Chelsea 4 Leicester City 2

[boratsbrother]

5 hours ago, Siidi said:

 If after three seasons under Pochettino we have become a Europa league regular, is that  good enough? Because I dont see in him a manager who can take on the nest managers in Europe  and.come away on top .

The clubs aim over the next few years or so should be to get back to taking on the best in England, not Europe. Achieve that and taking on Europe's best will take care of itself.

We didnt hire Poch thinking he's going to be the man to get us back to challenging the likes of City and Liverpool. We hired him to start identifying players in the squad who we can go forward with and build a team for the future,  hopefully win a Cup along the way and get is back in the top 6. He's already had a very good season in the Cups and by the end of next season I expect him to have achieved what he was hired to do.

No doubt we will need a better manager to challenge the top clubs again, but who that will be is anyone's guess. 

[Mark Kelly]

28 minutes ago, blueandproud said:

Absolutely mental game, surpassed only by Liverpool/Man Utd game  Why does every team score worldies against us all the time?  I'ts pissing me off, why can't it happen to someone else?  Sterling had a day to forget, I loved what Jimmy Floyd Hasseelbaink said at half time, I can only imaine what Jimmy would have done if Sterling tried get the ball off him for the penalty!  City in the semis, but we've shown we can live with them twice, and I for one fancy ius to get to the final and win it.  

I suppose it would help if the coach told the players to close people down but that's beyond him apparently. Like stopping the cross coming in before it can do any damage. 

All roads lead to Poch. 

[east lower]

2 hours ago, chara said:

I had some quiet "shudder" moments pre game worrying about Vardy coming on with maybe 20 minutes to go or starting knowing he had maybe50 minutes to "unsettle" Chelsea,

Even now he frightens me and opposition defences !

and..for your sanity don't watch the OG!

Earlier I suggested that Sterling and Sanchez were fighting it out for the WTF awards....forget stats,,WTFs are immediate and spontaneous reactions and inmho should be included in post game numbers.

The red card from yellow...I understand (?) the so-called double jeopardy point but doesn't make sense,,,,same offence ,,different punishment...penalty award for offence and red if appropriate,,,,, do the crime etc.

Some sneering because Chelsea beat Championship sides...no one seems to mention it was the top two Championship sides not some slightly relegation threatened Cup focused hopers from the lower level. Just saying.

Crowd reaction generally mate?....value your opinion.

Crowd was generally ok. Typical cup game with the ‘ooh are yer!’ merchant's out in force. However some in the crowd and it’s not all the occasional visitors that have/are turning on Sterling. 

Lots have turned on the coach. I have not and don’t rate him but just as I won’t boo players, I won’t boo or chant against the coach.

Sterling still did enough in creating a goal and getting the penalty when he was having a mare. Fair play to him as he could’ve hidden but put himself centre and forward. 

[Siidi]

29 minutes ago, boratsbrother said:

The clubs aim over the next few years or so should be to get back to taking on the best in England, not Europe. Achieve that and taking on Europe's best will take care of itself.

We didnt hire Poch thinking he's going to be the man to get us back to challenging the likes of City and Liverpool. We hired him to start identifying players in the squad who we can go forward with and build a team for the future,  hopefully win a Cup along the way and get is back in the top 6. He's already had a very good season in the Cups and by the end of next season I expect him to have achieved what he was hired to do.

No doubt we will need a better manager to challenge the top clubs again, but who that will be is anyone's guess. 

I get what you're saying. But if you're good enough at home, you're good enough in Europe. When we did well at home, Europe became our playground. So, for Chelsea at least, the two are inseparable. 

[chara]

12 minutes ago, east lower said:

Crowd was generally ok. Typical cup game with the ‘ooh are yer!’ merchant's out in force. However some in the crowd and it’s not all the occasional visitors that have/are turning on Sterling. 

Lots have turned on the coach. I have not and don’t rate him but just as I won’t boo players, I won’t boo or chant against the coach.

Sterling still did enough in creating a goal and getting the penalty when he was having a mare. Fair play to him as he could’ve hidden but put himself centre and forward. 

