Closed Man United 0-0 Chelsea

[bushman 2,043]

Shots on goal 6, corners 1 by Chelsea. Out of those 6 shots 5 were little tip ins. That´s how offensive Chelsea were last night.

[Kojo 4,676]

Got to page 4 of this thread before I had to stop reading it.

We went away to the Champions of England in only the third game of the season when we're still finding our feet as a team and we came away with a good point. The selection seemed spot on in most regards, and I was massively impressed with Schurrle's workrate whilst Hazard continues to grow as a footballer prepared to put in a shift working back.

We didn't park the bus - anyone suggesting we did doesn't actually know what that term means. We created some excellent chances and had periods where we dominated both possession and territory, but this United team are FAR further along in their development as a team. We're three games into our's - some people need to be patient, or simply reasonable.

This was a hard-working display. He went with people like Lamps because he knows he can trust them, so whilst I'd love to see Van Ginkel and Lukaku being used I do understand him wanting to bring them on a little bit slower (but I expect both to be getting significant play time in the next couple of months).

Defensively we were solid and the changes under Jose are clear for everyone to see - we defend as a team, from the front. When we broke we actually go forward as a team too but both teams made simple mistakes which is something you expect this early in the season. For me, there was enough good stuff on display to be heartened by this performance and things were only off by a couple of inches.

But I simply don't understand some people on this forum. The pessimism and impatience and quite frankly the ungrateful attitudes are a massive fucking turn-off.

Spot on but I don't agree with dominating possession or even creating chances for that matter, one thing we couldn't do is keep the ball. The likes of Ramires and De Bruyne certainly weren't helping in that department. But i think i was the 10 percent who was really chuffed with the point.

People are expecting big things from us already.

Look I'm optimistic, and I do think we can challenge, win the title? Yes I think we have a good shot at it, but I don't expect it from Mourinho straight away. I think this time we actually need time, it was different 8 year ago, because it was our time then and we pretty much already had a team built from Ranieri. The team we have now is a very young team, so we just need time, and people are getting mad at a result like this it's just stupid. We should be happy for the point, there were a lot of positives from that game, although we have more quality than United they are still winners whether we like it or not, we can't just expect to bully them at there own ground and get a comfortable win.

[Stingray 9,441]

Lets check Redcafé for some non-blue perspective ...

Surprised at how negative Chelsea were.

Chelsea were surprisingly negative; I'm sure they're happy with the point.

Chelsea were average, we dropped two points tonight.

Chelsea parking the bus with 11 men behind the ball at nearly every opportunity.

Surprised at how negative Chelsea were.Makes you wonder why they're buying every attacking midfielder on the planet.

Chelsea were there for the taking, their attack was almost non-existent!

I'm surprised at how negative Chelsea were and they never really got into the match.

mourinho has parked the bus and we've dominated the game from start to finish

Mourinho will be hailed as a tactical genius no doubt, but that was such a negative performance from them.

From just the first two pages post match. Not pessisimism, but we did have a negative game-plan and it doesn't look really pretty (except Hull first time).

Im hoping for better - i wanna see that dynamics and intensity Mou keeps talking about.

[TrippingStep 336]

Good to come out with the point but I hope Jose does not resort to these tactics every big game. Looking at it, 7 points from your first 3 games is not bad but looking at the attacking talent we have here it would be encouraging to see Mourinho actually set out to attack teams. When we beat with Bayern and basically 'parked the bus' it was a bit more understandable because the team compared to now was much more inferior. People may be shocked of the fans reaction who are giving the team stick but part of being a fan is also identifying things that you would like to improve in your side and with me that is Mourinho's tactics.

Yes, happy with the point but I feel we could of had a real go at United this match. Not even bringing on Mata, I think was a bit ridiculous. I just wish Mourinho could have the mentality of thinking we have a strong team who can beat United. The other day a member posted on this forum a quote from Mourinho which was something where he was stating with the attacking talent the team has he is going to attack teams but 3 games so far and lets be fair have been rather laid back.

