Chitchat The Official TCSS Thread

[jw5]

How will Mourinho handle Chelsea return?

If nothing else, it will be interesting to see what sort of mindset Jose Mourinho arrives back at Chelsea with on Sunday. Against Liverpool on Monday his primary aim seemed to be to stop his opponents -- a perfectly sensible, if not massively entertaining strategy. But that was against a team that looked like they were hitting their attacking stride and thus a containing approach was more justified, but Chelsea have looked less certain going forward. Indeed, there are clearly areas in their side Mourinho could exploit with a more positive mentality, if he chooses to do so.

Antonio Conte's experiment with a three-man defence is two games old, and while two clean sheets have been kept, those haven't been against attacks which offered much. Victor Moses is still getting used to playing as a wing-back, and whichever trio play in that three-man backline won't exactly be experts either. With the pace United have available on the wings, encouraging Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and/or Jesse Lingard to attack a little more than they were asked/allowed to at Anfield could cause big problems for Chelsea. If nothing else, on Monday it was extremely frustrating to see a side with as much talent in it as United's essentially acting as spoilers, to take a reactive rather than proactive stance in a big game. Mourinho might not want to take too many risks, and we expect this of him in this sort of game, but it would be nice to see him take the shackles off a bit.

 

[THE_CHANSTER]

Mourinho will park the bus on Sunday. Another boring draw I fear.

 

[rocket]

Talk cock.may as well ask sundram to coach
Man u.

 

[spotter542]

Eibar
H. Berlin over
Spurs
Eat Arsenal
Liverpool over
Eat Barcelona
Warlord




Chok dee

 

[jw5]

Tottenham miss chance to go top after Bournemouth stalemate

Tottenham missed the opportunity to go top of the Premier League as they drew 0-0 at Bournemouth in a game of few clear chances.

In a bright opening on the south coast, Tottenham had the first opportunity when Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc misdirected a pass and enabled Dele Alli to pick up possession.

The England midfielder played the ball through to Son Heung-Min, but he was flagged offside as Boruc blocked his attempt to prod the ball home.

After six minutes, the home side -- who had won three of their four Premier League games at the Vitality Stadium -- were agonisingly close to going in front.

A short corner was played low into the area for Charlie Daniels to shoot from six yards only for Hugo Lloris to make a superb stop, diverting the divert the ball up onto the crossbar and away.

With a quarter of an hour gone, Jack Wilshere played Callum Wilson into space on the left-hand side of the area and his shot cannoned away off Jan Vertonghen.

At the other end brilliant play from Alli, who glided away from a couple of home defenders, gave him space to play the ball through to Erik Lamela, whose curling 25-yarder left Boruc motionless as it glanced off the outside of the post.

A flurry of yellow cards dominated the closing 15 minutes of a frenetic opening period.

Referee Craig Pawson cautioned Lamela for a heavy challenge on Harry Arter and, after Boruc had made a good low save from a deflected Christian Eriksen strike, Vertonghen was booked for tripping Wilson.

Alli followed them after a barge on Adam Smith before Dan Gosling became the first Cherries player booked for a foul on Kyle Walker and then Danny Rose was cautioned for a heavy challenge on Joshua King.

Lamela could have received a second yellow for a challenge on Gosling before, with time running out before the break, Wilson headed a Wilshere cross wide for the hosts.

Tottenham came out firing at the start of the second half and Boruc was called into action within two minutes, diving to push away Alli's strike from outside the area.

At the other end, Eric Dier, in central defence in place of the injured Toby Alderweireld, produced a fine header clear when King's cross seemed certain to give Wilson a great chance, while Lamela fired wide as Tottenham ventured forward again.

Home manager Eddie Howe made the game's first change after the hour, bringing on Max Gradel in place of Jordan Ibe, with Mauricio Pochettino then bringing off Son and replacing him with striker Vincent Janssen.

