That was a great performance which I was expecting, and it bodes well for our remaining games, at least Chico cannot wreck our next two games, and if I was Monk I'd keep him side lined for the rest of the season. Monk's subs again are at best questionable, bringing on Ngog in front of Emnes? really, what are you thinking Monk!....................... Vorm cost us the game as much as Chico today, he's become really poor at commanding his box, what a poor save.
Apparently he was first out of the training ground today....leaving in a foul mood. Strange that he wasn't even on the bench.
Me too, we have the players and the ability, just need to turn up and put the performances in for 90 minutes, we played very well today all things considered...............
Something clearly isn't right here, could see it on the pitch recently. Monk said he's picked up a knock on his ankle again, but I think the issue is something other than injury or lack of fitness.
Well we've gone from Infiniti to Low Cost Vans on the seats. I don't think it's an over-reaction to say it's a massive disappointment.
Can't be bothered to post everything I want to, so some random thoughts. Chico was daft but I doubt that a top 6 club would have suffered a red card under the same circumstances. Dowd conveniently overlooked Terry's arm ball when he slid in. It was clear and deflected the ball wide, so it was a penalty accidental or not. It was Terry's decision to slide, so he should have paid the consequences for what followed. Vorm let us down again, shocking keeping at this level. No problem for me if we move him on because he's still crap under the high ball but he's lost the shot stopping ability that used to make up for it. Can't take high balls, can't stop routine shots, so what's he for? Williams had a reasonable game but punctuated it with errors including that gross corner he conceded and his effort to deal with Ba's goal was poor. As for Ben Davies, the quicker he learns the basics of the game the better, particularly the art of crossing. I never get excited when he's on the ball because I know his cross will be routine rubbish. He never disappoints. I didn't expect to win this but losing Chico removed any chance of a point. But if the worst happens, let's remember that it wasn't this result that was responsible. The risible performances against Palace, WBA and Hull when we were supposed to have entered the "golden motivation" era under Monk, cost us a minimum of 6, possibly 7 or even 9 points that would have seen us safely home by now. I don't think we will go down but it's well possible and I'd like to think that Jenkins is spewing his ring up at the prospect of missing out on £60/70 million.
Some good points here about chico and vorm, I thought we put on a superb performance today but our luck has deserted us and have done for most of the season, Chico needs to sort himself out because when he is good he is really good but as for vorm then he has been poor all season which has reflected in his position as one of the worst keepers in the premiership rankings this season, He has dropped down the list big time. The game overall was good from us even with ten players we still gave chelsea a game and they are fortunate to claim all three points as a draw would have been fair. I cant complain about the effort put in by the lads but chico and vorm let us down again...
I was gutted for Pablo being the make weight after Chico got sent off. He looked really bright and inventive. Onwards to Newcastle, oh for the same result as last season.
Couldn't really have been anyone else, some thought Nathan but he really offers more in defence and has the pace to go forward. Monk probably got the subs right today. Not sure about Newcastle - they'll offer more up front than a quite lame Chelsea.
There is no such thing as easy games i know but now the chelsea game is out of the way then the rest are on our level and very winnable. We have put in a good performance against all the big clubs and even though we lost we never once got a hammering or looked out of place, We have enough in our locker to stay above the bottom three imo so i have no fear of going down at all and if we had our fair share of luck we would not be where we are now and that's the problem that teams like us have against any of the big sides who seem to get most of the decisions going their way. Just like today where we played one of the biggest teams in the premiership with ten players for most of the match and we did not look as if they were going to batter us and we looked worthy of at least a draw..
If they hadn't scored then I would agree we were worthy of a draw but once they did I'm afraid it was game over , we lost our attacking threat due to losing the midfield where we were overrun ,God love a trier and Shelvey did but he was blowing out of his arse for most of the second half so to see Leon go off instead of him was a bit of a surprise .Poor finishing in front of goal for Chelsea meant we will still in the game but Vorm" poor attempt at saving Ba's effort summed up a poor season overall for Hollands' No 1 .
Under the circumstances, Chelsea did barely enough to win, and we did barely enough to lose. The line-up Chelsea started with gave us a chance to get something from this game but the red card really made it an insurmountable challenge. Glaring weaknesses abound as has been commented by others. Surprising bench list today. Fulton was there - what does this mean .... has the kid developed and shows ready (terrific if so), or is this indicative of a big injury list, or a sick-out, or players not kissing enough butt in training or working well enough in training for Monk and Monk is saying screw you then you don't play ..... or what. Amazing that Fulton makes the bench and Poz, Vazquez, Lamah etc don't. I presume that Canas is still injured. One blessing .... no Lita. Has Monk seen the light or has Lita's spell or gloss finally worn off.
