Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest ShedEnd Last-11 competition standings after the shocking home defeat to Sunderland. Eight down, and only three to go now! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- SHEDEND LAST-11 COMPETITION 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------- Name PL W D L Gd Total ----------------------------------------------------------- 01. jack_super_class 08 2 3 3 -8 9 02. JoeyN 08 2 3 3 -10 9 03. Butch 08 1 4 3 -11 7 04. Zola 08 1 4 3 -13 7 05. Scott Harris 08 1 4 3 -14 7 06. Barn 08 1 4 3 -16 7 07. 1905 08 1 4 3 -17 7 08. ButchersHook 08 1 3 4 -11 6 MANoWAR 08 1 3 4 -11 6 09. AdamCFC 08 1 3 4 -13 6 10. AlexTommo 08 1 3 4 -14 6 11. coco 08 1 3 4 -16 6 12. Boyne 08 0 5 3 -13 5 dkw 08 0 5 3 -13 5 ForeverCarefree 08 1 2 5 -13 5 13. Chippy 08 0 5 3 -14 5 14. DimiturDimitrov 08 1 2 5 -15 5 15. Sharpy 08 0 5 3 -17 5 16. chelseabootboy 08 0 5 3 -18 5 17. Cech Yourself 08 0 4 4 -10 4 18. mad_mac 08 0 4 4 -11 4 19. charierre 08 0 4 4 -13 4 Jackbuchanan 08 0 4 4 -13 4 PL2 08 0 4 4 -13 4 trigger 08 0 4 4 -13 4 True Blue23 08 0 4 4 -13 4 Veeria 08 0 4 4 -13 4 20. Ballack & Blu 08 0 4 4 -14 4 21. Uno 08 0 4 4 -16 4 22. mactheknife 08 0 3 5 -12 3 23. axman2526 08 0 3 5 -16 3 24. blueblur 08 0 3 5 -19 3 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the shocking home defeat to Sunderland. CONGRATS this time go to TT; well done, mate! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 English Premier League and Champions League Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Chippy 44 9 5 0 2 0 0 5 30 173 8674 197 241 +0 02 TT 42 9 4 0 4 5 20 5 50 206 7685 183 225 +2 03 Ossie13 40 8 3 0 2 0 0 5 15 128 7372 184 224 -1 04 Butch 45 7 3 0 2 0 5 5 0 108 7852 174 219 -1 05 Coombsie 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 599 150 154 na 06 moneim 01 8 3 0 4 0 0 5 0 111 111 111 112 na 07 Liam F 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 111 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record (Rt) = 259 (TT, 2012-13) Record (Av) = 212 (Footballoholic, 2010-11) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 Capitol One Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Ossie13 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1250 179 186 na 02 TT 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1209 173 180 na 03 Chippy 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1103 158 165 na 04 Butch 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 845 141 147 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2013-14 ------------------------------ 01 Chippy 16 02 Butch 13 Ossie13 04 TT 11 05 Coombsie 1 ------------------------------ Record = 28 (TT, 2012-13) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2013-14 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 305 Chippy – Galatasaray (h, cl) TT – PSG (h, cl) 02 293 Chippy – Steaua (a, cl) 03 287 Ossie13 – Arsenal (h, epl) TT – Arsenal (h, epl) 04 283 TT – WBA (a, epl) 05 280 Chippy – Man City (h, epl) 06 260 Chippy – Hull City (a, epl) Chippy – Newcastle (h, epl) 07 258 Chippy – Sunderland (a, epl) TT – Fulham (a, epl) 08 256 Butch – Newcastle (a, epl) Butch – West Ham (h, epl) 09 255 Chippy – West Ham (a, epl) TT – Swindon (a, cc) 10 253 Chippy – Hull City (h, epl) Chippy – WBA (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- Record = 330 (Ossie13, 2010-11) Cheers, Butch