Cherries substitute Gradel saw an effort charged down and was booked for a challenge on Lamela moments later before Wilson got away down the right but saw his low cross well cleared by Vertonghen.

Moussa Sissoko replaced Alli for Tottenham with 20 minutes remaining, and as the match ticked into its final 15 minutes Rose, joining the attack for the visitors, scuffed a low effort straight at Boruc.

Arter appeared to be caught by an elbow from Sissoko after a touchline challenge, but after consulting his assistant Pawson opted to take no action.

Bournemouth made two more changes, bringing off Wilson and replacing him with Benik Afobe, while King, who had taken a knock, was replaced by Ryan Fraser.

Gradel had a late chance when he seized on a mistake to break down the left for Bournemouth but, with Wilshere in the middle, he delayed his cross and the ball was cleared.

Substitute Afobe then threw himself in vain at a late cross before glancing a header just over seconds later as the Cherries finished with a flourish.

 

[THE_CHANSTER]

Liverpool could go top of the league tonight if they win. Spurs and Arsenal both blew their chances but fair play to Middlesborough who played very well I thought.
If Liverpool blow it, there's also Chelsea tomorrow who could leap to 2nd.

Suddenly, Man City don't look such hot favourites.


***UPDATE***
Liverpool move up to second after beating West Brom 2-1.

 

[jw5]

Liverpool could go top of the league tonight if they win. Spurs and Arsenal both blew their chances but fair play to Middlesborough who played very well I thought.
If Liverpool blow it, there's also Chelsea tomorrow who could leap to 2nd.

Suddenly, Man City don't look such hot favourites.


***UPDATE***
Liverpool move up to second after beating West Brom 2-1.

Arsenal would have lost if not for the heroics of Petr Cech.

 

[rocket]

A while say man city champion.then say man city not champion.
A 2 head Indian snake.

A horse back Cannon.

A idiot who compare Sg toto with euro lottery.

 

[jw5]

Arsenal suffer familiar failings as Middlesbrough hold them to draw

By Miguel Delaney
espmfc.com

LONDON -- Three points on Arsenal's 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough as the Gunners reverted to type and their winning run was ended.

1. Familiar failing as Arsenal struggle

On the day of Arsene Wenger's 67th birthday, Middlesbrough gifted him absolutely nothing, and neither did the assistant referee. Mesut Ozil had a late strike correctly ruled out for offside, as Aitor Karanka's side disrupted Arsenal's seven-game winning run with a creditable 0-0 at the Emirates that could have been a lot worse for the home side.

It's difficult not to say that it was typical Arsenal, given the way they finally slipped up in the most winnable of games and how much the absence of an injured player affected them. Without Santi Cazorla in midfield, the Gunners played with no verve. Middlesbrough quickly realised they were there for the taking and could well have won the game themselves.

Although Arsenal penned Karanka's team back in the opening 20 minutes, they didn't create anything of note. It was Middlesbrough that ended up with the best chances. A 20th-minute break by the excellent Adama Traore was the spark for the away side's confidence, as he forced a fine save from Petr Cech, before the goalkeeper then blocked Alvaro Negredo's follow-up.

It wasn't the only time Wenger had his goalkeeper to thank, although the woodwork played its part too. Gaston Ramirez smashed the crossbar with a brilliant free kick just moments later and then went even closer on 32 minutes, only for Cech to brilliantly save his close-range header from a fine Traore cross.

Cech kept out Traore again just after half-time, and Laurent Koscielny had to be alert to prevent Negredo from stealing the game in the final minutes.

Although Arsenal dominated, they did not create chances that were anywhere near the quality of Middlesbrough's. Indeed, the best they managed was Victor Valdes flapping at a cross to let Sanchez tamely loop the ball across goal, and then the Spanish goalkeeper saving well from the Chilean's free kick.

Arsenal finally had the ball in the net late into stoppage time, but Ozil was at least a yard offside on converting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's pass.

