cosmicway

European football was not at all uninteresting with the old system.

FA Cup is devalued, also coppa italia, copa del rey. That's because UEFA have made a giant champions league, devalued the uefa cup and abolished the cups winner cup. In the seventies-eighties some of the teams competing for the UEFA cup were stronger than those of the same country competing in the champions cup. For example Liverpool (UEFA) were better than Leeds United (champions).

When was Bats any better ? His job is to look for good position in the box - that's what he 's always been doing and nothing more. But there was no one to pass any useful balls. Bakayoko was the dreadful one. Also Morata added nothing in the last ten minutes. All the rest below premiership standards.

If it was a two leg affair and we were 3-0 up I might expect this. Unless we we have writen off FA Cup.

The Norwich keeper did not even make a save.

What sport are they playing at Carrow road ?

The two most recent additions, Baka-Morata get all the stick, from everyone. That's bad. Cause if you don't like Alonso, you had him for two years - find a new Roberto Carlos. If you don't like Cahill, you had him for five years. Are we sliding downwards ??? If Eden goes to Madrid as touted or if at any rate five years go by and he is sidelined, do we stay in the premier division ?

There probably isn't one. You're either gifted in a department or you're not Obviously there were many players who are now forgotten by everybody - turned up only the day they signed their cards. But there were lots and lots of high class wingers who played to the age of 35 and they never got better in the scoring department. Some others don't know football and score Billy Dimitriades - top Greek scorer - three consecutive Toyotas . When outside the box you wondered "is this a football player ?". The national monster of Greece is Anthony Antoniades -nailed Everton inside the Goodison park once upon a time. His shoe size does n't exist in the shops. Slower than a barge. But ... Antoniades a high profile lawyer now, scored 30-35 per season.

I doubt it. It's one of those things we call a birthmark. Name me a lousy goal missing machine from any team or any era in football history who then turned into a Jimmy Greaves.

You know who is the coolest in the world ? It's Nacho Scocco of River Plate. Killer force, usually lobs the ball over the keepers. The crazy Pele goal of 1958 against Sweden is his cup of tea. A notch below making to the Argantine national team, played in Mexico, Greece, Sunderland for a spell then back to Argentine. Now he is 35 but he is the killer.

Cesc always seems to look for the perfect goal tbh. I remember him missing a simple chance recently, as he elected to chip it rather than smash it pass the GK. Morata has scored goals at the highest level for big clubs (scored in the CL semi & final whilst at Juve), so nerves really shouldn't be an issue. No nerves are an issue. Go to the Stoke thread. I can tell you about Greek player legends, from the time I used to go every Sunday - everyone knows. They actually do score great goals, against big opponents too, but how ? They are also assets to their club. But you don't call them strikers. At the same time there are some slow motion characters who are strikers. It's in the mind.

Cesc missed one unworthy of him tonight. Hazard misses sometimes, Diego also had some silly misses and look for similar elsewhere. With Morats it's panic I 'm afraid, that's what it is.

You have to be cool to be a striker. I don't know if I 'm cool but I 'm not a striker. Here is a psychological test done to me once (I failed). I go to the mountains with the army for shooting practice with machine gun, together with all the other rookies. It's my turn, I approach, the trainer says "oooh, look who is here, it's my good friend", "come here boy let's give it a go". Then he suddenly changes mood -by design. He says "you clumsy idiot, son of a bitch, move fast, come on, come on, come on". I screwed it up as a result. I even did something and the m/c gun turned around and pointed at the colonel in charge of the exercise. That was a capital b**shit, 5 days in the dungeons, but I was lucky the colonel pretended to look the other way. After this I did some sh*tty shooting and left. It shows that a man without cool blood and composure is rubbish !

What you say is impossible in football. We could have won 2-1, 3-2, things might be better if Morata / Cesc scored in the 1st half but what you say is impossible in this kind of game.

We did not play well. And we could not have thrashed them for we did go ahead and they did not quite crumble to dust. Nevertheless the chance Morata lost after their late equalizer was a match winner of course. But whatever the nature of the game Morata's three chances is something beyond belief for a player of his -supposed- caliber. If I change my mind about Morata now, it will have to be the biggest resurrection in history since Lazarus.

Yeah it feels bad. Worse than against Roma or City.

Zappa did well. You were n't going to see that move from Moses in 25 years of football.

All top strikers get replaced when the score is 3-0 or when they are injured or against lower division opposition. But in the derby match ? When the situation is red hot ???

Bats is better than Morata - at least he does his job. Remy also (now in Las Palmas). Bakayoko is a joke.

For 67 minutes we were not on the pitch, despite the two first half chances of Morata and Cesc. The total capitulation in the last 5 minutes was a disaster recipe.

Hazard was kicked. It' daft when your opponent is nowhere near a goal scoring position or even nowhere near a position to make a telling pass, but if you kick him it's a pen.

Never seen a player like that "improving his finish". Some of those types are speedy and useful down the wing so their teams keep them, but if they cannot score then they cannot score. Over.

He can't. The man loses control of his mind infront of the net. It's just him, nothing can be done.

That was n't a Chelsea team on the pitch. Thy gave away the daft penalty when they were going to beat as 3-0. Morata's case as a Chelsea player is over by anyone's logic. The last 5 mins like idiots we let them do what they wanted. Sh*t.

I made diatribe on this. Before one mentions Torres he should wash his mouth with soap.