[i always enjoy reading his essays. You can always rely on him to lift your spirits. This time, he has a few choice words, well, jabs, for City's manager, as well as for Liverpool:] As the title race heats up, columnist and Chelsea fan Giles Smith comes to the defence of his team in the face of questions over its challenge… 'It would be very disappointing for football, for the fans, for everyone. I think the most attractive football, the most goals you can score, should be rewarded. Big teams must play as big teams.' The words, there, of Manuel Pellegrini, regarding the still highly plausible prospect, with just four games to go, of Chelsea (rather than Manchester City or Liverpool) winning the league. Disappointing for everyone, note - including, presumably, you and me. Well, I guess we'll just have to cope with that disappointment as manfully as we can, if it happens. You and I have coped with worse, I'm sure, than the disappointment of Chelsea winning the league. We'll find a way to deal with the worst of it. Of that I'm certain. But what about Mr Pellegrini? How will he cope with his disappointment? And how will football cope? We're a big team but we don't play like one, is the City manager's argument. And we don't play like one because we don't score enough goals. Now, I don't suppose anyone around here would claim that goals have always come easily to us this season. Except against Arsenal, of course. And Tottenham. And Manchester United. And Sunderland. And Cardiff. And Norwich. And West Ham. And Southampton, twice. And Newcastle. And Fulham. And Stoke. And Steaua Bucharest. And PSG. And Schalke, twice. To name only the games in which we have scored three goals or more. Nevertheless, irrespective of our struggles in front of the posts, it's an odd view of football, isn't it, that Mr Pellegrini is offering here? One that seems to be saying that sheer quantity of goals is what it's all about. One that sets more store by, for example, a one-sided caning of Fulham than a carefully plotted, narrow victory over a fellow title-contender when it really matters. On the subject of which, what about that performance of ours against City at the Etihad earlier this season? Looked like a big team playing like a big team to me. Looked like a big team really stepping up, actually. Same when we beat City again at home. Big as you like. Big as it gets, frankly. But not big enough for Mr Pellegrini's tastes, apparently. And yet those two results are part of the reason City now find themselves third in the league and praying for favours from the humble likes of us - those two results and, of course, the recent defeat by Liverpool. Now, if ever there was time for a big team to play like a big team, it was last Sunday at Anfield. Unfortunately, City didn't quite go big enough. If ever there was another time for a big team to play like a big team, it was when City went to the Emirates a couple of weeks ago, charged with taking three points off an Arsenal side who were, at that point, not so much on the ropes as half hanging out of the ring. Unfortunately, City didn't quite go big enough. If ever there was another time for a big team to play like a big team, it was when City were at home to Wigan in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. Unfortunately, they didn't quite go big enough. If ever there was another time for a big team to play like a big team, it was when City faced Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16. Unfortunately, they didn't quite go big enough. Twice. Playing like a big team last night against Sunderland might have been quite a smart idea, too. But, once more, no. In fact, over and over again this season, when it was time for City to play like a big team, they slightly underestimated the bigness required. I'm not saying they haven't scored lots of goals along the way, of course. But I am saying that they didn't necessarily score them when it really mattered. Which is why the once bold talk of a possible quadruple now seems such a long time ago, and why Mr Pellegrini is now in the position in which he finds himself - needing a little team to do what his big team couldn't: get a result at Anfield, just to keep his title hopes anywhere near alive. (And ours even more so.) Will we oblige? Will we big enough? Well, let's see. And now there are just four games to go. For Liverpool, at any rate. For us, it's a minimum of six, with the magical possibility of a seventh, if the two Champions League semi-finals against Atletico Madrid go the right way. But that's pretty much the story of the season, in a nutshell. Four games for Liverpool, six or seven games for us. Many have spoken about Brendan Rodgers' side as the season's dark horses; the season's lightly raced horses would surely be more accurate. Liverpool went out of the Capital One Cup in the third round and the FA Cup in the fifth. They had failed to qualify for Europe. So, add those four cup matches to their 34 league games and you've got a season which has thus far seen Liverpool in action just 38 times. We passed the 38-game mark more than two months ago, on the 11 February. We're now up to 51 in all competitions - 13 more matches than Liverpool, or just slightly more than a third of a league season. It's April for them, but, if we were playing at Liverpool's rate, we would already be quite deep into next November. It's a method that has worked for that club before, of course. In 2005, you may dimly remember, they successfully took a season off to concentrate on winning the Champions League. This season, varying the theme, they have effectively taken a season off in order to have a stab at winning the Premier League. And why not? 'One thing at a time' has always been good advice. It's not Chelsea's preferred way of going about things, of course - probably because we have a greater respect for the history of the competitions that we're involved in, and throw ourselves into them accordingly. However, that's just a cultural thing. The point is, one day Liverpool may muster the nerve and the ability to compete to the best of their ability across all platforms, as we invariably do. I, for one, look forward to seeing them do so. Original link to this article (you can catch his columns on the official Chelsea site every week.): http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3771635/title/giles-smiths-thursday-thoughts [chortle, chortle, snigger, snigger...] Cheers, Butch

