Good Stuff last night

[FindernRam]

My Poundland Rosy specs seem to b working because in the main I enjoyed last night despite losing.
Kaptain Kaos had his kustomary blunder and flippy the Forsyth still cant cross to save his life, but overall I thought the boys done good!
Omar looked a different player (in a good way)and I thought held it together well for the most part.
JR was confident throughout and his tracking back was good, he covers the ground like Bryson did last year.
Bryson was a bit diffident to start with but got stronger as the game went on.
Hughes wandered about a lot and got stuck in but somehow it didn't seem to be clicking with the rest of the midfield. He needs to be cleverer with his tackling and cut out stupid fouls.
Dawkins OK in patches but I think he is dependent on good link ups with Forsyth who is having a real bad patch so the left side of the team was not working at all.
Christie had a better game than I expected given his age and who he was up against so credit there.
Martin tried really har

[wristslasher_909]

Yes, I felt it was a positive performance too.

I saw it as a sort of Premier League STRESS TEST.

We played exactly the same style/formation as we usually would so it was interesting to see who looked out of place.

For me: Grant, Christie, Keogh, Bryson, Mascarell, Hughes, Hendrick, Ibe and Russell all did well and looked comfortable against top level opposition.

Keogh's slip up was unfortunate, but there isn't a defender on earth who completes a season without the odd error here and there, and for me Keogh is one of the best defenders in the Championship. I certainly wouldn't replace him with anyone else I've seen so far this season.

Martin's lack of mobility is putting a question mark against whether or not he could make the transition.

As I think everyone will agree, significant investment will be required to keep us in the PL when we get there. PACE and POWER will be required right across the team otherwise we would disappear without trace.

[su4eranio]

Think we showed last night that we have improved against when we played them in Jan.

Highlights for me were Johnny R, Brys, Omar...and Bucko who stood firm until the sending off. Can debate that one whether his foul was any different to the pulling on him Remy was already doing to get in front of him

On a negative note...Keogh was back to the blunders that blighted him last season. In the Championship you can more often than not get lucky. Against Prem opposition, you get punished. IMO, this is a sign of how he will prob be next season IF we were to go up. Love his never say die spirit, but cant afford a player who always has an error like this in him!

Losing to what was very close to Chelsea best 11 was no shame, and we now need to raise our games in the coming weeks and bring that determination to the Championship!

[hantsram]

Maybe I am alone then... I have an overall feeling that Chelsea were very comfortable and didn't really get out of 3rd gear. To me it seemed like they were very deliberately playing within themselves to do just enough to win.

Am I alone in that thought?

[Stimaclegend]

Maybe I am alone then... I have an overall feeling that Chelsea were very comfortable and didn't really get out of 3rd gear. To me it seemed like they were very deliberately playing within themselves to do just enough to win.

Am I alone in that thought?

No I said exactly the same last night.

[wristslasher_909]

I think we we're pushing them hard at 1-2.

Good players make the game look easy though, and Jose has them playing with confidence and they're very well set-up defensively. John Terry is a fantastic centre half and a great organiser.

[AngryRam]

Maybe I am alone then... I have an overall feeling that Chelsea were very comfortable and didn't really get out of 3rd gear. To me it seemed like they were very deliberately playing within themselves to do just enough to win.

Am I alone in that thought?

I agree they had another gear if needed. Little Angry hit the nail on the head when he commented how good Chelsea were without the ball...
JM has assembled a machine. As much as I hate them and their fans they are an exceptional side this season.

[wristslasher_909]

Little Angry had that bob on.

The communication between their back 4 and def mids was fantastic.

[Rapid]

Maybe I am alone then... I have an overall feeling that Chelsea were very comfortable and didn't really get out of 3rd gear. To me it seemed like they were very deliberately playing within themselves to do just enough to win.

Am I alone in that thought?

to be fair, even if Chelsea were comfortable it doesn't necessarily mean we didn't compete and play well. it's probably fair to say there were comfortable for most of the game but as another poster said, we had them rattled at 2-1 and it was just a shame that a disgusting decision ruined our chance of getting back into the game. we may not have anyway but now we'll never know.

[swaledale]

I think we competed well, were unlucky in that the error that led to the first goal and Bucko's sending off were key factors - Idon't view the sending off as a disgusting decision, it was debateable certainly but no ore than that.

In the end class told, take into acount the difference in resources and it was no disgrace even the bottom 10 clubs in the prem struggle to beat Chelski!!