Closed Man United 2-2 Chelsea

[Krypt 241]

Great game , the first game i have been genuinely excited about in ages. Brilliant comeback and i was celebrating when mata took that shot because i just expected it to go in.

If this team could play like that second half consistently , it would be us looking pretty at the top of the table.

[bushman 2,043]

We all would love to see Chelsea playing as well as yesterday.

Had the club much better bench, a lot better results could have been seen, I feel.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

This is one of those games that just confirmed a few things for me.

Firstly, we aren't as bad as some people, even on here, think. Football fans can be prisoners of the moment and will take the last game's performance as the ultimate measure for how good a team is. We were appalling against Steaua but clearly the players weren't up for it which reflects badly on their attitude, Benitez's skills but most worryingly, the influence of two men - Lampard and Terry. We espouse their experience and influence, but do we sometimes overstate that? On the evidence of this season, there's certainly a case for it. Anyway, we're not the team who played against Steaua - we're closer to the team that played West Brom and yesterday.

What we have is a good team in the making who just need a good manager to organise them. The amount of times Mata, Oscar and Hazard drifted into the same 20 square foot of pitch space robbed us of width which wasn't helped by Ashley Cole at times. Not as bad as some people might suggest, but not as good as he once was. Luke Shaw, start packing.

In the first 20 minutes we lost the midfield battle. Carrick was dictating the play but then United sat back. Maybe it was complacency or maybe it's just that they're not a very good team but what this again showed is that we're not that far behind the top teams - games like this come down to 1-2% extra in a couple of areas and that's something we can surmount next season.

Ba made a difference. He was by no-means perfect, but simply having a striker who does the right things enables the trio of Hazard, Mata and Oscar the space to do their thing by keeping the defenders honest. Bringing on Mikel behind them does the same but I still don't think he's got the right intangibles to be the guy for us long-term (Chalobah, dat's you bro). He does have a skill set that no-one else at the club (currently fit, Romeu) does though and for that reason he's important. Hopefully his recent benching has opened his eyes a little.

This was also the type of game Ramires can excel in, where we can exploit teams on the break who don't transition from defence to attack fast enough. His finish was sublime, but if you look at the goal he essentially outruns Cleverley and Carrick when we break from defence. It's simple and that's when he's at his best. You can win cups with that technique, but I don't think you can win leagues like that simply because a lot of teams will defend first and look for you to break them down. That type of game constitutes about 75% of domestic fixtures, which is why we need a playmaker in that position.

Cahil is a good third-choice centre-back - unfortunately so is Ivanovic and increasingly JT. What we need is a first-choice centre-back to go alongside Luiz, ideally someone less adventurous than him and closer to JT. I don't know who that is, but he's becoming something of a priority next season.

So all in all, not bad. A game that highlighted the green shoots of recovery that I've been talking about for a while now. It's easy to become pessimistic but I always thought we could get something from this game simply because I knew that we weren't the team who travelled to Romania on Thursday. Sometimes we focus too much on our weaknesses and need to get an outsider's perspective on where our team is. Just talking to some United and City fans made me re-think just how good/bad we actually are as a team. Sometimes you forget just how good Mata is (player of the year is never to far from any discussion about him) or how unique Hazard's talent is (yes there are United fans still gutted about not getting him and he gave them another reminder why yesterday).

I started a thread about us giving the youth a chance and the need to move on was re-confirmed for me yesterday. Seeing Lamps taken off was a sad sight. The fans chanting 'you don't know what you're doing' was misguided in my opinion because this isn't the Frank Lampard of three years ago anymore. He may well have a role to play in the future but he's loved at this club and there's always going to be murmurs from the crowd when he's not in the team. The practical reality of keeping him is the chants everytime he warms up during a match - it's got to be the new manager's decision whether or not he can live with someone held so warmly in the fans' hearts which is why the contract situation probably can't be resolved until he's appointed.

So am I disappointed that we didn't win the game? Sure. But what we showed yesterday was more important than a win or a loss. We showed character on the toughest stage and it wasn't coming from the old guys but from the young bucks who will be the future of this club for (hopefully) many a year. There is something special bubbling under the surface of this club, waiting to be unleashed by the right man. We need to support that, not just when it's going smoothly but when there are stumbles on the way.

'We want our Chelsea back' was the cry yesterday - that Chelsea is gone. What we're getting is hopefully something better. :blue scalf:

Oh, and I thought Webb handled the game perfectly yesterday. Saw a few people moaning about his appointment but he can be one of the best refs on his day because he let's the game flow. The fact there were more people bitching before the game than after it suggests he was impeccable.

Ramires is poor technically, but he is our best attacker in the pivot ahead of lampard. When he plays as the defensive person, he sucks. That's why he thrives when given the license to bomb foward.

