[FM19] Blue is the colour. For a couple of seasons at least!

[Mandy42]

Throwing it Away*

Last game of the month in the Premier league against Burnley at home felt good about this game as I could bring back some first team players having given them a rest for the Millwall game. Though I was aware that I had the PSV game next in the Champions league, they had beaten Basel in their 1st game and currently topped the group. All that said we lined up like this: 

 

 

Not a bad line up to still not really call it a full "1st" team. They lined up like this:

 

 

Since Athletico played this formation against me I have come to associate this set up with trying to pull the opposition onto them and then counter. We get off to a good start, forcing two corners in the 1st 5 minutes, from the 2nd Mount whips it in from the right, they clear it at the near post, but Christensen chases down the clearance and recycles it back to Mount, his 2nd cross is to the far post where Sancho steals in with a headed tap in from 2 yards out. 1-0, 5 minutes gone. On 10 minutes Mount picks up the ball and drives forward from midfield, the Burnley defensive line parts like the red sea and I'm out of my chair shouting "Go on Mason!" as he ballons his strike high into the stand. On 20 minutes Kepa rolls the ball out to Emerson who decides he is going to go on a mazy run halfway into the Burnley half before he is confronted by a defender. He slides the ball right to Mount who is outside the box, he takes 1 touch and shoots as a Burnley player closes him down, it curls past the defender, past the goalkeeper and nestles in the top right corner. 2-0 20 minutes gone. We get to half time, Zola wants me to tell the players they should prove a point tonight, I tell them I am happy with the way they play, keep it up, I also warn Barella that I want him to avoid a 2nd yellow in the 2nd half, he is too delighted with me being happy with his 1st half performance to calm down too much. On 52 minutes he commits a horrible 2 footed challenge, I wonder if I hadn't told him to calm down if he'd simply have taken the Burnley players head off. I bring Batshuayi off for Rosario, go to a strange 4-2-3 formation with a cautious mentality. There are no chances created, but on 70 minutes my backroom staff suggest I should make more changes due to the red card, to which I agree and we go very defensive. On 80 minutes a Jack Cork screamer is the 1st chance Burnley have created and it blazes into the net off the post for 2-1. A minute later Pugh puts a ball in from the left wing, high and deep, Burnley have worked the man advantage they have and Gudmundsson unleashes a rocket from a tight angle that is too strong for Kepa to save. 2-2, 2 goals in under 2 minutes makes me fear that Burnley are going to push on for a winner before the end of the game. However Burnley seem happy to be going home with a point and the tide turns. Willian has a free kick on 93 minutes that Tom Heaton just manages to turn onto the post with his finger tips. It ends a draw.

 

*My Friend the Chocolate Cake

[Mandy42]

Short Skirt Long Jacket*

No don't worry you are in the right place, the September round up thread, we will get to the thread title in good time.

First the results:

 

 

Just the Burnley result stopping us from having a perfect month, damn your Italian passions Barella! That meant that our league position was unchanged:

 

 

We started September in 4th and after the Burnley result finished it in 4th, before kick off we were top where a win would have kept us top. However the gap is only 1 point and it is quite tight. In the Champions league there has only been 1 game played

 

 

Madrid have it all to do, though that Griezmann late consolation goal against us stopped us from going top from the start. Having beaten Millwall in the Carabao cup this is who we play in the next round:

 

 

Just the draw I was hoping for! Another game for the younger players as we draw one of only 2 league 1 teams left in the hat. Off the pitch I am unsure as to whether I have gamed the system slightly with one of the contract negotiations this month. Michy Batshuayi came to me telling me he wanted a new contract, I said no you have plenty of time on your new deal, he said it didn't matter about the length of the contract he wanted no money, I stuck to my guns and told him no I would not be bullied, I have followed this course before and usually get a response of "I can't say i'm not disappointed but I understand" However Batshuayi is made of sterner stuff and tells me I've handled it badly and he will tell the other players and the media, thus ending the conversation, his morale has dropped slightly. At this point I go and offer him a contract, which he accepts and I think that's the end of it. However the day after Jadon Sancho , Fiete Arp and Emerson come to me and suggest I should treat Batshuayi better and offer him a new contract. I tell them that since they came to talk to me they had "changed my mind" and I would be offering him a new contract, they left with improved morale. At the end of the week Batshuayi signs his new deal and his morale returns to the level before he had the contract problem. Thus if I had simply said yes to Batshuayi's request I would only have improved his morale, by disagreeing I improved 4 players morale.  

 

 

 

After not being asked for a year, poor Maurizo gets asked every month now how he thinks I am doing. Tammy Abraham finishes 2nd in the young player of the month award. Mason Mount's placed shot from 23 metres is the goal of the month. Barkley and Emerson have both requested more 1st team football. Ruben Loftus-Cheek's Chelsea career could be over, he injured himself in training and is out for 3-5 weeks, he had started every game as he had requested, if his injury results in him complaining he hasn't played enough then I won't stand for it and will move him on. Now to the title, in this tactic I have *borrowed* I am quite interested in the set piece routines, we take short corners and long throw ins (you see!) The short corners can be infuriating when they come out and mark the short option and we still play it. However the long throw in has been a revelation, as daft as it sounds we have only played 1 true long throw in all season, that came against Millwall and leg to Haland flicking on at the near post for Odoi to score and the far post. However because we stack the box looking as though we will fling in a long ball, and we have the best long throw players taking the throws the opponent has to cover it. This means the shorter option is unmarked 90% of the time, which results in him either heading it back to the throw in taker for a cross into the box or chesting the ball down and delivering it into the middle of the park just outside the box for the likes of Barkley, Barella or Jorginho to find space to shoot.

 

*Cake(MMMM cake! two posts in a row!)

[Mandy42]

Next Page*

1st post where I can ackowledge I made it to page 2! with over 800 views thanks everyone that is even vaguely interested in this continuing journey. Please don't be shy if your reading and haven't posted yet, any and all comments give added encouragement to keep going. @andychar  @ManUtd1 @scarp  @Northernpilgrim  @Santa Claus  @Deisler26 @WillHoward42  Thank you for your kind messages and support.

The journey continues into October:

 

 

PSV away in the Champions league and Man City in the league are the stand out fixtures for me this month, the way we have played so far in the league makes me feel that Man City are going to be a real challenge, especially if we pick up some international injuries in the 2 weeks before the game. The way Basel played against PSV doesn't fill me with too much dread about that game, and Rochdale in the Carabao to round off the month gives me a chance to relax and field the youngsters to keep the pressure down.

 

*Twice(I certainly won't be listening to this twice, its flaming awful!)

[Mandy42]

Eindoven*

1st game of the month, chance to get a stranglehold on the group which remember is all we need to do in order to match the board expectations. This is how we lined up!

 

 

Only Sancho missing really from a full 1st team line up. They line up like this:

 

 

A  4-4-2! thought that had died a death! Must admit following the victory against them in preseason I went into this one feeling confident. We played well, had chances, hit the post twice in the 1st half, 15 shots on goal and 8 on target, couple of bookings but I felt it would come in the 2nd half, told the team they were the better team and just needed to keep going, also told my carded midfielders to calm down and avoid a booking. On 60 minutes Barkley pulls back de Jong on a PSV break and gets a 2nd yellow card. Instead of taking off Batshuayi like I did in the game against Burnley I took off Kante and Christensen who were also both on yellow cards and brought on Mepham and Rosario respectively, the 2nd on to face his former club. I stayed at cautious, even when my assistants wanted me to go very defensive, as yet again just like the Burnley game the opposition had not created a chance since the sending off. On 72 minutes a Erick Gutierrez wonder strike curling past the keeper into the top corner from outside the box gave PSV the advantage, they created little else and it finished 1-0 to them.

For the 2nd game in a row I had a midfielder sent off for two bookable offences, one in the 1st half and 1 in the 2nd, both times I have told the player to calm down at half time, thus I finned Barkley for his sending off which I am certain cost us the points in this game. He developed concerns, and I went to talk to him, he cleverly noticed the smoke coming out of my ears and realised that he was happy with me coming to see him. Athletico managed a 1-0 win against Basel which put us and them on 3 points each fighting for 2nd place.

This means that my record at club level for going unbeaten has come to an end:

 

 

 

Though the record lives on in the league, for now.

 

 

*DJ ZANZ (Thankfully it's only 1 minute long)

[Mandy42]

Watford Gap*

 

After the first loss in almost a full calendar year, and two games with having a player sent off, I wanted a reaction from the players regarding the performance and how I wanted them to play. Basically I didn't care who we were playing in this game, I wanted them to be scared that we had a point to prove, and I wanted my players to be scared of what might happen to them if they didn't produce. This was our starting line up:

 

 

With Barella suspended, and looking at having another 2 games added on for the recklessness of the challenge I kept Jorginho and Kante in the middle of the pitch. Barkley was dropped for being sent off even though he was available in the Premier league. Sancho and Abraham rotate in to give us some fresh attacking options. They line up like this:

 

 

We scored another throw in related goal, this time with Watford obviously having watched us on tape and seen we like to fake a long throw in, thus they put a man marking the short throw option. The result, we throw it long, Jamal Blackman, who we let go to Watford in part of my player purge, comes and punches. The ball falls to Jorginho outside the area and he produces a sublime chip over the retreating Blackman and into the net 1-0 just before the half hour. I was taking no chances when de Ligt got a yellow card on 60 minutes, he was swapped for Ethan Ampadu on 64 minutes. He obviously failed to get up to the pace of the game as Troy Deeney beat him to a near post cross and side footed a shot past Kepa to level the game. We pushed for a winner, but it seemed that Jamal Blackman was up to prove a point that I shouldn't have sold him, he made some very good saves, however a lot of the chances we had been creating in previous games and been so clinical with we missed in this game, a lot of the shots that were going into the corner were more central and made Blackman look better than he was. Lets just say this result did nothing to cool my anger 

 

*Roy Harper (1st song i've heard about a motorway services)

 

[Mandy42]

Vespertilito*

At the start of the season I ear marked this game as the game where I would lose my unbeaten league record, this was before I lost to PSV in the Champions league. While we played well against Man City in the Super cup I thought we played well but we rode our luck at times. Both my 1st choice centre backs have the "don't dive into tackles" but they were having to dive into tackles as they attempted to contain Man City's front 4. We hadn't won in the last 3 games, and we lined up like this:

 

 

Ross Barkley obviously took his anger on getting fined out on the weights bench and managed to injure himself for up to 6 weeks.... Loftus-Cheek was fit and happy with the 1st team football I had given him, so now Barkley might be on his way out if the injury he sustained himself means he doesn't get the 1st team football he demands. Mepham has to come in for de Ligt as he isn't fit to play, Batshuayi comes back in as Abraham didn't look good in the draw against Watford. The midfield partnership of Jorginho and Kante just keeps producing game after game. They lined up like this:

 

 

City, who have been held up as a big spending team that players talented English players have, 0 in their starting 11, while we, the team that always gets screamed and shouted at for being from the capital and having nobody in the team, we have 3. (No i'm not bitter at all!) I do get rather bitter only 5 minutes in when something rather strange happens, Kepa receives the ball from a pass back from Christensen, he dithers on the ball and Icardi robs him before passing it into the net, 1-0 down after 5 minutes played, I feared the worst. I screamed at my players that this was no where near good enough and demanded more from them. From a corner on 14 minutes, we play it short, Loftus-Cheek waits to be closed down before delivering a ball into the near post, Willian hits it on the volley, Ederson manages to palm it down but only into Willian's path and he slots home the rebound 1-1 after 15 minutes. COME ON NOW! I praise the players, still a long time to go. Another set piece, a long throw in from the left, as again our short option is marked. Loftus-Cheek competes at the near post forcing a poor clearance to loop out to the edge of the area, Kante produces a perfect technique volley and we are 2-1 up with 25 minutes played. City come at us straight from the resulting kick off, recycling it through midfield, Kante gets in and steals the ball playing it forward to Batshuayi, he slides it out wide to Willian, who drives down the line before laying the ball back into the area, Batshuayi meets the cross and slams it hard into the top corner from just outside the 6 yard box, keeper no chance. 3-1 up after only 27 minutes played. Just before half time Kepa is looking to roll the ball out (I've no idea why) he's looking one way and rolls it out the other way, not noticing that Icardi is there, he blocks the roll out and finishes it into an empty net, 3-2 at half time, my anger and uncertainty is back.

At halftime I tell the players to keep going that we've been the better team, Zola wants me to take Kepa off and put Baxter on for the 2nd half, while I recognise that Kepa is having a crap game I do not want to completely remove his confidence by replacing him. Just over 10 minutes into the 2nd half we have another throw in (not sure how I feel about being a set pieces team, even if I don't have "play for set pieces" selected) we throw it short, kante bringing the ball to the edge of the area before playing a cute inside ball to Baba Rahman (the throw in taker) who under laps and shoots, Ederson again makes the initial save but the rebound falls to Batshuayi on the penalty spot and he tucks away his 2nd 4-2, with 30 minutes to go. On 87 minutes, City are trying to play out from the back when Jorginho robs the ball just outside their box, he holds it up for Azpilicueta to overlap and deliver a cross from the left, Batshuayi meets the ball at the near post and scores a thumping header into the top corner to complete his hat trick. 5-2 with 3 minutes plus stoppage time to come! I was very relieved as the last 12 minutes or so we had played with 2 injured players, both Sancho and Willian pulled up complaining of leg problems, literally just a minute after I'd made my 3rd substitution. I brought on Zappacosta for Rahman, swapping Azpilicueta over to left back, and de Ligt for Christensen, Mount for Loftus-Cheek was the last one as coming back from injury Ruben was flagging. From the resulting kick off City are brave and pull us in with some short passing, we close to press them and they play a long ball over the top for Icardi to run in between our centre backs. He slots home with a lovely lifting finish over Kepa to make it 5-3. Thankfully that is the end of the scoring and we come away with the 3 points! 

