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View Poll Results: THE CHAMPIONS

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  • Chelsea

    5 38.46%
  • Manchester City

    8 61.54%
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Thread: Champions League Final

  1. #101
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    I enjoyed the freekick awarded against Stones at the end. He just blew his whistle and legged it back to the halfway line.

  2. #102
    The Artist Formerly Known as Taz
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    Truly fantastic outcome, nothing memorable beside City choking

    Kilburn was buzzing. I chased 2 Chelsea cretins who had stole a few crates of beer from an Offie, got some cash from their mate and returned to a hero's welcome. My karma for the stolen bike has been restored.

  3. #103
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    Of course you did.

  4. #104
    I used to be funny.
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    In a week where that Europa League final took place, this was anything but boring. Both sides had chances and, if not for some proper tackling (and if Werner took one of his chances) this could've wound up 3-2. The threat of more goals was always there. And I don't see De Bruyne going off as especially crucial. He didn't really do much. They could've changed things out wide but James and Chilwell had that sewn up. So you're left with plodding sideways passes in the middle that's always in front of Chelsea. Tuchel played it bang on and still had to ride his luck.

  5. #105
    Won the Old Board Lewis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spikey M View Post
    Of course you did.

  6. #106
    Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuno Reg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ian View Post
    How do the other neutrals feel? My dad and brother in law both thought it was a bit boring but I genuinely enjoyed it. And my only investment was anti-Pep more than pro-Chelsea.
    Yeah, it was an entertaining game. Although I'm pro-Pep so would've preferred a City win.

    Lots of 'classic tinkering/overcomplicating Pep' talk but I thought more influential than the lack of Rodri/Fernandinho was the tendency to rush forward, and the lack of patience and structure. It was like they committed to attacking having left Rodri and Fernandinho out, but forgot the way they'd attacked so well for the last 5 months.

  7. #107
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    They kept leaving space behind them (both on the flanks and centrally), which we were completely set up to exploit. If Werner didn't have bricks for boots, we could have absolutely demolished them, maybe by four or five goals.

    Over a season Pep's teams are the best in the business, but in one-off games like this (which are less about strategy and more about tactics) he so often gets it wrong.

  8. #108
    Senior Member Waffdon's Avatar
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    Not sure about one off games, it’s the first final he’s lost with City and only the second he’s ever lost. Don Mourinho beat him in the Spanish Cup in 2011

  9. #109
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Normally doesn't get to them (except the league cup) having lost preceding one off games/ties.

  10. #110
    Won the Old Board Lewis's Avatar
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    His biggest achievement at City was holding that Liverpool team off in his third season. The rest of it could have been managed on holiday mode.

  11. #111
    Webly Ian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd View Post
    They kept leaving space behind them (both on the flanks and centrally)
    Guardiola teams do this so often, it's just a risk he's prepared to take because he thinks (usually rightly) that they'll have enough of the ball and do enough with it to beat you anyway, but obviously it's a risk that can kill you in a final. As you said, Chelsea could have added to the tally as the game went on.

  12. #112
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd View Post
    They kept leaving space behind them (both on the flanks and centrally), which we were completely set up to exploit. If Werner didn't have bricks for boots, we could have absolutely demolished them, maybe by four or five goals.

    Over a season Pep's teams are the best in the business, but in one-off games like this (which are less about strategy and more about tactics) he so often gets it wrong.
    Yep. Really obvious own goals tactically a recurring theme.

    Get Rafa in (not a joke).

  13. #113
    Custom User Title phonics's Avatar
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    Logged into Facebook and the first thing shown was a Memories post from 2015 of me absolutely slagging Pochetino off and making fun of Spurs. I’m never logging in again.

  14. #114
    Senior Member Lofty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lewis View Post
    Wasn't Arsenal's biggest mistake spending every penny they had on a stadium at literally the worst possible time?
    It was more touting a black bank balance and lording it over the rest of the league, not realising player values would go up indefinitely so the only depreciating asset in football is cash in the bank.

  15. #115
    I used to be funny.
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    I'd argue Arsenal's biggest mistake is their scouting team's inability to find the kind of players they used to. Did they all go when Wenger left or is it really competitive now to get the latest Ligue 2 superstars?

  16. #116
    Senior Member Spikey M's Avatar
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    But they have repeatedly found the right players? They just haven't signed them. A trap that Spurs have followed them right into. Which is why Spurs currently have Gedson Fernandez / Lo Celso instead of Bruno Fernandes and Steven Bergwijn instead of Dybala.
    Last edited by Spikey M; 30-05-2021 at 10:09 PM.

  17. #117
    Won the Old Board Lewis's Avatar
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    No value in the market.

  18. #118
    Senior Member Spoonsky's Avatar
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    Hasn't been mentioned but how good a coach is Thomas Tuchel? He's pulled Pep's pants down there.

