Football Focus

[Joseph_Pestell]

22 minutes ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

Pep the tactical genius, gets his tactics completely wrong.

 

One shot on goal all match and Chelsea really should have had two.

 

A great final though. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

 

. 

 

I'm not sure that I would rate it as a great final.

 

But an awful lot of positives:

 

1) Great sporting spirit between the two managers and between the two teams. So glad to see the Man City players (one exception, Phil Foden) not rip off their medals as Man U mostly did. Respect for the competition and the opponents.

 

2) A big thought for Frank Lampard. That was very much his team out there this evening. I think that they could have done it with him.

 

3) What a turn around for Tuchel. Sacked a few months ago by PSG and now winning manager in C1, having beaten PSG along the way.

 

4) A big evening for Leicester City. Konte and Chilwell were both excellent.

 

5) When I came back to the UK in 2002, I worked for a while with a guy called Pete. Pete had moved down from SW London with his job, a packaging firm, before coming Steward at the local social club (where I was Treasurer). Apart from his family, Chelsea was the love of his life. Sadly, he passed away just before Chelsea won the PL, their first since 1955. My thoughts are with him tonight.

[Kendo54]

Sadly I seem to have been absent from the planet for a couple of months. Maybe someone can help me out.

What happened to the inevitable Manchester City " Quadruple"?  Did that go down the pan in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by CHELSEA?

What happened to the inevitable Champions League Final victory that was to crown a "Treble", albeit a Mickey Mouse Scouse Treble?  Did that go down the pan in the Champions League Final defeat by CHELSEA? 

Why did the "greatest football manager that history has ever known" screw up his team selection so badly? Could it be that he has no Lionel Messi to call on this time?  

Question to myself...... Why have I uttered those dirty words " Come on CHELSEA"  to myself during the three previous City v Chelsea  games? I obviously include the Premier League game at the Etihad.

 

My credentials are that my team finished second in the Premier Leaguer without any chance of actually winning it and then gave an abject performance in the Europa League Final showing that they are nothing but a bunch of overrated prima donnas/ big time Charlies. As for the manager....... the least said the better.

 

Chelsea have shown what difference a professional can make over a fan's favourite.

So, answers please on the back of a postcard but in the meantime......Oh dear, how sad. never mind.

 

 

 

 

[2750Papyrus]

Just like last year's semi-final, the result was predictable the moment the team was announced.

 

I'm back in 1969, walking to the office from Heald Green station and reading that how we won't be terrifying Europe that season...

[Hobby]

Oh dear what a sad set of posts!  (Excluding Joseph's).

 

John, please explain why we are "arrogant"?

 

I suspect that you're comment was along the same lines as Kendo's regarding the quadruple and treble, if so please tell me which City fans have been going round "arrogantly" boasting that we would win them, or which manager, or owner, or players? 

 

I think you'll find that it wasn't any of us that are/were responsible for such claims, just the overblown hype in the Media... Please don't confuse us with them...

 

 

 

Yes we now have money, as John said same way as Chelsea, and the same as several other Premiership clubs... Come to that, though, when has football ever not been ruled by who has the most money, even in the lower divisions, even now... OK we got lucky with our new owners, but try looking at what they've done for the club apart from the money for the players, the whole set up is very different to what it was and that's starting to show, creating jobs and developing the club. Personally I'd rather they don't become as dominant as, like, say, Man U were a decade or so ago but I doubt they will be judging by the competition.

 

OK we didn't win it (though I'd have expected the same sad posts but just putting more emphasis on the money aspect if we had), but at least we got there this time, but Pep seems to have out thought himself again, but I'll not hold it against him, after what he's done so far that would be childish. There's always next year, slowly working towards it!

 

Money can help produce success but it's no guarantee, as United have proved over recent years, I'm happy with what we are doing at the moment, I prefer the football we (normally!) play to the old "boot it and run" that English football used to be and I would hope that one benefit of it is that the England squad will be better for it with the likes of Pep, Klopp and now Tuchal encouraging the sort of play we only used to associate with the top European teams.

 

 

 

Well done Chelsea, congratulations on you're win, see you next season!

