Liverpool is trying to break into the group. Along with Spurs, Arsenal, Dortmund, Atletico. These teams are the poor saps drinking Happy Hour PBR looking to join the rich hipsters. Off in the corner is the AC Milans and Celtics of the world drinking their Rusty Nails talking about the good old days.
It's so long ago that it was when the Browns were still good. However, seeing the Browns turning a corner in the same way Pool are may mean the universe is shifting. I think PBR is a bit harsh. More like drinking Sam Adams and believing that counts as the cool craft brew that the other cool teams are drinking. They can't party too much because their wife controls finances and puts them on a pretty strict budget. They have one day a week they are allowed at the bar.
It’s possible that both the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League (yeah, I know) could both have all-English finals. Chelsea vs Frankfurt and Arsenal vs Valencia in the two semis.
Correct. If Spurs and Arsenal both win and end up the domestic league outside the top 4, which is very possible, would the EPL get 6 CL spots next year? Edit: I guess that's not possible. Either Spurs or Arsenal will take the 4th spot. And Spurs may have it locked up on GD. So 5 CL spots for the EPL?
What a ridiculous tournament though and what especially ridiculous semifinals. It's crazy to think that both Liverpool and Tottenham finished level on points with Napoli and Inter in the group stage and advanced on a tie breaker and here they are. This is why to me the league is always the more impressive feat over the Champions League, even if the pageantry and excitement of the knockouts is impossible to beat.
Two cup finals and Champions League football secured for Chelsea in Sarri's first season. Not too shabby. Four English teams in the European finals, no English coaches. Money is helluva drug.
You are right. Not to shabby. Considering Chelsea suffered their worst loss in a hell of a long time, 6-0 to City, and also lost 4-0 to Bournemouth a few weeks earlier, played one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, Kante, out of position on the wing, sat two strikers in favor of playing Hazard, a natural wing, in a false 9, insisted in playing Jorghino in Kante's position even when giving up goals in bunches, didn't include excellent academy players in the 18 until very late in the season, I am absolutely amazed they finished in the top 4 and are in the Europa Final. With the transfer ban looking like it will be upheld and Hazard probably moving on, what will this Chelsea team look like next year? I am surprised they finished where they did and I know their position in the league was won by a razor thin margin, having benefited from an offside goal against Cardiff City and numerous individual efforts from Hazard. Unless Pulisic can be a major contributor and Sarri can be flexible in his use of younger players, next year will not be anywhere near as successful as this year turned out to be. We shall see. He will get his chance.
Chelsea's Loftus-Cheek backs Sarri, Jorginho amid fan criticism "I think you can definitely see at times that we play some really top, top football," he said. "The football is flowing and we create chances really easily when we're playing well. That's down to the manager and what he's tried to drill into us through the season." Loftus-Cheek believes the Sarriball Era is upon us.
Yeah, Hazard, Loftus-Cheek, David Luiz, Ruddiger, and many others have all come out in defense of Sarri. The media is so desperate to paint signs of a revolt and a team that hates Sarri, but it's just not there. The Kepa shit was embarrassing, but the team recovered from it obviously. Only Gary Cahill has come out and really harshly spoken against Sarri and completely embarrassed himself as Chelsea was fighting for a Champions League spot and Europa League final. It's a been a brutal few weeks for the Sarri hating media narrative drivers. That said, if Hazard leaved and Chelsea's transfer ban is upheld on whatever weird ass court they are appealing to next it's hard to see them having similar results next season. Perhaps CHO is as great as everyone says he is. Perhaps he and Pulisic make up for Hazard's departure. But it's hard to see. There isn't a manager in the world who could close the gap to Liverpool and City while losing Hazard and facing a transfer ban with this Chelsea squad. That said, Sarri's Napoli didn't have near the squad that Juve had and pushed them to the final two week's of the season. Another top four finish next season given the circumstances would be incredible. Regardless, of what happens though Sarri had the last laugh this season even if his critics in the media are reluctant to admit it.
I think some of the media just simply hates Chelsea, and I bet a majority of posters in here feel the same. There are legitimate criticisms of Sarri, same as there are for any manager, but end of the day the team got as far as they could have this year. No manager would have made enough of a difference for this Chelsea team to compete with Liverpool and City.
I think you're both right. Sarri deserves to stay after these results. And I said it before, as did others: he came into a squad of guys who weren't playing together and needed to adjust to his system. I think Pulisic coming in could be wonderful for his career. He could get a lot of high caliber playing time and play a central role on the team. Retaining Hazard will be paramount for the club's success, though that looks tenuous. If and when Hazard leaves, Sarri will have an uphill battle to continue to compete without making high profile additions to the squad. It'll be a real test for him, and I look forward to what he does. I'm torn on it. I typically don't like Chelsea--but I apprciate Sarri. And, I want Pulisic to succeed. So, I guess I'm begrudgingly cheering for Chelsea to win Europa and have moderate success. Certainly I'm not ready to cheer for them to win the EPL or UCL anytime soon. If that's what its going to take to keep Sarri under these circumstances, you might as well pencil him in as gone at the end of next season.
I hope so. Part of it is Chelsea was such a blue collar team before Abrhamovich part of it was their new fans. Roll back the clock to 2006, Chelsea fans were more obnoxious than Austin FC and Toronto fans combined. What was weirder was how much these folks bragged about their hardcore support but had no idea who Wise or Vialli was.
Absolutely. For some reason, the new City fans are nowhere near as obnoxious as the new Chelsea fans. It's still a gut punch for the old fans. I have a drinking buddy in Vegas who is a lifelong City fan. His family had season tickets for decades and have been priced out. He understands it's a business but when you support a third tier club it sucks to know they don't want you a decade later.
This sounds a bit odd, but like it comes from somewhere. Does this comparison come from a quote or from a bit of literature I’m not familiar with?
Atalanataaaaaa!!! One step closer to first their ever Champions League. Now to see if they can steal a point on the road at the lifeless champions next week. CL and the Coppa? Can they have the most successful season in club history?
Shut up and beat Lazio in the Coppa final, Alneri. Several weeks back I booked an extremely early flight back from Denver to get home for the biggest European game of the weekend, Roma vs Juve. Between the 3am wake up call and Roma’s current form I deeply regret my decision today.