I don't know why people said demba ba had a poor game. He couldn't do much with the service he got, he just did the basics which is making runs into the box when azpi wanted to cross(which were all terrible crosses almost all failed to hit a chelsea player). At least he wasn't blocking his teammates shots or passing to manutd players(like ladyboy)

Ashely cole was worryingly woeful, I couldn't just understand why. He kept on charging in carlessly and left big spaces when he got bypassed.

Our best midfield under RDM was mikel rambo and mazacar. But u just know benitez won't play them together again bcos of some stupid rotation. This was one of the main reasons why AVB failed at chelsea, changing the team too much. He has now corrected it at tottenham with a more constant starting lineup.

Team chemistry >> rotation.

Our second half made me proud, but it had more to do with better determination from our players though.

[gary gordon 1,777]

Hard to endure in the first half. Second half was ok. People are missing the point that Manure were woeful after the break. Earned a replay which will end up fucking us in the long run (Like when we knocked them out of the Carling Cup) Our season pretty much went downhill from that point.

[bushman 2,043]

The reason Manure were awful, Chelsea were dominant.

Most of the time, Manure looked like school boys, then.

I even feel, Cech did not make the right decision on the first goal. There is no way some pea should have lobbed him with that header.

[Milan 17,835]

The reason Manure were awful, Chelsea were dominant.

Most of the time, Manure looked like school boys, then.

I even feel, Cech did not make the right decision on the first goal. There is no way some pea should have lobbed him with that header.

Cech's words afterwards -

"I was going to go after that cross but it was really windy and the ball lost its speed unexpectedly. It was clear I wouldn't be able to reach it and I also assumed it wouldn't get to Hernandez either. But unfortunately that it did and he used the fact that I was in a bad position. In any case, I don't mean to make excuses. It was a cheap goal and regardless of the wind, I should have tried to get back faster. It was definitely my fault."

[Milan 17,835]

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand may face FA action after being involved in an altercation with Chelsea striker Fernando Torres during Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/8556343/Manchester-United-s-Rio-Ferdinand-may-face-FA-action-after-Fernando-Torres-clash

"May" is quite important here. FA is just acting like they are doing something but it is a safe bet he will not be punished. Bunch of twats!

[bushman 2,043]

Cech's words afterwards -

"I was going to go after that cross but it was really windy and the ball lost its speed unexpectedly. It was clear I wouldn't be able to reach it and I also assumed it wouldn't get to Hernandez either. But unfortunately that it did and he used the fact that I was in a bad position. In any case, I don't mean to make excuses. It was a cheap goal and regardless of the wind, I should have tried to get back faster. It was definitely my fault."

Exactly, as I said. He misjudged it, then. Cech is a fine goalie but occasionally he makes mistakes.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand may face FA action after being involved in an altercation with Chelsea striker Fernando Torres during Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/8556343/Manchester-United-s-Rio-Ferdinand-may-face-FA-action-after-Fernando-Torres-clash

"May" is quite important here. FA is just acting like they are doing something but it is a safe bet he will not be punished. Bunch of twats!

It's just an article to get the attention but there is not the smallest of hints yet form the FA that they are looking into the matter. The twats are childishly acting like they never saw anything.

[Weckerz 3,781]

The "three amigos" was a spoof film about the show biz pantomime version of three Mexicans. In fact, Mexicans are not Spanish, Portugese or French. The three guys in the movie were two Americans and a Canadian.

What's your point? They've been called the 3 amigo's because of their similar attributes, position and height. And the fact they instantly understood eachother at the start of the season.

Call them the 3 musketeers if you prefer that.. oh wait they're all French..

[NishC300 1,865]

This is one of those games that just confirmed a few things for me.

Firstly, we aren't as bad as some people, even on here, think. Football fans can be prisoners of the moment and will take the last game's performance as the ultimate measure for how good a team is. We were appalling against Steaua but clearly the players weren't up for it which reflects badly on their attitude, Benitez's skills but most worryingly, the influence of two men - Lampard and Terry. We espouse their experience and influence, but do we sometimes overstate that? On the evidence of this season, there's certainly a case for it. Anyway, we're not the team who played against Steaua - we're closer to the team that played West Brom and yesterday.

What we have is a good team in the making who just need a good manager to organise them. The amount of times Mata, Oscar and Hazard drifted into the same 20 square foot of pitch space robbed us of width which wasn't helped by Ashley Cole at times. Not as bad as some people might suggest, but not as good as he once was. Luke Shaw, start packing.

In the first 20 minutes we lost the midfield battle. Carrick was dictating the play but then United sat back. Maybe it was complacency or maybe it's just that they're not a very good team but what this again showed is that we're not that far behind the top teams - games like this come down to 1-2% extra in a couple of areas and that's something we can surmount next season.

