I was just curious what y'all thought about the chances of us actually coming back and taking the thing. Also curious about whether you thought it was that imoprtant. Im not english so for me it would seem that the Champions league is far more important, but for you englishmen (I wish we had a good nickname for you like you have yanks for us), is it really so important that we take the title?
With the way things are going for Man Utd right now, I can't see us closing the gap. Fair play to them, they've played well this season, kept relatively injury free and won some crucial games. Technically, the league's not over, but I would be very surprised if we closed the gap. The likes of Giggs and Scholes, and most importantly, SAF, have been through this before, and they'll know how to close out the season. If it was the Chelsea team of the last 2 seasons, I might be more optimistic, but with this brutal midfield diamond formation, the players have never looked like anything but a shadow of the potential of this team. There have been very few games where, considering the quality of the players on the pitch, Chelsea have looked truly comfortable. The injuries to Cech, Terry, and J. Cole (man, we could have used him) didn't help either. The good news is, however, that the diamond has looked better in Europe. Not great, but with the experience of Ballack, Lampard, and Makelele, it has been working somewhat in the slower-paced European game. The physical presence of all our central midfielders is huge, as the draw at the Nou Camp illustrated, IMO. I still fancy our chances in Europe, and even moreso in the FA cup. I think Clan called it at the beginning of the season, that the league was, to some extent, 'sacrificed' for the CL this season, which is a shame.
Have hope. You win your game in hand, gaps 6 point, you beat Man U, the gap is 3 points, Man U are due a big slip up, It will be tight.
Unlikely, but as a team we have to keep hope and ensure we win every possible game from now on including away at emirates . Try to put as much pressure on them as we can possibly do. I'm reasonably confident that we'll beat them at Stamford Bridge, then we need them to drop points at 2 other places which isnt impossible either. Strange things keep happening every now and then in football.
Hmm, hopefully we can snag the cup treble, really want that frickin' UCL crown, and imagine, a cup treble plus second place in the league--pretty much puts us as THE best team in the world...
Im with you on that one, the league seems to be the best barometer on a team's season. But if we were to not 3-peat, well finally pushing through in the FA cup and CL certainly would relieve some of those frustrations. Personally, I still want to win the league first, but it isnt looking good
Ahh, the usual argument comes forth. No, winning the Champions League doesn't make you 'better' than the league champ, it merely shows you did well in relatively few matches, spaced throughout the entire season, with the ability to rest players in other competitions to ensure fitness. This is especially so when trying to compare a cup winner to the powerhouse leagues, where even the teams at the bottom, when playing at home, will make you fight for every point to the bitter end.It's like playing the knockout stages, except you do it every week, not just for 6 games. The luck of the draw will have a huge impact on any cup winner, there is no such luxury in the league, as you have to play everybody. You also don't benefit from the other strong teams knocking each other out ensuring you never have to face them at all. In the league, you still have to visit Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Highbury, Anfield, Three Point lane...and a host of other places that may not have the 'name', but are darned hard to get a result at. No, winning a cup isn't the same as winning a strong league. As for the title, it's certainly not over simply because United will need more points than they currently have to win it. In one of those quirks that only occur in this funny ol' game, our results will now be looked at more closely than the actual league leaders themselves. They will still have a lead next league game, no matter what their result may be - but Chelsea?...well, Chelsea will have all eyes on them to see if they can push the leaders to the very end. I think it will be decided well before the end of the season though, as United look to secure another title and the attention of the powers that be at Chels glance at the league, whilst firmly staring at the above mentioned pox on football...er, I mean the Champions league.
imho, Jose has done nothing but hold the league in the highest regard this year. now on the surface it might not seem like it, but since the first day of the season, his choices have been dictated by injuries.
Regarding the play of Ballack and Ashley Cole and implenting the diamond into league play, Im not so sure about that.
