Spy360:

It's not just about Moses, the entire defence was shambolic dealing with crosses.

Chelsea may have just exposed a weak point.

I concur...

Hope other coaches are watching especially Klopp...

Chelsea’s Cahill says loss no big deal, “We are not robots...

http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2017/01/04/chelseas-cahill-says-loss-no-big-deal-we-are-not-robots/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs&yptr=yahoo

Chelsea fans relax... Cahill has spoken...

afrodoc2:
Moses was the main culprit for the first goal.
1) He failed to react to his CBs movement thereby keeping both Alli and Kane onside.
2) After keeping them onside he was the only one that could see across the line and recognize the danger Alli posed coming from Azpi's blind side, yet he failed to react to that as well.

Nice observation doc, but you are looking at the end point. My main concern has been the origin of the chance in the first place. Afterall, if you don't concede the chance, you don't concede the goal right?

See below a chart of defensive stats for the last 13 weeks. You will notice that we are conceding more chances and crosses from the left. I'm not looking at Moses and asking why he didn't step up to nod the ball. No, I'm asking why both goals were conceded from crosess on Alonso's wing.

I'm asking why Diouf was able to cross for a Crouch tap in from that left wing last year. I'm asking why Man City very clearly targeted that left flank, and how Adama Traore was able to complete a league high of 12 successful take ons on that wing last season.

See an analysis of the second goal from F365 below

Chelsea actually started well after the break, Costa forcing a first save from Hugo Lloris, but Tottenham quickly regrouped. Walker passed to Eriksen, Eriksen crossed for Alli, Alli beat Courtois with a header. It was a carbon copy of the opener, but Tottenham will not care. They were 2-0 up.

Alli will rightfully take the plaudits for his match-winning goals, but Eriksen was the real difference on Wednesday. The Dane, just as Kevin De Bruyne did for Manchester City against Chelsea in December, exploited the Blues’ weaker left-hand side. Marcos Alonso is the poorer of the two wing-backs – although Rose gave Moses a torrid time on the other flank – while Cahill was constantly exposed. The freedom Conte gives Hazard has its obvious advantages, but it does leave Chelsea lopsided in defence. Lesser sides will be unable to take advantage; better ones might continue to follow this blueprint in the future.

http://www.football365.com/news/tottenham-2-0-chelsea-16-conclusions


The bolded is actually what scares me. We still have to play Liverpool, City, you guys and the gooners before the season is up. Is this going to be a trend for the future?

Nihilist:


Nice observation doc, but you are looking at the end point. My main concern has been the origin of the chance in the first place. Afterall, if you don't concede the chance, you don't concede the goal right?

See below a chart of defensive stats for the last 13 weeks. You will notice that we are conceding more chances and crosses from the left. I'm not looking at Moses and asking why he didn't step up to nod the ball. No, I'm asking why both goals were conceded from crosess on Alonso's wing.

I'm asking why Diouf was able to cross for a Crouch tap in from that left wing last year. I'm asking why Man City very clearly targeted that left flank, and how Adama Traore was able to complete a league high of 12 successful take ons on that wing last season.

See an analysis of the second goal from F365 below


http://www.football365.com/news/tottenham-2-0-chelsea-16-conclusions


The bolded is actually what scares me. We still have to play Liverpool, City, you guys and the gooners before the season is up. Is this going to be a trend for the future?

You were here a few weeks/months ago when we were saying Alonso is a mediocre player who was being shielded by the formation.
Some fans here intoxicated by the team's successful run were defending him forgetting that a successful run by a team does not mean that ALL the players are performing. The only formation in which Alonso can function is this one but he has been found out now.

Having said that it is not all on Alonso. You cant cut out ALL crosses. For that first cross there was a miscommunication leaving your RWB keeping the opposition forwards onside. As a FB/WB you never stray behind your CB, he should be able to see your jersey number all the time. This is straight from Don Franco Baresi's rule book.

The structural problems with your line up which have been exposed are twofold.

