Was nice to see Chilwel on the pitch.... 

 

I cannot believe I just wrote that bros...

 

 

😨😭😭😭

It was just 1 goal, we can make up for it lads

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

Disagree with that. He's the coach, if the players aren't positioned correctly to defend the counter attack, then he needs to be screaming at somebody to get back. He had time, he was right in line with it.

I agree with you Scott. Okay maybe it's not totally on him. Every single one of these guys has been in the academy system since they were 7 or 8 years of age. There has to be some in game intelligence from the players. Kepa calls a player back, Silva. Mudryk pairs up. Yes Potter should be screaming at them but surely they take some of the blame on that.

Clam down people. We were the better side and finally saw Potterball in all its glory. We created multiple chances and only sh*t finishing cost us a really impressive victory 

Second leg at the Bridge, repeat the performance, bring our shooting boots and we can get it done.

Keep the faith, walking in a Potter wonderland.

I can’t blame potter for players missing chances we should of won that 3-1 or 4-1

Its all been said, I am not always one for giving people time, but in Mudryk's case I think its well worth while. Yes he gave the ball away a bit and tried some silly stuff but the lad has a ton of upside in him and as he gets into the Chelsea swing think we will see a lot more. He is already creating space and the ability for others. Chiller and Mudryk are pretty good.

Even though RLC played ok and quite strong I think its the one position, outside of striker, whee we could do better.

Koulibally had a good game tonight. Not good enough to usurp Badiashile in the league but a good game.

2 hours ago, bisright1 said:

It's ridiculous to think that a football manager in the premier league is incapable of coaching a team to score goals. 

And yet here we are starting from tonight 0-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0,  1-2, 0-4, 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 Hallelujah we scored twice, 0-1, 0-1, 0-2,  0-1, 2-1 against Zagreb on the 2nd November do you notice a recurring theme mate.

1 hour ago, Spiller86 said:

I feel for Potter. We played better tonight. But it doesn't help him that we had the same issues as we always do.

He's had 6 months to fix to it and he hasn't. He's got better and more intelligent players here than he had at Brighton. Regardless of the players he had to play with without the new signings, the attacking tactics, angles and positions going forward can be drilled into any player, especially those that we have in the squad.  I haven't seen any change that would make me believe things are progressing.  The midfield and defensive set up was a sh*t show with huge gaps and disorganization making it easy for Dortmund to walk through to our 18 yard box.  Their finishing was as bad as ours with the chances they had and the only one they did score was a fast break, one on one.   I don't see patterns of play, I still see walking pace build ups allowing the opposition to set up, backward and sideways passes.  The chances that were eventually created were again wasted, as a carry over from last season. 

I don't feel for anyone getting paid millions to organize 11 men running around a pitch with a ball. 2 wins in 14 tells the story of how well he's doing.

Cundys reaction made me smile:

 

 

In my opinion it wouldn't be fair to blame Potter for anything that happened tonight. He got his tactics right and we outplayed them in every aspect of the game. It's not his job to finish chances and considering very limited options on the bench, there isn't much more you could've asked from your manager.

What I don't get is lots of double standards here. If it was Jorginho instead of Enzo who made the mistake the reactions would've been different. Of course, it's still early days but he hasn't impressed me so far apart from the assist last week. He seemed a bit slow at times again, both on and off the ball, and although he isn't the only one at fault for the goal, he should've been more decisive in 1v1. Mudryk also wasn't at the required level, Ziyech looked far more dangerous in the last 15 mins although he was anonymous for the large part of the game. To be fair, Dortmund did a great job of marking those two.

Still, plenty of positives to take. James and Chilwell are back in style, Felix is looking sharp, Silva was doing what he usually does, Koulibaly also contributing to our solidity at the back. The amount of chances created was fantastic and I'm sure we're going through at the Bridge (even without a proper no.9).

3 minutes ago, wizardous said:

In my opinion it wouldn't be fair to blame Potter for anything that happened tonight. He got his tactics right and we outplayed them in every aspect of the game. It's not his job to finish chances and considering very limited options on the bench, there isn't much more you could've asked from your manager.

What I don't get is lots of double standards here. If it was Jorginho instead of Enzo who made the mistake the reactions would've been different. Of course, it's still early days but he hasn't impressed me so far apart from the assist last week. He seemed a bit slow at times again, both on and off the ball, and although he isn't the only one at fault for the goal, he should've been more decisive in 1v1. Mudryk also wasn't at the required level, Ziyech looked far more dangerous in the last 15 mins although he was anonymous for the large part of the game. To be fair, Dortmund did a great job of marking those two.

Still, plenty of positives to take. James and Chilwell are back in style, Felix is looking sharp, Silva was doing what he usually does, Koulibaly also contributing to our solidity at the back. The amount of chances created was fantastic and I'm sure we're going through at the Bridge (even without a proper no.9).

One more positive for you Mr. Wizard, second leg is in 3 weeks, chance Kante is back 🙂

Just now, axman2526 said:

One more positive for you Mr. Wizard, second leg is in 3 weeks, chance Kante is back 🙂

Massive boost for us if it can happen. Enzo and Kante on paper does seem the right combo.

5 minutes ago, wizardous said:

Massive boost for us if it can happen. Enzo and Kante on paper does seem the right combo.

Would prefer Zakaria to anchor for Enzo and Kante in a 3 or Enzo at the base for Kante and Kova. Would make such a difference having midfield quality again in more than 1 player.

2 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Would prefer Zakaria to anchor for Enzo and Kante in a 3 or Enzo at the base for Kante and Kova. Would make such a difference having midfield quality again in more than 1 player.

