1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

Chelsea vs Liverpool

Discussion in 'Tottenham Hotspur' started by Spurm, Nov 16, 2011.

  1. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Messages:
    69,972
    Likes Received:
    30,649
    Their current team aren't capable of dishing it out and, surprise surprise, their fans have gotten even less capable of taking it as a result.

    Shouldn't laugh, but...
     
    #61
  2. redwhiteandermblue

    redwhiteandermblue Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2011
    Messages:
    6,647
    Likes Received:
    2,281
    Even though it's very early, I have the feeling it's a critical time of the season. Spurs really do have the team, I think, to zoom away from everyone except the Mancs, and even to give Man U some serious worry--if they can win their next few games. But if they let a little overconfidence or self-doubt creep in, not to mention injuries or bad luck, if they drop points in two of the next four games or so, it will be, as expected, a dog fight for fourth. Of course, if Chelsea can't get things figured out, it'll be a dogfight for third and fourth.
     
    #62
  3. redwhiteandermblue

    redwhiteandermblue Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2011
    Messages:
    6,647
    Likes Received:
    2,281
    As we all know, certainly many and probably most races are won late. But some are won at the gate, and some at the quarter pole. In any case, it's just a hunch, and we'll see.
     
    #63
  4. PleaseNotPoll

    PleaseNotPoll Well-Known Member
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    96,374
    Likes Received:
    55,849
    Chelsea had a net spend of £47m in the last window and £76m in the one before that.
    Not massive by their standards, but hardly quiet.
     
    #64
  5. I think Abramovich's true failure is now being highlighted by the sheiks up the M6. Whilst i despise what they are doing to the game, they certainly have their business heads screwed on properly (I guess that tends to be a bit of a prerequisite to earning billions of pounds!). I refer to the fact that- barely 3 years after taking over- they are already taking giant strides to making city something Abramovich hasn't seemed to realise the value of....SELF SUFFICIENT.

    The 'Etihad Campus' /Vieira Project whatever you want to call it is an indication that the sheiks have clocked something that has eluded RA for the entire duration of his near-decade at the helm of CFC. As his manager-merry-go-round has made clear, RA is all about short-term success. If you can't get me the ECL trophy for my pram, I'll just hire another nanny to do it for me. Problem is, you bring in a band of mercenaries at an enormous initial cost (I believe RA's single largest period of spending was his first 3 years in charge, when he shelled out well over £400m on a short-term solution to CFC's trophy drought) and hope for the best...

    When that fails (a car-load of league titles and FA cups is apparently a terrible failure in RA's eyes), you continue tweaking the band of mercenaries by bringing in MORE short-term solutions, again at an enormous cost and often completely counter-productive (cf. Fernando Torres). Repeated over a long-enough period of time, you'll eventually come to an era when the original band of mercenaries are utterly past their (once admittedly glorious) best, and you need to revamp almost the ENTIRE first team.

    As I said earlier, RA is now in a position where he will need to spend in the region of £150m to get this team back on track. The problem is NOT AVB, it is the way RA has insisted on constructing and augmenting his squad over the years. The squad as a whole simply isn't good enough anymore, and I honestly believe that not even RA has the funds necessary to do more than just paper over the cracks for another season.

    The sheiks, on the other hand, have- despite being about 10x wealthier than RA- realised already that the party cannot last forever. Relying on players who aren't home-grown, club-trained and therefore fiercely loyal to the club will lead to circumstances such as 'Tevezgate'. Or, you risk watching your original XI fade away into old-age as increasingly expensive 'saviours' (cf Torres) are brought in -in vain- to reduce the average age and hopefully get the trophy-go-round moving again.

    Yes, the Vieira Project looks expensive (estimates are around £130m), but that is money that RA could clearly afford to invest when he took over in 2003, and yet he chose the 2003-2004 season to invest £154m on short-term investments. Chelsea are now paying the heavy price for this lack of foresight. At the beginning of last season, their squad contained just FOUR home-grown players (http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/09/01/2098858/chelsea-name-just-four-homegrown-players-after-failing-to), of whom only Terry and Turnbull (unless im mistaken) can be seen as products of the Chelsea academy!

    People are saying that RA will whip out the chequebook and 'fix things' in Jan. But again, the 'fix' will be yet another paper castle. Short-term, short-lived, expensive and unsustainable. The gap between them and City is huge. The gap between them and Barca is now laughable, and it never had to be. It shouldn't be. Had RA made a 'Di Matteo Project' back in '03, Chelsea would now be benefitting from the services of 100% loyal, young, and utterly superb products of the finest youth academy in the country. Shame. Instead, he wisely chose...

