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Getting over the line


Davey Baby

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Yesterday I watched two football games, Liverpool vs City and the LC final, and it was a tale of four managers.

 

Rodgers is a damn fine manager I'm afraid to say. He nearly pulled off a miracle last season and this season it could have gone horribly wrong yet he has turned it around, practically without a striker, and for me they are nailed-on to finish top four. They are a bloody good side and we did well to beat them over two legs. That's where Jose has the edge over so many of his rivals. He knows how to get over the line.

 

What Rodgers has done with Sterling and Coutinho is impressive, not to mention Suarez and Sturridge beforehand. They play good football.

 

Tottenham had two big games in the space of four days. The EL tie in Italy was massive, because that competition represented their best chance of qualifying for the CL, and of course Sunday was massive for them too. Jose would have found a way of negotiating those games because that's what he does, he gets through difficult periods, he finds a way, even if he has to adapt tactics or change strategy, he finds a way. Not saying he wins every game, he doesn't, but we have had a very difficult period, without key players, against good sides, big games, thick and fast, and we have found a way. Tottenham lost both games, when it came to crunch-time their manager was found wanting. That's the difference. Getting over the line.

 

Pelligrini? He has got over the line, last season, City won the LC and the PL, and he has been given scant credit for it IMO, almost as if he won them by default. He's a good manager but City have got problems. I watched their game yesterday and something is wrong with that lot. There was no fight, no spirit. They didn't look like a team fighting for the title, as if their lives depended on it. They didn't look like they were fighting for the manager, who must be under pressure. They went behind in the second-half and if that had been us we wouldn't have accepted defeat, we would have come at Liverpool, put them under pressure, fought like dogs, maybe got ourselves into trouble, because a Jose team does not accept defeat graciously. There was none of that from City, they surrendered. I'm not saying they can't catch us, they can, obviously, they have the quality and the experience, but they're not a happy camp, you can tell.

 

One thing about this Chelsea side, everyone is pulling in the same direction, his man-management is excellent, and of course, as we found yesterday, he finds a way. No Matic no problem. 433 with Zouma in midfield.

 

He finds a way, and that's what makes him a cut above the rest IMO.

 

There are no guarantees in football, we could lose on Wednesday we could lose to PSG and we could be pipped by City to the title, but the situation we're in, I'm more confident with this guy in charge than I would be with anybody else.

 

He takes risks, he's bold and brave, as we saw with his Sky interview on Sunday. Noel Gallagher was on MOTD2 that night saying he was cracking under the pressure. On the contrary, he was taking the pressure off the players, placing it firmly on his shoulders instead. His boldness and bravery transmits itself to his players. He's saying, "I'm not scared, are you? I don't care what they say about me, do you? I'm not scared to put myself under pressure, are you?".

 

That rubs off on his players.

 

Playing good football is all very well, we all like it, but sport is about winning, and getting over the line is the hardest thing.

 

That's when a manager comes into his own, IMO.

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Pretty much agree with that word for word Davey.

 

Regarding Man City, I've never thought of them as a particularly tight-knit bunch. Not saying they are all mercenaries but they clearly don't have the same unity/team spirit that we do. That said, it's important that they don't string too many wins together in a row because once they get on a roll they certainly know how to maintain the momentum.

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Along with the ability, the sheer determination most of the players in this squad is awe-inspring. Azpi, Iva. Terry, Cahill, Matic, Costa, Willian, Ramires, Oscar, even Hazard and Fabregas. There is so much character and desire to win, the belief that they are meant to win - none of the other teams have anything close to it.

(How much of that spirit will be lost BTW, when Terry and Drogba hang up their boots. Obviously, Jose is a huge reason for that, too.)

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Along with the ability, the sheer determination most of the players in this squad is awe-inspring. Azpi, Iva. Terry, Cahill, Matic, Costa, Willian, Ramires, Oscar, even Hazard and Fabregas. There is so much character and desire to win, the belief that they are meant to win - none of the other teams have anything close to it.

(How much of that spirit will be lost BTW, when Terry and Drogba hang up their boots. Obviously, Jose is a huge reason for that, too.)

Hopefully by the time Terry hangs up his boots there will be new characters with that spirit like Costa, Dave, Zouma and so on.

I expect Terry and Drogba to still be involved in Chelsea after they hang up their boots in any case so that ‘spirit’ will always be around.

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I strongly believe that Man City as a team have a huge reliance on Yaya Toure, some city fans may disagree but he is the Engine of that team. He is the one who combines there defence and attack, everything goes through him. People can argue that Kompany and Aguero are equally important but Yaya Toure is the heart of their team.