Usual clear fair report EL...do appreciate it...and agree about the booing,,,we are Chelsea Supporters first and foremost...like you I don't rate the coach and although it's difficult to "voice" an opinion at the ground booing leaves such an opening for the media to misrepresent the crowd motives,

 

[Blue Moon]

Quite understand the criticism of Disasi, but only for not raising his head and noting that Sanchez was in a totally ill-advised position (what made him think that was a good idea?) , when receiving a ball from Gusto which more sage minds might have thrown towards the opposition goal. I questioned Gusto at the time, and having watched that phase of play several times, I still do.

[Siidi]

5 hours ago, Thiago97 said:

Ref the bold parts - Based on what ?  To claim this, you must have something in your mind that support this ?

If after three seasons under Poch we are Europa League regulars, then no that is clearly not enough and he cannot expect to still be in the job.

As for him taking on the best managers in Europe and coming out on top. You are correct to question this. As much as I am defending Poch, that is mainly due to the situation he inherited and what he is currently working with. There is every chance he is not the man to take Chelsea to the level of winning titles, I wouldn't really argue this point either way. A lot of this is about timings , which is why I continue to support and defend him, cos i think he is the perfect man for the club it this current passage of time. Give him the tools required to mount a serious Top 5 challenge next season, then judge him on what he achieves. If he fails next season, its coming to the end of his contract anyway, then we move on to the next phase in the development of the club and players.

To be perfectly honest, I just made up those claims based on my experience of watching football.

Now. the following is not made up.; Football has been improving since the minute it was invented. The improvement has accelerated.in the last two decades. So, even if Pochettino just wrapped himself in a nice warm blanket and went to bed, his team would be improving..

While we've improved other PL teams have also improved, which is why we're stuck in mid table. Ultimately what matters is how much  faster we're improving than other clubs. Our league position suggests not very much, I'm afraid..

[east lower]

27 minutes ago, chara said:

Usual clear fair report EL...do appreciate it...and agree about the booing,,,we are Chelsea Supporters first and foremost...like you I don't rate the coach and although it's difficult to "voice" an opinion at the ground booing leaves such an opening for the media to misrepresent the crowd motives,

 

My grammar wasn’t so good there, I should have said I have never rated and still don’t rate the coach.

Just in case it might have confused some.

[chara]

15 minutes ago, east lower said:

My grammar wasn’t so good there, I should have said I have never rated and still don’t rate the coach.

Just in case it might have confused some.

😄No sweat EL...the dangers of a quick reply and typo or such are well known and I believe most of us here read "through" such wriggly bits!

I certainly knew what you meant!

[boratsbrother]

41 minutes ago, Siidi said:

 

While we've improved other PL teams have also improved, which is why we're stuck in mid table. Ultimately what matters is how much  faster we're improving than other clubs. Our league position suggests not very much, I'm afraid..

Fair point you make there!

However, we have clearly become  far more creative and scoring a lot more goals this season. Why we haven't seen improvement in our league position is a quite a clear and obvious one - the defence.  No team can improve while it's letting in comedy goals game after game through the entire season. In so many games our own players have been causing us more problems than the opposition. 

At the end of last season we had an ok if not top class defence, along with a dire midfield and attack which struggled badly to create and score, so two thirds of the team was weak. We now have two thirds of the team doing much better. Would you have taken that at the start of the season? I know I would have!

 

[boratsbrother]

6 hours ago, Thiago97 said:

 

As for him taking on the best managers in Europe and coming out on top. You are correct to question this. As much as I am defending Poch, that is mainly due to the situation he inherited and what he is currently working with. There is every chance he is not the man to take Chelsea to the level of winning titles, I wouldn't really argue this point either way. A lot of this is about timings , which is why I continue to support and defend him, cos i think he is the perfect man for the club it this current passage of time. Give him the tools required to mount a serious Top 5 challenge next season, then judge him on what he achieves. If he fails next season, its coming to the end of his contract anyway, then we move on to the next phase in the development of the club and players.

That's very much how i feel about Poch and the job he's doing. 

I said this yesterday, but I would also add that our games have become really entertaining in one way or another. You never know what you're going to see. Not just from game to game, but one half to another and even one 10 minute spell to another, going from the sometimes sublime to the lol awful.