1) Your formation is easily neutralized by an opposition with the players and quality to play a similar formation e.g 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 . Liverpool, Spurs, even United come to mind. This is why I wanted us to go with a similar formation against you guys with Valencia and Shaw as WBs.
2) You are susceptible to that right wing cross-left wing header combo cos on your left side you have your slowest player triangle of Matic-Alonso-Cahill who are too slow to cut out crosses and on your right side you have your shortest player triangle of Kante-Moses-Azpi who are too short to compete in the air.

It had to come to an end and I'm not really surprised.

A 3-5-2 is a direct counter for the 3-4-3 formation and that was what the brilliant Pochettino rolled out. When I saw that formation, I knew there was serious gbege.

Kane and Alli were instructed to occupy our CBs and the two did a good job of it. This actually restrained Moses and Alonso from travelling forward b'cos we needed to commit more numbers at the back. With little or no threat down the flanks, Rose and Walker had the luxury to keep marauding forward, delivering all sort of efficient services to their focal points and that actually payed off.

We could have mounted a serious challenge in the game had it been we won the midfield battle, but alas, Matic and Kante were out-numbered and out-classed in the middle of the park by the trio of Erikson, Dembele and Wanyanma. It was a mixture of skill, strength, tenacity and numerical advantage.

With our full-backs pegged back and our midfield stifled, one could easily understand why our attacking bands fired blanks.

Thumbs up to Pochettino, he's my man of the match.

Do I see this repeating itself? Well, I'll tell you for free, not every team can efficiently execute the instructions of a 3-5-2, dang, not every manager even understands how this formation works.

In event we come up against a side that have three at the back and five in the midfield, Conte should act swiftly by switching to the same formation. That way, we can match them in every department and drag them to the cleaners.

In conclusion, we've still got our nose in front in this damn race, so no need to throw in the towel now. It is only a reality check, one Conte must learn from. Like I would always say, the left-side of our backline is our weakest link, so I guess its high-time we talk about shoring up. We could use the winter transfer window.

Don't panic blue army - Just KTBFFH!

Nihilist:


Nice observation doc, but you are looking at the end point. My main concern has been the origin of the chance in the first place. Afterall, if you don't concede the chance, you don't concede the goal right?

See below a chart of defensive stats for the last 13 weeks. You will notice that we are conceding more chances and crosses from the left. I'm not looking at Moses and asking why he didn't step up to nod the ball. No, I'm asking why both goals were conceded from crosess on Alonso's wing.

I'm asking why Diouf was able to cross for a Crouch tap in from that left wing last year. I'm asking why Man City very clearly targeted that left flank, and how Adama Traore was able to complete a league high of 12 successful take ons on that wing last season.

See an analysis of the second goal from F365 below


http://www.football365.com/news/tottenham-2-0-chelsea-16-conclusions


The bolded is actually what scares me. We still have to play Liverpool, City, you guys and the gooners before the season is up. Is this going to be a trend for the future?

I still think he's the best we have. I think he's done reasonably well so far; being a huge part of the unbeaten run. And he's not been a passenger.

That said, I cannot argue with the stats. I am sure Conte has identified for a while that we have a weakness along the left defensive channel and very aware of the stats. That will be why he's brought in they likes of Kennedy. I think he's just followed the fundamental principle of sports psychology - not tinkering with a winning side.

What I fear though is the doubt created by the substitution. Many questions. Alonso is in no doubt why he was substituted. How will he perform in the next game?

What to do next? Plug the hole? Bring in Kennedy who hasn't played all season with the side and risk disruption of the established synergy? Or leave Alonso and risk other teams borrowing from the same template?


If you ask me, I say Liverpool don't have players that can benefit from the exploitation of the weakness. So I am not worried. City, Arsenal, a resurgent United and Everton do.

However, I don't believe that those teams have the defensive resilience that Spurs possess and it will be difficult for them to stop us from scoring as we exploit their own weaknesses. So, for the reason of preserving synergy, I will keep Alonso in the team and hope we can stumble across the finish line, by running over the small teams and hoping we get into a scoring contest with the big teams.

The only problem is if Alonso's confidence takes a hit and he becomes utter dross in the next game.