 


He has struggled to get going this season in the premier league and this has shown in the teams performance, when he has a good game City win more often than not but when he struggles the team struggles as a whole.


 


We have more similarities with Liverpool in the sense that we are high energy teams and our strength is pressing high but we are more flexible in our approach with a stronger defence.


 


Jose Mourinho has made a huge difference because prior to his arrival we were even struggling to make the Champions league places and I strongly believe if we exited the champions league at an earlier stage last season we could have won the league. He brings a winning mentality which is often instilled in all his teams


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Yesterday I watched two football games, Liverpool vs City and the LC final, and it was a tale of four managers.

 

Rodgers is a damn fine manager I'm afraid to say. He nearly pulled off a miracle last season and this season it could have gone horribly wrong yet he has turned it around, practically without a striker, and for me they are nailed-on to finish top four. They are a bloody good side and we did well to beat them over two legs. That's where Jose has the edge over so many of his rivals. He knows how to get over the line.

 

What Rodgers has done with Sterling and Coutinho is impressive, not to mention Suarez and Sturridge beforehand. They play good football.

 

Tottenham had two big games in the space of four days. The EL tie in Italy was massive, because that competition represented their best chance of qualifying for the CL, and of course Sunday was massive for them too. Jose would have found a way of negotiating those games because that's what he does, he gets through difficult periods, he finds a way, even if he has to adapt tactics or change strategy, he finds a way. Not saying he wins every game, he doesn't, but we have had a very difficult period, without key players, against good sides, big games, thick and fast, and we have found a way. Tottenham lost both games, when it came to crunch-time their manager was found wanting. That's the difference. Getting over the line.

 

Pelligrini? He has got over the line, last season, City won the LC and the PL, and he has been given scant credit for it IMO, almost as if he won them by default. He's a good manager but City have got problems. I watched their game yesterday and something is wrong with that lot. There was no fight, no spirit. They didn't look like a team fighting for the title, as if their lives depended on it. They didn't look like they were fighting for the manager, who must be under pressure. They went behind in the second-half and if that had been us we wouldn't have accepted defeat, we would have come at Liverpool, put them under pressure, fought like dogs, maybe got ourselves into trouble, because a Jose team does not accept defeat graciously. There was none of that from City, they surrendered. I'm not saying they can't catch us, they can, obviously, they have the quality and the experience, but they're not a happy camp, you can tell.

 

One thing about this Chelsea side, everyone is pulling in the same direction, his man-management is excellent, and of course, as we found yesterday, he finds a way. No Matic no problem. 433 with Zouma in midfield.

 

He finds a way, and that's what makes him a cut above the rest IMO.

 

There are no guarantees in football, we could lose on Wednesday we could lose to PSG and we could be pipped by City to the title, but the situation we're in, I'm more confident with this guy in charge than I would be with anybody else.

 

He takes risks, he's bold and brave, as we saw with his Sky interview on Sunday. Noel Gallagher was on MOTD2 that night saying he was cracking under the pressure. On the contrary, he was taking the pressure off the players, placing it firmly on his shoulders instead. His boldness and bravery transmits itself to his players. He's saying, "I'm not scared, are you? I don't care what they say about me, do you? I'm not scared to put myself under pressure, are you?".

 

That rubs off on his players.

 

Playing good football is all very well, we all like it, but sport is about winning, and getting over the line is the hardest thing.

 

That's when a manager comes into his own, IMO.

 

Good post Davey - about time you posted something worth reading.

 

That bit I highlighted though is the one bit I disagree on. I don't think Jose does take risks. He is pro-active in changing things during a game sure, but Mourinho's way is all about NOT taking risks and playing with caution. If he took risks, Ake would have played a part on Sunday.

 

So it's an 9/10 from me.

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That bit I highlighted though is the one bit I disagree on. I don't think Jose does take risks. He is pro-active in changing things during a game sure, but Mourinho's way is all about NOT taking risks and playing with caution. If he took risks, Ake would have played a part on Sunday.

You're going to have to get over Ake Nibs, we won !

I agree that Jose is the arch pragmatist and we are no longer playing silky football but I still think he's a very brave manager, in the way he deals with the media for example and also the size of our squad. Take away the goalkeepers and we have only 17 established outfield players, including only 6 defenders.

We can complain about the lack of opportunities for youths but we've been lucky with injuries so far otherwise they'd have played, and let's not forget Zouma is a kid himself.

I'm giving myself a 10.

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