The way things are going i hope Man Useless finish second in the group n be drawn against Barca.If these happens we will witness a horrible scoreline that we will talk about for years to come

It was depressing to play so well and concede 2 stupid goals - that is the cruel nature of CL football, the ultimate top flight football

@Dossy, I know you're hoping we'll play against Barca so that you can remind us that you beat them at the Emirates (after they switched off after scoring)...so predictably myopic.

The best Man Utd can get in their group is second place na wakicheza its Thursday night football. Benfica have already qualified and will look to cement their position at the top with a win at home against Otelul. Still can't believe there are struggling in what was the easiest group when the draw was made.

@ Smano, C'mon Arsenal walichapa Barca at the EMirates and we almost knocked them out at Nou Camp (were it not for the RVP's red card)....how do you switch off from a match after scoring one goal, that's not the Barca i know.

Interesting how everyone expected Arsenal to be beaten by Udinese in the CL playoffs and now we are set to become the first English club to make it through to the knock-out stages from a very tough group. IN ARSENE WE TRUST!

There's a Redondo in the mix, was just reading this piece right now. Just check out the praise given to him.

http://www.runofplay.com/2011/11/22/generalissimo/

@McReggae, unfortunately this does not look like the season where even if we get better as the competition progresses (assuming we beat Basel),we'll go far. Other teams are already in top form. The current Man Utd side would struggle heavily against the top 3 favourites, Barca, Real, Bayern where last season a match up against the last 2 would have been 50-50. Fergie needs to decide who will be playing back 4 (only switching when there are injuries) to create consistency e.g City's back 4 is always Kolarov/Clichy,Kompany,Lescott, Micah with little variation.

Mid can always be tinkered with but we need consistency of back four

@Taz,I know Arsenal had a chance against Barca last season, moreso if Bendtner had converted the 89th minute chance, all I was saying (with due respect to Arsenal) is that in the first leg, Barca scored and took their foot of the pedal, Arsenal equalized and all of a sudden Barca's antennae was up but before they could regroup Arsenal scored a second. By then it was too late for Barca to equalize. A Udinese side with their 3 stars who left at the end of the season would have been a handful for Arsenal but that is neither here nor there (hate that phrase) - even a strong Dortmund (with Barios and Sahin to complement Goetze and Kagawa) would have made that group much like City's group...

Anyway, water under the bridge. What I know about CL football is that winning/losing is a combination of form and luck or lack of it. But mistakes are punished horribly (Robben's volley at OT after we played the best first 45 minutes of football in recent history only for Rafael to get a red card). In CL, anything can happen - that's why I never even bother to predict scorelines. Who thought that Crouch would get 2 stupid yellows in the first 15 minutes of the Real Spurs match at the Bernabeu and effectively constrict them to a 4 nil walloping when they had a real chance? Or that Barca would be added 6 minutes in the semi against Guus Hiddink's Chelsea (after 3 clear penalty calls were rejected)only for Iniesta to score with the last kick of the ball and catapult Barca to the dream final UEFA and neutrals wanted?

All am saying in so many words is that the best team in CL does not always win, it's the best and luckiest team that wins.

I do agree that we have not conceded largely to Vidic's influence. What am saying is that we may have a strong defence but the midfield is wanting and to me it seems SAF is overlooking this fact..... Okay to be fair to him, he is never one to loudly confess the shortcomings of his teams. I am predicting he has something up his sleeve come the transfer window...another "Ronaldo" perhaps. All the same right now its not too clear what the game plan is hence the disquiet among the OLD faithful.

If Real are unable to take away the La Liga trophy away from Barca this season, I doubt they'll have a better opportunity, but CL is more than just quality - a bad mistake in knockout stages is all it takes.

I believe that Barca can turn on their switch in big games like the upcoming El Classico, but I believe Real are in their best form to turn things around. Hopefully this time we'll see a lot more of football than diving and fighting.

As far as CL, I think it is either Barca's, Real's or Bayern's - unless one employs Hiddink - Chelsea/Mourinho - Inter like tactics tactics and has the best game of their life, it'll be hard to beat one of these teams in a one off final

My poor Man Utd, the best we can do this season is a league/FA/Carling cup trophy - and there are no guarantees. But GGMU

Its possible but between now and May, a lot of possibilities exist. One of the possibilities is that both Real Madrid and Barca might not make it to the Munich Final in May.

I think I have been disillusioned by the need to see my team play perfect football! Who am I kidding, Man Utd won the treble in '99 against all odds, beating Inter and Juve along the way and being 1 nil down up to the 89th minute against the mighty Oliver Khan Bayern!

Indeed, GGMU. We have not been finalists in 3 of the last 4 seasons by flukes. Thank you @mwenza and @Mcreggae...lakini kandanda tucheze ya kupendeza macho kama jana