Nihilist:


Nice observation doc, but you are looking at the end point. My main concern has been the origin of the chance in the first place. Afterall, if you don't concede the chance, you don't concede the goal right?

See below a chart of defensive stats for the last 13 weeks. You will notice that we are conceding more chances and crosses from the left. I'm not looking at Moses and asking why he didn't step up to nod the ball. No, I'm asking why both goals were conceded from crosess on Alonso's wing.

I'm asking why Diouf was able to cross for a Crouch tap in from that left wing last year. I'm asking why Man City very clearly targeted that left flank, and how Adama Traore was able to complete a league high of 12 successful take ons on that wing last season.

See an analysis of the second goal from F365 below

http://www.football365.com/news/tottenham-2-0-chelsea-16-conclusions

The bolded is actually what scares me. We still have to play Liverpool, City, you guys and the gooners before the season is up. Is this going to be a trend for the future?

My take on Alonso's performance against City:

Griffon:
There is just a problem - our left-wing back. I clearly identified him as our weakest link weeks ago and that was proven correct today. He seems to be too sloppy retreating and his response is quite suspect. Navas and KDB were whipping in all manner of crosses from his end and if not for good defending and City's profligacy we could have conceded more.

Cahill might be getting an understandable level of flak for that own-goal but it must not be forgotten that it was Alonso who was particularly at fault for being far too central when that cross was delivered.

That left-side is our weakest link. If I am an opposition manager, I'll be flogging Chelsea on regular basis.

Griffon:


My take on Alonso's performance against City:



That left-side is our weakest link. If I am an opposition manager, I'll be flogging Chelsea on regular basis.

It's not that easy. Let's not kid ourselves in thinking there are no adverse effects to the substitution of Alonso.

Bringing Kennedy in means we reduce drastically the overall height of the team and weaken our potential to defend set pieces.

Yes we lost a game and there have been signs of cracks. However, overall, we are on the front foot and we need to be careful about the choices we propose, else we just substitute one problem for another. In the end, it's about the balance of averages.

We are still a formidable side offensively and defensively. While many teams might be able to exploit that weakness, only one team so far has been able to do so whilst negating the effectiveness of Hazard, Diego and Pedro simultaneously. It's not easy to do that.

The next team that attempts that might find themselves on the wrong side of an embarrassing loss.

I urge us to concentrate on our strengths rather than compel the team to be concerned about its weakness.

Even the great Barcelona side had a weakness.

nateevs:


It's not that easy. Let's not kid ourselves in thinking there are no adverse effects to the substitution of Alonso.

Bringing Kennedy in means we reduce drastically the overall height of the team and weaken our potential to defend set pieces.

Yes we lost a game and there have been signs of cracks. However, overall, we are on the front foot and we need to be careful about the choices we propose, else we just substitute one problem for another. In the end, it's about the balance of averages.

We are still a formidable side offensively and defensively. While many teams might be able to exploit that weakness, only one team so far has been able to do so whilst negating the effectiveness of Hazard, Diego and Pedro simultaneously. It's not easy to do that.

The next team that attempts that might find themselves on the wrong side of an embarrassing loss.

I urge us to concentrate on our strengths rather than compel the team to be concerned about its weakness.

Even the great Barcelona side had a weakness.

True that, every side and every formation has its weakness but I'm only being an objective critic.

There might be adverse effect of jettisoning Alonso over-night but I'm only looking at the future. He isn't meant for this league, that's all.

Let's start weighing options in earnest is all I am saying.

No knee jerk reactions needed this team is still solid and Conte is doing great

Forget this loss, you were never going to go the whole season winning and Spurs is a great side also. So really there is nothing to see from this loss no need to over analyze and apportion unnecesary blame

Every team in the league will take a 13 game unbeaten run

At this point, Its still Chelsea league to lose, If after the Arsenal and Liverpool game by February 4, If Chelsea is still top of the table even with 1 point, I think you should go order Aso ebi for league winning celebration

For this league wey I dey see so, No team will go on 10 game streak in a row

Even when things werent going his way Conte was still shaking things around, If it wasnt Spurs you will have gotten something from the game.

