Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 3

[east lower]

41 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

We have the single best collection of songs anywhere but you just don't hear them at home games. Often copied never bettered. 

We've won it all turning into you've won fuck all.

Champions of Europe, we know what we are.

Chanpions of Europe, youll never sign that.

Tottenham get battered, everywhere they go

All copied by pretty much every club in recent years.

Tottenham is the best example, they have stolen literally everyone of our songs and changed the words to make it about them.

Also we can be very spontaneous like last night the 'how shit must you be, were winning away', which was classic Chelsea.

Tell me one other club that has a song like Allouette, which is the greatest song in footballing history?

How about the 'Chelsea Ranger'

[Max Fowler]

16 minutes ago, paulw66 said:

I don't really understand this sort of comment(s) and you see it on Sky, MOTD etc. 

If one team is brilliant, why does that automatically mean the other was terrible or didn't turn up? Conversely, if one team is terrible, then by definition the other team might have only needed to be adequate to win the game. 

It doesn't automatically mean it - I never said that. 

Be honest though Paul - Villa were crap last night, everyone knows it. It wasn't just because we somehow made them look crap - they looked knackered. They should be after playing in Europe this season and we are not.

Again - this takes nothing away from the performance - but the idea that Villa were good last night and we were better is for the fairies.

Edited February 8 by Max Fowler

[martin1905]

13 minutes ago, east lower said:

How about the 'Chelsea Ranger'

Love it but not quite on the level of Alouette.

The hairy arse, Veeeeeeeeeee Deeeeeeeee and Gol-den Haaaaaaaaaaair are just the greatest parts to any song for me.

Both great to sing along to though and I don't think any other club has anything close to either of them.

[martin1905]

1 hour ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

That’s fair. But what I don’t get is why it took two absolutely shocking defeats to suddenly find the right mentality? We should be up for every game. 

In fact you could say that we’ve been terrible for 90% of the time since the takeover. 

A very good performance, the level of which we should at the minimum aspire to every match. It’s one game and will be a waste if we go back to the same abject, unacceptable rubbish. 

Can we continue like this? I don’t know. We clearly are capable of it. 

I have no doubt this was a one off and we will go back to the shit being the norm and I put that down to the manager.

We will see Thiago back, Colwill at left back, Enzo running around aimlessly in the final third, Sterling starting the majority of games, Madueke not getting a run in the side and most importantly even if none of those things happen, we played the same 11 as last night every game from now on when it doesn't work he will sit there twiddling his thumbs and doing nothing to change anything.

As I've said time and time again, he's fine when everyone is fit and playing to their best level but utterly useless when he has to do something, anything , other than pick a starting line up to effect a game. 

[ROTG]

1 hour ago, paulw66 said:

been saying this offline for a few weeks. His selection is a problem, for reasons you say. no serious team has a 40 year old player anywhere, not even in goal.

If he plays, the defensive line is deeper, which creates a big gap between the back 4 and the midfield, which has been ruthlessly exploited in the previous 2 games. It also prevents the full backs attacking properly as they cant leave him exposed. 

Playing two centre backs who can move, improves the whole shape of the team 

I thought you said horses for course and back 3 against the top teams

Maybe the ex Monaco CB pairing is the path forward. 

[paulw66]

21 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

 

Be honest though Paul - Villa were crap last night, everyone knows it.

 

21 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

 

Again - this takes nothing away from the performance - 

Well, of course it does. How can it not?

If you label a team as "crap" you are saying the team that beat them only had to beat a crap performance. 

21 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

but the idea that Villa were good last night and we were better is for the fairies.

Maybe not "good", but there is a level(s) between "good" and "crap"

 

Personally, I thought we played really well, and made them look average 

 

[paulw66]

Just now, ROTG said:

I thought you said horses for course and back 3 against the top teams

 

Yup, I still wouldn't object to that, as 3 at the back doesn't expose Silva's lack of pace so much

[ROTG]

Just now, paulw66 said:

Yup, I still wouldn't object to that, as 3 at the back doesn't expose Silva's lack of pace so much

IMO with the season petty much over, I would continue with the ex Monaco CB pairing for the remainder of the season "subject to injury" to get PL miles on the clock. 

[Max Fowler]

Just now, paulw66 said:

Well, of course it does. How can it not?

If you label a team as "crap" you are saying the team that beat them only had to beat a crap performance. 

Maybe not "good", but there is a level(s) between "good" and "crap"

Personally, I thought we played really well, and made them look average 

Okay - we’re not really disagreeing. It’s just Villa were clearly nowhere near their best and that wasn’t just because of us. Every Villa fan thinks it was one of their worst performances this season and they look tired. They don’t think, “wow Chelsea played well and put us in our place”. It takes nothing away because it is a realistic view of last night and not a trap that we keep falling into - that one good performance will save our season.

