Well done Mr. Sarri, you adapted and we were unlucky.  Hopefully you get a good sendoff against Spurs and best of luck in your next job.

People who think Sarri is not good enough for this club are delusional and deserve the current mess. 

Honestly, our gameplan was the same as that one time when we won 2:0 with a false 9. So having that in mind, I don't see any new adaptation of Sarri in this match, still great that he put CHO in the game though.

We are clearly a worse team compared to mancity so taking the game all the way to penalties is still better than trying to play something we can't and then getting 6:0ed

What a disgrace Kepa was, my thoughts on Sarri remain the same, but NO player is bigger than the club!

That was a royal f**k you to Sarri in front of millions.

 

Perhaps he knows Sarri is off and gives no f**ks.

That wasn't a masterclass from Sarri, it was just him using his brains and realising we beat them 2-0 using this system before; and he knew if he tried his system, we'd have been dicked.

There was no magical adaptation so to speak, or super tactical set up - it was a simple "this worked before, try it again yeh?"

The subs were a pleasant surprise, but i think the backroom team may have had a word (of encouragement) about those, and weird how they finally happen after he got absolute grief on Monday.

 

Part of me thinks those changes were because it was still a "cup" game, albeit a final.  Weird, i know

Wednesday i fully expect  the usual 11, and old usual subs

I think we really needed this trophy tonight, and Sarri more than anybody. This could have been the turning moment for our season after so much doubt and frustration. Just wan't meant to be.

The performance was good, considering the quality of the opposition. Whether it was Sarri, who prepared the team properly or the players themselves rose to the occasion, this was a performance that any CFC supporter can be proud of.

There is a lot of positive we can get out of this going into the Spurs match. After this loss the manager clearly needs a big win. I guess we'll see on Wednesday if Sarri still has a future at the club.

Thought Sarri did well today however i felt it showed why Sarri May not be the right for us. 

I mean we’ve got players dictating the tactics by saying they don’t want to play his system. We’ve reverted to playing defensive football and players saying it’s like being in school again (Rudiger) and not caring about managers thoughts on them (Hazard). As in the Kepa situation as well  

Its an absurd situation. Imagine it any other club and we would be laughing at them. I really feel for Sarri as he’s been set up to fail..but I just don’t think this is working. It a shambles. 

No way im buying the "misunderstanding" excuse.  Nope

2 hours ago, RickUK said:

No way im buying the "misunderstanding" excuse.  Nope

Why? Sarri says it was a misunderstanding, Kepa's comments after the match would point to the same thing too. Even watching it live you could see that they got their wires crossed.

3 hours ago, JM7 said:

Thought Sarri did well today however i felt it showed why Sarri May not be the right for us. 

I mean we’ve got players dictating the tactics by saying they don’t want to play his system. We’ve reverted to playing defensive football and players saying it’s like being in school again (Rudiger) and not caring about managers thoughts on them (Hazard). As in the Kepa situation as well  

Its an absurd situation. Imagine it any other club and we would be laughing at them. I really feel for Sarri as he’s been set up to fail..but I just don’t think this is working. It a shambles. 

The players are not dictating the tactics, no one has said they don't want to play his system.

Quick passing out from the back is a hallmark tactic of Sarri's.

I just think we need to accept that these players sometimes turn up and other times don't look motivated.

It's no surprise how good we looked, especially when the likes of RLC and CHO were introduced along with starting Emerson. That's what I blame Sarri for, not starting them 3 in particular, sooner. Willian, Barkley and Alonso are NOT good enough.

I'd hate to criticize the man once again, because I've done it in the past on many occasions and it feels wrong to kick Sarri when he's down especially after last night's game where I felt tactically he's done everything absolutely right and we were just unlucky...But acting the way he did in the Kepa incident is maybe one of the biggest reasons he's not the right fit for the club. Kepa was completely out of line there, behaved very unprofessionally, no-one says otherwise, but you're the manager, you can't act like a child in front of the whole world, it only re-enforces the notion that you're not in control of your own team. If you have to be forceful, go ahead, if you need to show the players who's the boss, I'm all for it, that's part of your job description. But running down the tunnel like a little girl because your player defies you, that only makes you look weak and makes the mockery of the whole club in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching it on TV.

Edited February 25, 20197 yr by abramovich

3 minutes ago, abramovich said:

I'd hate to criticize the man once again, because I've done it in the past on many occasions and it feels wrong to kick Sarri when he's down especially after last night's game where I felt tactically he's done everything absolutely right and we were just unlucky...But acting the way he did in the Kepa incident is maybe one of the biggest reasons he's not the right fit for the club. Kepa was completely out of line there, behaved very unprofessionally, no-one says otherwise, but you're the manager, you can't act like a child in front of the whole world, it only re-enforces the notion that you're not in control of your own team. If you have to be forceful, go ahead, if you need to show the players who's the boss, I'm all for it, that's part of your job description. But running down the tunnel like a little girl because your player defies you, that only makes you look weak and makes the mockery of the whole club in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching it on TV.