Surely, Kova has to play when fit. Even Zakaria can bring something to this midfield. But then we would have to switch to a formation without no.10 which would see Felix moved elsewhere. Lots of options definitely for Potter, just hope the injury list keeps shrinking...

Kepa should’ve done better there looking back. 

13 minutes ago, wizardous said:

Surely, Kova has to play when fit. Even Zakaria can bring something to this midfield. But then we would have to switch to a formation without no.10 which would see Felix moved elsewhere. Lots of options definitely for Potter, just hope the injury list keeps shrinking...

Does not mean he has to ditch a 10:

 

Kepa and back 3

 

James

Kante

Enzo/Zakaria

Kovacic/Enzo

Chilwell

 

Felix 

 

Mudryk

 

Or

 

Kepa and back 4

 

Kante

Enzo/Zakaria

Kovacic/Enzo

 

Felix

 

Havertz

Mudryk

I thought we looked fairly good, at times, now and then. 

2 hours ago, wizardous said:

In my opinion it wouldn't be fair to blame Potter for anything that happened tonight. He got his tactics right and we outplayed them in every aspect of the game.

If it was Jorginho instead of Enzo who made the mistake the reactions would've been different. Of course, it's still early days but he hasn't impressed me so far apart from the assist last week. He seemed a bit slow at times again, both on and off the ball, and although he isn't the only one at fault for the goal, he should've been more decisive in 1v1.

The two paragraphs I singled out here contradict each other. If Potter's tactics were perfect, Enzo would have played better. The fact that he is slow from time to time and aren't as decisive in 1v1s is because of Potter's tactics and training. Simple as. 

 

5 hours ago, bluehaze said:

And yet here we are starting from tonight 0-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0,  1-2, 0-4, 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 Hallelujah we scored twice, 0-1, 0-1, 0-2,  0-1, 2-1 against Zagreb on the 2nd November do you notice a recurring theme mate.

bluehaze: That’s our problem in a nutshell. 

Edited February 16, 20233 yr by erskblue

8 hours ago, Frankfurter said:

We will never get anywhere with Potter as manager. It won't change. This pathetic finishing will continue because he doesn't coach shooting or finishing. It's all about passing with him. As I have said watching +2 seasons of turgid football at Brighton was enough to convince me of this guy 's limitations. OK Aubameyang has pissed off a lot of us but to leave him out of the CL squad was ludicrous. If we are knocked out, he should be sacked!

It Is questionable if he left out the only proven striker (their official position) that is fit and included an unfit Wesley Fofana. Go out through a lack of potency in front of goal and it will cause predictable questions and headlines from the press. When the heat is on anyway, why set yourself up like that. Its unnecessary 

8 hours ago, petre ispirescu said:

Mudryk was man marking Adeyemi there but was caught looking at the ball all the time and left Adeyemi out of his sight. School boy error really... You never lose your man at this level, especially when the counter is on...

Mudryk is super talented, all tricks and skills, but tactically he is a mess to be honest. 

If Enzo had man marked and Mudryk was left back, if needed Enzo could have committed a professional foul and take a yellow instead of a red and if Adeyemi had pulled clear of him it would then have been a fairer foot race with Mudryk

8 hours ago, forbzy said:

No he isn't but he had to be dropped from the squad to make way for the new players. Like I said it was realistically a choice between 1 of Mudryk, Fofana, Madueke out of the new players, or keep Auba. At this point it seems unclear as to why we signed Auba, but it is very clear that the club wants to get rid of him. Hardly a great case for including him in any matchday squad.

But couldn't Wesley Fofana have been dropped.  Isn't he still included and will still be unfit when this tie is concluded

8 hours ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Not sure I agree that Enzo shouldn't have been the last man. If we were defending a lead I would agree but at that stage of the game, we were putting pressure on Dortmund. In a completely different scenario, Enzo being there could have been the key to us scoring with a long ball after the run of play from the corner. I think this was just a case of us being unlucky. 

Ordinarily I would agree but they were in a worse position than us. 0-0 at home in the first leg. They needed something just as much as we did, they are a renowned pacy counter attacking team and pushed the fastest player in the Bundesliga up the pitch into a 1 v1 with half a pitch of space to run into. Poor game management on our part. I have acknowledged that some of that is down to the coaching staff but it's also on the players and without trying to pick on players for the sake of it, it is generally the goalkeeper that organises that cover if players wander upfield.

8 hours ago, forbzy said:

The striker situation has been a problem we have not properly resolved since Diego Costa left. Giroud, Tammy Abraham, and Lukaku were all offloaded before the current owners took over, but would have offered more than Auba.

Agreed but still doesn't excuse discarding the only proven striker at the club when you don't score goals

6 hours ago, ozboy said:

Its all been said, I am not always one for giving people time, but in Mudryk's case I think its well worth while. Yes he gave the ball away a bit and tried some silly stuff but the lad has a ton of upside in him and as he gets into the Chelsea swing think we will see a lot more. He is already creating space and the ability for others. Chiller and Mudryk are pretty good.

Even though RLC played ok and quite strong I think its the one position, outside of striker, whee we could do better.

Koulibally had a good game tonight. Not good enough to usurp Badiashile in the league but a good game.

He reminds me a lot of early CR7. Silly multiple step overs, flicks and jinks and very little end product. Unfortunately there are no men any more. No Roy Keanes in the side  no JT to iron him out in training.

He needs to stop thinking three moves ahead, these are not sh*t players he is playing against. Play simple honest football, using the additional skills sparingly and keep trying, don't lose faith. There is a truly great player in the making here, providing he can adapt to his environment.