Still pissed that a top flight official misses a block an NBA defender would be proud of, AND a definite offside player putting off the keeper, AND I think he overruled his linesman. 

f**k em. Last time we lost to them we went on a 13 game winning streak so time for a good off season and a strong start to the new one.

Edited May 28, 20179 yr by Stim

17 minutes ago, havelschayes said:

for those who thought there's a little bit of contact on moses

https://streamable.com/dg3nd

nope, nada. no contact whatsoever, jordi alba woud be proud

For those that missed the handball for the first goal...

 

4 minutes ago, coco said:

For those that missed the handball for the first goal...

 

 think nobody missed that handball (except anthony taylor and i think he's not on this forum)

25 minutes ago, Valerie said:

Nonono, just enjoy your birthday with your loved ones (or by yourself, which is my preferred birthday celebration).

Happy birthday Edin!

Thanks Val, I appreciate it! I'm still pretty upset about yesterday so I'm struggling to look at the positives of today and I'm yet another year older, all the good birthdays are gone. It's all downhill from here apparently 

Awful performance, the worst I have seen us in a final. I'm hoping this doesn't become a trend under Conte.

Very disappointing, we are much more capable than that.

12 hours ago, DonAntonio said:

now that we have all cooled off a bit, so what, we won the league and the silver lining is here, if we had a perfect season, did the double showed the no weakness, conte would have less of a case for bringing 3 or 4  top players, after the summer we wont give a toss about another FA cup but we will certainly care about our CL squad 

You hit the nail on the head. If i recall Ancelotti won the double and the only player we bought was ramires bcoz we thought we were invicible, we got found out early and then panic bought torres for 50 million in january.. 

 

Its time to build this squad, there are tougher challenges ahead. And it wud be nice to smash these gunners in the charity shield

12 minutes ago, Don Conte said:

You hit the nail on the head. If i recall Ancelotti won the double and the only player we bought was ramires bcoz we thought we were invicible, we got found out early and then panic bought torres for 50 million in january.. 

 

Its time to build this squad, there are tougher challenges ahead. And it wud be nice to smash these gunners in the charity shield

We also got Luiz in the Jan. But yeah we didn't strength at all that summer it was so disappointing when we let so many people go Ballack, Joe Cole, Carvalho, Deco and Belletti. We not only lost some leaders we also lost depth and versatility. We really do need to rebuild the squad we've done two summers of not strengthening after two title wins doing the same again would make us look like idiots.

Way to much negativity about the team on here and to read some negatives about Conte is beyond belief.

The reality with the FA Cup is that it is played post the PL season. 

For the top English clubs the big prize at the start of the season is the PL trophy followed by 'getting into the CL next year'.  I'd like to say that the CL trophy is also on the radar at the start of the season - the reality is that it is not.  MUFC were in with a realistic chance for a number of years and we had a couple of golden moments too. I do not see any English team, including us, as having a realistic chance (excepting a fluke) of taking the CL next year.

For a team that has achieved its primary objective or, bettered it, as we did this season then the post PL season FA final is a bit anti-climatic.  The FA Cup is not the huge prize it used to be, it's fast becoming a 'nice to have' in the same vein as the old League Cup or whatever it is called now.

I think that's were we were yesterday - yes, overtly, our players looked fired up prior to kick off but was that what was going on in their heads?  I wonder.

On the other hand Arsenal had a poor season by their standards.  A lowly finish in the PL, a lot of off pitch controversy re Wenger, a recent takeover bid etc.  To the Arsenal players yesterday's match really was a big deal - and it showed. 

We lost the match not because of the appalling referee, or for some out of sorts performances from a number of players, but imo simply because we had exceeded our seasons ambition three weeks ago and Arsenal were still going full tilt to win something to put some gloss on an otherwise shabby season right up until yesterday.

As a footnote we all know that we won the league this season with a good team albeit not a great team.  To achieve this from where we started at the front end of the season was amazing.

