My private addiction appears to be watching Saints beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 3-1, cause I'm going to watch it all again. I do occasionally watch old particular matches just to see Saints do something that has stuck in my mind as interesting or entertaining. I've even been known to watch a match, where we've lost, more than once, because we've given a really good account of ourselves. But this Chelsea game really is quite enjoyable for several reasons and I'm going to give it one last fling before I leave it for a year or two. Here's a link for those who fancy downloading it or watching it all again online: http://www.footballorgin.net/2015/10/premier-league-2015-2016-chelsea-v.html
Bet you watched the Villa fast hat-trick one a few times! Hard not to sit there with a smile while that's on. Six, they were lucky it was 6!
http://outsideoftheboot.com/2015/10...hampton-southampton-thrash-shambolic-chelsea/ Interesting (and enjoyable) analysis of the match and Chelsea's game plan. Chelsea had a game plan! Who knew? Interesting statement about the Chelsea fans: ''a team bereft of confidence and ideas, with a fan base so far removed from these sorts of issues they’ve forgotten how to react''.
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/10/05/oriol-romeu-predicts-where-southampton-will-finish-this-season/ Romeu predicts we will finish at least 7th....Saints need to step up his hypnotism classes. I expect him to be talking of the title in a week He talks of Europe again....we need to finish higher....not sure 7th will do it this season.
Read this comment on an article which I'll link to at the end Quite long but funny and accurate: A massive open letter to Mourinho Please be kind enough to publish this open letter to Jose Mourinho: Hello Jose, I am trying to figure out why you wanted to remove the friendly doctor from the sideline. I heard through the grapevine that the referee association was inspired by the Arsenal fans decision to petition that Mike Dean not be allowed to referee any more Arsenal matches this season. They are rounding up signatures to petition to reinstate Eva at the Chelsea sidelines. They are threatening to keep not showing yellow cards to the players that are roughing up Hazard. They are also claiming that you have given that type of behavior your approval by throwing a tantrum when Eva went to attend to him (Hazard). He needs to toughen up you said, or, something like that. The whole world keeps waiting for your public apology, because let’s face it; everyone in the whole world including you knows that you were in the wrong. Once the referee had given his signal, the medical staff needs to go on the field. You can always blame the run of bad luck on witch craft. If you were the Cardinal of the church of Mourinho as someone suggested in these pages and we were living about 300 years ago you would have burned the young woman at the stakes. But, we are not. Your team has been devoid of ideas for some time now. The main idea has been to give the ball to Hazard and let him create while everyone else is watching. You do not seem to be spending any time on the training ground working with your team on breaking down your opponent. You are spending too much time preoccupied with Wenger and why he is never under threat of the sack. It may be news to you but Wenger’s teams play Champagne football and people tend to like that. You may phone you old friend Van Gaal to let you know whether he enjoyed watching Arsenal play last Sunday. He had a very good seat. You are also abusing your players. It is not Matic’s fault that John Terry and Gary Cahill are incredibly slow. Matic did a great job covering for them and their stupid mistakes last year but he seems to not be able to do it anymore. Why do you always have to sub Willian out? You seem to have this great idea of substituting the player most likely to get a goal every single time. Zuma has been able to do well while in there. However, I need to point out that Terry and Zuma are a better partnership. Cahill does a really good impersonation of the chicken with head cut-off whenever defending one-on-one. About Ivanovic? Everyone has forgotten that he was signed as a center half and he did a decent job covering as a full back. But, he never had the blazing speed to be a fullback especially since he gets no cover. I have a personal message form Hodgson too. He says stop threatening that you are going to play Loftus-Cheek and play the boy. England will be indebted to you. He needs to play to make the 2016 Euro team. He seems to be better than what you have available at that position right now. And he can pass backwards as well as Mikel. I have to note here that is your favorite pass. That’s all I have for now. Remember, everyone is trying to point out that you have a defensive problem. But what I am suggesting is that you have a problem creating scoring opportunities. You have the players in house to fix your defensive problems. Good Luck and all of us Chelsea supporters are behind you, always eager to push you off the cliff if Klopp is still available. http://www.football365.com/news/mails-are-stoke-the-right-fit-for-rodgers
Can we have an irate Saints interview where an angry Saints fan (any volunteers) can shout: AND YOU LOT WHO LEFT IN THE **TH MINUTE TO GET TO THE [insert burger bar, beer bar, or to avoid a queue] SHOULD BE***** Don't know where he gets the idea that Chelsea aren't plastic fans where City are though? The team that couldn't sell out their ground until Abramovich came criticising City who were getting massive crowds in the 3rd tier just a few years ago. Needs correcting on that one me thinks.
