Chelsea Vs Arsenal (FA Cup Final) 27/05 2017 KO 17:30 GMT

[Celery1989]

The most disappointing aspect of yesterday for me was that the players just weren't up for it, before the game my biggest worry was how motivated they would really be. Arsenal were much better than us in every department and completely deserved their win, but I can't help but feel frustrated by the fact that we are by far the superior team on our day and would surely have won that had the players really wanted it. We've only ever won the Double once in our history and I feel like we've let a great opportunity go. It's still been a great season of course - in truth I feel a bit spoilt to have won the title given what the realistic expectations were back in August - but this does put a downer on things. There's a big summer ahead now and we need to strengthen the squad significantly. 

[TheBluesBrother]

9 minutes ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

I thought Pedro ran his socks off and was the only player who looked like he gave a sh*t the whole time he was on.

 Yes but he had a few chances and skied them over the bar. At least Costa scored and got a few on target.

[Bobbywoodhogan]

Just now, TheBluesBrother said:

 Yes but he had a few chances and skied them over the bar. At least Costa scored and got a few on target.

He did but when we were all over the place in the first half he was actively trying to get the ball back and make something happen.

[coco]

This game confirms we can't just keep giving up midfield and waiting for the opposition to 'bring it'..

I think next season we will see a Conte midfield three.

[the special one]

1 hour ago, Petworth Chelsea Fan said:

Have to agree about the semi final comments. I really hope he uses the squad better next season but can't blame him for staying with a winning formula in his first season. I'm sure he's smart enough.

Biggest disappointment on the day was keeping on players on reputation and not their form on the day. History shows big players who have just not performed in big finals - no disgrace, just the way it goes. So I can't understand how it wasn't seen that Moses and Kante were just not on their game and couldn't have come off earlier. Poor Kante has had a brilliant season but yesterday he needed to come off - I've never seen him play so badly.

Re Kante on a big pitch like Wembley there was no need for him to be in the team imho - I know it sounds harsh after the brilliant season he's had as you say, but we needed a Verratti out there imho, someone to dictate the tempo and help us maintain possession (like Xhaxa/Ramsey did for Arse). I can't see it just being a one off either - I think next season will be tough for Kante personally, opponents will have a template to overcome our strengths and I'm not convinced Kante has the technique to adapt.

Edited May 28, 2017 by the special one

[charierre]

8 minutes ago, coco said:

This game confirms we can't just keep giving up midfield and waiting for the opposition to 'bring it'..

I think next season we will see a Conte midfield three.

I think we have been over reliant on Kante, he had a poor game yesterday along with Matic , consequently our defence got over exposed and the frailties we know exist within individual players surfaced. Add to that we were limited going forward from midfield giving us problems all over the pitch.

[Chelsbear]

Kante will be absolutely fine. He's been by far the best midfielder in England for 2 years on the trot with 2 EPL titles to his name so to say he doesn't have the technique is plain daft. You realise he was just back from an injury and only had 2 games back before yesterday's final? This isn't FIFA, players tend to take time after an injury and time out before getting back to their very best.

Kante will be superb again next season because he's a terrific player who has shown time and time again why he's the best in our league in that position. The main problem is the player beside him because Matic is so poor on the ball and off it it hampers Kante. Cesc is a genius on the ball but his legs and off the ball let him down in our formation at times.

Get a proper dynamic central mid beside Kante and I would put my house on us being a fantastic possession side in the midfield. 

 

[the special one]

17 minutes ago, Chelsbear said:

Kante will be absolutely fine. He's been by far the best midfielder in England for 2 years on the trot with 2 EPL titles to his name so to say he doesn't have the technique is plain daft. You realise he was just back from an injury and only had 2 games back before yesterday's final? This isn't FIFA, players tend to take time after an injury and time out before getting back to their very best.

Kante will be superb again next season because he's a terrific player who has shown time and time again why he's the best in our league in that position. The main problem is the player beside him because Matic is so poor on the ball and off it it hampers Kante. Cesc is a genius on the ball but his legs and off the ball let him down in our formation at times.

Get a proper dynamic central mid beside Kante and I would put my house on us being a fantastic possession side in the midfield. 

 

Hope so mate. Personally I think Kante is tailor made for the Premier League, but for the CL I remain unconvinced. There's a reason why Deschamps dropped him for the latter stages of the Euros and I think yesterday's performance justified why.

