Closed Chelsea 2-3 Man City

[Mr. Ziggles 110]

Can you guys please calm down? We showed promise, we played some good football and ultimately lost against (arguably) the best side in the league. It'll take a bit of time, and besides let's at least see how we do in the league against the likes of Wigan where we know we should/have to/must beat them. It's not the end of the world, just a small obstical in what could be a great season.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Ivanovic fucked up, it happens. No shame in losing 3-2 with 10 men to Man City.

[blue_swaggin_96 96]

the red card ruin it for us! we were comfortable @ attacking till then!

i expected a better 2nd half especially from tactics.

seriously we need somebody strong! in our top 4 striking positions! torres was getting punked around all over the field!

4 games in row in pre season doesn't mean shit..is exactly what i expected from RDM experiencing with players.

[blu35_army 551]

Terry >>> Cahill

Brana >>> Sam / New RB

Mikel >>> Essien / Romeu

Lampard >>> Oscar

Ramires >>> New RW

then we can judge how strong our squad this season.....

[xPetrCechx 13,571]

Ok, if it's a friendly game, so what we will say after we won't win wigan?

[Liquidator 5,176]

at least our support is better than their bollocks. They would never have got that many fans if they did not win the league. 3-1 and they still wouldn't sing.

[Laylabelle 9,535]

Ok, if it's a friendly game, so what we will say after we won't win wigan?

Then will be worried!! Wigan away seems to be a walk in the park or a bloody struggle for us

[The Skipper 20,609]

These are the same stupid excuses you use all the time, just accept the fact that Mikel is shit. He does nothing on the pitch.

Simply not good enough, but no keep going with your excuses, and RDM mate like what a substitution in the 80th minute, when we had 10 men from 40 minutes in the game, which was very stupid. Mikel is garbage enough said, and he did lose the ball constantly, he lost it about 5 times within 30 minutes it was laughable.

But yeah because the other players played bad that gives him the reason to play shit too, and it's not just that he does it every game, fair enough the one odd game.

Yeah okay man we all know you think Mikel is garbage but that doesn't mean that it's fact. We all have our own opinions and if that angers you then we'll just leave it there.

[mtowle182 79]

you have confidence in the team i see...

[Justin_3d 1,140]

To be fair to City, they beat United home and away, scored more goals and conceded less. If Jose had been in charge of City they would've been out of sight long before the season ended. Both teams will be strong this year, I still have my doubts about Mancini but a lot can still change before the transfer window closes.

Yeah but you can't just be like Liverpool that plays good against the big boys, and can't finish the smaller guys.

This is a marathon and not a sprint.

And that's what will cost City if they continue fucking up against the stokes.

It was basically a league that United threw away.

That won't happen again.

For me, this tittle is writing United all over it.

I will be happy with a third place. Finishing second will be amazing.

Winning the league, will just mean that RDM is a crack and out of this world!

[xPetrCechx 13,571]

Then will be worried!! Wigan away seems to be a walk in the park or a bloody struggle for us

last year, both matches were a disaster.

[Santiago. 1,500]

Why we are not going after Sahin or Song i will never understand...

Third place is ideally for us.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

the red card ruin it for us! we were comfortable @ attacking till then!

i expected a better 2nd half especially from tactics.

seriously we need somebody strong! in our top 4 striking positions! torres was getting punked around all over the field!

4 games in row in pre season doesn't mean shit..is exactly what i expected from RDM experiencing with players.

As in your sig, I think RDM made mistake setting the team up offensively in the 2nd half. . We should have brought in cahill and bertrand at the interval and parked the bus, but we conceded twice when trying for goal. Suicidal to give such an opponent the space.

[xPetrCechx 13,571]

Third place...

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Right forgot to point it out, Oscar is absolutely abysmal and the bloody worst! Didn't get a single touch OMFG! Sold him already!

[Superblue 6,372]

Right my views on the game:

• Firstly Torres - love him or hate him, he is going to be our main striker, at least to start with, this season and we have to support him and hope he fires. Today was a good sign, against good opposition. His goal showed his predatory instincts, the type of chances we need him to put away when we're struggling to impose on teams. I was just as impressed by his second half performance. He chased down everything, and the times when we did attack he looked sharp running at their defence. His strength in holding up the ball and laying off for Sturridge was also crucial in the build up to Bertrand's goal. The signs are positive and it is important for him to hit the ground running.
  
• Ivanovic's tackle was a red card. These things happen, it was a stupid tackle but we move on. I was more annoyed that the referee bottled a potential decision with Savic, although it was in good spirits towards the end that he decided to show leniency for not giving Ramires a second yellow.
  