2 minutes and 56 seconds? If that includes the time to take clothes off, I can think of better ways to fill that time... just
I was thinking about that moment with the doctor; presumably if Hazard's leg was hanging off or his head became detached from his body, Jose would have been happy for the doctor to go on the pitch and treat him. He obviously felt that Hazard wasn't really hurt so it is clearly Hazard who is at fault not the doctor. BUT, Jose is presumably happy for his players to waste time when it suits the game so actually the only person really at fault is Jose himself.
Jose is stuck. He can't admit that his players (as well as all including ours) play act to influence games. i.e. make each foul look worse so yellows / reds are 'achieved' quicker. At the same time he can't challenge the medical profession who have publicly stated that 'Jose is not medically qualified so it is not his decision to make whether a player needs attention or not' So in essence he is right but can't say that he is because he would instantly be saying his players cheat and feign injuries. I think we all know Tadic isn't as hurt as he makes out 4 or 5 times a game. He is trying to get the foul to look more serious so his opponent gets a yellow after 2 or 3 instead of 4 or 5 accumulated (or 9 or 10 if your name is Ramires)
A criticism that you can probably lay at Mourinho's door is that he has his favourites who he sticks by with a great deal of loyalty. However, he expects and demands loyalty in return which, in the main, he gets. That relationship is there with Hazard, and so Mourinho is covering for him rather than embracing the fact that a doctor has to do her job. Eva Carneiro is a victim of Mourinho's intense loyalty to his players. Call him blinkered, but it is a mentality which has worked superbly in the past. I expect Mourinho to turn his situation around, and probably soon enough so that they make the Champions league again for next season. Whatever is said about his methods, he is a bloke gets results and he'll start getting them again, probably sooner rather than later. One thing is for certain. He's not the most pleasant individual on the planet when things aren't rosy for him.
Interesting when Ivanovic bent Tadic's knee out of shape and Dusan went down. Ivanovic stood over him while Tadic fidgeted in pain. Both are Serbians playing in the same national team and it ran through my mind that Ivanovic was doing everything he could to stop himself from shouting at Tadic to stop his [what appeared to him] play acting. After all, Ivanovic should know what Tadic does quite well.
Tadic makes out he has had a really bad one several times a game. Its common place these days unforrtunately. I guess we have to be grateful that its not to Drogba levels i.e. every corner getting a head injury to stop the opponents counter attacking. I think the PL should get specialists to watch each game monitoring how quickly injuries go away once the player is off the pitch, rather than need help to the touchline and then instantly turn around waving to the ref. Used to be the effect of the magic sponge, then it moved to the magic spray and these days Cedric has his own magic head bandage each game (which he didn't need this week as Hazard was asleep for most of the game.)
What about a rule that the injured player has to wait as many seconds on the touch line as elapsed between the ref stopping play and them reaching it? At the very least it would stop those long, limping drags to touch followed by a gazelle-like bound back on two seconds later! Yes, I know that penalises a team whose player has been scythed down, but they need to toughen up, I reckon.
Not if the player who caused the injury was also off for the same length of time. Although this could lead to serious play acting if the perpetrator was a pivotal figure in the team and it would benefit the opposition to have them off the field of play. Can of worms dealing with these incidents, since the tactical use of 'time outs' is often used to break up play when under pressure.
Remember the stretchers? That was meant to embarrass players who were feigning injury but over time it got ridiculous hence the current system of players walking off. The one thing that should be stopped is players kicking the ball out to stop the game. Even if the ball is out of play it shouldn't be automatic that the trainer comes on. It should always be the ref's decision. Then there should be a mandatory 2 or 3 minutes off which should be the minimum to treat a real injury. At leat it would give the 4th official something to do!
