N_S

I feel that a lot of people are overrating Nurenburg and underrating Larissa and Zenit.

 

Luckily we have both of those tough games at home.

 

Nurenburg are next to bottom in their league and haven't won at home yet this season (admitedly only 9 games in).

 

Bar last season they had finished low down in the bottom half for quite some time. They seem to have settled back into that this season.

Zenit on the other hand are equal top of the Russian league with Spartak Moscow with only 4 games to go, they have won the Russian cup a couple of times in the last few years and made it the quarter finals of the UEFA cup last season and their manager is Dick Advocaat the former Holland and South Korea manager.

 

Larissa beat blackburn and while Blackburn may not have played to their potential, we have close games with them every season and equally don't exactly excel when we need to. this won't be an easy game.

I hope to go to the AZ game but it seems like so many people are planning on going, most of which have a better chance of getting tickets than me and in their tiny 22,000 seater I don't fancy my chances!

We have won the cup just twice in 1944 and 1999. And only one league triumph in 1984....

Some more unofficial information for you:

http://www.landscrona.ru/engl/

There are a lot of points of view on Gazprom in our fan environment. When Gazprom comes, their new club managment have fired head coach Petrzhela, from Czech Rep., because of his independance. With Petrzhela we've get quaterfinals of UEFA cup 2005-06, we were runners-up in russian league in 2003 with him. His teams always plays wittout any defense, but with crusual attack. There was a lot of scores like 4-3, 5-2...once we have been beaten 1-7 in Moscow))) So fans loves Petrzhela's team. But Gazprom think, that we couldn't get really big wins with this strategy. So now we've got worldknown Advocaat, with defensive models, but today we stay second in our league, having same number of points with leading Spartak Moscow.

As for mr, I dont like Gazprom managment, but I love their money))) In Petrzhela's times there were not money in our club, but we've got good team with domestic players. Nowadays we are the richest club in the world (Gazprom, who controlled most of russian oil and gaz, is #3 company in the world, according their assets). In winter transfer period we have get Ukraine best player 2006 Tymoshuk for 20 million $, argentinian Dominguez for 7, Russian national team striker Pogrebnyak for 10... But it's very bad that Gazprom just buy very expensive players, but does not develop club infrastructure, does not build new pitches for youth team... Thank God, they will build us new stadium, and since 2009 we will have new 65000 arena, which will be one of the best in Europe, because it's hard to play in our Petrovskiy with only 22000...

Hm)) Nice picture)) About Schalke 04. This picture were made in May (game against Krilja Sovietov), when S04 fans come to Russia on bycycles. Zenit owner - Gazprom (I wish you know about this corporation ) became general sponsor of S04 in 2007, so we have got friendship with germans (and absolutely same kits). By the way we've got a joke, that S04 is our farm-club now))))

About the weather... don't worry, we will play with you in Liverpool)))

Best whishes From St. Petersburg city, guys))

I have to say, that it's pity, that most of you don't now about Zenit((

So how do you think, will we both complete the group stage?