Of course, that won't do if and when we get back up there with the best, but for now as a midtable team, I'd much rather watch us playing  these wildly open and entertaining games than opting to boringly grind out results and be midtable.

[NoblyBobly]

7 hours ago, paulw66 said:

 

We had a horrible 5-10 minutes due to one absurd error. I am no fan of Poch but I don't see how he can account for what Disasi did; it was a freak. 

If I had to put my house on it, I’d say if Petrovic was in goal he would not have been standing 5 yards outside his 18 yard box , and that goal wouldn’t have happened . 
Sanchez inclusion is Poch’s fault. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he plays him against City. 

[NoblyBobly]

2 hours ago, east lower said:

Crowd was generally ok. Typical cup game with the ‘ooh are yer!’ merchant's out in force. However some in the crowd and it’s not all the occasional visitors that have/are turning on Sterling. 

Lots have turned on the coach. I have not and don’t rate him but just as I won’t boo players, I won’t boo or chant against the coach.

Sterling still did enough in creating a goal and getting the penalty when he was having a mare. Fair play to him as he could’ve hidden but put himself centre and forward. 

I don’t hold the same super dislike of Sterling that some do. He had a shocker and his confidence is low , but what is booing him going to achieve? And it reflects badly on us a club in general. 

[paulw66]

1 hour ago, NoblyBobly said:

If I had to put my house on it, I’d say if Petrovic was in goal he would not have been standing 5 yards outside his 18 yard box , and that goal wouldn’t have happened . 
Sanchez inclusion is Poch’s fault. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he plays him against City. 

I personally don't think there was anything wrong his positioning. I don't suppose Sanchez, who I'm not a fan of, thought Disasi would clobber the ball goalwards. I imagine he was expecting a nice gentle passback ....and if had, we wouldn't be having this conversation 

[chara]

1 hour ago, NoblyBobly said:

If I had to put my house on it, I’d say if Petrovic was in goal he would not have been standing 5 yards outside his 18 yard box , and that goal wouldn’t have happened . 
Sanchez inclusion is Poch’s fault. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he plays him against City. 

It's the keepers job to be available in such situations..or to expand and  be "ALERT"....let the defender know for certain you are aware,,,with a good understanding that doesn't always mean a shout...it only takes a quick look to see that the keeper/defender  are aware of each other.

There seemed to be no reason for Sanchez to be where he was..admittedly it was a bizarre effort but without watching it too many times it's hard to understand where (or why) he was.

Still not sure why Sanchez was playing,,I asked if anyone had heard/read The Poch's reason for the selection but no response...that's if he ever did give his reasoning. Wrong game wrong stage of the Competition.

 

1 hour ago, NoblyBobly said:

I don’t hold the same super dislike of Sterling that some do. He had a shocker and his confidence is low , but what is booing him going to achieve? And it reflects badly on us a club in general. 

I don't dislike Raheem at all,,,,he has always been a picker upper of goals fed by top formations...not a leader or example figure enhancing the team psyche... old boss of mine had a Mustang model he couldn't use up here from about Oct to May ...my old Ford truck was used all year round....no match for comfort or performance for the Summer but did the job 24/7 52 weeks..... exactly why I had it....right vehicle for the job,,as was Raheem at Citeh.

[east lower]

2 hours ago, NoblyBobly said:

If I had to put my house on it, I’d say if Petrovic was in goal he would not have been standing 5 yards outside his 18 yard box , and that goal wouldn’t have happened . 
Sanchez inclusion is Poch’s fault. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he plays him against City. 

Just watched the OG back and if I were awarding percentage responsibility for that fiasco - Gusto gets 10%, Disasi gets 50% and Sanchez 40%.

Gusto puts Disasi into a pressure situation, Disasi panics and over hits the pass but WTAF is Sanchez doing out there.

Also the second half performance up to just before the sending off was sloppy, lazy and error ridden. Just as the stats show us to be after half-time. 

Edited March 18 by east lower

[xceleryx]

20 minutes ago, east lower said:

Just watched the OG back and if I were awarding percentage responsibility for that fiasco - Gusto gets 10%, Disasi gets 50% and Sanchez 40%.

