Think back to our last 16 games against Barca we weren't exactly at our best in either game and lost by only one goal in both. Aguero missed a penalty (shit happens) that if scored could have possibly led to a different end result, we'll never know. The groups we've had in the past 2 years (when you could actually say we was up there with the best teams in England) in the champions league have been extremely tough draws and we've managed to qualify from them. Compare our groups to the recent groups of Chelsea and Arsenal who's draws have been a lot nicer. You can't blame the luck of the draw but would both teams have qualified both times if the had been drawn our groups?
I wouldn't class our last 2 appearances in Europe failures yet the media and a large amount of pundits will. Hence we will again this year go into Europe with the title of underdogs riding on nothing but 'failure' in Europe so far since the Sheikh came. However we should use this to thrive off and make the rest of Europe take note of us. With a bit of luck this year particularly if we make it into the last 16, we get a kinder draw like them stuffy twats from Salford always get then it gives us a better chance of progressing. This will then allow us to properly measure where we are in regards to the top competitors in Europe.
I have a good feeling about our performance in Europe this year. Fingers crossed