I believe that the more the Liverpool fans swarm out of the woodwork to boast to anyone who will listen that they will clobber us at Anfield to win the league, the more nervous they really are inside about not doing so. Why should they be nervous? Well, for starters, in 9 matches so far home and away against the creme de la creme of the EPL, Chelsea have lost once (away at Everton) and conceded a paltry 4 goals. Any other reason? Well, we have Jose. But so what? Well, Liverpool know that we are not going to go all gung-ho and give them space at Anfield the way City did. They know we are the "enemies of football", who will throttle the life out of them and just be good enough to score that one goal needed to leave them scratching their heads. Yes, we've done it plenty times before to teams that are better than they are now. So, yes, the doubt is there, and it festers, and the more the doubt there is, the greater the need to come on to Chelsea forums and boast that they will, indeed, without the shadow of a doubt, unless the moon turns blue, or purple, or the sea swallows Anfield, etc., clobber Chelsea to win the league. Whatever. They can't even convince themselves. I like what was said in another post on these forums recently: our biggest advantage right now is that we have Jose Mourinho, who was born for these matches. Cheers, Butch

City have got one point from two matches since he said that it would be a shame for Chelsea to win the league. He can't handle the pressure. Cheers, Butch

Joe Cole, showing Ferdinand for the arse he is for a glorious goal, quite possibly Joe's best at Chelsea. Then Carvalho haring up from defense unseen to knock in the third. Cheers, Butch

I don't have much of a problem with Courtois playing, from a footballing perspective. But I am p***'d off that UEFA once again stick their noses in where they shouldn't. This "agreement", whatever it is in its totality, was struck way, way before either side had any inkling they'd be squaring off on the big stage. Rather, UEFA should be worrying about inept officials and implementing silly things like goal line judges when we have the technology available here and now that would take away any and all doubts surrounding awful refereeing "decisions" that UEFA seem to think add spice to football. Idiots. Cheers, Butch

Time to update this: --------------------------------------------------- EPL "Elite" League 2013-2014 --------------------------------------------------- GP GW GD GL Gf Ga TP --------------------------------------------------- 1. Chelsea 09 6 2 1 15 4 20 2. Man City 09 5 1 3 22 13 16 3. Liverpool 09 5 1 3 21 12 16 4. Everton 08 3 2 3 10 12 11 5. Arsenal 10 1 4 5 8 23 7 6. Man Utd 09 1 2 6 3 15 5 --------------------------------------------------- The only 3 matches remaining are: 1. Everton v Man City 2. Everton v Man Utd 3. Liverpool v Chelsea This is why we should be confident, despite having to play away at a rampant Liverpool side. Cheers, Butch

