Champions League Final | Post-Match Thread

[kwm1988]

Agreed entirely and it's how most of us still feel. Some fans are over it of course but the majority are still pissed off big time. I've still not watched it second time round yet! A decent amount of alcohol will be the order of the day.

Don’t think I’ll ever watch it again , put that one behind now , nothing more to do .
Hopefully we’ll maybe make another final in next few years , and get our hands on it next time .

 

[northstandgiveusasong]

Don’t think I’ll ever watch it again , put that one behind now , nothing more to do .
Hopefully we’ll maybe make another final in next few years , and get our hands on it next time .

I'll watch it again just to see things I didn't see first time round. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing lol.

 

[blueinbrazil]

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 with pretty much all of this. At the end of the day we were out fought all over the pitch. Perhaps nerves contributed, and team selection didn’t help (Fernandinho and Jesus from the start may have helped, but we probably still would have struggled to break you down…we probably would have lost on penalties as I agree the stars were aligned against us and our day will come in the near future)

 

[Blue Budgie]

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.

Great post mate and very balanced welcome to our forum. I have to disagree with one thing though-Anthony fucking Taylor hates us far more than your lot trust me ask any blue what they think of that rag supporting ****.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

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.

h.) If we ever eventually win the CL.

 

[ASHCFC]

Great post mate and very balanced welcome to our forum. I have to disagree with one thing though-Anthony fucking Taylor hates us far more than your lot trust me ask any blue what they think of that rag supporting ****.

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 :)

 

[northstandgiveusasong]

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.

Great post mate! Starting to feel better already. Reading that together with glass of the old vino and life is suddenly not that bad afterall. ;)

 

[LongsightM13]

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.

Great post pal, your boxing analogy is particularly spot on

 

[Ribchester]

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.

Ffs. Your manager outwits ours, your team outplays ours, and now a rookie poster from Chelsea comes on our forum and posts arguably the most 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

 

[dnrock]

He was confident he would be proved right and refused to make changes because he new eventually he would be proved right. Unfortunately just like Lyon he got it very wrong again.Once can be excused but twice, not what’s expected from a top manager. Needs to take advice in latter stages of CL, these schoolboy unforced errors have to stop.

I really thought he was the best coach in Europe, today I have many doubts.