Watched Jose's post match interview and he admitted it should be red but he said it how Jose says it. He reminded everyone of incidents his team has suffered during the season and wished people look those incidents in the same way.

Well everyone knows it is a red. Glad it didn't cost us the game.

Here’s a thought for you

 

The transfer cost of the 13 players who played in yesterday’s game was £  219 million. The 14 Spurs players cost £ 284.4 million.

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Argo said:

That's a bit of a myth to be honest.

Worked at Wolves but we tried it again few days later against Valencia and fell to a tame home defeat.

Worked at Spurs but then Southampton happened, and Frank still persisted with a back three away to Arsenal the next game and it went so badly he ditched it after half an hour.

It's an excellent horses for courses option to revert to when the circumstance requires it but absolutely no way should it be our week by week formation.

It works when we have the right personnel . It worked against wolves and spuds  because we had the best wing back in the league playing ( Alonso). It didn't work against Southampton and arsenal because Emerson played and also CHO STARTED AS one of the attacking midfielders against Southampton which negates the formation because he is more of a winger. Against Valencia it worked even though mount got injured early. We were in total control and conceded when lamps got greedy and switched to a 442 with Tammy and batshauyi up top. Also Barkley skied a Pena .

P.s we have played 7 league games and won all when Alonso starts. It's a shame he got benched after getting raped by Ziyech in the 4-4 game..

I feel like the 3421 has all the players playing in their right positions

* Azpi as a defender and not an attacking fullback

*. Kante as a defensive midfielder and not an attacking one

* ALONSOOOOO

* MOUNT ,WILLIAN , Pedro ,pulisic AND BARKLEY as inside fowards and not wingers or attacking midfielders  .

The only person I don't see the formation favouring is CHO, but we can always switch formations as a plan B in a match like Vs Arsenal

Liked this analysis:

On James - His greatest asset might be his dribbling. James has obvious physical attributes but they are enhanced by his technical skill; if his strength does not thwart you, his skill will.

He completed more take-ons than all but two Tottenham players, with Davies powerless to stop him.

The only real similarity the two attacks bore was that Jorginho played the final pass. The ball to Barkley was simple but effective; the first-time delivery around the corner to Giroud was sumptuous.

On Kovacic - most of the credit goes to Mateo Kovacic, whose tackle on Lucas set the foundation. He recycled the ball to Antonio Rudiger and Alonso before lifting it out to the other side, where Azpilicueta and Jorginho combined to play Giroud in.

Kovacic was sensational, there might be no better player to have when leading a game because he is incredible at retaining the ball or alleviating pressure with a timely dribble (five, the most of any player) or tackle. Chelsea do have one of the most effective Premier League midfielders in their squad; it just isn’t N’Golo Kante anymore.

On Giroud - And when anyone complains about a strikeforce lacking pace again, advise them to watch the opener. Giroud starts his run just before Jorginho even delivers the pass. Alderweireld was already chasing a shadow by the time he realised Chelsea were through. But that’s what Giroud does: he is excellent at making up for his deficiencies. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in anticipation and intelligence. That run gained him an extra two or three yards whereas Batshuayi would have been stood offside.

Full analysis here:

https://www.football365.com/news/16-conclusions-chelsea-2-tottenham-1-olivier-giroud-marcos-alonso

20 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

It's not Chelsea I have a problem with, it's football in general. 

After the VAR shambles again yesterday with that tackle on Dave, I can see your point

14 hours ago, Dean said:

It’s an astonishing own goal, it really is. Did someone slip some hallucinogens into their board’s drinks? There was so much information available at the time of the appointment for anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to see this was a bad idea. The guy has a personality disorder (anyone with basic knowledge of psychology understands this) which, as have witnessed twice for ourselves, means it can’t NOT end badly with him. He WILL lose the dressing room and the entire edifice WILL eventually crumble. But the more baggage he carries with him, the shorter his life-cycle becomes. So nowadays not only does it end badly, it STARTS badly too, and there’s nothing good in the middle either. And that’s before we even get to his antiquated methods. He’s finished. I’m not complaining of course:)! 