I can hardly believe how things have transpired in the course of about a week. We were going into the second leg against PSG 1-3 down from the first leg, and second in the league behind Liverpool with City third but with two games in hand. We then go on to hammer out an enthralling 2-0 win against PSG to knock them out and progress to the Champions League semifinals, then City lose at Liverpool and now draw at home against Sunderland and now our EPL fate is in our own hands. Win the next 4 matches and the EPL title is ours. Forgetting for a moment that the match at Anfield, or either of the other ones for that matter, is not going to be a walk in the park, I think we have to be absolutely over the moon to be in the situation we find ourselves in, compared to the one we were in only about a week or so ago! Sunderland (h) Liverpool (a) Norwich City (h) Cardiff City (a) This is it. How badly do we want this? Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the hard fought away win in Swansea. CONGRATS this time go to yours truly; thank you very much! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 English Premier League and Champions League Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Chippy 43 7 3 15 2 0 0 5 0 118 8501 198 241 -1 02 Ossie13 39 9 4 15 2 0 0 5 30 178 7244 186 225 +1 03 TT 41 8 3 15 2 0 0 10 15 148 7479 182 223 +0 04 Butch 44 8 4 30 0 0 0 10 50 210 7744 176 220 +2 05 Coombsie 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 599 150 154 na 06 Liam F 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 111 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record (Rt) = 259 (TT, 2012-13) Record (Av) = 212 (Footballoholic, 2010-11) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 Capitol One Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Ossie13 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1250 179 186 na 02 TT 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1209 173 180 na 03 Chippy 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1103 158 165 na 04 Butch 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 845 141 147 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2013-14 ------------------------------ 01 Chippy 16 02 Butch 13 Ossie13 04 TT 10 05 Coombsie 1 ------------------------------ Record = 28 (TT, 2012-13) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2013-14 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 305 Chippy – Galatasaray (h, cl) TT – PSG (h, cl) 02 293 Chippy – Steaua (a, cl) 03 287 Ossie13 – Arsenal (h, epl) TT – Arsenal (h, epl) 04 283 TT – WBA (a, epl) 05 280 Chippy – Man City (h, epl) 06 260 Chippy – Hull City (a, epl) Chippy – Newcastle (h, epl) 07 258 Chippy – Sunderland (a, epl) TT – Fulham (a, epl) 08 256 Butch – Newcastle (a, epl) Butch – West Ham (h, epl) 09 255 Chippy – West Ham (a, epl) TT – Swindon (a, cc) 10 253 Chippy – Hull City (h, epl) Chippy – WBA (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- Record = 330 (Ossie13, 2010-11) Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest ShedEnd Last-11 competition standings after the hard fought 1-0 win away at Swansea courtesy of a Demba Ba goal. CONGRATS this time go to Barn, JoeyN, Zola and yours truly; well done, lads! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- SHEDEND LAST-11 COMPETITION 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------- Name PL W D L Gd Total ----------------------------------------------------------- 01. jack_super_class 07 2 3 2 -7 9 02. JoeyN 07 2 3 2 -8 9 03. Butch 07 1 4 2 -9 7 04. Zola 07 1 4 2 -11 7 05. Scott Harris 07 1 4 2 -12 7 06. Barn 07 1 4 2 -13 7 07. 1905 07 1 4 2 -16 7 08. MANoWAR 07 1 3 3 -9 6 09. AlexTommo 07 1 3 3 -11 6 ButchersHook 07 1 3 3 -11 6 10. AdamCFC 07 1 3 3 -12 6 11. coco 07 1 3 3 -14 6 12. Boyne 07 0 5 2 -12 5 dkw 07 0 5 2 -12 5 ForeverCarefree 07 1 2 4 -12 5 13. Chippy 07 0 5 2 -13 5 DimiturDimitrov 07 1 2 4 -14 5 14. Sharpy 07 0 5 2 -15 5 15. chelseabootboy 07 0 5 2 -17 5 16. Cech Yourself 07 0 4 3 -9 4 17. mad_mac 07 0 4 3 -10 4 18. Ballack & Blu 07 0 4 3 -11 4 charierre 07 0 4 3 -11 4 Jackbuchanan 07 0 4 3 -11 4 PL2 07 0 4 3 -11 4 True Blue23 07 0 4 3 -11 4 19. Veeria 07 0 4 3 -12 4 20. trigger 07 0 4 3 -13 4 21. Uno 07 0 4 3 -15 4 22. mactheknife 07 0 3 4 -10 3 23. axman2526 07 0 3 4 -13 3 24. blueblur 07 0 3 4 -18 3 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Cheers, Butch

Yeah, saw that and it did send shivers up my spine. Yet, I thought it would have been quite awesome, and would have involved some engineering clout to boot, to basically move two of the chimneys so that the four chimneys were actually the four corners of the stadium. Imagine a mostly blue stadium with the four white chimneys lit with spotlights at night. OK, back to reality. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the enthralling 2-0 home win over PSG that overturns the first leg deficit and sends us into the CL semifinals. CONGRATS this time go to TT; well done, mate! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 English Premier League and Champions League Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Chippy 42 10 5 30 0 5 0 15 30 230 8383 200 242 +2 02 Ossie13 38 10 5 30 0 0 5 15 30 230 7066 186 224 +2 03 TT 40 11 7 30 0 0 0 15 80 305 7331 183 223 +4 04 Butch 43 10 6 15 0 0 5 5 15 200 7534 175 218 +1 05 Coombsie 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 599 150 154 na 06 Liam F. 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 111 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record (Rt) = 259 (TT, 2012-13) Record (Av) = 212 (Footballoholic, 2010-11) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 Capitol One Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Ossie13 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1250 179 186 na 02 TT 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1209 173 180 na 03 Chippy 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1103 158 165 na 04 Butch 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 845 141 147 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2013-14 ------------------------------ 01 Chippy 16 02 Ossie13 13 03 Butch 12 04 TT 10 05 Coombsie 1 ------------------------------ Record = 28 (TT, 2012-13) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2013-14 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 305 Chippy – Galatasaray (h, cl) 305 TT – PSG (h, cl) 02 293 Chippy – Steaua (a, cl) 03 287 Ossie13 – Arsenal (h, epl) TT – Arsenal (h, epl) 04 283 TT – WBA (a, epl) 05 280 Chippy – Man City (h, epl) 06 260 Chippy – Hull City (a, epl) Chippy – Newcastle (h, epl) 07 258 Chippy – Sunderland (a, epl) TT – Fulham (a, epl) 08 256 Butch – Newcastle (a, epl) Butch – West Ham (h, epl) 09 255 Chippy – West Ham (a, epl) TT – Swindon (a, cc) 10 253 Chippy – Hull City (h, epl) Chippy – WBA (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- Record = 330 (Ossie13, 2010-11) Cheers, Butch

