I have my doubts about both lita and routledge said it from the off, but the season is not a sprint it's a marathon, they may still make an impact, we were made to look bad in this league by a team that has spent a fortune on the players. I like Chelsea out of all the clubs in the premier league, they gave us Brendan , Sinclair and Borini for a little while, plus I met ambromovich when I worked and lived in Moscow
Are you still a member of the KGB then Jager!!!..................... please log in to view this image
Get this. 10 minutes before kick off I get a phone call saying I have to pack my stuff and go guide a dive off a private boat near Ibiza town, after sitting doing nothing all day in anticipation of the footie. Soddin' typical!!! By all accounts we were just outclassed today, and I can't say I like several mentions of the boys not really being up for it against 10 men in the second half. Was there possibly a case for bringing Graham on alongside Lita for a while? Fair play to Chelsea, they're consistently at the top end of the league for a reason. It's not all bad about missing the footie though, got a hell of a tip!
Just got back from the game. Got to say the Swansea fans were loud on a new level today - very proud to be a swan. Gave it our best shot but just outclassed by world class players at the end of the day. Frank lampard had a banter with the swans fans which was fun to see We will def be first game on MOTD tonight!!!
don't think we did give it our best shot today or at least not for long enough, in the first 10 minutes after the break we had Chelsea reeling with wave after wave of attack, but after the initial onslaught we seemed happy to keep the score respectable and i felt it was damage limitation. it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we'd have pulled it back to 2:1. i'm sure chelsea would have just upped the ante, however it was sad to see us going through the motions. i'd rather us have had a real go. sure we may end up with an embarrassing scoreline on occasion but fortune favours the brave and we got exactly what deserved today. on to next month and am looking forward to the next 4 games, hope Dyer still has two legs after next week's game, i think he's real key to our survival
Phil?? We are back to discussing Pintado again??? Thought we had agreed to differ on that one. Look, seeing as how you brought it up again, let me re-state my position on the guy. What I maintained, and always will, is that Pintado was unfairly and routinely slaughtered for his lack of goals. Now we all know that his lack of goals is a fact. All I ever tried to point out was that there were mitigating factors for that; Sousa and his tactics being the main one. Week after week Pintado was taking one for the team in a lone, COMPLETELY unsupported, thankless, gut-busting, heart-breaking (for a striker), confidence sapping role for his team. Pintado was a limited but hugely honest striker who earned his corn to the best of his ability. It was his misfortune to play for a manager who exploited that honesty in a ruthless way - ruthless in that he would never compromise his defensive shape to offer support to a striker who was begging for it and needed it. I watched training a lot then and even there he wore his heart on his sleeve. One thing of many always stands out. I was watching from behind the goal about 20 feet away. He and Marcos Painter had an ugly tussle for the ball near the goal. The way they went at it told me that there was no love lost there. He flattened Painter, smashed the ball into the net then went nose to nose with Painter who had picked himself up. Painter, no shrinking violet, opted to walk away. Wise man. Pintado was never a great striker - nowhere near it but his attitude was brilliant, an attitude that I would just love to see sprinkled through this team of ours now - a team where most of the players are more talented than he was but who could do with many of his personal qualities (yesterday being a prime example, I understand). I just regret that he never had an extended run in a 442 where he MIGHT have edged towards becoming a great scorer of goals as opposed to scoring the occasional great goal. The comment about often being right is flattering but you are correct. I often get it wrong but there are always two things in place - I call it as I see it and I always respect the other guys's opinion. Football is all about opinion and the debating of those opinions and it is as educational in being proved wrong as satisfying being proved right. Great fun either way. As for the Chelsea game, I take no pleasure in having been totally correct in my prediction - a loss by three goals, although I didn't expect us to score one. It seems as though this was a classic example of a game where we didn't miss Pintado's skill but we certainly missed his other attributes. Reality check. After watching Ash and Monk, in particular, along with others, defend like a pair of blindfolded arthritics, I find it incomprehensible that Buck is dithering over the signing of this Hungarian. He will have his reasons but several things are obvious; Monk is nowhere near Premiership quality and Ash has a great deal to learn, as do the whole team for that matter. Another poster stated that we should learn some humility and remember where we are at. Absolutely right! Let's be positive but do away with some of the tub-thumping that has recently been evident. We only look silly when the result bites us in the arse. The fact, as we all know, is that realistically our "A" game is inferior to most other Premiership team's "A" games. We can probably compete with about half a dozen teams on equal terms - as for the rest we can only look to pick up odd points if they have an off day. That can and will happen for us as we learn and get to grips with the higher level. For me, I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic that we will do a "Gloria Gaynor" but no rash predictions about teaching the likes of ManU what football is all about. THEY are the teachers and we are the pupils. If we learn our lessons quickly, we will get the odd upset and turn over one or more of these "big" teams. When that happens, if you look upwards, it will be me that you see jumping over the moon!!
Ivor, you never post anything banal, fair play! Agreed about our "A" game being inferior to nigh on all teams, but I posted on another thread that aside from Arsenal, the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, I'd say that, at home at least, I expect us to look good against most teams in the league. We just have to hope that there are enough teams we can beat playing our style of football to keep us up!
"Ash and Monk, in particular, along with others, defend like a pair of blindfolded arthritics" PMSL! But spot on. I've said elsewhere that I've looked at the match again today and Monk was at fault in some way for virtually all their goals - a really shocking display from him imo. Brendan, sign someone quick ffs!
i love the blindfolded arthritics, i mentioned in a thread ages ago the Monk was not up to the task and was shouted down, maybe i was right, time will tell
