UEFA Champions League

Have they?

Trust me when I say Sevilla are as blunt as a plastic straw, they have no cutting edge.

Dortmund even after losing their best player are very fluid in attack and have picked up some good results other than a mad last 5 mins in their last game.

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The problem with Dortmund last year was just how unreliable they were in dropping points they shouldnt have. An issue most put down to their youth, but also is largely what cost their manager his job. With the players they lost and who they look to be relying on its not automatic to think they will play like a side a year older and wiser. Last weekend was the most extreme manifestation of that, and while it might not get so ridiculous again, that is likely going to be a theme for them again this season.

The issue for us is whether or not we can find our level. We have started slowly and we are carrying too many injuries. If we snap out of it then there’s nothing to fear in our group. Like all reds, I’m watching to see how long we stumble along here, before remembering who we are!

dreading playing the gers, specially with the way we are playing at the moment, (lets hope we snap out of it)

i will take dogs abuse from the gers fans at work if they beat us, (probably deserve it after i continually rip the piss out of them)

Our records:

Ajax P4 W2 D1 L1
Napoli P6 W2 D2 L2
Rangers No official games

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Klopps right - not easy. But a better draw than last year.

Shame there are not more genuine groups of death with huge matches. That’s the pot system I guess.

Barca Bayern Inter is tasty. At least the loser can knock out United later on.

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That feels really unlikely for some reason although they have played in friendlies. There was one preseason match at Ibrox in 2008 that I remember. I wasn’t at the match but I needed to get a bathroom cabinet door from IKEA that the Edinburgh branch didn’t have in. I thought I’d nip in to Glasgow and get it. I was in and out of the shop in 10 minutes but hit the traffic from the match on the way out. I was stuck on the M8 for over 2 hours. It was seriously the worst traffic jam I was ever stuck in during the whole time I lived in Scotland.

Yeah; we’ve faced them in friendlies but not in any official matches.

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Napoli the toughest. Hard to get a result away there

Might be harder still if they sign Ronaldo, which is currently doing the rounds.

Also, the Ultra’s love stabbing arses

My thoughts on our group:

  • We tend to not do very well against Italian teams, and Napoli has always proved to be a tough nut to crack for us. Their fanbase is as nasty as it gets.
  • Ajax, you don’t know what you’ll get. Either they are in a transition phase and we’ll make short work of them, or they come up with their next generation of super-talents, and then it can rapidly become a nightmare to play against them.
  • No special feelings about Rangers. They did well to qualify against PSV, but surely are the minnows in this group. Six points required against them.

No long travels is a positive.

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Since we’ve been in the CL with Klopp we have got by:

  • Roma in the semis
  • Came ahead of Napoli in the group stages two years in a row (albeit losing both games in Naples)
  • Topped a group including Atalanta, which included thrashing them at their place when it counted and losing at home after already having essentially secured qualification
  • Beat Milan home and away last year in topping their group
  • Knocked out Inter in the next round

I dont think we’ve come up on the wrong end against an Italian side since Rafa’s last season with us when we got knocked out in the group stages after losing twice to Fiorentina.

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You are right, Kloppo has sone well against them generally, although we struggled against them in terms of how we played, he got the results.

But then, he got the results against almost any team of any league in Europe! :smiley:

Napoli last time we faced them was under Ancelotti I believe.

He seems to be a bit of a sticking point for Klopp so it might be more that than Napoli in general.

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No, we’ve never played this club.

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Excellent, Rangers in the middle and Napoli at home in the last match.

Like a club sandwhich those fixtures.

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This is big for Napoli and not in good way.

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Should improve our chances and we know PSG will fuck up somehow anyway.