I don't think Monk has a clue with subs, taking Britton off for De Guzman, when Shelvey would have been my choice, not a very intelligent player as I see him!.......
Some weird decisions from Monk again today but I agree with everything ivorall says. Chico was daft as a brush as usual but Dowd wouldn't have sent off a Chelsea player in those circumstaces. Yet again we see evidence of a big club-centric ref mindful of getting brickbats from a big club manager. Pathetic really. Williams has proven again he's not nearly as good as some (or he) thinks he his. If I was a Dutch supporter I'd worry about the upcoming World Cup if Vorm gets game time. He rarely comes out for a cross to claim it and his shot stopping has gone downhill though he did make one good one today as I recall. I'm sorry but I'm not as confident as others here. I really think we're up against it and the best we can hope for is that Sunderland Norwich and Cardiff don't put a run together because I see Fulham getting out of it.
I thought Leon was the obvious choice TBH was out of the game somewhat and if it's your intention to bypass the midfield to get the ball to N'Gog & Bony Shelvey and JdG offer more chance of a one off goal. Spot on about the ref - and we should have had a penalty. And he should have sent Terry off. Have to say I'm crossing fingers that WBA will implode. Fulham are on a run Cardiff have the easiest run in alongside us (ON PAPER) Sunderland are too far behind surely? With all the will in the world I can't see Norwich staying up with the games they have left.
Jay Fulton . hell of a game to be introduced into the big time all the same When making his first-team breakthrough as a precocious 17-year-old in 2011-12, Jay Fulton seemed to be a promising player just waiting to be coaxed out of his chrysalis and develop into an exceptional playmaker. That day has just about come, as Fulton is as important as any other Falkirk player in their aim to return to the top flight. In all honesty, Fulton is just one of many young midfielders at the club who could justify being on this list. Towards the end of last season, Blair Alston’s dynamism in any role made him arguably the Bairn’s best performing midfielder at the time. Craig Sibbald has long been regarded as the best of the torrent of youngsters coming through at the club, but he still has to impose himself on matches on a more regular basis (which will no doubt come in time). Conor McGrandles is this season’s most improved midfielder and with an intimidating physique to go with immeasurable composure, he will eventually be a star in the Premiership. Elsewhere, Mark Millar’s impression on the team since returning on a temporary basis has been beneficial to the tune of three wins and a draw in his four appearances, but whose short-term loan status precludes him from being considered for this feature. However, for this writer, Jay Fulton is the best footballer at the club. With the vision and ability to execute through-balls like no other in the lower leagues, Fulton marries these with expert balance and an uncanny ability to slalom past players in tight spaces, making him a player who could seamlessly fit into any role in midfield. Where exactly his best position is can sometimes be difficult to judge: should his ability to see the game unfold in front of him (and play audacious through balls like this) mean that he operates as a deep playmaker as part of a double-pivot? Or ought his willingness to take the ball in compressed space and play wall-passes dictate that he should be used behind a forward? It could be that he would be most effective further forward at this stage in his career and then eventually fall back, but he is equally capable of playing on the flanks. Despite all of Fulton’s technical ability, he does need to improve on other aspects of his game if he is to prosper at a higher level. While Steven Pressley protected him from burn-out at the very beginning of his career, Fulton still looks more tired than other players at the end of 90 minutes. His body language isn’t always endearing to the “old-school” observer, with his hands tucked into the sleeves of his under-shirt like a 13-year-old in an after-school practice in winter’s rain, while he can sometimes be watching the play from the other side of the park instead of being pro-active about his position and how he can affect the game without the ball. Currently being used as a wide midfielder, Fulton can get away with this and although he has the ability to dictate matters from a central role, he might need to toughen up a little. Nonetheless, Fulton would improve any side in the lower leagues and a handful of clubs in the Premiership. Amid rumours that teams in England are looking at him and with a contract expiring at the end of May 2014, we should enjoy him while he remains in the Championship.
Nothing wrong with the team we have now valley, its the same one that performed brilliantly up till Christmas in all competitions we were in . Our problem is with a brilliant board that overstepped and miscalculated one time and it was a blunder the likes of the Premier has never seen .Only fools cant see that Laudrup should have stayed in charge , only fools .
we would have been relegated by now under laudrup im afraid. the players would not perform for him like they are doing with monk...only fools that dont go wont see the difference at the club now to what it was with laudrup as boss, there is no comparison on that fact...
