hjperdeath

Someone with legs preferably..

Just ignore him and go on with what you're talking about. A lot of people get to learn more.

Completely agree with what you've stated. Chelsea's pressing caused PSG most of the problems. But the fact is we couldn't carry it on cause of fatigue as you stated, which is mainly down to the same core of players playing game after game. Moreover our pressing wasn't even complete as we often forgot to shift to the other side. Thiago had a brilliant game, and I was scared of exactly that. People kept going on and on about how Verrati and Matuidi played simple passes quite deep but the fact was Chelsea just pressed through one phase and would never have caused them problems (even though it did get close). Chelsea do have their problems cut out for them but the Bridge is a hard place to be. I somehow still see Chelsea going through (in a complete non-bias way) if and only if they manage to score first. I'm not worried about the strike force at our home turf. It's that midfield that will cause problems. I don't expect PSG to come out in attack mode. Jose would prefer yous to do exactly that. A confident and attack minded PSG side would find it really tough at the Bridge. Moreover a lot depends on Chelsea's mental state after the Stoke game. We need a win. A draw could cause us a lot of psychological problems.

spot on.

Still possible. Did not think so when the season started. Don't think it would have made much of a difference.

All we need is a 2-0 victory to go through. Wonder how many might change their drastic opinions after that...

Our attacking three were nowhere near the maturity level of City's. There is no shame in admitting that. David Silva , Nasri and Navas. It\s not always about talent. However I'd like to hear your definition of best. There is no way in hell our squad was better than City's. Our defense was poor when we started out and now is probably one of the best in European.

That would be sheer delusion. When Jose joined and we were done with our summer tour, most of the sane ones at-least knew that the season wasn't going to be easy. Jose prioritized progression and development over silver-ware. As the season went on we realized we could actually have a go at home soil. However things did go a bit downhill . I don't think many people were confident of a "treble", that would be even more stupid than expecting silverware while transitioning.

I don't think anyone thought we could win the League. most of us aimed for second and finishing in the top 4. City were and are the strongest in terms of squad.

Pellegrini also was somewhat of a failure if you look at it. At Real he didn't really win anything. He said it out loud and clear - "It's no good having an orchestra with the 10 best guitarists if I don't have a pianist - Real Madrid have the best guitarists, but if I ask them to play the piano they won't be able to do it so well," At City he went out and bought Negredo, Navas , Fernandinho and Jovetic. The kind of players who fit perfectly into his philosophy, which made him quite successful during his time at Villarreal and Malaga too

Not to forget that after what happened this summer, Jose will learn. He's rarely made the same mistake twice, rarely. He's going to dismantle the team come summer, and cover up the patches. With the priority obviously being a striker.

I think you're going a bit over the top. Regardless of whether we've won a trophy or not there's a better pattern emerging in the team. We're evolving one step at a time. We first had to get back our defense, then convert Stamford Bridge into a fortress like the olden days. We went 14 games unbeaten before the Crystal Palace game as stated before so there isn't much reason to blow things out of proportions. Jose needs time. The only 'failure' as you put it so far has been summer. That too we were terribly unlucky to miss out on a striker. However Jose largely compensated that by landing Matic. You're going to get hate from people, and it's quite obvious. Jose came in at a time when we really needed someone fresh. He inspired, gave us hope and helped the fans connect with someone who wants to reach out to them. Jose's an expert in tribalism.

he was still very close to the club and Carlo.

Adidas are some dramatic sons of bitches though.

Hit the nail on the head.

That's exactly what I'm hoping for. Torres might need a bit more though.

*bump*

Yeah I messed up bad that way. I didn't take care of the resolutions. Won't happen next time ! I'll try to keep it under an MB next time, that way faster loading time.

* bump *

Guys i'd like opinions on the new gif's. I'm trying to increase quality and reduce dimensions for the next one so that I can paste them rather than link them,

report submitted.