It wasn't the happiest of birthdays for Wenger, and it meant this wasn't the happiest of crowds, as they saw the type of slip they have watched too often over recent years.

2. Santi Cazorla badly missed

If this wasn't a classic Arsenal performance, it's largely because they badly missed Cazorla.

Without the Spaniard, out due to an ankle injury, there just wasn't the same fluency to their play, or the same control. They had so much possession, but didn't have the direction to do much with it.

The choice of midfield partners in his absence didn't exactly help. Wenger opted for Mohamed Elneny alongside Francis Coquelin and that meant that Arsenal had more running, but none of the poise to properly release it. Recent matches have been characterised by the glorious way that fast players like Sanchez and Theo Walcott have interchanged at pace, but they just didn't have the platform to do so here.

It was much more laboured, as evidenced in the opening minutes when Ozil tried to backheel a ball on the bounce to Sanchez at the edge of the box.

Sanchez did try and lift things in the second half, by running at the Middlesbrough box himself with more purpose, but it was clear Wenger needed to change something.

First, he opted for summer signing Lucas Perez, who came on for Alex Iwobi. Then, he finally reshaped the midfield, bringing on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Elneny. It didn't really reshape the game; Arsenal still toiled, and still couldn't get the breakthrough.

3. Boro borrow from Jose Mourinho playbook

Karanka used to be Jose Mourinho's assistant at Real Madrid, and the Middlesbrough manager surely consulted his former boss, who has never lost to Wenger in the league.

So much of what happened was straight out of the Portuguese's playbook. Middlesbrough sat back early on, stifled Arsenal's recent tendency to storm into early leads and then -- once a bit more comfortable and having set down an anchor -- came out and gave Wenger's side some real problems.

Traore and Gaston Ramirez especially stood out, for more than just their chances. They used the ball well on every Middlesbrough break, moves that carried more and more threat as the game went on.

Young centre-half Ben Gibson, meanwhile, snuffed out any danger at the other end. The 23-year-old has recently been watched by Chelsea, and you can understand why. Aside from his strength at the back, he is so comfortable on the ball. That was perfectly displayed at the end of the first half, when he received the ball as the last man between Ozil and Sanchez and still had the confidence to dribble it through them and to safety.

Middlesbrough do have problems scoring goals, and are the second lowest scorers in the league after Sunderland -- with just seven -- but they know how to keep sides out.

 

[THE_CHANSTER]

Arsenal would have lost if not for the heroics of Petr Cech.

He's the best goalkeeper in the PL, even better than De Gea IMHO.

 

[jw5]

He's the best goalkeeper in the PL, even better than De Gea IMHO.

IMHO, the best goalkeeper in the PL is Hugo Lloris, and he's second only to Manuel Neuer in the world. Then comes a whole bunch in third including Courtois, De Gea, Cech and Buffon. Further down would be Hart and even further down - Bravo.

 

[rocket]

Talk cock again.
David Lee is world best goal keeper.
Always compare the impossible.

 

[jw5]

Man City vs Southampton.

 

[Ambulance]

halo wu lang sio liam botak tio boh

[video=youtube;hQ-uwzo27S4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ-uwzo27S4[/video]

 

[THE_CHANSTER]

Half time Chelsea 2 - 0 Man Utd

Time for a 'Special' comeback?

***UPDATE***

Full time: Chelsea 4 - 0 Man Utd

 

[jw5]

Mourinho humbled by his old club

It was a rough return to Stamford Bridge for ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Man United's 4-0 hammering exposed not only the flaws in his expensive, star-studded squad but also the shortcomings in his tactics.

 

[Sideswipe]

Man Utd wouldn't have lost 4-0 if inspirational captain Rooney was playing. it's now 5 games without a win for Man City. all hell will break loose for Man Utd or Man City whoever loses the midweek league cup match.

