Blue Armour

Fucking game. Definitely one where you knew nothing was going to come out of it after hitting the posts with all the good shots. Mendy mistake. Everton sit deep and defend with 3 CBs. No Ziyech or Pulisic to unlock their defense. Weak minds like Havertz to screw things up. Both our full backs, especially Chillwell were pegged back. Our play from the left flank was non existent. Everything had to go through James. Feel a bit bad for Werner..,he was played out of position again but he did not do himself any favors. This game was set to be a loss. The only comfort I can take is that it took a combination of fuck ups for us to not get a result here.

Should take advantage again especially with their best full backs out of commission. They are the best contributors to their attack., and their absence is the main reason for their makeshift defense

Interesting stats...Grealish reminds me of Hazard at times because of his ability to draw fouls. Kind of like Hazard but with less end product and flair, albeit being Villa's best chance creator last season. I'll admit that this season he has really gone up a notch and those numbers are not for this season are not a surprise.

Good point. Looking back at Mourinho's PL title wins, there were not many teams in contention for the title race. Also, despite this being December, we are only 11 games in., meaning another 3/4 of the season to go. Therefore, even their current position at the top doesn't mean much. And speaking of fixture lists, any idea why some teams still have a game in hand without any official dates announced for these? You would expect them to play before the midway point in order to preserve the integrity of the competion.

It was expected that at any time, one of our fullbacks would have to hang back to watch their runners. Shame that we didn't have Pulisic fully fit to start the game. I feel his play could have helped unlock their defense even without full-backs supporting.

We'll see. You have a point, and I've seen some fans claim this, but I think a lot of people jumped on the wagon after their win over Pep and city. I'll give credit to JM and Spurs for coming through relatively unscathed, after a tough list of fixtures in the PL in the past 3 weeks.

The annoying thing is the number of bandwagon fans that have jumped on the Spurs bus parade in recent weeks simply because they are leading by goal difference atm. I don't want to be hypocritical, because we've utilized the same style of play to get results in recent seasons, but we supported it because it helped Chelsea win. I can understand if Spurs fans are okay with it, but for mainstream football fans to claim that this is a new found football philosophy and display of tactical genius that trumps others, is a bit much for me.

Yeah, what a looney strategy. Thought he could take the game to them like he's some kind of MF. ... Should have given JM a taste of his own medicine. Putting Arsenal aside though,...more teams should look at our performance against Spurs and do better at cutting out that link between Kane and Son...Especially by swamping Kane. Do that and you nullify nearly 50% of their scoring chances IMO.

We need to take advantage in fixtures where sides like Tottenham, Liverpool, United and City have come up short this season....Everton, Wolves, West Ham.

Bah...Tottenham tries to be so annoying! They've literally played Darude-Sandstorm for all the goals they've scored in their stadium this year.

Reece James and Mason Mount take a bow....James was imperious in defense today., total unfazed Well done to Giroud for repaying the faith with a brilliant goal. His experience helped him time his run perfectly for James' cross Hope Ziyech's condition is not worrisome, but glad Pulisic came back to the fold with a well deserved goal The team is slowly developing an attitude for becoming relentless. Exciting.

Agree with you., but I'm expecting to see Tammy up top again. Lampard's post game comments about Pulisic tell me that he is likely to going to ease him back into the team slowly. Hopefully Tammy's pace will help with our counter attacks. Werner and him combined beautifully once this season.

I think the chances we created today are decent enough, considering the type of opposition we played today. You won't create too many against teams like these. Especially when in the second half they sit back, thus eliminating our chances to counter. In those instance you want your attackers to make the most of the half chances they get. Giroud in the center could have helped in the 2nd half. If we had Pulisic fully fit and starting, that might have also helped unlock their defense, but he didn't have enough time to make an impact today.

Its only because they're top of the table currently. Fucking annoying, but I'm already starting to forget about this game. We have more interesting games ahead of us.

Yeah, the script was already set. You can already see in the match reports how they are saying they got the result to move to top of the table. Thank goodness, they couldn't win though. It would have made those reports even more nauseating.

I'm curious about the Spurs-Arsenal match. Two sides that like to park the bus. Only problem is one side is slightly more stupid.

Regardless of the result, I'm hugely impressed with the defensive side of our game. Looking at how we've improved from last season. Kept the golden children of Kane and Son on a leash, unable to create anything of note.. Kante, Mount and Kovacic were SUPERB! Same goes for our back 4 and Mendy

Seesshh....Spurs were awful in that second half, just sitting back like a boring West Ham side. I know Frank kept Tammy on to press the opposition and attack on the counter, but the way Spurs were sitting back for the majority of 45-70 minute of the game, we could have had Giroud on sooner, especially at the end of the crosses from James. Disappointed at the lack of 3 points,..it would have been a well deserved advantage at this stage of the season, but good that we prevented from Spurs getting further ahead. I would have smashed my screen if Zouma's mistake had led to a goal in the end. Referee was a freaking dumbass.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts, Kante and 1 of the CB's will have to keep a leash on Kane, while the rest of the back four keeps an eye out for their runners.

Hmm...26th, and then a game again on the 28th? I remember it being always crazy this time of year, but having just a 1 day gap between games? Seems a bit much.

Around the same time last year, we were in poor form, especially at the back and I hoped we would revert to a back 5 formation against Spurs. Thankfully Lampard did just that. This time though, I think we should just give up the pretense and attack with our 4-3-3. Changing to a 3 atb will not help, as Mourinho will expect and plan for it this time around. We've used that same formation in the last 3 games against him. Of course, City also used a 4-3-3 and failed, but this is where I hope we learn from their mistakes and be smarter with our play. As is customary of late, Mourinho is likely to play with a mid block, congesting the midfield., have Kane drop deep and have runners like Son & Bale primed to latch onto long passes coming from a counter attack. This is where players like Mount, and especially Ngolo Kante will have to work extra hard. A lot depends on Kante and one of the CB's restricting Kane's game, while the rest of the defense keeps their eye on the runners like Son,Bale & Lo Celso. Our full backs will also have to be extra careful when pushing up. In no instance should we have both fullbacks up the pitch simultaneously, especially if we lose possession. Meanwhile our CAM's and forwards will have to be incredibly efficient trying to navigate around their tight midfield. I think Kovacic is probably a better option than Havertz this time around, considering the latter is only getting back into playing fitness. Good to have Pulisic returning as well. The one thing I hope we take advantage of is their back line., which despite their record in the league, doesn't scream impressive. Alderweireld is also out, which leaves Eric Dier again at the back. Come on.

Said this before, and I think a lot of us will agree that we need to do everything we can to hold on to Giroud this season. Pulling us out of the fire on numerous occasions. I just hope we can give him the playing time he wants.

According to Carragher, he's the best British coach in the game

Dont mind if we end up doing it ourselves., as I recall they were the ones that ruined ours.

Played well today, came on as a sub when Everton were leading 3-1 and almost dragged Fulham back into the game. Won the penalty which Fulham couldn't convert, and then later nabbed a goal for himself. Wish he went on loan to a slightly better side, but at least this way he is guaranteed to get game time. The 4-3-3 formation we play now, is actually well suited to his strengths. Still like to think there is a place for him when he returns.