EPL 2020/2021
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@sparky said in EPL 2020/2021:
Is it unfair to say that guy is overrated? Every team he’s coached at the top level has been absolutely stacked.
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@rancid-schnitzel Like every coach he has his strengths and weaknesses. His teams pass the ball and maintain possession superbly and Man City are brilliant at hammering weaker teams 7-0 and have monopolised the League Cup in recent years.
Problem for them has been repeatedly when they come up against the best defences in Europe, they can't unlock them.
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Pep cocked up big time in team selection - and they looked lost for most the game. He finally found his top 11 for Europe, then decided that the attacking midfielder with most goals should play in a holding role rather than the 2 guys who can actually do the job well. Picked Sterling despite him always looking ineffectual against a decent defence and Chelsea just put 5 across the pitch and compressed the space. Very, very strange. Chelsea didn't even have to do that much, just grab a goal and sit back. And should still have sealed it with a second.
Have to say, Kante is an absolute machine. The number of times he gets a foot in to nick the ball away is uncanny yet he still finds time to drive his team forward. Well done Chelsea and Tuchel, a well deserved win.
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Kiss of death for Tuchel. Last Chelsea manager to win the champions league didn't make it to the end of the calendar year...
More seriously, Tuchel's had a funny old career. Was Klopp's successor at Dortmund and massively hyped only be pretty disappointing. Didn't really set the world alight with PSG given the talent available but seems to have landed on his feet at Chelsea. Mid season hires can sometimes produce a dead cat bounce so will be interesting to see how they start the season. They pumped money into than squad, so no real excuses if they don't have a fast start next season.
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Right, can post a proper update now.
I'm a proper proper half assed / plastic Chelsea fan. Although in the opposite vain to many, I think I was a bigger fan before Roman (Raneiri, Hasselbaink, Zola days)and as time goes on, I become less and less interested. The sacking of Frank in January, was pretty much so the nail in the coffin for me.
Anyway, I still followed them and as they made their way through, was quite happy ... and then they made the Champions League final against City. An all-EPL affair. Or so it was supposed to be.
Honest to god, you wouldn't have even known Chelsea are a UK / London club given the build up. It was pretty much so all about City, Pep, Aguero. Yesterday, listening to Virgin radio (a London station), they had interviews with Pep, and comments from a Gallagher. Once the game started, it was pretty much so the same. McManaman and co commentated about one team. What they were doing, what they needed to be doing, the mistake they made which led to the opposition goal.
So it was so god damned satisfying to take the victory and the trophy. Woke up this morning with a genuine smile on my face (and a thumping headache). Cracking result. Up the famous CFC! Might even pop up if there's a parade ....
@rancid-schnitzel said in EPL 2020/2021:
Is it unfair to say that guy is overrated? Every team he’s coached at the top level has been absolutely stacked.
Yeah it is. Pep's an incredible manager.
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Congratulations Chelsea good win. They are a fucking good team with a good manager that will give next year a real shake
Pep fucked that up at the selection table, God knows why.
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If Chelsea want to win the EPL title next year, they either need Tino Werner to score more goals or get a better lead striker. Looks like Ronaldo, Harland, Mbappe and Harry Kane are all on the move this summer. I'm sure Roman Abramovich will be shaking a few of his roubles at some of those gentlemen.
Harry Kane would be perfect for Chelsea.
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@mariner4life said in EPL 2020/2021:
Congratulations Chelsea good win. They are a fucking good team with a good manager that will give next year a real shake
Pep fucked that up at the selection table, God knows why.
Tuchel won the 2 previous meetings. Rolled the dice.
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@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
Pep cocked up big time in team selection - and they looked lost for most the game. He finally found his top 11 for Europe, then decided that the attacking midfielder with most goals should play in a holding role rather than the 2 guys who can actually do the job well. Picked Sterling despite him always looking ineffectual against a decent defence and Chelsea just put 5 across the pitch and compressed the space. Very, very strange. Chelsea didn't even have to do that much, just grab a goal and sit back. And should still have sealed it with a second.