 

[jw5]

Man Utd wouldn't have lost 4-0 if inspirational captain Rooney was playing. it's now 5 games without a win for Man City. all hell will break loose for Man Utd or Man City whoever loses the midweek league cup match.

The 2 Manchester clubs should exchange managers.

 

[jw5]

Has Jose Mourinho lost his touch in era of Klopp, Guardiola and Conte?

By Tony Evans
espnfc.com

The main job of a manager is to motivate players. The best can pull off this trick year after year. When this ability fails then careers begin to drift. But what happens when a manager loses the knack of motivating himself?

Jose Mourinho looks tired. The man who arrived at Chelsea 12 years ago with a grin and an urge to cause mischief has gone, replaced by an older version who seems to have forgotten that football is fun. It does not appear to matter whether his Manchester United side are on the receiving end of a 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea, frustrating Anfield by shutting down Liverpool or trouncing the champions Leicester City 4-1. Win, lose or draw, the game seems to have become a joyless experience to the Special One.

The contrast with Jurgen Klopp after United's 0-0 draw was unmistakable. The German was disappointed but eager to discuss where his side went wrong -- his enthusiasm for the game was clear. Klopp's United counterpart, who, after all, had undergone a more successful 90 minutes, was sour and uncommunicative. Mourinho roused himself briefly to dispute the possession statistics, returning to the press room to declare that his own number-cruncher had counted United's time on the ball at 42 percent rather than the 35 percent figure most analysts used, but he was gray and distant compared to Klopp's bundle of energy.

The most exciting managers in the world are gathering in the Premier League and Mourinho seems to be a relic of a different age. Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino and Klopp live their club's games on the sideline, projecting vigour into their teams. Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have taken on the character of their managers. United have not shaken off the identity of the Louis van Gaal era. Mourinho projects himself in a way that's closer to the Dutchman's generation than the thrusting newcomers of the Premier League's new era.

At 53, Mourinho is not much older than Klopp, 49, and Conte, 47, yet it feels like he has many more miles on the odometer. The relentless politicking of his spell at Real Madrid and the unhappy remarriage with Chelsea wore him down. There is a popular theory within the game that the time at the Bernabeu "broke" Mourinho. Certainly, he returned to Stamford Bridge subdued, but winning the title with an unbalanced squad two seasons ago proved that this was still a manager to be reckoned with. The subsequent meltdown at Chelsea put Mourinho in a funk from which he still has not emerged.

During his first spell at Chelsea, the Special One's news conferences were the must-see event of the week. With his self-depreciating wit and charm, Mourinho enchanted rooms full of cynical journalists. Now the same writers queue up to see Pochettino, whose blossoming English has revealed a huge amount of humour and insight. Or Klopp, who has developed an even more distinctive character during his year in the Premier League.

When managers lose their focus, the players are the first to notice. It undermines the authority of the man in charge and once the grip loosens it is hard to get back. After Mourinho lost the Stamford Bridge dressing room he was in trouble. He is not anywhere near that troubling point at Old Trafford, but he needs to assert his authority and stamp his identity on the club.

Among the new wave of Premier League managers, Mourinho looks like a 1970s stadium rocker confronted by punk. He can still pack in the crowds and turn a tune when he steps on stage, but his shtick is tired. He has even taken to scolding the young guns for their overexuberance, rebuking Conte for his rabble-rousing of the crowd when Chelsea were 4-0 up at the weekend. Not so long ago, Mourinho was the rebel, the crowd-pleaser, the man everyone wanted to see.

It would be wrong to write Mourinho off, but he is no longer top billing in a Premier League brimming with exciting managerial talent. If he can find his old fire again it would be the greatest comeback of his career.

 

[jw5]

EFL Cup Matches:

Arsenal vs Reading
Bristol City vs Hull City
Leeds United vs Norwich City
Liverpool vs Spurs
Newcastle United vs Preston North End.

The Manchester Derby is tomorrow.