A hat trick for Icardi proves in my mind why I am worried about him so much, but cometh the hour cometh the BATMAN! 

 

*Hans Zimmer

 

 

[Mandy42]

Swiss Retreat*

This song is actually about a cozy cabin in the snow covered Swiss countryside, "a place where lovers meet" I was hoping for more of a tactical retreat from Basel as they won't be able to handle us. That is definitely what is required after the loss to PSV in the last game. We line up like this:

 

 

de Ligt for Mepham is the only change in the back 4, Kepa keeps his place with a chance to redeem himself.  Jorginho and Kante play again together, though they are beginning to show signs of fatigue having started the last 3 games plus Kante played two internationals during the break. Hudson-Odoi and Pantic come in for the injured Sancho and Willian. Batman keeps his place, because he's Batman. They line up like this:

 

 

4-4-2 for the 2nd week in a row in Europe, I try not to giggle at the number of blank picture players, I am hoping the F.Forget has a game to forget in midfield. To say we started quickly is an understatement, in the 3rd minute we have (guess what) a throw in, Baba throws it short to Jorginho who turns unopposed and drives into the area, he plays the ball round 1 defender coming towards him and passes the ball across the keeper into the bottom corner. On 6 minutes Hudson-Odoi is standing over a free kick about 10 yards out from the box and slightly to the left side. He  drives it over the wall and the ball moves slightly in the air, the keeper is right behind it but has misjudged the power behind it, goes through his hands and he can only push it up into the roof of his own net. 2-0 up 6 minutes played, Swiss retreat in progress! 35 minutes and Kante does what Kante does, steals the ball and drives into the Basel half, he spreads the play right to Pantic who whips a cross in to the near post, Batman stealths in front of his marker and powers the ball in at the near post off his head. 3-0 up.

Half time I tell them not to get complacent I am happy with how they played, but I am far too wary of us only producing this quality in fits and starts. I swapped Emerson for a tired and carded Baba and sent them back out for the 2nd half. Barella, who would be suspended for the league games came on for a tiring Kante on 60 minutes. Basel get a cross in on 70 minutes and at the back post Loris Scheuring sneaks in behind Azpilicueta and hits a volley that Kepa can't keep out to pull it back to 3-1. I bring on Chris Mepham for de Ligt due to fatigue. On 75 minutes Basel have a throw in right by the corner flag, they throw it in towards the box, win the 1st ball and play it out to the edge of the box, Abacherli Schulthess takes a touch and drills it hard into the bottom far corner, the ball moves so fast its almost past Kepa before he is fully diving. Its 3-2 with 15 minutes still to play. We hang on for the win, PSV come out winners 2-1 at home to Madrid which means we are spread out slightly 9-6-3 points respectively. We sit second still with a good chance of meeting expectations, but I am not happy about shipping 2 goals against the weakest team in the group.

 

*Nat King Cole

[Mandy42]

This Place is Boring*

Back in the Premier league after scraping through in Switzerland I still could not shake the feeling that we have been our own worst enemy this month. Having scored 3 goals against Basel, and making it clear to the players I was not happy with the 2nd half performance I sent out the same team other than giving Jadon Sancho a start having returned to fitness.

 

 

They line up like this

 

 

Less said about this game the better, I think this is simply one game too far for the same players in key positions, Baba, Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek had to be swapped for Emerson, Thiago Maia and Mason Mount. We dominated the ball and had 14 attempts at goal but only managed a measly 4 on target. Not good enough and we come away from the south coast with a point.

*Lazarus Kgagudi

[Mandy42]

Jesus is a Rochdale Girl*

Rochdale fans might be feeling they need Jesus in their corner if they were going to get a result today. I wasn't so sure, our performances this month have been crap. I am still relaxed about this competition, the fact the board don't care makes me feel better about a result in this competition. Due to me playing the majority of the same players for this months games the "play the kids" system changes to play players to keep them match fit. 

 

 

It also appears I was choosing a track for a post for this forum when I took this screenshot! Anyway Batman gets rested, Abraham fills in on the right so Pantic and Willian can rest. Barella and Rosario need the minutes, Ampadu and Mepham make it an all Welsh centre back pairing, Baxter plays in goal

 

 

Looks like the kind of formation a League 1 team would pick to play against a Premier league team. It certainly was defensive  and we were frustrated in the 1st half, not creating anything that wasn't blocked or smothered out. It took us 57 minutes to get a break through. Emerson delivers a ball from the left to Abraham coming in at the back post to head across goal into the top corner. Rob Vincent gets sent off for a 2nd yellow card on 62 minutes leaving Rochdale with a mountain to climb. On 78 minutes Rosario gets to the by line on the right hand side and pulls a ball back in the air, Mount is alone on the penalty spot and volleys it home for a 2 goal cushion. On 85 minutes Hudson-Odoi had the ball by the corner flag on the left, he tries cross into the box but the deflection falls to Emerson, he holds up the ball, Hudson-Odoi makes a run back from the by line into the box and Emerson feeds the ball to him, he blasts home from just beyond the penalty spot. 3-0 and we go through to the quarter final.

*Elbow

[Mandy42]

October Fade*

With those results you might be telling me to get a grip suggesting that we are in some way falling apart, but it just feels that we are not far away from a collapse. Back to back sending offs (ok 1 of them was in September) but both of them cost us points. We should have taken 3 points from Burnley, and we should at least have come away from PSV with a draw. We capitulated against Watford and Basel, throwing away a lead in both games, although we just managed to hold on away in Switzerland. We never really got off the ground against Bournemouth and Rochdale was poor considering the difference in quality. We got ourselves up for the Man City game, and to say that 2 of their goals were gifted by goalkeeper error that should have been a much more comfortable result. I am wondering if my players are developing a "big game" mentality, and they don't get themselves as prepared or up for the smaller games. We shall see next month.

 

 

We end another month in 4th, this time last year we were clear top having won our 1st ten games, thus being 8 points worse off and with a much reduced goal difference does not fill me with joy, plus we just feel more fragile, needing to concede in numerous games before we click into gear.

 

 

The slip up against PSV and the comeback by Basel meant we sat 2nd in the table with a worse goal difference than I would like, I was hoping PSV and Madrid would do me a favour when they played each other, and that Basel would be a walk over at home, but again, with the way the team was rolling at the minute nothing was a certainty.

 

 

After handing me Tottenham in my 1st and only Carabao cup game last season the cup draw gods were being much nicer to me this year, last round I got Rochdale one of only two League 1 teams left in the draw. In the Quarter final I was drawn against the only League 1 team left in the competition Sunderland. The youngsters will ride again!

 

*Thad Fiscella

[Mandy42]

6 Pack*

Into November we go, six games over 2 competitions which would not be that bad if they weren't packed into 3 games either side of the International break.

 

 

So that's 2 lots of 3 games in 7 days with a two week period of me crossing my fingers and hoping for no international related injuries. Interestingly avoiding defeat to Aston Villa will tie the Invincibles unbeaten record of 49 games, meaning that the result of the Arsenal game 4 days later will give them the chance to stop me from taking the record from them. Unfortunately for me the Basel game in between the two of them feels like a must win game in the Champions league group. It means I can afford to not pick up any points away in Madrid later in the month. West Ham at the end of the month is not only a London derby but it's also a huge game with West Ham sitting above me in the table. Having gone this long and getting so close to the record I want it now, would I take 2 draws against Aston Villa and Arsenal to clinch the record, grudgingly yes I would, but I am conscious I only drew 7 games all of last season, and I've already drawn 4, while I am once again the only undefeated team left in the Premier league I just don't feel like we will continue this run much longer. Dare I say it, after the Arsenal game I would gladly loose a couple if it meant I would turn some of those difficult games i've been having against teams lower down the league from draws into wins.

*Dune Rats

[andychar]

Not the best of months but a huge result against City and you keep up the domestic dominance. Very impressive considering the teams you play week in week out. I'm sure this will be a bounceback month.

[Mandy42]

8 hours ago, andychar said:

Not the best of months but a huge result against City and you keep up the domestic dominance. Very impressive considering the teams you play week in week out. I'm sure this will be a bounceback month.

 

I sure hope so!

[Mandy42]

Heroes and Villains*

1st Match in November sees newly promoted Aston Villa come to Stamford Bridge, they are flying high sitting 8th in the table before we kick off. If I don't lose this game I tie the Arsenal record of 49 Premier league games without losing. I lined up like this

 

 

 

To say I didn't want to lose, it felt like a bit of a gamble going with the 3-3-2-2 formation seen as I'd only used it once and only managed a draw. It did however allow me to play some players that would not be likely to feature in the Arsenal and Athletico games and thus rest some who would. Interestingly, I don't know why (might be a bug) but when I line up with Sancho on the left and Zappacosta on the right (their natural positions) when I come to play the game they are reversed, when I switch them back during the match they switch back over and over. When I start the game with them in the wrong positions they don't switch, but if I switch them during the match they stay where they are. I don't understand it, either it is some part of the wide playmaker role I am not seeing or some other setting, or it could be bugged. They line up like this:

 

 

Interesting to see what they manage with this formation, and how they have played to get to 8th in the table. Kick off, once more we played some beautiful football, with 6 players in the middle of the park there is just too many options for us to pass the ball around without them committing more players than they wanted to the press. However we are far too narrow to produce an end product with them not being willing to commit players forward to press. On 15 minutes we have a corner from the right, we whip it into the box Thiago Maia attacks the ball and drills a header in from about 8 yards out. Sometimes, regardless of the formation you just need to throw the pig skin in mixer and get someone to stick it in the onion bag. On 29 minutes we win another corner this one is fired to the far post, Abraham wins a header back across the 6 yard box which Zappacosta volley's home from very short range. On 41 minutes a throw in from the right leads to a us putting together an intricate 10 passes around the box before Batman Volley's home from beside the penalty spot. 3-0 up before half time, but we've been here before with Basel. The only issue with this formation is that I currently have limited players to play the roles, which means I am unable to play it usually for a full game or multiple games. Halfway through the 2nd half I bring on Ampadu and Barella for Maia and Jorginho as I have one eye on the Arsenal game. We see out the game without conceding, which is a novelty in and of itself. 

 

 

 

*The Beach Boys (It's no California dreaming that's for damn sure!)

[Mandy42]

Five Get Over Excited*

Now then, the Swiss come to Stamford Bridge, we needed a win, and if possible to avoid the second half collapse that left us limping out of Switzerland 3-2 winners instead of how comfortable we had been in the 1st half. I reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 and decided we would attack from the start. I wanted a win and our goal difference needed an injection as well!

 

 

Jorginho had gotten himself injured in training which meant I was likely to have to lean on Barella a lot in the coming matches. I had 1 eye on Arsenal next in the league, which was why Sancho, Loftus-Cheek and Batman were rested. They lined up again in their 4-4-2 

 

 

Much like the 1st game we started quickly, they did not. On 7 minutes Mepham, under no pressure, much to my displeasure, lumps a long ball forward, Abraham gives chase but the Basel defender is always going to be 1st to the ball. Him and the goalkeeper have a miscommunication and suddenly Abraham is wheeling away having prodded the ball between both of them and into the net! They seemed to know they weren't able to stop us and the foul count represented that very well, we were still in the first 10 minutes and we had already had 3 free kicks around their box. The 4th one on 10 minutes Willian stood over, he curls a fabulous effort around the wall and into the top right hand corner with their goalkeeper rooted to the spot. Our domination continued and from a throw in on the left on 18 minutes Barella picks the ball up near the left corner of the box, he drops his shoulder and evades an on rushing Basel defender before accelerating into the box, he releases a rifle of a shot that beats the keeper in the bottom right hand corner. 18 minutes gone and we are 3-0 up, but we have been here before. The only set back in the 1st half is Mason Mount limping off injured on 27 minutes, Ross Barkley is only just returning from injury and the physio team have cleared him to play at most 75 minutes, very nice of Mason to hold off getting injured so Ross would be able to take over from him. On the stroke of halftime Barella receives the ball from a throw in pretty much exactly where he received the first one. The Basel defence stand off him, not rushing out like before, he comes in field dribbling along the edge of the box, Abraham peels away towards the far post and a defender tracks his run, the second the space opens Barella unleashes another bullet of a strike this time to the keepers left in the bottom left hand corner. We go into half time 4-0 up. 

 

At halftime I swap us to the 4-3-3 formation, putting Ethan Ampadu at the base as a ball winning midfielder, Kante comes off to rest for the Arsenal game. Just before the hour Barella feeds Willian on the right, he surges forward but as the defender backs off and backs off he lifts an early cross into the box, Abraham reacts before the Basel defenders and rises to head it high into the net to make it 5-0. Job done, with them producing no real threat and us controlling the game I replace Barella with Maia, again with the Arsenal game in mind. I pull us back to a balanced mentality to try save the legs on the players still on the pitch and we see out the rest of the game without incident.

