smokey
Honorary Master
First of all - I can't go answering in all those threads about the negative footy. It's been in three threads so far. So here's my view.
Yellow cards are unavoidable when playing against players like what Barca have. I mean come on - if some of the tackles weren't made - Chelsea would have lost. Desperate time call for desperate measures and apart from Ballack, I really don't think anyone intended to be malicious. That was point 1 ladies.
Second, the comment about 10 men in the box. While it is true that I have never seen Chelsea field so many defensive players in one starting line-up, I don't think they went there to play absolute catenaccio. Think about it - with those passes and moves done by Barca in the first 20 minutes - what would be first on your mind? Attack at all costs? Don't be daft. When Chelsea were able to get a little bit of rhythm - they used it (and quite effectively at that!) but the plain fact of the matter is that they lost the ball so many times it was a joke. How do you expect a human being, who primarily goes on instinct, to change? They were defending for their lives and couldn't switch willy nilly between attacking mindset to defensive mindset. That would have gifted the game to Barca. Point 2 done.
Third - and this is crucial - is that I do not really feel that any of the Chelsea players defended badly. Not Ivanovic, not Ballack, not Lampard. If they did do such a bad job - why was the score 0-0. I'm not saying that they never made mistakes or that they were playing at Baresi/Costacurta level, but at least they were all disciplined.
Fourth. Drogba played like he was told to play. He did not go forward too much, so that he could be called upon to help with the defense (oh my! what a shocker!). I mean anyone who has watched Drogba play will know that he could have made a heck of a lot more chances than he did last night. Though if he did - the score might not have been in Chelseas favour as he is good when going back. A one-trick pony he is not.
Fifth. Did any of you take into account the weather? Sliding tackles are much more difficult with the amount of water that was on show last night. They could have been footy in the Thames and it would have been easier.
Sixth (hands getting tired now, not used to typing this much...
) - Barca played amazingly. Their passes cut through Chelsea like the proverbial hot knife. Their lack of goals came down to one of three things. Luck. Chelsea had a LOT of luck last night. Stupidness. Barca at times played like the Arsenal of last year - trying to run the ball into the net. Had they actually tried to shoot more often, the scoreline could have been VERY VERY different. Cech & defense. Cech, despite silly start - was on song for Chelsea last night. If it had been the Cech of Anfield a few weeks back - it would have been a completely different game.It made me think of whether the Spanish game would be any good if they actually managed to consistently get the better keepers away from England and Italy. Also, the defense, for all the mistakes made due to slipperyness and Barca's talent did what was expected of it.
Smokey has spoken.
Yellow cards are unavoidable when playing against players like what Barca have. I mean come on - if some of the tackles weren't made - Chelsea would have lost. Desperate time call for desperate measures and apart from Ballack, I really don't think anyone intended to be malicious. That was point 1 ladies.
Second, the comment about 10 men in the box. While it is true that I have never seen Chelsea field so many defensive players in one starting line-up, I don't think they went there to play absolute catenaccio. Think about it - with those passes and moves done by Barca in the first 20 minutes - what would be first on your mind? Attack at all costs? Don't be daft. When Chelsea were able to get a little bit of rhythm - they used it (and quite effectively at that!) but the plain fact of the matter is that they lost the ball so many times it was a joke. How do you expect a human being, who primarily goes on instinct, to change? They were defending for their lives and couldn't switch willy nilly between attacking mindset to defensive mindset. That would have gifted the game to Barca. Point 2 done.
Third - and this is crucial - is that I do not really feel that any of the Chelsea players defended badly. Not Ivanovic, not Ballack, not Lampard. If they did do such a bad job - why was the score 0-0. I'm not saying that they never made mistakes or that they were playing at Baresi/Costacurta level, but at least they were all disciplined.
Fourth. Drogba played like he was told to play. He did not go forward too much, so that he could be called upon to help with the defense (oh my! what a shocker!). I mean anyone who has watched Drogba play will know that he could have made a heck of a lot more chances than he did last night. Though if he did - the score might not have been in Chelseas favour as he is good when going back. A one-trick pony he is not.
Fifth. Did any of you take into account the weather? Sliding tackles are much more difficult with the amount of water that was on show last night. They could have been footy in the Thames and it would have been easier.
Sixth (hands getting tired now, not used to typing this much...
) - Barca played amazingly. Their passes cut through Chelsea like the proverbial hot knife. Their lack of goals came down to one of three things. Luck. Chelsea had a LOT of luck last night. Stupidness. Barca at times played like the Arsenal of last year - trying to run the ball into the net. Had they actually tried to shoot more often, the scoreline could have been VERY VERY different. Cech & defense. Cech, despite silly start - was on song for Chelsea last night. If it had been the Cech of Anfield a few weeks back - it would have been a completely different game.It made me think of whether the Spanish game would be any good if they actually managed to consistently get the better keepers away from England and Italy. Also, the defense, for all the mistakes made due to slipperyness and Barca's talent did what was expected of it.Smokey has spoken.
And it wasn't missile. I flicked a flea into supa's soup and it just missed your hot choc
even the liverpudlians werent that nice last time round (after the first leg mind)