Even we got the point, Jose's plan was "we want a draw" and clearly did not do enough to try and win the game. I was at carnival anyway and missed the game and was disappointed the two events clashed. Turns out I did not miss much. Watched the full replay of the match and have to be honest the way we set out to contain United did not impress me.

I just don't get why people get so angry when other people criticize. It is not as if we are judging where the team will finish based on the one game. People, (well especially me) would just like a bit more attacking intent because I am sure we could have possibly won if we had shown that.

We neutralised RVP quite well and that is pleasing and got a point at OT but like I said the intent to not win the game was disappointing. A point suits both teams, a bit more us at this stage however a little more intent and this game could of been ours IMO.

I agree. We must not forget that against Hull(excepting the first 25 minutes), Aston Villa, we didn't play very well and were not creating many chances.

And I laugh at some who said the children must learn but we have not the same squad and profile of players as the first Chelsea team.

In the first Chelsea team, we had Drogba a beast, and by far the best midfield of the league. We could outmuscle everybody, that's not the case with this squad.

And since then, the smaller teams have improved, they don't get caught on the counter as easily as back then.

[francozola 2,040]

People complaining about it being a boring match and "never getting those 90mins back" have probably never watched Chelsea under Jose before? What the fuck?

Plus I didn't think the match was that boring. Sure, I get that there were very, very few chances and both teams weren't exactly going gung-ho for the win. But from a Chelsea fan's perspective, I don't think I'd ever be bored watching us play Utd. I'd be disappointed with the overall quality but not really "bored"

[Mouri_Matic 560]

No matter how you look at it, Jose set out to get a low scoring draw yesterday and he succeeded. Actually did De Gea even have to make a good save or just catching the ball shooting straight at him from Oscar?

MU also created fuck all either, some OK crosses into the box and Rooney with 1-2 efforts. Welbecks miss was the only dangerous situation in this whole match. I expect the team to improve when playing other big teams, if this is what we set out to do against any half decent team then we are gonna be in trouble. I am sure we will use this approach against Bayern next week though.

[bushman 2,043]

i wanna see that dynamics and intensity Mou keeps talking about. Well said. That´s what I was hoping for.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Looking back at the recorded game once again yes 'parked the bus' is the wrong term for people to use. We got forward much more times than we did against Bayern but we maybe could of shown just a little more bit to win. We got forward a few times and had some nearly moments but ultimately not one team done enough to win the game and in our case just feel we could have won if we pressed them more and kept going at them consistently.

We went to Old Trafford with a young, new team and got a point. We kept Van Persie quiet for most of the game and we showed some good things but were ultimately let down by some inaccurate passing which isn't that surprising this early in the season.

Some of the reactions in this thread are thoroughly embarrassing.....which might be a bad thing if it wasn't so utterly predictable nowadays.

Lets check Redcafé for some non-blue perspective ...

From just the first two pages post match. Not pessisimism, but we did have a negative game-plan and it doesn't look really pretty (except Hull first time).

Im hoping for better - i wanna see that dynamics and intensity Mou keeps talking about.

3 games.

THREE GAMES.

Jose himself said it would take time. You don't just click a few buttons on a mouse and all of a sudden your team can play in a different style. It takes time.

Now the Premier League isn't known for being patient so whilst you're working on these new things it's important not to lose games and we haven't. Against Hull we showed flashes of brilliance and against Villa and United we've shown grit and determination. It might not have looked pretty but you don't get points for playing beautiful football.

We got a point away to the Champions. That's a good result right now.

Oh and if you want to see 'dynamics and intensity' then look at our defensive performance - that's how football works. If it was just about how you do with the ball at your feet then they'd give each team a ball and mark them out of 10 for 'style' and 'prettiness'.

This isn't fucking gymnastics - it's football.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

If you think this is packing the bus wait until next week against Bayern hahahah, Munich all over again because Jose will not allow us to be raped.