Gusto puts Disasi into a pressure situation, Disasi panics and over hits the pass but WTAF is Sanchez doing out there.

Also the second half performance up to just before the sending off was sloppy, lazy and error ridden. Just as the stats show us to be after half-time. 

In fairness to Disasi he's also pushed off balance as he's kicking, not enough people are taking this into account. Doesn't excuse what happened entirely of course but still had a substantial impact in the play itself. 

[xceleryx]

6 hours ago, Bison said:

 

 

13 passes in 78 minutes of football. 

His one good bit of play ruined by a typically brain dead final action, a ridiculous through ball instead of passing to Jackson who had made the angle to receive to feet:

By all means, let's criticise Sterling for his awful performance yesterday. I have too if you read through the thread.

But this idea Mudryk was any good yesterday is outrageous. He was his usual self, crap as ever and totally irrelevant to the game. 

Number of passes doesn't equal the quality of performance for one, particularly for a winger/#10 type. He also had 16 passes, 13 of which were accurate, with one being considered key.

Secondly, he had more than just this passage of play. He had another good run which resulted in a pretty well hit shot that was saved. There was the shot he had that was destined for the bottom corner had Sterling not blocked it. He won the header from the throw in that resulted in Sterling being able to knock the ball in behind and cross for Palmers goal. With one or two other moments in there also. 

He wasn't vintage Hazard by any means, but he certainly wasn't "crap" and "irrelevant" either. 

[east lower]

46 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

In fairness to Disasi he's also pushed off balance as he's kicking, not enough people are taking this into account. Doesn't excuse what happened entirely of course but still had a substantial impact in the play itself. 

Saw that he got a nudge, which unbalanced him a bit. 

That performance by Sanchez ought to be enough to convince anyone with a modicum of football sense that he only plays if Petrovic is unfit. 

On the BBC commentary they made reference to Sanchez being bombed by Di-Zerbi on at least three occasions.

[Siidi]

6 hours ago, blueandproud said:

Absolutely mental game, surpassed only by Liverpool/Man Utd game  Why does every team score worldies against us all the time?  I'ts pissing me off, why can't it happen to someone else?  Sterling had a day to forget, I loved what Jimmy Floyd Hasseelbaink said at half time, I can only imaine what Jimmy would have done if Sterling tried get the ball off him for the penalty!  City in the semis, but we've shown we can live with them twice, and I for one fancy ius to get to the final and win it.  

The reason everyone scores a worldie against us is because we allow them . Leicester's second resulted from failure of training ground defending; you force the attacker to the side where your teammate is waiting is to block him.

As soon as Mavididi shifted the ball to his right, Caicedo should have pinched it (under Mourinho or Conte, for example) or at least blocked the shot. That Mavididi then took an extra touch never mind shoot shows how far away our team is from being properly coached. Like our far post defending, that 2 v 1 scenario  will repeat itself again and agai

[xceleryx]

1 hour ago, east lower said:

Saw that he got a nudge, which unbalanced him a bit. 

That performance by Sanchez ought to be enough to convince anyone with a modicum of football sense that he only plays if Petrovic is unfit. 

On the BBC commentary they made reference to Sanchez being bombed by Di-Zerbi on at least three occasions.

Yeah, Sanchez is hard to trust. As a defender if you don't have confidence in going back to your keeper it makes things that much more difficult. He's just so slow when it comes to playing the ball, but also his decision making when playing out really puts us under additional pressure that's entirely avoidable.

As a number two he's reasonable enough, and in fairness he's a solid shot blocker. However, Petrovic has to be the clear first choice at present. He's just a far more calming figure. 

 

[Floyd25]

58 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

He's just so slow when it comes to playing the ball, but also his decision making when playing out really puts us under additional pressure that's entirely avoidable.

Agree and he was also flapping at nearly every single cross and getting nowhere near the ball, he makes defenders around him nervous and he’s supposed to be in his prime. 

[Floyd25]

2 hours ago, xceleryx said:

He wasn't vintage Hazard by any means, but he certainly wasn't "crap" and "irrelevant" either. 