Anyone from this forum will remember how staunchly loyal and defensive I was when it came to Mourinho.

I defended the man to the bitter end during both his stints with us, and still had a very soft spot for him when he was with United, but the decision to go to Spurs was the final straw for me. I will never hate him, but I'm glad he's in the past and no longer relevant to us.

I thought after sacking Mourinho in 2015, I would miss him but I don't.

The Mourinho of today no longer resembles the Mourinho we all remembered and loved back in the day. He's been on a decline since his final season with Real Madrid (2012/2013 season), but his decline has been accelerated since the 2015/2016 season when the nature of football changed with respect to playing styles.

A lot of people believe his Real Madrid stint changed him for the worst. It was the first time a playing squad wouldn't run through brick walls for him and rebelled against him. I think since then he no longer trusts his players the way he used to. FC Porto, us (1st stint) and Inter Milan were lucky to have the best of his peak.

Also find it quite ironic that arguably one of most cohesive pressing performances came with Giroud starting up top. 

Even if Abraham is fully fit, i think giroud should be starting the next game on merit. 

31 minutes ago, Jezz said:

Anyone from this forum will remember how staunchly loyal and defensive I was when it came to Mourinho.

I defended the man to the bitter end during both his stints with us, and still had a very soft spot for him when he was with United, but the decision to go to Spurs was the final straw for me. I will never hate him, but I'm glad he's in the past and no longer relevant to us.

I thought after sacking Mourinho in 2015, I would miss him but I don't.

The Mourinho of today no longer resembles the Mourinho we all remembered and loved back in the day. He's been on a decline since his final season with Real Madrid (2012/2013 season), but his decline has been accelerated since the 2015/2016 season when the nature of football changed with respect to playing styles.

A lot of people believe his Real Madrid stint changed him for the worst. It was the first time a playing squad wouldn't run through brick walls for him and rebelled against him. I think since then he no longer trusts his players the way he used to. FC Porto, us (1st stint) and Inter Milan were lucky to have the best of his peak.

I don't hate him though certainly dislikes the digs he came out with under Conte.

He has only stayed in the UK I think for his family and so taken jobs that were a bad fit for him. 

I'm not sure whether he still has the hunger he once had like during our first stint.

If he gets a trophy with Spurs we will know.

Good result and a bold selection/formation but not sure how much it means for rest of season. Spuds were tired and below strength. I will say that Frank does make some big decisions. We might have enough to hang onto 4th. 

I thought at first Mourinho might have changed with the benefit of a break and this being his last chance at the big time but he’s still the bitter, downbeat man he’s been for the last few years. Already he’s undermining his players by basically saying they’re hopeless with the injuries they’ve got and throwing the likes of Alli under bus albeit he probably deserves it. It’s just crap man management. 

Combined with his negative tactics, Spurs will do nothing with him as a manager. Happy days.

54 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

I don't hate him though certainly dislikes the digs he came out with under Conte.

He has only stayed in the UK I think for his family and so taken jobs that were a bad fit for him. 

I'm not sure whether he still has the hunger he once had like during our first stint.

If he gets a trophy with Spurs we will know.

Agree. His insults at Conte were very poor and likely the beginning of his alienation with our club.

I can somewhat understand him trying his hand with United, even though I didn't like seeing it but I always hoping he would go abroad and coach elsewhere whether it be in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and etc.

Going to direct rivals of ours, particularly Spurs shows he didn't have any real affection for our club. It saddens me in a way as so many of us loved and revered Mourinho once upon a time.

One thing Mourinho is still good at is creating a narrative. So thery are under strength, no strikers etc. No, they have 2 players Injured, that's it, same as us, same as many other teams. They have a striker, a young lad called parrot who could easily have played, but he chose not to have him in the squad. We didn't beat an under strength tired team with our fresh full squad, we beat a spurs team that has just came of a break same as us, has 2 big players Injured in there main striker and an attacking midfielder, same as us. Its bullsh*t, and I cant believe people are agreeing with it. 

