Champions League and English football teams.

[Armaan]

This is an interesting point. And likely a compounding factor.

But I think that the biggest factor is this:

Over the past 5 years or so, rank, on paper, each European team, based on starting players and depth and manager, from who you think is the most talented squad to who you think is say the 10th best on paper squad.

1-3 will likely be R. Madrid/Barca/Bayern in some order each year. Maybe a PL squad takes 4th in some years - it's a matter of opinion.
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For me, the biggest factor in why the EPL isn't doing well in the CL over the past 5 years is that our squads/management simply aren't good enough including the 2012 Chelsea aberration. I still have no clue as to how Chelsea won that CL.

It was written in the stars for them that year. An unbelievable fluke. Messi missed a pen, robben missed a pen, drogba scores from a corner in a game they were utterly dominated in. They weren't the best team in that tournament yet they won it.

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

It was written in the stars for them that year. An unbelievable fluke. Messi missed a pen, robben missed a pen, drogba scores from a corner in a game they were utterly dominated in. They weren't the best team in that tournament yet they won it.

Ala rags in 1999 - played off the park by Bayern for 90 mins. Score twice from 90 - 94 mins

 

[Newman Noggs]

I reckon one of the major factors, and one Guardiola alludes to frequently, is the difference in refereeing. The different styles of refereeing in the PL and CL mean different approaches are required particularly with regard to tackling.

When English clubs win the CL it is usually a freak brought about by lucky draws and lucky wins in important games.

I think the club is intent on building a team to win the CL thinking that would be good enough to win the PL too. A very difficult ask by any measure and we haven't quite got it right yet. But, if we do, we will be phenomenal.

 

[meeesh]

All about having a bit of luck,just like all cup competition football

 

[TFC]

Theres no doubt if you can sleepwalk through half your league games you'll be in much better shape to compete in the CL. There are still those games in the Prem where City can just show up and win 4-0, but they are definitely getting fewer and further between. We will need an absolute monster of a squad to seriously compete in Europe....hopefully that is being worked on as I type this ;)

 

[CityAcrossThePond]

Theres no doubt if you can sleepwalk through half your league games you'll be in much better shape to compete in the CL. There are still those games in the Prem where City can just show up and win 4-0, but they are definitely getting fewer and further between. We will need an absolute monster of a squad to seriously compete in Europe....hopefully that is being worked on as I type this ;)

Our squad will indeed be improved massively going into next season. We'll likely be favorites to win the EPL - but best squad in world football? - I think that RM will claim that. Barca and Bayern both have big problems - maybe we're the 2nd best squad in world football - on paper - going into next season.

 

[pee dubya]

I think the lack of top quality English players in recent times is a big factor. It's not actually a nationality issue as such, but more to do with players who have a strong association with their club, obviously foreign players can develop that too but it's less likely. However, there's no Terry and Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher, or those rag bastards.

When it comes to the crunch match, the players that will give that little bit extra physically and mentally can make a huge difference.

We'll see how Chelsea do next season, they've been the best team in the league this year but when i look at their side, i see a collection of very good players who are well drilled, professional and talented, but i don't see anything special. They don't have an iconic player or an inspirational captain.

 

[Vialli98]

It was written in the stars for them that year. An unbelievable fluke. Messi missed a pen, robben missed a pen, drogba scores from a corner in a game they were utterly dominated in. They weren't the best team in that tournament yet they won it.

Our worst team in the Roman era. You could say we fluked it, and we probably did, that team was quite poor, but we prefer to look this way - we deserved to win it in previous years. That abomination of a game against Barca in 2009, the Garcia ghost goal in 2005. Those two games could have landed us in 2 more finals. In 2008 where we really should have put the game to bed before penalties in the final. I would argue that Chelsea were the best team in Europe between 2004-2007. So 2012 was really an accumulation of years and years of going really close while being one of the best teams in Europe to finally winning it when that team had aged considerably and relied on huge luck, but also immense focus and determination.

Looking at the team that played the final. I mean, guys like Kalou, Malouda, Bertrand, Mikel were playing with an ageing Drogba, Lampard, Cole. We finished 6th in the league that season and we had a really poor coach. It was just meant to be, and it meant so much given what we had been through in the CL in the previous 8 years.

 

[dickie davies]

In the next three or four years the best four teams in Europe will be, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and ourselves

The current giants of Barcelona, Athletico Madrid and Juventus will fade. They'll still be good but nowhere near as

PSG just don't play in a competitive enough league to prepare the players

 

[JimB]

Our worst team in the Roman era. You could say we fluked it, and we probably did, that team was quite poor, but we prefer to look this way - we deserved to win it in previous years. That abomination of a game against Barca in 2009, the Garcia ghost goal in 2005. Those two games could have landed us in 2 more finals. In 2008 where we really should have put the game to bed before penalties in the final. I would argue that Chelsea were the best team in Europe between 2004-2007. So 2012 was really an accumulation of years and years of going really close while being one of the best teams in Europe to finally winning it when that team had aged considerably and relied on huge luck, but also immense focus and determination.

Looking at the team that played the final. I mean, guys like Kalou, Malouda, Bertrand, Mikel were playing with an ageing Drogba, Lampard, Cole. We finished 6th in the league that season and we had a really poor coach. It was just meant to be, and it meant so much given what we had been through in the CL in the previous 8 years.

Indeed. The ref in that second leg against Barca was diabolical. Chelsea very hard done by. But by the same token, the ref in the first leg was very poor too. If memory serves, Barca were denied at least one clear penalty and at least one Chelsea player should have been sent off. Given all of which, the likelihood is that that Barca team would have put the tie out of reach before the second leg anyway.

As to that Luis Garcia goal, indeed another incorrect decision. But if the referee had rightly disallowed the goal, then he would have had to send Cech off and award a penalty to Liverpool for felling Milan Baros moments earlier. So yet again, the likelihood is that Liverpool would have gone on to win the game anyway.

On balance, then, Chelsea can have few complaints about the result of either tie.