For the first time in seven years, there will be no representative from the English Premier League in the semi finals of the Champions League. You can almost hear the congratulatory phone call now between Blatter and Platini can’t you? They’ll be loving it.
Liverpool, the champions in 2005, didn’t even make it out of the group stages and are now ‘concentrating’ on the Europa League. That’s a bit like being kicked out of Harrods and forced to shop in Lidl!
Chelsea were eliminated at the first knock out stage by the ‘Special One’s’ Inter Milan side and Arsenal came up against the brilliance of Barcelona and Lionel Messi on Tuesday night to lose 6 – 3 on aggregate after a 4 – 1 mauling at the Nou Camp.
And last night, despite going 3 – 0 up against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford, Manchester United were pegged back and went out on the away goals rule. Typical German’s eh Fergie??
So, is this a blip or the start of a trend? And, is a semi final line up featuring teams from Italy, Spain, Germany and France a good thing for the game?
Let us know your thoughts by voting below and by dropping us a comment on the absence of an English club in the last four of the Champions League. [poll=35]
cant believe man u are out 🙁
noooooo
Think your first comment about Blatter and Platini is brilliant! Its so true though they would both extremely satisfied with no English teams left. Lets be honest though this season, Liverpool were aweful, Chelsea got done by the Special One, Arsenal were outclassed and Man Utd were sloppy. Lets also be honest, whoever makes it to the final English or not, they will be lambs to the slaughter against Barcelona. So in heinsight would Man Utd fans like to have got to another final against Barcelona only to be overawed again? No, so therefore going out now which is a bitter pill to swallow (especially to a Robben strike) is probably the best option.
Back to the point; I dont think this is the end of dominance for English teams but more of the start of a new era. Chelsea have an aging squad and in the next two years they must replace and rejuvinate it which will be the start their new era. Also in two years will Fergie still in charge at Old Trafford? Unlikely so again they will have to start a new era, new manager and new players. There also is talk of Arsene Wenger leaving Arsenal in the summer, with calls he may have taken his young team as far as they can go. Even if he stays they by their own addmitance will have to spend money in the summer. What you also have to remember is last summer (Chelsea aside) the top four lost a lot of their power by selling players and not replacing them (as Torres pointed out yesterday). Xabi Alonso, C Ronaldo, Tevez, Adebyor all sold and not replaced and now you see the results. And let’s not forget Man City, they are likely to be in the Champions League next season bringing a new dimension to the competition. With their unlimited budget and Champions League status they will be able to attract more world class players plucking World Cup performers by the bucketload. Perhaps its the end of an era of dominance from the ‘top four’ but next season we will see new forces emerging from our Premier League.
Hope Barcelona win it and beat bayern munich, see how they can take messi and ibrahimovic-any team who can beat barcelona over 2 legs or on the night will win the champions league, but let’s face it, no one will. bayern won on away goals, lyon aren’t exactly european powerhouses, though they have done very well this year and inter will either sink or swim against messi and co.
English teams this year have been poor. Man Utd and Arsenal need to strengthen their squads with some good quality signings across the park.
So nice that Manchester United went out of Champions League Yesterday!:D And Barca is Facing Inter in the Semi-final! would be interesting, bur I think Barca will take it and meet Bayern MĂĆ’Ă‚ÂĽnchen in the Final!?;)
Messi’s hair in the first picture is just brilliant when picturing it staying like that at all times. On the topic though, I see this as a start of a new trend. Teams are becoming more and more aware that success is built around keeping a strong core group of players and not just buying a list of all-stars. With this in mind, not all teams will be able to rebuild quite as quickly becuase teams are now more hesitant to sell players that may be irreplaceable. For example, Man U this past year tried buying Valencia to replace CR7 and they aren’t comparable. Man U have been a visibly weaker side the whole year due to this (not that they are a weak side, just nothing compared to their former selves with CR7) Same goes for Arsenal, Adebayor leaves and Wenger has intentions of buying Chamakh or Dzeko, but FCGB and Wolfsburg both know how difficult it will be for them to replace if they sell and prices skyrocket for their players. I see the trend of buying teams and whatever player you desire dropping drastically in the next few years causing a more level playing field to arise in the UCL.
