Football - To Russia with Löw

[Mme Erzulie]

Yeah, I don't think that was a red.

Chelsea were just denied another clear penalty after VAR. Don't know what images they were looking at in the booth, but Young clearly moves his arm towards the ball.

Don't know what Chelsea are playing at in defence, though. They look lethargic, and it's only a matter of time before they concede unless they get their shit together.

[Mark Antony]

Predictably pretty boring game. Hazard best player in the first half, Kante best in the second half. Chelsea will do well to keep them both without CL. 

Bakayoko has looked good in the last two games I’ve watched him (vs Liverpool last week and today) think he might kick on next season. 

[polishgenius]

#JoseOut

 

[Consigliere]

A pretty dull affair. We played okay but I felt we didn't really trouble Courtois. Jones had a poor game. Don't know why Mourinho opted not to start Bailly who is our best CB. A disappointing season in the end for United. Improvement in the league but finishing off with no silverware coupled with two diabolical performances against Sevilla and dull football in general have put a black mark on this season.

[Jordan La Cabra]

Well, that was far from a good game. 

I doubted Conte’s tactics before the game - picking Bakayoko over Willian - but it worked. Man United aren’t able to break teams down, so it made sense to try grind the game out at 1-0 rather than continuing to take the game to Man United in search of a second.

If Conte is to be sacked or leave the club, he can go out with two trophies in two seasons, which looks brilliant on paper. The reality is that we have been terrible in the league in 17/18, and as good as winning the FA cup is, it’s polished a turd of a season. 

The games we have lost and the way we have lost them has shown that there’s something wrong between the players and the manager. None of the players that were asked about Conte after the game said they wanted him to stay. 

It’s a shame that it came to this, as many Chelsea fans thought we had finally found a manager who was going to truly replace Mourinho at the club. 

[polishgenius]

23 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

It’s a shame that it came to this, as many Chelsea fans thought we had finally found a manager who was going to truly replace Mourinho at the club. 

Can you have him back please.

[MercenaryChef]

clear handball leading to Frankfurt scoring their second goal. video assist didn't catch it. prince boteng clearly had the ball go off his hand with an arm stretched out. two passes later a goal.

now a penalty in the dying moments. also not seen. again prince boteng. he kicks javi martinez in the ankle on a corner. again no call. 

[Jordan La Cabra]

25 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Can you have him back please.

I can’t help but still like him, but I’m not sure if I would want him back. Plus, I know you’d miss him too much!

[ljkeane]

Marcelo completely losing a right winger making a run from out to in leading to a goal. That’s what I like to see. More of that next week please.

[Consigliere]

That's pretty typical of Marcelo in every game. He's more winger than fullback -  great going forward but couldn't give a shit when it comes to defending. There are countless examples in La Liga this season of Real Madrid losing possession and Marcelo either making the most half-arsed attempt at tracking back or just standing around the halfway line making no attempt to get back into position. If Salah has a good game, I can see Liverpool scoring a couple of goals at least. 

[Philokles]

Delighted for Frankfurt and Kovac even if helped by that rather strange decision nit to give a penalty at the end (second round in a row they got the luck like that). In the long run that might be for Bayern’s good. Kovac might have been a little short of credibility had he gone to Munich having seen his side collapse out of a European place for the second year running and been beaten by the squad he was  supposed to lead in their previous match.

[Consigliere]

1 hour ago, polishgenius said:

Can you have him back please.

How I wish we could pull a Bayern and coax Sir Alex out of retirement.

Unfortunately though we've got another season of turgid football to look forward to. Mourinho saying he hopes Young can play 50 games next season, pressuring the board to give Fellaini a new contract, blaming everyone but himself and after two seasons still no discernible attacking system doesn't fill me with much hope. A Mourinho 3rd season meltdown and sacking might be for the best.

[Winterfell is Burning]

Mourinho increasingly looks like one of those managers that reaches a point where they are just unable or unwilling to adapt to the changes of the game, and will go in a spiral until posts in smaller clubs or in Asia are the only option. Happens to most great managers, to be fair, almost no one can pull a SAF/Heynckes and still be a great (or even better) manager at old age.

