Chelsea banter 28066

 

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18 Feb 2020 07:11:28
Ed001, as a neutral observer, what did you make of the ref and VAR spectacle last night?

The Giroud Offside was in theory correct. It's stupid that they call of goals for marginal offsides that have no impact on the action, but that's how it's been called all season so no complaints there.

But Zouma's goal should have definitely stood I thought. Either it's a no call or it's a penalty as Azpi got pushed first. So if a push is a foul then it's a penalty.

Maguire kicked out and didn't even deny it afterwards. That's a red card in the first half.
Zouma yellow was perplexing to me. All ball. Martial just landed badly, but the tackle was clean as ever.
And lastly the yellow for diving. Sure, he went down. But I've seen them given as fouls as Bruno stuck out his leg clumsily. Yellow was definitely harsh.

So wondering if I'm too biased or whether it really was as bad as I felt.

United really do have a talent for winning games when not creating anything of note. It's something we desperately lack.

{Ed001's Note - it was terrible last night that VAR got those two big calls wrong. How anyone could say that the kick from Maguire was not a clear and obvious, blatant red card I do not know! The nonsense made up about he was worried about him falling on him, come on, that is not an excuse to kick someone in the knackers. And he did it with enough force to move Batshuayi as well. You could visibly see he moved backwards. Has to be a red.

I also thought the initial push was on Azpilicueta and if you are going to give a push there, well I don't know how you can not see he was pushed first. That should have stood. It would have been nonsense to go back and give a penalty, just let the goal stand.

I actually thought it was an excellent tackle by Zouma, but referees know nothing about playing the game and judge those kind of challenges as reckless. A poor decision but I can see why he chose to book him.

The problem with the booking for diving is that Willian went down looking to make it worse. He threw his arms forward clearly hoping he would get a pen. Again I can understand why the ref saw it as a dive. I do agree with you that it was harsh, Bruno left his leg there and Willian had to avoid it, which makes it a foul. It might well only be classed as an indirect free kick, but Bruno certainly impeded his progress, even if contact was not made. It is one of those that refs will give one way one week, the next they give it the other. Harsh but not totally unreasonable.}

Agree1 Disagree0

18 Feb 2020 09:10:25
I agree 100% with your analysis Ed.

The ref was poor and VAR is worse.

{Ed001's Note - I still can't get over how the VAR can not see that as a red. I get the ref missing it, he can't see everything and he would probably have looked away by the time it happened, but how can VAR not see the deliberate movement of his leg? VAR has turned out to be a waste of time. None of the things it has been brought in for have actually happened. It was supposedly being brought in to stop all the pulling and pushing in the box during setpieces, but now you can push an attacker into someone else and win a free kick! During the Liverpool game, van Dijk was rugby tackled by their defenders at every setpiece, but no penalty was ever given. On one of the corners, two players combined to rugby tackle him to the ground, but still no decision, even though it was easy to spot. But they can spot someone's foot being an inch too far forward on an offside! It is not what VAR should be for. It should be to make the game better. It is not doing that.}

18 Feb 2020 09:14:03
Luck is important but we still have to be a lot better than what we are witnessing and not just yesterday.

18 Feb 2020 09:23:00
Agree 100% Ed001. Taylor lost the grip on the game after the Maguire incident.

18 Feb 2020 09:45:24
VAR has been poor all season so I won't bother complaining about it. I'm not surprised one bit, however the comedians in charge yesterday need to be briefed about their officiating performance. They can't keep getting await with it.

More importantly, I'm more disappointed by our team performance. At the moment, we come across as a team that will create chances but will not score, however the first or 2nd opposition attacks lead to us conceding which is baffling. This is a concern because the two most important aspects are wrong which is a worrying combination.

Ed1 what do you reckon Lampard can do to sort this issue out? He comes across as very busy in his own ideas and may not be seeing simple fixes. What are your thoughts mate?