    - Shevchenko: 31m
    -Deco: 8m
    -Duff: 17m
    - Crespo: 17m
    - Bridge: 7m
    - Mutu: 16m
    - SWP: 21m
    - Veron: 15m
    - Kezman: 5m
    -Scotty Parker: 10m
    - Del Horno: 8m
    - Torres: 51m

    I could go on, but that little 'Flopping List' right there buys you an Etihad Campus, a club airport, a club nursery school and some cheerleaders to go with it. And free candy-floss for all.

    Anyways, I haven't done one of my essays for a while, so thanks Roman for being so short-sighted.

    COYS
     
    #65
  6. No Kane No Gain

    No Kane No Gain Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2011
    Messages:
    20,582
    Likes Received:
    3,483
    Boulharouz was my personal favourite <laugh>

    [video=youtube;w4rl4XwpY4w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4rl4XwpY4w[/video]
     
    #66
  7. Oh I forgot all about that muppet (he MUST've been awful!)

    So let's see...that's another 9million down the loo.

    Let's add a Chelsea Club Petting Zoo to the campus, shall we?
     
    #67
  8. BoleynAli

    BoleynAli Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2011
    Messages:
    103
    Likes Received:
    0
    Excellent post.
    Just the one slight mistake, Terry is not a product of the Chelsea Academy.
    He first played for Senrab, then joined West Ham's Academy as an 11 year old kid.
     
    #68
  9. Thanks for the info Ali, I didn't know that. <ok>

    I just found out that Ross Turnbull is in fact a product of Middlesbrough's academy, which brings their total number of club-produced players (as of last season) to a grand total of...

    <drumrollsmiley>

    ZERO!!!!

    <applause><applause><applause>

    It's quite sad, really (though Im sure neither of us are shedding tears over it!). Wasted opportunity.
     
    #69
  10. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    Bollocks!...they're **** and so's there manager (who I said from day one was no good.) eg. the only clean sheets they've kept were with Alex, yet he can't make the bench atm! <doh> AVB comes here with what?...the Uefa Cup!...The last uefa cup winning manager in the PL was also a bit of a nobhead...we should know! <whistle> I'm not worried about competing with the Chavs, Pool and L'arse...I'm after you bunch o bellends! :D
     
    #70

  11. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    yawn!...4pts gap, game in hand...that tells me all I need to know! :D ...clean sheets?!, sorry you can't score more than 1 atm!...:emoticon-0109-kiss:
     
    #71
  12. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    Mourinho would still have these Chelsea players competing.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------

    No, he wouldn't, JM relies on massive work ethic, that lot are too old to keep it up for 90 in the PL for a season...quite clearly...thought you had more sense Luke!
     
    #72
  13. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    Had Sinclair converted, no clean sheet and 2 less pts <whistle>...you are not convincing luke atm, despite you're Holte like stat blah.
     
    #73
  14. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    Couldn't agree more, but atm, only City and us are 'consistently' playing good stuff...more consistent than you, thats all I'm saying.
     
    #74
  15. Ghoddle10

    Ghoddle10 Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2011
    Messages:
    3,185
    Likes Received:
    2
    We are playing better football than Utd ATM for sure. I think, post the window, we are playing better football than any other team including City, but I am biased :)
     
    #75
  16. PleaseNotPoll

    PleaseNotPoll Well-Known Member
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    96,374
    Likes Received:
    55,849
    Well our league record since Adebayor and Parker joined is played 9, won 8, drawn 1.
    Pretty ridiculous.
     
    #76
  17. SpursLegend

    SpursLegend Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2011
    Messages:
    518
    Likes Received:
    5
    I think this is as much down to the fact we've had King playing in almost all of those too.
     
    #77
  18. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    Very good point.

    Tonight though, Kaboul over shadowed him, especially with some of those headers! If there's anyone who's benefitted so much playing alongside Ledley, its him. Didn't think he was all that on his first visit, but he improved under Harry at Pompey. He's gone on again it seems since re-joining, deserving his recent National call-up.
     
    #78
  19. Charly

    Charly Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2011
    Messages:
    81
    Likes Received:
    0
    that's right smart, it's really good for Younes to have these games alongside Ledley. Kaboul did mop everything up tonight, his head and right foot are like a magnet for the ball, but Ledley made a couple of class interceptions. Younes certainly benefits from his calmness.
     
    #79
  20. notsosmartspur

    notsosmartspur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    11,612
    Likes Received:
    59
    He's faster than Agbonlohor too, did you see that? I knew he had a bit of pace but jeezus! couldn't believe that, and while on that subject, GA gave up trying out-sprint Kyle Walker in the 1st half aswell. The commentator quoted Ledley saying he's always been the quickest defender, and not sure whats happened all of a sudden, now not even second...he's the slowest! <laugh>
     
    #80

Share This Page