Real Madrid 2 Chelsea 0

[Ham]

1 minute ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Sending you positive vibes my friend! 

Thanks Sam. 💙

[east lower]

7 minutes ago, chara said:

First one ? not really and second it did go between Fofana's ( I think)legs although a question there certainly but overall he did do a lot of good hard stuff,

As ever....Chelsea 0.....there's the problem not an average EPL keeper.

 

Thought the first was a decent save, he just couldn’t get the push off that would have given him momentum to get the ball clear of the goal. 
 

Second one, the shot in that position most times goes to his left, that’s what I think he begins to anticipate and then sees the actual line of the shot late as it goes through Fofana’s legs. Stop the shot/cross, stop the goal.

[east lower]

3 minutes ago, Ham said:

I'm lucky. I only qualify through my other half's employment. 

Had I been relying on the NHS I'd still have been in the dark as they've been absolutely useless.  I'm not even joking. They haven't done a thing proactively whereas BUPA have been all over it. 

 

Can believe all of that.

NHS in an absolute emergency are the best, ask them to plan anything and you’re in trouble.

[Ham]

Sorry. Didn't mean to hijack the thread or steal attention from East Lower's friend. His plight is worse than mine. 

Back on topic, I'm still, deep down, hopeful we can turn this tie around. 

Dortmund vibes needed.  I'll be overseas with a beer in hand for the second leg.

Don't let me down 💙

[Rob B]

17 minutes ago, Liquidator said:

Thought the same for the second also ...Down a bit slow and the usual weak wrists.... Will win nothing going forward with this keeper....

Have to agree with this.  Although neither are probably classed as mistakes, a world class keeper does better with both.  

Just look at Courtois’ save from Sterling at point blank range, that’s the difference.
 The margins are so fine at this level. 

What really hit home tonight given we haven’t scored for four games in a row, is how much we have squandered the best part of half a billion quid and still haven’t addressed the two most important areas of the team (GK and Striker) 

I’m sure Santos, Madueke, Chukwuemeka etc are great prospects and could  serve us well in the future etc, but my god how different our season could have been if we had our own Courtois and Bemzema!!?

[chara]

1 minute ago, Ham said:

I'm lucky. I only qualify through my other half's employment. 

Had I been relying on the NHS I'd still have been in the dark as they've been absolutely useless.  I'm not even joking. They haven't done a thing proactively whereas BUPA have been all over it. 

 

There are many issues over here but as long as anyone is sensible with finances the Health Service availability is amazing...not cheap but even at my lowest time here...and it was low..I had good health coverage through work although it was more than I could easily carry.

With my heart issues. my Dr took 5 minutes and said "I want you in St Josephs NOW' and indeed I was. He saved my life........

Keep us informed even if on pm.

[Ham]

1 minute ago, chara said:

There are many issues over here but as long as anyone is sensible with finances the Health Service availability is amazing...not cheap but even at my lowest time here...and it was low..I had good health coverage through work although it was more than I could easily carry.

With my heart issues. my Dr took 5 minutes and said "I want you in St Josephs NOW' and indeed I was. He saved my life........

Keep us informed even if on pm.

Thanks God for that. 

Will do Chara. 

[east lower]

It’s possible to turn this one around, need a Dortmund result (2-0) and the gods to see us through,

We saw tonight that we can get in positions to score against them. Difference last season was that we were scoring a few and this season we’ve got more chance of seeing Lord Lucan riding Shergar over an open Hammersmith Bridge than us scoring 3 against Real Madrid

[chara]

8 minutes ago, east lower said:

Thought the first was a decent save, he just couldn’t get the push off that would have given him momentum to get the ball clear of the goal. 
 

Second one, the shot in that position most times goes to his left, that’s what I think he begins to anticipate and then sees the actual line of the shot late as it goes through Fofana’s legs. Stop the shot/cross, stop the goal.

Agree..as I said earlier TC had a similar save but it was away from the goal mouth..Kepa had no option...it was close and I thought he did well to get a hand to it...rub of the green and a defender would have wellied it away but...

[chara]

I shared a breakfast conversation reference the game ...

Post game conversation.

Me .."Get you a cup of tea before I walk the dogs ?....or will you share a cup of hemlock ?"

 

[Bison]

Hope we at least go out with a bang next week. It'll be our last Champions League game for a few seasons at least so make the most of it. 

[Original 21]

The only positive from this game is that Mason Mount came on and nearly scored. I hope we sort out his contract soon, give him the armband if needs be, pay him what he deserves, as he’s one of the few who seems to care and he’s one player we can’t afford to lose. 

[Miguelito07]

What a terrible terrible performance. Embarrassing! 
 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Miguelito07

[paulw66]

42 minutes ago, Bison said:

Hope we at least go out with a bang next week. It'll be our last Champions League game for a few seasons at least so make the most of it. 

Am sure the same was said in 2015/16

[kev61]

35 minutes ago, Bison said:

Hope we at least go out with a bang next week. It'll be our last Champions League game for a few seasons at least so make the most of it. 

I don't think most of this lot are capable of going out with a bang!.

More like they will arrange the deck chairs before we sink.

 

[kev61]

20 minutes ago, Original 21 said:

The only positive from this game is that Mason Mount came on and nearly scored. I hope we sort out his contract soon, give him the armband if needs be, pay him what he deserves, as he’s one of the few who seems to care and he’s one player we can’t afford to lose. 

The thing I like about Mount(amongst many things)is he knows how to put the boot in subtly.

