closed Chelsea 2-1 Man City

[Jase 43,479]

 

[King Kante 1,643]

8 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I appreciate the argument, but I think the nature of the situation called for us to do what we needed to do to win.

Klopp and Pep have stayed very true to their philosophies but it's easy to forget that Liverpool were nowhere initially under Klopp and even just 2 years ago barely scraped in the top 4. Pep 3 years ago only just scraped City into the top 4 at the end of the season. Whilst I think there will be some time and patience afforded to Lampard more than previous managers, history suggests that if we fail to make top 4 this season he'll be under huge pressure as expectations have seemingly increased as the season has wore on.

Also, if we get into the Champions League for next season, it might provide Lampard with a bigger budget and a more attractive proposition for targets which will hopefully accelerate the team's development much quicker than trying to match up to City.

 

I do not disagree with your arguement and I think a big thing that has been forgotten is that in a relatively short amount of time, the Dippers and to a lesser extent City (who were instead under performing) have come a long way. However, there are a few things they did that meant they improved rapidly: 

1) They replaced the clowns that they had in goal. This I think is the single biggest issue facing us. The Dippers and City had Karius/Mignolet/Bravo/Hart (so Kepa sort of level GK's) in goal and replaced them with Ederson/Alisson. The difference has been like night and day. However, our problem is some bright spark thought he was worth £72m on £190k pw on 7 years. Not too sure how we can afford anything other than a Foster/Fabianski level GK.

2) Both got their CB1 position sorted. City tbf already had Kompany but then got Laporte who sorted their backline out and would've kept them closer to City if he didn't get injured, Dippers got VVD, which doesn't need explaining. We face a problem in that there is no obvious CB (who is buyable) out there. I mean even Romagnoli (who is possibly the highest ranked than could be available) isn't that strong or fast and could look a little lost in the PL.

3) They got there FB's positions sorted. Here our biggest problem is LB in that we need someone who can play LB in a 4. RB, also requires James to pull a TAA. For this we have to get things right and not dick about. Dave and Alonso are great in certain situations but against teams that we have 60% possession against we are still lacking. 

4) Recruitment hit a period where a higher proportion of singings paid off over 3 summers and they filled the correct holes - Dippers: Salah, Alisson, VVD, Fabinho, Robinson, Ox. City: Ederson, Walker, Laporte, B.Silva, Sane, Zinchencko, Jesus, Gungdogan. For me, this will be hard for us to ascertain for another 18 months or so as we need to see how, Puli/Werner/Ziyech/Kova adapt/improve and how the young boys, particularly James/Mount/Tammy develop. Further, we have to hope that the potential other signings (LB/CB) are hits. 

[communicate 2,703]

10 hours ago, USATim said:

Pulisic shutting down Walker - 8 min, 10:50, 19, 20:41, 21:20. Willian fouled Walker at the 34:20 mark after Walker took him on and beat him outside.

Hmm I have just watched the video, that is strange way to analyze. It didn't show anything about willian or Pulisic. It showed how to play Full back. The clip with Pulisic was similar to Willian at min 33. Did Walker try to take on Willian? Of course not. 

At min 34 Walker was isolated one on one high against Willian, that is when you take on somebody. 

 

 

 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

12 hours ago, Tomo said:

I just don't think these tactics will work against City consistently, it relies on mistakes they simply won't make every time they face us. The point is last year we beat City and kept clean sheets in 2/3 trying to play with the ball and on the front foot, the idea that we have to approach it defensively or we get thumped is already proven to be false.

I got this approach in 2012 and 2015 because with the squads we had at that point all that mattered was getting over the line but at this point we aren't near the two major trophies, it's about building a team that will eventually get there (and one that will hopefully stay there this time).

We are not yet anywhere near the very top, which was evident in Bayern game. 

And this game or season isnt just building the team but also building the team and finishing in top 4. Every game we aim to win. If we went gung ho against city, we would probably be done by halftime. Also taking the chances when they make mistake is great because we were finally efficient. 