[didierforever 7,349]

good result, brilliant tactics, poor team selection and and awful match.

cant understand why people are crying over the game. united are unsure of themselves and today could have been a make or break day for them. jose did the right thing by making united take the onus and take the bait rather than going all guns blazing. united's next match is POOL away and 2 weeks later city away. if they had won today, it would have gone a long long way in calming their nerves.

while jose's tactics were good, his team selection was poor. there is no point of playing rambo if you are not going to use his running. rambo played a very mikel game, barely out of our own half and just for winning the ball back/marking rooney. mikel would and should have been a better choice. lukaku should have started as a striker. with cech pinting the ball from the goalkicks, there was no way schurrle was beating vidic to it. lukaku would have been a much much greater threat.

here is my player analysis -

cech - good game. dint put a foot wrong and barely had anything to do. the rooney stop was brillaint. 8/10

ivanovic - solid. dint let evra/welbeck run behind him and also covered the cbs well. 7/10

cahill - good performance. but again instead of putting tackles, he prefers putting in blocks (rooney just at the edge of box). will cost us big. 7/10

JT - WALL. what a performance. brilliant in the air. dint let rvp turn if he received the ball with his back to the goal. simply flawless performance. 10/10

cole - good performance. covered hazard really well. dint let valencia cross the ball rather play it back to jones. tried to do something in the attack (unlike iva) but could not

make a difference. 7.5/10

ramires - this has to be one of his worst performances in the chelsea blue. dont think any of his forward passes were correct in the 1st half. let rooney run the game easily. missed marking late runs on a number of occasions and even let people run around him instead of putting a tackle. very unlike RAMBO. 4/10

lampard - slow on the ball. got closed down by cleverly on a number of occasions. dint do much for the attack but was much better defensively than rambo. 6/10

hazard - what is wrong with this guy. among every1 who was been a part of the team in this season's 3 matches, he has definitely had the worst start to this season. valencia OWNED him. the number of times he lost the ball to a valencia tackle was simply countless. the only time he got into the game was in the last 15 minutes when valencia got subbed. very poor decision making too, when choosing to single-handedly taken on jones and valencia rather than pass the ball. 5/10

oscar - good game. man-marked carrick out of the game. had to play cam as well as a deep lying playmaker. could have done more in some of the counters we had. without our best attacking player on the pitch. 7/10

kdb - simply could not assert himself. covered evra's runs very well. was good defensively but gave nothing in our attacks. also playing him on the wings is equivalent to playing mata on the wings. there is no width. 6/10

schurrle - he might not have won any headers, or taken any shot on the goal, or even provided any threat but his workrate is commendable. full of running and closing down, be it on the wing or as a striker. provided some width to us deep in the 2nd half which sometimes did stretch united but simply could not take on evra twice. good performance overall. 7/10

torres - started well, with his run but then lost the ball, many times. his performance was characterised by the last move of the day for us when he mind bogglingly chose to cut in and try to pass in the center at 92 minuted 20 seconds rather than just pass the ball to iva who could have crossed in or got a corner or something. his loosing the ball and then not even trying the fall back for the last move of the game, should tell us exactly of his comitement to the team. he is past it, the sooner we accept it, the better. 5/10

mikel,azpilicueta - not enough time to write about.

[TrippingStep 336]

If you think this is packing the bus wait until next week against Bayern hahahah, Munich all over again because Jose will not allow us to be raped.

It's this friday, the supercup I think.

[Stingray 9,441]

We went to Old Trafford with a young, new team and got a point. We kept Van Persie quiet for most of the game and we showed some good things but were ultimately let down by some inaccurate passing which isn't that surprising this early in the season.

Some of the reactions in this thread are thoroughly embarrassing.....which might be a bad thing if it wasn't so utterly predictable nowadays.

3 games.

THREE GAMES.

Jose himself said it would take time. You don't just click a few buttons on a mouse and all of a sudden your team can play in a different style. It takes time.

We got a point away to the Champions. That's a good result right now.