Anyone remember him catching the shin of a Madrid player and innocently walking away?

Very clever - not that I advocate violence in any shape or form😉

[Michael Tucker]

51 minutes ago, kev61 said:

I don't think most of this lot are capable of going out with a bang!.

More like they will arrange the deck chairs before we sink.

 

Harsh, imo. 

[kev61]

8 minutes ago, Michael Tucker said:

Harsh, imo. 

Yes probably so.How do you untangle a series of knots with fingers that have no nails?

I'm blaming the knots when I should be blaming the people that caused the knots.

 

[kev61]

I'm looking forward to the pre - season before the pre - season.

Let's see what Frank can do when CL league is out of the way.He has nothing to lose by being bold and innovative 

[My Blood Is Blue]

25 minutes ago, kev61 said:

I'm looking forward to the pre - season before the pre - season.

Let's see what Frank can do when CL league is out of the way.He has nothing to lose by being bold and innovative 

I would like to see Chukwuemeka back into the first team in the run in, I thought he looked really good for the period where he was getting game time. I’d much rather see him get minutes than some of those that have been recently. 

[kev61]

Just now, My Blood Is Blue said:

I would like to see Chukwuemeka back into the first team in the run in, I thought he looked really good for the period where he was getting game time. I’d much rather see him get minutes than some of those that have been recently. 

Agree.I suppose that is an advantage of having nothing to lose.

We are in a position that we haven't experienced in years.We have top notch players players that will win nothing.

Lampard can really make a name for himself, and our failure in the CL will mean not a jot.

Over to you Frank.

[Miguelito07]

3 hours ago, east lower said:

It’s possible to turn this one around

I admire your optimism - but I’m not sure we are watching the same team. This team is done - we not it but I think most importantly (and unfortunately) the players know it. As someone mentioned, this is a team hasn’t  been coached.  They’ve downed tools. It’s pretty embarrassing to be honest. 

[xceleryx]

A pretty laborious performance once its all said and done.

The midfield remains a huge problem outside of Enzo, who while didn't have his best of games was often the only one willing to move the ball with a bit of purpose even if his passes weren't always successful. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought Kante was Per Mertesacker playing in midfield with how slow he looked out there at times, while Kovacic was virtually a floating figure of nothing. If this isn't a huge priority area to amend in the summer, and I'm talking about a full rebuild to where either Kante and Kova are nothing more than squad players, if here at all, then we're going to continue to struggle no matter how much we invest higher up the pitch. 

Upfront though was a nightmare with virtually zero ball retention or presence, hardly a surprise when fielding both Sterling and Joao Felix together. As frustrating as Havertz can be, he at least provides a bit of a figure upfront to play off and we really lacked that tonight.

Defensively we were a mixed bag. I thought Thiago Silva and Koulibaly were decent, Fofana had his moments, but overall just not to the standard needed to compete at this sort of level. However, keeping things at 2-0 deserves some credit given we played with 10 men for so long. Both Chilwell and James however were rather disappointing given the standard they're capable of producing. 

We're such a stagnate, technically challenged, and slow side. Hard seeing us overturning things at home but I suppose anything can happen, I just can't see where the goals are going to come from though. 

Cannot wait for this season to be over. 

[kev61]

16 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

A pretty laborious performance once its all said and done.

The midfield remains a huge problem outside of Enzo, who while didn't have his best of games was often the only one willing to move the ball with a bit of purpose even if his passes weren't always successful. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought Kante was Per Mertesacker playing in midfield with how slow he looked out there at times, while Kovacic was virtually a floating figure of nothing. If this isn't a huge priority area to amend in the summer, and I'm talking about a full rebuild to where either Kante and Kova are nothing more than squad players, if here at all, then we're going to continue to struggle no matter how much we invest higher up the pitch. 

Upfront though was a nightmare with virtually zero ball retention or presence, hardly a surprise when fielding both Sterling and Joao Felix together. As frustrating as Havertz can be, he at least provides a bit of a figure upfront to play off and we really lacked that tonight.

Defensively we were a mixed bag. I thought Thiago Silva and Koulibaly were decent, Fofana had his moments, but overall just not to the standard needed to compete at this sort of level. However, keeping things at 2-0 deserves some credit given we played with 10 men for so long. Both Chilwell and James however were rather disappointing given the standard they're capable of producing. 

We're such a stagnate, technically challenged, and slow side. Hard seeing us overturning things at home but I suppose anything can happen, I just can't see where the goals are going to come from though. 

Cannot wait for this season to be over. 

We see Haaland  scoring goals for fun - not in a spectacular way (except for the scissor kick).

He has players around him that Sterling had.Sterling is predictable in every move he makes, Haaland just buries a chance or even a half chance.

Guardiola just knows a good player and trusts them,without inculcation 

We have players that need spoon fed.Guardiola knew that Sterling was a luxury,but Sterling looked good in a City team so we were suckered into buying him.

As I said before Frank is under no pressure,show us what you can do.

 

 

[kev61]

18 minutes ago, kev61 said:

We see Haaland  scoring goals for fun - not in a spectacular way (except for the scissor kick).

He has players around him that Sterling had.Sterling is predictable in every move he makes, Haaland just buries a chance or even a half chance.

Guardiola just knows a good player and trusts them,without inculcation 

We have players that need spoon fed.Guardiola knew that Sterling was a luxury,but Sterling looked good in a City team so we were suckered into buying him.

As I said before Frank is under no pressure,show us what you can do.

 

 

I think we need to know the difference between recruitment and procurement.