England are a great example of high performance culture They were a mess at the last world cup Jones has transformed them
Agreed that it was longer than that vs Oz. However, disagree with you on the chances converted: IMO their score against NZ could and should've been higher. They were decidedly non-clinical in their chances in that game. Missed two relatively easy kicks and one more difficult one and had two tries disallowed (not questioning the decisions, just the missing of chances). Only try NZ had a sniff at besides one runner taken into touch was off of a massive England mistake. England made lots of mistakes in that match and were still decidedly the better side/won. I'm a bit worried the final might be a snooze-fest though.
Shout out to Christian Pulisic who really had a breakout week with Chelsea in the Prem. Starting the last 2 games and scoring 4 goals in them. I just ziipped through today's game at Watford and was really pleased to see how well he's taking his chance on the big stage, and how big his contribution has been. A lot of Chelsea's attack went through him down the left side. He was one of their main creative forces, picking out many a good pass, and almost never giving it away. And many times he seemed to be playing as if a CF. And many of his runs were at a blistering pace. He's had to bide his time there while Lampard minimized his PT in the league, but patience is a virtue, and Christian seems to have reacted to his boss's decisions very maturely. All good for him. And hopefully for USMNT as a result. It just makes it a tiny bit harder to hate Chelsea. p.s. Great moment in the final seconds of extra time. Ben Foster comes up for a free kick an heads it to the bottom right corner, only to have Kepa come up with an amazing save. Seconds later the 2 goalies shared an embrace in mutual respect.
Leicester might make top 4 this year especially if they beat us next week. Might have to put all our eggs into the basket of Europa league to get back into CL. Sad considering the squad we have.
The final showed how much of the analysis was scoreboard journalism Supposedly England had out thought everyone - but then they got ambushed by Saffers and never got in the game. Yet the All Blacks defeated Saffers relatively easily in pool play.
I'm sure that there was a lot of "scoreboard journalism" but I stand by everything I said regarding the SF. In all honesty, in my opinion the idea that the transitive property applies to sports is one of the worst scoreboard journalism tropes there is.
Wait, WHAT? Since when are Chelsea anything other than universally loathed? They're like the Patriots in that regard.
Btw do u agree with me about tomori? Saw him early last year live and knew he would be great. cho is the world class talent for me as well
Tomori reminds me of Gallas a lot, and I was always a huge Gallas fan. Even down to the slight weakness in the air. He needs to get safer with the ball and he relies on his pace a bit too much, but it’s so much promise for a young defender. I’m a huge fan and have been for a while, especially for a side that likes to press. I like CHO, but he’s a lot more raw than people want to acknowledge. He doesn’t understand the nuances of playing for a top side yet, which often leads to bad decision making. I think he can and will get there, but it might be bumpier than a lot of Chelsea fans think. That doesn’t mean I’m “down” on him, I just think he’s a bit further away than most people. Which is fine - he’s still very young. I also think at the moment he’s pushing too hard. Mount remains a very interesting player.
Lol, you’ve not been reading the English press. (I don’t mind people hating Chelsea by the way. Good for the banter.)
People love Lampard here so they will overlook weakness I’m not sold on mount but let’s see how he progresses when u play decent midfields
I think he’s very good as a presser but struggles when he’s forced to do creative things. I.e., I’m not confident he’ll be as useful in a side that controls possession or needs him to create. I hope he does, but I’m not sure that’s in his skill set. People who compare him to Lampard really forget how good Lampard was at controlling games with his passing.