Edited February 23, 20206 yr by dkw

4 hours ago, The Don Antonio said:

It works when we have the right personnel . It worked against wolves and spuds  because we had the best wing back in the league playing ( Alonso). It didn't work against Southampton and arsenal because Emerson played and also CHO STARTED AS one of the attacking midfielders against Southampton which negates the formation because he is more of a winger. Against Valencia it worked even though mount got injured early. We were in total control and conceded when lamps got greedy and switched to a 442 with Tammy and batshauyi up top. Also Barkley skied a Pena .

P.s we have played 7 league games and won all when Alonso starts. It's a shame he got benched after getting raped by Ziyech in the 4-4 game..

I feel like the 3421 has all the players playing in their right positions

* Azpi as a defender and not an attacking fullback

*. Kante as a defensive midfielder and not an attacking one

* ALONSOOOOO

* MOUNT ,WILLIAN , Pedro ,pulisic AND BARKLEY as inside fowards and not wingers or attacking midfielders  .

The only person I don't see the formation favouring is CHO, but we can always switch formations as a plan B in a match like Vs Arsenal

Nothing works properly when you play that useless lump Emerson. 

Love beating these c**ts. Great performance dominated from start to finish. Some great performances all round Kovacic brilliant and Mount has upped his game after some time on the bench recently, Shame about the lack of clean sheet there the performance deserved one. Nice to see the bitter ones sour face. f**k Var and into the Germans Tuesday. Come on Chels.

Even when we win so do most of our rivals.

11 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

On Kovacic - most of the credit goes to Mateo Kovacic, whose tackle on Lucas set the foundation. He recycled the ball to Antonio Rudiger and Alonso before lifting it out to the other side, where Azpilicueta and Jorginho combined to play Giroud in.

Kovacic was sensational, there might be no better player to have when leading a game because he is incredible at retaining the ball or alleviating pressure with a timely dribble (five, the most of any player) or tackle. Chelsea do have one of the most effective Premier League midfielders in their squad; it just isn’t N’Golo Kante anymore.

https://www.football365.com/news/16-conclusions-chelsea-2-tottenham-1-olivier-giroud-marcos-alonso

 

Whoever wrote that needs a pay rise.

2 hours ago, Davey Baby said:

 

Whoever wrote that needs a pay rise.

"But that’s what Giroud does: he is excellent at making up for his deficiencies. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in anticipation and intelligence. That run gained him an extra two or three yards whereas Batshuayi would have been stood offside."

That made me laugh. So true. Just amazes me such a smart man like Frank took so long to see how awful Batman is. Emerson as well.

On 23/02/2020 at 03:14, EdinburghBlue said:

It’s not VAR though. It worked at the World Cup and in other countries. It’s the f**king shocking incompetence of the FA and the horrendous standard of officiating in the premier league.

After the world cup you guys were praising VAR, I am quite sure I was here correcting you guys.

The A-League was the first top flight club competition to introduce VAR, They have been using VAR since April 2017 and they continue to screw up. I don't see VAR getting any better in the premier league. 

Edited February 24, 20206 yr by kiwi1691

Still delighted on a cold,wet and windy Monday morning  !

Yes, fellow Blues, summertime has just arrived here in Scotland

Us beating Spuds is always a great feeling.

VAR Official David Coote has been dropped from Premier League duty this weekend, after missing an obvious red card for Giovani Lo Celso's challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta on Saturday. https://t.co/f3Ne5fLFV3

2 hours ago, evissy said:

VAR Official David Coote has been dropped from Premier League duty this weekend, after missing an obvious red card for Giovani Lo Celso's challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta on Saturday. https://t.co/f3Ne5fLFV3

No sanction for the ref who also missed it - and the kick out by Lo Celso that preceded it.

And no sanction for the Manc Var official and Manc ref who both missed the Maguire red card and Fred push.

Edited February 25, 20206 yr by Backbiter

1 hour ago, Backbiter said:

No sanction for the ref who also missed it - and the kick out by Lo Celso that preceded it.

And no sanction for the Manc Var official and Manc ref who both missed the Maguire red card and Fred push.

That's very unexpected