Pretty much agree. I guess when you have someone as good as Hazard you take risks in the hope they give you enough going forward. On reflection perhaps Schurrle should have started.
I can't really understand why Hazard is getting stick for apparently not defending. You played with 1 striker, and 6 defenders, and your having a go at your best attacking midfielder for not tracking back. No wonder he wants off to PSG, with the way Mourinho is trying to shackle him down with defensive duties. A player like Hazard should be given a license to go and effect the game. The rest of the team should be set up around getting the ball to Hazard in areas he can hurt the opposition, but Mourinho is so obsessed with every player having to run around defending, that Hazard will never be able to show his true attacking quality over a full season because he'll be forced to spend half his time chasing after the oppositions attackers, and be to tired to affect the game, when he gets the ball in the oppositions half. Mourinho even tried to shackle down Ronaldo, but Ronaldo just ignored him, as he knew Mourinho wouldn't have the balls to drop him, or he'd be sacked on the spot. Ronaldo was delighted when Mourinho was forced out the door in Madrid, as where the rest of the players
Regardless of the rights or wrongs of Jose's tactics, if any player was given a job to do and hasn't done it then he deserves stick. Managers are the ones whose heads are on the chopping block and no player should think he is bigger than the manager or the club (not saying Hazard thinks that but that's what you're implying he should think). The irony of course is that you probably think Atletico are brilliant yet don't realise it's because Simeone makes every single player work for the side, industrious and creative players alike.
Not really. The fact we lost when having to force the game shows we'd have probably got beat convincingly had we attacked in Madrid. You do remember how your Liverpool team set up in C.L games under Rafa?
Of course I realise that Atletico's players work there socks off, but they use a different system to Chelsea. It is more of a narrow 442, which is quite an attacking formation in the modern game, so it's a lot more vital that your midfielders carry out there defensive duties. Mourinho is over cautious as you play with 1 up front, and then expect all 5 midfielders to track players back into there own penalty area. Atletico's front men do work there socks off to, but it is to press the opposition, they are not expected to track back into there own box. Hazard is not a defensive minded player, therefore Mourinho should be the one taking the blame for giving him that job to do. Could you imagine SAF or Ancelotti, asking there best attacking player to track runners back into there own penalty area? Look when both of those managers have had Ronaldo, they just allow him to do as he wishes, as they know he'll hurt the opposition. Mourinho needs to start doing the same with Hazard, as he's waisting a top players talent by expecting him to track runners. It should not be his job to track runners. You had enough defensive players on the field to do that
I agree Hazard needs more freedom. Maybe that would be better as a number 10 if Jose wants his wide players to track back. But the point stands that if Hazard's been given a job to do and hasn't done it then he has to expect criticism. Joe Cole received the same treatment under Jose and became a better player for it. Ronaldo is pretty much a one off as well. Hazard has to do a lot more to be in that bracket where he can do what he wants. Most other wide players at top clubs will be expected to put a shift in, you would know that being a United fan.
Simply really, Hazard will be off, just like Mata. Not a Mourinho type player at all. Do you agree with the changes, if he goes guys? Mata was player of the season twice and Hazard this season.
Jose has already had a word, a very public one saying Hazard does not have the right mind to be his style of Chelsea player and is not learning. I can see Hazard being gone by August.
Every player has a duty to defend at some point in the game. If a full back goes forward then it's normal that the midfielder playing on their side should track them back. A winger should mark a full back just as a full back marks a winger when they're defending. This is why full backs are fast becoming the most important players in the modern day game. As for Ronaldo, didn't he average just over a goal a game under Mourinho? So whatever you think of the two and how they worked/didn't work, his record was still out of this world.
Agree. Jose took Ronaldo to a higher level than Fergie and improved his strike rate, in Champions league in particular
Mourinho just had him at a better stage of Ronaldo's career than SAF did, nothing to do with him taking him to the next level. He obviously wasn't gonna average a goal a game for us, when we had him from 18 years of age. If you judge Ronaldo's last couple of seasons with us, he was scoring in pretty much every game. You could say Ancelotti has improved Ronaldo since Mourinho left, as Ronaldo has 16 CL goals, a new record tally. Also how many Ballon Dor's did Ronaldo win under Mourinho? None at all. Yet 1 under SAF, and 1 under Ancelotti
08/09 25 in 55 appearances which was his last season at United. Season before that 46 in 59, considerably better. Not something i'd call errrrm, scoring in pretty much every game.... 10/11 50 in 51 appearances. 11/12 66 in 61. 12/13 51 in 56. All under Jose. I'd say that's pretty much taking him to the next level. As for the Ballon Dor's, take another look at that record above ^. There is only one reason why Ronaldo didn't get a Ballon Dor under Jose and that's because of how unplayable Messi. He could've quite easily got it in any of those three seasons with those goal records.
You have an incredibly expensive side that were humbled by a team with a young manager, ambition, togetherness etc. For the neutral it's exactly what you want to see. Liverpool were one of the weakest 'big sides' in the competition... the year we won it we should never have got that far! And even if Liverpool did that under Rafa... what has that got to do with Chelsea vs Atletico? I can't comment on Chelsea because of how the club I support used to play in the CL? PS - remind me under which manager Liverpool broke the record for goals in a CL game?
yoda which manager set a goalscoring record in la liga a couple of years ago? jose sets his teams up to win its a testament to his success rate that rival fans flood this board whenever we lose... Tactically i see nothing wrong with how we played atletico. we actually scored the 1st goal at the bridge and conceeded three goals due to individual mistakes which despite joses powers he had no influence over. The better team won, that's all they've built a team over the years with a single manager and have achieved a great deal, we'll get there just let us get there in peace eh?
25 goals in 55 games, 08/9. 46 goals in 59 games 07/8. 71 goals in 114 games. Under Jose a goal a game. Only 16 goals in 52 CL under Saffa. A goal a game in CL under jose
As I have already pointed out though, Ronaldo had not hit his prime when we had him, he was only 24 when he left. Ronaldo has just improved as a player, nothing to do with the manager. Likewise you could say Ancelotti has improved Ronaldo, with his 16 CL goals this season. So does that make Ancelotti a better manager than Mourinho?
At the end of the day Mourinho sets up in a way other top managers (at his level) don't do. If everyone played like Mourinho does we wouldn't watch football. If you were looking from the outside you might think differently. If you genuinely enjoy it, fair enough. EDIT: Fair point about La Liga. Says a lot about how Chelsea have spent their money and Mourinho's change in attitude.
Congratulations and full credit to Atletico Madrid. They were the better team on the night and over the two legs so best of luck to them in the final. Mourinho got his team selection and tactics wrong. Starting with 6 defenders looked like him trying to be too clever when we were seeing so much possession of the ball. Terry wasn't fit and shouldn't have started which showed with him being partly to blame for the first goal. I've also noticed that recently against the big sides, as a team we're more successful without Hazard. Not sure if that's because we're less reliant when without him and thus play as more of a unit or if I'm just reading too much into it. We're absolute mugs if we give Courtois back on loan to them though. He is definitely ready for us. Need to refocus ourselves for Norwich now and then just hope other results go our way.
