Slovan Bratislava (A) | CL | Post Match Thread

Where to start?
Now I'm the last person to start feeling entitled, and I loathe it when fans do, but I simply can't imagine that anyone can be fully happy with that performance or result.
Above all, that performance.
That absolutely should have been 7- or 8-0. Absolutely, and at a canter. We started quite well, lively and sharp, as if we believed we were playing a reasonably respectable mid-table PL team, and then the dismaying thing was how, as the match wore on, we started drifting down towards their level. Not at their level, of course. Because they were bad. Seriously bad. I wasn't fully aware of it in the first half. Then the number of their passes going astray, or just going out (not difficult ones, either) started to really hit me.
Our finishing was, simply, dire. And I'll say it: from about the fiftieth minute, our play from midfield started to look so stereotyped, so lacking in spark of invention or creativity. That is, I think, the thing that worries me most.
Invidious, probably, to pick out individual performances, but I'll mention two. Was pleased for Gundo's (deflected) goal, and I thought to myself, “Good, he'll kick on from that”. He didn't. He just isn't on it. Doku had a decent first half. His second half was dogshit. There's no other way of describing it. And I've defended Doku, and said I've rated him. Astonishing that Pep kept him on till the end.
To be fair to Doku & all who played (including Bratislava), after we got the third, everyone seemed to want the match to end. It was like a boxing match where the Champ was so far ahead on points, he took it easy & the shit opponent continued, merely to secure his purse money.

What makes UEFA believe matches like this will be a crowd puller? It's all about money, & staving off the challenge of the Super League. Bayern beating no marks 9-0, the bore draw against Inter & games against the likes of Bratislava, can't possibly be what UEFA had in mind to enhance European football.
 
To be fair to Doku & all who played (including Bratislava), after we got the third, everyone seemed to want the match to end. It was like a boxing match where the Champ was so far ahead on points, he took it easy & the shit opponent continued, merely to secure his purse money.

Yes, that's a fair point. But can anyone be satisfied with that kind of fare?
 
Where to start?
Now I'm the last person to start feeling entitled, and I loathe it when fans do, but I simply can't imagine that anyone can be fully happy with that performance or result.
Above all, that performance.
That absolutely should have been 7- or 8-0. Absolutely, and at a canter. We started quite well, lively and sharp, as if we believed we were playing a reasonably respectable mid-table PL team, and then the dismaying thing was how, as the match wore on, we started drifting down towards their level. Not at their level, of course. Because they were bad. Seriously bad. I wasn't fully aware of it in the first half. Then the number of their passes going astray, or just going out (not difficult ones, either) started to really hit me.
Our finishing was, simply, dire. And I'll say it: from about the fiftieth minute, our play from midfield started to look so stereotyped, so lacking in spark of invention or creativity. That is, I think, the thing that worries me most.
Invidious, probably, to pick out individual performances, but I'll mention two. Was pleased for Gundo's (deflected) goal, and I thought to myself, “Good, he'll kick on from that”. He didn't. He just isn't on it. Doku had a decent first half. His second half was dogshit. There's no other way of describing it. And I've defended Doku, and said I've rated him. Astonishing that Pep kept him on till the end.
I said at half time, it was a dominant mess.

I don’t know if it was harder for us to be crisp and clean because the opposition were so poor they didn’t do what good teams would usually do defensively?
They didn’t stay in any sort of defensive shape and were running about here there n everywhere leaving random gaps all over the place which didn’t make sense to our attacking structure, so we were randomly picking up balls in areas that our other players weren’t reacting to as nobody seemed to know what was going on. It was all just random.

Even in good positions though, we were so scruffy tonight. Our final pass, cross or shot in nearly every situation outside the four goals was like we were playing with a flyaway.

Bizarre game of football that.
 
The point for UEFA is that the Slovenian league and SB are rewarded for their FOUR knockout rounds to get there, and CL money is spread amongst more teams and leagues.

Sadly, for the rest of the Slovakian league, the biggest club by a country mile gets richer & stronger.
And the rest of the european clubs also get more money, including City.
 
Even a 4-0 away C/L win and the match threaders hang around to spread their misery. Need to keep out of these as well now I see.
 
To be fair to Doku & all who played (including Bratislava), after we got the third, everyone seemed to want the match to end. It was like a boxing match where the Champ was so far ahead on points, he took it easy & the shit opponent continued, merely to secure his purse money.

What makes UEFA believe matches like this will be a crowd puller? It's all about money, & staving off the challenge of the Super League. Bayern beating no marks 9-0, the bore draw against Inter & games against the likes of Bratislava, can't possibly be what UEFA had in mind to enhance European football.
They’ve made it worse ..
 
I said at half time, it was a dominant mess.

I don’t know if it was harder for us to be crisp and clean because the opposition were so poor they didn’t do what good teams would usually do defensively?
They didn’t stay in any sort of defensive shape and were running about here there n everywhere leaving random gaps all over the place which didn’t make sense to our attacking structure, so we were randomly picking up balls in areas that our other players weren’t reacting to as nobody seemed to know what was going on. It was all just random.

Even in good positions though, we were so scruffy tonight. Our final pass, cross or shot in nearly every situation outside the four goals was like we were playing with a flyaway.

Bizarre game of football that.
I said much the same to my lad, described it as "chaos" at half time.
 
Some right fucking miserable cunts on here, fuck knows what they were like in the match thread.

A huge win away from home without some of our key players, how expectations of this team have been raised when Blues complain so early in the season, even though we know how Pep works?

Not checked but are we anywhere near 13th?
 
My opinion on Nunes becomes more and more negative as each minute this bloke plays. Shocking that he's at our club.

I know this won't be popular, but what is it that people drooling over Savio see that I can't?
You are a ray of sunshine.
 

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