Don't know about you, but I think this really tells us something: --------------------------------------------------- EPL "Elite" League 2013-2014 --------------------------------------------------- GP GW GD GL Gf Ga TP --------------------------------------------------- 1. Chelsea 09 6 2 1 15 4 20 2. Man City 08 5 1 2 20 10 16 3. Liverpool 08 4 1 3 18 10 13 4. Everton 08 3 2 3 10 12 11 5. Arsenal 10 1 4 5 8 23 7 6. Man Utd 09 1 2 6 3 15 5 --------------------------------------------------- The only 4 matches remaining are: 1. Everton v Man City 2. Liverpool v Man City 3. Everton v Man Utd 4. Liverpool v Chelsea Pretty depressing stuff if you are an Arsenal or United fan, LOL. Cheers, Butch

Eto'o is not fit; he trained alone. Yes, I am as frustrated as the next Chelsea fan with regards Torres, but let's not start "inhibited" with the likes of an injured Eto'o or a fit Schurrle up front. These "gambles" very rarely are fruitful, and they often times backfire. I could just see Eto'o limping off after the first real sprint to try to win a ball, and then that's that, we lose one substitute for nought. Mikel has also not even featured on the bench in recent matches. I also heard he's injured. So that starting berth alongside Luiz is not looking promising. I think our starting line-up will be: 1. Cech 2. Ivanovic 3. Azpilicueta 4. Cahill 5. JT 6. Luiz 7. Lampard 8. Oscar 9. Torres 10. Hazard 11. Willian Schurrle and Eto'o will be among the subs. I foresee us giving it a real go in the first 15-20 minutes, to see if PSG may succumb to nerves on a big night at the Bridge. If things don't go well and we get done on the counter or whatever, we have ample time to remedy things. This is the "risky" game plan that we are pretty much forced into due to that third PSG goal. After about 20 minutes, we will settle and try to keep possession (or Jose may devise a plan to lull PSG into attack so we can hit them on the counter, much like how we played in Paris). This is the "safe" game plan. If Jose had a choice, this is probably how we would start, keeping things tight and putting it on the shoulders of our attacking players to go forward and make things happen, while the rest of our players from the midfield down are organized to defend and win back possession quickly. If we see Sammy at all, it will be in the final 15 minutes of a match that has not yet been settled. If we're needing 2-3 goals that late in the game, there is not much point. I think we have to attack with speed. This is what has been successful for us so far this season, and this is what will most likely work best for us against PSG. The main problem is they also have speed in Lavezzi and Moura. Ivanovic and Azpilicueta will have to be on their toes, and we really cannot make positional errors. I maintain that the 3-1 scoreline is not one to fear. If we get the first goal, the pressure is on PSG because just one more goal, late or otherwise, would knock them out. However, if they get the first goal, it becomes that much harder for us. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the comfortable home win over Stoke City in the EPL. CONGRATS this time go to Chippy; well done, mate! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 English Premier League and Champions League Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Chippy 41 8 4 15 2 5 10 15 50 213 8153 199 240 +1 02 Ossie13 37 8 4 15 2 0 5 15 30 183 6836 185 222 +1 03 TT 39 9 4 15 4 0 0 10 15 166 7026 180 219 +0 04 Butch 42 8 3 15 4 0 5 10 0 136 7334 175 217 +0 05 Coombsie 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 599 150 154 na 06 Liam F. 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 111 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record (Rt) = 259 (TT, 2012-13) Record (Av) = 212 (Footballoholic, 2010-11) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 Capitol One Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Ossie13 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1250 179 186 na 02 TT 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1209 173 180 na 03 Chippy 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1103 158 165 na 04 Butch 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 845 141 147 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2013-14 ------------------------------ 01 Chippy 16 02 Ossie13 13 03 Butch 12 04 TT 9 05 Coombsie 1 ------------------------------ Record = 28 (TT, 2012-13) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2013-14 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 305 Chippy – Galatasaray (h, cl) 02 293 Chippy – Steaua (a, cl) 03 287 Ossie13 – Arsenal (h, epl) TT – Arsenal (h, epl) 04 283 TT – WBA (a, epl) 05 280 Chippy – Man City (h, epl) 06 260 Chippy – Hull City (a, epl) Chippy – Newcastle (h, epl) 07 258 Chippy – Sunderland (a, epl) TT – Fulham (a, epl) 08 256 Butch – Newcastle (a, epl) Butch – West Ham (h, epl) 09 255 Chippy – West Ham (a, epl) TT – Swindon (a, cc) 10 253 Chippy – Hull City (h, epl) Chippy – WBA (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- Record = 330 (Ossie13, 2010-11) Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest ShedEnd Last-11 competition standings after the confident 3-0 home win over Stoke City. Quite a few of you got this result correct, so there was quite a bit of movement in the table. Well done! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- SHEDEND LAST-11 COMPETITION 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------- Name PL W D L Gd Total ----------------------------------------------------------- 01. jack_super_class 06 2 2 2 -6 8 02. JoeyN 06 1 3 2 -8 6 MANoWAR 06 1 3 2 -8 6 03. AdamCFC 06 1 3 2 -11 6 AlexTommo 06 1 3 2 -11 6 Scott Harris 06 1 3 2 -11 6 04. 1905 06 1 3 2 -14 6 05. ButchersHook 06 1 2 3 -10 5 06. ForeverCarefree 06 1 2 3 -12 5 07. coco 06 1 2 3 -13 5 08. Butch 06 0 4 2 -9 4 Cech Yourself 06 0 4 2 -9 4 09. Boyne 06 0 4 2 -10 4 dkw 06 0 4 2 -10 4 Jackbuchanan 06 0 4 2 -10 4 mad_mac 06 0 4 2 -10 4 PL2 06 0 4 2 -10 4 True Blue23 06 0 4 2 -10 4 10. charierre 06 0 4 2 -11 4 Zola 06 0 4 2 -11 4 11. Chippy 06 0 4 2 -12 4 DimiturDimitrov 06 1 1 4 -12 4 Veeria 06 0 4 2 -12 4 12. Barn 06 0 4 2 -13 4 13. Sharpy 06 0 4 2 -14 4 14. chelseabootboy 06 0 4 2 -15 4 15. Ballack & Blu 06 0 3 3 -10 3 mactheknife 06 0 3 3 -10 3 16. trigger 06 0 3 3 -11 3 17. axman2526 06 0 3 3 -13 3 Uno 06 0 3 3 -13 3 18. blueblur 06 0 3 3 -17 3 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Cheers, Butch