I know that, mate. Still, why is there a taboo on saying we were really defensive? It was a very physical game, both teams really defended well. It looked like the first match on a world cup where nobody wants to lose. Games don't need goals to be entertaining, but that was hardly a spectacle, both sides cancelled each other out. Is it still allowed to say this, or do I break the Blue Omerta?

[bushman 2,043]

If you think this is packing the bus wait until next week against Bayern hahahah, Munich all over again because Jose will not allow us to be raped.

Well, I can´t wait till Friday to see Jose´s bombastic tactics again. I bet, he will play all the kids, then.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I know that, mate. Still, why is there a taboo on saying we were really defensive? It was a very physical game, both teams really defended well. It looked like the first match on a world cup where nobody wants to lose. Games don't need goals to be entertaining, but that was hardly a spectacle, both sides cancelled each other out. Is it still allowed to say this, or do I break the Blue Omerta?

It's not taboo, but it's just inaccurate to say we parked the bus. We simply worked hard and kept things tighter than usual.

We still attacked with numbers, we still had possession in their half for stretches of the game and we created some nice chances. This early in the season players struggle with basic passes sometimes, so you have to legislate for that and not go hell for leather.

United are a good team, they're the champions.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

It's this friday, the supercup I think.

Yeah I know hehe just some how imagine yesterday was like Sunday

Well, I can´t wait till Friday to see Jose´s bombastic tactics again. I bet, he will play all the kids, then.

Probably gonna play exact same line up today apart from a striker instead of Schurrle, judging by his sub today it will probably be Torres starting. Hope Willian is in the squad though.

[bushman 2,043]

Chelsea attacked with numbers ?

It must be that one corner, then.

[TrippingStep 336]

Spot on but I don't agree with dominating possession or even creating chances for that matter, one thing we couldn't do is keep the ball. The likes of Ramires and De Bruyne certainly weren't helping in that department. But i think i was the 10 percent who was really chuffed with the point.

People are expecting big things from us already.

Look I'm optimistic, and I do think we can challenge, win the title? Yes I think we have a good shot at it, but I don't expect it from Mourinho straight away. I think this time we actually need time, it was different 8 year ago, because it was our time then and we pretty much already had a team built from Ranieri. The team we have now is a very young team, so we just need time, and people are getting mad at a result like this it's just stupid. We should be happy for the point, there were a lot of positives from that game, although we have more quality than United they are still winners whether we like it or not, we can't just expect to bully them at there own ground and get a comfortable win.

It could not happen but I'm sure that if we had Benitez, two midfield reinforcements, a striker, the loanees back that we would be champion this year.

In the last 3 months, with a team playing every three days, we were the best team of the league, playing some good football.

What worries me now is the fact that Mata Luiz Azpi ( the more vocal supporters of Benitez) have not played.

And Hazard Ramires are not being used very good in those first matches.

[nachikethas 1,154]

Of course, we all should be happy to get a point, last night.

However, to be satisfied with the game plan & performance it is totally clueless in my opinion.

If I remember correctly, Di Mateo was fired because of this fucking park the bus tactics. So, why should I be pleased & praise Jose for it ?

that wasnt parking bus for sure. but yes it was frustrating for us.

[bushman 2,043]

Yeah I know hehe just some how imagine yesterday was like Sunday

Probably gonna play exact same line up today apart from a striker instead of Schurrle, judging by his sub today it will probably be Torres starting. Hope Willian is in the squad though.

I doubt, Jose will field the same squad on Friday. Most likely, the likes of Mikel, Essien, Lukaku, Azpi...get to play. I just hope, Chelsea won´t get creamed because Bayern is looking for revenge.

[Stingray 9,441]

It's not taboo, but it's just inaccurate to say we parked the bus. We simply worked hard and kept things tighter than usual.

We still attacked with numbers, we still had possession in their half for stretches of the game and we created some nice chances. This early in the season players struggle with basic passes sometimes, so you have to legislate for that and not go hell for leather.

United are a good team, they're the champions.

I never said we parked the bus :-)