PSG comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen over two legs to confirm their spot in the next round of the prestigious European competition. As soon as they were drawn to play against Chelsea, both the teams have flirted against each other as the clock ticks down to kick off. Chelsea fans were intrigued at how the Parisian team line up. Yes, I can assure you that they don't have 11 Zlatan Ibrahimovics playing in the Zlatan formation at the Ibrahimovic Stadium. Paris Saint-Germain won their round of 16 second leg tie with a score-line 2-1, which was drastically different from what happened back in Germany. I've been able to pick up a few fine points about their system, which are open to be refutable. First off, this is how PSG lined up in that game - Their somewhat 4-4-3'ish lineup is very detailed. Many sides in Europe do pay attention to finer details but I honestly didn't expect Blanc to do the same. The 4 at the back are aggressive if I were to define them in one word. The full-backs literally get forward at every opportunity while tracking back in time (not always common). The two center-backs under the leadership of Thiago Silva aren't afraid to push at oncoming forwards. In front of them sit a three man midfield , in which two rotate. In this case, Cabaye and Rabiot rotated while Pastore acted as the connector between the forwards. Cabaye was the passer. We all wanted him at Chelsea and it's not hard to see why. He's always composed in situations of high pressure. Rabiot is the rougher one. Not afraid to tackle and willing to push you off the ball. Pastore was quite lazy in the game. Barely tracked back but did well to connect and hold the structure ( I'll not judge him through this game). The front three is composed of Lavezzi, He Who Must Not Be Named and Cavani. Cavani and Lavezzi have brilliant work-rates. They never hesitate to get back which is one of the main reasons PSG have a brilliant clean sheet record in Ligue 1. To see how the formation works, click here - you may need to watch multiple times to see how the entire system operates. PSG conceded their first goal in the 5th'ish minute, so I'll have a look at that. Paris have given the ball away, and Bayer have a chance to reorganize and work their way down one flanks. One of PSG's biggest downfalls is that they're easily attracted towards the side their opponent is playing through . This opens up space on the opposite side of the pitch. Here we have the midfield three in one side. So you can imagine how only Lavezzi and Digne are on the opposite flanks, with the midfield wider than Arsenal's goal after picking up the ball 6 times from the net (click to view image). Bayer midfielders have sensed this, and attack right at the throat. Here we can identify two mistakes. 1. Pastore's pitiful work-rate - In the game he would even make Fernando Torres looks like an absolute work-horse. He ran a bit and then casually started walking while Cabaye and Rabiot kept up with the play. Jallet pressed high , which both the full-backs did throughout the night. 2. Marquinho's 'not so clever' pressing - He was easily attracted, and the next thing you know , he made a dreadful tackle which let the wingers easily proceed down the flank (click to view). I don't even think that was a tackle to be honest. He hesitated, flinched and fell with a leg sticking out. The damage had been done though, PSG were now officially lopsided with a tremendous amount of loop-holes on the other side. So to compensate, poor ol' Digne had to drift in and act as a make-shift center-back. With Lavezzi nowhere in sight, the right-flank was now open. A pass was slotted in, which was latter crossed and met with a brilliant header. A header that even Sami Hyppia would've been proud of. PSG do have their defensive frailities though their League makes it look like they don't. This isn't a dig at the French, just an honest opinion. Apart from a few occasions such as this, PSG's pressing and organization helped them grab a win. Talking about structure, PSG often emphasised on locking down the midfield and blocking pass lanes . This was easy as Cavani and Lavezzi weren't exactly lazy. The ball playing midfielder was trapped in the middle and all possible passing options were closed, which can be seen by Lavezzi's effort in winning the back for the team from Paris. Talking about their wide players tracking back, I must also mention that they prefer to track back inward, rather than outward. At Chelsea we have Eden and Willian tracking back outwards, which helps Cesar and Branislav close in the middle. Cavani and Lavezzi however track back into the midfield, which explains why PSG are susceptible to crosses. Here we see Lavezzi and Cavani pressing inside exactly after being attracted to one side of the field once again (click to view). A second later, we see it's disadvantage as the right side opens up for Bayer. All in all, this was just a report on a specific game, rather than an entire fixed system like I usually do. This is mainly down to my lack of time in the present moment. All in all, the first leg of the quarter-final, is going to be one exciting game from a tactical stand-point. Click here to view the article

strongly disagree but all to their own opinion I guess.

My bad, didn't know real world meant one that did have FPP. That's an immense amount of generalization, 18 countries in the ME, you can't just use UAE. Like I said, when Roman first joined, many weren't sure what his intentions are. But now he's grown to love the club and is arguably the only owner who cares so much about his club from the big teams across Europe. He doesn't have a cause to promote cause he doesn't need to promote Russia (that doesn't mean he didn't have causes when he first started, no matter how controversial). PSG is different , in the sense that he wants to see the club move forward while having a dual objective of seeing Qatar's stature rise before 2022 kicks off. Khelaifi has a really good plan for PSG and they were quite decent in last year's CL. They're improving and will become only better. You can't just generalize all owners and presidents apart from Roman saying that they don't have a passion for the club. That could similarly be said about us by others. while holding substantial evidence to support that claim. There wouldn't be any justification agreed. I'm just highlighting the point about PSG not being able to afford Hazard. If there was no FFP, they easily could, but as it is the real world as you say, they can't.

if Real could afford Bale using tax payers money then PSG has Qatar. Richer beyond their wildest dreams. If there was no FFP, I don't think Khelaifi would even hesitate spending 300m on OScar and Hazard. No one is questioning Roman's intentions( though you could have in the start) . City maybe, PSG isn't. Basic knowledge really. Qatar isn't in UAE...