Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:34 am  

Karlos13 wrote:

Might as wll get the ball rolling as it's the M/cr derby this weekend.

Hopefully it should be a much better game than the first, cant be any worse. Then I thought we were suffering a major hangover from last season's 3 injury time defeats, Mancini and the players seemed to be obsessed with not being suckered into a 1-0 defeat. We're probably better suited to playing united away rather than at home. Much will depend on how well Silva plays.

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:48 am  

Fed up of hearing about Jack Wilshere in the papers, websites etc about him starting tonight. Whats the big deal about him starting anyway?!

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:27 am  

Mark wrote:

Rob always provides a detailed fair and honest view to be fair. Some others might want to try it, instead of just posting "I agree Rob".

I agree Mark

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:31 am  

Gandy wrote:

Fed up of hearing about Jack Wilshere in the papers, websites etc about him starting tonight. Whats the big deal about him starting anyway?!

I agree mate. Having seen him a few times this season I think the reaction to him by the mainly London-based press has been ridiculous. He's a good, tidy little player but he's not the world-class superstar we should be building a team around a la Xavi/Iniesta or the future of the English game as some have suggested.

And he's a horrible little tvvat as well, on and off the field by all accounts.

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:49 am  

Ordsall Quays Red wrote:

And he's a horrible little tvvat as well, on and off the field by all accounts.

Paddy Barclay also fits this description, but he obviously doesn't play on the field. He says McEachran is this superstar you speak of. Can't say I've seen much of him, to be honest, do you know what the fuss is over an apparent Chelsea youngster?

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:09 am  

The most talented player Chelsea have had since Roman came is clearly Arjen Robben. When fit, which obviously wasn't much, every time he was on the ball you expected something special from him.

Even though McEachran has only had limited time on the pitch, every time he gets on the ball I get the same feeling.

He looks to have beautiful control, can beat players with ease and seems to be able to spot through balls to the strikers that you don't even see are when you're watching.

On the downside, he looks like a strong wind might blew him away.

Kakuta looked good in highlights of youth cup games. He looked special. But when he's played in first team games he's struggled to make any impression. Same with Sturridge, to some degree.

McEachran has definitely shown he can look awesome in his limited cameo appearances, but the question is whether that translates to playing 90 minutes and getting over the kicks that he'll get if he starts games. Kalou is one player who can look pretty good when coming on but struggles to make anything like the impact when he doesn't have the advantage of freshness.

I definitely think that McEachran is a player to keep an eye on.

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:24 am  

Josh McEachran v Newcastle erm, somewhere.

Don't know if this is every touch. They could have edited out all the lousy passes or the times he was dispossessed. But he looks to play with maturity and calmness. Plays it simple when it needs it, but always looking for an attacking play if it's on.

But it was a Carling Cup game with 2nd teams. And Chelsea, while playing some beautiful football, did manage to go 3-1 down after taking the lead.

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:53 pm  

Robbie Rotten wrote:

We are playing better though. We were far too submissive under Roy, our passing was aimless, we had little shape and the players clearly couldn't make it work for him. Under Kenny, we've looked much stronger in every aspect, it's more than just confidence, it's utilizing player strengths, playing in a way the team are comfortable with and generally applying much more positivity to the team.

I remember someone mentioning about being concerned with Kenny and his training methods in that they thought he would go back to the 80s/90s way of working. I've been quite surprised by the outcome. I've seen a lot of the old style pass and move that Liverpool used to do in that era, notably in the first half against Everton, but it seems to have transferred over well.

With Roy, there was a lot of defensive involved, no counter attacking, no using the flanks, it was almost like the team were playing for a 0-0 draw from minute one. With Kenny, I've seen a lot more counter attacks, using the flanks, and even when we are leading a team in the last few minutes, the team have not held back, trying to keep the result, they have still been attacking and attacking looking to finish the opposition off. I still feel there is a bit of work to do, but as you say it is good to see the team playing more expansive football, and with plenty of passion and determination along with it.

Robbie Rotten wrote:

There will be bigger tests to come, which is why I'd hope we'd just show a little patience and wait until April before handing over the big contract. This season, every single game has been a massive test, under Roy we barely convinced with any of our performances, we are playing much more convincingly under Kenny, although the lack of top quality means we can't play like the very best at the moment, but I'd rather see us try to play good football, than play like we did under Roy.

There has been murmours about Kenny getting it full time. After a slow start, we've won the last 4 and are undeafeated in 5. I wouldn't go so far as to say the good times are back, especially as the wins have come against Stoke, Bolton and Wolves. But the win against Chelsea was very satisfying. Yes, they didn't play the best, but we stayed solid in defence, kept them at bay and got a deserved win. That will help Kenny's cause but I would like to see how the rest of the season plays out. It's a big ask to get us back to 4th though. Our next 6 games are Wigan (H), West Ham (A), Manchester United (H), Sunderland (A), West Brom (A) and Manchester City (H). I would say that on paper and the way we have been playing, 5 from 6 is winnable, the only blot would be the juggernaut that is Manchester United.

Robbie Rotten wrote:

Kenny's doing well, having Comolli in above him, I feel, suits him quite well, so long as they're all on the same wave length.

Just as long as Comolli doesn't start interfering too much and getting too big for his Paolo Vandini shoes, things should be fine.

Robbie Rotten wrote:

Still, we're doing really well and form like this should have been happening a long time ago, if we can stay in the top 6, then we will have met 'expectations' IMO, despite Roy's best attempts to drag us down. We have a long way to go, but I feel everybody at the club knows this, which will result in a massive summer with regards to the exit door, IMO.

I wouldn't want to finish 6th though, now that we are there we should be pushing and pushing for 5th and then 4th. Obviously we would need results to go our way and keep playing as we are, it will be a mammoth task what with being 6 points behind and having played an extra game. It would have been interesting to see how things would have turned out if Hodgson had left 4-6 weeks earlier than what he did. If the Kenny factor had kicked in back then, we could very well have been sitting 5th or even 4th at this point in time. However, that's all heresay and conjecture. It's all about the now, and at the moment we are doing alright, and long may it continue. I just hope the double Europe League fixture doesn't lose our concentration on the league, as it's the only trophy that technically we are still in the running for.

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:54 pm  

Apparently he had a solid debut in the Under 21s last night LGJM, a last minute call up from the Under 19s.

Re: Football Chat Thread : Wed Feb 09, 2011 4:43 pm  

Robbie Rotten wrote:

Paddy Barclay also fits this description, but he obviously doesn't play on the field. He says McEachran is this superstar you speak of. Can't say I've seen much of him, to be honest, do you know what the fuss is over an apparent Chelsea youngster?

Barclay's love for McEachran is ridiculous - he should do the decent thing and marry his mum.