The reality is that if we are to compete effectively at the very top table we not only need greater depth in the squad but we also need a number of far more talented players too.

Conte knows this, Roman knows this and I look forward to how we continue to build on our success this season and, maybe, 2-3 seasons from now it will be great to see us again going full tilt for Big Ears.

KTBFFH

6 minutes ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

We also got Luiz in the Jan. But yeah we didn't strength at all that summer it was so disappointing when we let so many people go Ballack, Joe Cole, Carvalho, Deco and Belletti. We not only lost some leaders we also lost depth and versatility. We really do need to rebuild the squad we've done two summers of not strengthening after two title wins doing the same again would make us look like idiots.

Would we be allowed to criticise emenalo again then?

We must be proud of having witnessed a historic season

29 minutes ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

We also got Luiz in the Jan. But yeah we didn't strength at all that summer it was so disappointing when we let so many people go Ballack, Joe Cole, Carvalho, Deco and Belletti. We not only lost some leaders we also lost depth and versatility. We really do need to rebuild the squad we've done two summers of not strengthening after two title wins doing the same again would make us look like idiots.

Agree totally that we now have to build from a position of strength, this year the system won us the league as much as the quality we have. Next season coaches will be more prepared how to counter the system and were the weaknesses are. Conte has acknowledged this with his cold and analyse quote. Once he has done this, our business need to be swift so we are able to integrate new players quickly as the season is an earlier starter with it being a world cup year.

I think everyone can accept losing as part and parcel of the game.

 

The disappointing thing for me is complete lack of desire/motivation in a Cup Final. Thats inexcusable. Notice Matic getting a lot of stick but he wasnt the only one. The WHOLE team were off. Setup to be defensive from the start and couldnt snap out of that mindset.

4 minutes ago, charierre said:

Agree totally that we now have to build from a position of strength, this year the system won us the league as much as the quality we have. Next season coaches will be more prepared how to counter the system and were the weaknesses are. Conte has acknowledged this with his cold and analyse quote. Once he has done this, our business need to be swift so we are able to integrate new players quickly as the season is an earlier starter with it being a world cup year.

I agree too, we will not win the league next season without strengthening the squad. When I say strengthening I believe we need better players not players to sit mainly on the bench.

1 minute ago, Strider6003 said:

I agree too, we will not win the league next season without strengthening the squad. When I say strengthening I believe we need better players not players to sit mainly on the bench.

Agree totally

14 hours ago, Don Conte said:

cud have made subs earlier. that starting 11 wasnt going to cut it. poor hazard. had to do all the creative work even though we have fab and willian in the squad.

Yeah could have made subs a little earlier I agree but how can you say that starting XI wasn't gonna cut it when its basically the starting XI we used all season and we won the league with? 

 

Either way, calling Conte a "disgrace" is a disgrace in itself. 

That's cup football for ya! Not that it hurts any less, but quite frankly we simply didn't turn up on the whole. The referee was a disaster with their opener there's no doubt, and you could argue we then lost confidence as it obviously  changed the game, but after the resilience we have seen from the boys this season, I expected a better reaction. Too many of them looked lethargic with only Pedro and Costa and Gary 'I'll clear it off the line' Cahill looking bothered in the first half. We did improve in the 2nd and despite Victor being a silly boy, we had a great opportunity after Costa's equalizer to rattle them with momentum behind us. How we then switched off immediately was the most frustrating part of the afternoon. Overall though..... Winning the league was unexpected and beyond expectations after last season. If there's a silver lining from yesterday, it's that we've still got a lot of work to do to be compared with previous great Chelsea teams. Conte has worked wonders and you know he'll be busy at looking to improve over the summer. 

Edited May 28, 20179 yr by Scooby Blue

Ok, have not posted for about 18 hours since it ended.

First 30 or so minutes were quite easily explained. We looked like a squad that had been celebrating each and every day for the past three weeks without a competitive game. And the celebratory games were against the bottom of the league, so sleep walking still got a result. We looked hungover. Not totally surprised.