 

*The Housemartins

 

 

 

 

[Mandy42]

Massive*

Massive game, absolutely massive game! It's a London derby, we currently sit 4th in the table with Arsenal 1 point behind us in 5th. A win here and we just slowly begin to build a gap between us and the contenders for the Champions league spots. It is also the first time Morata returns to Stamford Bridge after I kicked him out. Finally, there is this:

 

After the result against Aston Villa we are tied with the invincibles record of 49 games without losing in the Premier league, avoiding defeat here and that record becomes ours! I lined up like this:

 

 

Jorginho's injury meant Barella started I hoped I had given him enough rest taking him off in the last two games. Kante was always going to partner him and I was sure he could see out the game if he had to. Mason Mount getting injured against Basel meant Ross Barkley had been rushed back from injury in the last game meaning he wasn't in a fit state to play. They lined up like this

 

 

 

Not sure what I expected but I didn't expect this, there looks to be a lot of space between Morata and their other attacking players. Only Riess Nelson and Pavon appear to be their forward thinking players. Not trying to dwell on it too much we get underway. 15-20 minutes go by and I can't believe how passive Arsenal are being, we are keeping the ball, creating the odd chance but nothing concrete, however Arsenal create nothing, we just keep recycling the ball and knocking steadily at the door, 60-70-75% possession. Then on 28 minutes we get (of course) a throw in from the left side, its thrown in to Barella who drives into the box, they obviously have seen enough of his goals to know he shoots right footed, so they show him down the line, but a burst of pace see's him past the defender and squares the ball to the penalty spot, Loftus-Cheek heads home to put us 1 up just before the half hour. Arsenal come awake like I've slapped them in the face, they commit 3 or 4 fouls in the space of a minute trying to get the ball back. From a throw in Xhaka dives in and wins the ball, they spread it wide quickly to Pavon who charges down the left side, he delivers a looping cross to the far post where Morata volleys home from the 6 yard area. All square, we were ahead for all of 3 minutes. We reassert control over the ball, but shocked by the intense and instant response from Arsenal we don't seem to have the conviction to push forward and risk them countering us. Thus in this strange stalemate we make it to halftime. 

Zola wants me to tell them there performance has been disappointing, but the stats don't lie we have been far the better team and the only team who have shown any interest in getting something out of the game. That's what I tell the players as I send them out for the second half. The next goal is messy, very messy, Willian jinks past 3 players down the right before Bellerin gets a foot in and pushes the ball away, it dribbles towards the touchline but won't go out of play, under pressure from Willian he pays the ball back inside to Sokratis, who plays it short to Xhaka, Arsenal look like they going to play there way out of trouble when Xhaka and Van de Boek somehow go for the same ball and it comes to Loftus-Cheek just outside the box, he shoots, Leno dives to save it but the ball strikes Mustafi, the ball rolls across the box to Batman who slides it past a stranded Leno into an empty net. This comedy of errors see's us 2-1 up on the hour. I brace myself for the storm of an Arsenal reaction by changing formation to the 4-3-3. I take Barella off and Bring on Ampadu, putting him at the base of the midfield 3 as a ball winning midfielder. We nullify the storm and Arsenal don't threaten as we don't push forward, on 74 minutes I take of a weary looking Kante and replace him with another battler Thiago Maia. On 82 minutes Morata limps off injured, he receives an ovation from the Stamford Bridge crowd, I guess being our leading goal scorer last season means something. We give the fans something to cheer about on 89 minutes with a well worked goal. Willian having received the ball on the right hand side works his way into the box, he draws three Arsenal players to him before slipping a pass through the tiniest of gaps to Loftus-Cheek who shoots from just inside the area to find the top corner. The game finishes 3-1 to us, which means.

 

 

*Phil Katoomba

[Mandy42]

Huddersfield Rain*

The international break gave us a 14 day break to bask in the glory of beating Arsenal and taking the unbeaten record off them. We rolled into the second set of 3 games in a week with a trip to West Yorkshire. Maybe it was finally having captured the record, or the fact that Athletico Madrid in the Champions league was the next game, but I once more went with 3-3-2-2 formation. 

 

Well that was the template, Jorginho still being injured meant that Barella played, however he wasn't able to play in the deep playmaker role so I pushed him slightly further forward. Zappacosta and Sancho lined up on the wrong side in the starting lineup so that I can swap them when we kick off. Erling Haland and Fiete Arp are hopefully the strikers of the next generation I wanted to give them some much needed minutes, to see what they could do, and to rest Batman and Abraham for the Madrid game. Huddersfield line up like this

 

 

In the politest possible way I struggled to get motivated for this game, what with the tension of finally breaking the record, and the big game away in Madrid coming up next, maybe that reflected in the formation choice and the fact I sent the players out without a team talk. Amusingly without any talk up from me, and before I had switched the wide players into their proper positions we score our 1st goal. 2 minutes in Zappacosta gets on the end of a cross from the right, he chests it down, brings it inside and beats 3 defenders before drilling it into the bottom right hand corner. On 8 minutes Barella delivers a sweet cross from a free kick close in on the right side of their box. Zappacosta attacks the cross, his header hits the bar and he's 1st to the rebound to slot home an easy second. Maybe I should play him further forward more often! Just as I was thinking of relaxing into the game Huddersfield strike back. Cheryshev gets the ball just inside our half and plays a long through ball that Nketiah runs onto and shoots 1st time. 2-1 they are back in the game. In the 2nd half I once more go to the 4-3-3 to keep it under control, bringing on Baba Rahman to make the formation change, Abraham comes on to get some minutes in his legs in case I need him in Madrid, and Hudson-Odoi to give Sancho time to recover for Madrid. On 65 minutes Baba gets down the left and puts a ball in that could either be a cross or a shot, Kachunga and Losel get in each others way trying to deal with it and Kachunga puts it into his own net. 3-1 to us and we see out the game. On to Madrid we go. 

*Jaya the Cat

[Mandy42]

Super Massive Black Hole*

If the Arsenal game was a massive game, this one is bigger, with one of the boards expectations for me being qualification to the 1st knock out round of the Champions league. We sat 2nd in the group behind PSV thanks to Ross Barkley's sending off in Holland. Athletico sit third on 6 points, 3 points behind us. A win or a draw and I should qualify for the next phase, and 1 third of the seasons required objectives are completed. If Athletico win I honestly am not sure what happens, I beat them at home, if they beat me at home, is it total goal difference, goal difference between the two games, away goals that decides who finishes in which position?  With me finishing the group against PSV and them getting whipping boys Basel I didn't really want to leave it to relying on the last game. Thus I lined up like this:

 

 

 

I went with the 4-3-3 formation for more stability, with Thiago Maia sitting at the base of the 3 as an anchor man. Barella played alongside Kante due to Jorginho still being injured. Batman, Willian and Sancho are my go to front 3. They line up like this:

 

 

It's a very similar line up to the game at Stamford Bridge, however they go 2 up top and Diego Costa comes in for Angel Correa, its obvious they want to go for and get a result. We start well, Obiak has to make three top class saves in the 1st 10 minutes, and we hit the post twice. However when Athletico come forward they are dangerous, Kepa makes a triple save of his own, we continued to have the better of the 1st half, but both defences had to make goal line clearances and both keepers make saves before we went into half time 0-0. Once again Zola wanted me to tell the lads they were disappointing. I told them to keep working hard and the result we wanted would come. We came out for the 2nd half and it was raining, we again started well, they let us have the ball and it became a classic game of playing Athletico at home, they would soak up pressure and then strike with a blistering counter attack, the second half in terms of end product went to them, as we were unable to register a shot on target in the 2nd half. Luckily Kepa made another great save from the only clear cut chance they created. We made it to full time 0-0 and were guarenteed qualification for the knock out round with 1 game to spare.

*Muse

[Mandy42]

Hammer to Fall*

I didn't really want to go with "Uber Massive" for this next post, even though West Ham sit 3rd to our 4th and it is yet another massive rivalry game. I lost a little respect for them however when Manuel Pellegrini told the media I was bonkers for suggesting the Hammers were ready to make the break into the European qualification spots this year, they only sit 3rd with a third of the season played! We lined up like this:

 

 

Jorginho still was not available I just hoped Barella would hold up as I continued to nurse and substitute him through games to keep him fit. Barkley returned, with Hudson-Odoi rotating in for Sancho. They lined up like this

 

 

Just like the Arsenal game I was prepared for a battle, the formation was what I expected, defensive looking and solid, as while West Ham might be 3rd in the league, they only had a +2 goal difference, which suggested they scored few and conceded fewer.  We get off to a good start, camping outside their area and forcing them to make last ditch tackles and blocks, one of which comes just slightly too late on 17 minutes when Declan Rice gives away a penalty on a rampaging Nicolo Barella. Barella steps up to take it himself and it is saved by Fabianski. That penalty miss seems to rock us back on our heels a little as we keep the ball but don't create much else. What we do create we over play, making heavy weather of what should be simple football. On 44 minutes Baba throws in for Kante, who crosses to the near post where Barkley thunders home at the near post, simple football 1-0. Zola seems convinced we are still disappointing, which I ignore and send the team back out with a clear head. On 55 minutes Barkley picks the pocket of Jack Wilshere just inside our half, he breaks forward then rolls the ball left for Batman to continue the run, the ball to be honest looks a bit short and I think the defender is going to nip in and win it. Batman and Tete go stride for stride to the edge of the box before Batman puts a ball into the area. Barkley, having continued his run, arrives at the far post and blasts a 1st time volley low into the bottom corner before the oncoming Fabianski can make up the ground. With a 2 goal cushion I swap us to my default protect formation the 4-3-3. Maia comes on as the Anchor man, Mepham comes on for Christensen who is flagging and been booked, and Ethan Ampadu deputises for a knackered Baba Rahman at left back, not idea but he does well enough for us to get to full time without conceding.

*Queen

[Mandy42]

November Rain*

Annoyingly I got too engulfed in the cycle of massive game after massive game and kept playing! which means I don't have a league table for the end of November, but the title should really be Reign not rain, as we won all our games in the league and got the result we needed in the Champions league group. 

 

  

 

We moved from 4th to 1st, although only by 1 point ahead of Tottenham. Due to that run of results, this happened:

 

 

I won the November managers award, 2nd place was the Tottenham manager Leonardo Jardim. In other news, this came up:

 

 

Which to me seems a bit redundant and rather lazy, the minimum home grown player limit is already set at 8, 17 foreigners plus 8 home grown players is the maximum squad size, so nothing is really changing. Under 21 players still don't need to be registered so I can buy as much young European talent as I like and only have to worry about registering them when they come of age, if they are good enough to go in the team. 

 

This amused me after the Aston Villa game:

 

 

Think he needs reminding that we won 3-0 AND had over 60% possession....

 

*Guns N' Roses

[Mandy42]

Returning to the Scene of the Crime*

So into December we go:

 

I'm really not sure I will make it out of this month alive, away trips to Tottenham, Liverpool and Man Utd, with the tricky decision of how to tackle the final Champions league group game against PSV. I've been peaking at the other groups and attempting to work out who it is possible for me to face or avoid. The other English teams are all likely to qualify as group winners which means if I don't beat PSV the possible pool of teams is very limited. However if I play a strong team and win the group there is no guarentee I will get an easy draw, as PSG are currently sitting in second place in their group. 

Technically that title isn't true, when Tottenham beat us last season they were still playing at Wembley, now they have moved to the brand spanking new "Tottenham Hotspur Stadium." However, if I thought my unbeaten journey was likely to end at Man City I was certain it was going to end here. Tottenham had laid down a marker at the start of the season beating West Ham 8-1, going on to score 40 goals in their opening 13 league games and only losing 1 (the 1 they didn't score in). I lined up like this:

 

 

We start with the solid 4-3-3 though it is by far a full 1st team selection. Barkley is playing in a Mezzala role as Barella is finally wearing thin and I do not want to risk him knowing he will likely be a guaranteed substitution not too far into the 2nd half. de Ligt has a cold, and I've sent him home to not chance infecting the rest of the squad, Emerson is injured and Azpilicueta is not sharp enough to start. Kante and the front three are dependable as ever. They line up like this:

 

 

There's a familiar looking attacking shape. it also looks full strength except for the marked absence of Harry Kane, he is apparently injured, but it might be the fact I played some mind games in preseason declaring my interest for him whilst playing as many young English players in my team as possible. However I am not too thrilled by his absence, his replacement Dolberg has been singled out as a problem in the build up to the match. It is absolutely mullering it down as we kick off, the surface is slick and the ball flies around. The game is also very even with us holding a lot less possession than we normally do, between 45-55% through the 1st half. Chances are few though we create a decent one on 15 minutes. Batman holds the ball up inside their half, manages to turn the defender and plays a ball out to Willian on the right, he has plenty of room to run into as the wingback has marauded forward. He delivers a hanging ball into the area that Batman attacks with a leaping header, Lloris gets a hand to it but can't keep it out of the net. There is no real change in the flow of the game, each team gets half chances but nothing concrete, on 28 minutes Tottenham have a free kick just inside our half, they stack the box and deliver a deep ball, Lucas Moura arrives unmarked at the back post 6 yards out and applies a lovely side footed volley into the bottom corner past a motionless Kepa. I am not happy, the defending was lax, Kepa just stood their and made no effort to come for the ball, I demand more from the players and we improve in the number of chances we create however there isn't another breakthrough before half time.

Zola as usually thinks we are disappointing, I think he's beginning to get spoilt by our unbeaten run, while I agree the manner in which we conceded is poor the overall display away from home is encouraging and I tell the players to keep it up. The 2nd half is much more cagey, both teams looking for that killer blow that will send their opponent onto the ropes. On 67 minutes I make a double change, swapping the right hand side of my team by bringing on Azpilicueta and Hudson-Odoi for Zappacosta and Willian respectively, both have run their race and the number of chances coming against us down that side has been increasing. 5 minutes later I roll my last throw of the dice my remaining attacking options are Mason Mount and Erling Haland, I don't want to bring Mason on as I am unsure matching their formation player for player is a good idea, and Batman has been remarkably quiet since his goal so I throw on the 19 year old Norwegian. 

