines actually had genuine tickets, and i for one very much doubt it

[An Fear Rua]

Have read several reports and witness reports on the various forums, These people were not allowed in because the stadium was said to be full, hence the reaction. I take it you would not wlak away in a dignified manner if your paid hundreds of pounds for a legitimate ticket only to find out ten minutes before kick off that forgeries had stopped you taking your seat?

whats the monetary cut off point for crowd disturbances these days?

Not only are you trying to justify the people who didn't get in kicking off with police, your ignoring the hundreds who knowingly bought fakes and/or jumped the turnstiles earlier.
Highly commendable

[High Catch]

Don't be getting carried away with yourselves.  It has been stated in many reports that there were many fans with tickets who could not get in the stadium.  Who are you (uladh & Fear Rua) to say that these fans had no tickets?  The only source we have is the media and they say fans who had tickets could not get into the stadium. 

[AZOffaly]

LaoisLad, this must be a first, but I agree with you, not once, not twice, but thrice in the same post. I need medication!!!!

Once

As gutted as i am i am surprised as i thought i would be more upset reason im not more upset is that i do think the future is bright and maybe this defeat will do them no harm in the long run if anything it could spur them on to greater heights

Two

I think the main aim now has to be the Premiership,Champions League is brilliant and i hope we do as well in it next year but the Premiership is what is needed to bring Liverpool back to the top

Three

As for the fans,I think it's a disgrace that some of them tried to get in without tickets,and too hear them on Sky Sports blaming UEFA etc is a joke,There could have been serious injury too people last night

[corn02]

An Fear you must of been over in Athens onviously, if you know all the facts?

Uladh, I am just basing it on what I have heard so far. Obviously there would be a few trying to jump the turnstiles or whatever, Liverpool has as many tramps as every football team. However it is important to keep in mind that many people bought fakes under the presumption that they were genuine. As I already stated alot could only be identified by Ultra Violet light as reported yesterday.

My second reason for this basing although quite loose, is that if I was trying to 'blag' my way into the ground either with a fake or by hoping a fence etc, I would not be arriving to the ground at the very late stage where it is understood the route was cut off for those trying to enter. The Police stopped the flow of the crowd shortly before the commencment of the match.

[Caitlin]

Arrived back from Athens at 6 am this morning
My experience was positive up until Inzaghi's elbow intervened but anyway.
Craic was good in Athens but a lot of people were getting drunk- the singing in the squares was good fun but there was an element of aggression/racism fairly common among groups of English males. Don't think it is fair to suggest Liverpool fans are that different from other clubs but we did hear people planning to 'storm' the gates- ironically, the same people were burning the Sun and calling for Justice for the 96. Mind you the vast ( ie 95%)majority of supporters were excellent- courteous, knowledgable and funny -also, LFC has thousands of supporter from all over the world who clearly enjoyed being part of the LFC family.While I have been a supporter for many years I have to admit I don't feel part of a 'family' as I did in 91, 94 etc in Dublin.
We arrived at the stadium 3 hours before kick-off and the organisation was not good- they should let the Germans organise such things.Despite the presence of thousands of organisers and even more heavily armed macho riot police there was a lack of co-ordination and leadership.We proceeded to the entry area identified on the ticket only to be re-directed to another area 500 metres away.When we got there we were told to go back to where we had come from. We were then re-directed to a completely different area which involved a further walk of almost a kilometre.Now we were OK but we met families with elderly supporters and young children.The queues were badly managed and you could pick up a sense of real aggression against all the LFC supporters- the police were up for a confrontation and almost provoking anyone who they thought was  a trouble-maker. It took over an hour from arriving at the cordon to getting to our seats- an elderly man beside us arrived after the kick-off and told us of the tear-gas and he claimed it was indiscriminate- with the delays he said a lot of fans started to worry about missing the start and started to push -not good but understandable and throw in drink to get a potentially lethal cocktail.
As for the game, I was also surprised at how bad AC were. Eamon Dunphy's 'real deal' Kaka was largely anonymous but equally for all our possession, you couldn't see a goal coming from open play. To concede before H/T is always a bad one and some of our players were clearly nervous ( the usually wonderful Agger in particular). I thought the game was ideal for Bellamy but I will always respect Rafa's judgement and I agree with Laoislad on who should go in the summer ( including Bellamy)- we need someone with the confidence of Paul Mc Comiskey , who can come on and bring something extra to break down well-organised defences.The sentamentalist in me was pleased for Maldini- he has always been a great role-model and super player- but still disappointing.
The transport arrangements after were equally shambolic.On the specially arranged buses our driver did not know where the airport was - true!- and when he got there with our assistance he dropped us in the wrong area.Another bus had to be summonsed after 45 minutes. The colour coded pen system broke down immediately and as a result you had up to 5,000 people in disorganised queues, no public address system, a poor marquee with no facilities and , after getting through this- the same number of people on the edge of the runway at 3am local time with no information/facilities -people who were tired, grumpy and in some cases, drunk - it was amazing there wasn't more trouble or accidents so credit to the restraint of the supporters who really were treated like animals.It was so shambolic that 2 men managed to get on to our plane despite admitting they were booked on to a flight to Lverpool- eventually they were booted off.
Don't know if I will do many more day-trips to European finals unless Down are in them- however, the day in Athens, stadium and occasion were excellent-pity about the result.

[Uladh]

Eamon Dunphy's 'real deal' Kaka was largely anonymous

Was that apart from the Free kick he won on the edge of the box before half time and the sublimely disguised pass for the winner?

class always prevails

[magpie seanie]

class always prevails

Not always. Usually.

[The Real SlimShady]

''but a lot of people were drunk''

so? Armagh fans are drunk at every match but even they dont expect to get in without a ticket!

''Paul McComiskey''

this is why women should be kept in the kitchen-too easily confused  

''dont know if i will do any more trips to Eurpoean Finals unless Down are in them''


after last night, theres probably a better chance of Down reaching one before Liverpool!

[High Catch]

 [/quote]

Was that apart from the Free kick he won on the edge of the box before half time and the sublimely disguised pass for the winner?

class always prevails
[/quote]



There wasn't much in the 'foul' by Alonso. And he only got the chance to set up the second goal whenever Liverpool were pushing for the equaliser and Masch was taken off.

[Uladh]

Not always. Usually.

More often than not though 2005 proved that a puncher always has a chance.

kaka is one of the few players in the world who can create goalscoring opportunities from thin air at thiat level. the new zidane.