No need to over analyze, just move on

If you have some sadistic traits and you feel the need to blame someone for losing a game out of 14 then continue reading

First goal
After watching I take back my initial views and put the blame for it on 1. Kante and Cahill. 2 Moses 3 Azpi in that order

[img]http:///media/1-05-2017/HWeyt8.gif[/img]

Though everyone wanted to blame Alonso for this but when you consider he was detailed to make the wing back Walker and in both goals he stayed on his man but what were the duo of Kante and Cahill doing when you have one of the best deliverer of the ball in your midfield. Doing a mannequin challenge?

You gave Eriksen time to buy cigar, wait for change and comot lighter and you expect what? A good header in often time 70% the delivery

2. Moses for not keeping the offside line, but in his defence he had one eye on his man Rose on the far side and maybe didnt hear the order to move up. Also Luiz before you decide to work offside on your own you need to communicate with the other people in defence look around and motion your hand for them to move up, Dont go it alone.

In my view, At the time Luiz moved up, Rose was onside and was calling for the ball, it will be irresponsible for Moses to move up at that time and allow his man ghost in

3. Azpi I am hesitant to blame him here because he was caught in 2 mind. Kane and Alli were free and he was to mark the 2 of them alone. After that sumptuous delivery was made, Offside was broken only thing you can hope for was the header to miss it

raumdeuter:
No knee jerk reactions needed this team is still solid and Conte is doing great

Forget this loss, you were never going to go the whole season winning and Spurs is a great side also. So really there is nothing to see from this loss no need to over analyze and apportion unnecesary blame

Every team in the league will take a 13 game unbeaten run

At this point, Its still Chelsea league to lose, If after the Arsenal and Liverpool game by February 4, If Chelsea is still top of the table even with 1 point, I think you should go order Aso ebi for league winning celebration

For this league wey I dey see so, No team will go on 10 game streak in a row

Even when things werent going his way Conte was still shaking things around, If it wasnt Spurs you will have gotten something from the game.

No need to over analyze, just move on

The points gap is a factor in Chelsea's favour, however 7 points gap can evaporate in a month.
You don't need another team going on 10 match unbeaten run to catch up, all you need is Chelsea copping a few draws here and there and losing to the big teams.
Having said that I agree the best thing for Conte to do is keep the same formation and line up AND hope lightning does not strike twice.

If you havent had enough and still want to blame go on

2nd goal

Eriksen was bringing the ball defenders were backing away, He played Walker in and Alonso actually did his job, he clattered into Walker. Got up and still ran towards Eriksen. He actually showed more urgency towards stopping Eriksen than others. What more was he supposed to do people?

Ok the ball now spilled to Eriksen now watch the disgraceful defending by Cahill and Matic vs one the best ball deliverer in the league, who did damage from a similar situation less than 20mins ago

[img]http:///media/1-05-2017/4BrOjp.gif[/img]

See Cahill throwing leg like person who has epilepsy and Matic (I suppose) standing hand behind him like he is on a military parade no even thought it was ok to put some pressure on Eriksen

Now in Central midfield, Those Allis ghost run, who was supposed to track him?

afrodoc2:
The points gap is a factor in Chelsea's favour, however 7 points gap can evaporate in a month.
You don't need another team going on 10 match unbeaten run to catch up, all you need is Chelsea copping a few draws here and there and losing to the big teams.
Having said that I agree the best thing for Conte to do is keep the same formation and line up AND hope lightning does not strike twice.

If all teams start at zero today I will still believe Chelsea with rake in more points than the others ad win the league

Conte has a formula many EPL coaches cant figure out for now, How many teams will have the talent of SPurs and expertize of Pochetinno to counter them before May? With Costa also pulling out nuts from the fire.

1. The best challenger, Liverpool, that team is too fragile and like we know its all one thing attack till opponent give up. Chelsea has proven they can handle bizniz on both end of the field unlike Liverpool. Also Liverpool without Mane and a fully fit Coutinho in attack for the next few games looks like Sturridge might be back to his main job(Hospital patient) Do you really trust Origi, Lallana, Firmino and Wijnadum to carry the attack by themselves and those Klavan Matip and co to shut out?

