Originally Posted by ariusuk:
“That would mean ITV not showing Chelsea at all before Christmas, which isn't going to happen.
ITV has already picked its first two games:
Manchester Utd v Bayer Leverkusen
Celtic v FC Barcelona
I'd guess at Chelsea on MD3, City on MD4 and Arsenal on MD5, but those decisions won't be made until after MD2.”
“That would mean ITV not showing Chelsea at all before Christmas, which isn't going to happen.
ITV has already picked its first two games:
Manchester Utd v Bayer Leverkusen
Celtic v FC Barcelona
I'd guess at Chelsea on MD3, City on MD4 and Arsenal on MD5, but those decisions won't be made until after MD2.”
You'd pick Schalke v Chelsea over Arsenal v Dortmund?
And you'd pick City v CSKA over Sociedad v United?
Thank God you don't make the picks. It's about having the best games for the biggest audience, not just picking teams so they don't feel left out.
Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund in MD3 is a definite IMO. That is the best and most compelling game ITV have featuring an English side against a European heavyweight. Yes, they have Bayern v City on MD6 but I reckon both will have qualified by then. A game featuring an English side and a potential winner of the comp will not be overlooked.
They may well not show Chelsea in the six rounds, but would anyone dump Celtic v Barca or Arsenal v Napoli in MD2 for Chelsea's game? Would anyone dump Arsenal v Dortmund for Chelsea's game on MD3? And if Arsenal (who are in the toughest and best looking group) still need points on MD5 (which they surely still will) who is going to justify picking Chelsea at Braga (with CFC probably already through after 4 games) instead of Arsenal v Marseille? Chelsea have the easiest and most uninspiring group, that's the way the cookie crumbles. There's no need to fit them in just to get them on TV at the expense of a potentially crucial Arsenal game which will draw a far higher audience and mean alot more.
MD1 - United v Bayer
MD2 - Celtic v Barca
MD3 - Arsenal v Dortmund
MD4 - Real Sociedad v United
MD5 - Arsenal v Marseille or Braga v Chelsea
MD6 - Bayern v City
Not a bad set of games IMO.