[Max Fowler]

Absolute shocker I thought from Poch last night this. What a contrast to what he was saying at the start of the season. 

 

 

[Ham]

4 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

Absolute shocker I thought from Poch last night this. What a contrast to what he was saying at the start of the season. 

 

 

Sound like you're looking to be offended. Shocker. 

[xceleryx]

4 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

Absolute shocker I thought from Poch last night this. What a contrast to what he was saying at the start of the season. 

 

 

Absolutely nothing wrong with this IMO.

He's right, we're not the same Chelsea of the last 20 years. This is a new direction and it's got its own set of challenges. This doesn't mean the aspiration isn't to win trophies, but there's a world of difference between past Chelsea teams and this one that it's impossible to make comparisons or hold the same set of expectations. 

 H

[Max Fowler]

3 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with this IMO.

He's right, we're not the same Chelsea of the last 20 years. This is a new direction and it's got its own set of challenges. This doesn't mean the aspiration isn't to win trophies, but there's a world of difference between past Chelsea teams and this one that it's impossible to make comparisons or hold the same set of expectations. 

Well he was either wrong at the start of the season when he constantly used our history to try and win the fans over or he's wrong now.

The 7000 or whatever travelling fans weren't vociferously supporting the team last night because they "believe in the project", nor because they have "patience" with it. They celebrated because we finally put in a good performance and who can blame them for enjoying it? Chelsea fans aren't bitter or entitled - they give credit to the players where it's due.

I guarantee that the vast majority of those fans still have enormous doubts in the project and Poch. They have expectations because we know that there is no long road to success. There is no growth without results and we may be a little better this season but we are falling behind because the other teams are improving quicker. The Chelsea fans are not stupid.

I absolutely don't think the owners sanctioned him saying "this is not the same Chelsea from the last 20 years". I think Poch realises he is close to the end, is hugely suffering from the pressure and let it all out at the press conference. Chelsea fans will not change - the owners and Poch can like it or not. It's simply not acceptable to wait this long for a complete performance.

[thevelourfog]

Really don't understand the fascination with press conferences and what managers say in them. Who cares? What we see on the pitch is what matters.

[Max Fowler]

To tell the Chelsea fans to think differently is not going to happen.
It's like complaining that we can't build a new all-purpose stadium one mile down the road from the Bridge.

You took over this club Clearlake - you took over this role Poch. Our fans have expectations and they won't change.
Deal with it.

Chelsea fans don't think that we should we winning 5 titles in a row with Champions Leagues up the wazoo.
As a whole, they get that this a young side but the mediocrity we've seen simply is nowhere near good enough for this club.

And honestly, can anyone hand on heart predict we are going to push on after this until the end of the season?
Go on - I dare you!

[Dwmh]

Young
It is a very young squad with not enough players so very subject to injuries.
So volatility is inevitable (and has been built into the team by some crazy decisions last September and no correction in January)

Note - 2 FBs available and 6 (I kid you not) 6 front 3 players.  Sterling Nkunku and Modryk on the bench!!  7 forwards if you include Gallagher who once again was mostly playing in front of Palmer.
+ Chuk and Silva.

First balanced 16 for the season
This was probably the fullest and most complete squad we have had all season (the most balanced first 16 at least, still injuries but they are having less impact).

Random.
We are seeing knee jerk over reactions for games that are just more random because:

• Age of our team
• Variety of oppo (championship to Liverpool)
• We are 11th => half a dozen teams much better than us, half a dozen much worse and half a dozen similar teams where small changes in form can make big differences

When you are good enough to be 3rd or 4th, results tend to be a lot more consistent - 15/16 aside we have forgotten that.

Not as bad not as good as it seems
The runs of wins were largely predicted from the fixture list in advance.  
The loss to Liverpool was no biggie - except for egos.  They are much much better than teams currently 11th .
The Wolves game was pretty balanced IMO (as was xG).
Wolves finished really well, we didn't.  Given the randomness and the gap in experience this was just one of those games that swung away.

The Villa game was the reverse, I can't find an xG score but I don't think we had all that many chances.  And the Fernandez goal certainly won't go in the next 5 times he tries it.  Chance and randomness worked for us this time.

Does the team prefer to play away?

Maybe there is less pressure at away games right now.

3 hours ago, martin1905 said:

It can't be underestimated how important finishing in the top 4 would be for Villla. I think that and them not being bothered about the FA Cup and the fact that our season depends solely on the cups played a big part in the two teams performaces last night. 

I wondered that.  Then looked at the team compared to Saturday - Cash for Konsa at RB.  The manager clearly wanted to win it.

 

 

[ROTG]

1 hour ago, Max Fowler said:

As a whole, they get that this a young side but the mediocrity we've seen simply is nowhere near good enough for this club.

