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Some Chelsea-United Thoughts
1) In terms of quality the game wasn't a classic - agreed, but United played well overall IMO. Maybe that is because United have been routinely average in the past couple of years (Sorry Sir Alex) and my standards have lowered. Or maybe United actually did play well in passages showing good movement off the ball and some intricate passing. Take your pick.
2) Heartening to see Cahill making an absolute mess of that tackle on Welbeck. Clear sending-off. I am sure he'll have many more brain farts like this and Chelsea's future looks rock solid :p .
3) Valencia was kept quiet. Kudos to Chelsea for that.
4) I hate Ivanovic - he's a thug. But boy was he immense last night.
5) Patrice Evra is slowly turning into a liability. I actually love his runs into the box which either produce a penalty or a lucky cross deflected into the path of a fellow United player. But his 'defending' - if we may call it that is pathetic at times. Also Johnny Evans is very unlucky - the ball could have hit him and bounced straight in front of De Gea who could have then caught it with his 'ultra safe' hands, or it could simply bounced upwards and be cleared off, but no it went straight into the goal.
6) I don't know why it hasn't been noticed but Rafael should have known that Mata was right behind him. I don't think he had any knowledge of Mata lurking around and awareness in the box is key to good defending. As much as I love the tenacious kid, that was attrocious defending.
7) Speaking of attrocious defending, Chicharito would be thanking Luiz for allowing him to score one of the easiest goals of his career. No explanation needed.
8.) First United penalty - spot on. Evra had the right to shield the ball, Sturridge knocked him over.
9) Second United penalty - Let's just say that had it been given against United I would have been mighty disappointed. There was a connection but somehow I did not feel it was a penalty. But kudos to Rooney for converting both on them with such elan.
Bharat (two points dropped) Plastique Manc
...Some conclusions from the 3-3 cracker at the Bridge yesterday.
- In a tactical sense AVB clearly came out on top in the first 60 minutes, despite the goals not directly showing this. Giggs and Carrick were outrun by the Chelsea centre.
- Full credit to Sir Alex for reacting to the tactical defeat. I first thought Giggs should have come off for scholes but by putting Scholes in the centre and keeping Giggs he made it 3v3 in the centre which swung momentum.
- Hernandes' movement was terrific and he exploited Luiz's lack of intelligence as a defender - not for the first time mind you. The way he lost his marker for the finish was pure intelligence and class.
- Say what you want about AVB, I really think if he's given time he can rebuild the Chelsea team and make it tick. But in today's football Mourinho-esque short-term success is the only type that is accepted.
- The title will go down to the wire, but Rooney put it best when he said after that game that the point could win United the league. This game was an example of United's resolve. Their biggest strength.
Dev, so moral victory then?, Lewis
...* It's so sweet that the Chelsea fans booed Rio because he said he wouldn't be up to the England captaincy...it was for that reason, right?
* Any other time, John Terry sitting next to a black man (and hugging him during a goal celebration) wouldn't matter much...last night, it just felt staged.
* Michael Carrick, though improved, looks a poorer player when Paul Scholes is on the field.
* Michael Essien looked tired, and it was in AVB's interest to do something about that...which should've inferred bringing on Oriol for him, rather than the effective Sturridge...this must be considered a fail.
* As a United fan it is heartwarming to read that they looked the more likely to grab a fourth, however, in the last seven or so minutes, balls were passed to Giggs and Scholes and a sense of hope that they would dink one over or through or around to an on rushing forward...City will take heart from the fact that bar Rooney's drive, the creativity was expected to come from a combined age of 75-odd.
* Bosingwa must be wondering what the big deal was.
* And lastly, United and Chelsea should feel like it's points dropped...the only winner last night was the dude who gets to sit next to Eva Carneiro.
Pranen Reddy (hoping that Ivory Coast go all the way in the ANC so that Yaya is away for longer)
...1. It is good to see Chelsea score so many goals that to without Drogba and Lampard. The team out there did not have any of the so called 'Oldies'.
2. With the current Chelsea team, you always feel they are going to give goals. So not surprised by the result but very disappointing.
3. AVB needs to work on whom and when to substitute. Substituting Sturridge instead of Malouda is crazy. Malouda should have been sold in January.
4. I see not just have Scholes joined back ManU, so has Howard Webb!!!
Krishnan (Chelsea fan), Mumbai
...- Typical Chelsea really. Two deflected goals, I've never seen a team get more luck than them. Nothing you can do when Messi runs through you and scores, nothing you can complain about when your pride is hurt so much you forego defending to attack and concede three goals in the last few minutes against City. But Chelsea? My God when do they ever outplay us or even anyone? They always get deflected goals, or get goals on a plate i.e a defender slipping to allow a striker through. Jammy gits, that lot. F*****g hate them.
- Patrice Evra should ask Ryan Giggs to teach him how to cross a ball. How many times does Evra get into a crossing position then not even clear the first man? Thank god Giggsy can seemingly so effortlessly put the ball right where the striker wants it.
