...::[The Footy Desk]::... (Part 2)

[Laker23]

Lindelof is quietly becoming one of my favourite players, guy is an absolute rock. Really worried about the mounting injuries we have now, Matic, Herrera, Rashford, Lingard are all so important, hopefully none of them are long term and Martial can be back either midweek or the weekend.

 

Kepa is an absolute disgrace, I'd happily let him rot in the reserves even if it meant getting sacked from that toxic club. Couldn't believe what I was seeing.

[Jason]

Looks like Sarri's try to diffuse the situation. I'm not really sure if that's a good thing to do or not to be honest. Lotta criticism going Azpi's way as well, as captain he shoulda got involved but he stayed away.

 

It literally is the perfect example of Chelsea's issues. Player power. If that was at United under Fergie or Chelsea under Mourinho or anything like that they'd have got dragged off by the legs by one of at least half a dozen players.

[Lonely-Martin]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Looks like Sarri's try to diffuse the situation. I'm not really sure if that's a good thing to do or not to be honest. Lotta criticism going Azpi's way as well, as captain he shoulda got involved but he stayed away.

 

It literally is the perfect example of Chelsea's issues. Player power. If that was at United under Fergie or Chelsea under Mourinho or anything like that they'd have got dragged off by the legs by one of at least half a dozen players.

As a fan of a rival team, it was hilarious and you're spot on, seemingly typical Chelsea player power, lol.

 

As a football fan though, a genuinely bad moment to see too. Managers are the one's paid and praised/fired for their actions, to see players ignoring them while the manager is under a bit of pressure (or at anytime for that matter) really is just bad team ethic. Naturally its not just at Chelsea of course, but a shame to see and a poor example for the next generations coming through. Next we'll be seeing kids tell their PE teachers 'bollocks, I ain't coming off'. Not good.

[Crokey]

Game was boring as f*ck, but I'm glad we won it, as we were the better side, and also to rub some salt into the wounds of what was a total sh*tshow between Kepa and Sarri.  Although I felt sorry for Cabba, as he's looked right p*ssed off with the whole show.

 

That just legitimizes the rumours that have been swirling round Chelsea for a number of years now that the players have too much power at Chelsea and the managers are just scapegoats when the players don't like him or Abramovich gets bored of him.

 

I wouldn't blame Sarri one bit if he walked as I doubt he'd be getting much backing from the board or mainly Abramovich, and he certainly doesn't have the players as they should have been backing their manager whilst letting Kepa know it's for the good of the team.  Unless he was doing a acting job and playing for time... which he did really, really badly.

[Tchuck]

Sarri should have walked out of the stadium and quit. No two ways about it. Insubordination of that level can't be remedied. Very, very disgraceful.

[Eutyphro]

I don't really get why people are giving Sarri so much sh*t. I really strongly sympathize with how he reacted when Kepa did the crazy act of refusing substitution, because it indicates Sarri really gives a sh*t, and that was a human emotional reaction. They fined Kepa, and imo Kepa should be benched for a month or so. I think Sarri should be given more time.

[Tchuck]

Completely agree. Sarri wasn't in the wrong in this one. The manager is the commander, he has the final say in it. If he says you're out, then you're out. You can bitch, you can moan, but you can't refuse. Kepa showed a terrible lack of professionalism.

 

Now it's time for the Chelsea board to show whose side they are on. They to seriously reprimand Kepa and make an example out of him if they are to save themselves.

[TheSantader25]

In situations like this the board should fix the problem between the players and the coach. 

 

As a Barca fan I remember how sh*tty the relationship between Luis Enrique and the players was in 2014. We were playing like sh*t and he even benched Messi which caused a serious outrage between the two. In the end of 2014 Bartomeu had a talk with both sides, they settled the problems and what we saw after that day was magic. The team were suddenly unstoppable in 2015 and we won the treble. You can't change managers every season. Sarri especially IMO is a good coach. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Jason]

The Chelsea board are part of the problem lol.