• Following on from the red card, we could have shut up shop á la Barcelona and attempted to see the game out. However RDM was quite right in sticking to his guns and keeping us set up to still attack City. Yes it would have been nice to win the trophy but it's not high on the list of importance. I think it was more important to give Mata and Torres a good run out each, and allow Hazard to acclimatise to an English game before Wigan next week. Keeping ourselves open was our downfall but I fully agree with RDM's decision to not 'park the bus'.
  
• Hazard looked good without pulling up trees. Forget his slip when trying to backheel (Aguero missed a sitter remember), he looked sharp and caused Savic problems. He was a lot more disciplined playing wide left today and showed a tenacity I hadn't yet seen in his play. He will be a big player for us, make no mistake.
  
• For me our biggest problem could be Terry. Whilst we won't be playing a highline like AVB, we also want to be closing up the space behind the pivot and pushing teams back. Terry's pace has become near enough non existant now and he pulls the defence back so deep. There were also times today he committed himself like David Luiz but without the pace to recover. His clearance for the first goal was poor because he was flat footed when the cross arrived, and Tevez strolled past him for the second. I love Terry, he's a club legend and still has a part to play, but if he remains an undisputed first choice it could cost us. The ironic thing is that a sizeable ban for Terry may actually play into our favour long term that it gives Cahill and Luiz the chance to establish a first choice partnership.
  
• Bertrand will play a big part this season and in the future of our team. We finally have a player I feel comfortable filling in for Cole.
  
• Ramires continues to frustrate me in terms of not being able to pinpoint a spot in the side that should be his. His distribution was poor today, but his stamina, and ability to both break up play and endlessly press teams is vital in pressurising teams when we don't have the ball. He has also developed a knack of producing a big moment in games even when not playing well - His assist for the Torres goal was excellent and came out of nothing. The problem is that there are deficiencies to his game which go against him in certain positions. Should he be number 1 choice in a certain position, or is he yet another vital squad player who's versatility to fill in anywhere down the right and centrally is priceless?
  
• In the second half Mata played on the right, and Hazard the left. When fully available and with 11 players on the pitch this is where the two should operate to allow Oscar to play in the centre of the '3'. I do however suspect him to play right and Mata central.
  

[bababoom 4,478]

You know nothing about me, as a newb you are in no position to have an opinion on me or how I choose to react in the heat of the moment.

Nor is a forum freshman like spike or caprisun.

You're overreacting, calm down.

[Blue Traveler 256]

We need to work on our stradegies and organization & prepare better for the league games and it has to start now if we want to avoid last season situation. We need to be prepared for any situation not every opponent eager to attack and play football! Wigan away will definitely is one of them!

[Jase 43,479]

Decent effort after going down to 10 men but more rubbish defending yet again. We started real sluggishly in the first half and could have easily conceded but about 25 minutes onwards, we settled into the game and FINALLY(!) tested City. Began to match City's (pathetic) robust approach and then Torres scored. Good bit of play by Ramires to setup Torres and thought it was gonna go according to plan...until Ivanovic's stupidity that is. Have absolutely no complains about his red card. Intentional or not, he went in two-footed and if you do that, you basically give the referee no choice but to send him off. And as if playing with 11 men against City wasn't bad enough, Ivanovic had to go do something stupid and that pretty much summed up his performances since the Seattle Sounders.

With 10 men against a team like City, it was always going to be tough (and stressful). Nice to see us being positive in the second half but that totally killed us. City just had so much space to exploit and we got completely murdered. Pre-season already proved that defensively as a team, we are not solid, compact and quick enough to get back and deal with the opposition's threat and that happened today. Left the team exposed and then we get to see more poor defending once again. Luiz is really a nightmare in defence. You never know what you're gonna get from him. He could easily be brilliant in one game and then go be his usual reckless self the next. When will he ever learn?!

Regarding the players' performance, Mikel was back to usual self. Being slow, sloppy and then got caught on the ball so many times. In the defensive midfielder position that he is playing, he can't be making mistakes like that! Hazard was good, looked lively at times but that one moment where he tried the backheel pass...couldn't help but to laugh! Sorry Eden. On Torres, have seen lots of people praising him for his good work but I thought he was average. Fair enough, he scored a good goal and then try to drive the team forward with his individual runs but then, it got a bit too far. As the game went on, whenever he got the ball, he tried to do all on his own. He always looked to take on 3-4 players at once and when the better option would be to pass and move the team forward!

Overall, hate to lose here and the defeat is annoying. IF Ivanovic had not done what he did, think we could have gone on to win the game. Game wasn't helped by Kevin Friend's inept refereeing and inconsistency as well. City made so many crude and robust challenges especially on Hazard but hardly got a card. We made 1-2 and we got one. Savic should have been sent off when he blocked off Torres just before Ivanovic's red card.

[Eluwande Yomi 15]

To make things better...

Some City fans with tickets went to Wembley.

To make things better...

Some City fans with tickets went to Wembley.

Hahahaha