The other contenders all have this not so small matter of European games which will be starting soon. City, Arsenal, Spurs and Manure start European campaign very soon. Play weekend, travel midweek, come weekend to play again. When Mourinho/Pep/Poch/Wenger and co are travelling from Hull to Europe then back to Leicester. Conte is having 7 days to book spa, olosho and sir kay kpolli for his players

Also looking at Chelsea this season, they steamrolled everyone not in top 4. Aside the freak Swansea result, they have only dropped points to Arsenal, Pool and Spurs all season which are understandably hard games

Their rivals have a tendency to drop point to lesser teams which Chelsea seemed to have found a solution for

If I have money, After February 4(played Arsenal and Liverpool) and Chelsea still have 2-3 points lead. I will put on Chelsea winning it with at least 2 games to spare

raumdeuter:


If all teams start at zero today I will still believe Chelsea with rake in more points than the others ad win the league

Conte has a formula many EPL coaches cant figure out for now, How many teams will have the talent of SPurs and expertize of Pochetinno to counter them before May? With Costa also pulling out nuts from the fire.

1. The best challenger, Liverpool, that team is too fragile and like we know its all one thing attack till opponent give up. Chelsea has proven they can handle bizniz on both end of the field unlike Liverpool. Also Liverpool without Mane and a fully fit Coutinho in attack for the next few games looks like Sturridge might be back to his main job(Hospital patient) Do you really trust Origi, Lallana, Firmino and Wijnadum to carry the attack by themselves and those Klavan Matip and co to shut out?

The other contenders all have this not so small matter of European games which will be starting soon. City, Arsenal, Spurs and Manure start European campaign very soon. Play weekend, travel midweek, come weekend to play again. When Mourinho/Pep/Poch/Wenger and co are travelling from Hull to Europe then back to Leicester. Conte is having 7 days to book spa, olosho and sir kay kpolli for his players

Also looking at Chelsea this season, they steamrolled everyone not in top 4. Aside the freak Swansea result, they have only dropped points to Arsenal, Pool and Spurs all season which are understandably hard games

Their rivals have a tendency to drop point to lesser teams which Chelsea seemed to have found a solution for

If I have money, After February 4(played Arsenal and Liverpool) and Chelsea still have 2-3 points lead. I will put on Chelsea winning it with at least 2 games to spare

Money is on Chelsea to win it of course but it is not settled yet. Arsenal lost the league in 02/03 I think despite leading with 8 points in March and you can remember the famous Newcastle collapse in 95/96 when they were 10 points ahead at Christmas.
City and United are the teams best equipped to challenge Chelsea but United are too far back and Pep is under performing and underutilizing his squad.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs are renowned choke specialists.

raumdeuter:


If all teams start at zero today I will still believe Chelsea with rake in more points than the others ad win the league

Conte has a formula many EPL coaches cant figure out for now, How many teams will have the talent of SPurs and expertize of Pochetinno to counter them before May? With Costa also pulling out nuts from the fire.

1. The best challenger, Liverpool, that team is too fragile and like we know its all one thing attack till opponent give up. Chelsea has proven they can handle bizniz on both end of the field unlike Liverpool. Also Liverpool without Mane and a fully fit Coutinho in attack for the next few games looks like Sturridge might be back to his main job(Hospital patient) Do you really trust Origi, Lallana, Firmino and Wijnadum to carry the attack by themselves and those Klavan Matip and co to shut out?

The other contenders all have this not so small matter of European games which will be starting soon. City, Arsenal, Spurs and Manure start European campaign very soon. Play weekend, travel midweek, come weekend to play again. When Mourinho/Pep/Poch/Wenger and co are travelling from Hull to Europe then back to Leicester. Conte is having 7 days to book spa, olosho and sir kay kpolli for his players

Also looking at Chelsea this season, they steamrolled everyone not in top 4. Aside the freak Swansea result, they have only dropped points to Arsenal, Pool and Spurs all season which are understandably hard games

Their rivals have a tendency to drop point to lesser teams which Chelsea seemed to have found a solution for

If I have money, After February 4(played Arsenal and Liverpool) and Chelsea still have 2-3 points lead. I will put on Chelsea winning it with at least 2 games to spare

.
so u can talk good of Chelsea like ds ehnnn.... in fact I'm suspecting u bro

Nihilist:


Nice observation doc, but you are looking at the end point. My main concern has been the origin of the chance in the first place. Afterall, if you don't concede the chance, you don't concede the goal right?

