₦airaland Forum

larride:
This place don turn desert?

The fixture that brought us “the battle of the buffet”, Manchester United’s 8-2 win, and Arsène Wenger being sent to the Old Trafford stands (to name but a few memorable occasions) has gone a little quiet recently. José Mourinho and Wenger are hardly bosom buddies and United are desperate for the win to cut the deficit to Arsenal to three points, so maybe sparks will fly again. Jamie Jackson

Kick-off Saturday 12.30pm
Venue Old Trafford
Last season Man Utd 3 Arsenal 2
Referee A Marriner

This season G10, Y41, R5, 4.6 cards per game

Manchester United
Subs from Romero, Johnstone, Depay, Lingard, Fosu-Mensah, Tuanzebe, Schneiderlin, Mkhitaryan, Young, Carrick, Blind
Doubtful None
Injured Bailly (knee, Dec), Fellaini (calf), Smalling (foot), Valencia (arm, unknown)

Suspended Ibrahimovic (one match)
Form WDLDD
Discipline Y24 R1
Leading scorer Ibrahimovic 6

Arsenal
Subs from Ospina, Debuchy, Gibbs, Gabriel, Holding, Elneny, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Reine-Adélaïde, Sanogo, Giroud
Doubtful Sánchez (thigh)
Injured Bellerín (ankle, Dec), Pérez (ankle, Dec), Akpom (back, Jan), Mertesacker, Welbeck (both knee, Jan)
Suspended None
Form DWDWW
Discipline Y15 R1
Leading scorer Sánchez 6

@ ibime, is there any reason they keep linking this stadium violence to the late 70s or early 80s? Was stadium /fan violence that bad then?

Guys what's happening with o2tvseries
The files aren't showing again. There is no file on the downloads page. Am I the only one having this problem?

Rotated Chelsea remind us of their limitations

Chelsea’s impressive run came to an end last night in a disappointing 2-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium.

The Blues started brightly but were stunned by two West Ham goals from nothing, and then struggled to break the resilient hammers down once they had the lead.
Antonio Conte’s side were sloppy in attack, wasting plenty of chances and putting poor deliveries into the box throughout the game. Michy Batshuayi was particularly isolated up front.

Things brightened up with the introduction of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa later on, but even they were guilty of missing opportunities, and it was too little too late in the end. Gary Cahill’s late goal was a consolation, but really should have been at the very least an equaliser given the opportunities that the Blues had had.
Chelsea were not helped by a hostile atmosphere in Stratford, which ended in crowd trouble in the closing minutes.

It’s disappointing to see that switching even a few first team players out is enough to weaken the squad significantly. It’s a timely reminder that this squad is not yet ready to challenge on multiple fronts.

http://www.chelsea-news.co/2016/10/rotated-chelsea-remind-us-limitations/

Giles Smith's Thursday Thoughts

Columnist Giles Smith's glass is undoubtedly half full as he reflects on events in the east end, as well as providing his thoughts on Antonio Conte's touchline demeanour...

We’ve always loved the League Cup around these parts – or the EFL Cup, as it’s now known. We loved it when it was big enough to have a sponsor, and we love it now that it doesn’t but merely sounds as though it does, EFL being easily mistaken for some kind of energy provider.
Hot tip, there, incidentally, for the FA Cup, come the day that the big-name blue-chip companies no longer want to climb on board. Label it the EFA Cup and bingo: everybody will think it’s got something to do with electricity or gas and nobody will notice that the cash-rich backing has evaporated.

Anyway, all praise to the EFL. If we’re going to have tournaments which are everybody’s lowest priority in any given season, let them be like this one, I say. After all, there’s a rare kind of magic about it. Going a long way in the EFL is good, clearly. And yet being free of it, as we now are, following last night’s surprising but well-contested fourth-round defeat to West Ham, is also good, decongesting the fixture list, going forward, and freeing us up to concentrate on more important things, such as this Sunday’s Premier League game away to Southampton. Very few other cups offer that sort of win-win scenario, rain or shine.
We also need to thank the EFL for providing the first official opportunity for Chelsea fans to travel out to Stratford and begin to get their money’s-worth from a venue in which we are all, as tax-payers, stakeholders. The London Stadium seems to be attempting to be the first Premier League ground to champion a ‘sit wherever you like’ approach – which is touchingly retro of it, though I’m not sure it’s going to catch on, any more than rattles and flat caps are poised for a comeback.
It’s certainly not going to catch on if there are many more repetitions of last night’s incidental action in the Sir Trevor Brooking stand. Next time we buy West Ham a stadium, do you think we should get them one with some properly separated sections in it? Just a thought.
Was there anything disrespectful about the behaviour of our manager in the closing stages of Sunday's impeccable eclipsing of Manchester United? 'Not for me, Clive,' as Andy Townsend used to say.
In common with everyone else, I've rapidly become an admirer of Signor Conte's notably physical, full-body approach to game-time coaching, a style of operating which brings into play all of the major muscle groups.