Have to say, Kante is an absolute machine. The number of times he gets a foot in to nick the ball away is uncanny yet he still finds time to drive his team forward. Well done Chelsea and Tuchel, a well deserved win.
Pep's downfall in this competition is and always has been his overthinking things and departing from what's been proven to work. I am no fan of City, but have today felt quite sorry for them as they've been the best team in the CL this year by some margin and that's why they managed finally to make it to the final (in other years, they've not been the best and that's why they've regularly been beaten over two legs in the earlier knockout stages). Again, however, Pep has guilded the lily and in doing so has probably cost his club a CL trophy.
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I found Chelsea's defensive formation very interesting and it seemed to throw City completely. They defended 5 across the back but relatively high leaving space behind. Then 3 midfielders in front with hardly any gap between the midfield and defence. It meant that James and Chilwell were right on top of Sterling and Mahrez whenever they got the ball.
Most teams who play a block against City use 2 blocks of 4 and defend narrow meaning there are always spaces on the flanks and City try to overload those areas to get in behind. With 5 across, the flanks were congested and with the midfield and defence of Chelsea so close together they was no space for de Bruyne and Foden to exploit between the lines.
When Chelsea broke up play, their full backs and Mount/Kante all sprinted to support Havertz and Werner meaning that often they were outnumbering City who ended up playing 3-2-5 with Zhinchenko often getting caught upfield.
That formation may well have foxed City even if they had picked their usual team and left out Sterling. As it was City had 3 defenders and 7 attacking midfielders on the pitch and used their top scorer for the season as a holding midfielder .
Werner is a conundrum for Chelsea, this game was a perfect summary of his season. Working like a dog, making great runs and dragging the City centre backs all over the pitch. And never looking like scoring a goal when he got a chance.
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Listening to a podcast on the football and someone put forward the idea that Rudiger should have been red carded for breaking de Bruyne's face. Strange that in rugby it would absolutely have been a straight red (shoulder to the face) and maybe if there were more head injuries in football, they would do the same.
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@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
Pep cocked up big time in team selection - and they looked lost for most the game. He finally found his top 11 for Europe, then decided that the attacking midfielder with most goals should play in a holding role rather than the 2 guys who can actually do the job well. Picked Sterling despite him always looking ineffectual against a decent defence and Chelsea just put 5 across the pitch and compressed the space. Very, very strange. Chelsea didn't even have to do that much, just grab a goal and sit back. And should still have sealed it with a second.
Have to say, Kante is an absolute machine. The number of times he gets a foot in to nick the ball away is uncanny yet he still finds time to drive his team forward. Well done Chelsea and Tuchel, a well deserved win.
Pep's downfall in this competition is and always has been his overthinking things and departing from what's been proven to work. I am no fan of City, but have today felt quite sorry for them as they've been the best team in the CL this year by some margin and that's why they managed finally to make it to the final (in other years, they've not been the best and that's why they've regularly been beaten over two legs in the earlier knockout stages). Again, however, Pep has guilded the lily and in doing so has probably cost his club a CL trophy.
They've been the best team in the CL apart from the other team which beat them and became champions.
But yes, lets make it all about Pep & City. It was so nice of them to let that other team, whoever they are, have their day.
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Heard stat that Brentford, on promotion, are now the 50th team to play in the Premier League.
Quite an amazing stat really, almost 30 seasons, 50 teams rotating through a 20 team league.
Of my generation. I can think of a few 1980s First Division teams from that decade that haven't played Premier League yet; Oxford, Luton, Wimbledon, Millwall, Swindon.
I think some of it is that some of the yo-yo teams have to go so far out on a limb to get promoted, that if they come straight back down they can plummet even right out of the 2nd tier as well for a few years. Opening up space for the next challengers.
But, 10 to 15 years ago. If you'd told me a team like Blackpool , a quaint team of yesteryear, Stanley Mathews, maximum wages etc etc, would make the Premier League ... I would have scoffed.
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