₦airaland Forum

Debroslink:
A great, showing accolades to THE great.

Ibime...

That one no consign me. Zidane loves to play with Makelele does not make them mates. If Ini-Esther ever had the misfortune to play with Lampard, no one will ever compare them as mates. It would be like Dele Alli and any other Spurs midfielder.

When Lampard was asked who the most difficult opponent to overcome, he said Xavi. So all this one is just the usual media romance with the eunuch.

Wetin these usual mugus dey talk sef?

Overrun ko, overrun ni.

These are niggas who ain't comfortable with the other team keeping possession even if they ain't penetrating. Na today?

Another comfortable win for Chelsea.

This Dele dey worry sha. Anyway Dele na my boy.

Griffon:
Boss it's 8am (naija time) www.mypassionradio.com

I dey listen bros. Gimme PortHarcourt boy by Wene Mighty abeg

I believe Airmark on Morata.

I don't see heart or conviction in his play, which is disappointing given he has size and is fairly fast.

Lukaku on the other hand doesn't run enough which is the key difference between him and Drogba - work ethic.

Nihilist:
It's a no-brainer that if you send on a DM, you will gain defensive solidity in midfield. Afterall, that was Mikel was doing under Mourinho.

What we saw yesterday was not a straight swap, but a formation change. If Cesc was the problem, Conte would have simply swapped him out for Matic. Conte saw that the issue was with the formation, NOT the personnel. 343 simply could not contest the midfield against a 451, so he put an extra man in midfield. Dazall.

If you sent on another Fabregas, you would still struggle. Silva was running behind Fabregas in the 1st half with only 5 yards of space to run into. Fabregas could not keep up with 5 yards, it's not like Fabregas was on the halfway line when Silva was running behind him.

The 3-4-3 to 3-5-2 is neither here nor there. In the 3-4-3, Hazard and Pedro usually share the load of occupying the opposition DM, or if they can't get to him, the opposition DM is allowed to keep the ball, while Matic and Kante form a base double pivot to deal with the attacking midfielders. Fabregas was never asked to do anything in the 1st half but sit in his own half and deal with Silva or anyone trying to penetrate our Right DM side. He was never asked to push on to Delph which was left to Pedro and Hazard, yet Silva kept penetrating his side.

Yesterday in the 1st half, Kante was being dragged left-to-right as Fabregas could not do the job effectively and ended up between positions without ever really getting to his man. Not only that but the knock-on effect of leaving Alonso isolated as he could not shuttle between LCM and RCM and still support Alonso.

When Matic came on, Kante was free to focus on his job on the right while Matic handled the left and they were in charge. Fabregas was just floating in the middle, still not getting to Delph which was why he was taken off. He came off, replaced by Willian in a reversion to our usual system and still Man City could not do anything.

Nihilist:
And like I said to you last night, bringing Matic on in the 2nd half had nothing to do with Cesc's performance.

If Cesc was the issue, Conte would have made a straight swap with Matic. Instead, he brought Matic on to join Cesc.

I put it to you that if Conte had kept the same 343 with Matic instead of Cesc, the exact same thing would have continued to happen, quite simply due to the numerical advantage City had in central midfield with Delph, Fernandinho, and Silva.

For most of the first half, Silva only had to go and stand in the halfspace between midfield and the centre backs, because he knew Fab and Kante had to watch Delph and Fernandinho. This is why Luiz was having to rush out so much to try and Mark Silva.

I don't need any soothsayer on TV to tell me that once you throw an extra body into to midfield to Mark Silva all that nonsense would stop. It didn't even have to be Matic, you could have plucked a spectator from the Shed end and put him in the midfield to the same effect.

It ain't about numbers my gee. Fabregas came off around 70 minutes sef and nothing changed.

As it was, Matic and Kante mounted the roadblock, it's not like Fabregas was helping them with anything defensively. Matic simultaneously mounted midfield roadblock with Kante and left-wing roadblock to help Alonso who was being outnumbered in the 1st half.

We have been playing 3-4-3 all season with Matic and Kante and never heard about needing a 3rd midfielder until today. Matic and Kante were always sufficient.