Cole is the better defensive player than Bridge, no surprise he gets the nod over Bridge. Ballack has not played anywhere near what he should be doing, but is there a moment this year in the league when you have said, "Ballack has cost us the 3 points"? With the regards to the diamond, it ihad become necessity with all the defensive injuries.
Bridge has been playing great, Cole gets hurt, Coles comes back starts right away, fair? Ballack starting over Robben seemed silly, no whim starting over anyone seems worse. We didnt have defensive injuries at the start of the season, but we did have the diamond
Cole is preferred to Bridge by Jose, Cole gets hurt, imho, you don't loose your spot over a short term injury. Robben has never been able to maintain any kind of health over a run of matches. the guy picked up a knock after the 2nd bloody match of the season! wrong, we did not have the diamond at the beginning of the season, 1st match v. Citeh was a midfield of Essien; Wright-Phillips , Lampard, Robben and the 2nd match v. Boro was a 4-3-3 formation, but what happened at that match? so what did we do? go to the diamond and win 2-0
I've said it before but I will say it again (before this week's CL games): if Man U. goes deep into the CL I think they could fall apart in the league. And even if Man. U. wins the title, Chelsea will probably set a record for most points by a second place team. This is a real test of Man U's staying power. If they last and win it, then its battle on for the next few seasons. But if they crack.... ....then Giggs, Scholes, Neville, VanDerSaar, Solskjaer, SAF are over the hill and CRonaldo and Rooney are too petulant. Then they are in the same canoe as Arsenal just up a different creek. Mourinho must be screaming at his players: if Chelsea can comeback and snatch the title, it will clear the boards for the next few seasons. Of cour$e, that would ju$t $how the rea$on Chel$ea dominate$ and re$ult in ma$$ive rule$ change$ a$ to $pending.
Of course he's held it in the highest of regards, we're in the business of being the best in the business in England. However, he's implemented a European approach into league play from the outset of the season, and fine tuned it as the season progressed. I've oft compared our lack of 'league play' to that of United. The diamond formation is suited for Europe, not England, yet we use it to kill two birds, namely, fine tuning and match fitness for Ballack. It cost us points at the riverside as we tried to play a typical away leg in Europe, 1-0 up and about 10 mins left to play. How big will those three points be at seasons end? At home to Villa, the slow stuttering, European start resulted in a 1-1 draw, Wigan, Reading and Fulham at christmas, all games that we should have killed them off, clearly superior in our play, yet once leading, closing up shop in true European style instead of typically English and looking to get another goal to bury the opposition. It's been subtle at times, not so in other games, but we've been practicing for the Champions league all season long.
no doubt, but some could say Essien was to blame for going for a ridiculous diving header, but fair shout.
They won't go far in the CL, though, IMO They were uncharacteristically weak in the group stages, and they never looked convincing against Lille until Giggs' freekick. Ronaldo and Rooney have never performed on the same level in the CL as they have in the league, and the Scholes-Carrick midfield partnership lacks the bite to outplay midfields on teams that will, on occasion, dominate possession.
i'll give you the boro and villa matches, but the Christmas draws were up to teams knowing we had a shaky backline at best. sure the fact that were not keeping the pressure on the attack side of things, but teams even if they are at the Bridge, will get a purple patch.
Yeah, I just brought it up cause it stuck out in my head. To be fair to Ballack, he's been put in a very difficult position. It seems that, given that he's been asked to play the 'head' of the diamond, that his job is to create, but he's never been a playmaker. He's not looked bad in Europe, though, except for his late and somewhat clumsy challenges. He's still a force to be reckoned with in the CL, IMO.
Yeah, that and the fact that with Terry and Cech at the back, the rest of the team has a lot more confidence going forward. When the likes of Lampard and Ballack play more cautiously to protect the backline, everything goes sour farther up the pitch.
ISO: Clan Clan, do you feel slighted that Mourinho took a European approach to be successful on all fronts? or would you rather have us play one way in the England and another in Europe?