- While he's asking for advice. Why doesn't Evra ask Dennis Irwin how to play as left-back? Manchester United captain? Laughable. Also, why is Evra always off balance? He's always running with big strides and arms flailing trying to keep himself on his feet. Him and Park look like they are on Dancing on Ice a lot of the time. Certainly not professional footballers, that's for sure.
- I have written in regularly to defend De Gea. His shot-stopping is incredible, his distribution is first class (anyone notice the drop kick to Valencia in the first half?) and he's equally as dodgy at crosses as 'the ice cool' Lindegaard. Once he gets bigger and more confident with crosses, the man will be Number 1 for years to come.
- A return to non-form for Michael Carrick.
- Scholes and Giggs. It's as much an insult to the United squad that they are still so needed as it is a compliment to their greatness. Scholes just runs the game and everything goes through him, while Giggs also plays some excellent passes (a through ball to Welbeck or Hernandez in the second half was incredible) but also goes past people for fun when he wants to. I've already mentioned his crossing, he just makes it look easy.
- Cech parried for fun all game, making comfortable saves initially look like world-class saves. It cost him at the end though, parrying into the path of Sir Ryan. If he isn't gonna catch them he should take note of how far De Gea parried that viscious shot away (first half I think) from danger. Terrible goalkeeper kit too.
- What was Ferguson's thinking in taking off Welbeck for Park? Park slowed down two counter-attacks that could maybe have resulted in the winner. Apart from that, all he did was run the wrong way and lose his balance.
- Rooney's first penalty was one of the best I've ever seen.
Silvio (United fan of course. Sorry for the lack of Chelsea 'musings') Dante
Keeper Insight
It took me nearly two thirds of the season to figure it out, but David De Gea is essentially an ovpriced Jack-in-the-box. Unfortunately, United probably can't get a refund.
Nick (Robbie Keane will be a loss when that loan deal expires), Burlington, ON
There's Supposed To Be Contact!
There was contact! Does anyone else find these three words the most frustrating words of modern football? When did football become a non-contact sport? Surely the question should be not 'Was there contact?' and actually 'Was it a foul?'
Please try to leave your club allegiances aside for a few minutes and discuss the issue.
Two instances over the weekend really made me sigh in despair at what we have come to. Adam Johnson's penalty against Fulham and Danny Welbeck's penalty against Chelsea. Both players attempt to simulate a foul by moving their own legs towards the defender and then diving to the ground. They can clearly stay on their feet if they want to but choose to go down and attempt to 'win' a penalty.
I'm not singling these two players out as every team has three or fourhabitual divers. I am an avid Ireland fan and go to all the games and I recoginse Keane, McGeady and Duff are all guilty of this. It's not just a few rotten apples.
We have managers, players, and 'pundits' like Alan Shearer claiming a player has every right to dive if he feels contact. People argue that the ref won't see the foul unless they perform a triple inward pike half twist every time they feel the brush of an opposing player. This is an awful argument. "The ref might get it wrong so I better dive to make sure!"
It's prevalent in all forms of football because of the professionals doing it in every match shown on TV and as such is seen in kids football today. When I played as a kid, you would rarely see it. Nowadays though, eight-year-olds are flinging themselves around and looking to the ref. I coach under 9's football and they are just emulating what they see their idols do. It's difficult enough to try and get them to understand it's wrong when they see it every week and then hear people on Match of the Day saying it's 'okay'.
I recognise it's always been in football. Players dived in the 60's. But it was rare. I feel FIFA and UEFA's stance on it is far too lenient.
A striker tries to cheat his way to a goalscoring opportunity? Yellow card.
A defender tries to cheat his way to stopping a goalscoring opportunity? Red card and three match ban.
This is the problem. While there is no downside to diving, it will continue to happen. Retrospective bans regardless what the ref sees or doesn't see would erradicate it completely.
Am I alone in thinking like this? Is diving just part of football? Should we just accept it?
Damien (Staying on his feet since 1985) Hunter
Hoping Torres Starts Scoring
As a Liverpool fan I have to admit that my first reaction to Torres joining Chelsea was wanting him to miss every opportunity and be a huge flop (I take no responsibility for his current form!).
It seems now however I find it very hard to watch Torres play in the current nightmare predicament he is in, his confidence is zilch, he is no longer playing in front of the best midfielder in the country and he is in a team of larger-than-life personalities. It is far from nice to see as a football fan when I know first hand that he posseses such quality in which he could easily get back to being the feared goal machine he once was.
Team rivalries aside, I hope Nando finds his form again because he gave the red side of Merseyside great footballing memories over the three-and-a-half seasons and he certainly will never lose the class!
Fernando Torres, Liverpool's Number 9
Would You Want Silva, Mata Or Modric?
From another website. 'Did you know? Mata has created 71 chances this season the most in the Premier League.'
He is not too bad a player is Juan Mata. David Silva has been pretty impressive but not looked quite so good without Yaya there with him. While over in north London Luka Modric is keeping tottenham in the title-challenging positions.
Three very impressive players.
But the question is, if you are a ManU, Liverpool or any other neutral, which one would you want for your team if you had the choice?? I just can't decide. Not that any of them are likely to move. Just been playing the fantasy team in my head thing...
No point answering if you support City, Chelsea or Spurs. I'm sure you would all keep your own. For the rest of us it's a difficult one to answer.
