Closed Sunderland 0-0 Chelsea

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Also is it just me or did Hazard tried to walked the ball into the box? He virtually made no burst or sprint at all. Clearly tired imo, I am actually worried about the condition of some of our players. Only Willian seems normal and good so far, the rest have been off pace.

[didierforever 7,349]

this place is awesome after a poor result. the same people who were banging on about our starting 11 and in the pre-match thread, 99% of the people had the same line ups as today, are now critisizing jose for using that line up? thats just LOL.

credit where its due, sunderland were pretty good defensively.

courtois my MOTM.

[robsblubot 3,595]

I like the kid, but Iva made him look like Leo f***ing Messi today.

I have my restrictions to Iva as a right back, but I consider him to be very good in defending, especially when he doesn't make too many runs forward like today.

So, I really can't take anything away from Connor, as I have to assume he has merit in making Iva have a defensively poor performance.

What really concerns me from today is that Sunderland showed how to play against us: stick (real) wingers on both sides, blocking our fullbacks and our width is gone. Better teams with better finishers wouldn't let us walk away with a point today.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,904]

Oh dear god, SkySports are making Sunderland champions or what? So many congratulations, compliments, having good time with Poyet. Says a lot about us.

I think they've had their fair share of criticism this season so I don't begrudge them a single syllable of the praise they're getting. As for Gus, his game plan was very effective so well played to him too.

[didierforever 7,349]

Our backline needs sorting out next season.

JT is coming to the end of his career, Cahill is like a lost school boy without JT holding his hand, Azpi is on the wrong side and Ivanovic runs up pitch like a rhino seperated from his family for the first time.

how many goals did we concede?

any team in the world will be defensively circumspect when you have 7 or 8 players in the attack.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Mourinho needs to rethink some of his obvious choices in this busy time of the year.

We're entering December's marathon and he thinks now is a good time to repeat the same lineup for the third time in a row in a week.

And then if that's not bad enough, he takes his sweet time to make subs.

Seriously, can't he see that's not the smartest thing to do? I hope he has a better approach of the starting eleven the next weeks. He calls the players that haven't been playing much his untouchables and it shows. He won't touch them at all. They'll rot in the bench.

The players in the pitch were tired, uninspired, a little bit sloppy/lazy, but I can't even blame them...

Untouchable indeed.. It's not only that but subs should have been made earlier in the West Brom game. It was won after 20 mins but no subs were made till the 80th minute mark.

[chelseafc9010 224]

how many goals did we concede?

any team in the world will be defensively circumspect when you have 7 or 8 players in the attack.

How many goals did we score today?

[Barbara 15,149]

Our backline needs sorting out next season.

JT is coming to the end of his career, Cahill is like a lost school boy without JT holding his hand, Azpi is on the wrong side and Ivanovic runs up pitch like a rhino seperated from his family for the first time.

I needed the laugh, mate.

Cheers

[Jase 43,479]

Our backline needs sorting out next season.

JT is coming to the end of his career, Cahill is like a lost school boy without JT holding his hand, Azpi is on the wrong side and Ivanovic runs up pitch like a rhino seperated from his family for the first time.

:lol:

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

I like the kid, but Iva made him look like Leo f***ing Messi today.

Brana was a step behind everything today, obviously tired.. Would've been a good game for Luis to come in, in hindsight of course... Azpi wasn't very good either.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

All the teams from the bottom half of the table will try to play like this against us. We have to find solutions

Many have tried and failed, the difference today was the lack of rotation after 3 game in 7 days

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I have my restrictions to Iva as a right back, but I consider him to be very good in defending, especially when he doesn't make too many runs forward like today.

So, I really can't take anything away from Connor, as I have to assume he has merit in making Iva have a defensively poor performance.

What really concerns me from today is that Sunderland showed how to play against us: stick (real) wingers on both sides, blocking our fullbacks and our width is gone. Better teams with better finishers wouldn't let us walk away with a point today.

I think it has to do with fatigue which was also why Iva was not going forward as much. Wickham was beating him with the slightest burst of pace. Iva's role takes A LOT of stamina. He can't do it as well 3 matches per week.

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

So here is the thing. One of my friends is a massive Liverpool fan. Guy is so deluded it is not even funny anymore. And he hates Willian from all his guts. He can't understand why he is ahead of Coutinho in the pecking order for Brazil and thinks he is one of the most overrated players to have ever played this game. I mean the guy hates Willian more than he loves Gerrard and the entire Liverpool team.

Now he texted me that this result against Sunderland is just the beginning of a carousel of bad results and God will do justice to football and stop Willian from winning a PL medal.

Quote from him: "It would be the biggest insult to this sport for Willian to have more PL medals than Gerrard."

[OhForAGreavsie 5,904]

Really I'm completely calm about this performance and result. Jose and the team have surpassed our expectations so far and have more than earned our continued support when they turn in a sub-par performance. This isn't our first uninspiring outing but then are we perfect? I don't think anyone here ever thought that we were. Do any of our players need to be told that they didn't do it today? Every single one of them knows it already.

Honestly, I've never felt less like giving anyone any stick about a display. My message to the Boss and his squad is dust yourselves down, get your feet up and we'll see you Wednesday.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Many have tried and failed, the difference today was the lack of rotation after 3 game in 7 days

naaaa no team have gone as hardcore as this though. I think Sunderland barely got out of their own half in the 1st half apart from that free kick hitting the bar. Basically this performance is like our at Atletico last season.

[michalcfc 69]

All the teams from the bottom half of the table will try to play like this against us. We have to find solutions

Maybe, but there's only two teams i think that can defend like today's Sunderlad, and it's Stoke and West Ham

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

naaaa no team have gone as hardcore as this though. I think Sunderland barely got out of their own half in the 1st half apart from that free kick hitting the bar. Basically this performance is like our at Atletico last season.

We usually score that was the difference imo... Usually we force them out.

[DYC. 7,542]

That was unexpected. You'd think the 0-5 win would've given them a (major) boost, and it looked that way after the first 6, 7 min. But the team looked exhausted after that; Hazard of all people looked incredibly slow. Made it even worse by constantly attacking through the middle.

Boring game. No win. Move on.