15 hours ago, jamie#8 said:

Who says we didnt have to win? So we played for a draw? Im not happy with that. A win would of all but wrapped it up. Its far from that now.

Im not comparing us to liverpool, or saying they played well. Im talking about us. We didnt create many (if any) real chances. And in possession we were useless. Bigger and better teams in europe would have beaten us tonight, which is where we are looking long term. 

And if we went all out to win and got beat which by leaving the title race semi over again it would have been the most naivest bit of management by a Chelsea manager since AVB decided to turn an easy win into a 3-5 defeat against Arsenal.

I don't believe we played for a draw; in the first half we sat back to absorb a bit of pressure because everyone knows you cannot maintain a high press for the full 90 and we finished stronger, in the last 20 we were by far the stronger & the more dominant side and in all likelihood should have come away with all 3 points taking into account the Penalty miss.

Kante had a very good game, but he can't control the midfield all by himself and unfortunately the other three weren't quite up to it. For some of them I am not even sure if it's just bad form or a matter of not being good enough for this kind of game. It's not the first time our midfield got overwhelmed by a top 6 side.

Other than that, I thought Courtois was very good, Luiz obviously had a good game, and the other defenders were solid, too.

On the other hand, Hazard was quiet, so was Willian and Costa gets a 3/10 from me. As a striker you either bury that penalty and win it or you had a bad game, simple as.

I expected more, I have to admit that, but ironically even the draw was enough to extend the lead. As long as we do not have to worry about playing the likes of Munich, Barcelona or Real this first evelen is just about good enough. That's, however, mainly because our competition can't get their act together against small teams - we should never forget that! Nor should we rely on them keeping it that way.

Let's win the league and then we'll see how we can improve the team.

 

1 hour ago, Floyd25 said:

It was a pen, you'd have to be blind to think there wasn't contact, he clearly gets clipped, I have no idea what people think they've seen.

obviously those folks on SCOUSE SPORTS NEWS thought it was a dive. even though the replays showed there was contact. i cud care less what the media want. i wud rather be hated and end up champions or be loved like liverpool and never win the Pemiership

2 hours ago, rtwelch said:

It's really not rocket science where we need to upgrade the team. Against the big teams the same players are standing out like a sore thumb. Alonso, Moses & Matic.

I thought we were really poor last night despite the pundits saying we were brilliant. Yes we defended well but to give the ball away so cheaply was painful to watch. Reminded me of the Barca CL games where we looked scared of the ball. 

Can't understand why Conte doesn't play 3-5-2 against the top 6. Is he that scared of leaving an extra defender free to bring up the ball? Am I missing something? 

Conte is clearly an excellent tactician but I feel like when Cesc comes on we keep the ball and look a lot more composed. 

Pleased we're 9 points clear at the end of the day but hope we sort this at the end of the season. Might seem pessimistic but just know we can do better.

Agreed completely. Very obvious who the weak links are in this side. But that said, they've all played well to this point and they are good enough to see us home this season. Being such an intelligent manager, Conte will have identified our weaknesses and potential for improvement a long time ago and I'm sure we'll be making some moves in the Summer. But that is a discussion for another time.

Overall I'm quite happy with last night's point in light of the other results. Sure, we could have won it but I'd have taken a draw beforehand anyway regardless. 9 points is a strong lead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well nothing good is built up overnight.  On another day the pen would have been buried, it wasn't but other results increased the lead at top by 9 points. 

Watching live yesterday it appeared  the dippers had the better match but Chelsea had a few moments, not many teams (apparently only lower league) will get much from Liverpool WHEN they show up like that. But they're 10 points in the rear view mirror now.

To date Contes team is improving if you trend from the start of the season and lbh nine points is a great cushion with 15 games left. If both Manc teams win today they won't even get top 4. 

A point at crapfield was a good result. Top of the league. After the weekend a promising few fixtures to hopefully go on a streak.

 

just found this video on twitter & I wanted to share

 

Do player ratings go here? Are they allowed anymore? I thought the oppo played pretty well and will take that point all day long.

Courtois - 6 - A few post cranial-cap-Cech-like flaps and generally poor Cech-like distribution for Petr Cech in disguise Courtois. If you have to be anyone in disguise he's a good choice though.

Alonso - 6 - 6 out of 10 for Marcos "6 out of 10" Alonso as I call him. As my fans will have noted, and they are few, in his 18 appearances for us this season, except one, I have rated him 6 out of 10. We can ignore the one, when he scored a couple of fluky goals, as a statistical outlier, giving him an average of 17 x 6 = 102 divided by 6 = 6, hence 6 out of 10. Limited journeyman pro which perhaps every team needs to make the other players look better.