See below a chart of defensive stats for the last 13 weeks. You will notice that we are conceding more chances and crosses from the left. I'm not looking at Moses and asking why he didn't step up to nod the ball. No, I'm asking why both goals were conceded from crosess on Alonso's wing.

I'm asking why Diouf was able to cross for a Crouch tap in from that left wing last year. I'm asking why Man City very clearly targeted that left flank, and how Adama Traore was able to complete a league high of 12 successful take ons on that wing last season.

See an analysis of the second goal from F365 below


http://www.football365.com/news/tottenham-2-0-chelsea-16-conclusions


The bolded is actually what scares me. We still have to play Liverpool, City, you guys and the gooners before the season is up. Is this going to be a trend for the future?

I think that apart fom Cahill, your other CBs are poor arially. This shouldn't be with 3 men in the box.

Leicester's duo of Huth and Morgan thrived with arial balls last season. Their FBs won't allow you to drift in but allow you to cross knowing that the CBs would put it away.

Point is if Alonso tries to prevent Erikson from drifting infield, then he has no option than to allow the cross. It is one or the other.

You guys should cut them some slack, they've been bossing the league and are still moving from first to first anyway.

Griffon:
It had to come to an end and I'm not really surprised.

A 3-5-2 is a direct counter for the 3-4-3 formation and that was what the brilliant Pochettino rolled out. When I saw that formation, I knew there was serious gbege.

Kane and Alli were instructed to occupy our CBs and the two did a good job of it. This actually restrained Moses and Alonso from travelling forward b'cos we needed to commit more numbers at the back. With little or no threat down the flanks, Rose and Walker had the luxury to keep marauding forward, delivering all sort of efficient services to their focal points and that actually payed off.

We could have mounted a serious challenge in the game had it been we won the midfield battle, but alas, Matic and Kante were out-numbered and out-classed in the middle of the park by the trio of Erikson, Dembele and Wanyanma. It was a mixture of skill, strength, tenacity and numerical advantage.

With our full-backs pegged back and our midfield stifled, one could easily understand why our attacking bands fired blanks.

Thumbs up to Pochettino, he's my man of the match.

Do I see this repeating itself? Well, I'll tell you for free, not every team can efficiently execute the instructions of a 3-5-2, dang, not every manager even understands how this formation works.

In event we come up against a side that have three at the back and five in the midfield, Conte should act swiftly by switching to the same formation. That way, we can match them in every department and drag them to the cleaners.

In conclusion, we've still got our nose in front in this damn race, so no need to throw in the towel now. It is only a reality check, one Conte must learn from. Like I would always say, the left-side of our backline is our weakest link, so I guess its high-time we talk about shoring up. We could use the winter transfer window.

Don't panic blue army - Just KTBFFH!

Nice analysis.

A 3-4-3 can also be shut out by a 4-5-1 with pacy wingers.

Keky:
You guys should cut them some slack, they've been bossing the league and are still moving from first to first anyway.

United fans should reserve some shame. Even Chelsea can't hear them from high up the table.

kokaneprodigy:
Brestar in moments like this, u can always lean on me

Would have loved to. But you ain't in the top 4.

On the game yesterday:

1. Conte took ages to see how poor some players were. Substitutions were made too late
2. Eriksen was given much space.
3. Alonso is not good enough for us bar that single cross he made
4. Kante was SH*T. Matic was poor up until the second half.
5. Luiz's long balls were awful, he even showed that risky play of his and gave the ball away
6. Pedro gave too many balls away too cheaply, esp in the first half.
7. Azpilicueta and Moses could have stopped both those headers.
8. We played very well for first 5 minutes of the second half but didn't take the chances
9. Courtois could have done better with that second goal
10. Not much bothered about that record
12. We lost a battle but we will win the war
13. Good that Jan is here, we must buy a left wing-back
14. We snatched trophy from them last season, they just did something which would make our title lifting much sweeter come May
15. Good period without EPL this weekend for Conte and the boys to reflect.