Edited May 28, 2017 by the special one

[axman2526]

1 hour ago, coco said:

This game confirms we can't just keep giving up midfield and waiting for the opposition to 'bring it'..

I think next season we will see a Conte midfield three.

Interesting idea, Kante, cesc and a new signing in the middle with 2 up top, means we would need at least 2 new strikers to give us 2 options for both roles. Also means bench time for Pedro and hazard. 

Day after the game before and this still stings. 

[Celery1989]

1 hour ago, Chelsbear said:

Kante will be absolutely fine. He's been by far the best midfielder in England for 2 years on the trot with 2 EPL titles to his name so to say he doesn't have the technique is plain daft. You realise he was just back from an injury and only had 2 games back before yesterday's final? This isn't FIFA, players tend to take time after an injury and time out before getting back to their very best.

Kante will be superb again next season because he's a terrific player who has shown time and time again why he's the best in our league in that position. The main problem is the player beside him because Matic is so poor on the ball and off it it hampers Kante. Cesc is a genius on the ball but his legs and off the ball let him down in our formation at times.

Get a proper dynamic central mid beside Kante and I would put my house on us being a fantastic possession side in the midfield. 

 

I think Matic does a decent job and gets some unfair criticism at times. But I do feel he is limited in certain ways and a player than we can find an upgrade for. We shoud look to sign a true box-to-box midfielder next to Kante with a superior engine and passing ability to Matic.

[coco]

9 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Interesting idea, Kante, cesc and a new signing in the middle with 2 up top, means we would need at least 2 new strikers to give us 2 options for both roles. Also means bench time for Pedro and hazard. 

Day after the game before and this still stings. 

I will not be surprised to see both Matic and Cesc struggle to get in the first XI next season. 

[Jezz]

We looked flat yesterday and it was a disappointing way to end the season, but overall it's been a great season and compared to last season it's chalk and cheese so we have to be very happy with what we achieved this season as supporters..

In a strange way, this defeat might be a blessing in disguise for us to not get complacent heading into next season. I think there's no doubt that despite winning the title, some squad changes will need to be made if we're going to be contenders again and compete well in all competitions that we participate in.

Conte will be disappointed more than anyone here, so I trust he knows what he's doing in being able to rectify the weaknesses of the current squad. It would have been great to win the double and cap off a great season, but I'm more than content with the title this season, which is obviously the most prestigious domestic competition by a country mile.

It will be fascinating to see how we approach Arsenal in our Community Shield match on August 6. I hope the same mistakes are not made again from two years ago and we can get the monkey off the back so to speak. Arsenal seem to have the wood over us in finals (apart from the 2007 League Cup Final).

Going off-topic for a moment, it's been fun and somewhat crazy at times during the match day threads throughout the season, so I want to wish everyone here all the best during their summer break (or winter break if you live in the Southern Hemisphere) especially if you do not choose to post during the off-season.

GO CHELSEA!

[Andreas]

Really disappointed. its bloody Arsenal!

But it takes nothing away from our season and in a way it proves even more we need more depth and strenght for the next season. It wasnt to be yesterday.

 

Onwards and upwards!

[Petworth Chelsea Fan]

Just now, Andreas said:

Really disappointed. its bloody Arsenal!

But it takes nothing away from our season and in a way it proves even more we need more depth and strenght for the next season. It wasnt to be yesterday.

 

Onwards and upwards!

Depth is no good if you don't rotate the squad. We also need to start bringing up some youth. Our youth teams have won so much over the years so it's time they brought some of them up. Would a young Terry have ever got a chance in this setup?

[The Brit]

7 hours ago, carrickblue said:

The more replays of Arsenal's opening goal I see the more shocking it is that that was allowed to stand. Really poor from the referee. It goes without saying that had that been ruled out the afternoon could have been completely different. 

That decision was as bad as our first half display and joins a long list over last few months. The ref was closer to the handball incident and unable to spot that, than he was for Moses dive which he correctly awarded.

But We can't  use it as an excuse for how poor we were...why didn't Luiz etc play to the whistle...basics...we had 86 mins to turn it around and we were nowhere near the standards we have set ourselves...even playing this poorly though, we still created a few good chances, not as many as Arsenal though...