    It's a shame, if that Pulisic chance hits the back of the net it's ecstatic celebrations across the entire country. We're like Korea when Park-Ji Sung was at United

  19. #119
    Senior Member niko_cee's Avatar
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    Pep pulled his own pants down. Perhaps it's just the curse of not having an established 1st XI, which is otherwise such a blessing over a long season.

    Chelsea set up and played exactly as you'd have expected them to. They did it well but it wasn't some savant-led miracle. He'll probably be sacked within 18 months.

  20. #120
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Even Frank Lampard (who according to orthodoxy is the worst manager who ever lived, running onto the pitch and smashing in own goals in his nice shoes) did Pep over several times.

    Tuchel is a decent coach but people are over-egging the pudding because they needed Lampard to fail.

  21. #121
    I used to be funny.
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    I've still got some misgivings about Tuchel. He prioritises possession without much end product. I know that's exactly how it went for City but Chelsea had Werner as a point of focus. It's a job you can only really do against City or Barca. Having a top scorer with 7 penalties highlights a big problem, especially when someone like Tammy Abraham is on the bench. He's not amazing but he's worth at least 10.

    Plus I quite liked Lampard's squad before the transfer ban was lifted. You don't see James and Mount coming through as prominently without that set of circumstances.

  22. #122
    Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuno Reg's Avatar
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    @Shin He's had limited training time, and time in general, with them. Presumably the plan is to become more fluid/practiced with the ball, but his priority seems to have been to make them really solid. And the safe possession is probably part of that. Worked out pretty well!

    Talk of Lukaku. He'd be interesting. I think he's best when counterattacking, so if they're to become more proactive I'm not sure he's the right kind of player.

    @Niko, I think Jimbo on Totally Football had it right with his question: (along the lines of) "Is Pep the best league manager in the world, but not the best cup manager?"

  23. #123
    Senior Member Waffdon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shindig View Post
    I've still got some misgivings about Tuchel. He prioritises possession without much end product. I know that's exactly how it went for City but Chelsea had Werner as a point of focus. It's a job you can only really do against City or Barca. Having a top scorer with 7 penalties highlights a big problem, especially when someone like Tammy Abraham is on the bench. He's not amazing but he's worth at least 10.

    Plus I quite liked Lampard's squad before the transfer ban was lifted. You don't see James and Mount coming through as prominently without that set of circumstances.
    Chelsea create more chances than anyone in the PL since Tuchel came in. They just, along with Brighton, massively underperform their ‘XG’ and can’t finish chances for the life of them. If they manage to sign Declan Rice and Romelu Lukaku they shouldn’t be too far from winning the league next year. Their squad is massive as it is

  24. #124
    Won the Old Board Lewis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd View Post
    Even Frank Lampard (who according to orthodoxy is the worst manager who ever lived, running onto the pitch and smashing in own goals in his nice shoes) did Pep over several times.

    Tuchel is a decent coach but people are over-egging the pudding because they needed Lampard to fail.
    If you under-[h]egg the Tuchel pudding, which you can only do by saying how good their squad is, then Lampard looks even worse.

  25. #125
    Senior Member niko_cee's Avatar
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    Not really.

    He probably wouldn't have organised them to crab their way to glory, but then, I'm not sure Tuchel particularly did either. They just implemented crab strategy well in the important games, and saved most of their wank performances for (what turned out to be less important) domestic games.

  26. #126
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    We weren't much worse under Lampard. 4th last year, 4th this year. The difference is Tuchel has more ideas to go to in-game and doesn't balls up team selection as often.

    Lampard had a large part to play in getting half the current team where they are. What he couldn't do was get the best from people like Havertz.

  27. #127
    Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuno Reg's Avatar
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    "Gareth Bale declines to deny reports he could retire after Euro 2020" https://www.theguardian.com/football...fter-euro-2020

    Quote Originally Posted by Bale
    Asked to clear up whether he is considering retirement, Bale chuckled and replied: “Yeah, well. It’s one of those. As I said, I’ll sit down after the Euros and decide what I want to do. I want to give everything into this Euros and put in everything I can like we do in every single game. If I say something then it’s just going to cause even more chaos so there’s no point.”
    What a bizarre career.

    Start as a left-back; appear to be a curse for your team and wait 25 games before you finally win; tear Maicon to pieces in the Champions League; become a world class rampaging number 10; get to the Euro semi-finals with Wales; win four Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and score arguably one of football's greatest ever goals, and do that without gaining fan approval; retire the month you turn 32-years-old.

  28. #128
    DEATH TO THE WEIRD Raoul Duke's Avatar
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    He's paid eleventy billion a week. He must have enough to just retire and play golf for the rest of his life

  29. #129
    Won the Old Board Lewis's Avatar
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    He's got a year left on that whopping contract so surely he won't be doing anything until 2022.

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