Luiz - 8 - Undoubtedly Conte's greatest achievement is turning this clown of a footballer into a defender. I still have no idea how this has happened but pundits appear to think that playing in a back three suits his impetuosity and complete lack of awareness and defender's instinct. When he got injured last night, instead of celebrating as I would have of old, I was fearing lest he be taken off and old cry baby would come on in  his place. Has hardly put a foot wrong all season and would also appear to be one the leaders of the team. Walking off the pitch I lipread him say "Who let that Chinese lover take the pen?"

Cahill - 7 - I've always liked a centre half as we used to say in old English and Cahilll fits that bill. It helps that he has an Irish name even if you lot can't pronounce it. He doesn't seem to be as popular around these parts as I think he should be. I prefer him to Zouma who always looks as if he is making it up as he goes along.

Azpilicueta - 6 - Like an upper middle class Marcos Alonso.

Moses - 7 - Looked up for the challenge unlike some who seemed nervous, at least he showed well for the ball. Conte's second best achievement is getting a level of consistency from Moses that looked beyond him. I presume by the end of this week he'll have shown him how to defend the back post.

Kante - 10 - Yes, 10. I know he gave the ball away, maybe 3 times, but he won it back again almost straight away. I have never seen his like before - he is almost certainly on drugs. The reason Leicester won the league last year and the main reason we have 30 more points this season than last. Some midfielders can go a season and not make 14 clean tackles, in fact tackles are fading from the modern game. Astonishingly good performance from him all season.

Hazard - 6 - Not a great night, but on the extremely odd occasion that someone put their foot on the ball and actually got it to him, the delivery was so slow, there was not much he could do. The oppo had done their homework well and they defended well again. That can happen and will happen again. But we have an absolute gem of footballer on our team for which I am eternally grateful.

Matic - 4 - Lumpen, graceless, stilted, and then there was the bad stuff. I presume it was nerves.

Willian - 5 - He's usually pretty effective with his back to the play but not last night. Just an off-night. I presume it was nerves.

Costa - 6 - Oooh those granite features send shivers down my spine. Spit on me Diego as we say in Wicklow. I'll forgive him for forgetting that he's a "foot through the ball" type player and even for messing about to get more money, he's a once in a generation player. The best type of footballer to have on your team - one that all opposition fans hate and that you'd hate yourself if he played for anyone else. I love those types more than any other. 

Fabregas - 8 - Is there any way we can get this guy on the pitch from the start? Please? It's just so much more fun watching us when he's around.

Conte - Looks like he knows his chips. I'd prefer to see him go bald gracefully but you can't have everything. It seems as if the absence of a discernable personality helps him get his message across. When we are on it, and that it most of time, I have never seen such a well-drilled, seemless unit of a football team. Is there anyone out there who would attribute any of our current success to Jose's steam? I hope not. 

 

 

25 minutes ago, Liam said:

I'd prefer to see him go bald gracefully but you can't have everything

f**k off.

you're like one of those awful hollywood remoaner luvvies, prattling on about stuff that will never be of consequence to you.

when those EU subsidies on brylcreem get rescinded we'll revisit this pal.

1 hour ago, Liam said:

Do player ratings go here? Are they allowed anymore? I thought the oppo played pretty well and will take that point all day long.

Courtois - 6 - A few post cranial-cap-Cech-like flaps and generally poor Cech-like distribution for Petr Cech in disguise Courtois. If you have to be anyone in disguise he's a good choice though.

Alonso - 6 - 6 out of 10 for Marcos "6 out of 10" Alonso as I call him. As my fans will have noted, and they are few, in his 18 appearances for us this season, except one, I have rated him 6 out of 10. We can ignore the one, when he scored a couple of fluky goals, as a statistical outlier, giving him an average of 17 x 6 = 102 divided by 6 = 6, hence 6 out of 10. Limited journeyman pro which perhaps every team needs to make the other players look better.

Luiz - 8 - Undoubtedly Conte's greatest achievement is turning this clown of a footballer into a defender. I still have no idea how this has happened but pundits appear to think that playing in a back three suits his impetuosity and complete lack of awareness and defender's instinct. When he got injured last night, instead of celebrating as I would have of old, I was fearing lest he be taken off and old cry baby would come on in  his place. Has hardly put a foot wrong all season and would also appear to be one the leaders of the team. Walking off the pitch I lipread him say "Who let that Chinese lover take the pen?"

Cahill - 7 - I've always liked a centre half as we used to say in old English and Cahilll fits that bill. It helps that he has an Irish name even if you lot can't pronounce it. He doesn't seem to be as popular around these parts as I think he should be. I prefer him to Zouma who always looks as if he is making it up as he goes along.

Azpilicueta - 6 - Like an upper middle class Marcos Alonso.

Moses - 7 - Looked up for the challenge unlike some who seemed nervous, at least he showed well for the ball. Conte's second best achievement is getting a level of consistency from Moses that looked beyond him. I presume by the end of this week he'll have shown him how to defend the back post.