It's not the 3-1 scoreline that is the killer. We've come back from similar before. I think the killer is our awful performance, especially in that second half. Add that to the Palace performance and we're simply in a mini-slump. Sure, you could say Jose will have us up for this second leg, but many players are going to have to up their game significantly, and are going to have to start interplaying with one another much better than they have done in the last two matches. Torres was a complete disgrace when he came on. He didn't try, and made all the wrong decisions. It truly felt like playing without a striker at all. Our midfield continues to be another problem area. PSG bossed that part of the pitch from start to finish. In the second half in particular, it was waves and waves of attacks that we couldn't seem to stop. I understand that part of our tactics were likely to let them push up, try to inch the ball and then counter, but I didn't really feel that was working, particularly in the second half, and we weren't able to do anything to change things around. Jose brought Lamps on to try to hit those diagonal balls over the top, but we didn't have anyone in good positions that were able to run those passes down and keep possession. Yes, we kept Zlatan and Cavani relatively quiet, but Lavezzi and Verratti were running rings around us and creating havoc. I want to believe we can turn this around, and I maintain that 3-1 is far from over, but Jose has a herculean effort to get these players back into gear. And I wouldn't put it against PSG to score another, so it is likely we will have to score at least 3 goals. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the very disappointing 1-3 loss in Paris. CONGRATS this time go to yours truly; thank you very much. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 English Premier League and Champions League Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Chippy 40 10 6 0 0 0 0 5 30 195 7940 199 239 +1 02 Ossie13 36 9 5 0 0 5 0 5 15 165 6653 185 221 +1 03 TT 38 9 5 0 0 5 0 5 15 165 6860 181 219 +1 04 Butch 41 10 5 30 0 5 0 15 50 250 7198 176 217 +3 05 Coombsie 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 599 150 154 na 06 Liam F. 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 111 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record (Rt) = 259 (TT, 2012-13) Record (Av) = 212 (Footballoholic, 2010-11) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 Capitol One Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Ossie13 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1250 179 186 na 02 TT 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1209 173 180 na 03 Chippy 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1103 158 165 na 04 Butch 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 845 141 147 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2013-14 ------------------------------ 01 Chippy 15 02 Ossie13 13 03 Butch 12 04 TT 9 05 Coombsie 1 ------------------------------ Record = 28 (TT, 2012-13) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2013-14 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 305 Chippy – Galatasaray (h, cl) 02 293 Chippy – Steaua (a, cl) 03 287 Ossie13 – Arsenal (h, epl) TT – Arsenal (h, epl) 04 283 TT – WBA (a, epl) 05 280 Chippy – Man City (h, epl) 06 260 Chippy – Hull City (a, epl) Chippy – Newcastle (h, epl) 07 258 Chippy – Sunderland (a, epl) TT – Fulham (a, epl) 08 256 Butch – Newcastle (a, epl) Butch – West Ham (h, epl) 09 255 Chippy – West Ham (a, epl) TT – Swindon (a, cc) 10 253 Chippy – Hull City (h, epl) Chippy – WBA (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- Record = 330 (Ossie13, 2010-11) Cheers, Butch

