Champions League Final | Post-Match Thread

[ASHCFC]

Ffs. Your manager outwits ours, your team outplays ours, and now a rookie poster from Chelsea comes on our forum and post arguably the post balanced and objective post ever on our Bluemoon,

And very therapeutic too…I thank you

One point of order….your totally wrong about Alty “red ****” Taylor

Haha. Top quality mate. Glad that what is only honest perspective is helpful. My lads and I were saying on Saturday (at about 3am after I'd fallen off a table in the garden while dancing to One Step Beyond) that we don't hate City like we do Utd, Scousers, Gooners, Spuds. There's respect there. Might be a different shade, but it's still blue.

 

[Blu3m00n91]

We will be in the final next season. And I’ll come back to this

 

[IrishBlueSince92]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

Good post


On the Reece James handball, 4 days on and i still haven't seen a proper replay from a proper angle of it, which is shocking really. Even a photograph of it
Remarkable for a CL final. If it was either of the two red teams i'd have a feeling we'd have heard and seen a lot more about it.

I'm not suggesting anything sinister in it, it was probably the correct call as the ref seemed pretty adamant it was chest to arm, i'd just like to see the angle that the VAR watched to confirm this decision

 

[WEMBLEY76]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

That’s probably the best opposition message ever on this forum.

 

[ASHCFC]

Good post


On the Reece James handball, 4 days on and i still haven't seen a proper replay from a proper angle of it, which is shocking really. Even a photograph of it
Remarkable for a CL final. If it was either of the two red teams i'd have a feeling we'd have heard and seen a lot more about it.

I'm not suggesting anything sinister in it, it was probably the correct call as the ref seemed pretty adamant it was chest to arm, i'd just like to see the angle that the VAR watched to confirm this decision

Agree. It would be nice to see a better view.

 

[Ribble73]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

I think you have summed it up pretty well and should be proud of your boys who were awesome and were so fired up I’m not 100% sure we’d have handled it anyway whatever the lineup.

 

[toffee balls]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

Absolutely Bob on.

Thanks for coming on the forum and sharing your thoughts.
If we can’t win it , happy for Chelsea to.

 

[Ribble73]

Cheers mate. Once I wrote my post I thought, 'hang on, Taylor actually waved away a very decent pen shout when we played City in the league recently, and Kurt basically tripped Raheem up from behind'. I did comment to my lads that this was first time we'd got anything from that muppet. Conclusion: he does hate City more than us. I was at the 2017 FA Cup final where Taylor overruled his lino to allow an Arsenal Sanchez goal that was both offside AND handball. Turned out to be pivotal as we lost 2-1. Worst English ref bar none, which is quite an accolade considering how many jumped up attention-seeking muggy c*nts we have officiating here :)

Oh, and in the hope of further empathy in terms of Champions League heartache, check out our CL semi 2nd leg vs Barca in 2009 where pundits and the whole of the Spanish media (barring Barca publications of course) felt we should have had FOUR penalties (I personally felt two nailed and two very strong). We went out on the away goals rule due to a late Iniesta strike which made it 1-1 on the night. That was a bitter pill - believed to be the most unfair CL match of all time, and not least because Barca were UEFA's favourite team and it seemed UEFA didn't want an all English final two seasons running. To put this in a context of pain, it was the season after we lost to Utd on pens in our first final. And in case you are wondering, yes, I'm still salty about that one :)

Yep -the 2009 Barca SF was a joke 100% agreed

 

[Blueboy73]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

Fantastic post and agree with most of your analogy.

I think some of the nerves on our side could also have been down to the team selection not just the occasion itself although pressure was all on us pre-match.
Hopefully the experience can be turned into a positive if we get another opportunity which us by no means a given.

Re Anthony Taylor, all I will say is if you think he would favour Chelsea over City please google December 2016; City 1 Chelsea 3 if you can't remember it.
Quite possibly the most corrupt and disgraceful performance from an official I've seen in over 30 years watching City.
We can both agree though that Anthony Taylor is a twat.

Both our clubs have been to the edge of the abyss and I think we can both appreciate the highs because of this (more so than followers of certain clubs we could mention) so I know you'll enjoy what was a well deserved win.

 

[East Level 2]

At what point will you be over this final?

a). I was over it on the night. Europe means nothing.
b). It took me a couple of days but im done with it now
c). First signing of the summer
d). First preseason game
e). Charity shield match
f). First win of the season
g). Never

I'm still in a state of bemusement over the final... I just occasionally find myself thinking about it and being bummed out and i dont know when that will go away.

We'll could get over if we have a very good start to next season. It was the last game of the season so we've two and a half months to be pissed off. Lose the FA Cup semi and we've pot to play for eight days later, lose to Chelsea so we don't win the Prem but it didn't matter as we'd won it within a week. However, all things considered this loss won't be dead and buried until we've won the bloody thing. - Leningrad, Leningrad we are coming.
- I know it's called St Petersburg these days but Leningrad scans better and that's what it was called when I was there thirty-two years ago.

