The Chamionship beckons, lads. Batten down the hatches!

hello there, 800 guest 

teams sit back work like they are playing for their lives and hit us on the break, couple this with the fact we are flat as a pancake, low on confidence and playing sh*te, makes us not that difficult a proposition

I am going to have to add Pedro to that list of players who need to be dropped.  Of course, a 50-50 decision re: offsides goes against us, but in any event it should never have come to that.

hello there, 800 guest

Pretty sad aren't they.

Why set up at home v Bournemouth as if we are playing away at Spuds. I give up this is nuts; seriously fearing for Jose as Rom may well give it the old thumbs down. Personally I back Jose; the players are the problem. I take it back to the Bradford City FA Cup game last season. We stopped believing in ourselves pretty much after that.

when do we start seriously thinking about ending up in the championship? 

 

I've never wanted Jose sacked, but enough is enough, we may even go down at this point.

Sorry I don't give a crap what anyone says, if a team of players as good as we have play this bad so often the only excuse is the manager. I've never seen such a strong team on paper play so crap so regularly. We're dire and on par with a Chelsea team from 25 years ago full of nobody players, not the International household names we have now.

 

Only explanation is the manager, his tactics, his motivation and the respect the team has for him. It's all a mess and quite frankly it's not working and nothing is changing. Only option is change the person motivating and picking the team. You can't stay in a job based on your past and especially so when you're managing a top flight football team where expectations are so high.

Embarrassing...just embarrassing

It is more embarassing the ones who refuse to blame Jose for anything. The guests are probably mainly Gooners, with their unhealthy obsession towards us.  

I am going to be laughed out of the room, but here it is. They had a third of a chance in the second half, and scored a scrappy goal. Other than that we were on top of them after the break. This, as far as I can, is not the same team that imploded at home against Liverpool and the Saints. 

 

Meanwhile, yes, top four is a pipe dream, was before this game to be honest. We can tell ourselves what the team SHOULD do because of the players, last season etc, but we need to realise the situation we're in. A fight to keep the bottom three at bay. It is no coincidence, I think, that Stoke are now on a run ... that run started by them beating us, Bournemouth could arguably do the same now. It is what it is ... nothing more joyful to beat the Champions, and I can assure you that the country ex-CFC fans will be corking up the good bottle of red, celebrating another JM loss. Are you angry yet? Well, it will get worse. The Schadenfreude will see no end; another loss to JM is a huge relief of pressure for everyone else ... Suck it up, deal with it, support the team, and I am certain they will find a way out.  

 

This will be a long season chaps ... more disappointments ahead. But sure, lets fire JM, the players etc. Let's throw the baby out with the bathwater like we always do in difficult positions.  

 

The problems today were clear enough, although it didn't cost us the goal. Our midfield is too vulnerable and were overrun several times in the first half. Defensively, though, I thought we looked solid enough (again I think the midfield is the problem). The goal was desperately unlucky, although Thibault did seem out of position.  

Yet some people will still want Mourinho to carry on, nothing is going to change.

I like him to carry on, because noone will change anything this season anymore. 

People love to call out Jose for every loss, not playing Costa was a mistake but in a full half he didn't make a difference, still the movement wasn't there and still when a dangerous ball arrived in the box we had one player loitering nowhere near the six yard box.

Jose was right to leave him out and its Costas job to make himself undroppable, he hardly did that in the 49 minutes he got.

Bournemouth played well but there is something wrong that gos deeper than a few players getting dropped here and there and their responce or lack of to it, we have too many that play the same style and we are carrying a luxury player that is only of any benifit when the team is flying...while they're struggling, for me Fabregas shouldn't get a look in.

Agreed, people all want Costa dropped then when he's dropped why isn't he played.

We created chances, much more then bormouth and have a clear pen turned down. Then conceaded an off side goal

People love to call out Jose for every loss, not playing Costa was a mistake but in a full half he didn't make a difference, still the movement wasn't there and still when a dangerous ball arrived in the box we had one player loitering nowhere near the six yard box.

Jose was right to leave him out and its Costas job to make himself undroppable, he hardly did that in the 49 minutes he got.

Bournemouth played well but there is something wrong that gos deeper than a few players getting dropped here and there and their responce or lack of to it, we have too many that play the same style and we are carrying a luxury player that is only of any benifit when the team is flying...while they're struggling, for me Fabregas shouldn't get a look in.

Funny Costa got dropped only after the bickering with Jose in the Maccabi game but hey just my opinion...

Well at least it means we can't moan at the young fans for never experiencing a relegation fight anymore I suppose.....

:)

I think anyone that's currently sitting on their high horse, with any good grace, will apologise to 'splishsosh' for changing topic and any ill comments towards him.

He was slated for feeling negative about this game and was indeed correct to do so.

We are an absolute shambles right now.

wasn't expecting that.. I think joses just about done.....will we live to regret not getting klopp....

As sh*t as we were, it's just typical of our season they get a lucky break of the ball from a corner, after our several always just bounced clear/to a Bournemouth shirt...and then score from an offside goal...poor punch from Courtois though

I think anyone that's currently sitting on their high horse, with any good grace, will apologise to 'splishsosh' for changing topic and any ill comments towards him.

He was slated for feeling negative about this game and was indeed correct to do so.

 

No.

Jose maybe to blame . But with Pedro hazard William fabregas matic and so on on paper u would expect us to thrash them

No.

You don't have to. It's a manly thing to do.

Good news is Swansea also lost at home.

Just don't understand how a team containing the likes of Hazard, Pedro, Fabregas, can't create any proper chances. It has to be down to the tactics. 

 

Obviously the players have to take some of the blame but i think i agree with you, the tactics are basically sh*t.

 

Mourinho swaps the players around a lot, but he doesn't actually change the style. These tactics don't work in the long run, you can't keep asking your attacking players to do both tracking back and attacking, constantly, for 90+ minutes in every single game, every single season. We were running out of steam towards the end of last season, clearly the players don't have it in them to do it again this season.

 

With a larger squad, with bigger built players, this may be able to work. But this squad isn't huge in numbers or body build so they simply can't keep playing this style.

 

Mourinho is just not giving up on it though, he think's it's always one or 2 players that are letting the entire team down. I think it's clear to see now that it's not that. The players are trying, they just can't grasp the tactics anymore.

I know we've had our fair share of luck over the seasons, but this season is just getting more and more bizarre.

Frustrating to listen to the commentators gush over yet another team of 'proud warriors' who nick a result at the Bridge, but we keep giving teams the opportunity.

Individually, we've a team of top class players. As a team, we just look totally out of sorts. I supported the idea of trying Hazard, Oscar, Pedro and Willian in the same side, and I applaud Jose for trying to fit our best attackers in the same lineup, but it doesn't look like a system that's going to work in our league.

We need the physicality back. You could make a cracking youtube montage of our attacking flicks and shimmys in any of our games this season, but there's no end product. Our best years have come from bulldozing through games like this. We've a better technical side than we've ever had, but we desperately need some steel.

It's not the end of the world if we finish outside the top four (in my opinion), and it's pretty likely now. But steps need to be being taken to assess options for January and next Summer. Players like Traore and Loftus Cheek, who have that physical presence, need to be given minutes. And of our luxury players, at least one is a passenger for 89 out of 90 minutes. For me, playing with an alternative to Cesc has to be a priority.

And on another note, disappointed by the crowd today. An unnecessary boo for Ivanovic when he took a long ranger, he'll take it on the chin I'm sure but he was one of the few good performers that looked up for the game. And an even more uneccessary moan at Traore for his (admittedly poor) corner. Get behind the players. Especially the youngsters who could use the backing.