Ba made a difference. He was by no-means perfect, but simply having a striker who does the right things enables the trio of Hazard, Mata and Oscar the space to do their thing by keeping the defenders honest. Bringing on Mikel behind them does the same but I still don't think he's got the right intangibles to be the guy for us long-term (Chalobah, dat's you bro). He does have a skill set that no-one else at the club (currently fit, Romeu) does though and for that reason he's important. Hopefully his recent benching has opened his eyes a little.

This was also the type of game Ramires can excel in, where we can exploit teams on the break who don't transition from defence to attack fast enough. His finish was sublime, but if you look at the goal he essentially outruns Cleverley and Carrick when we break from defence. It's simple and that's when he's at his best. You can win cups with that technique, but I don't think you can win leagues like that simply because a lot of teams will defend first and look for you to break them down. That type of game constitutes about 75% of domestic fixtures, which is why we need a playmaker in that position.

Cahil is a good third-choice centre-back - unfortunately so is Ivanovic and increasingly JT. What we need is a first-choice centre-back to go alongside Luiz, ideally someone less adventurous than him and closer to JT. I don't know who that is, but he's becoming something of a priority next season.

So all in all, not bad. A game that highlighted the green shoots of recovery that I've been talking about for a while now. It's easy to become pessimistic but I always thought we could get something from this game simply because I knew that we weren't the team who travelled to Romania on Thursday. Sometimes we focus too much on our weaknesses and need to get an outsider's perspective on where our team is. Just talking to some United and City fans made me re-think just how good/bad we actually are as a team. Sometimes you forget just how good Mata is (player of the year is never to far from any discussion about him) or how unique Hazard's talent is (yes there are United fans still gutted about not getting him and he gave them another reminder why yesterday).

I started a thread about us giving the youth a chance and the need to move on was re-confirmed for me yesterday. Seeing Lamps taken off was a sad sight. The fans chanting 'you don't know what you're doing' was misguided in my opinion because this isn't the Frank Lampard of three years ago anymore. He may well have a role to play in the future but he's loved at this club and there's always going to be murmurs from the crowd when he's not in the team. The practical reality of keeping him is the chants everytime he warms up during a match - it's got to be the new manager's decision whether or not he can live with someone held so warmly in the fans' hearts which is why the contract situation probably can't be resolved until he's appointed.

So am I disappointed that we didn't win the game? Sure. But what we showed yesterday was more important than a win or a loss. We showed character on the toughest stage and it wasn't coming from the old guys but from the young bucks who will be the future of this club for (hopefully) many a year. There is something special bubbling under the surface of this club, waiting to be unleashed by the right man. We need to support that, not just when it's going smoothly but when there are stumbles on the way.

'We want our Chelsea back' was the cry yesterday - that Chelsea is gone. What we're getting is hopefully something better. :blue scalf:

Oh, and I thought Webb handled the game perfectly yesterday. Saw a few people moaning about his appointment but he can be one of the best refs on his day because he let's the game flow. The fact there were more people bitching before the game than after it suggests he was impeccable.

Agree with u m8. I remember what my teacher (yea that guy who supports Middlesborough, he's a huge sports fan [really big]) told me that Chelsea r the team who r most likely to win the EPL (when RDM was around [seems like years ago]). Nobody thought we'd win at the beginning of the season but the point is our squad is full of talent and has leaders (JT,Lamps). Also UTD don't have a good team at all. It consists of mediocre players who claim they play attacking football yet r actually a very negative team. I haven't seen a game in which we can say they genuinely deserved or they weren't really poor at some point. Most of their players rn't even capable of dribbling a defender. Their defense would have 8/9 reds by now since they do really poor tackles.

If we had Mourinho or any good manager at our club atm he would use the talent and get good results! That's one thing we don't have and Man U do (They have a gr8 manager and we have uh....). We have a gr8 youth and if these guys r sent to the right places on loan and given the right amount of chances they will develop and become better players. Something Fergie has also done.

One thing I'd like to say though is that I can't w8 for Wallace! Azpi's a gr8 defender but going forward he's not as good. I've heard Wallace is a really attacking full back so when we're pressing for goals he'll be really useful.

We need a good manager, some stability and in a few yrs we could be treble winners! So maybe we just need some elements of the Old Chelsea (e.g. Mourinho) and some new elements (Hazard, Mata, Oscar and the new players) and we've got a new and better CFC!

KTBFFH :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf:

[Santiago. 1,500]

Also UTD don't have a good team at all. It consists of mediocre players who claim they play attacking football yet r actually a very negative team. I haven't seen a game in which we can say they genuinely deserved or they weren't really poor at some point. Most of their players rn't even capable of dribbling a defender. Their defense would have 8/9 reds by now since they do really poor tackles.

Mediocre or not SAF has them working as a unit brilliantly. They have had their share of poor performances but non the less they are still quality and have been the most consistent team in the league, hence the gap.