To be honest, not feeling too confident about this one, not so much for anything PSG are doing (except that they have some really good attacking players in Zlatan, Cavani and Lavezzi), but more due to our own lifeless loss to Palace. What a downer of a performance to be going into a Champions League performance on. Really hope we start this game on the front foot, as we have been known to be slow starters. A score loss, provided it is by not more than one goal, would actually be better than a scoreless draw, so we cannot go into this looking to keep it too tight. Away goals are huge. Cheers, Butch

I think FFP will be a big factor. That means that players on big wages and finding themselves on the bench are at big risk. It also means Jose may have to give the younger generation, who we have already invested in, e.g. Lukaku, a fair go, especially if he needs to put all his money in one pot to go chase an accomplished striker. The players at greatest risk of being shown the door, in my honest opinion, are: 1. Ashley Cole - not getting a look in at all. Many have said they feel Luke Shaw will be brought in, but I have to question whether Shaw would want to come and play second fiddle to Azpilicueta (who has not put a foot wrong) or be a certified starter at United, who are also after him. But Cole is one of those players who is on big wages and not playing, and whose prospects are not good as speed is a big part of his game, and that does not improve with age. 2. Demba Ba - when you are not playing in a team with misfiring strikers, you know your time is up. Ba will do well somewhere else, and will be sought after by the likes of Arsenal. 3. Fernando Torres - I think there comes a time when you have to accept that things are just not going to get any better, and thus it is time to minimize your losses. Fernando really needs to think about going to a league that is a little slower in pace and which does not put too much stock in physical toughness. He's not so old that he doesn't have a future ahead of him, but he needs to be smart and move away from the EPL. I don't have Frank Lampard on this list because I feel the club will keep him for as long as he wants to stay (especially with Jose at the helm). The deciding factor will likely be Frank himself, who may not be able to face finding himself on the bench more and more, and may want to try his luck on new stages like the MLS. But I think Jose will convince him to stay at least one more season. I am a little uncertain on Samuel Eto'o. I think he still has something to offer, and we can't simply go and offload all our strikers. Yes, a new starter will be coming in, and Lukaku will likely be given his chance, but we will need a third striker and I think Sammy fits that role for us, provided he continues his return to full fitness and match sharpness following that long vacation in Russia. I don't think a decision has been taken, and I think he and the club will sit down and discuss this at the end of the current situation. The goals he has scored recently against the likes of United and Arsenal should stand him in good stead. I am also a little uncertain on David Luiz. I think we had very, very high hopes for him when we signed him, and he is clearly a cult hero already and a very likable character in the dressing room, but his performances on the pitch have been hot and cold. I think a lot will depend on where Jose sees his role from now until the end of the season. A defensive midfield position, which Jose said he didn't like, alongside Matic may work out, but he will have to prove himself. But his utility role and flexibility is something that tends to benefit the manager, and he may well be kept because of this. I definitely don't have Cech on this list, as I believe he will start next season as our number one. I think it probably will be a case of us loaning Courtois out to Athletico for another one or two seasons as part of an agreement for Diego Costa. I can't believe Jose would sell him to Athletico outright, and I don't think he would be in too much of a hurry to bring him back to challenge Cech for a starting berth. It is a difficult balancing act, but I think in the long term you really need your keeper to feel established and secure. Chopping and changing there is not the way to go. And I firmly believe the striker position is the one where we need emergency treatment. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the disappointing loss at Palace. CONGRATS this time of to Chippy; well done, mate! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 English Premier League and Champions League Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Chippy 39 10 5 0 6 0 0 0 50 194 7745 199 238 +1 02 Ossie13 35 8 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 106 6488 185 220 -2 03 TT 37 9 4 0 6 0 0 0 15 139 6695 181 218 +0 04 Butch 40 9 4 0 4 0 0 0 30 156 6948 174 214 +1 05 Coombsie 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 599 150 154 na 06 Liam F. 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 111 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record (Rt) = 259 (TT, 2012-13) Record (Av) = 212 (Footballoholic, 2010-11) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2013-14 Capitol One Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup Matches The ShedEnd Forums --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Ossie13 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1250 179 186 na 02 TT 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1209 173 180 na 03 Chippy 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1103 158 165 na 04 Butch 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 845 141 147 na --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2013-14 ------------------------------ 01 Chippy 15 02 Ossie13 13 03 Butch 11 04 TT 9 05 Coombsie 1 ------------------------------ Record = 28 (TT, 2012-13) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2013-14 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 305 Chippy – Galatasaray (h, cl) 02 293 Chippy – Steaua (a, cl) 03 287 Ossie13 – Arsenal (h, epl) TT – Arsenal (h, epl) 04 283 TT – WBA (a, epl) 05 280 Chippy – Man City (h, epl) 06 260 Chippy – Hull City (a, epl) Chippy – Newcastle (h, epl) 07 258 Chippy – Sunderland (a, epl) TT – Fulham (a, epl) 08 256 Butch – Newcastle (a, epl) Butch – West Ham (h, epl) 09 255 Chippy – West Ham (a, epl) TT – Swindon (a, cc) 10 253 Chippy – Hull City (h, epl) Chippy – WBA (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- Record = 330 (Ossie13, 2010-11) Cheers, Butch