[kevinlms]

10 minutes ago, Hobby said:

Oh dear what a sad set of posts!  (Excluding Joseph's).

 

 

Well done Chelsea, congratulations on you're win, see you next season!

As a Chelsea fan, I didn't really expect to see us win. I didn't expect a disaster such as a 5-0 drubbing (as a Man Utd friend of mine suggested! I told him that surely he didn't want City to win - which just got dignified silience), but really pleased when I woke up this morning and found that we'd won! Especially as I thought the match was today (Sunday)!

 

Chelsea have been struggling to win games especially near the end, when it was up in the air, as to whether we would make the top 4. We did manage to just, even though we lost to Aston Villa on the final day, Arsenal a couple of weeks before and of course Leicester in the FA Cup.

 

We did of course beat City, in the League and knocked them out the FA Cup, so perhaps it was fitting that Chelsea won.

[Hobby]

7 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

As a Chelsea fan, I didn't really expect to see us win.

 

We did of course beat City, in the League and knocked them out the FA Cup, so perhaps it was fitting that Chelsea won.

 

I didn't expect City to win (so I wasn't surprised at the result!), but I'm a long time City fan and we're used to us falling over at the last hurdle! Not sure about "fitting" you won but surely not unexpected bearing in mind the other two results, you've a better record than us!

[sb67]

Enjoyed the CL final, not a classic but enthralling to see the tactics. I don't think Chelsea have had enough credit for their organisation and making it difficult to for city to find space in the final 3rd. I do think Rudiger did a job on De Bruyne, and given his injuries, did it pretty well!  However it was interesting to see City slowly start knocking the ball long after trying to play through Chelsea for most of the game. 

I think Chelsea, given a couple of new signings could be title contenders next season. 

[Markwj]

I am a Liverpool fan and wanted city to win (keep it in the north west new name on the cup and all that) but not sure what Pep was thinking with the team selection at all. Listened on the radio defence sounded like it was all over the place- Sterling ineffective and he seems to be losing his touch a bit (honestly not sour grapes after he left Liverpool). I do think City will be back next year though.
Congratulations to Chelsea they did deserve it.

I kind of wish the euro’s was cancelled I believe all the players deserve a break been a really hard and very strange season for them all. Yes I know they get big bucks etc etc but some of them looked knackered by the end of the season.

[Ron Ron Ron]

2 hours ago, Markwj said:

....I kind of wish the euro’s was cancelled I believe all the players deserve a break been a really hard and very strange season for them all. Yes I know they get big bucks etc etc but some of them looked knackered by the end of the season.

 

Many teams, particularly those in European competitions and the domestic cups, have been playing 2 games a week, almost every week (4 in 8 days in Man Utd's case at the end of the season).

Absolutely draining on many of those players.

Only 2 weeks break before the Euros, but those players selected to represent their countries will be joining their national squads for pre-tournament training and in some cases, pre-tournament friendlies.

Crazy.

Club pre-season preparations, training and friendlies, start only a few weeks after the Euros end.....and the World Cup is only 18 months away.

 

 

.

[kevinlms]

7 hours ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

Many teams, particularly those in European competitions and the domestic cups, have been playing 2 games a week, almost every week (4 in 8 days in Man Utd's case at the end of the season).

Absolutely draining on many of those players.

Only 2 weeks break before the Euros, but those players selected to represent their countries will be joining their national squads for pre-tournament training and in some cases, pre-tournament friendlies.

Crazy.

Club pre-season preparations, training and friendlies, start only a few weeks after the Euros end.....and the World Cup is only 18 months away.

 

 

.

Man United's 4 games in 8 days, came about indirectly as a side effect to the greed of the ESL.

So whose fault was that?

I know several of the clubs involved used the excuse, 'we didn't want to miss out'! But it came down to they all saw the money symbols.

[Kendo54]

Deleted

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Kendo54
DELETE

[peanuts]

The actor Yul Brynner was a life long Liverpool supporter and he never wore aftershave in his life.

 

Yul never wore cologne.

[kevinlms]

1 hour ago, peanuts said:

The actor Yul Brynner was a life long Liverpool supporter and he never wore aftershave in his life.

