A sense of perspective

[malg]

Everyone is entitled to a moan, so let them be.

I'm absolutely stunned we won the league. Haaland wasn't the finisher we had last season, KdB missing for half the season, Stones AWOL for the majority of the season.

I think (from memory) our midfield that won the Treble were KdB, Stones, Gundogan, Foden, Rodri and Bernie with appearances (good ones) off the bench from Mahrez. We let Gundogan and Mahrez leave (both had goals in them) and as stated above KdB and Stones haven't really been there. So we basically overhauled a Treble winning midfield.

Given that, we had no fucking right to win the league, make the FA Cup final and not lose a single game in the CL. Oh, and win those two other thingumabobs....

Stunning season only let down by losing to that lot in a one off game.

Oh, and I'm miserable ****......

 

[cleavers]

Stones wasn't Pep's first choice in the final league games, he barely played.

I expect he's been carrying an injury, I didn't see the chelsea semi final (other than highlights - so can't comment).

However when fully fit he would be one of the first 2 picked.

They all have merits for being picked, it didn't work yesterday, mainly because we gifted them the first goal, if Ortega had stayed back (as he should) they don't score, don't gain confidence, quite likely don't win.

As is often said "small margins".

 

[cleavers]

The mistake for their first goal also came from Gvardiol

The mistake was Ortega's rushing out when no need Gvardiol had that fully under control to head back to his keeper, who wasn't there.

I think this is near to what happened concerning the CB selection. We don't know the reason for the pairing but I suspect it may be "let's give John a run out" decision. It clearly didn't work as he was all at sea, although a few others weren't far behind.

Strange then, that he left Stones on, and took Ake off ?

It's unfair I think to put any blame on the CB selection because Kev, Bernardo, Haaland and Foden didn't play well either, should we have not played them either?

I agree, defence is always to blame for losing, simply because we conced goals to lose, but our attacking players for much of the first half yesterday, and in some cases much of the game, were quite poor.

I also don't think some (despite all these years) get what Pep wants, he plays on the front foot, with FB's attacking, and so when you play a team with quick players it's inevitble that you'll get caught short at the back, but Pep will never change the way he plays.

 

[Roachy]

The mistake was Ortega's rushing out when no need Gvardiol had that fully under control to head back to his keeper, who wasn't there.


Strange then, that he left Stones on, and took Ake off ?


I agree, defence is always to blame for losing, simply because we conced goals to lose, but our attacking players for much of the first half yesterday, and in some cases much of the game, were quite poor.

I also don't think some (despite all these years) get what Pep wants, he plays on the front foot, with FB's attacking, and so when you play a team with quick players it's inevitble that you'll get caught short at the back, but Pep will never change the way he plays.

What's strange fella?

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Even during and after the game yesterday people were absolutely hammering the players for their performance and it really winds me up.

They've just won a historic 4 PL titles on the bounce in a 38 game season where every single team raises their game against us, gone deep in the Champions League and made it to the FA Cup final with one of the smallest squads in the league and this was the last game in a very long season.

Pep chose the team, and got his tactics wrong; it happens. On top of that 4 or 5 players under performed compared to their usual high standards, and a mistake handed the Rag's their first goal. 2 huge penalty shouts on Haaland, the second nailed on for me, and if they're given absolutely nobody is moaning this morning.

 

[BlueMojito]

The really annoying thing is that we just didn't perform at all well yesterday. Poor team selection and sloppy errors, just looked really lacklustre and not up for it. 4 in a row was an amazing achievement, but to perform that poorly in a derby FA cup final is really disappointing. We are so much better than them, but on the day, sadly, we weren't. Next season, we'll rebuild and go again. 5 would be utterly unbelievable, but what an achievement to aim for.

 

[colinthewindowcleaner]

Could have been sentimentally or was Ruben involved in the Wednesday drinking lark...we don't know atm

It’s been said that Ruben is the only one in squad that doesn’t drink

 

[Burtonblue]

Regardless of yesterday it has been a great season.
Cup competitions are not a fair indicator of the brilliance of a team…you need a fair dose of luck to win them.
We have done something never done before by winning the league this year and that is the true mark of greatness.
We are still the best team out there and the best club to boot.
This won’t last forever so let’s enjoy the parade and pay tribute to an outstanding set of people.

 

[B\connellblue]

To be fair it was a tremendous achievement to win the league this year as we haven't looked anything like the team we were. Its very close to the end of the line for some of our great servants. If we are to remain competitive we need to stop buying the likes of Philips and Nunes and bring in some real talent. Close to £100m right there who have contributed a big fat zero to our campaign.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

The mistake was Ortega's rushing out when no need Gvardiol had that fully under control to head back to his keeper, who wasn't there.


Strange then, that he left Stones on, and took Ake off ?


I agree, defence is always to blame for losing, simply because we conced goals to lose, but our attacking players for much of the first half yesterday, and in some cases much of the game, were quite poor.

I also don't think some (despite all these years) get what Pep wants, he plays on the front foot, with FB's attacking, and so when you play a team with quick players it's inevitble that you'll get caught short at the back, but Pep will never change the way he plays.

Haaland and Alvarez were as much to blame for the loss for me. They should have buried those chances.