im so glad theres no english teams i think its good for the game that theres four different teams from four different countries. last year there was 3 teams from england in the semi. happy that man u got knocked out the way they did hahaha:)
I think perry’s spot on when he said that this is more of a shuffling of the premiership than a rising of continental talent. I think some of the english clubs, specifically the big four (well maybe not arsenal), have put too much faith in tradition. liverpool seems to think having some big names and a manager that won the champions league before ought to make them a good squad. Chealsea is still essentially going with the old faithful lineup most of which are getting, well old. and man u, while they did get a rough deal with bayern, seems to think fergie can do anything with anyone he wants on the pitch (to give him credit he really has done that more than a few times). Arsenal looks to have a very promising squad in the comng years if they can keep most of these players together.
In summation i think theres going to be a trend of shuffling in the premiership. Man city amoung some others looks to be a good threat for anyone in the uk or out of it for that matter.
it’s because of the rampant buying, trading, and offloading done by real madrid and barca over the summer. it upset the precarious football balance. sjneider and etoo to inter put out chelsea.
robben to bayern put and christiano to madrid put out man utd.
while spain continues to be some sort of powerhouse, they tipped the balance just enough to give other clubs equal footing with english clubs by offloading brilliant players.
bayern tied with manchester, is just a slip, no more
Perry Groves made alot of good points, next year it will be different and the “top four” is going to change. I think it’s fantastic that all English teams are out because next year the English teams are just going to come back better and stronger.When perry groves talked about those players being sold but not replaced that is very true . Liverpool and Manchester United were probably hurt the most by this and obviously Liverpool was the hurt more than manchester united but also Injuries were a BIG Factor this year and that is why I think there is no English Presence anymorre in the CL. If rooney wasn’t injured what kind of game would that of been? If van persie and Fabregas were still playing what kind of game would it of been? What if petr cech wasn’t injured? What if Essien was there? Injuries!
it is a bit unlucky for them english teams, all met tough opponents before the semis. It may be start of a trend unless they start buying more star power or develop local stars that are rare nowadays.
I think it is just down to the luck of the draw, you can’t tell me that Chelsea wouldn’t have progressed if they played Bordeaux or Lyon or CSKA Moscow. All the biggest teams played each other, somethings got to give.
I think is a blip but to be honest I don’t the English sides as strong as they were a couple of seasons ago.
Its obviously a fluke, injuries plagued chelsea, arsenal, and man utd.
I believe the final is going to be amazingly predictable, I mean munich went down 3 to 0 against man utd without a healthy rooney, just imagine what barca will do to them. But I am not counting out Lyon, they look strong.
At least now my blues can focus on the epl and fa cup. Chelsea till I die!
its a good thing and a bad thing at the same time, you gotta see it from both angles in many stakeholders’ perspectives. i’m sure, the average fan would rather see torres, rooney, drogba and fabregas over any of lyon and bayern’s players. to me, thats naive and disrespectful, but its reality. on the other hand, inter aside, all semi-finalists have a good portion of home-grown players, something uefa is pushing. its a good promotional campaign for them, and good for the clubs/fans to create that soidarity and loyalty we seem to have lost in football. lastly, anything that will chip away at the english media’s arrogance and ignorance is good! i remember an article in the daily mail which berated xavi, saying he wasn’t among the world’s best (cristiano, messi, torres and kaka at the time). that one just got to me!
Its just a blip really. I think the tough epl season has really taken its toll on english clubs in europe. The top 4 have had record losses this year and lots of major injuries and absentees eg fabregas rvp…united were unlucky why was van bommell still on the field when he commit loads of dirty fouls yet raphael is sent of for nothing! 11 men and the world knows united were cruising to victory. It even needed a wonder goal to win the tie….tells the whole story to me
Barca will win again