It has stopped raining, the sun is even poking through the clouds outside the stadium, on 85 minutes Son beats Azpilicueta to a header just inside their half, Joao Felix a young Portuguese star of the future who Tottenham beat me to signing, latches onto the ball and drives into my half, he beats two defenders and drags another two with him into the left channel, just as Ethan Ampadu is about to make a sliding tackle he centres a perfect ball to just outside the area where Dolberg meets it. He takes a touch, Kepa sets himself but the Dutchman shoots with his next touch taking it early and putting it beyond Kepa even as the goalkeeper dives to his right. 2-1 down, away from home, 85 minutes played.

I instantly demand more, I throw us from balanced (which we have played the whole game) to attacking, I would rather concede another chasing for the win than accept that the game is lost and roll over. The only change my fire and brimstone fist shaking from the sideline achieves is 2 yellow cards in in 2 minutes. Zola comes up to stand next to me as I pace the technical area, he shares a look with me, it is one thing to lose the game, it is quite another for the players to lose their heads and we get the added blow of a suspension to boot. I almost decide to calm the players back down, but I don't. We can't get near the ball, the 90 minutes pass and we haven't touched it other than shortly after we restarted from them scoring. The 4th official holds up the board and we have 5 added minutes to play, my hopes of turning the game around, and the fears of us having a player sent off are instantly rekindled. 

I don't really like it, but as the added minutes go by we go more and more route one, Erling Haland makes a nuisance of himself challenging for a high ball on the edge of their box, Alderweirld wins the header but can only half clear it. Kante meets the clearance and cushions a header to his right to Azpilicueta. The full back takes a couple of steps with the Tottenham winger and fullback converging on him, he slips the ball inside to Kante who turns and squares up to goal. "For gods sake don't shoot!" I scream, I have no idea if he heard me, but he begins to charge towards the box. While Kante has scored 9 goals last season, most from outside the area what that stat doesn't tell you is how many boomers he put over the bar. I sigh with relief as he gets into the box. Three Spurs players crowd around him but seem unwilling to go to ground and make a challenge now he has made it into the area. He attracts a 4th defender as he drops his shoulder, cuts across the box and makes it to about the penalty spot before he shoots. Lloris gets a big hand to it but can only block it and push it out almost straight back to Kante. It evades him, and the Spurs defenders, rolling out to the onrushing Ross Barkley who smashes it into the bottom left hand corner for 2-2!! 93 of the 95 minutes played we are level I am an inch away from running down the touchline to join the players. But then they come to me! After some hugging, backslapping and grins all round I send them back out onto the pitch.

I turn to Zola, with a grin still on my face and go "F*ck it" I tell the players to go for it, move them up to very attacking and hope in the dying minutes of added time Spurs are rocked by the late equaliser and we can clinch the game. Into the 95th minute we have a free kick halfway inside their half, Ross Barkley stands over it and he seems to be taking an age to take it, I half expect the referee to blow the whistle while he stands over it. He puts the ball in the box, Christensen rises unopposed just beyond the penalty spot and I rise on my tip toes with him, His header is down and wide of goal and I think the chance is gone. Kante appears and heads the ball into the net. My arms are in the air, the away fans to my right go absolutely mental but normality returns as the linesman on the far side has his flag up and the goal is chalked off. It is only when I watch the replay back in the dressing room after that it appears to me that Ben Davies their 2nd half substitute at right back is fractionally playing Kante onside. However it is a very marginal call for the linesman made all the more complicated by the fact Kante is obscuring Davies from his line of sight. The decision cannot dampen the elation I feel at having come back to draw the game, a game in all honesty neither team deserved to lose. We march on! 

*Lewis (6:41 of absolute dross)

[Mandy42]

White Foxes*

Leicester come to Stamford Bridge, and after the thrilling comeback in the last game, rolling on from the great month we had in November I am in buoyant mood though a tiny voice in the back of my head warns me that I have established this run by being worried and on edge, thinking I would slip up at every opportunity, now that I am relaxed and enjoying myself is probably the time I take an opponent for granted and suffer a defeat.

 

 

Because of my buoyant mood and with one eye on the PSV game I pick this line up, defensively we are strong, but it is the 4-2-3-1 formation so I am hoping we will also take the game to our opponents. Thiago Maia does not play well further forward so I pull him back and switch him from box to box midfielder to his preferred Segundo Volante. Ross Barkley makes an ok deep lying playmaker but I know he is itching to be playing further forward in Mason Mounts position, he normally lines up as a Mezzala when I play him there on the pitch, but I feel that is far too attacking a set up with the 4 other players ahead of him. Fiete Arp gets a run out to keep his legs fresh, and seen as Erling Haland got on from the bench last week. They line up like this:

 

 

Pretty standard formation from them, I expect them to sit deep and look to play on the counter, vintage stuff as far as they are concerned, that is why I start us off as positive and pull back the defensive line slightly. Maybe because of the attacking formation but the more controlled approach, maybe because having Thiago Maia further back than Kante usually is in this formation means we don't create very much early. We hog the ball and move it around well. On 33 minutes Thiago Maia breaks up Leicester possession in our half (he's been a beast all half so far) and plays a long ball up field into the left channel. Fiete Arp  goes after it and latches onto it, he delivers a low fast cross from the left wing between the penalty spot and the 6 yard area. Harry Maguire looks set to clear it with ease, but out of nowhere Mason Mount arrives late and side foots it 1st time at goal. Kasper Schmeichel will feel he should have done better as the ball goes through his hands and into the net.

Two minutes later Willian stands over a free kick 10 or so yards outside their box on the left hand side, he delivers a peach of a ball to the back post that Christensen rises to head towards goal. Schmeichel comes out and makes himself big but the ball evades him as Christensen heads it back across goal and it nestles in the top left corner of the net. 2 goal cushion in the space of 2 minutes. I pull the players back to balanced happy for them to take their foot off the gas. With a minute to go till half time Arp collects the ball midway inside their half with his back to goal, he comes deeper with it before sliding it backwards and right to Willian, who cuts in field. He delivers a ball between two defenders to a forward running Maia, who has burst forward into the space vacated by Arp. He gets to the edge of the area before the Leicester defence close him down, he pulls the trigger and again Schmeichel gets a hand to it but this time the power is too great and it crashes off his hand into the net. 3-0 up as we go in at half time.

 

I almost told the players to go out in the second half and enjoy themselves, almost, but a spate of Leicester yellow cards at the end of the 1st half made me feel they still had some fight in them and I left the players to mull over their individual performances and go out with just the voices in their own heads to listen to. On 57 minutes Jamie Vardy got a 2nd yellow for a rash frustrated challenge. Down to 10 men the game was all but over. On 79 minutes Azpilucueta fed Hudson-Odoi on the left, he lead a mazy run into the area, cutting across defenders to then shoot hard and low to the right hand corner of the net. 4-0 win, we continue to march on!

 

*Susanne Sundfor

[andychar]

Steam rolling through everybody. Now absolutely destroy PSV!

[Mandy42]

6 hours ago, andychar said:

Steam rolling through everybody. Now absolutely destroy PSV!

As you command so I obey

[Mandy42]

Dirty and Dutch*

I bounced back and forth between this being a must win game to get even for the loss in the away game, and a free hit where, I could quite easily be damned with the next round draw whether I win or lose. I think I eventually plumped for the 2nd option, with Liverpool away in the league being the next game I didn't want to throw out a full strength team to then be tired for that game.

 

 

Excited, like the Carabao cup I wanted the kids to play and see what they can do, Reece James and Billy Gilmour came up from the U23s Pantic, Rosario and Arp rotated in, Mount started but would be unfit enough to finish the game. I named substitutes more with a mind to give some players key minutes to make them viable options for the Liverpool game, looking at you Jorginho.

 

  

 

4-4-2, they played the same formation in the 1-0 win in Holland, though they also played the same formation in the preseason game we won 5-0, the key difference, we had a man sent off in the Champions league game that we lost. Now to the tongue in cheek title, PSV are obviously Dutch, but with 3 players in the starting line up and 2 more in the substitutes 1 card away from a ban in the competition they are most definitely dirty as well! Had an amusing 1st before this game, as PSV were only the 2nd team to beat me, and the only team to beat me that I got to play a 2nd time in the same competition I had a novel team talk option to give. I told them that it was time for revenge, I liked the feel of that word as I said it, though a couple of minutes later I wondered if pumping the players up like was the best of plans when we had a man sent off in the away fixture. I need not have worried, in the pouring London rain 50 seconds into the game we have a free kick on the right touchline, it goes into the area and Mepham wins the 1st header, Ampadu powers the 2nd ball beyond the keeper into the net, a dream start, and Ryan Giggs must be drooling over the Welsh centre back partnership. I don't pull the team back from attacking I want them to make a point in tonights game. On 20 minutes PSV come forward with the ball into our half, a clever reverse pass into the area finds Romero who runs into the box. Kepa comes out to meet him and saves his initial strike, however the rebound falls straight to Romero and he puts it home at the 2nd time of asking. We were top of the group for all of 19 minutes, we slip back to 2nd.

23 minutes we have a free kick in a central area 10 or so yards outside their box, I expected Mason Mount to be standing over it but instead it's Billy Gilmour, good on the lad for stepping up in such a situation. He takes it and it's going wide of the right post, he's put it far too far out, but it's curling round, it's going to be close, might hit the top of the bar. The keeper is scrambling across, he thinks it's going to be close, he dives and his left arm reaches for the top corner, the ball creeps past his finger tips and OH MY! it's in the back of the net. Gilmour whirls away to the fans exceptional free kick.

On 36 minutes Gilmour has the ball in the PSV half he spreads it out to the left for Baba to run onto, who hits a 1st time ball into the box, Arp meets it at the near post and buries there before the keeper can react. 3-1 up with just under 10 minutes to half time. I pull us back to positive now we have a 2 goal cushion and get to half time with further incident. I do however keep the players stoked by telling them they need to prove a point. Only 4 minutes into the second half they prove that point. Pantic gets the ball on the right just inside their half and charges forward, he beats two players, the third puts in a clumsy challenge that wins the ball but doesn't clear it. Pantic and the defender tussle for the loose ball Pantic gets a foot to it and steers it in and across the area. Arp on the shoulder of the last defender gets to the ball and puts it beyond the keeper. 4-1 up with 40 minutes left. 10 minutes later we have a throw in on the left, Baba finds Gilmour with the throw in, he slips a ball into the area for Hudson-Odoi to run onto, the Inside forward moves the ball onto his left foot before shooting hard and low into the bottom left corner beyond the keeper. 5-1!

PSV finally push back, on 63 minutes they play a long ball forward, for some reason Mepham lets it bounce just outside our area and de Jong brings it down, he controls it, fakes to shoot and plays a ball back to the oncoming Locadia, he hits it 1st time, a controlled strike that moves in the air and evades Kepa's attempt to parry it away with his hands. 5-2. Azpilicueta comes on for Rahman as the left backs legs are running out. Mount is struggling, I move Gilmour forward and bring Jorginho on in the place he has vacated, Abraham comes on instead of Pantic. Jorginho and Abraham need the half hour to get some time in their legs to be available for Liverpool if needed. On 78 minutes Hudson-Odoi delivers a deep free kick from the right, Gilmour rises to head it goalwards, his header hits the post and bounces down, the keeper, a fraction late to make the stop is helpless to stop the ball ricocheting off his back and into the net. 6-2 and that is the way it finishes. I just hope for my sake that @andychar accepts that as sufficient destroyment (that's not even a word!) Though seriously I am delighted with the result, winning the group and playing such good football with the team I picked is an awesome achievement.

 

*Royalty Free Music Maker

[Mandy42]

Missed Me*

I have returned! six 12 hour shifts at work in a row have kept me away from this thread! but it's time to get back into it

Having smashed into the next phase of the Champions league it was time to focus back in on the league, and not just any game in the league, we were going to Anfield. Liverpool, the team we beat to the title last season by a staggering 21 points. However that was last season, and I feel nowhere near as confident this season so this game (much like away to Tottenham) is likely to be where my unbeaten streak ends. This is how I lined up.

 

 

Looking back at this now I am not sure why on earth I went for the the more attacking formation away to Liverpool, but I did!! They lined up like this:

 

 

The 1st half we struggled, really struggled, we created one chance, a Willian free kick from just inside their half that Mepham heads over the bar. Liverpool had no problem making chances, Lallana and Shaqiri had multiple free kicks that were a whisker away from curling in from every angle. They didn't create very much from open play, but I began to feel they had the ability to score every time they had the ball.  I was glad to get in at halftime still level but the feeling I was going to lose eventually in the 2nd half. I brought Ross Barkley on for Mason Mount as Mount was getting a bit leggy. Other than that change I kept the players doing what they were doing, kept them balanced and just hoped to hang on. Lucky for me Liverpool were much slower in the second half, they couldn't maintain the tempo and speed they came out with in the 1st half. On 71 minutes I brought Barella off and replaced him with Thiago Maia, going to the 4-3-3 with Maia as an Anchor man, I was beginning to hope of getting away with a point. 73 minutes Shaqiri pops up in space, he smashes a line drive luckily straight at Kepa, he pushes it away and out, but straight to Robert Firmino, this is the moment, but no as Firmino shots, Kepa somehow gets across his goal line and deflects the ball wide, amazing double save! 