The young side myth needs to be put in the bin.

Starting line up Average age 23. 

[Mark Kelly]

7 minutes ago, ROTG said:

The young side myth needs to be put in the bin.

Starting line up Average age 23. 

Let me make sure I have this right .

We can't buy players from mid table English sides

We can't buy players from anywhere that the two procurement guys have worked 

We can't buy players from the US 

Players are old at 23 

Andy Myers should be the coach 

I'd lay off the communion wine if I were you.

[ROTG]

20 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Let me make sure I have this right .

We can't buy players from mid table English sides

We can't buy players from anywhere that the two procurement guys have worked 

We can't buy players from the US 

Players are old at 23 

Andy Myers should be the coach 

I'd lay off the communion wine if I were you.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black

Time for you to open your NHS app and order more Prozac before the Palace game just incase it goes south. 

Edited February 8 by ROTG

[boratsbrother]

1 hour ago, Max Fowler said:

 

And honestly, can anyone hand on heart predict we are going to push on after this until the end of the season?
Go on - I dare you!

I will predict there will be more good, bad and indifferent performances and results for the rest of this season.  It's what I would expect from a new, inexperienced, and almost completely unproven team/squad of players. 

Here's some undeniable facts about the progress which has been made this season -  We are already in one Cup final. A home tie against a championship team to make it into the quarter finals on the FA Cup. We have played well against all the top four teams this season and beaten 5th place Spurs away too. Even with our shortcomings up front we are   scoring a lot more goals. Enzo has scored 4 already which is significantly better than last year. Gallagher has scored a fine goal and hit the woodwork with great efforts a few times, so the midfield is looking more dangerous. 

The one consistent negative has obviously been the defence a lot of which has been the constant chopping and changing due to injuries and numerous brain farts. The defence can easily and significantly be improved  with this set of players.

We all want it to be better than it is right now but none of should be demanding it be better than what it is, which is what you appear to be doing. That indeed is a definition of the  entitlement you denied about the fanbase having.

 

 

 

[ROTG]

6 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

We can't buy players from mid table English sides

We can't buy players from anywhere that the two procurement guys have worked 

We have and look 11th in the PL. 

Happy to do a wager on where the team finish this season

Over to you

[ROTG]

14 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Players are old at 23 

Put it like this they are not academy players nor are the U21 players. 

Maybe the FIFA and the FA can bring back the U23`s then it could deemed mid nearly senior players but not quite. 

Edited February 8 by ROTG

[Max Fowler]

23 minutes ago, ROTG said:

The young side myth needs to be put in the bin.

Starting line up Average age 23. 

We have the youngest squad in the league mate - by quite some margin.

Though I admit some players should be old enough to do better by now.

[Max Fowler]

5 minutes ago, boratsbrother said:

I will predict there will be more good, bad and indifferent performances and results for the rest of this season.  It's what I would expect from a new, inexperienced, and almost completely unproven team/squad of players. 

Here's some undeniable facts about the progress which has been made this season -  We are already in one Cup final. A home tie against a championship team to make it into the quarter finals on the FA Cup. We have played well against all the top four teams this season and beaten 5th place Spurs away too. Even with our shortcomings up front we are   scoring a lot more goals. Enzo has scored 4 already which is significantly better than last year. Gallagher has scored a fine goal and hit the woodwork with great efforts a few times, so the midfield is looking more dangerous. 

The one consistent negative has obviously been the defence a lot of which has been the constant chopping and changing due to injuries and numerous brain farts. The defence can easily and significantly be improved  with this set of players.

We all want it to be better than it is right now but none of should be demanding it be better than what it is, which is what you appear to be doing. That indeed is a definition of the  entitlement you denied about the fanbase having.

11th. Have you heard yourself? I am "entitled" for expecting better than 11th? I shouldn't be demanding better? Jesus. H. Christ.

We played well in one game against Liverpool - badly in the other. Threw the game away against Arsenal. Watch what happens when our upcoming fixtures roll into town - we are not heading upwards any time soon. 

Yes we have scored more goals but we have conceded bucketloads more too - that is not improvement, that is shifting one problem onto another, thanks to Poch's wide open 4-4-2 formation.

Gallagher just scored his first goal of the season, now we have a "more dangerous" midfield"?

I am absolutely not without optimism but you are tying yourself in knots defending a project that has clearly completely failed again this season - one performance from last night does change that.

[ROTG]

15 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

We have the youngest squad in the league mate - by quite some margin.

Though I admit some players should be old enough to do better by now.

As @Dwmh wrote. 

It's strongest 16 where there are no real youngsters Vs the squad which has several young and make the average age figures slightly distorted and could or has been used as an excuse. 

For me it's PL miles is the real issue and one would suspect the current squad is probably the lowest. 

Edited February 8 by ROTG