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.