78 minutes, Willian plays the ball in field to Barkley, he runs into the Liverpool half, the defence back off, Batman comes short and Barkley gives him the ball. Batman is able to turn as Liverpool drop off again, Barkley goes beyond him and gets the ball slipped to him. Barkley takes 1 touch as Lovren and Tierney converge on him. Barkley shoots hard and rising, it beats Alisson into the top corner. OH YES!! I hold my nerve until 83 minutes, even Kante looks tired and I bring him off for Ethan Ampadu. I go to two defensive midfielders screening my back 4 with Barkley sitting on the halfway line and switch to a defensive mentality. That nullifies the final 10 minutes and we sneak out of Anfield with a smash and grab 1-0 WOW

 

The Dresden Dolls

[Mandy42]

One Night Only*

The joys of getting into a season properly, third different competition of the month, Carabao cup time. Unlike last year where we went out in the 1st game against Tottenham, this year we have had a nicer draw against League 1 teams round after round, which puts us against Sunderland in the Quarter final. We lined up like this:

 

 

Sticking with the 3-3-2-2 formation for the cup games, also sticking with starting Sancho and Zappacosta on the wrong side of the field and switching them for kick off, Daishawn Redan gets to play as the false 9. Sunderland line up like this

 

 

The less said about this game the better, mainly my fault, for some reason I thought this game was 2 legged, but only the Semis are 2 legged games. My plan was to play the kids / second team in the 1st leg and then play the 1st team if I had to for a win in the 2nd leg, ooops theres no 2nd leg. A Pablo Rosario free kick slammed into the net gives us a 1-0 win and leads Di Matteo to say this

 

 

In this particular game I can agree with him

 

*Sonder

 

[Mandy42]

Battle on the Tyne*

Back to the league, Newcastle away, a game in real life we really struggled with, as Newcastle sat in and made it hard for us for 80 minutes and attacked for about 10 minutes. The benefit of playing my 2nd team in the Carabao cup it meant I could bring back the majority of my big hitters for this league game.

 

 

Though interestingly, when I went for my attacking 4-2-3-1 formation away at Anfield, with us not seeing much of the ball and coming home with only 49% possession (even though we won) I go with the tighter 4-3-3 from the start. Also interestingly only de Ligt and Mepham in the starting 11 are players I have signed, in theory (ok Batman and Baba would not have to be out on loan) but the rest of the team is available to be picked form the current Chelsea squad. 

 

 

That looks compact and hard to break down, I feel better about going with the 4-3-3 I don't want to be caught on the break and made to look silly. As expected we have a lot of the ball, we make chances, their goalkeeper is forced into multiple routine saves but we are steadily turning the screw. Barkley has a free kick half way in their half on 35 minutes, he runs up and hits the wall, the ball bounces back towards him, he shows great determination to win a 50/50 ball with Fabregas, the ball breaks kindly for him and he continues his run out towards the right corner of the box. Yedlin goes with him, the whole world knows Barkley isn't going to beat him for pace to the byline so I have no idea why the Newcastle player covers outside and allows Barkley to stop and deliver a cross inside towards the penalty spot. Batman attacks the ball, jumping early so he is just starting to come down as he makes contact with the ball powering it downwards towards goal, simply unstoppable for Dubravka.

We continue to control the game, until 42 minutes, we have a throw in on the right outside their area, Baba throws it in, Willian contests a header on the edge of the area and heads it back to Baba on the touchline, he goes back to Jorginho, who patiently goes short to Kante, Willian comes deeper from the edge of the area with his back to goal and Kante finds him, he holds off a challenge from behind and rolls the ball back to Kante, we are patient and holding onto the ball, we are also by and large over on the Newcastle left of the field. Kante plays the ball out to the right touchline to Baba, who again goes to Jorginho, who again finds Kante, more Newcastle players are draw in trying to block off passing angles to force the ball back. Kante plays a simple ball in field, it is the 1st pass in a string of about 10 passes that has left the left hand 3rd of the Newcastle half, it finds Barkley in a ridiculous amount of space. He runs at the slowly rolling ball and hits it 1st time with the outside of his right foot, it bananas out wide of the left post before curling back in clipping the inside of the post as it ripples the net for 2-0. That is one of the best team goals I have seen us score this season against a packed defence. 

I tell the players not to get complacent at half time, I have found being assertive gets the best reaction from them, if I am calm they think i'm talking the ****. I swap Barella and Rosario for Jorginho and Mepham respectively, the utility of Rosario being able to play central defence, Segundo Volante or Box to Box midfielder more than makes up for the fact that his stats are not as stand out as other options in those positions. On 75 minutes I bring on Fiete Arp for Batman and see out the game 2-0. For the second league game in a row Ross Barkley is the player of the match

 

*Scottish Bagpipe Highland Pipes

[Mandy42]

Crystal*

Please remind me never to choose bagpipe music every again! Anyway, moving forward, a very safe distance away from Scottish influence. Home to Crystal Palace, hopefully another game more in keeping with the Newcastle game than the Tottenham or Liverpool games. The only issue with this game was the shadow of the Man Utd game hanging over it, almost literally. 2 days! I play Palace on the Boxing day, then Utd on the 28th.... Good job I'm not a comfort eater or I'd be having god knows how many Christmas dinners to cope with the stress of the schedule!

 

 

 

 I think the line up reinforces my need to rotate and play the stronger team in 2 DAYS! time against Utd. Pretty much the whole team except de Ligt, Kepa and maybe Emerson (i see him and Baba as pretty much equal) are 2nd choice for their position (Rosario is 2nd choice for about 3 or 4 positions!) brings home the fact I have a pretty decent squad depth and hopefully can continue to grind out results.

 

 

My bad! I had forgotten that Gary Cahill had gone to Crystal Palace, it is going to be an emotional time on his return as everyone knows (thanks to the media telling them) that we have a mutual admiration for each other, there I was hoping to keep our bromance a secret! The match stats also don't really reflect this as being a second string performance, as much as we only had 55% possession we managed 27 shots at goal with 14 of them on target. Vicente Guaita their goal keeper had the highest rating for the Crystal Palace team, which is why we only won the game 1-0. On 55 minutes Baba stands over a free kick just inside their half, we have a couple of players up the pitch but we have nobody in the box, just players milling around as we look like we are going to take it short or just play it back into our half to keep possession. Thus the Crystal Palace team is keeping it's shape as though we have the ball in our own half. Baba slips the ball forward to Mason Mount, who has found a pocket of space between their holding midfield players and the back 4, he receives the ball on the half turn, takes a touch and hits a sublime dipping shot from a few yards outside the area. Guaita has no chance with this quality finish as it bounces pretty much on the goal line and cushions into the net. In the closing stages of the game I give Abraham and Jorginho a short trot out to keep their legs ticking over as we turn our attention to the Man Utd game.

*New Order (Any excuse for New Order!)

[Mandy42]

The End of the Year*

Big game to finish off the end of the calendar year. Going to Old Trafford to round off a the gruelling month of December.

 

 

The change of team and formation really emphasises the different mindset and approach I took to this game compared to the last. Out of the back 4, Mepham is the only survivor, and as I pointed out in the last post, he is actually the only none real life Chelsea squad player picked in the starting 11. Ethan Ampadu and N'golo Kante provide a much more stable and workman like midfield with Ross Barkley playing further back. My 1st choice forward 3 return to hopefully improve our chances of scoring by increasing the quality up top.

 

 

At 1st glance this looks rather defensive, but then I remember that unlike real life, Jose Mourinho is still manager of Utd. I have seen off Klopp (he's gone to Man City but his job is again under threat there) I've seen off Pep who is now without a club. I've seen off Mauricio Pochettino (although he has taken over at Newcastle) Unai Emery is still at Arsenal, while Leonardo Jardim is at Spurs, Zinedine Zidane is at Liverpool but he is feeling the pressure apparently even though he is only in his 1st season. Hazard was injured, or maybe he just didn't want to play against us seen as Morata started and scored against us in the Arsenal game but the hobbled off injured. Either way I still felt they had enough quality, especially in their midfield to cause us problems. 

This game had the potential to be pretty good, as I alluded to higher in this post, I think me, Jose and Emery are the 3 longest standing managers of the original "top 6" clubs, which would suggest we have had the longest time to build squads and tactics in our own image. However this game was a sad sorry affair made poor by the fact it was played at the end of the busiest domestic month of the year and only 2 days since we had both played our previous game. We edged possession at 53% had 6 shots on target which was as many as their total attempts at goal so we might feel we were the more likely team to get something out of the game. However it dragged itself out to a 0-0 draw which I am happy to take away from home, even if apparently my supporters and the board feel that not beating a top 6 rival away from home is some how one of the worse results of the season, god help them when I do finally lose a game! 

*The Sea the Sea

[Mandy42]

End of Year Report*

December is always stressful, but maybe that is simply because it is stressful even if you aren't pretending to be a football manager. Christmas presents, work Christmas parties (including which body part to photocopy and which little black dress to wear) before ending the year blasted out of your mind at New Year. So add in 8 football matches across 3 competitions and you can start to see why I might have been pulling my hair out and thinking the sky was falling in (well my unbeaten record coming to an end anyway).

 

However in all honesty I couldn't be happier with those results, even a continuous worrier like me (i know!) The PSV result saw us clinch top spot in the Champions league group and fulfil the expected requirements for that competition. We progressed to the Semi final of the Carabao even if I did kinda cock up there! And while the board don't really care about that competition, with it being the only domestic trophy I am yet to get my greedy little paws on I wouldn't say no to winning it. Finally if you had told me that I would remain unbeaten and take 5 points from 9 after 3 away games against top 6 teams I would have bitten more than your hand off!

 

 

 

Remaining unbeaten meant this for the league table, we climbed from 4th to 1st. I said in an earlier post that I was beginning to enjoy playing and that a small voice in the back of my mind warned against such luxury, that the fear of being so close to going undefeated all season last year kept me sharp and hungry till the very end. This year, I do not feel we will win the league, I don't think we will go undefeated, I approach every game as though the team I am playing can find a way to beat me. I don't particularly want to lose but I am ready to. This feels like a huge step forward in my evolution as a manager, as in previous renditions of the game I would feel I had to win every game, that my tactics should work every time against every opposition with no tweaking or changes and I would get frustrated and demotivated when we lost a game we should win, blaming the game engine for a significantly weaker opponent winning 1-0 with their only attempt at goal, after we have had 30+ attempts. Teeth would be gnashed, saves would be deleted, keyboards would be thrown. 

 

 

By contrast this is me now, I make changes, I have played the highest number of players in the team both this season and last, I am always looking to try put players on the pitch in positions they want to play and change the formation to suit them, not forcing a player to play in an uncomfortable position because the tactic is all and it cannot be changed. Thus if I want to play 4-2-3-1 and attack but I want to rest Kante and play Thiago Maia, then I don't force Maia into the Box to Box role, I drop him back into his preferred Segundo Volante role. 

 

 

 

Other people seem to like it too, as that's the 1st time I've won back to back manager of the month awards /flex 

 

Which means we extend our record even further.

 

 

Though not everyone is so positive, it seems the 3rd time you ask someone something they finally have an answer, I didn't see the fact he had "the greatest respect" for me, and might have been slightly hasty with my answer!

*The Original Jazz Lounge Band (Being lazy and picking a song from the search results from the last post! But who doesn't like Jazz!)

[Mandy42]

Champions League Theme*

I read an amusing gaming article about the "top 10 indications you might play too much Football Manager" one of them suggested that playing the Champions league Theme before you kick off your Champions league fixtures in game is a hop skip and a jump too far. I haven't yet reached that stage, however I am willing to mark my 1st venture into the competition with an update post completely about it, and for that I am willing to listen to the theme before hand. Lets have a look at the completed groups.

 

In my opinion no surprises here, the strongest two clubs through from Group A

 

I expected better things from Saltzburg as their academy and ability to train talent would help their chances

 

Our group, I expected better from Madrid, who struggled for goals.

 

Man Utd romp away with their group!

 

Arsenal make it through, no idea what is going on with Barcelona as they were bottom with 0 points after 4 games played

 

Monaco going better than in real life though no real surprises there

 

Man City win their group as well

 

Liverpool see off Real Madrid to ensure all the English clubs progress to the next stage

 

We go to Italy for our first leg of the knock out stages, I am unsure as to why the board confidence for us reaching the 1st knock out round is just above 50% when we are actually in the 1st knock out round!

 

 

This is the full draw, with Man City and Liverpool getting what I consider the easier draws, ours is somewhere in the middle. Man Utd get a strong second placed team, with Arsenal getting a strong team through the fact they finished 2nd in their group 

 

*Champions League Orchestra

[Mandy42]

When Will I See You Again*

Into January we go, 2nd month in a row with 3 competitions and 8 games to play

 

 

After playing Tottenham once last month, and it scaring the **** out of me I now have to play them twice this month, woo hoo. Then in  the 3rd round of the FA cup i get 

 

@Northernpilgrim I understand if your conflicted

 

 

The full months fixtures, there should be no chickens counted, and the way football typically goes, the good results I got in the more "difficult" fixtures last month I will probably drop points to "easier" teams this month. Plus if It is anything like last year January was my worst month.

 

 

 

Though it appears my signing of Fiete Arp has been validated, even if this season he hasn't really taken his chances as much as he did last season.

 

 

*The Three Degrees

[Mandy42]

New Year's Day*

1st of January, 1st home game of the year lets smash it!! Fulham came to the Bridge and I lined up like this

 

 

Figured I should start the year the right way, playing a full strength team. I went top in December by being consistent, getting points where I could, not trying to win every game, where as my opponents were dropping points, win in the easy games, hold on in the hard games, sod what the board thinks are disappointing performances. I can't believe it's taken me this long, through all the versions of the game I've played to come to this rather simple conclusion :P 

 

 

Kurt Zouma is this weeks Chelsea player coming back to the Bridge. I sent them out attacking, wanting to kick off the new year with a bang. It took 6 minutes, 6 1st half minutes of us camped in the Fulham half. Jorginho plays the ball out to the right wing, for some reason Batman is out there, He takes a touch, realises he isn't going to go charging down the wing and get a cross in, so he lays the ball inside to Kante who makes the same run he made near the end of the Tottenham game, makes the same diagonal angle for himself across the box and passes the ball past a diving Joe Hart into the bottom left corner.