Clearly, in this respect, the manager had us all on day one, against West Ham again, when his celebration of our second goal practically took him into the middle tier of the East Stand and then over the railway and into the cemetery before seeing him head up the Fulham Road and eventually crash through the window of the Starbucks outside the Chelsea & Westminster hospital. Here, one instinctively felt, was a manager one could do business with.
At the same time, I've also come to admire the manager's remarkable restraint in this area - in the sense that his vigorous mid-match activities, for all their abandon, are very carefully confined to his own part of the pitch. Never does his business take him into the opposition's technical area, unlike certain Arsene Wengers we could mention. Signor Conte is never, it seems to me, pointing or shouting or dancing in the face of anybody who doesn't need or want to hear it, let alone looking to score a cheap and ungracious point at a tender moment for anyone connected with the other side. He seems to be entirely wrapped up in his own work, in fact.

So I'm not sure that Jose Mourinho had any cause to worry about being discourteously mocked last weekend, as was alleged. And I wouldn’t have thought so even if the complaint hadn’t come from somebody famous for sliding half the length of Old Trafford on the knees of his trousers, not to mention bounding onto the pitch like a horse stung by a wasp after certain critical Champions League victories at the expense of Barcelona. (We enjoyed that, too.)

The fact is, that N’Golo Kante goal, even more than the Eden Hazard one which preceded it, was an absolute work of art in a frame. If a coach can't get swept up in a moment of football like that from the team he has spent the week preparing then Signor Conte is right and it probably is time to think about jacking it in and embroidering handkerchiefs for a living instead. And as for disrespecting our late, great coach, far from it: I don't suppose he was in anybody's mind at all at that overwhelmingly brilliant moment.
With regard to the whipping-up of the crowd near the end, it can't be denied that for the best part of ten minutes or so, late in the game, our friends in the visitors' section had been the most audible thing in the ground, churning out a long, repetitive chant in a fairly obvious attempt to induce a kind of cosmic trance in which none of this was happening to them. (Fair play. We've all been there.)
But that drop in intensity in the home stadium of a comfortably winning team is hardly unusual. Late on in a spectacular pasting (be it of United or anyone else), the volume can sometimes dip and the crowd can just occasionally find itself going into a comfortable, feet-up-in-front-of-the-fire mode, basking in the warm glow rising from the rubble of the demolition it has just witnessed. Yet, though this is clearly pleasant enough for those of us in the stands doing the basking and the glowing, it must feel a bit odd, or even slightly disappointing, for the players and the coaching staff, whose work, ideally, is never done until the final whistle. It can't hurt us to be reminded of those feelings every now and again - particularly if we like the idea of supporting a team where, as on Sunday, Cesar Azpilicueta is still in the opposition's half and snapping away at people's ankles in the second minute of time added on with the points long ago secured. And I think, on the whole, we do like that idea.

No disrespect, then, in the whipping-up and the celebrating: just a valuable point well-made by Signor Conte - a man of whom it will never be said, '4-0 and you still don't sing.'

CLUB'S OFFICIAL SITE

SailorXY:

Haha!

Peeps just dey make unnecessary noise here! No be Una we flog 4-0 3days ago.
Better return to your hiding places. Mtchew

At least Terry wouldn't complain when benched next time

West Ham are mirroring our formation

Una no get excuse if Una loseooo

Official Chelsea fan thread

https://www.nairaland.com/920248/official-chelsea-fan-thread-pride/2264#50528089

SailorXY:

No wahala. First blood to Chelshit, Mourinho will have his pound soon enough

No be only pound! name dollar too

timbros:
...................Begovic................
........Azpi.....Terry......Cahill
Aina...Chalobah...Cesc...Alonso
......Willian...Bats...Solanke

That you are not playing European football doesn't mean you shouldn't give youth a chance. After the high level performance against United, some of these players need rest. Don't forget that the league is our main priority: to finish as high as possible in the table.

Rest key players for the next EPL game. Southampton ain't a walkover.

I doubt cesc can do what's required in this formation. Anyways fingers crossed. In conte we trust

timbros:
I hope we give our youth players chance like this tomorrow.