Arsenal wanted this game really badly. It showed. They played very well. Not going to say anymore about those clowns.

Once we were down 1-0 early, Arsenal started playing tactically like Jose. The box was loaded. It took everything we had to penetrate and get good opportunities. Even more so when Moses was sent off. We were spent energy wise when Diego scored. It showed when we conceded just minutes later. 

For anyone down on Eden. Please. Does not show up in big matches? Did anyone watch our PL games vs Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Tottenham, etc this year, not to mention FA Cup semifinal vs Tottenham? He draws the best defender, gets hounded, kicked all over the pitch, etc and still delivers. We need more around him, not less of him.

The season was a huge success. Think of where we were 9 months ago expectation wise. My hope was top 4. Maybe. We lead the PL from November 20th onwards! Won 13 in a row at one point. Won a record 30 PL matches. Not that long ago we were looking at Ivanovic, Oscar and even Mikel and Ramires on a regular basis. As much as we hate to see JT go, he was in the lineup regularly too. My Arsenal fans all said they would have traded the FA Cup for the PL title. Duh! It was a great season. Sure, would have loved the double, but I am over it now. 

Most important is to add 3-4 top flight players so we can compete in the CL next season. Need one or two CBs, another DM, a quality Mid/wing and a striker. That is all 

Come on you Chelsea!! 

It's a shame this was the last game of the season. If we'd have have lifted the PL trophy after this then I'd be a lot less bothered, I just hate ending such a great season on a low. However, we are champions, and that's something that still feels a bit like a dream! We were hoping for top 4, and got way more than that. I've missed the feeling of a cup final, and whilst I hate the feeling of losing, at least it's better than the numbness of just watching other teams compete in them all the time. FA Cup winners are remembered for a few days, but they'll all be reminded who the champions are for the next 12 months 

The one thing that stood out to me was we didn't seem to have the attitude of serial winners, who want to win anything and everything put in front of them, no matter what they've won before. We've seen that before with our golden generation, but not so much in recent squads. Hopefully that's something Conte can work on, and I think a big part of that is bringing in new players with a fresh hunger and desire. Gonna be a big summer to avoid previous mistakes.

33 minutes ago, JJP said:

Yeah could have made subs a little earlier I agree but how can you say that starting XI wasn't gonna cut it when its basically the starting XI we used all season and we won the league with? 

 

Either way, calling Conte a "disgrace" is a disgrace in itself. 

its hyperbole mate. Of course he isnt a disgrace, but using the same line up and tactics gets predictable and easy to plan for. Do u know why we beat spurs in the fa cup semifinal. It is because all week they planned for hazard and diego and were dealt a curve ball, with batshuayi and willian It is a learning process but if conte has one fault it is starting the same team over and over and over agaiin. Pretty easy to plan for that. For starters that 11 has it flaws

1. No quality set piece taker hence weak corner kicks..   With fab and willian out we rely on hazard and pedro who can do the job  but are not specialists and a final set piece goals are crucial

2. We have no midfield creator hence all the creative load falls on hazard, we cant expect moses and alonso to be our creators and pedro is a presser and an off the ball runner not a creator

3. It is a counter attacking lineup and can be found out when we concede first. You can check the season and find out that we conceded first very very rarely, I remember the spurs game at home but i am sure they were only a handful

 

starting with fab or willian wud have taking all the playmaking pressure of hazard. 

 

1 hour ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

We also got Luiz in the Jan. But yeah we didn't strength at all that summer it was so disappointing when we let so many people go Ballack, Joe Cole, Carvalho, Deco and Belletti. We not only lost some leaders we also lost depth and versatility. We really do need to rebuild the squad we've done two summers of not strengthening after two title wins doing the same again would make us look like idiots.

I think we were (unlike certain other clubs) intent on actually complying with FFP back then. We were desperate to get our wage bill down, but as you say we really paid for it, and it cost Carlo his job. Letting Ballack go was the biggest mistake, especially as he made it clear he wanted to saty on less money.

