Tuchel got both the system and personnel wrong today...we were out run in midfield and Ziyech and Pulisic were sh*te...should have played 4 4 2 with Havertz, Werner and Mount starting...genuine missed opportunity today...

Edited January 15, 20224 yr by doctorblue

Good day out , city just too strong with their passing, movement and chasing us down 

Great away support.

Champions of Europe your never sing that 

So is it a case of we made the wrong choices? Wrong players selected wrong choices made once they were on the pitch? Or does it not matter because City are simply too good it does not matter who we picked?

I called them winning 17 or more in a row when their win streak sat at 5, does not look so far fetched now right?

Only a fool would think we can catch City now. TT needs to prioritize the other competitions and rest the most important players in the league. We can still have a good season but we need to let the league go this time.

6 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

So is it a case of we made the wrong choices? Wrong players selected wrong choices made once they were on the pitch? Or does it not matter because City are simply too good it does not matter who we picked?

I called them winning 17 or more in a row when their win streak sat at 5, does not look so far fetched now right?

Only a fool would think we can catch City now. TT needs to prioritize the other competitions and rest the most important players in the league. We can still have a good season but we need to let the league go this time.

Personally I think we picked the wrong team. City were never that phased knowing we had Alonso and Dave as our wingbacks who have no pace. Alonso is so one footed he makes Maguire look like Neymar, they literally just pressed him on to his right and he couldn't handle it.

Lukaku wasn't great but Pulisic and Ziyech were dreadful. Midfield wise we passed back far too often but again I think that's due to the lack of passing options available.

We are much better than this but if season isn't a big sign we need to sell players that just aren't working, as well as have more steel and goals in midfield.

Not be through the thread so apologies if this has been pointed out already. 

Pep was so unconcerned by our midfield and attacking options today he left out Diaz and went with the Stones and Laporte combo they saw them drop the title to Liverpool 2 years back.

What does that say?

Also where were all these key players City were missing with Covid?  As I called before the game, all horsesh*t from Pep.

Their press got the job done. Kepa to Werner was due to pressure and when Werner lost the areal duel their players solved the puzzle as if they were playing chess.

As soon as De Bruyne had the upper hand against Kante he had multiple options due to our backline being a bit further up the pitch, if Silva goes for him he has an easy ball into space for Foden so he knew he had the time for a few more touches and then he punished us.

Good that we did that to them in the CL final but we simply can't keep up with them while playing Lukaku, that's too easy for them.

2 minutes ago, Malcolm9 said:

Personally I think we picked the wrong team. City were never that phased knowing we had Alonso and Dave as our wingbacks who have no pace. Alonso is so one footed he makes Maguire look like Neymar, they literally just pressed him on to his right and he couldn't handle it.

Lukaku wasn't great but Pulisic and Ziyech were dreadful. Midfield wise we passed back far too often but again I think that's due to the lack of passing options available.

We are much better than this but if season isn't a big sign we need to sell players that just aren't working, as well as have more steel and goals in midfield.

2 games against them, twice we went in like frightened bunnies after beating the 3 times last season. 

Why? They only changed one player, Grealish, and he is only slightly more useful than Lukaku.

24 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

2 games against them, twice we went in like frightened bunnies after beating the 3 times last season. 

Why? They only changed one player, Grealish, and he is only slightly more useful than Lukaku.

It's the tactics. The manager's tactics or lack thereof! 

I wonder what he tells the players. I really do. What was the mission today? Try & look scared from the first whistle??

Is this any better than Frank? 

Well someone had better sort out our attacking options pretty quickly after this and other inept displays by the forward line. We have spent too much money on attacking players and all the players brought in have been somewhere between woeful and shocking despite their hefty price tags. Either its bad recruitment bringing in players that can't play in our system, or bad management the way we are set up.  If TT can't get a tune out of the forwards before the end of the year and we slip back into the chasing pack scrambling for 4th TT won't be here next season.  You don't spend the amount of money we have over a couple of transfer windows, whether they were players the manager brought in or not, and expect the manager not to be accountable when the club fails.  City have set the bar so high now, a near perfect season or when Pep leaves, will be the only way any team will be able to win the title.  City too good; too consistent to be seriously challenged by anyone for the foreseeable future.  It may only be January but barring a catastrophic collapse the league title is won but it should not have been finished so early especially from our standpoint.  Stupid points dropped, failure to put chances away together with inconsistent performances have been our undoing.  All we can do now is focus on the cup competitions and at least grab some silverware so its not a complete failure. 

