Barca

This one is crap.

Losing Fletcher was worse than Barca losing Abidal? Get real. Fletcher was replaced by Giggs - PFA player of the year... Abidal was out for tripping Anelka with his psychic powers - and he was the rock on the back line for a defense that's always been a little suspect. Dont blame people off the pitch for this one... In fact - that leads to complaining about the lineup. If they'd started Berbatov in lieu of Park and lost you'd be hearing the same complaints - so shut the hell up.

Overconfidence? Really? ManU thought they could just walk in there and win? So sure of themselves they made a call to Betfred and wagered the midlands? Did you watch the same Chelsea matches I did - both were dominated by spectacular ball control and a Chelsea squad that played boring but terribly effective and frustrating defensive football. Did you not see what Barca did to poor Bayern at Camp Nou? Or is Bayern just a bunch of fat old chumps who shouldn't be on the pitch...

Wait - the History card? You lost because there's some mythological Fate working to balance the scales against you? Yeah.. pray harder...

How about this. Barca was the better team. They thoroughly outplayed Manchester - and managed a clean sheet with their 'terrible defense'. They played what would in hockey be called a center trap after the first 10 minutes - and that seemed to befuddle and frustrate roo and ron - who often found themselves with the ball but no passing lanes and closing defenders from 3 directions... it was a good plan, well executed by some of the best midfielders in the game. Maybe, just maybe, Barca is just the better team - and it isn't about finding excuses for what ManU did wrong. I saw 2 very good football teams on the pitch play a game free from controversial calls or absurd player behavior. Why not complain that ManU didnt win because Ronaldo didn't dive enough or that the Ref didnt issue enough redcards to Barca for their flagrant telekinetic fouls - that certainly had more impact on the outcome than 'history'. How about you stop scapegoating long enough to congratulate the winners.

If you really wanted to look to why Barca does so well - perhaps you'll have to consider Spanish youth leagues and the massive government funding for spanish football - all making sure young talent gets funded. Go ahead - do that in engerland (probably out of the premiership's pocket) - but of course that would really upset the football powerhouses so dont look for that anytime soon.