The Race For 4th

[guiltyparty]

I agree with gregga, goal difference often shows where people 'should' be - it's a pointer to who is just on or off form and who's been more consistent over the season. Well often it is anyway

 

[SpurSince57]

Not really, the difference is in the strikers available to each side.

Actually, it's Tevez. The rest of their strikers haven't been anything to scream about, to put it mildly.

 

[Shepspurs]

Both will play 34 defensive midfielders against us, at home, and hope they can sneak a goal but will be happy not to lose.

We never play that way, we go all out to win every game.

In that case, I cant see us scoring, particularly with the current form of our strikers

 

[worcestersauce]

This sums up the difference between the sides for me - we play with a gusto and spirit which has enamoured us to neutrals, whereas Man City are a ruthlessly efficient winning machine.

Kind of like the Rebel Alliance v the Galactic Empire!

The good news is that the Rebel Alliance won the force is with us:beer:

LUKA Skywalker & VAN der Solo perhaps!!

 

[walworthyid]

I'm reading all of this about how Man City are a "ruthless winning machine" and how the difference between the sides is consistency and Tevez etc etc. The table tells me otherwise. The form book tells me otherwise.

Yeh their solid, yeh they have Tevez, but if they were such a great winning machine why have they only won one more game than us? Why will they be behind us if we win our game in hand? Why have they lost 4 times since the turn of the year?

We have over half of our team out injured, have had constant injury problems for the entire season, have had to deal with the distraction of the cl, yet here we are, on the verge of going third with 12 games to go and 3 points better off than last season.

God knows where we would be if actually were able to call upon all of our players like city can or if we had a half decent striker.

We are better than them, simples! They know it, we know it and the table will very soon clearly show it. Ask them if they want to rely on the game against us to secure 4th place?

 

[AngerManagement]

Actually, it's Tevez. The rest of their strikers haven't been anything to scream about, to put it mildly.

True,

But out of the strikers on their book I'd probably swap pretty much all of theirs for ours

Defoe/Tevez

Crouch/Dzeko

Pav/Balotelli

not to mention those they have on loan and the rest of their squad player strikers.

They outclass us by a country mile in the final third and to my mind its really the only area they have us beat.

 

[The Apprentice]

Tevez will be off in the summer.

They do have some quality players though. Silva is fantastic, as is Kompany.

 

[karennina]

If Chelsea keep playing like they have for the first 22 mins tonight, we're sorted. Boring and disjointed in attack, not dominating in midfield. Haven't looked remotely like conceding, but hey, you can't have everything.

 

[Essexyido33]

Keep thinking how important our game in hand may become come the end of the season :shrug:

 

[StartingPrice]

The good news is that the Rebel Alliance won the force is with us:beer:

LUKA Skywalker & VAN der Solo perhaps!!

Tevez the HuttEek

If Chelsea keep playing like they have for the first 22 mins tonight, we're sorted. Boring and disjointed in attack, not dominating in midfield. Haven't looked remotely like conceding, but hey, you can't have everything.

Coming on to half-time and they sem to be going backward not forward (in terms of quality).

Narrow, indecisive and totally lacking creativity.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Chelsea will find a way.

 

[cozzo]

Chelsea will find a way.

This.

 

[Coyboy]

BC, my firend, I can see exactly how you are pinned. You spend so much time looking for flaws and weaknesses in our game, presumably as you think criticism is constructive, and so much time analysing the strengths of our opponents, presumably as a sensible precaution, forewarened is forearmed and all, that you completely miss the fact that it is giving you a very skewed vision of whatis actually going on.

All teams have bad periods (even United and Liverpool at the height of their pomp), but that doesn't mean you should let it stand for our whole season.

I have explained this to you, above, and elsewhere: we got off to a slow start, largely because we adopted a new system to accomodate VDV, and had virtually no central defenders, and,up to a point, we had to adjust to CL as well. In the last few games, that you insist on super-imposing on our whole season, we have had virtually the whole of our first choice midfield out. And our strikers have been misfiring. Instead of rejoicing that, under these circumstances we are still pretty much on a par at the top (apart form with united) you take it as evidence of how terrible we are. You then fail to calculate that our defence is far more settled and is likely to see the inclusion, as some stage, of Ledder and Woody (a mouth-watering prospect, surely:shrug; the return to action of virtually our entire first choice midfield (a mouth-watering prospect, wouldn't you say); and, surely, at least one of our strikers hitting some kind of form (surelymg. I see this as being all of the ingredients needed to make a well-reasoned argument that we are going to kick-on form here, and really (REALLY) cannot fathom how you can reach the conclusion that it means we will sink to (some kind off imagined) new lows.

This is nail on head territory. I did find it trying following each numbered point but this is very true. All teams have injuries but I think we have had the most disruption this season not just injuries but the Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate situations, Modric getting a slightly freak illness, the CL, accommodating VDV who gets injured very often as does Gomes and one or two long term injuries.

I am not sure City for one have had the same disruption and while we go away to Milan for an absolute massive game which may have provided a real distraction Sunday, they go to some tin pot team in Greece. The table doesn't lie after 38 games so there has to be at least a segment of truth in it after 26. So taking in two different teams into account, we are almost neck and neck and City have fuckloads of money, because of that a top class striker, another two potential top class strikers and no other distractions; and yet they go to Arsenal and play so negatively as they did at home to United.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Chelsea will find a way.

I would probably find a way to blame Redknapp for it as well.

 

[Mr Pink]

SP is right in most things he is saying.

Look the bottam line is we have had insane injuries and its our debut season in the Champions League which we have lit up. We have battled brillantly and handled the extra work load of Champions League games very well. City play their second string in the Europa League.

Yet we are still bang in the mix for top 4, go figure.

 

[StartingPrice]

SP is right in most things he is saying.

Look the bottam line is we have had insane injuries and its our debut season in the Champions League which we have lit up. We have battled brillantly and handled the extra work load of Champions League games very well. City play their second string in the Europa League.

Yet we are still bang in the mix for top 4, go figure.

:think:...so you're part of the anti-Huntelaar league...:stupid:...:grin:

 

[karennina]

Tevez the HuttEek



Coming on to half-time and they sem to be going backward not forward (in terms of quality).

Narrow, indecisive and totally lacking creativity.

Indeed, 60 mins and they still haven't really used the wings or got flowing. However they do have a synergy and quality on the ball which I'd almost say qualifies as creativity, in the same way as City do but not as good. But as for Modric/Niko style guile or the fabled defence splitting pass, they haven't had any of that kind of creativity tonight. Luiz has maybe even been their most expansive user of the ball.

Chelsea will find a way.

They're now dominating posession so much that it looks like they'll have to, but it's still in that way of suffocating the opposition, rather than cutting them open. It's almost both high quality and boring football simultaneously.

 

[Dundalk_Spur]

I see Fulham have resulted to playing rugby and kicking for touch.

For the first time in years I am confident going to Anfield and Stamford Bridge and getting a result, even with injuries.

 

[Legacy]

I agree with gregga, goal difference often shows where people 'should' be - it's a pointer to who is just on or off form and who's been more consistent over the season. Well often it is anyway

Surely the only stat that matters when guaging consistency over a full season is the points totals, no?

You could win two games 6-0 and then lose 8 games 0-1 and still have a +4 goal difference after ten games but only six points. Whereas, you could lose a game 0-5, drew three games and then win six games 1-0 and only have a +1 goal difference after ten games, but with 21 points.

 

[Mr Pink]

pen Fulham!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!