@Gol15 posted it elsewhere but from our 2 games against City this season we have managed 1 single shot on target.

That is disgraceful. We are European Champions, supposed to be title contenders, we were ahead of City in December and that is what we did against them?

You just cannot defend how awful our offensive game is, and TT has to sort it. 

Picking 3 and sticking with them would be a help. 

None of them are great but I think we would have our best luck with werner, Havertz and Mount.

5 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

@Gol15 posted it elsewhere but from our 2 games against City this season we have managed 1 single shot on target.

That is disgraceful. We are European Champions, supposed to be title contenders, we were ahead of City in December and that is what we did against them?

You just cannot defend how awful our offensive game is, and TT has to sort it. 

Picking 3 and sticking with them would be a help. 

None of them are great but I think we would have our best luck with werner, Havertz and Mount.

Hopefully he was keeping them for Brighton, having realised City away was a game too far in our current situation of so many exhausted, injured and ill players.

I think under all the recent circumstances- Covid  omicron mental spreading and injuries and being made to play while others rest up or recover losing to City the best team on the planet away by one is not a crisis. And no matter how the club wants to catch up it won’t ever unlsss it sticks by a manager over a few seasons and sorts the squad out. We all know that but we also know it’s unlikely. So there are cups to get as well as titles. Nearly every season we make a final and have won a majority of them. Most other teams can only dream of that but not City so chin up there’s a 1-1 draw coming up at Brighton next week😉. Let’s not dig out players and TT no disgrace losing to that lot most prem teams have and will.

2 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

City aren't looking good because some fans called for Guardiola's sacking last season, they look good because they are great team who have dominated English football for half a decade.

This was what you said and that is why I responded like that.

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

2 games against them, twice we went in like frightened bunnies after beating the 3 times last season. 

Why? They only changed one player, Grealish, and he is only slightly more useful than Lukaku.

This is what I'm angry about and I'm not taking it from Tuchel.

1 hour ago, Evenflow20 said:

It's the tactics. The manager's tactics or lack thereof! 

I wonder what he tells the players. I really do. What was the mission today? Try & look scared from the first whistle??

Is this any better than Frank? 

And this should get us angry. It just seem as if he doesn't tell his players anything.

His tactics seems poor at times. Sometimes, it just seems we offer nothing going forward.

1 hour ago, CFCCAN said:

Well someone had better sort out our attacking options pretty quickly after this and other inept displays by the forward line. We have spent too much money on attacking players and all the players brought in have been somewhere between woeful and shocking despite their hefty price tags. Either its bad recruitment bringing in players that can't play in our system, or bad management the way we are set up.  If TT can't get a tune out of the forwards before the end of the year and we slip back into the chasing pack scrambling for 4th TT won't be here next season.  You don't spend the amount of money we have over a couple of transfer windows, whether they were players the manager brought in or not, and expect the manager not to be accountable when the club fails.  City have set the bar so high now, a near perfect season or when Pep leaves, will be the only way any team will be able to win the title.  City too good; too consistent to be seriously challenged by anyone for the foreseeable future.  It may only be January but barring a catastrophic collapse the league title is won but it should not have been finished so early especially from our standpoint.  Stupid points dropped, failure to put chances away together with inconsistent performances have been our undoing.  All we can do now is focus on the cup competitions and at least grab some silverware so its not a complete failure. 

Well said.

15 minutes ago, hephzibah said:

This was what you said and that is why I responded like that.

