Quote Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory View Post
That's what kills me. Chelsea/Jose quality counter attacks, that shouldn't have been a surprise. That is how Jose sets his teams up and he's always on about quick transitions. We should have been prepared. Also, the results against Bayern and Spurs weren't convincing. We didn't get thrashed and taking a point and winning against Spurs away is a good result. But you can't just look at the outcome for those games going in against Chelsea.

Against Spurs and Bayern, we passed the ball poorly and have it away cheaply. It were close to 60% against us which is very unusual. They had chances and poor quality is what let them down. It wasn't a complete shut out and we didn't control the game with ease. Bayern dominated us in possession and they had 70%. We struggled to cope with their pressing, didn't create many chances but defended well.

Now in light of that, why were the players so reckless in possession against Chelsea? A team that are deadly on the counter and it's something we should have been aware of from the start. Shouldn't we have started Ox on the flank and Rosicky in the middle to steady the ship? We always knew Chelsea were going to play two strong defensive bricks in the middle that would be hard to bypass. Bah...just so tired of it all.
Thats what im saying, the lack of understanding and planning from the manager is so frsutrating. Chelsea this season have been efficient but nowhere near deadly and before the game i made the point that they hadnt blown away any team this season and were there for the taking. However, i hadnt realised that this team and manager didnt learn anything from the Liverpool defeat and that they were about to go out there and commit the same errors and basic mistakes they did against Liverpool.

West ham, Palace, Stoke, Everton, West Brom etc all went to the bridge and produced excellent performances and although some lost, they came very close. These teams went in with a plan and made sure they stayed solid and compact. We on the other hand are supposed to be better than them, we have better players, a better manager and have amibitions to win the league but the way we folded was so bad i thought it was a hidden camera show.

The manager has to take much of the flack because this defeat was down to him more than anyone else.