Definitely not!! I don't think we have any excuse for trying to undermine the cup. We don't have any European football or any very difficult fixture coming up soon, i am of the opinion we use a strong starting lineup in order not to lose the match.

raumdeuter:
You pay money to a portal using paypal, You are now allowed to select players and watch how they play every weekend , each player gets point based on their performance. at the end of the season whoever has the most point wins. The money is now shared among all the winners

Wow!! Making sense! E get anyway Person fit register now?

raumdeuter:
Its easy to learn but e cost small, You go need like 20K around August to register but since Naira don fall e fit don go like 35K now

Okay, but wetin be the general concept of the fantasy. Just a little brief.

How has a tactical change ushered in the start of a new era at Chelsea?

While Antonio Conte was urging the Blues crowd to cheer for their team towards the end of a 4-0 humiliation of Manchester United, a sense of satisfaction swept across Stamford Bridge; Chelsea had finally stepped out from under the shadow of former manager Jose Mourinho to begin the dawn of a new era.

Far too many managers had come and gone, trying to stamp their identity on the club; the Italian head coach has succeeded where they all had failed. This was now HIS Chelsea.
As a deeply passionate man, Antonio Conte’s managerial style is typified by his tactical nous to instil into his teams the defensive solidity combined with a direct attacking style of play. His teams need to work hard and be disciplined, with and without the ball.
His philosophy has worked wonders with his previous teams, and is now beginning to show at the Bridge. He inherited a side fraught with uncertainties after an abysmal 2015-16 season, and had to bring together the team and fans for a common cause.

Under the new manager, the West London club initially persisted with the mundane 4-2-3-1 system, which had been fairly effective under former management. Harrowing losses against Liverpool and Arsenal forced the Italian to switch to a more preferred and exciting 3-4-3 formation.
Having previously been successful with a variant of the 3-5-2 structure at Juventus and then with Italy, this was right in his comfort zone. After three successive thumping victories against champions Leicester, Hull City and Manchester United, the decision to change his tactical set up has been vindicated.

As defensive mainstay John Terry was out injured, Chelsea played with David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta as the three central defenders. This tactical formation requires the back three to hold their shape while defending, and also provides an additional player to deal with opposition forwards.

David Luiz seemingly lacks the patience and concentration required for a defender; this structure allows the Brazilian to roam forward in attack as the two remaining center-backs provide cover for counter attacks. With his passing range, he can also spray long balls bypassing the midfield directly to the strikers.
In modern times when ball playing center-backs are the fashion, Terry remains the epitome of a traditional no-nonsense player and has been the most consistent Blues defender. To accommodate Terry into this system when he returns to fitness would be one of the pleasant challenges for Conte.

Wing-backs Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses have been tasked with heavy attacking and defensive responsibilities, going up and down the flanks. Having spent two seasons in Italy, Alonso looks to have developed as a quality defender; additionally, his attacking prowess was on display against Manchester United when he launched a long ball onto the path of Pedro for his early goal.

Moses has been handed a new lease of life at Chelsea under Conte and has been putting in impressive performances on the right flank so far. However, it remains to be seen if he is just as comfortable defensively against faster attacking wingers.
Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante patrol the central midfield, providing additional defensive strength to the team. Kante has been allowed the freedom to play the role of a box to box midfielder, and has since been able to replicate his form of last season. Matic is the midfield enforcer and the shield ahead of the defensive men.

Despite the positives, Chelsea still lack a spark of creativity from the midfield and might find it difficult to break down stubborn defenses. Cesc Fabregas, one of the most creative players in the squad, will also need to earn a place in the first eleven.
Form of the attacking players – Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro – has been the biggest positive of the new system. The wing-backs allow the two attacking players to take up more central positions close to the striker, and have a more influential role in the game.

Blues striker Diego Costa has been in immense form since the start of the season, but having Hazard and Pedro more mobile has seen an increase in the number of scoring chances. The Belgian, particularly, seems to have rediscovered his golden touch from the title winning season of 2014-15.

The new look side seems to have found the right balance between attack and defense. Although far from the finished product, as the manager and his system evolve, Chelsea FC will finally look to have found their niche in the English Premier League.

http://tbrfootball.com/how-has-a-tactical-change-ushered-in-the-start-of-a-new-era-at-chelsea/

Explorer! We are waiting ooooo

Pls could you guys further enlighten me on this football fantasy stuff. I have not the slightest idea. I would be grateful.

Cc; nihilist, raumdeuter, ibime

amunkita:
Make she no commit suicide oooo but make she kill her sef by her sef..
At least we would ve one less Alien(Lesbian) leaving amongst us...

