8 minutes ago, The Don Antonio said:

I respect Odoi. The guy is honest and we know he wants to leave unlike Hazard who wants to play games and say he could see himself playing for real and also see himself signing a new contract. 

Agree, everyone should respect what he wants and wish him good luck, some things are just not meant to be. I'm just bitter he's going to Bayern...but it could have been worse.

46 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Morata's movement was also very good.

To the ground

37 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

Hahaha are you kidding? Is that what is considered a very good performance? He stayed on his feet and he linked play ok? He wasn’t on the ball all that much. Like I said, he done OK, no better or worse than Morata & Giroud would have done - funnily enough Giroud got an assist within about 5 mins of being in so linked the play very well himself with Willian!

Seemingly that’s what sets apart your typical striker from the worlds finest. Staying on two feet, that’s the stuff of Marvel comic hero’s!

Watched the match at my brother's with my nephew darting around in front of the TV asking who was who.

Missed the first 8 mins and a couple of other times as the transmission froze and had to be restarted too.

We looked ponderous at the back at times though generally keeping possession well.

• Ampadu looked decent in this position  for the first time.
• Willian looked both poor and outstanding at times.
• Barkley largely solid with a couple of good runs though also gave the ball away.
• Kovacic did well.
• Willian again in Hazard's position scores, said it before yet will repeat, Willian's best position is the same as Hazard. If one goes at the end of the season we will still have the other.
• Hudson-Odoi had a decent game, not outstanding yet solid and his goal was well created and finished.
• Higuaín did nothing wrong and looked lively without getting a clear chance. Look forward to see him play with Hazard and Pedro.

Good to see Giroud get an assist from his short cameo.

 

 

 

 

Wonder if someone missed the game thinking it would have been played on Wednesday  Im out

51 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I don't think it was a good performance today, it was another of those performances where our lack of tempo made it look easy for teams that sit back and defend. But still, it's a 3-0 win, and cup ties rarely see the most top quality performances, especially against lower league teams. On to the next round.

Once again i agree with your post Scott. Whilst it is great to win and get past a potential banana skin, i actually thought Alonso, Kovacic, Barkley, and frankly (goals apart) Willian had pretty underwhelming games. I know i am going to get caned over the Willian thing, but i can't help it, its the stupid and arrogant flicks and back heels, most of which don't come off, that infuriates me. Its arrogant and disrespectful. Don't get me wrong he took his goal well, i just wished he played it a bit more simple with a bit more humility and honest endeavour in his play. The goal was a good example of that, a simple give and go with Giroud and a bent shot past the keeper.

This was the first full game i have watched for ages due to streaming issues, because of that every match day i am on here, and willian basically gets lambasted every game. Did he have an exceptional game this evening? because i thought he played really well, he gave the ball away a few times but busted a nut every time to get it back, took a classy penalty and scores a classy goal and i would agree with lawreson man of the match no argument

Typical game from a team that’s not used to playing with each other, a win is all that mattered, Milwall away next please!

1 minute ago, luckywerthers said:

This was the first full game i have watched for ages due to streaming issues, because of that every match day i am on here, and willian basically gets lambasted every game. Did he have an exceptional game this evening? because i thought he played really well, he gave the ball away a few times but busted a nut every time to get it back, took a classy penalty and scores a classy goal and i would agree with lawreson man of the match no argument

He's never anywhere near as bad as the majority make him out to be on here. Every single misplaced pass gets picked up on, and whenever he does anything good it's always disregarded, quickly forgotten about or it's 'why can't he do that every time'. I wouldn't pay much attention.

5 minutes ago, shedpensioner said:

Typical game from a team that’s not used to playing with each other, a win is all that mattered, Milwall away next please!

Not worth the aggro we will get from the media with possible points deduction or playing behind closed doors. One team I would prefer to avoid unless of course we meet them in the final near the end of the season.

 

23 hours ago, walkley_owl said:

Same with all big clubs ;)

Yes we get it with QPR lol

 

55 minutes ago, bluedave said:

He's never anywhere near as bad as the majority make him out to be on here. Every single misplaced pass gets picked up on, and whenever he does anything good it's always disregarded, quickly forgotten about or it's 'why can't he do that every time'. I wouldn't pay much attention.