{Ed001's Note - first off, he should have given Giroud more game time. That is a much needed experienced head who can help the younger players through a game and help them keep their composure when it is not going right. He also scores goals. Not at the rate of some, but he adds a significant goal threat and occupies defenders, creating more space for others.

By playing him as the main front man, you immediately have someone to actually head the ball when you cross it in. There is no real aerial threat otherwise, especially if it is Batshuayi up front.

Secondly, you need more bodies getting into the box when it is wide. Most games you have just two getting in there. Usually one of the wide attackers is out either crossing or supporting the man crossing. The other is usually hanging round on the edge of the box, rather than getting in trying to get on the end of something. The other wideman should be in there as well or the opposite side full-back. One should hold out wide and one should get in the box. You have three midfielders, one sometimes gets in there, but that should be happening on every attack, one gets in there. Two holding around the edge of the box to pick up the bits and pieces is plenty.

It is just about risk to be honest. You have to risk more bodies in the box and take the chance on leaving more space for a break. Too much emphasis on ball retention leaves too many bodies outside the box to ensure you can get loose balls.

With the defenders you have, I think it would be worth the risk, as they are good at one-on-one defending, they can handle that. It is deadballs you struggle to defend. I don't see many teams who are going to cut you apart on fast breaks, so long as no one getting forward neglects their job defensively. Which is why Alonso could be a problem imo, he would do the attacking job but suddenly forget how to sprint when defending. To help it, dropping Kante back five yards, so he is on the edge of the box covering, when he plays, would make a massive difference. It is no wonder, to me anyway, that he is suddenly picking up lots of injuries when asked to play further forward. He now has to run much further to get back into position when the ball is lost and he was already covering so much ground it was bound to be too much to give him that little bit more to do.

You do need to ensure someone else is there to cover Jorginho, as his weakness is recovery pace to help on the breaks. But give him that cover, either Kovacic or Kante being alongside him, and he can get around the edge of the box and start hitting some shots from dangerous areas. He can strike a ball, so why not let him get in a position to do so?}

18 Feb 2020 10:26:15
Excellent views Ed1. I always like reading your analysis which I find very sensible. Thanks mate, really appreciate it.

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate.}

18 Feb 2020 12:45:07
If you and quite a few other people can see the problem why do you think the management team are so blind to at least a few soloutions/ alternatives?

{Ed001's Note - because we all see things differently. They are looking for ball retention as a priority. I think ball retention is good, but I would not have it as high a priority as they do. I would go for more risk. It is not my head on the line if it goes wrong though, so it is understandable the risk/reward factor is seen differently by those who have got their heads on the line.}

18 Feb 2020 13:27:09
The first part of the equation that needs attention is our defensive shape which is often verging on chaos .
How we can have conceded 12 more goals than a promoted team (Sheff Utd) is scandalous.
Any team that plays counter attacking football know they are in with a good chance of scoring.
We don't have the players to outscore our opponents very often so creating a solid defensive base is a must.
Interestingly at no level in the club has the defensive side of the game been developed rather possession and out scoring the oppo.
This is very much Morris's approach at youth level.

18 Feb 2020 20:38:21
Thanks for that reply, Ed. Basically agree with every word.

{Ed001's Note - welcome mate.}

19 Feb 2020 04:15:53
Nice Post Ed.

VAR is killing my enjoyment of the game. I just can’t see the benefit. If you’re just trading one refs judgement for another’s, that’s not value-add. If you’re making calls that could ONLY be seen in super slow motion or in frame-by-frame analysis, then why even have the side judges and linesmen? I would be sooooo happy if we went back to human refs and goal line technology.

VAR is a solution in search of a problem.

Regarding offsides and VAR, generally, I wish they’d change it to be more like the forward pass rule in the NFL: as long as any part of the player is even with the defender, then it’s on-side. This will result in more scoring and feels truer to the spirit of the law, which is to keep players from cherry picking the defences. Giroud’s off-side call? It was a good goal.





 

 

 
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