Alright lads! I thought we played quite good today! Good first half, went in 1-0, great to see Torres on the scoresheet! Silly tackle from Ivan and with Man City's attacking talent I'm not surprised they scored a couple so.......oh well. Nice to see some fight from us and well done to Bertrand for scoring! Player Ratings: Cech - 6/10 - Did fine, not a lot he could about the goals. Ivanovic - 5/10 - Was fine but he tackle was a bit silly, cost us the match. D.Luiz - 6/10 - Did ok but he looks a bit careless, needs to concentrate more. Terry - 6/10 - Did ok, poor clearance for the first goal though. A.Cole - 6/10 - Again, he did ok, lucky not to get a second yellow though. Mikel - 4/10 - Quite poor today. Lampard - 6/10 - Did ok. Ramires - 6/10 - Did well for the first goal, was ok at RB. Mata - 5/10 - Didn't do much today. Hazard - 7/10 - Looked sharp, quick, creative, did well. Torres - 8/10 - Good finish, looked fit and quick! Subs: Bertrand - 7/10 - Nice finish! Sturridge - 6/10 - Decent shot for Bertrands goal and decent link up play. Thought we did okay today! Little bit dissapointed that Di Matteo didn't make a sub or 2 at half time! I think Ramires should have gone right wing and maybe Cahill to come at RB, or Luiz at RB at Cahill at CB. Maybe also Essien for Mikel. But nevermind, did alright today, really hope we beat Wigan! Thoughts?
The good: Torres and Hazard The bad: Playing Ramires on the ****ing right. He has to play in the ****ing centre. The ugly: We need a specialist right back and a specialist right mid/winger.
I guess I saw the game differently. I thought Ramires was your best player in the first half but he was always going to struggle when pushed back after Ivanovic got sent off. Torres didn't do a whole lot apart from the goal but he took it well and in a match where you didn't create too much for him that's all you can ask. Hazard was poor I felt, whether he was struggling to adapt or just had a bad day at the office.
Yes,I remember now all those chances Ramires made from the right......oh wait. Oh and thanks for watching us.
Sign Moses. Then we have a good RW. Push Ramires back central and play him alongside Essien. Problem solved.
He was brilliant for the goal and was a useful outlet on the right during periods of pressure from City early on. He also made a good chance for Lampard that he didn't connect to well so the keeper comfortably saved. There we go that's two, now what did Hazard do? Oh and no need to thank me, I enjoy watching football
For the goal he was in a central position which actually backs up my point that that is where he's best. The idea of a right sided player is surely to create something not just be a pointless outlet ball from which nothing comes. Again,kinda backs up my point. I don't recall the chance you're talking about for Lamps but was it in the 2nd half from his position as rb because if so that really doesn't help your argument either. So thanks for actually backing up my position with your 'argument'. You should watch more football because clearly you haven't quite got the hang of it yet.
Thought Hazard was pretty poor, he looked like he was trying too hard to impress. You'll be stronger with Cahill, Marin and Oscar in your side.
You'll notice I wasn't disagreeing with you on where he's best playing, I was merely saying he was your best player in the first half. I misread your bit saying the chances had to be made on the right. But since you keep talking about it, in my opinion with Ramires' quality going forward he's better in a more advanced position, whether it's on the right or in the centre, playing in a more defensive role doesn't play to his strengths.
I agree with the red card for Brana. You lot should remember how many times I've ranted against sliding tackles. He didn't execute it properly and stupidly left himself open to a red card. Yes you can argue all you like the referee was wrong and it was a yellow card only, but you aren't the ref and if you are playing why give the ref such an easy opportunity to send you off. It's simple, don't do it. Academic really as if the referee had adjudicated as well as the rules dictate and had the benefit of a replay button Savic would of been off the pitch before Brana. So a match worth commenting on is now in an alternative reality, because ours was diverted so much as to become a mockery. Anything that happens in a match these days seems to be completely arbitrary. The point was made on TV which I agree with that the ref knew he got the Savic decision wrong and knew it and had decided to 'be strong' what ever happened next as he was more concerned with his performance and how he'd be thought of by his superiors than what was actually going on the pitch. I was glad it wasn't only me who thought so at the time, but Gerry Francis, Glenn Hoddle and Ray Wilkins all thought the same. Refs are in the main career driven and being seen to be in control far outweighs actually trying to be consistent. I thought Citeh done well, they started sharper played with spirit and for their part deserved to win for they were fairly much faultless. It all comes down to whether people will continue to pay hard cash and be satisfied with the product they receive and this would appear to be the case. For me I'm demand much better value for money. I believe the money not invested in the sport and the commitment made by the players deserves a better system for managing the laws of the game.
Agree with that dfer tbh it's not the red I'm bothered about, it's the lack of consistency the ref showed throughout the remainder of the game (for both sides before anyone calls me biased!). Oh well, onwards and upwards, no point us moaning over a blip - a very small one at that! 3-2 against the Champions of the domestic title with 10 men ain't bad at all
Three things 1. Were not fit 2. Terry is Really slow 3. Lampard for the bench Three more Cole gives the ball away We are desperate for a midfielder to run the show Torres cant play the Drogba role. We need to reassess formation.
Sorry df- sometimes its not easy to remember how often you go on about sliding tackes! I shall do my very best not to forget this in future!