This is simply a case of Matic benefitting from the narrative Fabregas has enjoyed all season. All season, Fabregas came off the bench and we all noticed an improvement in our attacking play and lauded him for it. Matics 90 minute defensive contribution was swept under the carpet in that narrative. Today for the first time, Matic came off the bench and we all noticed an improvement in our defensive play.

Sometimes you need a stark contrast to set a narrative. Matic got the same narrative yesterday that Fabregas has got all season on the attacking side. No need to be salty about it. Even the coach acknowledged it.

Griffon:
Like I told Nihilist last-nite, It's something Cesc can't do.

Being a CM isn't just about the touches and vision. Good positioning and great awareness are traits that are required most.

We all saw how Citeh were slicing through our midfield when Cesc and Kante were doing the shift, you can't compare that to when Matic came on.

The difference was clear as 7up.

Everything improved my gee, from the protection Alonso received on the left to the stability Kante experienced in the middle.

Danny Murphy basically showed clip after clip of one-twos around Fabregas, players running behind him etc leaving Kante in no man's land.

He then showed clip after clip of how Matics positioning and pressing blocked all the passing lanes and running avenues.

He did not show one tackle for Matic, he just showed how he filled all the holes with correct positioning. This is what I was telling those peeps who reduced analysis to tackles and claimed that Kante was carrying Matic and he might as well use those tackles to carry Fabregas. Utter crap.

What yesterday instead showed is Matic helps a little piece of everyone defensively from Alonso to Cahill to Kante.

Those who think Matic brings nothing to Chelsea midfield should watch Danny Murphy's analysis on MOTD.

He just broke down how Matic fills the holes in midfield.

We are the Champions.

Gail Clichy my man.

FBS:
My MOTM after Hazard.

Yes, then Alonso and Azpi following after

Pedro na my guy everly

Haba Spurs done score no 2. These people no want gree.

Spurs equalise but that means nothing.

Hazard suppose bury that.

Great run by Mathematic.

Alonso has been fantastic so far

Conte should give Willian a shot at that RWB. He has the work ethic.

Switching to 3-5-2. Not feeling Pedro for that RWB though.

lordfalcao:
they wan put that guy for confusion. I no blame them, na only Alonso dy mark them.

Well the strategy is for Hazard to go into the space vacated by Navas. Risky strategy from both sides.

Swansea rendering this match's result irrelevant at the moment

Agbaya Luiz!

Navas and DeBruyne are doing 2v1 vs Alonso all day.

Funlordmaniac:
Drogba that had one of the best first touches in the universe was not a technician?

Drogba only had a good first touch when bringing an aerial ball under control. For any pass played to him on the ground, he had a poor first touch.

Griffon:
Boss it's 8am (naija time) www.mypassionradio.com

Thanks

Griffon:
Yeah. Saturday morning show.

Give me time and link please

DJ Khaled voice. . . . We have another one. . .

Griffon:
Ah baba, I am on this shift everyday. Tomorrow is just another day. Apologies

You get shift for weekend? That time no convenient for me on weekdays.

Griffon:
Meanwhile, you can follow us on twitter: @Mypassionradio, Instagram: @Mypassionradio , Facebook: My Passion Radio

Thanks homies!

Why you no give us advance notice na?

bigkesh:
I will take Luke Shaw in a heartbeat

Perfect for our LWB.....Plus he is a Chelsea fan


If we struggle to get a good young partner for Kante,Conte should just call Marchisio as a short term fix.. ........That Marchisio is everything I want in a CM

You don't know what his attitude is like. it's not the first time he's been called up for his professionalism. Roy Hodgson once warned him as well. Like Nihilist said, the boy looks fatter each time we see him.

Vision is not something you buy in the market. I am not talking of dribbling until you hit the byline and cut the ball back when you finally run out of options. I am talking real first time vision. Only a few names I can mention with that vision eg KDB, Pirlo, Alonso, Fabregas, Scholes, Xavi and Lampard in the last 10 years. Ini Edo Esther does not belong with the visionaries.

What KDB did today remind me of ma nigga.

[img]http:///media/4-02-2017/Ym51Ke.gif[/img]

Just seeing Arsenal V City highlights.

KDB na God of vision.