Kante - 10 - Yes, 10. I know he gave the ball away, maybe 3 times, but he won it back again almost straight away. I have never seen his like before - he is almost certainly on drugs. The reason Leicester won the league last year and the main reason we have 30 more points this season than last. Some midfielders can go a season and not make 14 clean tackles, in fact tackles are fading from the modern game. Astonishingly good performance from him all season.

Hazard - 6 - Not a great night, but on the extremely odd occasion that someone put their foot on the ball and actually got it to him, the delivery was so slow, there was not much he could do. The oppo had done their homework well and they defended well again. That can happen and will happen again. But we have an absolute gem of footballer on our team for which I am eternally grateful.

Matic - 4 - Lumpen, graceless, stilted, and then there was the bad stuff. I presume it was nerves.

Willian - 5 - He's usually pretty effective with his back to the play but not last night. Just an off-night. I presume it was nerves.

Costa - 6 - Oooh those granite features send shivers down my spine. Spit on me Diego as we say in Wicklow. I'll forgive him for forgetting that he's a "foot through the ball" type player and even for messing about to get more money, he's a once in a generation player. The best type of footballer to have on your team - one that all opposition fans hate and that you'd hate yourself if he played for anyone else. I love those types more than any other. 

Fabregas - 8 - Is there any way we can get this guy on the pitch from the start? Please? It's just so much more fun watching us when he's around.

Conte - Looks like he knows his chips. I'd prefer to see him go bald gracefully but you can't have everything. It seems as if the absence of a discernable personality helps him get his message across. When we are on it, and that it most of time, I have never seen such a well-drilled, seemless unit of a football team. Is there anyone out there who would attribute any of our current success to Jose's steam? I hope not. 

 

 

Hmm, sorry but I can't agree with this at all. 

Kante was our best player, yes, but it was not a 10/10. There were several poor first touches that cost us good opportunities and a few badly misplaced passes in the beginning of the game. I'd give him an 8.

Giving Costa and Courtois the same mark seems rather bold, given that one cost us the victory and the other one saved us the draw. Mind that with strikers and goalies it's the key moments that make up a good or a bad performance. Giving them a 6 essentially means they weren't involved in anything important, which I think is not accurate here.

And finally Fabregas. I believe there is a reason why he usually comes on late. He needs space more than anything, and hence he would not be able to play his game in the early stages of a high pressing opponent when they are still fresh. Now I will not purport to know this for a fact, but I am very, very certain that this is why Conte usually opts for Matic. Despite being next to useless going forward, he is better at absorbing pressure than Fabregas. Having said that I would replace Matic in the starting line up with a new player - but I would also give Fabregas preference over him when it comes to making subs later in the game. See, it's all about the right player for the right situation.

So yeah, I am not with you on this one. But again that's just my opinion.

Edited February 1, 20179 yr by PythonLu

I think our position in the table is a subtle indicator that our manager (and the team) might be getting things right don't you think?

1 hour ago, g3.7 said:

 

when those EU subsidies on brylcreem get rescinded we'll revisit this pal.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

25 minutes ago, EmeraldBlue said:

I think our position in the table is a subtle indicator that our manager (and the team) might be getting things right don't you think?

Some of us here are just too demanding. They need to calm down.

Edited February 1, 20179 yr by Tibbers

I'll give Liverpool this game. Anfield is not tough stadium to play at.

13 hours ago, Argo said:

First half at The Bridge ok they did without creating anything, but WHL? No, we had two chances each, they took theirs, we didn't. On another day Alli and Eden would score and miss one each, and on another Eden would take his and Alli wouldn't. If anything that game reminded me of the Rafa/Jose games, tight matches and the results came down to who made better of the limited opportunities. 

I didnt see that at all I saw us totally bossed in midfield, they were the better team over the 2 games performance wise by a long way. 

Watch us switch to 5-3-2 and barely lose a game again.

There is a big difference between a 5-3-2 formation and 3-5-2. Am sure you want us to play 3-5-2.

 

A bit of RAWK insight:

 

"The thing I'm pissed off about is their goal. Ref should have made him retake the freekick.

The commentator said Luiz is the seventh player to score a direct freekick at Anfield in Premier League history. Impressive from us if true. "

 

So to summarise, if a team scores against Liverpool fairly they should be made to retake the shot so Liverpool have a chance of stopping it that time.

 

some great footage here

conte's reaction after being told arsenal lost

On 04/02/2017 at 04:24, havelschayes said:

 

some great footage here

conte's reaction after being told arsenal lost

Conte gives time to young Liverpool  fans while kloop  walks past them.   

it looked as if most of liverpool just blinkered up and walked straight in

We tool the most out of Liverpool, and Hull finished off their title challenge 3 days later, well done!

no wonder Liverpool players are exhausted, look how far it is from the dressing room to the pitch!

19 hours ago, bluegraham said:

Conte gives time to young Liverpool  fans while kloop  walks past them.   

Yep and Diego!