 

[the blue panther]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect...........

What a great post. Respect. If I had the time to spare, I could have written most of that myself as they are my thoughts entirely.
Perhaps we can do it again next season, but with a slightly different outcome, if you don't mind :-)

 

[The Black Shed]

In trouble after 10mins and Pep makes the Fernandinho sub after 65mins, too late to effect a change in the result but we looked miles better. Yes we had much better possession and positional play in the 2nd half, but did nothing with it really and beaten by the better side, no problem with that. I do wonder in a one-off game like that, which manager would have seen what was going on and thought 'fuck this, I've ballsed up here, Fern? get warmed up fella you're going on in a minute.' Sarri? Mourinho?

 

[Cityzen_89]

All the apologising Pep did etc before the game about the squad selection makes me think he may have been given an ultimatum by one or two and preassured into playing them. That would explain some inclusions. That result and players now apparently being 'unhappy' are no coincidence. Beginning to think Pep was bullied a little into that squad selection. Maybe it's the whisky talking.

 

[warpig]

All the apologising Pep did etc before the game about the squad selection makes me think he may have been given an ultimatum by one or two and preassured into playing them. That would explain some inclusions. That result and players now apparently being 'unhappy' are no coincidence. Beginning to think Pep was bullied a little into that squad selection. Maybe it's the whisky talking.

not a cat in hells chance

 

[Cityzen_89]

not a cat in hells chance

Maybe it's just me trying to make sense of that squad still! Haha

 

[HarrytheBlue]

Well it certainly wasn't genius I'm afraid.

Pep is a football genius though. With any genius in any walk of life, things don't always go as hoped, but with Pep he wins more trophies than any other coach playing a unique high risk brand of total football. He is the most influential coach - maybe in the entire history of football. A genius.

 

[the blue panther]

Pep is a football genius though. With any genius in any walk of life, things don't always go as hoped, but with Pep he wins more trophies than any other coach playing a unique high risk brand of total football. He is the most influential coach - maybe in the entire history of football. A genius.

Bit of a concern though that this has happened several times now, yet he has a team of coaches and assistants/mentors around him who are - presumably - supposed to say something like, "Pep, it's well known that past performance is the best indicator of future outcomes; we've been here before, so, are you absolutely sure that you want to tweak the selection like this again, bearing in mind what happened in the Champions League last season?"

Yes he's a genius and we are in such a golden period, but, we could so easily, I think, have given ourselves a better chance of a treble if he'd gone for the tried and tested. No one was there to stop him. Emperor's new clothes syndrome?

Maybe this is the whisky talking again.

 

[Darker blue moon]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

agree totally and yes city will win just not sure when especially if pep is in charge
i also maintain that Chelsea appeared up for it more. I think the expectations of the city fans was more then the Chelsea fans. This can be born out from the comments on the pre match thread by some muppets. 3-0 after 15 mins, 5-0 at full time ! the majority not all thought it would be a walk in the park even though any one off final doesn’t necessarily mean form will go to plan. I don’t think it was a pen for handball or a red card that’s not being biased. It may have been a blessing in disguise at Kev lost possession 12 times up to that point ! When was the last time that happened. Was it Chelsea tactics or Kev just having a bad day . Arguments for both.
looking forward to next year

 

[cleavers]

I think the expectations of the city fans was more then the Chelsea fans. This can be born out from the comments on the pre match thread by some muppets. 3-0 after 15 mins, 5-0 at full time ! the majority not all thought it would be a walk in the park even though any one off final doesn’t necessarily mean form will go to plan.

Trouble with you (and why you get half your posts deleted) is that you believe that the majority of City fans actually post in the pre match thread, I can honestly say, that other than seeking information for certain games, I hardly ever comment in a pre match thread about the expected scoreline, as it's for 12 year olds to do, and it's the same for you, liverpool, united or even Cheltenham. We all read the comments of 5-0 etc, and the majority of us cringe every time, and I'm sure you see the same shite on chelsea forums.

I as a long time City fan, fully expected a tight game as did most I spoke too, and that a few key things would decide the result, what I saw was exactly that. You were more up for it for some reason than us, perhaps our players were complacent, perhaps the coach was, maybe both, you deserved the win, and many here have said so, but if you want to stay around here, I suggest you cut out trying to wind people up, because it's neither smart nor sensible, I've given you the benefit of the doubt thus far, but don't push it.

For the record my best mate is a City fan, and his wife and both daughters are Chelsea, at the final whistle I sent him a text, as gutted as I was, asking him to tell them congratulations and it was fully deserved, it might have been through gritted teeth, but it was the least they deserved as friends.

 

[Marvin]

Hello chaps. I've been reading quite a lot of this thread, voyeuristic weirdo that I am.

I decided to register so I could maybe offer a few thoughts from a Chelsea fan that, hopefully, will at least show some empathy towards an online fanbase that seem to be mostly proper football people. Respect.