 

 

[Andreas]

1 hour ago, Petworth Chelsea Fan said:

Depth is no good if you don't rotate the squad. We also need to start bringing up some youth. Our youth teams have won so much over the years so it's time they brought some of them up. Would a young Terry have ever got a chance in this setup?

We have not had the need to rotate from our best 11 due to lack of European football. Next season is different.

[Don Conte]

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

Interesting idea, Kante, cesc and a new signing in the middle with 2 up top, means we would need at least 2 new strikers to give us 2 options for both roles. Also means bench time for Pedro and hazard. 

Day after the game before and this still stings. 

Hazard can be one of the strikers

[Petworth Chelsea Fan]

46 minutes ago, Andreas said:

We have not had the need to rotate from our best 11 due to lack of European football. Next season is different.

Rotation isn't just about CL. Spurms semi was a good case in point where it worked.

[charierre]

3 hours ago, Chelsbear said:

Kante will be absolutely fine. He's been by far the best midfielder in England for 2 years on the trot with 2 EPL titles to his name so to say he doesn't have the technique is plain daft. You realise he was just back from an injury and only had 2 games back before yesterday's final? This isn't FIFA, players tend to take time after an injury and time out before getting back to their very best.

Kante will be superb again next season because he's a terrific player who has shown time and time again why he's the best in our league in that position. The main problem is the player beside him because Matic is so poor on the ball and off it it hampers Kante. Cesc is a genius on the ball but his legs and off the ball let him down in our formation at times.

Get a proper dynamic central mid beside Kante and I would put my house on us being a fantastic possession side in the midfield. 

 

I've no doubt Kante will be fine next year, he has been all season, taking the weight off the defensive three. I do feel though yesterday he had a poor game along with Matic and this contributed to our defensive woes. When he has a bad one, its noticable as he has been so good.  As for the comment on him being just back from injury, that was his third 90 mins since injury which suggests he is well over his ailment. He like most of the others just weren't at it mentally yesterday, it happens and doesn't make our players individually or as a team a bad overnight. 

Edited May 28, 2017 by charierre

[havelschayes]

 

holy sh*t

[Sacto Blues]

Is it Kante had a bad game on his own or Kante was bad because he had to do his job and also cover for Matic ( who was shocking IMHO ) ? 

[Nibs]

6 hours ago, Celery1989 said:

The most disappointing aspect of yesterday for me was that the players just weren't up for it, before the game my biggest worry was how motivated they would really be. Arsenal were much better than us in every department and completely deserved their win, but I can't help but feel frustrated by the fact that we are by far the superior team on our day and would surely have won that had the players really wanted it. We've only ever won the Double once in our history and I feel like we've let a great opportunity go. It's still been a great season of course - in truth I feel a bit spoilt to have won the title given what the realistic expectations were back in August - but this does put a downer on things. There's a big summer ahead now and we need to strengthen the squad significantly. 

Yep, it just felt flat right from the start. We were second to every ball and just didn't look up for it. In FA Cup finals you need your big game players to step up but both Hazard & Costa were at best mediocre. Matic was poor, Kante had his worse game for some time, ditto Moses and Alonso. Such a disappointing end to a brilliant season but at least it's a reminder we can't rest on our laurels and need to strengthen.

[Celery1989]

1 hour ago, Nibs said:

Yep, it just felt flat right from the start. We were second to every ball and just didn't look up for it. In FA Cup finals you need your big game players to step up but both Hazard & Costa were at best mediocre. Matic was poor, Kante had his worse game for some time, ditto Moses and Alonso. Such a disappointing end to a brilliant season but at least it's a reminder we can't rest on our laurels and need to strengthen.

Even our support felt flat IMO, I thought the atmosphere against Tottenham in the Semi Final was much better. 

[strider6004]

4 hours ago, Sacto Blues said:

Is it Kante had a bad game on his own or Kante was bad because he had to do his job and also cover for Matic ( who was shocking IMHO ) ? 

Nothing to do with Matic, Arsenal completely closed him down which IMO was why Luiz was spraying long balls out wide. Kante just could not settle on the ball.

[strider6004]

34 minutes ago, Celery1989 said:

Even our support felt flat IMO, I thought the atmosphere against Tottenham in the Semi Final was much better. 

Remember more genuine fans had tickets at the semi final so the atmosphere would naturally have been better and add to that several more goals.

I certainly heard Chelsea fans on TV.