oldgit

Erland Haarland's hair looks like a 'syrup'.

10 minutes ago, Keeps said:

Some absolute crackers here. David Moyes (West Ham manager) has certainly improved with age.

 

 

 

No Ralph Coates? Unbelievable.

4 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

Chilwell was my motm 1st half as he was on Foden in a flash and denied him any space or time...2nd half he dropped off a bit but overall had a good game. Yes better finishing and who knows...Toney would have had a hat trick .....but he don,t play for us............yet.

We deserve a change of luck next Sunday.....5 domestic Cup Finals in the last 5 years and lost them all.

Brentford need to sell Toney because they're skint. They can't even afford a pair of socks to fit him.

An immense performance from the team in general, but from Disasi and Colwill in particular. We thoroughly deserved to go in 1-0 at the break but, it should have been more if we had taken those gilt edged chances. Caicedo, Enzo and Gallagher ran themselves ragged, while Chilwell kept Foden relatively quiet by keeping tight and denying him space to turn. Gusto is a very talented player but he annoys me because he tries to get TOO tricky at times. This is the best game I've seen from Jackson, constantly putting their defence under pressure with his pace and trickery. He's a whippet at the moment but, when he morphs into a greyhound.......look out! Sterling and Palmer didn't let themselves down at all, at their old stamping ground.

I don't know what that first half was all about. A million passes without getting anywhere. Far too cautious in our approach with no one taking the ball by the horns. Much more proactive in the second half with Nkunku coming on and Palmer switching out wide. He and Gusto linked up very well. and were a constant threat.  Sterling provided the pace on the other flank, when he came on. Good to see Conor get a couple. City next at their place, so we'll be the team looking to frustrate and then counter. As good as Thiago is, I would like to see Disasi and Colwill in central defence,because we need pace all over the pitch in this game. Can't wait!

5 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

Yeah who,d have seen that result coming. Bit more bite in the performance than of late and more trust between the players...what pleased me most was seeing that cnut martinez  picking the ball out of his net 3 times ..should have been more than that.

Phew! Talk about Jekyll and Hyde. And what a blinding free kick by Enzo. To dampen the atmosphere slightly, this was a Cup game, which are notorious in not carrying over the form to the treadmill which is the Premier League. We'll know a lot more against Palace on Monday. What it will do is give the players a much needed lift in confidence. Regarding the game, it was interesting to see Gallagher and Palmer play a prominent role in pressing their defence while Jackson hung back in midfield. Things will change if Poch. decides to put Nkunku and Jackson in a front two.

On 2/6/2024 at 9:20 AM, oldgit said:

Yeah, dithering on the ball which led to individual mistakes. Too many players caught too far up the pitch which left our centre backs exposed. The list goes on.

Hard to put a finger on why we've hit a brick wall. Thiago looked thoroughly fed up with life after scoring last game, then his missus posts a tweet saying there should be a change. He's taken his coaching badges, so he might fancy the job. I must admit we've looked very leggy the last two games, especially in the second half, which Keith has mentioned before. Is Poch. driving them too hard in training? Rumbles of discontent regarding his training methods. Did the end of the transfer window have anything to do with it? Maland Sarr was not best pleased when his loan deal fell through. He's been at the club for ages so, although he's a bit part player, he must have plenty of friends there to cry to. It'll be just typical of our season to go and turn Villa over tonight but I won't be watching it live, thankyou very much!

13 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

Our last 2 performances have just left me speechless.....

Yeah, dithering on the ball which led to individual mistakes. Too many players caught too far up the pitch which left our centre backs exposed. The list goes on.

After Boehly and co. came in a ripped the place apart, any thoughts that this wouldn't be a long term project, were quickly dispelled by the Liverpool game and then the calamity against Wolves yesterday. To throw together some expensive young starlets with no Premier League experience and expect to take the League by storm, was a pipedream, even with one of the best managers in the game at the helm. The Premier League is a relentless war of attrition, where you can't ease up for a second, which is exactly what we did yesterday, and have done before. What was the most worrying was how slow we are in midfield and on the flanks, and when you are that pedestrian, two touches is one touch too many.

18 hours ago, smokie36 said:

 

I'm celebrating Poch's demise with a lovely curry in Penang tonight...and our win against Everton.

 

Chavtastic!!

What win?

9 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

Weak.. I think would sum up our performance.. and the referees and var and Sterling and Bads and Chilwell.

Agreed. They were quicker to the ball and had more desire.

15 hours ago, JimTripper said:

Are you disabled?

Tosser alert.

Thank gawd Norwich bore the brunt of the Klopp emotional roller coaster of tears, the wailing, impromptu Klopp songs and fist pumps before us! Hopefully, things might have settled down which will give us half a chance.

9 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

I shall be glad when these late kick off games finish..getting up at 2.30 am is a real pita......just the 3 games left atm until April ..Liverpool then the replay against Villa (7th) then Palace (12th).

Same here Keith. As I get older, the bed becomes more appealing.

5 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

Chilwell back making Colwill move to his preferred position was good. Disasi played well at RB. Good to see Chuky back as well. Only negative was Muddy,s performance.. Hence him being hooked at H/T. Don't think there will be many if any changes to the starting 11 on Friday night... (except for Muddy)?

Yep, poor ol' Mudryk had one of those nights when nothing goes right. Palmer, on the other hand.... Clinical in our finishing and the pressing on their defence was excellent.