I dont worry about our game plan because usualy we create a ton of chances. We are only behind city in shots this season. Its just incredible how more creative we are compared to last season and before where we struggled. We arent clinical however and our defence has issues; once we fix that, we will compete with the best. Still City games, much like Barca in the past demand to be very careful with approach. Patient and wait for chance, unless you desperately need to score. IMO Lamps tactics were spot on.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

58 minutes ago, communicate said:

Hmm I have just watched the video, that is strange way to analyze. It didn't show anything about willian or Pulisic. It showed how to play Full back. The clip with Pulisic was similar to Willian at min 33. Did Walker try to take on Willian? Of course not. 

At min 34 Walker was isolated one on one high against Willian, that is when you take on somebody. 

 

 

 

I also rewatched it and could not really see Walker being intimidated or in any way influenced by Pulisic’s pace. Only once scene were Pulisic skips ahead of Walker but passes the ball before it comes down to a sprint Duell. It may be possible that some members have a slight bias towards their compatriot which is understandable as the guy is probably the most talented US player in history. 

[USATim 20]

1 hour ago, communicate said:

Hmm I have just watched the video, that is strange way to analyze. It didn't show anything about willian or Pulisic. It showed how to play Full back. The clip with Pulisic was similar to Willian at min 33. Did Walker try to take on Willian? Of course not. 

At min 34 Walker was isolated one on one high against Willian, that is when you take on somebody. 

 

 

 

Lol - you need to get a new pair of glasses. All of the numbers I gave you showed Walker with possession against Pulisic.  NOT ONCE did he try to beat him outside. The instant Willian marked him, Walker did go outside on him, beat him, and was fouled. Interesting, because the counter Pulisic scored on came off that free kick.

[communicate 2,703]

4 hours ago, USATim said:

Lol - you need to get a new pair of glasses. All of the numbers I gave you showed Walker with possession against Pulisic.  NOT ONCE did he try to beat him outside. The instant Willian marked him, Walker did go outside on him, beat him, and was fouled. Interesting, because the counter Pulisic scored on came off that free kick.

After my explanation, you still insist then there is nothing that I can say. 

[communicate 2,703]

4 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

I also rewatched it and could not really see Walker being intimidated or in any way influenced by Pulisic’s pace. Only once scene were Pulisic skips ahead of Walker but passes the ball before it comes down to a sprint Duell. It may be possible that some members have a slight bias towards their compatriot which is understandable as the guy is probably the most talented US player in history. 

Having bias is perfectly fine. Pulisic has been terrific for us. No question our best final 3rd guy this season. 

I am just surprised that anyone mentioned that kyle walker afraid to take on pulisic. If that is true, it is an interesting point. That is why I asked for minute but it is completely false. 

 

 

[communicate 2,703]

16 hours ago, Jason said:

 vs 

The one thing I would agree with you is the use of Kante as the lone midfielder in front of the back 4. From a defensive point of view, the move made sense but from an attacking perspective, it did not but I guess that wasn't exactly the plan on Thursday. We could not pass out from the back and it resulted in Kepa, Rudiger etc having to kick it long. 

Jorginho is much better than kante at giving cb angle, hence we can progress the ball faster, but I think Kante is a faster passer. 

Btw finding player that is good at both is extremely difficult. If you look at the big team, mostly either one or the other. I have to say the trend now is to have a solid dm rather than dpl. Some use their CB like Alaba to progress the ball. 

[Strike 7,490]

On 6/26/2020 at 5:01 AM, Jason said:

Our remaining 7 league games...how many points are we gonna pick up from the next 5 before the BS last 2 games?

West Ham (a)
Watford (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
Sheffield Utd (a)
Norwich (h)

Liverpool (a)
Wolves (h)

5 wins out of 5 and CL wrapped up before the final two games. 

[The Skipper 20,609]

On 27/06/2020 at 2:52 PM, Jason said:

He does not have to excel in both aspects but great in one and at least good in the other will do. Otherwise, there is arguably too much of a trade off between the choices we have right now.

Hoping that this player will be Gilmour.