It'd be wrong to read too much into a glorified pre-season friendly, but it looked like a lot of our old problems were still there yesterday. Too slow in the build up - Lamps and Mikel in the centre just aren't dynamic enough. Time to bench Frank for the good of the team as a whole. Full backs sitting too deep - our front 4 looked isolated and it's easy to defend against a team that splits itself in half like we do. Ash and Brana have to get forward more and support the attacks, otherwise what's the point in having a DM to cover for them? Too many rash tackles - we need to finish games with 11 men on the pitch and without giving a penalty away. Apart from Brana's red (which was the right decision for me), I shuddered whenever Luiz went clattering into the back of his forward inside the box. We're too desperate to put the tackle in at times, instead of standing up and defending properly. For me, Ramires played well but is in the wrong position out wide, Torres looked sharp but needs better service (stop hitting long balls at him - he isn't Drogs!), and the rest looked a little bit off the pace. City seemed to be a week or so further on with their preparation and had that sharpness that we lacked. Hopefully, that will come before the Wigan game. All in all, plenty for Robbie to think about and a lot of work to do to ensure we're competitive in the league this season.
Hopefully signings will free him up to move him in to the middle and get rid of Frank. I'm still a fan of Romeu for the other centre spot. Whilst he doesn't break up play as well as Mikel can he does distribute the ball much better and I think that's what we need. Luiz seems to have gone backwards from where he was. Cahill ready to step in.
Agree with pretty much all of that. With Romeu, I can't help wondering if we're trying to keep him under the radar a bit until the buy-back clause in his contract has expired. He certainly looks a better option in terms of passing than Mikel, though I get the impression Robbie likes the extra defensive cover Jon Obi provides. Basically, we need to keep possession better. We've struggled to do it against the top teams since Robbie took over and as a consequence, we never put them under a concerted spell of pressure the way City did to us at times yesterday.
OK I might be expressing a wee bit of personal anger. The last official game of football I played, ie in a team registered with the FA in a proper league, I got injured and never played again other than in a touring friendly side. I was a left back because no one else would/could play there. Actually I played every position at sometime or other and was often the reserve keeper as well as being an outfield player. The position I hated was centre midfield anywhere else I was comfortable, happiest on left side or central defence. My last game I was a sub and brought on in the second half at right back. We often had matches on cinders, our home pitch was cinders, Brockwell Park and/or Clapham Common. As an inner city cub I had played most of my life on concrete with a tennis ball. Keepers don't dive and players don't slide tackle on concrete and cinders.................well actually you do but it isn't advisable, well not in shorts. We had to win the last match of the season to win the league, the score was 5-5 (unusual high score for us, probably why the coach put me on as a defensive sub) I had orders not to cross the halfway line, no wing backing, keep right, DO NOT COME INSIDE, hold the right side stop any runs or crosses. Oh and score as many goals as you can while doing that. I got the ball wide right, I ran with it along the touch line, I came inside five yards, no one near me in front. I saw our midfield and strikers all run deep. I had to either carry the ball across halfway, pass back or sideways to another defender or launch it forwards. Coach was screaming DON'T CROSS THE LION (it may have been line) I curled a long high pass from wide right in our half, swerving right to left into the path of the central midfielder landing five yards from the edge of the area dead centre. It came into his run perfectly, one on one with the keeper, only an idiot could miss the goal.................................he missed I saw no more this is because after the pass was completed and a short run with the ball made and a shot missed I got hacked down from behind so late QPR fans were back at home eating dinner already. I stood up furious at Darren for missing and heard everyone else shouting and assumed it was at him too. After about twenty seconds I realised the coach and my dad and everyone was shouting at me to get off the pitch. I reacted badly already in a temper and sort of explained I was not going to do any such thing as I'd only been on ten minutes and I'd played pretty brilliantly (still fuming from being named sub). "YOUR LEG YOUR LEG!". I looked down from ankle to hip was a bloody mess infused with dirt and cinders. Skin gone from over half my leg, blood beginning to pool. Now I noticed pain and I limped off dejected. I did not know then it would be my last game and I have no idea what happened to the player who decided I was too good to live, except in hospital I was told we won 6-5 in the end. All my life to that point had been football. That team I was in, seven players signed contracts with either Chelsea, Fulham or Arsenal. I did completely other things, which did at one point included managing a Brixton based youth team. They were coached not to slide in and in the main they didn't and didn't have to. Now to end this epic Dfersaga, I have many times performed the sliding tackle, but never evereverever with two paws. I'm was good at it. Slide in, collect the ball, continue to slide, stand back up with the ball while sliding, pass or run with the ball all in one large fluid action. It can be done. The trick isn't physical prowess, but the speed of thought and control of your body and mind. When the heart beats faster, subjectively we feel time slow down. Anyone who has been in a bad car crash will tell you three seconds took minutes. Children's hearts typically beat between 110-120 beats per minute, this is why children get bored so quickly, their perception of time is altered by the rate which blood and oxygen reach the brain. Dogs too have extremely faster heart rates, this is the basis of one human year equalling seven dog years and why dogs are so impatient when left in the house alone. To you it was eight hours, to the dog it was 3-4 days. Here endeth the lesson. Don't slide in (Unless you are me).
