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Match Threads Chelsea vs Spurs - Match Thread

Match Prediction

  • Spurs win to go 4th

    Votes: 54 29.0%
  • Chelsea win to stay 4th

    Votes: 80 43.0%
  • Score Draw

    Votes: 37 19.9%
  • Goal less Draw

    Votes: 15 8.1%

  • Total voters
    186
  • Poll closed .

rossdapep

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2011
21,906
78,642
Agreed, but it’s the ease at which Chelsea have taken six points from us this season. Not good enough. I get the transition/season over chat, but to turn in two performances against that lot like we have is not acceptable at all.
Yeah, not good and I was cursing our players but most of them have had pretty much no recovery time after Wednesday. If this had been a Monday night game then there'd have been serious questions over the performance from me.

But look at the rotation options.

Ndombele for Gedson - a player still struggling for fitness and physicality for a player who hadn't played too much for Benfica who is having to get up to speed to a new tougher league.

Lucas and Bergwijn can't be rotated as we have no other options.
 

kieranfitchett

Well-Known Member
Aug 12, 2017
914
4,506
So.....would it be better if we tiki-taka'd our way up to the strikers and then, because we don't have any, just banged our heads against a brick wall and still lost?

How we play is a direct result of squad neglect. We have, by the (vocal) majority admission in this thread, at least three defenders who are past it and god know how many midfielders who are what a number amongst us like to describe as 'shit'

How do we, with those players and without any fit strikers to call on, suddenly become masters of the passing game.

IMO what we're seeing isn't a failing in the manager, I'll give him the respect of assuming he knows better than any angry bod on SC, it's a complete breakdown of how this club has managed both the ins and outs, or turnover of players in the squad over two or three years. I get that some people have the horn for getting rid of him but you could bring in a manager with the teeth of Klopp and the bald head of Guardiola and he'd struggle too. there is no magic fix, no matter how many times or how many people keep banging on about there is one. I've not read one sensible suggestion. Not one. Because the reality is that we're fucked until these issues are properly addressed and we get better players.

The last four years or so have spoiled us and it isn't nice when expectations aren't met.

obviously the way the squad has been allowed to stagnate is a huge problem, but what remains are still top players who based on the past few games show real inconsistencies in their ability to consistently pass to each other, starting with the goalkeeper it's either a hopeful punt or in today's case, funneled outwards to the wing backs where, as a result of no width in front of them were instantly shut down and denied any options by onrushing wide players and full backs.

on face value, i dont think our team is worse than chelsea's, but it looked like men against boys for long periods today and, in my opinion, a lot of that derived from the way jose set us up to play.
 

worcestersauce

"I'm no optimist I'm just a prisoner of hope
Jan 23, 2006
26,891
45,041
Yep exactly, there's 3 players out. Sissoko is a commonly blamed for being a big problem in midfield, a lot of this site spent a lot of time wishing for Lo Celso and N'dombele (who I think everyone should chill their beans about). The problem is we only have one striker and both him and his back-up are injured and the manager doesn't rate our decent academy striker as ready (I can't see how the fuck it's not worth at least trying Parrot).

So ok we're fucked up front. But we have a shed load of midfielders and defenders. So instead of focusing up front why don't we set up to absolutely dominate in the middle of the park and dominate them. Use what we do have. If we'd lost this game because we couldn't finish when getting into their third then hey you've got a really good point. If we can't even get the ball up to the their third of the pitch regularly then there's a big problem.
We didn't get up to the final third enough because nobody's there, a number of times players got the ball just short of that final third and there was no target to aim for to play it into the final third. Strikers matter. I know it's frustrating but we are in a difficult situation up front and have to recognise that.
 

jurgen

Busy ****
Jul 5, 2008
6,711
17,169
Not sure what this Giroud stuff is about. There were a fair few people who wanted him, and of course some people who didn't. But it was clear to everyone except Blofeld that Chelsea wouldn't be selling him to us. And he's just got them 3 potentially very lucrative points.
 

fortworthspur

Well-Known Member
Nov 12, 2007
11,244
17,536
We didn't get up to the final third enough because nobody's there, a number of times players got the ball just short of that final third and there was no target to aim for to play it into the final third. Strikers matter. I know it's frustrating but we are in a difficult situation up front and have to recognise that.
Id say we have major issues at all three levels. the offensive ones will sort themselves out in May.
 
D

Deleted member 27995

We actually have more passes than Chelsea and played less long balls than them. Shocked that people here are not happy with that when week ago they were moaning about this stats.
It's like a flip flop floating on the sea on here at the moment. It'll be something else next game.
 

feet01

Well-Known Member
Mar 17, 2005
369
579
Think we just got to grit our teeth and see out this season. It’s a massive disservice to the fans, but it is just a right off
 

degoose

Well-Known Member
Jul 3, 2004
2,832
3,012
So let’s play the positive stuff and win two league cups in 25 years. He’s got the third best results in the league since he’s taken charge - with big challenges with regard to squad injuries. Give the man a break.
Well i hope we do but that is up to him, we have the players to do it in my opinion but going to chelsea when we need to beat them and going 5 at the back is just weird.
 
Feb 22, 2020
34
80
That was very poor. But if you've got 2 lower mid table players in key positions in Davies and Winks, a past it central defender in Jan, a kid at RB, and no striker what do you expect?
 

ljinko888

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2016
2,080
5,376
Despite our terrible record at their place, we often play quite well in defeat over the years. This was more of a surrender but the outcome is the same regardless.
 

idontgetit

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2011
14,404
30,804
We didn't get up to the final third enough because nobody's there, a number of times players got the ball just short of that final third and there was no target to aim for to play it into the final third. Strikers matter. I know it's frustrating but we are in a difficult situation up front and have to recognise that.

Yes that fundamentally is the (or one of the) key issues. You can't get people there regularly though when you have parked the bus for eighty minutes. The team backed off and played negatively instead of playing aggressively and proactively. We were set up to do that and Mourinho didn't change things to respect the fact that the gameplan was killed with Chelsea getting an early goal and our counter-attacking being ineffective. If a team pushes up, takes control of possession and the midfield they will spend a lot of time in the opponents half. Maybe you won't score without a decent striker up there but you give yourself the chance to do it. You create pressure and it can lead to goals, like it did with Lamela and the own goal. We didn't give ourselves the chance to do anything other than lose after we went behind today.

You don't have to have Kane or Son on the pitch to press a team. Lamela can play up front and press harder and more effectively than either of those two. Moura as well. It's no good if the next player in the press is still only just getting out of his own box.
 
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