I think Kante could mess with any midfield when he was in the mood he has been in the past few months, and I was having horror visions of Rodri up against him but Ferna has been gotten the better of as well.What a thoughtful post and congratulations to you and your team. I thought Chelsea were outstanding on the night. I didn't think my admiration for Kante could go up a notch but is has. What a bloody player he is.
I am swimming against the tide on here as I disagree with you and others that peps selection was the key reason we lost. I think we would have still lost if Fern had been chosen to start. I really don't believe his inclusion would have made us any better either in defence (the ball from Mount was perfect) or attack. I think a combination of nerves and the Chelsea performance did for us on the night. Anyway, we will never know and the majority believe he fucked up big style.
My opinion of the two instances you mentioned are that it was a penalty and Rudiger should have walked. That opinion is formed by watching the two incidents again and again so that tells you there could have been different interpretations. Yes the ref was for you but he wasn't the principle reason we lost.
Tuchel has impressed. He has you set up to negate our strengths and accentuate your own. Think Pep needs to rethink how to beat you. Maybe Kane or Haaland will be enough ;-)
That’s for sure mate. thought he played as well if not better than I have seen him play on Saturday. wish we had picked him up from Leicester.I think Kante could mess with any midfield when he was in the mood he has been in the past few months, and I was having horror visions of Rodri up against him but Ferna has been gotten the better of as well.
I hate to think what I look at based on my adsThey're not "sponsors" they're "advertisers", and the adverts are driven by what YOU look at or type, that is how internet advertising works.
The term 'world class' is often an overused phrase when rating players. KDB is certainly not just world class, but in the elite bracket of players who would walk into any team on the planet imho.I think Kante could mess with any midfield when he was in the mood he has been in the past few months, and I was having horror visions of Rodri up against him but Ferna has been gotten the better of as well.
Thanks for the congrats Mike. As has been touched upon, Chelsea fans know very well the pain of losing a CL Final, and to a domestic rival. At a time like this maybe we should all spare a thought for Atletico Madrid - three finals so far and no win. Jeez, that's got to hurt.Congratulations, the best team on the night won.
Thank-you for taking the time to post, it's a fair account.
Jack Nicklaus once said something like: "sometimes you can prepare, play your best, and it doesn't workout,
that's fine, but there is no reason not to be prepared."
Tuchel's preparation for this game started the minute he arrived and was well in place long before the final.
His team picked itself, played to it's strengths with drilled in familiarity and ground it out.
Imo, there is no way our side had time to prepare properly to such a big departure from the norm in that set-up.
We were all over the shop, a day late and a pound short.
My only issue is with item #3. "No team reaching their first CL final in recent years has won"
Although it is currently true, it shouldn't mean anything. Any coach or player giving that a second look or any credence whatsoever before the game is weak and not focused, full stop.
Any player or coach using that as a crutch or excuse after a loss is not a true Sportsman and should not be anywhere near teams of this level.
All those words are is information as entertainment for the uninitiated.
Again, Well Done,
Cheers.
It's this. Fern links the defence to the midfield and the midfield to the attack. It didn't work tonight because Gundo hasn't played there ALL SEASON!!!!!
Hi Ash, with all respect, thanks for your take. I hope using the word "issue" with that term didn't make it personal. Clearly not my intent and my only take was clearly about the term in and of itself. Which we do agree on.Thanks for the congrats Mike. As has been touched upon, Chelsea fans know very well the pain of losing a CL Final, and to a domestic rival. At a time like this maybe we should all spare a thought for Atletico Madrid - three finals so far and no win. Jeez, that's got to hurt.
Item 3: I only included this point to illustrate that sometimes not everything is controllable. Who knows why no team this century has reached their first CL Final and won it? Maybe it's just the nerves and the pressure of being in the most prestigious final, barring the World Cup, that a player can be in. Or maybe it's the cosmos?!
Dortmund in 1997 were the last team to reach their first final and win. And they played the hapless Juventus, who've lost more CL finals than any other team - seven, I think. Maybe one karma outweighed another that night.
Regardless of what anyone believes lies behind what is quite a compelling stat, I only raised it as the fact it is - for whatever reason it's tough to win this first time out. I certainly agree that any player or coach who acknowledged it prior to the game might as well not turn up in the first place, and no sportsman would use it as an excuse for losing.
As someone who does, rightly or wrongly, believe in greater cosmic forces(!), I think that whatever is behind the stat, it undeniably does exist, and if there was nothing to it I don't personally think it would be nearly 25yrs gone by since a rookie finalist emerged triumphant. And yes, I believe in the force too :)
As a result of last weekend's result and the empathy from battle I will certainly support City (and hopefully with Pep at the helm still) when they next reach the final. Unless it's against us again of course!
Good post.Thanks for the congrats Mike. As has been touched upon, Chelsea fans know very well the pain of losing a CL Final, and to a domestic rival. At a time like this maybe we should all spare a thought for Atletico Madrid - three finals so far and no win. Jeez, that's got to hurt.
Item 3: I only included this point to illustrate that sometimes not everything is controllable. Who knows why no team this century has reached their first CL Final and won it? Maybe it's just the nerves and the pressure of being in the most prestigious final, barring the World Cup, that a player can be in. Or maybe it's the cosmos?!
