Chelsea 4 Manchester City 4

[Dwmh]

11 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I think we defend poorly from set pieces as they are marking zonally which despite being the "modern" marvel I hate 

As a wise man once said " Space never scored a goal" 

Cucurella on Haaland.  With VAR man to man marking is suicidal.  It is an attacking foul vs a defensive penalty.

[Mark Kelly]

6 minutes ago, Dwmh said:

Cucurella on Haaland.  With VAR man to man marking is suicidal.  It is an attacking foul vs a defensive penalty.

What great Spaces have scored a goal then?

Richmond Park?

The Russian Steppes ?

The hanging gardens of Babylon? 

I think that was a referee problem not a Cucurella problem 

I'm advocating getting to the ball before the man you are marking and clearing it , not waiting for it to reach your sector 

 

[ROTG]

2 hours ago, paulw66 said:

Not just the result but the performance. 

Going toe to toe with the best club side around is a positive.

Absolutely the team has nothing to lose according to the bookies,

do you think the team would have been that bold if they were in the top 4?

[Dwmh]

8 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

What great Spaces have scored a goal then?

Nor have they ever given a penalty away.  
 

10 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I'm advocating getting to the ball before the man you are marking and clearing it , not waiting for it to reach your sector 

The trouble is that involves 5 or 6 men getting in front of 5 or 6 opponents by hook or crook, despite only one of them being likely to get near the ball, let alone head it, let alone heading it on target past the keeper.  1 in 4 corners would be a penalty if we played like they did in 2010.
And remember opposing teams know where the ball is going to be crossed to, we don't.  (even when we were attacking under Barry).

On the other hand refs have show great leniency to little guys blocking big guys from running.

9 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I think that was a referee problem not a Cucurella problem 

Linesman problem I think you mean.  Perfect example of why you need your big jumpers in the right zones and why man marking leads to penalties even where the player is nowhere near the end of the cross.  Cucurella's job was supposed to be making it harder to stop Haaland arrive at speed.  He took on too much responsibility.

VAR means players have to hold their arms behind their backs to avoid hand ball.
It also means they have to do something very similar to avoid penalties for pulling.
One of the aims, and certainly the big success of VAR has been more goals from corners and penalties.  Preventing M2M as an option is a feature.

[Backbiter]

3 hours ago, Sciatika said:

The second goal was annoying. We have had a problem for years with the edge of the pitch being 'slippery' in blades. It is terrible off the main pitch surface but also causes problems on the edge of the pitch itself. I remember Pat Nevin moaning about it in commentary years ago. So, for instance, we see players slipping when taking corners or in tackles on the touchline. In the goals, the pitch ends just behind the goal line. I think, in the second goal, Sanchez slips on the goal line making it impossible to reach the header. That isn't the cause of the goal, which was a failure to mark Akanji properly, but it doesn't help.

We need ballboys with big hairdryers.

[Backbiter]

1 hour ago, Miguelito07 said:

Definitely a wonderful team to watch - but did they win anything?

Lads, it was Newcastle.

[xceleryx]

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

I think we defend poorly from set pieces as they are marking zonally which despite being the "modern" marvel I hate 

As a wise man once said " Space never scored a goal" 

The issue with man marking is that it's also very matchup dependant and as such quite easy to create mismatches. 

We're not full zonal anyway, it's more of a mixture of both zonal and man marking together. 

[Bison]

I really want to see Badiashile start playing regularly after the international break. It would go some way towards resolving our matchup problem at set pieces.

I truly believe he's our best CB.

[SideshowLuiz]

29 minutes ago, Bison said:

I really want to see Badiashile start playing regularly after the international break. It would go some way towards resolving our matchup problem at set pieces.

I truly believe he's our best CB.

He was definitely a rare bright spark last season, consistently good performances, I felt. 

With Fofana also coming back (albeit with Silva's potential retirement next season), I do feel for Chalobah and am pretty sure he'll look for a move in the summer. And of course, we have Malang Sarr (somewhere)!

Edited November 14, 2023 by SideshowLuiz

[martin1905]

12 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Lahm, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Zanetti, Zambrotta, and more.

Not sure I'd consider him the best right back I've ever seen, his body of work still requires more to be had, but he has the ability to be right up there if fitness and form permit in the coming years.

I can't comment on all of them and it would be pretty pointless as we'd go round in circles arguing each individual case, Carlos as an example as good as he was wasn't that influential, certainly for the Madrid team and I watched them a lot, like pretty much every game back then. As good as he was and of course he was influential, nothing like the impact James has on us. 

Like I say, pointless arguing individuals but it just proves the point if there's only a handful then it's very much up for debate.

I wonder how many were as influential as James at his age.....

[Floyd25]

On 14/11/2023 at 07:37, NoblyBobly said:

I don’t think we have played the same defensive line up in consecutive games. Injuries have played a big part in that. We really should take snaps for the photo album when James and Chilly are on the pitch together, both fully fit.

That is a fair point, although I wonder whether Cucurella will lose his place upon Chilwell’s return, as I think he’s been surprisingly good lately. The marking on set pieces is a big issue for me though, don’t like the mix of zonal/man marking. 

[Floyd25]

On 14/11/2023 at 12:30, xceleryx said:

We're not full zonal anyway, it's more of a mixture of both zonal and man marking together. 

Which isn’t working very well, although I get the concerns with being fully man to man, we’re conceding far too many chances at the moment.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Floyd25

[Floyd25]

On 14/11/2023 at 04:11, ROTG said:

Maybe the team has become 2023 version of king Kev's Newcastle the entertainers allegedly

The game did remind me of those Newcastle vs Liverpool games to be honest. 

[xceleryx]

10 hours ago, Floyd25 said:

Which isn’t working very well, although I get the concerns with being fully man to man, we’re conceding far too many chances at the moment.

We are, but it's more down to situational awareness, concentration, and positioning IMO. 

Not something the marking system alone is going to solve. 

 

[My Blood Is Blue]

On 14/11/2023 at 13:28, martin1905 said:

I can't comment on all of them and it would be pretty pointless as we'd go round in circles arguing each individual case, Carlos as an example as good as he was wasn't that influential, certainly for the Madrid team and I watched them a lot, like pretty much every game back then. As good as he was and of course he was influential, nothing like the impact James has on us. 

Like I say, pointless arguing individuals but it just proves the point if there's only a handful then it's very much up for debate.

I wonder how many were as influential as James at his age.....

Ashley Cole is the best full back I've ever seen play the game. Obviously, he was on the other side of the pitch to Reece James, but I think he is the top level for any full back.

I think James is a fantastic player and he makes a massive difference for us when playing, but his injuries are what is preventing him from being seen as one of the best in his position. If he can stay injury free for a long period of time, then I think he could step head a shoulders above any other full back currently playing, but it is still a big if.