A Jorginho penalty on 22 minutes gives us a 2 goal cushion as Batman is more than a little eased out from under a cross that he more than likely would have gotten to otherwise. Jorginho finishes calmly in the bottom left corner. 4 minutes into the 2nd half Fulham have a throw in from the left close to the corner flag, they throw it into the area and we manage to steal it Walcott, however Schurrle chases down the loose ball as it rolls away from the 6 yard box. With his back to goal he wraps his foot round it, generating amazing curl to put it past a helpless diving Kepa into the top far corner for 2-1. 

On 61 minutes a 2nd Jorginho penalty restores our cushion after a clumsy tackle by Zouma on Abraham, who I brought on for Batman at halftime. Jorginho wins the mind games with Hart as he places the penalty in the exact same place he put the 1st one. On 84 minutes we get the icing on the cake from a throw in of our own from the right halfway inside their half. Christensen throws it short to Jorginho who takes a touch just outside the left hand corner of the box, he opens up his body and shoots, it beats Hart, and goes in off the underside of the bar. I've heard commentators say that any goal looks infinitely better when it goes in off the bottom of the bar, and it's a fantastic way for him to round off his hat trick. We certainly started the new year in style 

 

*U2

[Mandy42]

Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero*

Inspiration for the title to this post has to be given to @Northernpilgrim whose thread taught me many wonderful things, the most relevant to this post that Plymouth play at Home Park. You should really check out his thread, and I must say I am glad to not be facing his Plymouth Argyle team! Now I had a slight dilemma that I've never won the Carabao cup, and I have Tottenham at home coming up after this game, however the board have no expectations regarding the Carabao but do expect me to get to the semi final of the FA cup, thus I need to play a team that respects the Pilgrims

 

 

I was going to do a separate transfer update but seen as one of my signings completed a lot sooner than I expected and was available for this game. Exauce Mpembele Boula, I am pretty happy to finally get my man! This time last year I tried buy him and his agent torpedoed the contract talks, during the summer Boula made it clear that he was unhappy at Lille and he was distraught that he had not been able to sign for Chelsea, well get a different agent you idiot! So this January I dived in for him again and within 4 days he was mine with a much more slim lined contract that the previous year. I'm convinced that over time the other teams adjust and adapt to you playing the same tactic, hence my shift this season from playing 4-3-3 as my main tactic to now 4-2-3-1, which I am hoping to shift to 3-3-2-2, but for that I need to make some squad alterations, my main worry is that I won't be able to find the balance between holding enough players to be able to rotate through all my tactical options, but we will see.

 

 

They are at home, 4-3-3 I guess for them it's a free hit so they might as well come out and express themselves and play without fear. In the opening half hour we create chances, hit the post twice and the bar once, have it cleared off the line twice but can't find a breakthrough. On 35 minutes Plymouth have a free kick 10 yards outside our area from a pretty central position. David Fox stands over it, hits it true over the wall, it curls in the air, bounces just in front of Nathan Baxter who is beaten by the movement of the ball, he doesn't get completely behind it and only gets a soft hand on it, the ball comes off him and goes into the bottom corner of the net. 10 minutes to halftime and Plymouth lead 1-0.

I use my now familiar tactic of demanding more from the players the moment we concede. On 39 minutes, Maia throws the ball in to Calderon, who heads the ball back to him on the touchline, he plays it in to Redan on the right corner of the Plymouth box who holds the ball up before flicking it sideways to an under lapping Zappacosta, who takes 1 touch before shooting between two Plymouth defenders and placing the ball beyond a diving Michael Crowe. Plymouth led for all of 4 minutes.

We go in at halftime level, the cup upset is still alive and Home Park is buzzing. I tell the players to keep going but don't make any changes either to formation or personnel. On 57 minutes Sancho picks up the ball and runs at the Plymouth defence, he slips it out to Arp on the left wing, whose 1st attempt at a cross is blocked, Sancho chases the rebounding ball and delivers a 1st time looping cross towards the back post. Zappacosta coming in off the right wing leaps and heads it into the top right hand corner. 2-1 and I can breathe a little easier.

Plymouth seem to be a little deflated by conceding, and we spend the next few minutes camping in their half, on 62 minutes Sancho and Maia exchange passes outside their box, with Sancho and Zappacosta wandering in off their respective wings we are ridiculously narrow and are unable to force our way through the packed Plymouth defence. However with so many of our players occupying the centre of the field we have no problem winning the ball back when Sancho is tackled on the edge of the area. Maia recovers the loose ball and plays a backwards pass to Boula, he runs onto the ball and hits a rising thunderbolt of a strike from 30 yards out that slams into the top right corner with nothing Michael Crowe can do. 3-1 and the new signing scores on his debut! As that goal goes in I make my 1st substitution Marc Guehi, a 19 year old Ivorian centre back comes on for his debut taking the place of Thiago Maia, with Ethan Ampadu moving up into midfield so the debutante can slot into the back 3.

The game settles down, and with a 2 goal cushion I swap Sancho and Calderon for Hudson-Odoi and Gary Agombar a 17 year old newgen making his 1st appearance for the club on 72 minutes. These substitutions are not ideal, as the players coming on are not great fits for the formation we are playing but the players coming off are knackered. That might be why our control of the game slips slightly and we don't create any chances for a good 10 or so minutes. On 84 minutes Ampadu and Boula play the ball back and forth between them before Ampadu searches out Zappacosta on the right wing with a long cross field ball. Zappacosta advances down the right wing before delivering the ball towards the back post, Hudson-Odoi has drifted away from the defender and cushions the ball back across goal with a 1st time volley to put us 4-1 up.

I am not quite sure why there will be 5 minutes of injury time played as there weren't really any injuries but on 95 minutes Plymouth have a corner from the right, they have been a handful from set pieces all afternoon and this one is no different. Conor Grant has been pulling the strings from central midfield for the Pilgrims whenever they have had the ball and he delivers a delicious corner with lots of whip. Scott Wootton rises above our defenders and heads it in off the underside of the bar to make it 4-2. That in turn is the last action of the game and we go home from Home park with the win.

*Mark Knopfler

[Mandy42]

Twice*

2nd cup game in a row, the turn of the Carabao, currently the only top flight domestic trophy missing from the cabinet, and now we are playing the team who knocked me out at the 1st time of asking in last years competition, the team that came within 5 minutes of ending my unbeaten record only a month before. Your damn right I'm worried!

 

 

Full strength team except Sancho didn't look up to it on the left so I went with Hudson-Odoi instead. I have Swansea in the league in 5 days so I should be able to play a more 2nd string team for that. Zappacosta's two goals for the club in the FA cup are likely to be his last for the club, a transfer offer Monaco has turned his head and I am willing to let him go in order to allow Reece James to come through and get more football for when Azpilicueta gets too old for my liking. However for the 1st time there is some disgruntled whispers in the hallways, nobody thinks that my potential replacement for Zappacosta is good enough, or that James is ready for the 1st team just yet. Also for the 1st time in my managerial career through many versions of this game, I am willing to ignore them and continue pushing forward the hunches that have got me this far.

 

 

We both look like we are respecting the cup, both fielding strong teams, Joao Felix, the wonderkid who was so instrumental in opening us up for their 2nd goal in the league after only being on the pitch for 10 minutes, plays from the start, I am concerned that this could quite easily go either way, not a feeling I am used to having much since I became Chelsea manager. We start on the front foot, camped outside their box but only have a tame Batman header into the arms of Lloris to show for our opening efforts. Our next attack breaks down with Eriksen getting a foot in on the edge of their area and they are away, Felix springing into life on the right wing. Emerson tracks him into our box and goes to clear the ball, Felix blocks the clearance, controls the ball and gets to the byline. He delivers a high cutback to the far post where Son rises to meet it, it's not the best header but it looks like its creeping in between the angle of post and bar until Kepa somehow gets a hand to it and claws it out. The rebound falls to Son and he scuffs a shot across goal, Kepa once more gets an unlikely hand to it but cannot turn it beyond the post and it hits the inside of the post and rolls in the net. We are 1-0 down, we have played 5 minutes.

I demand more (obviously) and we slam into them anew, two free kicks hit the bar before 10 minutes is up. Jorginho pulls the strings from halfway in side their half and we keep the pressure on, they look dangerous on the break as we push on for an equaliser. The make a wall of defenders either on the edge of their area or on the penalty spot, our intricate passes keep getting blocked or snuffed out. When they do connect our player, usually Kante , Barkley or Jorginho is forced to cut horizontally across the line of defenders looking for the gap, meaning when he finally pulls the trigger Lloris has a limited amount of the goal to cover in order to make the save. At half time I passionately tell the players to do this for the fans! I make two substitutions bringing on Barella for Jorginho who looks tired, and Abraham for Batman, who while having had a few attempts on target, they have all be rather easy for Lloris to save.

 

2nd half is similar, Tottenham sit deep, we have the ball, they counter of us when they break up play. We start to camp further and further inside their half, turning the screw, Lloris has to make more spectacular saves as Hudson-Odoi and Willian create chances on the corners of the box. As Spurs try cover the wide players runs space opens up in the centre for Barella who forces two good saves from Lloris and curls 1 agonisingly past the post. Spurs drop deeper still threatening less and less on the counter as we push for an equaliser. On 70 minutes Christensen throws in from the left, Barella turns and lets the ball bounce, it bounces outside the area and he runs into the area behind it still not having touched the ball. His lack of control draws Kieran Trippier in thinking he can win the ball, but at the last second Barella deftly drags the ball inside skipping past him and opening up a route to goal. He takes a couple more steps and drills it head down with fury into the bottom far corner. 1-1 we are level!

Just before that I had shuffled the pack one last time to try get a response and because Barkley looked tired. I moved Willian into the shadow striker role, shifted Abraham to right wing and brought Arp on up front. We kept playing, we got into the last 10 minutes and I was hopeful of a reaction similar to the league game, push us up to attacking and get a goal as they tire. We created a couple of chances but nothing clear cut. On 90 minutes Trippier has a central free kick that puts in my mind the free kick he took in the World cup semi final. It clips the top corner of the post and goes wide, and I breath again. It turns out that Kepa gets a touch as the resulting corner is delivered from the left. Kane gets his head to it and Kepa tips it away, de Ligt goes to clear but it doesn't go far, and Eric Dier slams home a vicious strike from 12 yards out to give them the lead. 

I had already demanded more before the corner, wanting one final push, the players comply, in the 4 minutes of added time we hit the bar 3 times and have the ball in the back of the net but it is ruled out because Abraham was coming back from an offside position. I have now lost twice in domestic football, both times in the Carabao cup, both times to Tottenham. This is the 1st game in my career we have ever lost at home. In the press conference after I state that I don't like loosing but I was happy with the performance, we had 65% possession, 35 attempts at goal and 15 on target, compared to their 6 attempts 4 on target, the 2 shots Kepa saved and the 2 shots from those rebounds we failed to clear. Strangely a number of my players are worried by my comments. Oh well.

 

*Catfish and the Bottlemen

[Mandy42]

Swansong*

11 days since my last league game, in one cup, out of another, time to bounce back from our 1st defeat in any competition since October and my 1st loss at home ever. 

 

 

Two new signings come straight into this game, David Brooks is the player I signed to replace Zappacosta, the only player I had who could play the right sided wide playmaker role even slightly ok. However the fan's have no faith in him 29% interest in his signing! Maybe it's because he's Welsh, they didn't like Mepham when I first signed him! Jacob Bruun Larsen is another player bought to fit into this formation, he can play wide playmaker on either side of the pitch, meaning he can cover for Sancho on the left, as well as give me a passable option on each wing if for some reason the formation switches players on me. This is the 1st time I am playing the 3-3-2-2 formation in the league (at least I think so)

 

 

4-1-4-1 everyone shuts up shop when they come to the Bridge, no ex Chelsea players in the line up this week which is a bit of a novelty! They definitely had turned up to park the bus, the problem being we created little to nothing ourselves, we had 10 attempts at goal in the 1st half, 4 of them on target, the visitors did nothing. Maybe if we hadn't just lost our last game I might have stuck with the formation into the 2nd half, but we had, so I changed to 4-2-3-1 which in itself was a bit of a gamble, as I had to make all my 3 changes in order to get us the personnel on the pitch to make that formation effective. We played better in the 2nd half but still could not create a decisive break through, although we were up to 21 shots at goal 10 on target by the end of the game, with Swansea only managing 2 attempts neither of which was on target. On 83 minutes, Reece James throws in from the right, David Brooks meets it on the edge of the area and flicks on, Batman is through on goal and volleys the flick on into the net, but the flag is up for offside and it won't count. On 89 minutes a poor Swansea clearance comes to Jacob Bruun Larsen on the left wing, he takes a touch and delivers a cross field ball into the box where David Brooks is arriving at the back post, he controls and hits the cross into the bottom corner to give us the lead in the last minute of the 90!

 

 

*Handbook

[Mandy42]

Turnabout*

6 days later away to West Brom, then only 3 days after we play Tottenham also away. 

 

 

The formation remains, which feels a risk as West Brom are the highest placed team I have fielded it against sitting 11th in the league. I am 1 signing away from having cover for the Segundo Volante's now I have the wide playmaker cover, so we will see whether or not we can actually get results playing this way.