 

They've always fired managers the moment things go sour, which the players know and use to their advantage. It's a problem that isn't easily fixable because it requires a change in mentality at the top and a manager who can weed out the bad eggs. There's at least 2-3 seasons of work for any time.

 

The situation isn't helped if the rumours about Roman are true as well. He's, apparently, lost interest in the club after the UK revoked his visa.

[TheSantader25]

Good win though I believe Real were better than us. Suarez is getting back on track after a shambolic month. It's weird to have another clasico in three days. 

[Eutyphro]

Chelsea - Tottenham was a weird game. Tottenham was better, and Chelsea was mediocre, but ultimately Tottenham didn't create enough. It's almost as if it was a mental problem in Tottenhams case. If you dominate but don't create enough danger, and fail capitalizing on the danger you do create, eventually the momentum will change, and then you end up losing. I'm not a Dele Alli fan, but they did miss a player such as him, who combined with Kane can be dangerous on crosses. Son was shockingly ineffective today. Chelsea defended well I guess, Pedro was individually great, and the own goal decided it.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Eutyphro

[Lonely-Martin]

On 2/27/2019 at 10:23 PM, Eutyphro said:

Chelsea - Tottenham was a weird game. Tottenham was better, and Chelsea was mediocre, but ultimately Tottenham didn't create enough. It's almost as if it was a mental problem in Tottenhams case. If you dominate but don't create enough danger, and fail capitalizing on the danger you do create, eventually the momentum will change, and then you end up losing. I'm not a Dele Alli fan, but they did miss a player such as him, who combined with Kane can be dangerous on crosses. Son was shockingly ineffective today. Chelsea defended well I guess, Pedro was individually great, and the own goal decided it.

My Spurs did very well while Kane was benched too, cup games aside. But I think the team got a bit lazy in expecting that now he's back in we'll stroll wins and got a bit ahead of ourselves.

 

Arsenal next, pretty much must win or the gap is only a point, lol. Be a shame to go from outside contenders to scrapping for champions league. Be nice with our new stadium to host some European nights early on there.

[Tchuck]

Loved that Sarri benched Kepa. Should stay in the bench for at least a couple more matches to drive the point home. 

 

I do wonder, though, since Caballero is such a penalty expert... I think Chelsea could have had a much better chance at the pens with him. But thanks to sh*tlord Kepa, we'll never know.

[Laker23]

Top four is getting real spicy now. Arsenal drawing with Spurs mean we're back up to 4th, just 3 points behind Spurs, with Chelsea still having 2 games in hand.

 

Can honestly see Spurs completely bottling it at this point, but still a long way to go. Big, big game next week. Beat Arsenal and it puts some nice breathing room between us. Desperately want Matic back so I can see Paul have the license to roam forward again, today was the deepest I've seen him play in a long ass time.

[Lonely-Martin]

2 hours ago, Laker23 said:

Top four is getting real spicy now. Arsenal drawing with Spurs mean we're back up to 4th, just 3 points behind Spurs, with Chelsea still having 2 games in hand.

 

Can honestly see Spurs completely bottling it at this point, but still a long way to go. Big, big game next week. Beat Arsenal and it puts some nice breathing room between us. Desperately want Matic back so I can see Paul have the license to roam forward again, today was the deepest I've seen him play in a long ass time.

I think my spurs did well to get a point, maybe a bit lucky even. You're right though, confidence is a big factor so I do hope it helps us there to peg Arsenal back and that penalty save too.

 

Premier League at it's best though, definitely all to play for with Liverpool/City, and the other 4 to squeeze into 2 spots. Looking forward to the twists and turns to come.

[Jason]

 Ole's at the wheel 

[Crokey]

Thank you Everton

[Jason]

b-b-b-bb-b-bbb-but the wind!

[Tchuck]

There goes Liverpool bottling it. Amazing that they only have one loss! All those draws, boy oh boy.

[Jason]

The Everton ball boy taking the piss out of Klopp was gold as well. Klopp looked like he wanted to backhand him at one point lmao.