He also worked hard off the ball and I’m inclined to give him a break at the moment as he starts to build some confidence. In comparison Sterling is 29 years old and naturally the criticism is going to be a lot harsher, although booing him whilst he’s on the ball is OTT. 

[east lower]

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Yeah, Sanchez is hard to trust. As a defender if you don't have confidence in going back to your keeper it makes things that much more difficult. He's just so slow when it comes to playing the ball, but also his decision making when playing out really puts us under additional pressure that's entirely avoidable.

As a number two he's reasonable enough, and in fairness he's a solid shot blocker. However, Petrovic has to be the clear first choice at present. He's just a far more calming figure. 

 

@chara and I were discussing Sanchez and our goalkeeping situation way, way back - before I’d seen anything of Petrovic certainly and very much towards the start of the season.

As a defender myself, and also sitting so close to the pitch at one end of the ground I could sense that our defenders didn’t trust him. He’d start to come for a ball played through then stop, his kicking off the deck is prone to error and he seems not to sense when urgency is required I.e. just get rid of it quick as the strikers on top of you - witnessed in the first-half on Sunday.

I said back then that he is not going to be good enough long-term and fortunately Petrovic currently and to coin an appropriate phrase appears to be a ‘safe pair of hands’. But assuming Petrovic stays at No.1, how will Sanchez react will he be a Bettenelli - accepting his situation and appearing fully supportive or will he get disruptive? Or will the coach do entirely the wrong thing and use him as the cup keeper in attempting to keep him sweet?

He did look a tad better than Petrovic at dealing with high crosses, but that judgement was out on Sunday. He hasn’t played, so perhaps his match sharpness/judgement might have been out. 
 

Mind you with our defence and the coaches inability to organise us into anything resembling a solid organised unit, it’s going to be difficult, albeit nearly impossible for the keeper to keep clean sheet’s.

[xceleryx]

13 minutes ago, east lower said:

@chara and I were discussing Sanchez and our goalkeeping situation way, way back - before I’d seen anything of Petrovic certainly and very much towards the start of the season.

As a defender myself, and also sitting so close to the pitch at one end of the ground I could sense that our defenders didn’t trust him. He’d start to come for a ball played through then stop, his kicking off the deck is prone to error and he seems not to sense when urgency is required I.e. just get rid of it quick as the strikers on top of you - witnessed in the first-half on Sunday.

I said back then that he is not going to be good enough long-term and fortunately Petrovic currently and to coin an appropriate phrase appears to be a ‘safe pair of hands’. But assuming Petrovic stays at No.1, how will Sanchez react will he be a Bettenelli - accepting his situation and appearing fully supportive or will he get disruptive? Or will the coach do entirely the wrong thing and use him as the cup keeper in attempting to keep him sweet?

He did look a tad better than Petrovic at dealing with high crosses, but that judgement was out on Sunday. He hasn’t played, so perhaps his match sharpness/judgement might have been out. 
 

Mind you with our defence and the coaches inability to organise us into anything resembling a solid organised unit, it’s going to be difficult, albeit nearly impossible for the keeper to keep clean sheet’s.

It's somewhat reminiscent of how things turned under Mendy whenever we'd play back towards him. You could see the lack of confidence his defenders begun having when it came to having to use him as an outlet, and we're starting to see similar with Sanchez when he's played. Even though he is better technically than Mendy, he doesn't inspire a sense of security and calmness either. 

Moving forward I think it pays to be mindful that Sanchez arrived our number two and competition for Kepa, who had been deemed our first choice going into the season. So he did sign knowing a first team place wasn't necessarily a given. Now things changed once Kepa left and Sanchez through seniority got that starting role initially, however since being out Petrovic hasn't done anything to warrant being dropped. He's a calmer presence and while not perfect either, we surely have to stick with the option that's performing well and forged more trust with the defence. 

Clean sheets would certainly be a welcomed sight, but as you've said we've struggled defensively through both our own doing and just through not having our first choice options on hand either. Going into next season, whether TS remains or not, there's a hole at CB that I'd be looking to fill with some sort of commanding presence. It was pretty obvious we lacked size and power already, so to not address that in the summer would be a pretty alarming oversight IMO.