 

 

Danny Drinkwater is this weeks returning reject, hope he doesn't have a blinder! Again the 1st half is short change, we get a few chances but nothing solid, once again they don't get anywhere near our goal. This time I stick with the formation into the 2nd half and want them to play this way, am I turning into Sarri? When we do create the football is beautiful, we pass it well, move it around easily but the end product isn't coming. On 72 minutes we have a corner from the right, we play it short (obviously) Barkley draws the defender in and whips the cross in, Haland gets across his defender and heads downwards into the bottom corner to give us a 1-0 lead. Typical after playing attractive football, it's a set piece that see's us take the lead.

On 89 minutes Drinkwater delivers a corner from the right, Fernandez heads on at the near post, Mepham heads it off the line but only out towards the penalty spot, Gibbs attacks the half cleared ball and heads it back into the danger area, Ampadu moves to clear it but the ball bounces off Allan Nyom's foot and rolls into our net. 1-1

Our turn to concede in the final minute of the 90, apparently turnabout is fair play....

*Random Encounters

[Mandy42]

Buffalo Ballet*

Here we are again, playing my nemesis, Spurs, at their new stadium, trying to overcome a 2-1 1st leg deficit

 

 

4-3-3 to give us the chance to create but also to be stable enough not to ship goals, which I think would be the case if we matched up with their 4-2-3-1, it's my best team as Sancho needs a rest having played the wide playmaker role. Azpilicueta is on the bench to cover either full back which means Reece James officially takes over from Zappacosta on the right. 

 

 

 

They name the same team that played the 1st leg, they want this, don't blame them, if they beat me here that's 3 wins over 2 seasons against me which could provide them a psychological advantage down the stretch with them currently sitting 2nd behind us in the league. As with all the games we play against each other it is even, possession shared, chances created at both ends, though nothing clear cut. We are pushing more than them,  but we have to, like the 1st leg they are content to sweep forward on the break and they have their best chance in time added on at the end of the 1st half, they steal the ball and spring forward with a 4 on 3, the ball gets worked out to Joao Felix on the right edge of the box, He drives towards the byline and looks to deliver a low cross for Kane arriving at the back post, but a last minute sliding tackle from Emerson blocks the ball out for a corner, The whistle goes for half time before they can take it, Felix appears to be hobbling off at half time after that intervention by Emerson.

In the dressing room I tell the players that if they want to get revenge on Tottenham they only have 45 minutes left to do it, and they go out pumped up. On 47 minutes as the ball is played across their area from the right, Batman goes down in the box in a tangle with Vertonghen, he rolls away holding his ankle and I quickly prepare Haland from the bench. With Batman still receiving treatment behind their goal we win the ball back in midfield through Kante, he slips it left to Mount, who draws the Spurs midfielder to him before releasing the ball back right to Kante now in space, he advances on their box, and just outside steadies himself for a strike from the right hand side, it drives across goal, rising beyond Hugo Lloris to nestle in the top left corner. What an absolute screamer! 1-0 on the night, 2-2 on aggregate we need 1 more to cancel out their away goals to give us a chance of going through.

We take the game to them a bit more, they are uncertain whether to stick or twist as they are still going through, pushing for another goal wins them nothing as we still would only need to score once ourselves to take the game to penalties. On 71 minutes Son throws in from the left, Hakim Ziyech chest the ball down and plays it back to Son, who takes it down the left wing towards the corner flag, Dele Alli (on for Felix) makes himself available on the corner of the box and receives the ball, he is pressured by two of our defenders but he manages to flick a pass in field to Ziyech, he takes a touch and shoots, its a carbon copy screamer of Kante's goal, if anything it is hit with more pace, Kepa has no chance and it's 1-1 on the night.

We have a goal chalked off 10 minutes later by VAR as the ref missed a clear push in the back by Haland that freed up Hudson-Odoi to score unimpeded at the back post. We create little else as Spurs make two defensive substitutions to smother the final minutes of the game. Would appear that I will have to wait till next year for a chance to win the Swamp Buffalo cup 

*John Cale

[Mandy42]

Art Imitating Life*

This game isn't on the fixture list as the draw hadn't been made when I took the screen shot.

 

 

We played Derby in the Carabao cup in real life this year, the score was 3-2 with all 5 goals being in the 1st half, the only goal Chelsea scored was a Fabregas goal just before half time. Frank Lampard was in charge of Derby and he asked for special permission to play the two Chelsea loanee's he had in his squad against us. Now in Football Manager, Chris Wilder is the manager of Derby, and both Chelsea players have left their squad, Mason Mount is in my squad and Fikayo Tomori is on loan at Hull. 

 

 

I don't know whether I'm just being stubborn sticking to the 3-3-2-2 but I am still hopefully it has a place in our system and can bring us results (it better the amount of money I've spent on players in this window to make it a more viable option moving forward). Batman is out for a month with the twisted ankle he got in a tackle in the Spurs game, however all the talk is about how my players roughed up Joao Felix? I think Thiago Maia at 22 is the oldest player in this starting line up, with 4 of them still in their teens, exciting prospects for what I am building into the future, just hope I am not putting these players into the team looking at the potential column rather than the actual column.

 

 

It's a decent side, with a sprinkling of previous Premier league experience and some tough Championship grit, should be an interesting game. As always in this formation we create some fantastic football, we are as usual intricate but narrow, it takes until the 35th minute to get a breakthrough. Maia brings the ball into their half, and passes forward to Sancho who has drifted infield off his wing and pushes on towards the box, he gets to the wall of Derby defenders and passes out to the left wing where Abraham has taken up position in space, he dummies to go down the line before returning the ball in field back to Sancho. Sancho has a yard of space and attempts the shot from outside the area, but as with most of our attempts at goal in this half they have been blocked. The block rolls across the box towards Abraham, he controls it, shifts it onto his right foot and curls it round the on coming defender, beats a diving Scott Carson and it's in the bottom corner for 1-0.

 

Just before half time Jacob Larsen pulls up and indicates he needs to come off, I play out the couple of minutes till halftime to see if he can shake it off but it doesn't look that way. I was going to keep the 3-3-2-2 formation into the 2nd half, but with him coming off I have no choice but to change it, which is more than slightly frustrating. We get underway and control the game completely, I bring Mason Mount on after 75 minutes to give Calderon a breather, another annoyance that for all his ability he seems unable to see out a single 90 minute game. Mount is only on the pitch for 10 minutes before he delivers a stinging free kick from a left of centre position that Carson cannot hold, Chris Mepham reacts 1st and in classic centre back style drills the spilled ball with power into the net for a 2-0 lead. By the end of the 90 minutes we have had 40 attempts at goal, the majority blocked but 14 on target with 72% total possession, Derby had 5 attempts, none of them on target, I am pleased with the performance and let the lads know as much after the game.

*Sea Pinks

[Mandy42]

No Photos*

For some reason I don't have screen shots for this game! Batman is injured so Abraham starts up top, Barella is fitter than Jorginho so he starts alongside Kante. Wolves don't have an ex Chelsea player in their squad, so there is a bit of a relief that they won't have a player really up for playing his old club. However I still fear Wolves, more from the way they play in real life than what they might be putting us through in game. Either way it's the last game in January lets get it done.

 

My players obviously felt the same way 3 minutes in Christensen with a throw in to Barella, cutting in from the right towards the box, then drops the shoulder and wriggles past the oncoming defender into the box, he then passes it across goal into the bottom corner and we are 1-0 up.

On 7 minutes Christensen has a throw in from the other side, he finds Kante, who charges towards the box, knocks it past the defender to get towards the byline, he crosses but its long and Jota attempts to head away but only clears it to just outside the box and the waiting Abraham, he chests it down, comes inside the box and hits it, the keeper, still smarting from having the ball go across him for the 1st goal doesn't cover his near post, and Abraham shoots straight slotting it into the near post for 2-0 in the 1st 10 minutes

On 34 minutes the only bad moment of the half so far is Kante pulling up injured mid sprint, I take him off straight away and replace him with my 4th signing of the window Declan Rice. On 38 minutes Christensen throws in again from the right, Rice chests it down on the left edge of the box, he pulls the ball back in field outside the box for an advancing Barella, he shoots, but it is blocked by a Wolves defender, the ball drops kindly for Willian in the box and he drills it straight and true into the bottom corner for 3-0 we play out the 2nd half and we finish the month with a win

*Kojey Radical

[Mandy42]

Window Closed*

Will I look back in time and wonder whether this is where it all started to go wrong. You might think, come on Neil, we know you worry but for crying out loud you've only lost 1 game and that's in the Carabao which your board don't really care about. On those grounds you would be right, as this month's results show.

 

 

Which mean's while we did suffer our 1st loss of this year and have been kicked out of our 1st competition it's not one the board care about and we march on in the league and the FA cup, which the board do kind of care about!

 

 

I still feel that Tottenham are going to overhaul us and win the league, I'm not sure what is going on with Liverpool as they have dropped off sharply, West Ham are still there in 3rd despite them disagreeing with me that they were ready to break into European football this season. Regarding our own league stats this year, we have already drawn as many games so far as we did all of last season, and we are nowhere near as prolific in front of goal, though recently our clean sheets have been improving and we are up to 2nd in the league at stopping the other team from scoring, behind Man Utd.

 

 

We face our 1st Premier league opposition in the FA cup, though Crystal Palace are struggling at the bottom of the table, we will probably have to field better players than we did in the last two rounds.

 

 

I honestly have no idea how! (those of you who can add up) will see that the actual record is now at 62 (38+24) but I only have a screenshot for 60. The late minute equaliser at Tottenham and the grit we showed in the 1st half against the Liverpool onslaught are what has kept the record alive, but unlike last season where I began to believe we would go unbeaten once we got to this point, I hold no such expectation this year.

 

 

The board seem to think we are doing well enough, as they offered me a 3 year extension on my current deal which I accepted (why would I want to go anywhere else!) They also offered me (for the 2nd year in a row) the option to change the expectations for the current season, and for the 2nd year in a row I declined, I would much rather keep over achieving in their eyes than simply doing what they expect me to do. Especially as we get to the part of the post where I explain why it might be going to go downhill.

 

 

So I spent £142M in January taking my total transfer spending for the year to £318M (so much for YCB!) might just have to rename it (YB) Though hilariously over the year to date we have made a profit on our transfer business. However it's only a lousy £3M profit.

 

 

We are still in Profit overall for the year but we are nowhere near financially as secure as we were at the start of the season and I might have ruined the chance of getting a new stadium in the foreseeable future. Also I think I have been rather naive in the transfer market. Here are the players I have bought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So £35M each for the top 2, £1M for Boula and a crazy £73M for Declan Rice from West Ham, as that was he release clause and they wouldn't take a £1 less, trust me I tried. Now in both cases, the home grown option cost me more when compared to the foreign option. Larsen can play both sides of the pitch and has more potential than Brooks and is a year younger, but Brooks is the same money. Now Boula, at £1M has the same potential star rating as Rice, though Rice's stats are much better all round there is a suggestion that in the end they could be the same. My backroom staff having had a look at them have said that David Brooks could be as good as Willian, and that Declan Rice could be better than Kante, does that mean Boula with the same star rating could be better than Kante? How can Brooks be as good as Willian when Willian is 4 stars playing his position and Brooks is only likely going to get to 3.5 stars at most. 

The real potential where this could go wrong is that these players have been brought in to play a formation that isn't working that well for us. The 3-3-2-2 lasted till halftime against Swansea without creating an opportunity, it got us through the West Brom game but at best it would have brought us a 1-0 win if we hadn't been unlucky in the final minute. It took us to half time in the FA cup game against Derby and we were 1-0 and I was happy, until Larsen had to limp off and I had to change the shape. The problem being that I can't change from that tactic to either of my others without making at least 2 maybe all of my substitutions. I need no real reminder after Chelsea's 6-0 defeat to City yesterday on the perils of stubbornly sticking to something you want to see work but isn't going to.

Looking to the future, I see this as being Willian's last season at the club, he will go on the market next summer. Not overly because his performances have dropped but because he has spent the majority of the season injured in 1 way or the other since he broken his leg near the end of my last year, I think it's time to cash in on the remainder of his value. That and the potential to win some prize money this season in our remaining competitions might reinvigorate our finances some what, we will see. I just fear that I have been spoilt by the wonder kids I signed in my 1st season, de Ligt went from a 19 year old kid who made mistakes in his first 5 games to a player I could rely on and had seemingly fulfilled his star potential after just 10 games, I need to be careful that I am picking and playing players based on their actual stats and current star rating and not expecting them all to fulfil their potential as quickly. Also in the future I hope that while yes I have paid big money for home grown stars, that due to our exit from Europe I might be able to cash back in on my growing stable of home grown players (as I now think I could field a full starting 11 if I had to). When market forces dictate that they are required by the beginning of next season. (No idea why that Reece James picture was there!)

*Notis

 

 

 

[Mandy42]

February - Whateva da Weatha*

The season keeps creeping on, seems to have been a lifetime ago since the draw for the Champions league was made, finally we play Roma, lets see how we do, we have already equalled the boards expectations, but you know me, that's they way I like it, if we can push on for a few more rounds then it will increase my credibility with the board. In the Premier league the stand out game is Man City away, 5 of this months 7 games across all competitions are away with only Watford and Bournemouth at home. 

 

 

Trip to St Mary's is up 1st. There is a whopping 11 days between this game and the Roma 1st leg so I can play a decent strength side and hope to keep the pressure on Spurs in the league.

 

 

 

Kante and Batman are still injured which is why Rosario plays as the box to box and Abraham plays up front, the 4-3-3 is more and more my go to away formation, plus having not utilised it much this season I hope it will suit us better than the much used 4-2-3-1

 

 

Does frustrate me sometimes (a lot of the time) when teams line up in a defensive formation at home, guess I'm just old fashioned, and cynical, as the team who wants to play open football of course I want my opponents to have a go when they are at home.

