veedublin

The way I saw it (I've watched it quite a few times), him being offside didn't serve as a huge advantage. It was just where he was at the time of the pass. I think Oscar would have gotten him the ball even if he wasn't offside. Now, if Oscar's pass is so far as to force Terry offside, that's one thing. But say he's not playing it so as to put Terry offside; say he's playing it to get the ball to Terry regardless of Terry's position. So I wouldn't necessarily assume that Oscar's pass would have been too far, had Terry been onside. Or, our guys might have been farther back, and Terry's position was irrelevant. The ball got to him; he scored. Anyhoo, the main point of my post was to say that we let them in at the last minute. (Which seems to be a habit with us.) Had we kept them out, the referee's non-call would also be irrelevant. Listen, I'm as crabby as the rest of you about it. Should have been called. But we also need to defend better than we did. Especially there. Now, the one thing that was really frustrating is the admission by Hiddink that he "told the referee to add time because of our celebration." Fine. But if the referee was planning on doing that based on that conversation/argument, that is a distinct advantage for Chelsea. If they knew there was to be an extra minute, and we didn't, well, then I see that as being more egregious than the missed offside. Anyway, this is the Swansea thread. Sorry for the disruption.

Yep. Totally agree Terry should have been called offside. But he still scored. He would have scored even if he wasn't offside. I know it's a technicality, but we let him in the box, and Oscar got him the ball, and he found the back of the net. When our defensive strategy includes the hope that the ref calls offside, it's not a very good one. We need to prevent that. Clear the zone and park the bus! Amiright?

Gotcha. First one to find it let the other guy know!

BT? Sky? Where in the US? I know BeIN sports network carries many of these, but I don't have that network on my satellite package.

I have never sworn so loud as last weekend. I don't want to swear this weekend. At least not about a bad result. 3-2 Toffees and we will hold them off at the end. This is going to be great. Mark: thanks for adding the match dates!

Because top 4 is pure unobtanium at this point (not mathematically, but realistically), I think this shows who RM trusts more in goal. Robles plays cup ties, where we might get a shot at Europe. Howard plays the PL matches, because he's just good enough to keep us from being relegated. Next year, Robles is our starter. Howard goes to MLS.

it would be interesting to see Everton play water polo.

Not particularly educated about the fourth tier of English football, but how bad are Dag & Red? I mean, I know they're not "bad," but how much better are we? Is it such a mismatch that we can use all non-starters and it's still going to be a cakewalk? TIL about the failed match-fixing plot involving Dagenham & Redbridge FC.

We either score then, or concede then. Uncanny.

I know, right? Seems all too common where a side (usually ours) holds onto the ball the whole time, and then they're surprised when the opponent dispossesses them and streaks the length of the pitch and scores.

Just last night I watched an episode of Luther (Season 2, ep 1), which has a villain who fancies himself as the new incarnation of Spring Heeled Jack. I bet I hear references to it three more times in the next week. Because Baader-Meinhof.

I watched it in the states on NBC's Sportivo channel or some such. Didn't need to speak spanish to know that it was dreary as hell. Waste of a saturday morning. Yeah, they fielded a "better" side, but still. Everton passed while standing still, and usually backwards. Arsenal were always on the move, looking for a play. We had no creativity or confidence or preparation. Arsenal looked like they had a plan, and organization and knew how to get the ball to each other in the box. Dismal.

I'll just sit back and see how this plays out.

Speaking of which, we are neck and neck with West Ham on Fair Play points to get into Europa. Do WE want that? (We might have backslid during the WH game, as we had more yellows, but I don't really know how it all works.)

Whatever I say is a lie. We're getting spanked.

I predicted we'd get 15 points from our last 10 games (when we were still worried about the relegation battle), but we managed 16 points in our last six. Nice job, Blues. With the current form, we probably could win the remainder. Villa, Sunderland, West Ham I see us with good results for sure. Spurs might be tough, simply because Lennon won't suit up. Unfortunately, one of my best friends has been a Sunderland supporter for years. They have a pretty touch schedule at the end. They're probably going to drop, along with Burnley and QPR.

That I understand. But it seems that "footballing brain" = "proper footballer", whether that means passing, shooting, defending, or saving goals. A player might excel at one skill vs another skill, and the manager will put them in the position where their skills are best put to use, but they still need to be able to see the field and players and opportunities. If McCarthy, Barry and Besic don't possess footballer's brains, what are they good for? Besides Gibson, who are the best footballing brains on the side, would you say?

I still can't understand why a player can't learn to pass forward. I mean, the manager and the players must see the success Gibson has, getting the ball up front. Is it that the players do not have the ability? Or are they simply not being instructed to do so? These are not children. They're skilled footballers. It's not like American football, like we're trying to get an offensive lineman to play quarterback. Find a striker. Pass it to them. What am I missing here?

I haven't participated in this thread, so I'm not going to start now. But if I did, this would be my prediction, too.

What about Barkley as the other striker? 4-3-3 with Lukaku, Barkley and Naismith up front?

Yup, 10-4 on Gibson. Just read that, too. Bummer. Why can't Naismith be paired up front with Lukaku? (He asks naively.) What does Kone provide in that role that Naismith does not? (I think it's a valid experiment, but Kone hasn't really been all that.)

But you gotta figure Lukaku and Gibson will play a role when healthy. How long are they out, does anyone know? Recent story in Echo how Barry says he's only playing so much because of injuries. If everyone was healthy, this would be interesting: Howard Coleman Stones Jags Baines Lennon McCarthy Gibson Barkley Naismith Lukaku

few members on the forum during the game... for me, it's because I'm in the states, and it's not a midweek workday match! Looked lost: Kone, Besic Solid: Naismith, Stones, Barry! Great: Lennon, Jagielka Howard got himself into trouble/no-man's land, but made the saves he needed to make. Two amazing saves. Thought Mirallas would for sure come in for Kone, but it's looking more and more like he's gone after this season. Hopefully Lukaku and Gibson will be back soon. Maybe Naismith replaces Kone up front with Lukaku? With Gibson/Lennon/Coleman passing to them, it could be brilliant. I predicted 15 points from the last 10 games (with us getting four from these last three). We've gotten all nine possible. Glad my guess was off a bit! Not an exciting match, by any standards, but gritty. Showing signs of a strong finish. Like Sunderland's critical Tyne-Wear win, it just gives one hope. Maybe?

Well, two matches into my "15 points from the last 10" post in some long-forgotten Match-day thread (should have been in the "will we be relegated?" thread), we're ahead of the game. We've gotten 6 of 6 (two better than my guess). According to my silly prognostication, we will lose to Soton. To recap: 3 Newcastle (Should be a win, but who knows, given the past. But for the sake of argument, a Draw.) 3 QPR (Win.) Southampton (Loss.) Swansea City (Draw.) Burnley FC (Win.) Man United (Loss.) Aston Villa (Win.) Sunderland (Win.) West Ham (Draw.) Tottenham (Loss.) Hell, we might need Barry if both strikers are dented! (Naismith/Barkley for Lukaku/Kone?)

huzzah