That Kanu hat trick was heart wrenching. Cheers, Butch

I think it is a combination of things: Let's not beat around the bush. The number one problem, and everyone can see this, is that our striker(s) are either lacking confidence or physical condition, or both. A confident striker that is on form brings so many benefits that are both tangible and not. At the moment, I get this distinct feeling that our creative players take it upon themselves, often to our detriment, to score goals. Also, the movement is just not there. On top of that, I can't remember the last time our striker won the ball that was passed forward to go and "win". Jose knows this all too well, and I think this is the main reason he has said (and maintained despite our league position) that we are not favorites to win anything. I'd be pretty astounded if we could win any silverware this season with misfiring strikers. The quality is just not there. Second, the "one dimensional" aspect could most probably be referring to Hazard. Everyone and their brother knows this is our key man. If he performs, we perform. If he doesn't, which is now looking more and more regular, unfortunately, we don't. I don't know if it is the amount of games or the weight of expectation or the undivided attention of the opposing defenders or the need to do everything himself that gets him into trouble, or maybe it's a little of everything, but he has been off-color since that hat-trick he scored for us. The difficult thing for us is that I'm not sure its as easy as sticking a rocket up his back-side. He is one of the few attacking players that is a threat for us on a semi-regular basis. I think he is not getting much help, especially through the middle. The big problem area that I am seeing in our poor performances is the center of midfield. Matic has been good, but he is tasked with one responsibility, and that is certainly not to attack. And when despite all the attacking talent we have on the pitch, you see him up there trying to thread balls into people, losing possession and then having to hare back and cover while the other side counters, you know we're in a spot of bother. Oscar has been the most disappointing for me. He was supposed to step up after Mata's departure, but he has definitely stepped down, if anything. We need him in there, threading passes, playing interchanges with Hazard and our right winger and striker, and generally just taking the games by the scruffs of the neck. He has not done that. Lampard tries hard, but he has also not been able to do that when he's played. Ramires has never been able to do that. We need that midfield maestro who can control the pace of the game, much like Lampard used to do for us, and to create space and provide astute passes for Hazard (and our striker). When we don't do well, it's because our game tempo is slower than it could be. When we do well, it is because we attack at pace, and get people in behind the defense. And when we do well, it's because we have good movement, and therefore people to pass the ball to. But against Palace, for example, the movement is just not there, and people are just standing behind defenders, making it difficult for the person with the ball to be able to find avenues to pass, leading to lost possession because they are trying something to intricate, or because they decide that taking a shot from 30-40 yards away is the better option. Cheers, Butch