 

He can dismiss it all he wants but him and the team are quite obviously feeling the pressure - his subs alone tell you that too. He refuses to use riskier subs like Shaqiri, instead going for "safe" hard workers like Lallana and Milner.

[Eutyphro]

Salah is nowhere near what he was previous season. That's the difference imo. With peak Salah they could win. With mediocre Salah they are nowhere near as good as City.

[Jason]

They had peak Salah last season and they just about finished 4th lol

 

Their depth isn't as good as people believed earlier in the season and IMO some of their stars are a little over rated - Mane in particular. Plus their midfield is possibly the weakest out of the top 6, which might explain why their passing has been sloppy lately. Loose passes in the midfield, going long too often, rash in front of goal too. Their composure has vanished, I don't even think it's a confidence thing, they just seem so afraid to take risks now incase they f*ck up and concede.

[TheSantader25]

I think they just can't handle the pressure when it comes to being at the top. The same sh*t that happened in 2013-14. Though I knew Salah would flop this year. City are gonna have a far easier time at the top. They won it last season and therefore are not under that much of a pressure. 

Edited March 4, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Tchuck]

Makes you wonder which is the real Salah: last year's or this year's. If you look at his previous seasons, he's currently performing at an adequate level.

 

But yeah, Liverpool lost their edge. All those draws, will take their toll.

[Eutyphro]

18 hours ago, Jason said:

They had peak Salah last season and they just about finished 4th lol

Yeah, but they did the first season half without Virgil, and their defence was terrible.
 

Quote

Their depth isn't as good as people believed earlier in the season and IMO some of their stars are a little over rated - Mane in particular. Plus their midfield is possibly the weakest out of the top 6, which might explain why their passing has been sloppy lately.

Yeah, Mane has not been top recently. I'm also a bit dissapointed in Keïta. They probably should use Shaqiri more often, because they need the extra scoring ability.

[Jason]

Yea very true about VVD. Do think that they don't quite have the depth to finish this out, or the experience, but we will see. In the summer  need to buy some spark in midfield and, if he's not gonna trust Shaqiri, quality depth in forward areas.

 

I think I say it every year and it ends up disappointing but I think it'll be an interesting summer window for sure this year.

[Laker23]

I definitely don't think Salah has flopped thus far, he's still got over 20 goals in all comps this season which is a good return, but there's certainly something 'off' about him. His finishing has took a turn for the worse, the great chance he had on Sunday would have easily been buried last year. Just feel he's playing with a lot of nerves when they need him the most. Doesn't help that Mane is the literal definition of a streaky player and Firmino has been deployed deeper than usual a lot this season.

 

Still a long way to go but I'll be surprised now if City don't win it, which means I don't have to avoid the internet all summer. Yay!

[TheSantader25]

Half time. Damn that Ajax team rocks! So glad we bought De Jong. We've been missing a midfielder like that for years. With him and Arthur our future is bright. I can only dream for a good duo like "Xaviesta". 

Edited March 5, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Guest]

What I saw tonight was one of the best things I've ever seen in football. Reading the scoreboard minute after minute and thinking "What the hell is happening?"...

After 3 years Real got knocked out in the UCL by one of youngest teams in Europe! With a positive of 230.000.000€ in transfermarket in the last 5 years, Ajax is making an amazing job with their young players and I'm glad to see them back in the Europe that matters. 1-4 at Bernabeu is a total humiliation, I don't think that lots of teams (a part Barcelona) made so many goals in Madrid. Great job Ajax, well done!

 

And now I'm looking for another (hopefully) comeback, I don't want to be knocked out this early in the same year that Real didn't make to the quarter finals.

[Jason]

Magic. It should've been 5, it could've been 6 or 7. Barca must be thanking their lucky stars they've got De Jong in now because his price has just doubled. De Ligt was brilliant too.

 

But the star of the night was Tadic. How the f*ck is that the same player I saw at Southampton. He was world class tonight.