— Rivals would play each other soon. Points would be dropped. Game Showed we need reinforcement this Jan. . KTBFFH.

OSHA pundit's and I wonder why you people haven't deputized Andy Townsend and co.. So you all where expecting us to keeping winning everybody? Other teams na joke dem come ni.

Brestar:

Would have loved to. But you ain't in the top 4.

Waa gbayii...you are the ultimate babe

Kokanewizkid,our babes aren't for failures

Griffon:


My take on Alonso's performance against City:



That left-side is our weakest link. If I am an opposition manager, I'll be flogging Chelsea on regular basis.

It's not that easy as you say it to be. You think if it's that easy other managers wouldn't have used the weapon against Chelsea since? Look, bro, the left-wing is the weakest point in this compact Chelshit formation, but it's not that easy to break. The formation doesn't isolate the 3-man defense easily, it's just that Tottenham are a very good side. This is no Stoke City. You're playing a team with quality players, in rich form, and with the right set of players to match any top Premier League team in all departments. You guys will not win forever, this failure was bound to happen one day and if there's one team that could do it, it's Tottenham. Other teams knew Alonso was the weak link, but how come Chelshit still won 13 games in a row? It's not easy to flog Chelshit easily, you need a top quality team to achieve that, that's why Man Shitty is the only other side that had excess chance to flog Chelshit but wasted their chances.


Props to Poch for out-maneuvering Conte tactically, using the same formation as his and also making sure the home support counts. If I'm Conte, I'll stick to my line-up but move swiftly into the market to get a better LWB to replace Alonso. Or even a top CB to put fears into Cahill and Luiz.

Brestar:

Would have loved to. But you ain't in the top 4.

Subtle, very subtle Brestar

Kokaneprodigy right now,;

wow!!! it was fun while it lasted, we cannot win all game (fans sha! we be oliver twist).
you guys should cut Alonso some slack, the left side three of Alonso-Cahill-Matic is the weakest in the team and its not entirely down to Alonso as pointed out by pa raumdeuter (nice analysis bro), The 3 are just too slow in reacting and yesterday Alonso was being 'double attacked' on by Walker and Ericksen, same as in the first leg and against City, the difference being that it worked for them this time.
Poch tactics were spot on and having strong workaholics in Rose, Walker, WAYAMA, Dembele, DIER helped too.
Can somebody tell me what was wrong with Hazard, he was MY flop of the match for those early misses in both halves of the match.
Hope the team react well after this defeat.

afrodoc2:


You were here a few weeks/months ago when we were saying Alonso is a mediocre player who was being shielded by the formation.
Some fans here intoxicated by the team's successful run were defending him forgetting that a successful run by a team does not mean that ALL the players are performing. The only formation in which Alonso can function is this one but he has been found out now.

Having said that it is not all on Alonso. You cant cut out ALL crosses. For that first cross there was a miscommunication leaving your RWB keeping the opposition forwards onside. As a FB/WB you never stray behind your CB, he should be able to see your jersey number all the time. This is straight from Don Franco Baresi's rule book.

The structural problems with your line up which have been exposed are twofold.

1) Your formation is easily neutralized by an opposition with the players and quality to play a similar formation e.g 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 . Liverpool, Spurs, even United come to mind. This is why I wanted us to go with a similar formation against you guys with Valencia and Shaw as WBs.
2) You are susceptible to that right wing cross-left wing header combo cos on your left side you have your slowest player triangle of Matic-Alonso-Cahill who are too slow to cut out crosses and on your right side you have your shortest player triangle of Kante-Moses-Azpi who are too short to compete in the air.

I duff my cap for you sir. this is a perfect analysis of the problem. You just bore my mind.