He walked to the tunnel entrance and walked straight back, get a grip.

11 minutes ago, abramovich said:

I'd hate to criticize the man once again, because I've done it in the past on many occasions and it feels wrong to kick Sarri when he's down especially after last night's game where I felt tactically he's done everything absolutely right and we were just unlucky...But acting the way he did in the Kepa incident is maybe one of the biggest reasons he's not the right fit for the club. Kepa was completely out of line there, behaved very unprofessionally, no-one says otherwise, but you're the manager, you can't act like a child in front of the whole world, it only re-enforces the notion that you're not in control of your own team. If you have to be forceful, go ahead, if you need to show the players who's the boss, I'm all for it, that's part of your job description. But running down the tunnel like a little girl because your player defies you, that only makes you look weak and makes the mockery of the whole club in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching it on TV.

Pep, poch, klopp would all have reacted in exactly the same way. Get a grip. 

4 minutes ago, coco said:

He walked to the tunnel entrance and walked straight back, get a grip.

I don't care if he crawled into the tunnel and then moonwalked back into the sidelines, that's not the point.

For me he earned himself another shot against Tottenham yesterday. We deserved to win that title with that performance and he did show he can adapt so that’s a huge plus.
Huge shame we couldn’t take it home as a title could have been massive for Sarri.

7 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Why? Sarri says it was a misunderstanding, Kepa's comments after the match would point to the same thing too. Even watching it live you could see that they got their wires crossed.

I thought at the time kepa coming off was because he kept getting cramp. It was a safety first measure. There's no way you can say he was 100% ready for pens and so he needed to come off. We had a better penalty saver on the bench.

Sarri didn't want to take him off because he was injured. 

Who has Sarri got supporting him in the dressing room? Azpilicueta where the f**k were you on the Kepa situation? 

Obviously it was gutting to lose on penalties, but yesterday in general was much more positive. Myself and a few others have been crying out for Sarri to show a bit of flexibility and yesterday he showed he can be flexible. It was a near perfect performance from everyone, and I think it may have bought Sarri a bit more time. If we had been humiliated again yesterday I think that would have been it for him.

It to me certainly did not look like the players were not playing for him.

12 hours ago, cuppaT said:

People who think Sarri is not good enough for this club are delusional and deserve the current mess. 

That's me then .... football genius my f*ckin a*se .... 

6 minutes ago, Slojo said:

Who has Sarri got supporting him in the dressing room? Azpilicueta where the f**k were you on the Kepa situation? 

Exactly. A number of us have queried Dave being captain in the past. Great player, lovely bloke but he just isn't a captain. Luiz has always been more of a skipper although he still didn't do enough yesterday. But really disappointed with Azpi in that whole situation yesterday (although he did make slight amends with a great penalty).

Next season a must have is a better captain. If you wear the arm-band you have to lead.

Props to Sarri. I've been on his back for being completely inflexible, but he finally showed that he can adapt (albeit only when he is pushed to the brink).  Set the team out in the right way, dropped Alonso, good subs, shored up our left side. Tactically I don't think he could've done much more given the opposition. The defense looked organized and focused for the first time in a long time, and we had opportunities to finish the job in the last 20 minutes. That's all you can really ask for from a manager in a cup final against an in-form Man City. 

Whether or not the players were busting a gut for him, or for themselves, will remain to be seen. It was a cup final after all and the chance for a trophy is always pretty good motivation. Also, their pride was on the line after the 6-0 game. 

The Kepa incident, very very unfortunate and I wrote down my thoughts in the Kepa thread. I do think Sarri's reaction magnified the negative optics, but considering that this has seriously never happened before in top flight football, I'd be willing to give Sarri a pass. I can't think of many managers who wouldn't have lost their rag, and a fair few might have reacted even worse. 

At this point, I have no idea what to expect for the Tottenham game. Alot of our key players are probably knackered after extra time, and the Kepa incident an unneeded distraction at best, and a dressing room splitting issue at worst. Alonso might need to be drafted back into the team. "Sarriball" might return and Willy will probably start in goal.  Fun times all around!

 

27 minutes ago, Tea Bar Boy said:

That's me then .... football genius my f*ckin a*se .... 

who called him that ? nobody ever. But it helps with the anti-Sarri agenda if you can make it he was meant to be a genius.

Showed the sort of tactical flexibility many of us have been hoping for this season... I think it might be too little too late from Sarri.

Spurs is a massive game on Wednesday and it’s going to be interesting to see how he approaches that game. Will he revert back to the high press or will we continue seeing some restraint?

As for the Kepa incident, I don’t think either Kepa or Sarri has come out of that one looking great. Kepa should have gone off but Sarri’s hissy fit, storming away from the bench, having to be restrained by Rudiger showed a lack of authority.