Dortmund in 1997 were the last team to reach their first final and win. And they played the hapless Juventus, who've lost more CL finals than any other team - seven, I think. Maybe one karma outweighed another that night.
Regardless of what anyone believes lies behind what is quite a compelling stat, I only raised it as the fact it is - for whatever reason it's tough to win this first time out. I certainly agree that any player or coach who acknowledged it prior to the game might as well not turn up in the first place, and no sportsman would use it as an excuse for losing.
As someone who does, rightly or wrongly, believe in greater cosmic forces(!), I think that whatever is behind the stat, it undeniably does exist, and if there was nothing to it I don't personally think it would be nearly 25yrs gone by since a rookie finalist emerged triumphant. And yes, I believe in the force too :)
As a result of last weekend's result and the empathy from battle I will certainly support City (and hopefully with Pep at the helm still) when they next reach the final. Unless it's against us again of course!
My suspicion is you will end up with a lot of draws as you will struggle to break down more defensive teams. Tuchel's style is perfect for City as we always play on the front footCheers James.
In my opinion the Prem just gets more and more competitive each season. If Utd recruit well you have to say they can challenge, and City are the club everyone else has to fight with every sinew to get anywhere close to. Over 38 games it's very difficult to beat Pep.
So, what I hope for is that we make a fight for the title, and that the margins of victory, whoever prevails, will be tight. Wouldn't it be great to see the title decided on the last day?!
As for what I expect, boringly I'd say top 4 minimum. I'm a realist.
As for our players, it's an exciting time as we have so many good young players. Sadly I think Tammy will leave, and should leave in order to progress his career. Timo's contribution is already undervalued. When you look at his stats, his goal involvement and the team's win percentage when he plays, if he starts to score a few more he will be rightly acknowledged for the quality player he already is.
Pep's ego would have never allowed him to do thatFor me this was the worst thing all night, as you say it was clear after the first 20 minutes that the formation wasn't working. As hard as it may have been the decision to make the change should have happened then.
I'm always shocked to see how many people rate his performances after games..
I agree with much of that, but personally I don't see us winning the CL with Pep at the helm.Can only just talk about the match but trying to take positives from it -
1. Nobody knows what KDB might have done in the last half hour had he not deliberately been taken out by crudiger
2. I want to win the CL, I don’t hate it, I hate uefa. However the PL comes first for me every year, and I reckon Pep gives us our best chance of winning this and the PL, and the CL, and I think he will see leaving City without a CL win as a failure, so for me until we win it I think it gives us a better chance of keeping the greatest manager in our history.
Cant disagree with what you are saying, but I hope you are wrong about the leopard!I agree with much of that, but personally I don't see us winning the CL with Pep at the helm.
{But don't get me wrong, I'd rather we kept Pep and didn't win the CL for the next 5 years, than swapped him for someone who did win it for us, but who made us go backwards in every other respect.)
But for me, for us to win the CL, the leopard needs to change its spots and that really never happens. Pep needs to stop tinkering and over-thinking and be prepared to be pragmatic and not dogmatic. Like making a substitution before half time when needed. Like realising that you cannot "control" the game 100% of the time, so how you set up to limit the damages when you do not have control, is actually rather important. Putting Gundo in on his own as our "holding" midfield player? FFS, it was utter madness.
Unfortunately this was not a one off. Look at his last 11 attempts at winning the CL when in each season he arguably had the best team and certainly a team capable of getting to the final.
I am certain we will one day win the CL, but I don't see Pep staying long enough to see that happen. But who knows, maybe we win it next year eh? I dunno.
Cheers Mike. Absolutely no issue with anything you said or the terminology! I agree that these 'spooky stats' are often overused. City are clearly England's finest regardless of the CL outcome, and it's up to the rest to try to keep up with the sky blue juggernaut!Hi Ash, with all respect, thanks for your take. I hope using the word "issue" with that term didn't make it personal. Clearly not my intent and my only take was clearly about the term in and of itself. Which we do agree on.
These type of stats do my head in. The press like to glom on to these as it makes a good sound bite and builds hype. All these are is something that hasn't happened yet, and they can range from something that never will to
something to likely happen soon, however it suits the narrative of the day. Look at Phil's Major PGA win at 50. What is it now? No golfer 51 or over has won a major golf event? It never ends.
You can mine through mountains of statistics in any sport to come up with loads of haven't happened stats.
Savor your deserved win, from my perspective it must get sweeter every day. Cheers.
Spot on. Our defence put in a performance throughout worthy of a CL Final. City played well and came close many times. It was fine margins in the end, and ultimately decided by top class defending and effective counter-attacking that kept City from applying overwhelming pressure.First time I have looked at anything from the game last night on YouTube, in the disappointment I had forgotten how good the first half was and if Chelsea hadn't shut up shop it could have been a cracker.
Football is about small margins and believe me we weren't as bad or shit as my mind has been telling me all week.
"If only" applied to both sides, they got lucky, we didn't.
They barely got out of their half ,in the second period, one break away I think.Spot on. Our defence put in a performance throughout worthy of a CL Final. City played well and came close many times. It was fine margins in the end, and ultimately decided by top class defending and effective counter-attacking that kept City from applying overwhelming pressure.
I think most of us still believe that Pep made a mistake in not starting a DM, but when you look at how well City played it's a stretch to say that said mistake decided the final. It's not as if Chelsea were just running through the City midfield for fun.