Chelsea 2013-2014: Insufferable & Unsuccessful but Better than Arsenal
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So Chelsea pepper West Ham's goal with 37 shots but can't find their way past the parked bus, dropping two big points at the Bridge. If only they had a creative attacking player on the bench with a talent for unlocking defenses...
Does he have a point? Probably. But I have no sympathy for him. I will never have sympathy for Mourinho complaining about a team parking the bus....err sorry plane. If you're gonna wear that strategy like a badge of honor then complain about it? LOL BOO HOO, fuck off Mourinho.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iafZl_xhACA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iafZl_xhACA
sachmoney said:
And today Mourinho is playing a three man midfield of Luiz, Matic, and Ramirez! I'm not sure if that's the plane or the bus or the boat but something very large is being parked in front of goal at the Etihad today.
No Fernandinho for City. I am not feeling good about this one now. It's impossible to overstate how good a signing he's been.
Demichelis in the midfield has disaster written all over it. Say what you want about Luiz, but he is mobile enough to do some damage. I've not seen much of Matic but Ramirez is a stud who will run circles around Demichelis. Yaya is going to need a HUGE game.
Zomp said:
Yeah, that is a huge head scratcher for me as well, especially with Milner available. Demichelis is pretty terrible on the ball IMO. They are going to need to start attacks from deep with the Chelsea bus parked and they want Demichelis playing the first ball? Doesn't make sense. But the alternative is having Silva and Navas come back really deep to receive the ball and that has its downsides as well.
I think if they were going to boss the game Demichelis would be fine. He's played there plenty of times before for Bayern and Malaga but assuming Matic is a good player, thats a very, very good midfield 3 that he and Toure will go up against.
Yes. I went from quietly confident to not sure I even want to have the recording on my DVR when I get home. Thankfully it's at the Etihad, but missing out on Aguero, Fernandinho, and Nasri for a match this critical is not ideal. Just too thin in CM, an injury to Yaya or Fernandinho was always going to be an issue, but I didn't expect it to happen a few days after the window closed. Like you said, Yaya will need to be immense today.Zomp said:
Billy R Ford said:I mean, to be fair, this was the shot difference:
Hmmmm, where have I seen something like that before?
http://imgur.com/GQXxQ
soxfan121 said:
Chelsea could easily have had three - they also blew that 4-on-2.
City has been tentative and disorganized in the back and missing Fernandinho in the middle, but you gotta hand it to Mourinho. I'm interested to see what adjustments City make in the second half.
I'm sure "dominant" is the wrong word for Chelsea just did but it was a synonym. Made City look disorganized just like MMS says and the second half adjustments did nothing. Chelsea hit a bunch (three?) of posts, meaning the score line really isn't indicative of what the game was like.
Great match that was sort of like a heavyweight fight - Chelsea landed the first big punch, staggered and briefly knocked City down and then played excellent counter-puncher for the rest of the match.
Great match that was sort of like a heavyweight fight - Chelsea landed the first big punch, staggered and briefly knocked City down and then played excellent counter-puncher for the rest of the match.
West Brom might get relegated but it won't be for lack of fight against the top squads. They have now won at United, managed two draws against Chelsea and Everton, and have drawn single games against Arsenal, Spurs, and Liverpool. They have 9 points in 10 matches against the Top 7 squads in the league, 15 points in 16 matches against everybody else. I hope they stay up.
Dirty Tackle reveals Jose's Animal Guide to the BPL. Some highlights:
Arsenal — An owl. It can seem scary when you hear or see it in the night, but it never does anything and eventually you wonder if it is actually alive or just made of wood.
Fulham — A turkey? I don't know. Not all of these are going to be good.
Liverpool — A well-rested Chihuahua that could run through the legs of the horses, but only because it isn't playing in the Champions League, which means nothing it does is impressive. And next season the stress of fixture congestion will leave it hairless and shaking.
Manchester United — A once graceful deer that froze in the headlights and got hit by eight cars and now has a bad limp and doesn't know where it is going.
Newcastle — A French zebra that sniffed too much glue and now has mental trouble.
Norwich City — Canary in an empty methane tank.
Tottenham — Under Villas-Boas, a flock of headless chickens. After Villas-Boas, something smarter and good. Maybe a cougar.
OilCanCoulter said:
Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
I still read the posts all the time, just seemed to be causing more arguments than debates, and decided to step aside for awhile.