Item 1: Pep's strategy. This is rightly the headline topic. When my two sons and I saw the starting line-ups just before 7pm we celebrated Ferna not being in the City 11. In boxing terms it seemed that Pep was going to show us zero respect and come out swinging, Rocky Balboa style, from the bell, looking to knock us out. Two early goals and then stick the doormen on would seem to have maybe been his strategy. I won't deny that I felt it was a little disrespectful, but if it had worked he'd have rightly been hailed as a genius. However, and not to sit on the fence, I felt he got it badly wrong. To go with a boxing analogy once again, if I were a City fan I'd have preferred, in a title fight, to cover up and feel my opponent out early on, find my distance, and then step on the gas once I'd got myself settled. Coming out swinging is a high risk strategy because if the knockout blow doesn't land you've basically punched yourself out and will likely get done with some swift counters. It was a big error imho, and gave us a significant advantage.

Item 2: Nerves. If you watch the CL music sequence where the camera pans across both teams, it seemed to me that many of the City lads looked like they were extremely nervous. I think this is totally understandable. City were being talked up as strong favourites, almost expected to win. Pretty much the whole world felt this was the time for City to take it to the next level, having pretty much owned the toughest league on the planet in recent years. That's a huge pressure on a human being. Contrast that with our lot, who only really needed to make top 4 (if we hadn't and needed the CL win we'd have likely been bricking it too). For us it was all gravy, so no shock that we played without nerves compared to your lot. For me this is actually the headline reason why a game between two top sides that was always going to be tight tipped in our favour.

Item 3: The cosmos(!). No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won. It's actually a part, imho, of what makes the CL worth winning, and is going to taste so f*cking sweet when City win it (and they will, within the next 3 years imho). Noel Gallagher said this week that he didn't want City to coast to a CL title straight after winning their first Prem as it would've seemed too easy, like it was bought. He then said that after ten years City had paid their CL dues. I disagree Noel! Imho you have to get to a final and suffer the abject, unrelenting pain of losing, as we did against Utd in 2008 (at least you didn't have to lose on pens due to a slip from your capo). Only then have you paid your CL dues, and only then will you be ready to come back and win it. Like I said, it will feel 1 million times sweeter for this loss. You're now fully paid up boys :)

Item 4: Luck. There is always luck for the winning team. I felt that the ref slightly favoured us (maybe the bad blood with Pep?). Don't get me wrong, I thought the ref had a decent game and there weren't any super obvious mistakes. But if Anthony Taylor, the f*cking Chelsea hating muppet, had been in charge, you'd have had a pen for Reece's 'chest to arm' thing, and Toni would've likely been sent off for his challenge on Kev. It's all very subjective and I don't offer a definitive view on those two incidents. Just saying that the ref has the subtle power to elevate or squash such moments.

Item 5: Chelsea performance. Chelsea played an almost faultless game. Our defence all made JT level blocks to a man worthy of the huge occasion, without which you'd have scored three at least. Our attack moved intelligently, and if we were as deadly as Phil, Kun, Ilkay etc. in front of goal then we'd have put the game to bed sooner. I'd probably ask to see the post-match Chelsea drug testing if I were you lot :)

Anyway, in the final analysis, the combination of all of the above provided a mountain just a bit too tall to climb this time. It is not, however, because City aren't good enough. They are, and for all the preparations, money, resources etc., sometimes it's the more human things that decide the outcome. This most bitter of pills will not go down easy, but that's how it's meant to be. The benefit will, I guarantee, be felt by the club when you get your next crack, which will be sooner than you think imho.

Peace and all good vibes to you all boys. Football is worthless without significant competitors and obstacles to overcome.

Item 1: Dropping Fernaninho / Rodri.

I agree. Massive error. I think Rodri had had a very poor game against Chelsea at the Etihad, and maybe Pep thought Chelsea had his number. I can't really rationalise it. I was worried when I saw the team sheet, and I expected our defence to be wide open which it was. I haven't seen a single blue defend that strategy.

Item 2: City are a very experienced side and used to dealing with pressure. I doubt that was a factor. I'd have preferred to have been underdog in some ways but City are used to big games.

Item 3: I have no idea what this means.

Item 4: I haven't watched any of the game back. Don't have the heart. I thought that was a red. Very bad challenge. I've seen some people in the media laughing about this. Squires in the Guardian. Very poor taste. I'll accept that Rudiger's sole intent was to stop him but it was dangerous. I was not impressed with the way CFC went down every couple of minutes in the 2nd half. It was stop start all the way through.

Item 5: Chelsea played a perfect defensive game, and thoroughly deserved the win. Congratulations, and enjoy dining out on it all Summer. I would if I were you.

I agree with your closing remarks. Football would be boring if everything came easy.

In a way I think we will be stronger next season as a result of this because we will be hungry. And City will strengthen. I liked the false 9 but against the good sides we struggled for chances. We beat PSG playing that way, but needed 2 fluke goals to do it. City did really well playing the whole season without a striker.