talkofthetownsend

that's a matter of opinion and presupposes that every single player we have is a world beater. and there is a difference between "no use" and "not quite good enough". that's not really true. either part of it. for example: right now. other than ramires our midfield options are definitely "less than the best" and mikel is not starting particularly often.

since jose left only one manager has been here more than a year. no manager has had a chance to evaluate the squad and make real changes, they've all had to go with what they've been given to a certain extent. almost every year we have had a new manager come in and "give a chance" to the players we have rather than cull the dead wood. the one manager who was here more than a year, carlo, saw 4 other midfield options depart on frees at the end of his first season; and i don't believe he had a great say over transfers anyway as there is no way a top class manager would choose to go into a season with the flimsy squad we had that year. you are well within your rights to think mikel is a good player, but i don't think longevity alone is proof of that, or proof of anything beyond the specific circumstances that led to it.

i have been informed by fans of his that his role isn't winning the ball, or creating but instead "cycling possession in deep midfield". tbf he's good at that. he gets it, he gives it short and simple. but i have always thought of that as an "and". like pirlo or alonso are creative but also cycle the ball when possession needs to be kept. maka used to win the ball and cycle possession in deep midfield. their main skill is the roast dinner and the other stuff is the gravy. mikel is an empty plate covered in gravy. there's just no substance to his game. it is a shame he didn't work out better given what we went through to get him.

ok. so he saw, obviously before the game, that the rb was a bit tasty; so he moved hazard to the right and played our hardest working wide-man on that side...schurrle chasing the fullback up and down. the fb was "causing us problems' but he was constantly under pressure and got to do nothing of note. at 2-0 he took off schurrle and put our hardest working attacking mid on him...oscar. 10 minutes to go, absolutely shutting up shop, he took off oscar and put ramires on him, our hardest working player full stop. he did 3 things in one game to stop a rb, incrementally shutting down the game when we no longer needed the attacking outlet. most of our managers would have done none. ancelotti would have played his normal team and if their rb was getting joy he would have raised an eyebrow. avb was pretty proactive and his version of that was bringing on kalou (the 1-1 draw against valencia...that worked). rdm would have played a fullback on the wing and we would have had no attacking impetus down that side all game. jose not only puts out fires but also sets us up to do well in an attacking sense. if you can't see how much better he is tactically than those who have managed us in the interim then that is on you.

one good pass, otherwise completely anonymous. tbf we defended deep and tracked hard, left no space in behind or between the lines...most of the game he was fairly isolated. i wouldn't even say ivanovic did well against him (altho he played well), they just couldn't get him the ball in an area where he could do any damage.

this match made me realise exactly why it is so great to have him back. so many managers let things happen, jose makes things happen. if we need to chase a game; jose sets us up in a way that lets us do that (going 3 at the back, playing 2 strikers, taking off players who are doing badly for a different option...whatever he thinks needs to happen, he does it). if we are ahead in a game; jose puts out fires. we were ahead today and he saw that the rb was causing us problems...so he brought on luiz and sent ramires out there to track him. he drops players playing badly, he plays players in form, he isn't blinded by reputations and he isn't scared of sending messages to players who don't meet his standards no matter who they are; he is everything we have missed since he left. no pointless like for like changes. no letting games drift away. no persevering with players cos they are supportive of him in the dressing room. honestly love him. he is the best manager in world football.

we didn't "sack him". he breached his contract. & he has clearly earned more than we were awarded in the time since...

it's more like if your job spent £20m on you then they'd be pretty pissed off if you screwed them over and left them with nothing to show for it and they would seek financial renumeration if that happened...especially if you actually benefited financially to a tune of at least equal to what they lost.

do you have any versions of that story where the sole source isn't a blogger?

we tried to sign ozil on deadline day? i hadn't heard this...where has it come from?

the claim was made in an official statement from the club.

schurrle would be much better bet at leftback imo...he kinda played there for a bit in our last game too. i could see him being quite lahm-ish in that role...although i'd rather have a real leftback than a converted one, schurrle is the most likely to be converted (although i doubt any will tbh). i don't really like seeing oscar starting in wide areas at all anyway. he's a great no.10 and he could be a great cm in time, but he's not at all effective on the wings.

aside from the goal, i was really impressed with his workrate. it was only a late cameo, but he was funnelling back and helping the fullback when needed, tucking in and bolstering the central midfield when needed. that pleased me as much as the goal tbh.

arbeloa did almost the exact same thing to messi...consequences? none. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOHLQh4c3dA

he is a professional athlete and he eased off at the end of a sprint...his momentum carries him forward and a sharp turn for no reason carries a risk of injury... ever watch a race at the olympics? do any runners stop dead as the cross the finish line or do they ease off and slow down, ending up well past the finish line? no athlete stops dead at the end of a sprint or does a sharp turn for no reason.

dean was jogging over to give the yellow before any "altercation" occurred. it is clear as day even on the video you posted...it was amazingly clear on motd which i just watched...dean was jogging over as soon as he blew the whistle. (edit. re: how much time passed between the "foul" and the "altercation"...watch that video again...the commentators are saying "vertonghen just seemed to slip there...i think he thought torres caught him" because the "trip" had literally just happened as the video starts...there is no time for torres to be anywhere but where he ended up) you don't know what you are talking about. by the time the replay of the trip is ended (0.22) torres is already level with vertonghen and still slowing down. his momentum took him past vertonghen at which point vertonghen got up and got in his face. (dean was already on his way over at this point too) is that video the only time you've seen the incident? or do you have a problem of some kind?

yeah...watch the first second of that video you posted...what is mike dean doing as the altercation starts? he's already jogging over. ffs.

he was already jogging over...and bluehatter is completely right btw...good spot...torres asks "what for?" and dean mimes a trip.

Torres was first booked for clipping Vertonghen's heels in the 51st minute http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/fernando-torres-scratches-jan-vertonghen-face-gets-sent-144712661--sow.html the Chelsea player was punished for a foul on his Spurs counterpart http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24317761 Torres, who was booked earlier in the game for a needless trip on Jan Vertonghen http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/9222762/Terry-salvages-draw-for-Chelsea-at-Tottenham The Spaniard's initial booking also was questionable, with Dean handing the striker a yellow for a claimed trip, though again there was little in the incident. http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/dean-shocker-chelsea-striker-torres-sees-red-spurs-3982672#.UkdWWWTWzRY

& like i said...it was for the "trip". everyone seems pretty unanimous about that...except you. you restated it doesn't make you right.

according to that vertonghen was also booked for unsporting behaviour...and that was for a foul. no cookie.

got a link for this btw?

halsey says it's for the foul. edit. and my god...that is an outrageous dive.

not today.

you're saying torres got booked for "the scratch"?