 

Yul never wore cologne.

Did you get no laughs in the Jokes thread, so thought you'd have a go here?

 

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by kevinlms
Wrong word.

[PhilJ W]

They showed the booing of the England players on the TV news last night. Not mentioned by the journalists was that the booing was soon drowned out by the cheering of the majority of the crowd.

Edited June 9, 2021 by PhilJ W

[Enterprisingwestern]

59 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

They showed the booing of the England players on the TV news last night. Not mentioned by the journalists was that the booing was soon drowned out by the cheering of the majority of the crowd.

 

The BBC can't possibly comment, I give you this from their report on the sport website;

 

It was the perfect way to mark Rashford being given the captain's armband, making him youngest black player to lead England at 23 years and 218 days.

 

What has the colour of his skin got to do with anything, he was a proud Englishman wearing the captains armband, no more, no less.

It is inexcusable for the BBC to introduce race into the report.

 

Mike.

[kevinlms]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

The BBC can't possibly comment, I give you this from their report on the sport website;

 

It was the perfect way to mark Rashford being given the captain's armband, making him youngest black player to lead England at 23 years and 218 days.

 

What has the colour of his skin got to do with anything, he was a proud Englishman wearing the captains armband, no more, no less.

It is inexcusable for the BBC to introduce race into the report.

 

Mike.

Part of the problem is that the BBC (amongst others), like to provide all sorts of statistics within their reports. So much so, they get carried away with unnecessary stuff.

[Kendo54]

Was Rashford's captaincy just an act of tokenism?  No problem with the lad but his current (last few months) form does not merit this gesture. Was this Southgate's response to Wednesday's booing? Although delighted for Rashford being afforded this honour, is not the captaincy of the England National Team somewhat above virtue signalling? Remember Billy Wright, Bobby Moore, Bryan Robson,Tony Adams and Steven Gerrard. All warriors who were all club captains with vast experience. Anyway, best of luck in the Euro's lads.

[Phil Bullock]

Am I alone in thinking passion and commitment was invisible in the two recent England friendlies? Won’t go far in the tournament without them.... 

[Enterprisingwestern]

11 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

Am I alone in thinking passion and commitment was invisible in the two recent England friendlies? Won’t go far in the tournament without them.... 

 

I'd fallen asleep by half time in the first match, so therefore avoided the second one and got some more 12 ton van conversions done!

 

Mike.

[Gareth Collier]

Terrible scenes in the Denmark game. I pray Eriksson is ok but not looking good and he's been receiving CPR for ages. Whole stadium and players in shock.

[caradoc]

Game appears to have been abandoned now. Best wishes for the player. 

[Gareth Collier]

Hopefully good news as there is a shot of him being carried off on a stretcher but he is holding his head up and holding his own oxygen mask on.

 

[Steamport Southport]

Now back on.

 

Playing the remaining few minutes of the half currently.

[cary hill]

No idea why the Scottish keeper was pressing the centre circle..........

[luckymucklebackit]

Well Scotland look to be performing as per usual at a major championship, heading for the exit before everyone else, not even the prospect of a glorious defeat this time.  Despite the hype on TV in the wider population there has been quite a lot of apathy about the Scotland games with only the die-hards summoning up any pre-tournament enthusiasm at all.  Fact is that we initially failed to qualify by the usual method then sneaked in by a back door (and only just at that), and our general performance against any team above us in the international rankings has been poor, it already looks unlikely that we will qualify for the next World Cup.  Fact is that the quality of football in Scotland is utter garbage, and has been steadily deteriorating for decades.  Seen the day when I could reel off the names of Scotland players no problem, the current bunch  - who?  The SFA do know that change is needed and there has been committees and enquiries put together to try and improve the game, problem is that the Old Firm are only interested in themselves and as they carry a huge amount of power they are not interested in the general well being of the rest of the game and will not support any proposals that will not be a financial gain to them.  Sadly I think that the decline will continue and that this is probably the last time they will be given the opportunity to embarrass themselves in front of a major audience.

Yes Sir - we can boogie, but we canny play foot-ball!

 

Jim