You said City were dominating the league because a tiny minority of fans were calling for Guardiola to be sacked after they lost the Champions League final. I was pointing out that their current form has nothing to do with that and they have been like this for 5 years now. You then came back with a nonsense reply that had nothing to do with my post.

19 minutes ago, General said:

I think under all the recent circumstances- Covid  omicron mental spreading and injuries and being made to play while others rest up or recover losing to City the best team on the planet away by one is not a crisis. And no matter how the club wants to catch up it won’t ever unlsss it sticks by a manager over a few seasons and sorts the squad out. We all know that but we also know it’s unlikely. So there are cups to get as well as titles. Nearly every season we make a final and have won a majority of them. Most other teams can only dream of that but not City so chin up there’s a 1-1 draw coming up at Brighton next week😉. Let’s not dig out players and TT no disgrace losing to that lot most prem teams have and will.

We are not "most premier league teams" that have lost to them. We spent a lot to assemble our team, and you cannot compare us to just every other premier league team.

30 minutes ago, General said:

I think under all the recent circumstances- Covid  omicron mental spreading and injuries and being made to play while others rest up or recover losing to City the best team on the planet away by one is not a crisis. And no matter how the club wants to catch up it won’t ever unlsss it sticks by a manager over a few seasons and sorts the squad out. We all know that but we also know it’s unlikely. So there are cups to get as well as titles. Nearly every season we make a final and have won a majority of them. Most other teams can only dream of that but not City so chin up there’s a 1-1 draw coming up at Brighton next week😉. Let’s not dig out players and TT no disgrace losing to that lot most prem teams have and will.

We disgracefully dropped points prior to all this COVID sh*te, and against supposedly lesser opposition while playing at home, so I'm not buying that as an argument for our failures of late.  Regardless of whether City won today or not, had we have not dropped those points and others to sh*te teams, one of which today couldn't even beat Norwich, then at least we would have still been in with a chance of a title or at the very least give City a run for their money, instead of seeing City's backsides way in the distance and over the hill. They way we were dropping points at home, I said City would be over the horizon by the end of January.  While no games are a given, with the money we have spent giving away late goals to the likes of Leeds, Burnley, Everton, West Ham and a crap Utd side (4 of 5 being at home and winnable) together with another 2 points dropped next Tuesday and TT will certainly be under the spotlight and moving towards the hot seat and the EXIT door. This season with the squad we have, we should have been able to give City,  Liverpool and Utd a tough time.  We have been passive in these games under TT and only respond when we're kicked in the bollocks, by then it's far too late.  

22 minutes ago, hephzibah said:

We are not "most premier league teams" that have lost to them. We spent a lot to assemble our team, and you cannot compare us to just every other premier league team.

Well I was just thinking because we play in the same division a comparison is perfectly appropriate, lots of money spent by the other teams combined annually, some teams that even spend as much or more. Whom would you compare us to then- foreign leagues clubs like PSG RM surely not?

The loss today was disappointing but more the fact that we didn't really ask any questions of City. A bit more bravery in the tactics would have been nice.

That being said it is not the loss today that is causing us to look over our shoulders at the chasing pack. It is the dropped points against Brighton, Burnley, Everton at home especially. 

One shot apparently in 180 mins of football vs Man City this season. I don’t think you really stand a chance if that’s all you can manage in over three hours. 

Citeh lost at Spurs and lost at home to Palace they are not invincible. Our dropped points are because we are not actually as good as Citeh .

But we all know in our hearts, that despite our wins last season they are different class to us over a season.

did any Chelsea fan really believe the media hype about us winning the league ?

not me, top 3 would be an achievement and a cup would be nice.

this team just about, with luck squeezed into 4th place. We've added to the squad with a record signing but he ain't gonna be the answer.

the CL trophy though, was a thing of beauty

4 minutes ago, Socrates said:

One shot apparently in 180 mins of football vs Man City this season. I don’t think you really stand a chance if that’s all you can manage in over three hours. 

It's not fair though.

How can we have shots on goal when Citeh don't let us have the ball ?

How many shots did City have? Not that many more I'd guess.