You are a very useless fellow. People like you live miserable lives only to come on the internet and spew trash. I pity your parents, I can't begin to wonder the deep regret they had after giving birth to a thing like you they call a child.
Go get a life. Otondo

Pat Nevin: United as one

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin was one of many captivated by our performance on Sunday against Manchester United, and in his latest column he explains why there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic looking further ahead, as well as highlighting the importance of the connection between players and supporters…

It is not often that you can say everyone on the team got at least an 8.5 out of 10 but that was certainly the case against Manchester United at the weekend. From Courtois to Costa the work rate was impeccable, the organisation faultless and the skill levels of the very highest standard. It has been quite a renaissance in the last three games since the move to a 3-4-3 formation against Hull City and long may it continue.
Gary Cahill grew in stature and even chipped in with a vital goal at a crucial time. David Luiz was consistently sensible with only the yellow card giving a moment of concern, while Cesar Azpiliueta was bordering on super human with his challenges and breaks from the back. From right full-back to left- back and now right centre-back in a three, he not only never lets you down but appears to grow in stature with every added challenge. Having that versatility is like having two extra players in the squad. I actually think he deserved a perfect ten for his performance at the weekend.

Pedro’s interceptions were extraordinary as well and of course his early goal set the tone for thematch. We knew he was quick but his sharpness was a step above anything he has shown for the club in his time here to date. Talking of super humanity, N’Golo Kante basically bullied the most expensive player in the world from start to finish before scoring a classic himself just to round off a perfect afternoon’s work. Eden Hazard again effortlessly cruised past defenders at will, particularly when he scored his goal. The new system probably suits him more than anyone else; he now receives the ball much higher up the field and has less distance to travel and fewer players to beat as he creates his mayhem.
All of this is going on without using Oscar, Cesc, JT, Brana and only giving Willian a very welcome late runout. It is of course also worth noting that Antonio Conte comprehensively out-thought one of the great tactical coaches in football history.
"Chelsea have finally arrived back in the title race after a year off and few watching would argue against the idea that this sort of performance smacks of a team heading back towards the Champions League at the very least."
-
One of the moments that will live long in the memory was when Conte decided after 88 minutes his team deserved to be hailed by everyone at the Bridge. The singing had been exceptional throughout but it had just gone a little quieter though not from the United end. But the boss wanted to make sure the players, and the opposition players as well I suspect, knew just how big a performance and result this was. The reaction was immediate and prolonged. Instead of some fans filtering out to get an early tube or beat the traffic, most stayed and cheered the team to the end and off the pitch.

It felt like a special moment and another connection built between the staff and the fans. Just like the moment against West Ham when Antonio wildly celebrated the winner, underlining how the manager wants to see his own passion reflected in the stands as well as on the field. There was of course the other moment at the end when words were exchanged between Jose and Antonio, or more correctly Jose said a few words in Antonio’s ear. His reaction when asked about it was to say it was a meant as a private comment and as such it should stay private. It may frustrate many but from my point of view it was utterly classy from the Italian.

So the stats from the last three games are looking pretty good and the league table is looking ultra-healthy. There are also a host of top players ready and waiting to get back into the team and I suspect they are all desperate to do so. It seems common these days that some top footballers who aren’t playing week in week out want to get a transfer as soon as possible. At one level it is perfectly understandable. It is a short career and you want to play as much as possible when you can, it is a laudable attitude. The one time when players do not want to leave is when they are watching something they think might be special and they desperately want to be part of it going forward. I think that is what we have at Chelsea right now, a group who want to buy into something that is growing. Long may that spirit reign as all the players will be needed throughout the season in the league as well as hopefully during the long cup runs.

This brings us on to West Ham tomorrow night and the decisions to be made regarding the starting line-up. There is no obvious right or wrong decisions regarding resting players or giving others such as JT some game time to renew their match fitness. Should there even be a starting opportunity for one of or two of the kids or should we be going all out to win this competition and as such staying with the same team and the same system? However the manager approaches it there is one thing that is for certain, it will be a starting 11 he thinks can win the game and can take us into the next round.

The reason why I would not have a strong opinion either way is I, like many Chelsea fans, am enjoying being surprised by the manager and his decisions. The side that is currently on a three-game winning streak is probably one I might never have chosen to start a game. The boss trusted Moses and Alonso to do jobs that you would not have immediately associated them with, in a system rarely used by anyone in the history of the Premier League. So maybe there will be a few surprises at West Ham and some players will be forced into learning a few new things. Those of us watching on may learn some new stuff as well, and being educated, let us remember, is rarely a bad thing.