A lot harder than it should have been if we'd stuck our chances away. Total domination in the first half, with Gallagher, Enzo and Caicedo putting in a lot of effort and controlling the midfield. That took its toll in the last 15 minutes, when we were out on our feet and Fulham pushed for an equaliser. Petrovic didn't have much to do but brought off some decent stops when called upon. Sterling had one of his better games while Madueke was dangerous when he came on. On Poch's to do list...We must be more clinical with that final pass. A word on the legend that is Willian....class even now.

Good to see Broja get on the score sheet, but a special mention to Mudryk for his battling qualities to win the ball by the corner flag, then set up Enzo for the cross. After a frustrating first half, things started to click with the team being much more proactive, by driving into the box and taking defenders on.

On 1/3/2024 at 6:30 PM, smokie36 said:

Are we nicking your best player then?

 

This would be epic!

If you're talking about Gallagher, your mob won't pay the money because they're worried about FFP.

21 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

20 games played so far and have never been losing at half/time....so yeah 2nd halves for us are a problem?

We don,t retain the ball as much in the second period and as you say players go missing. Thought Malo had some great touches in that second half and then became over confident which nearly cost us,so then he disappears into his shell (still rate him though) Jackson put in a shift both up front and in defence but still does not pass when he should and goes down too easily.

Both Enzo and Nkunku had very little impact on the game i know Enzo only came on late on but he was supposed to sit and hold (he looked lost to me)

Still a nice break now after a hectic December and only 2 Epl game in January.

Happy New Year to Og and all the best to others on the Footie Forum.

Greetings reciprocated Keith. 

At 3-0 and 20 minutes to go I thought, surely we can see this one out! Why? because some of our players went missing, the tackling was becoming insipid and our discipline started to disappear. You have to give credit to Luton because they never gave up trying and made it difficult for us from the start. Palmer and Madueke scored some classy goals which put us in a strong position.

6 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

That was harder than it needed to be.Most of the 1st half was pretty good but when Maatsen lost that challenge i feared the worst. Caicedo (who i rate) gave Conor some 1st class Hospital balls,maybe Conor is the only one he can trust, but boy did he give him some shockers.

Both Disasi and Bads were never confident on the ball,and both of late have down gone down in Pencil in my book(ready to be rubbed out) Malo Gusto on the other hand is a keeper. Muddy had some really good moments in the 1st half and nothing in the 2nd (applies for most of the team). Madueke was lively when he came on and should keep his place on Saturday imo so Sterling for me occupies the bench and just Palmer comes straight back in. lavia did ok when he came on and so did Alfie Gilchrist.

Jackson deserves a thread on his own,very very strong on the ball hardly ever gets shrugged off but is also clumsy and continually strays offside...Drogba was nothing special in his 1st season but after that ....unplayable...Jackson could be the same..him going away for the afcon could do him good? Would n,t surprise me if he turned out to be top goal scorer at that tournament.

Transfer wise in January..sell Maatsen Fofana Disasi Bads and Chilwell.....resign Tomori Ghuehi and Livramento...oh and some geezer called Toney..might be worth a gamble

 

I didn't see the game Keith but Jackson "very strong on the ball?". That's a first! Previously, he's had the strength of Boy George and the touch of an elephant. Don't get me wrong, anyone that dons a Chelsea shirt, I want to see do well so I'll be delighted to be proven wrong with Jackson. One swallow doesn't make a summer, so I'll be very interested to see how he does against Luton away from home. Yeah, Drogba was very annoying in his first season but came to life in a big way afterwards. 

1 minute ago, oldgit said:

Yeah Keith, we got progressively ragged as the game went on. Even Conor got the bug and started making mistakes. We badly missed Caceido and Enzo in midfield, but oh! those chances we missed! Jackson is only good enough to sit on top of a Christmas tree. I don't like his attitude to the cause either.

And another thing that gets my temperature up, commentators consistently finding excuses because "it was on his wrong foot". There shouldn't be a "wrong foot" if you're a professional playing in the best League in the world, should there?

14 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

What a jekyll and Hyde mob we are... ughhhhh

How many players took it upon themselves to do something utterly ridiculous... Collectively they are going to get Poch sacked,if they carry on with their juvenile I'll discipline. Very well paid Morons.

Yeah Keith, we got progressively ragged as the game went on. Even Conor got the bug and started making mistakes. We badly missed Caceido and Enzo in midfield, but oh! those chances we missed! Jackson is only good enough to sit on top of a Christmas tree. I don't like his attitude to the cause either.

18 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

Where has that Geordie bloke disappeared too? Wandering around with out a shirt on somewhere?

And his packet of Tabs.

2 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

That was okay i supposethought Disasi was good Bads was okay keeper had nothing to do so no comment there. Sterling and Palmer seemed to cancel each other out at times and were much more positive and direct in the 2nd half. Conor was his usual self and Mudryk was Mudryk was glimpses and flashes of what could be but no consistency.....Kante (Caicedo) was my Motm.

Usual story in the first half, laboured football, plenty of possesion but no cutting edge. Wilder fancied his chances in the second half, so he pushed up to try to put our back four under pressure. Mistake! We have some talented, skilful defenders who can play out of defence. That left more room to operate for our offence. Odd reaction from Jackson when he scored. His demeanour was that he does this every week.