Like a few posters have said, losing yesterday might actually be a good thing for the future of the club. As we saw, a team that plays without hunger is not able to compete and doesn't play to its potential. This team has genuinely played to its potential for most of the past season, and I think to improve we have to strengthen significantly. If we'd played brilliantly and won the double, that could have given a false impression of where we are, in the heads of the players, the board and, possibly, Conte.

The other plus, of course, is that we all want Wenger to stay, and their win yesterday should help ensure that he does.

5 minutes ago, Backbiter said:

I think we were (unlike certain other clubs) intent on actually complying with FFP back then. We were desperate to get our wage bill down, but as you say we really paid for it, and it cost Carlo his job. Letting Ballack go was the biggest mistake, especially as he made it clear he wanted to saty on less money.

Like a few posters have said, losing yesterday might actually be a good thing for the future of the club. As we saw, a team that plays without hunger is not able to compete and doesn't play to its potential. This team has genuinely played to its potential for most of the past season, and I think to improve we have to strengthen significantly. If we'd played brilliantly and won the double, that could have given a false impression of where we are, in the heads of the players, the board and, possibly, Conte.

The other plus, of course, is that we all want Wenger to stay, and their win yesterday should help ensure that he does.

Yeah I recall Ballack just wanted a two year deal rather than a one year but was willing to drop his wages. That was such a big mistake.

21 minutes ago, Don Conte said:

its hyperbole mate. Of course he isnt a disgrace, but using the same line up and tactics gets predictable and easy to plan for. Do u know why we beat spurs in the fa cup semifinal. It is because all week they planned for hazard and diego and were dealt a curve ball, with batshuayi and willian It is a learning process but if conte has one fault it is starting the same team over and over and over agaiin. Pretty easy to plan for that. For starters that 11 has it flaws

1. No quality set piece taker hence weak corner kicks..   With fab and willian out we rely on hazard and pedro who can do the job  but are not specialists and a final set piece goals are crucial

2. We have no midfield creator hence all the creative load falls on hazard, we cant expect moses and alonso to be our creators and pedro is a presser and an off the ball runner not a creator

3. It is a counter attacking lineup and can be found out when we concede first. You can check the season and find out that we conceded first very very rarely, I remember the spurs game at home but i am sure they were only a handful

 

starting with fab or willian wud have taking all the playmaking pressure of hazard. 

 

Have to agree about the semi final comments. I really hope he uses the squad better next season but can't blame him for staying with a winning formula in his first season. I'm sure he's smart enough.

Biggest disappointment on the day was keeping on players on reputation and not their form on the day. History shows big players who have just not performed in big finals - no disgrace, just the way it goes. So I can't understand how it wasn't seen that Moses and Kante were just not on their game and couldn't have come off earlier. Poor Kante has had a brilliant season but yesterday he needed to come off - I've never seen him play so badly.

Looked to me like we couldn't switch up from the cruise mode we've been in since the titles was wrapped up, it can be difficult to change your attitude if you have been holding back for the final. 

I had the worst week 've had for a very long time leading up to this Cup Final and BS culminated with us losing to L'arse. If you've seen Conte's post match interview then that s how I felt after the match. I've recovered now. First goal was handball and should'nt have been allowed. The ref obviously saw it and turned a blind eye. Cahill was excellent and saved us from embarrassment. Costa tried hard but the rest were on holiday already. Arsenal deserved to wiin and I think we need ne players in the Summer.

9 minutes ago, TheBluesBrother said:

I had the worst week 've had for a very long time leading up to this Cup Final and BS culminated with us losing to L'arse. If you've seen Conte's post match interview then that s how I felt after the match. I've recovered now. First goal was handball and should'nt have been allowed. The ref obviously saw it and turned a blind eye. Cahill was excellent and saved us from embarrassment. Costa tried hard but the rest were on holiday already. Arsenal deserved to wiin and I think we need ne players in the Summer.

I thought Pedro ran his socks off and was the only player who looked like he gave a sh*t the whole time he was on.