I could easily rant but I won't start. Just want to say that I think Poch mad a big, big mistake resting Vertonghen and Walker today.
Two points:
1) This was the definition of a must win game. Huge pressure to win away against highest scoring team in Europe! So Vertonghen sand Walker are rested, and the young inexperienced duo of Dier and Wimmer are paired together for the first time I believe?
2) Chelsea is a big game, no more than that at this stage. If we lose that, it's not good but we'be got plenty of time to make up for it. The same cannot be said about our CL situation! When you're missing your best defender through injury, you just cannot afford to rest two of the other first choice in a game like this!
I'm already going against what I said and turning this into a rant
Really really not happy with Poch tonight.
Walker & Vertonghen HAD to play!
posted on 22/11/16
comment by Chronic (U3423)
posted 3 minutes ago
in my opinion chelsea away is the bigger game, but if it were me naming the side, then i would have played both of them
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Why on earth would you think that?
posted on 22/11/16
comment by Chronic (U3423)
posted 5 minutes ago
in my opinion chelsea away is the bigger game
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posted on 23/11/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 23/11/16
weare, i know you aren't very bright mate, but try to keep up.
in my opinion its the bigger game because i always make the league number 1 priority unless we are in a cup final or maybe a semi final. this is simply my opinion. i do not run the club or the team, and have no imput in the selection of the players or the priorities of the club
i said i would have gone full strength too. getting out the group was one of my goals for the season, but basically means you pretty much delay elimination by a round, maybe two rounds at best until you play an elite side which would knock us out.
however, as last season showed, this premier league is actually winnable if you don't play like caaants. we are 4 points off top, lose omn saturday and it becomes 7 points, and i don't believe we can bridge that gap.
also, i don't put cl above fa cup win…. i said thats what the players prefer. players want cl football, not fa cups and league cups…….. in my opinion
posted on 23/11/16
I entirely agree with you Edbo.
I would really like Poch to explain why he rested key players for the biggest game of our season. I appreciate that we have injuries and a busy schedule but this was the biggy. It makes no sense to spend years trying to get in the CL and then not taking it seriously when you get there.
It baffles me.
As does why some of our players can look like world beaters one week and not turn up the next.
Gutted today.
posted on 23/11/16
I had my suspicions after the first couple of CL games this campaign, but yesterday selection confirmed it. This campaign was purely about the CL money rather than any attempt to progress in the comp. Our spending over the last window isn't of a club preparing for a serious attempt at the CL. Winks for example, as good as his debut was the other day, has no place on the pitch in such an important game.
I guess it makes financial sense to just collect our £30 odd mill for participating. This approach is Levy sanctioned without doubt
posted on 23/11/16
Poch didn't play a full strength side all tournament
That says it all. Prem is the priority
posted on 23/11/16
comment by Sir Tottenham of Hotspur (U17379)
posted 51 seconds ago
Poch didn't play a full strength side all tournament
That says it all. Prem is the priority
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i agree with him that prem should be the priority, but I would have played full strength in the CL too tbh
posted on 23/11/16
Dont we get more money if we qualify? I am curious
posted on 23/11/16
Poch did the right thing, we were extremely unlikely to win the CL anyway so the PL has to take priority.
The reason we are out of the CL is the bad luck of our draw, Monaco were in pot 4 and meant to be the group whipping boys, but have instead won the group.
If we had drawn a genuine whipping boy like Brugge, we would probably have had 6 points, instead we lost twice to Monaco.
Monaco are a decent team, they are second in the French league, recently beat PSG and are the top scorers in the whole of Europe.