[Iskaral Pust]

1 hour ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Mourinho increasingly looks like one of those managers that reaches a point where they are just unable or unwilling to adapt to the changes of the game, and will go in a spiral until posts in smaller clubs or in Asia are the only option. Happens to most great managers, to be fair, almost no one can pull a SAF/Heynckes and still be a great (or even better) manager at old age.

He’s doing a Wenger.  The irony is delicious. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

7 hours ago, MercurialCannibal said:

clear handball leading to Frankfurt scoring their second goal. video assist didn't catch it. prince boteng clearly had the ball go off his hand with an arm stretched out. two passes later a goal.

now a penalty in the dying moments. also not seen. again prince boteng. he kicks javi martinez in the ankle on a corner. again no call. 

Actually VAR did catch it. He then called in the on field ref. who went into the review area. He ruled Boateng's handball accidental (you can see it that way, but you don't have to), as the ball bounced off from a challenge and Boateng could hardly foresee that and had little chance to get his arm away.

The penalty was a similar story, video assistant called the on field ref, who went into the review area and decided it was not penalty, that however was an interpretation pretty much exclusive to him.

[Philokles]

6 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Mourinho increasingly looks like one of those managers that reaches a point where they are just unable or unwilling to adapt to the changes of the game, and will go in a spiral until posts in smaller clubs or in Asia are the only option. Happens to most great managers, to be fair, almost no one can pull a SAF/Heynckes and still be a great (or even better) manager at old age.

This process has been going on for a while with Mourinho. Since leaving Inter, at best he has met expectations at every club. One La Liga title and no decima in three years at Real was a disappointment, his return to Chelsea went okay but left them in a giant hole and what he has done at United so far will not be enough to justify the meltdown precedent suggests will happen next year.

[Jordan La Cabra]

Hard to feel too much joy from that FA Cup win yesterday. 

Firstly, it was won by playing the most negative brand of football. Yes, the tactics worked on the day, but it’s painful to watch when your starting XI is, man for man, better than your opposition.

Secondly, the outlook for next season looks bleak. Conte will probably be sacked, as it seems there are problems between him and key players in the team. Sacking Conte wouldn’t even be enough to guarantee those players stay, given that they may want to leave to join a team playing in the Champions League. That also complicates things when it comes to signing players, as many of our targets to replace our outgoing players would surely rather join Man City, Man United or Liverpool, should they also be interested.

Even if we do sack Conte, I don’t think there are any outstanding candidates to replace him out of the managers that will be available. The task on hand for the next manager to sort out this squad after the season that’s just gone past isn’t an enviable one. Finishing in the top four would be a massive achievement. Our best course for qualifying for the Champions League next year might actually be via the Europa League.

Luis Enrique is probably the most likely option to replace Conte, and I have my reservations about him, but if I were him, I wouldn’t be looking at the Chelsea job as a particularly appealing one. Unless the new manager can be guaranteed to have a lot of money to spend, I can’t imagine too many big names will be rushing to take Conte’s place.

[ljkeane]

3 hours ago, Horse of Kent said:

 Since leaving Inter, at best he has met expectations at every club. One La Liga title and no decima in three years at Real was a disappointment

That's a little harsh.

Ok, Real's fans and board consistently have sky high expectations but while he was in charge at Madrid he had to face Guardiola's Barca side, probably the best football team I've seen play, in the league and he still won a title. In Europe Real hadn't actually been that good for a while when he took over and they made it to three straight semifinals and lost to Barcelona, Bayern in a penalty shootout and Klopp's Dortmund. That's not too bad.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Wasn't Mourinho more or less sacked at Real, because he was being Mourinho and the club had enough off his antics? I think he managed to make enemies within the club left and right. While his Real years were not really brilliant trophy wise (thus he has not delivered what was signed for), what broke the camel's back was really him being a total jerk. IIRC Madrid regard themselves as some sort of a Gentlemens' Club, and Mourinho and his antics aren't exactly gentleman conduct. So it wasn't just Guardiola and Barca, that probably won't put him on their christmas card lists.

[mormont]

What it boiled down to at Real Madrid, and ever since, is that Mourinho these days is only worth it if he wins. His personality, his tactics, the feuds with rivals, the surly press conferences, the public grumbling, the alienation of players and the demands for ever more money can only be justified if they come with trophies.