On the Spurs game, yeah the red card was a bad call but Eto'o was not offside when Lloris cleaned him out in the first half, which would have been an easy call for a Red, it is what it is. and for Spurs decent play, they troubled Cech once in the first half on a volley following a poor clearance from cahill, hazard should have scored.
It's crazy to think we can sell Mata and Oscar can be in a huge rut of poor form, and the team keeps on winning. Cahill and Terry partnered together have allowed 3 goals in their last 10 games, phenomenal, and I think Cesar and Ivan may be the best defensive pair of fullbacks on the planet. If this team can find a pivot of more quality to play next to Matic next season and a # 9(Lukaku and....) we could be a great side.
still prefer Willian To Schurrle in big games. Schurrle when he is on can be terrific, when he isn't though, he is quite average. Willian is just more skilled and composed and works better with hazard/Oscar/Matic.
I know most people hate defensive style teams, but I think Mourinho's Chelsea teams also have a work rate and toughness factor that most don't, which give them an edge. About two minutes in of this analysis they break down the team defense and I agree that it is the main reason why chelsea can play like shit for long stretches and still get results unlike most teams:
http://youtu.be/WazzMJ-NS9E
The last 9(or 10 or 12, depending on the club) matches of this season are going to be fantastic. I thought Liverpool's win at Southampton was a bit of a statement, and I am glad City's got the pressure to make up the points now.arsenal seem to have a tough set of fixtures coming up, an obvious make or break time there
Yea, Snake, football is no place for semantics. I live in Glasgow, and as far as i can see there has only ever been debating in this thread. Has there been death threats, stabbings, shootings...? No, then there has only been debating as far as I can see. You are a top quality football debater.
What was with all the handshakes and smiles shared between Jose and Paul Lambert? They looked like BFFs out there, the whole thing was very strange.
Just watched the last 20 minutes. Palace's keeper had one good save to make. Palace were disciplined and worked their arse's off. Jermoe hit the post, could have made it 2-0 but these games are never easy for the strugglers. Big loss for Chelsea.,
Have to at this point, there is nothing to be salvaged there. I would assume they bring in an experienced upgrade to rotate with Lukaku and maybe hold onto Eto'o for another yearfletcherpost said:
"Experienced upgrade" = Diego Costa. I'll be surprised if they don't throw an outrageous amount of money at him and Atletico over the summer.
Yeah Costa seems like the ideal choice, was thinking him or Mandzukic, depending on how adding Lewandowski works out for him and Bayern
Just read my first Lukaku for Barkley transfer rumor, maybe not that crazy? Barkley would be a nice long term replacement for Lampard, and seems like a Jose type player; we need to start adding English players with so many older ones moving on soon, Shaw and Barkley is a good way to start. Maybe Lukaku isn't a Jose type player? Not sure what there dynamic is, but I know it got off to a rocky start.
Barkley would be wasted. How often does he get a game over Oscar or Willian? He should be playing every game he can unless fitness is a problem, which it hasn't been yet. Plus I personally don't think Martinez is willing to make a straight swap, it'd have to be Lukaku + cash.
You think Barkley has a higher value than Lukaku? Also I think Barkley would be brought in to take the mid spot next to Matic that Ramirea usually plays.
Idk though the only players JM seems happy with are the back 5
Idk though the only players JM seems happy with are the back 5
I keep hearing rumors that Chelsea are going to tell Madrid that they have to give up Costa if they want to keep Courtois. Seems like Madrid would be trading a relatively small problem for a very big problem if they make that deal.
In a way that's how I feel about the lukaku barkley swap, Lukaku helps us a lot more, but JM may have other options in mind at that spot who knows
Snakebauer007 said:
I am under the impression, mainly from here, that Lukaku will be a homegrown player for Champions League purposes next season. Therefore, although not English, he would count toward one of the eight roster spots for homegrown players. Swapping him for Barkley would therefore not increase the number of potential homegrown players.
As for the idea of acquiring Barkley, that too seems to not make much sense as he's certainly not better than current roster options and the one thing he does need - playing time - would be in short supply for Chelsea.
Luke Shaw, however, should be a "buy at any price" player. He's English, he's really good already, he's getting better with every game, and he takes a roster spot from an older English player (Ashley Cole) where an injection of youth and talent is necessary.
The problem with Barkley, for me, is what's his best position/role, seems a lot to project there, and for the price it would take, very risky, especially since the money spent needs to go to the striker department and if we persist in a 4231, someone definitely suited to play next to matic
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