CLUB'S OFFICIAL SITE

Analysing Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 System And How It Has Emboldened Chelsea

Antonio Conte became the latest Premier League manager to implement a back three in a bid to revive his Chelsea side’s fortunes. Three games on from the change in system and the revival appears complete, with three wins, nine goals for and none against tangible proof of a significant upturn in form.
The latest result, a 4-0 hammering of a beleaguered Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, was particularly noteworthy. Within the first minute, Chelsea were 1-0 up. That early start was, for some pundits, nonsensically the most important factor in the end scoreline. Yet scoring so soon has traditionally been seen just as much as a curse as it has been a gift.
But, while they were glossed over, Conte’s tactics were hugely significant on the day, just as they had been before and will continue to be going forward.

Considering that the 3-4-3 isn’t even the most popular three-man defence system seen in the Premier League, a league with no proclivity whatsoever for three-man defence systems, it has had little air time in the competition’s history. However, it did come to some prominence fairly recently during Brendan Rodgers’ time at Liverpool.

Rodgers’ used the 3-4-3, or 3-4-2-1 depending on how detailed you like your formations to be, to arrest a slump in form as his Liverpool team struggled on the back of their ultimately unsuccessful 2013-14 title challenge. He was inspired to use the system following a trip to face Paulo Sousa’s Basel in Champions League action, a match Liverpool lost 1-0.
Sousa went on to utilise the same 3-4-3 shape with Fiorentina in his debut term as a coach in Serie A last season. It was incredibly effective in the early stages of the campaign, with Fiorentina establishing themselves as early Scudetto contenders after a stunning 4-1 away victory over Inter Milan. That match mirrored Chelsea’s win over Manchester United as an advert for the 3-4-3 system and the benefits it can bring.
The basic components of the formation include one central defender and two ‘outside’ central defenders, who often pull wide into the inside channel. Then there are two shuttling central midfielders capable of operating effectively in all phases, two attack-minded wing-backs, two floating inside or wide forwards, and one striker charged with leading the line.

Conte has been aided in implementing the 3-4-3 by the personnel available, many of whom suit the aforementioned roles. As shuttling central midfielders go, few are more shuttle-y than N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic. Marcos Alonso actually played for Sousa’s Fiorentina as a left wing-back, while Victor Moses combination of energy, speed and work ethic make him a viable candidate for the right-sided berth. Eden Hazard thrives when given license to create in and around the final third, something his new position affords him, while Diego Costa has the technical and physical characteristics to act as the attacking spearhead.
And, when it all comes together, as it has done for Chelsea in recent weeks, the system can prove devastating.
Average Chelsea positions versus Manchester United.
Average Chelsea positions versus Manchester United (via Whoscored.com)

Firstly, it is difficult to press effectively. The back three offers a basic numerical superiority that enables successful build-up, while possession is only improved by the triangle and diamond patterns that arise naturally from the rough positioning of all players within the 3-4-3.

Examples of these with Chelsea can be found on the right, where a diamond forms between right centre-back Cesar Azpilicueta, Moses, Kante and right-sided forward Pedro, and on the left between left centre-back Gary Cahill, Alonso, Matic and Hazard. These patterns ensure the ball-player always has at least two diagonal passing options. For instance, Cahill can play diagonally wide to Alonso or inside to Matic. And, should those options not be available, a vertical pass in the channel to Hazard is possible, as it was for Chelsea’s opener last Saturday.

The movement of the inside forwards – Hazard and Pedro in Chelsea’s case – can also be problematic for opposition back fours. Should they choose to man-mark, as Manchester United did, this only creates extra space behind for runners and/or Costa to exploit. Alternately, should they stay deep and form a compact four, this gives Hazard and Pedro time to receive, turn, run at the defensive line and commit players.
Whether Conte’s 3-4-3 succeeds in the long run will depend on the approach of opposing sides and how he reacts to them. It’s a unique system, which means that sooner or later it will be given specific scrutiny by rivals. Teams may now look to sit and neutralise Chelsea through a compact defence before countering through the space vacated down the flanks. Or they may decide to pack the midfield and overload Kante and Matic.

Conte has used the formation well, just as Rodgers did before him, to turn around his team’s form. The challenge for him now is to win with the system over a concerted period of time.

Tomtoxic:
I believe the back 3 have finally found rhythm and content wouldn't want to disturb that so zouma starts on the bench for now

Although I wouldn't mind cahill getting his azz glued to the bench.