It takes us until the stroke of half time to make a breakthrough, Abraham gets bundled over in the area and Jorginho slots away the resulting penalty to send us in at the break with a lead that our domination of possession and their willingness to put players behind the ball deserves. I would like to say we kicked on and made something of the 2nd half but we didn't, Willian obviously reads this blog as he hobbled off after half an hour injured, David Brooks his replacement in this game and potentially in the future, but we didn't create anything decisive and it always looked like they just needed a piece of good fortune or a mistake by us to get them back in the game. On 90 minutes, with the board up to say we are playing 4 additional minutes they almost create such a chance. Smart interplay on the edge of our box gets Austin in on goal, a last minute lunge by Azpilicueta saves us from his attempt on goal, but Cesar is instantly injured in the tackle and it looks quite serious. I have made all of our substitutions so we have to play out the 4 added minutes, plus 2 more for the time it takes to get Azpilicueta off the pitch, with just 10 men. We hang on, with them overloading on our right side to try get an opening.

 

*Ramson Badbonez (Oh dear god!)

[Mandy42]

One Night in Rome*

Champions league, got to see if we can do more than the board expect us to, which is what I would like, plus the more money I can make from the competition the better

 

 

Another away game so another 4-3-3, Azpilicueta, Kante and Batman all injured, Willian got over whatever he had to hobble off for. The team feels a little light, especially away from home and especially how poor we were against Southampton 11 days ago.

 

 

Must admit seeing Pickford in goal was a bit of a surprise, Pellegrini was on my shortlist but he never really had any interest in joining so I didn't pursue him.  We looked good in the first 10 minutes, creating chances, but they were either high or wide or blocked by defenders. Though after 10 minutes Roma started turning the screw, free kick, then corner after corner, we cleared 3 but the 4th they whip to the near post, Cristante flicks a header on that Kepa is able to block, but the ball drops at Cristante's feet and he puts it into the bottom corner. 1-0 down after 17 minutes played.

25 minutes, Under gets the ball on their right wing, he skins Emerson and turns in field, he delivers the ball towards the box, El Shaarawy pops up in the space between de Ligt and James, he controls it with his 1st touch then volleys it into the bottom corner past Kepa. 2-0 down with 25 minutes played.

 

At 1-0 down I was still ok, 2-0 still hopeful, an away goal and we would only need a single goal at home to see us through, we are still in the game and we are having most of the ball and creating chances. At half time I tell the boys to show me something else in the 2nd half and we go out and start turning the screw ourselves. couple of corners a close free kick, but not much from open play. Then on 70 minutes we whip a corner in from the right, but it's poor, all the players make a run into the box while the ball loops out of the box past the back post. Pellegrini goes for a 50/50 with Barkley on the edge of the box and wins it, Barkley goes down injured. Pellegrini plays it out to the right wing for Under, he runs down the wing, Emerson and de Ligt both miss sliding tackles and he makes it into the box. He delivers the ball to the far post where El Shaarawy slides the ball into an empty net. 3-0 down after 70 minutes played.

Barkley goes off injured, yet another name to add to that particular list! We put a few more efforts wide or over the bar, we finish the game having lost 3-0, having had 64% possession and had 13 attempts on target, only 2 less than them. It's frustrating, I could feel the 1st goal coming as they increased the pressure, the 2nd our defence was poor, and the 3rd is the kind of goal everyone hates to concede, your on the attack and 3 missed tackles later the ball is in the back of your net. I don't think we deserved to lose 3-0 but I am not sure have much chance of going through now. Will have to out do expectation in other areas now.

*Phosphor

[Mandy42]

The Wheels are Coming Off*

Just a 2 day gap see's us away at Burnley, I want a reaction from the players like I always do after a loss (though we lose that infrequently I don't know if they know that!) I would rather not lose more games for them to get used to it.

 

 

Batman is back but can only play 60 minutes, Azpilicueta  has a broken arm and will be out for 7 weeks. Willian, Kante, Barkley all not able to play for various niggling problems.

 

 

Burnley line up with a typical bend but don't break formation that gives them a chance through hard work. They work hard, we are still low on quality and maybe hungover from both a trip back from Italy 2 days ago and from being humbled 3-0 in the biggest defeat under my tenure. We had 55% possession, 15 attempts on goal, 5 on target and Barella had to hobble off after only 10 minutes, another name on the injury list! This is getting frustrating. We make it to full time 0-0 not the great response I wanted, but we are still top and still unbeaten.

*Bill LaBounty 

[bucket]

Great read this mate. Keep it up and keep the faith. An away goal would have been great, but you’re playing at home, anything can happen! Come on the Chels! 

[Mandy42]

2 hours ago, bucket said:

Great read this mate. Keep it up and keep the faith. An away goal would have been great, but you’re playing at home, anything can happen! Come on the Chels! 

Glad you are enjoying it  

thanks for the comment

[Mandy42]

Knock Out 5th Round*

We need a result in this game, even with the faith @bucket has tried instil in me about the Roma game, the league form is struggling, even though we haven't lost we are not playing well at all.

 

Still feel I am being slightly stubborn with playing the 3-3-2-2 despite us not getting great results, but then to be fair we aren't really getting good results using any formation! However with Azpiliqueta's arm injury keeping him out of the team, we need to give James and Emerson a break with them being the only real viable full back options we have. I've moved Barella forward, Boula and Redan come up from the U23 team. 

 

Cahill is the ex Chelsea player this game, the formation looks set up to counter us, I hope we can get the job done. I tell them to go out and play their game, let the fans enjoy it. In the 1st 10 minutes we smash Palace, we are all over them. On 8 minutes Willian comes down the right, he slips it into Redan who is on the edge of the box with his back to goal, he drops it into midfield for Thiago Maia, who drops his shoulder and gets into the box towards the left, he shoots back across goal, the keeper gets a glove on it but can't do anything but push it into the corner of his net.

On 35 minutes, Bebou cuts inside from the right, he spreads the ball to the left wing and Angelino, who comes forward, he whips the ball across the box, Pellegri gets up at the back post, level with the penalty spot, he heads down, it sneaks in the bottom corner past a weak diving Baxter.

We have 58% possession, 21 attempts at goal but only 8 on target, we can't find a 2nd goal and it goes to the 1 thing we really don't need, extra time. On 93 minutes, that's 3 minutes into extra time not time added on at the end of the half. Maia throws a long through into the area from the right, Abraham goes for an audacious over head kick which he completely and utter slices away from goal back out of the box into the D. Barella watches the ball all the way onto his right foot, with a volley very low to the floor. He hits it perfectly, it flies into the top left hand corner and we are 2-1 up. 

We limp through the rest of extra time and get the win! 

*Ronny Graupe

[Mandy42]

Drought Season*

Southampton, we scraped by with a penalty, I am not even going to describe what we failed to do away to Roma! 0-0 against Burnley in the league was a poor result even by my happy to stay undefeated standards, the 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in the FA cup was a much needed result but it came with the added brucey bonus of forced extra time. Suffice it to say I wasn't feeling very confident, injuries were stretching the team and after this game against Watford I had the difficult task of Man City away, which in my current form was definitely where our streak was going to end (if you can call 60 plus games a streak) To top it off, two of my strikers, Batman, and Fiete Arp had come out in the press indicating they were determined to end their goal droughts and were working hard to do so. Arp hadn't scored in 8 games, Batman in 3, but he had been injured so was allowed a little respite.

 

Attacking formation, trying to get the points here with the acceptance that we might drop some if not all the points against Man City in the next game. Points of interest, 6 home grown players in the starting 11, with Christensen qualifying thanks to him being at the club so long, so young. James, Hudson-Odoi and Mount are all English, and apparently Brooks and Mepham count even though they are Welsh! 4 teenagers in the team, and the oldest player in the lineup is Jorginho at 28. One of the questions rattling round in my mind is whether the push for YCB players, and home grown talent is a cause for the dip in results, did I cull the team too soon last season? Did I have a choice, I felt I had developed enough standing at the club having pulled in 4 trophies and out done expectation that I had no choice but to do it then, as my standing did drop with me kicking out all the established stars. On the other hand, am I moaning about nothing, we are still top of the league, we still haven't lost a league game, is this all just an over reaction to a humbling in Europe.

 

Two up top shows they have some intent to want to cause us problems if they can get the ball back and move it up the park. Whatever their intent we put a spanner in it with only 1 minute played, Christensen throws the ball in for Jorginho who turns the defender and powers into the left corner of the box, he shoots across the keeper into the bottom corner of the net. 1 minute played and we are 1-0 up!

27 Minutes, throw in from the right this time, Christensen throws the ball in and it looks like a poor throw, he throws it into the box towards the byline and it looks like it will just run out of play. Pablo Rosario gets to the ball and pulls it back across the 6 yard box for an oncoming Mason Mount to steer it into the far corner past a stranded goal keeper. 

Ten minutes later, same spot, another throw in, Christensen again, this time he throws it to Rosario's feet on the right corner of the box, he turns and drives towards the byline, again cutting the ball back and again Mount is there, this time he just cushions the ball off his foot and it goes through the Watford goalkeeper and dribbles into the net. 3-0 is the score and we have still 10 minutes to halftime.

For both of Mount's goals Arp had taken up a position at the far post and the ball could have come to him if Mount hadn't dashed in and applied the finish, also there is the possibility that if Arp doesn't make his far post run a defender is in position to clear the ball away. Either way while we are scoring goals and getting points I am not going to add pressure to my strikers when I feel they are contributing to the result. I am also slowly beginning to accept the large number of goals we score as a result of throw ins. I have reasoned that the packed defences we come up against are stymieing our ability to create chances from open play.

The 2nd half passes without incident I rotate players to keep them as fresh as possible for the Man City game 

*Kid Buu

[Mandy42]

We Are The Champions*

No I've not gone crazy and won the league in February, There is a reason to pick this song as the title of this post, but it is also very clear that after the horrors of the last song, I also just needed some classic rock to wash it out of my mind! I've survived away days at Spurs by the thinnest of margins having to score an equaliser in the 4th minute of added on time, I've battled for a win away at Liverpool in which they dominated the game. On this month's form I just don't see us getting a result.

 

 

Is this the 4-2-3-1 formation with Mount dropped deeper? No that is too attack minded for an away game against another top team. It's the 4-3-3 (which I felt was my most defensively solid formation until Roma abused me of that fact) With Declan Rice playing in an Anchor man role, and Thiago Maia playing in a Segundo Volante support role. Kante is still injured, as is Azpilicueta and Batman, I have tinkered with the formation to hopefully give us some added protection but the personnel do not fill me with confidence.

 

 

On the other hand their team is just full of talent and its very scary! They have won 4 of their last 5 games in the league, where as we have won 3 and drawn 2, one positive is we have only conceded once in those last 5 games. Icardi up front and Milan Skriniar are an ex Inter Milan duo that my director of football Antonio Cordon insisted I make my primary signing targets, however they were too expensive, not home grown and too old for my current frame of mind. Now I normally let Zola do opposition instructions and I normally let him guide me on pre game team talks however he has gotten a bit lazy on the latter, even since the end of last season he feels that saying anything to the players before the game will just confuse them. Where as I still want to send them out motivated for big games and tend to say something more often than not. I also felt that if I was going to get anything out of this game at all I had to put some extra thought and effort into the opponent instructions. Remembering the previous games we played against City, especially this season, I recall at some point in the game being advised  to mark Icardi tightly, and close down their wide players to reduce chances getting into the box, likely after they had created chances that showed we needed to do that. Thus I thought rather than give them the opportunity to score I would over rule Zola and employ these instructions from the start.

Now the problem with a team like Man City (and us I guess) is that they have so many different weapons and so many different ways to hurt you, during the game the staff wanted me to close De Bruyne down, stop Kyle Walker from being able to cross the ball, basically every City player had the ability to cause us problems, much like we can get results from throw ins even if the team is stopping us playing any other way. We gave away a penalty on 25 minutes which I couldn't really fault Christensen for, I had told him to tightly mark Icardi and that is what he did, so tightly that they tumbled together in the penalty area and the ref had a decision to make. 1-0 down having played 25 minutes, I encouraged the players, they responded and we got to half time without any more problems.

I put Batman on for Arp at half time, to freshen us up and to give the caped crusader some much needed minutes in his legs on return from injury. We kept it tight, we even bossed the ball more in the 2nd half having 55% possession but City looked dangerous when they had the ball, Kepa was the best player for us on the pitch and although we had the ball the way the team was setup meant we did little to nothing with it and had yet to register a shot on target. I threw on Abraham and Barella with 15 minutes to go, swapping Hudson-Odoi on the left and Mount in the middle to give us some fresh legs at the top end of the pitch. Time dragged on, they had a total of 9 shots on target that Kepa had managed to keep out, we were bending but not breaking, not threatening at all. They brought on Jesus and Silva to try and finish us off, and then in the last few minutes of the game brought on Stones to cement the back line and keep us out, which I thought was laughable seeing as we hadn't had a shot on target.

On 89 minutes Emerson drives down the left wing, he gets to level with the box and puts the ball low and hard into the area. Batman, with his back to goal holds up play and for some reason attracts four Man City players around him as they try crowd him off the ball without conceding a penalty, his route to goal is completely blocked but he keeps a cool head and slides the ball out to the right hand side of the area to a completely unmarked David Brooks. Brooks lashes the ball into the top right hand corner past a diving Ederson. I can't believe it, 1 shot on target, 1 goal, 1 minute left of normal time, 1-1 away at the Etihad. David Brooks has now scored 2 goals in the 89th minute or later that have meant the difference between dropped points and staying unbeaten, and yet the fans still think he is crap!

Champions find a way to get the job done even when they don't play the best. 

*Queen