Or am I missing something and there are more impressive attacking midfielders in other teams? Jordan Henderson anyone??
Dan T
Rating Newcastle
My ratings for Pardew's black and white army:
Krul: I wish he was English. I can't remember him making a mistake this season.
Coloccini: Continues to impress as an imperious, ball-playing centre-half. He never seems to panic. Imagine how fast he would be if it were not for the drag caused by his magnificent hair.
'Tiny' Williamson: An able stand-in for STaylor. Often at pains to just 'lump it' but also errs on the side of caution.
Simpson: Good going forward, alright at defending. If Liverpool's toilet seat thief is in with a shout for England, than why not Danny and his tattoos?
Santon: See above without the tattoos but with more of a silly hair cut. Enrique who?
Raylor: I was going to e mail in to say that surely Taylor, R should be considered for the Euro squad. He can play right-back, right wing and in the centre and can actually (more often than not) beat the first man at a corner, which makes him some sort of maverick given the inability of most footballers to do this. Oh, and he scores canny free kicks. However, we will see if his leg is still on after Warnock (he isn't that kind of player even though he accounted for Best and Taylor yesterday) pole axed him yesterday.
Guthrie: Played very well in lieu of Cabaye and Tiote, one of them might struggle to get back in the team if he carries on playing like this. Has nice tattoos as well.
Perch: Who'd have thought he would be alright. Nothing spectacular but played his part. He goes old school with long sleeves not rolled up, so I am not sure of his tattoo situation.
Gutierrez: I am sure he is worse than everybody tells me, yet he can't be as rubbish as I think he is. Also, he is indestructible.
Obertoon: Seemingly being dropped has done wonders for him. He played very well yesterday and was the better option when Taylor came off as he at least makes some effort to track back (I am looking at you Ben Arfa...).
Dem Ba Ba: He is great isn't he? So is his celebration.
Cisse: Well, one match, one goal. I have seen a fair few false dawns so I am not getting my self to gee'd up. He does a lot of running and causes a few problems. An exquisite finish which almost appeared to be nonchalant for a top-corner screamer.
Honourable mentions: Bent might not appear great in the stats, but he rarely allowed our defence time on the ball. That man covers a lot of ground in the final third.
Dishonourable mention: Keane is a right ta*t.
Paul, Newcastle
Can We Stop Giving Kean Respect Now?
For all those people - journalists and members of the public alike - who have been moaning on about giving Steve Kean a chance, can we just stop this now, and say he's had it? At what point does a person admit that they're bad for the club? Can he not see that he's wrecking Rovers? Is he really that proud/stupid/greedy that he thinks he's more important than a 130+ year old club? Dear Steve, you tried your best, and it wasn't enough. Now go before the club collapses.
Allardyce lost his job after we rolled over 7-1 for Manchester United in a year when they went on to become champions. Now Steve Kean 'leads' Rovers to another 7-1 defeat, and this against a team who have simply no chance of being champions. If he doesn't lose his job after this, then I'm calling the organised crime unit - does he have a file on someone somewhere in the club that means they can't fire him? It's too late anyway - who would come to Rovers now? Steve Bruce?
But forget Kean and his incompetence. It's Venkys I want to see gone for taking a middle of the road, mid-table Premier League football club and turning it into a laughing stock, relegation quality p***-take in just 12 months.
F**k me. Championship football, and I don't see us getting back into the Prem for a long time to come.
Carl Moorhouse
(Wonder what odds I'd get on Steve Kean leading Rovers into League One, 15 months from now?)
Time To Axe Terry Is Long Overdue
Terry hasn't deserved to be in the England team for years, let alone captain. His presence is holding back the team, and has done so for some time.
Terry isn't a poor defender now, but he lacks mobility and has never read the game as well as some believed. He really made his name as a big-time player alongside genuinely great defenders - Carvalho next to him, Makelele ahead, a near-invincible Cech behind and Gallas fantastic on the cover for him from left-back. What was left for him to read? All four elements have gone now so it's no surprise Terry looks a lot more average than he did.
England as a whole lack technique compared to the very best teams, but they do have a lot of players who have good combinations of technique and athleticism. Rooney and Gerrard offer world-class combinations who would be assets to almost any nation. The key for England is to get more out of the similar players who operate at the levels below that - your Milners, Rodwells, Hendersons, Youngs, etc. All these guys may never become the type of main men who can dominate at the pointy end of the Champions League, but they all work hard off the ball and seem tactically astute as well.
To get the best from them, England need an athletic centre-back pairing so they can press high up the pitch. I don't claim that the likes of Cahill or Jones or Smalling are better central defenders than John Terry, but I think it's obvious they fit the athletic, hard-working brand of transition football that best fits the talent England has.
For what it's worth, the pairing I'd go for would be Micah Richards and Ferdinand, both of whom (still) have pace and are comfortable on the ball.
Brendan Leary, Sydney
PS. What does it take for Evra to get a proper slating for his ongoing inept defending? Glen Johnson gets a pasting if he does so much as looks uneasy, yet in truth he's rarely at fault for a goal more than a few of times a season.
