robsblubot

Maybe I had a teenager moment there... "literally." 😆

You are right -- you are taking the statement literally, which is fair of course. I was definitely considering context tho, of the quality of our team vs the immediate opposition (past and present). As to make a point on how to read results and tone expectations. It was in response to I was specifically referring to Everton, and esp City, which are teams at the opposite end of the spectrum. That when the opposition is significantly *better* there is only so much you can do to improve your odds at winning; you can do everything right and still lose if they match your impetus for ex. From Everton point of view, they did everything right in the first minutes: they won 50/50s, gained set pieces, and created chances against us (good ones too). Then Cole started nut megging players, which I suspect was really disheartening to them. IMO, there is danger in underestimating what Cole did against Everton too; it was more than goals. He broke Everton midfielders with skill and skill alone. He will be more contained against better opposition, as well as because he's known now and will be tightly marked often.

Agreed, and he's such a non-City player too; like the play often dies when the ball reaches him. Everyone else is so much better on the ball. You know you just jinxed us big time tho, don't you? 🙂

Played like a proper CB 😆

and yet, fresh legged Mudryk and Madueke did about the same as their kids in OT. 🤷‍♂️

I know had been saying that for a while -- the quoted bit did not come from me tho.

This. City's "kids" include Alvarez, Stones, Ake, and Kovacic. Besides, they are a master at moving the ball and not running a whole lot for it. Still, I'd take any advantage given.

lol had to google that and got it right away

True, but wasn't City the same until they weren't? I mean they were consistently in the whereabouts before finally making it despite the horror show that that game (against Inter) was for them. I hope I jinx him and he scores to at least take it to overtime, but I have to say I've been disappointed with Haaland. He's obviously a great player, but I was expecting more from him.

Agreed. Despite their strength in depth.

I still rather have them thinking about CL on Saturday vs having nothing else other than FA and PL.

Agreed to disagree here then esp when the opposition happens to be one of the best teams in the world--their performance kinda matters (a lot) more than ours IMO. That's also why I don't read too much into the Everton game; it's a championship and we played the big expensive teams as well as the shitty teams. The standings show what they show. back to this game, contrary to the Everton match, when our players had a. lot of time on the ball, City are master pressers. We've got to move the ball a bit faster or they will steal it from us. While I don't see how we aren't going for a low block, I also don't want us pinned in our own half for 90 freaking minutes.

the Nouveau riche are chokers until they aren't. Success begets success and so on. Remember when people laughed at City and now they dominate in all comps.

I think exactly the opposite: considering the opposition is the most realistic take one can have. After all, it's 11 players on each side of the pitch, so the opposition represents at least half of the equation. A random good player, with strong mentality, playing Djokovic would still be a huge underdog. Because Novak is just better than everyone else, which is why he is #1. The best Chelsea turn up against an average City and they would still be the favs IMO. Even their bench is a lot stronger than ours, so if they need to tweak something during the match, they are more likely to get something out of it than we do. Freaking Kova is a bench warmer for them! Sorry, I see us as huge underdogs for this one. Even more so than against Liverpool (due to their absences).

Hmm the quality of the opposition involves a lot of different aspects: mentality, skill, tactical, fitness... while mentality only involves mentality. Often strong fitness levels can be perceived as strong mentality: easier to win 50/50s if you get to the ball first. Standings prove that the opposition is everything in football. As does the usual group of quarter-finalists in every CL. Not very different in the WC with a select group. It's the same clubs/countries with different teams. How would you rate the chances of a lower division side that wins every match in their division (strong mentality) when playing against City? Don't we see that in the cups often? Aside from that rare upset here and there, the big teams usually go through.

It's a bit reductionist to think mentality is all there is. I think the fortunes the elite clubs spend chasing skill actually proves mentality isn't everything. Regarding our side you obviously see a lot more quality in players I consider completely insufficient. I can't imagine the likes of Madueke and Mudryk playing a big part in beating any good team. The best teams like City have a lot better players in their positions (that includes Jackson). Speaking of which, Mudryk had a pretty poor game despite the poor opposition.

I read this differently: it is worrying that it took this level of opposition for Caicedo to "resemble" the player thought we signed. Take a peek at Everton mids... a player of Caicedo's quality (regardless of how one rates him) should definitely give us an edge against that midfield. Conor did pretty well too. Still, the game was pretty disputed until Cole started nut megging players. That can be disheartening to players trying to be physical and winning 50/50s like they did early on.

Agreed with the first part as Pep is a master of that. 100% disagree with the latter: in my view the opposition is literally everything in a football match. Otherwise the standings wouldn't make sense; nor would the money involved at this level. We are underdogs and City is the clear favorite every time they will play us. What the opposition does, or does not do, directly determines what your team can do. There is a lot of nuance to that tho, like even stronger teams can be easier or harder to face depending on the style in which we play, as well as tactics. However! It is still a single game though, which means shit can happen, and it's more likely we can pull off an upset. I actually think we weren't that great in the first few minutes against Everton losing a lot of 50/50s and conceding set pieces until Cole started nut megging players, and finally scoring. That changed their demeanor because they could not contain Cole.

Heh, except that we played like we did last night *because* of the opposition, so this will be a VERY different endeavor. We will need to play a hell lot better than we did yesterday to get anything out of this. We will need a very special game and rely on them being disinterested enough to have a poor game.

Agreed. His best position in my book is on the right wing. I'd actually describe his position today as a free role. He was free to roam, but played more centralized, and changed positions often. The danger when playing him so close to the opposition goal is to lose his creativity, which is something we do not have in abundance atm.

Have to remember that this is a very young squad, so it's difficult for the manager to be overly critical. So, he's picking the time after a big win to do that. Smart move.

True, with the caveat that Gusto and James play in the same position. The right side is loaded, esp considering Palmer plays right wing or CAMp -- still unsure where I'd put him against better opposition. CAMs have a big target on their backs at all times. He does seem like the complete package tho; he even reacts well to sliding tackles by not having his feet planted down hard when the tackle comes. Nkunku, James, and Fofana (signing the latter esp for that amount made no sense) have a history of injuries, so it's not really a huge surprise. Some of the other players are so young that they don't have any history yet.

Good one from bbc's comment section "Well done Chelsea! Pickford will have cemented his place in the England squad tonight, though I suspect that the Palmer lad still has a bit to do to catch Southgate’s eye!"

Unless you are named Jose and you are obviously talking about the quality of eggs. 😉

Man this thread is funny today! Nothing like a big win eh.