We should be grateful to have him if you ask me. I just don’t get the constant criticism.  

 

 

1 hour ago, bluedave said:

He's never anywhere near as bad as the majority make him out to be on here. Every single misplaced pass gets picked up on, and whenever he does anything good it's always disregarded, quickly forgotten about or it's 'why can't he do that every time'. I wouldn't pay much attention.

Agreed dave. And sadly I see a good number already doing exactly the same thing with Ross Barkley.

 

Happily take the 3-0 all things considered.

Not the greatest game analysis I accept

Edited January 28, 20197 yr by erskblue

Good result and more importantly no injuries after they got away with some nasty fouls in the beginning.

A few thoughts:

So many balls given away, I was baffled when I saw posession was above 80% at half time. They were really inferior and couldn't do anything to us with the ball.

CHO is technically really good, but needs to be a lot more aware of his surroundings. Could've serviced Ampadu perfectly at one point, but just didn't see him. I don't know if Kovac at Bayern is the right coach for him, since his strengths are fitness and motivation as opposed to tactical development. Plus, I don't think he'll get regular playing time there this season. Bayern is a huge club and can't take too many risks since they are trailing Dortmund by 6 points. They may also drop from the CL against Liverpool in the next round. This season he will most likely play less in Munich than he does here.

Ampadu just isn't a midfielder for me.

Willian somewhere between brilliance and impotence. But credit to him for bith goals. Barkley in particular seems to have issues playing with Willy though, they seem to misunderstand each other half the time and need to work on that.

Christensen can pass!

Kovacic our best midfielder yesterday.

Higuain technically a lot more sound than Morata, who just isn't good enough to be the number 1 striker at a top club and never will be. I know him from his time at Madrid, Juventus and Madrid again (coincidentally Higuain also played at both those clubs iirc). They just aren't at the same level and you'll see that when Gonzalo scores from position a striker should score from.

Bet you listened to the answer though

I did, but I also saw Callum look very uncomfortable and Willian had to step in.

Hindsight, it's probably not the reporter's fault. He did say "I have to ask..." So it's most likely someone higher up telling him to ask that.

I didn't watch the game but am happy we in the next round while Tottenham and Arsenal are out.
Who played in Jorginho's position, Kovacic or Ampadu?

16 hours ago, just said:

Agreed dave. And sadly I see a good number already doing exactly the same thing with Ross Barkley.

I'm afraid I'm one of them Just.

To be fair, I've credited him when he's been good but I can't recall the last time that was. Have never rated him as more than a useful squad player and as much as I would love to be proved wrong, I have seen little to make me change my opinion. He does have his own thread which I just posted in - Barkley, RLC and Kovacic - all 3 have been average this season, none of them doing enough to make a first 11 spot their own. Still think RLC is the best all-rounder of the three but let's hope one of them steps it up a few gears.

 

Barkley was really frustrating to watch yesterday. Played a lot better the second half, but I feel like he leaves so much to be desired out there. Our midfield is so weak when creating goals. Hopefully we don't just go buy some player for 50m or something. Would love to see Mount get a run in this side next season, could be that left side central mid that we need in the future. But, I won't hold my breathe that Chelsea will do it properly, but hopefully.

27 minutes ago, chiefBlueCFC said:

Barkley was really frustrating to watch yesterday. Played a lot better the second half, but I feel like he leaves so much to be desired out there. Our midfield is so weak when creating goals. Hopefully we don't just go buy some player for 50m or something. Would love to see Mount get a run in this side next season, could be that left side central mid that we need in the future. But, I won't hold my breathe that Chelsea will do it properly, but hopefully.

Honestly I wouldn’t mind if we spend 50m on a goal scoring midfielder. It’d make the team so much better.

Couldn't lay a glove on you yesterday, Ampadu impressed me but wasn't keen on Higuain.

Nice to see the Bridge in all its glory it's been a while.

2 minutes ago, walkley_owl said:

Couldn't lay a glove on you yesterday, Ampadu impressed me but wasn't keen on Higuain.

Nice to see the Bridge in all its glory it's been a while.

Without VAR you might have got the first penalty.