Evans, Vidic, Carrick, De Gea, RVP, Hernandez, Kagawa, and Cleverly are far from mediocre btw.

[Kojo 4,676]

Bro I have to disagree w/ you. There was no reason for the 'bow to the back of the dome. Also I am still pissed when Rio dropped kick Flo in '11. He got away w/ that shit too.

Bro I have to disagree w/ you. There was no reason for the 'bow to the back of the dome. Also I am still pissed when Rio dropped kick Flo in '11. He got away w/ that shit too.

Come on mate, if you got a pat on the head like that, would you seriously go down?. No because he's going down on purpose, I hate Ferdinand but I wont let that blind me.

[NishC300 1,865]

Mediocre or not SAF has them working as a unit brilliantly. They have had their share of poor performances but non the less they are still quality and have been the most consistent team in the league, hence the gap.

Evans, Vidic, Carrick, De Gea, RVP, Hernandez, Kagawa, and Cleverly are far from mediocre btw.

Evans!!! Evans is good that's why he kicked Drogba in the chest!!!! Kagawa is nowhere close to Hazard. HERNANDEZ A GOO and D PLAYER! He's not scored a single goal this season from outside the penalty box. RVP's good. Vidic's good. De Gea only plays well occasionally (and he has no proper technique). Carrick is ok but can be caught for pace. So 2/3 decent players doesn't make a team. They've just limped themselves to top spot (they would have lost most of their games if the referee was unbiased or they didn't ride their luck). No quality in Man U. Have u ever seen Man U play some intricate passes with side heels and back heels or a Man U player dribbling and taking on players? No. Have u seen them being dribbled all the time? Yes. Are they an attacking minded side like they boast? No.

[Rupert 130]

From Garth Cooks ? BC website

I sincerely hope those abusive Chelsea fans that travelled to Old Trafford send Rafael Benitez a letter of apology. How they have the nerve to continually abuse the man for doing his job - and doing it absolutely brilliantly against Manchester United - is beyond me. It was a match that former boss Roberto Di Matteo might well have lost. To bring on John Obi Mikel and allow Ramires to do what he does best - bomb forward - at such a crucial stage in the game was the action of a manager who knows exactly what is required at precisely the right time. Get over yourselves Chelsea fans and get behind the team. You might win the FA Cup.

Did you know? Ramires made a game-high six interceptions in this fixture, more than he has managed in any Premier League game this season.

[Santiago. 1,500]

Evans!!! Evans is good that's why he kicked Drogba in the chest!!!! Kagawa is nowhere close to Hazard. HERNANDEZ A GOO and D PLAYER! He's not scored a single goal this season from outside the penalty box. RVP's good. Vidic's good. De Gea only plays well occasionally (and he has no proper technique). Carrick is ok but can be caught for pace. So 2/3 decent players doesn't make a team. They've just limped themselves to top spot (they would have lost most of their games if the referee was unbiased or they didn't ride their luck). No quality in Man U. Have u ever seen Man U play some intricate passes with side heels and back heels or a Man U player dribbling and taking on players? No. Have u seen them being dribbled all the time? Yes. Are they an attacking minded side like they boast? No.

Evans has been United's most consistent and solid center back for going on two seasons. Kagawa in terms of ability is quality and has the potential to be an absolute gem for United. Completely different player to Hazard. Hernandez is an ideal poacher in this day in age of Football. He has a great work rate in attack and always knicks in a goal countless times when United needed one. Carrick is probably their most consistent overall player (bar RVP) and is absolutely quality in what he does, only Busquets edges him. He is what a proper holding midfielder should do and has benefited from United's system. Not to mention one of the most underrated players in the league along with Darren Fletcher imo.

I swear your hatred for United exceeds your ability to reason and I actually think you hate United more than you supposedly love Chelsea.

[NishC300 1,865]

Evans has been United's most consistent and solid center back for going on two seasons. Kagawa in terms of ability is quality and has the potential to be an absolute gem for United. Completely different player to Hazard. Hernandez is an ideal poacher in this day in age of Football. He has a great work rate in attack and always knicks in a goal countless times when United needed one. Carrick is probably their most consistent overall player and is an absolute master at what he does, only Busquets edges him. He is what a proper holding midfielder should do and has benefited from United's system. Not to mention one of the most underrated players in the league along with Darren Fletcher imo.

I swear your hatred for United exceeds your ability to reason and I actually think you hate United more than you supposedly love Chelsea.

m8 i only criticise UTD because they suck simple.

P.S. with the new forum regulations u should be a little bit more polite. If I disagree with u there is no reason to start getting offensive. If I didn't like Chelsea I wouldn't join a talkchelsea.net lol

[Santiago. 1,500]

m8 i only criticise UTD because they suck simple.

Yet 20 English Titles, 3 European Cups, and 11 Fa cups proves otherwise