No predictions in the final minutes before the game. It could go any way, really. Not having Ramsey is a major blow; I'd actually be fairly confident if he were fit and starting.
...
nil-nil at the half, both defenses bending but not breaking. Ozil and Auba are being kept from much possession. I don't know who the impact subs would be from either side. Guendouzi is not going to scare the Blues. I suppose Iwobi could replace Kolasinac to some effect.
...
Game's suddenly gone to shit...fine play from Chelsea, but defensive lapses are killing us. I'm definitely not giving up, but it's a long way back now from 2-0.
And now a PK as we're overrun again. 3-0. Can I give up now?
4-1 and I have got to admit we've been outplayed. Too many midfielders trying to dribble through people, giveaways turned into goals.
It's over. Honestly, Chelsea were better on the night. No Aaron, big problem. I'd have started Iwobi, but would that have made a difference? I doubt it. Lacazette did earn a penalty he wasn't awarded, but it was a close call and we didn't get it, even with VAR, it having been waved off. If you're looking for a goat, I nominate Ozil, who did almost nothing of note the entire time he was in. Aubameyang must have been marked out, because he didn't see much of the ball. And when our strikers had a chance to do something good, they didn't manage to do it.
Last season: 6th place and a EL semifinal. This season: 5th place and a EL final. It does not really seem like progress.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019
Burnley 1 - 3 Arsenal, and Premier League Season Wrap-Up
OK, it was a meaningless game from any practical standpoint, given the results elsewhere, but our work at Turf Moor was very satisfying to me. Let me count the ways:
1) PEA bagged a brace and shared the Golden Boot with two guys from Liverpool. His last few games have shown a striker in excellent form, which bodes well for Baku.
2) The youngsters did great. Iwobi, the dean of our home-grown young guns, had another very good game. I've always known he was going to come good for us. Eddie Nketiah got a goal, and Joe Willock looked really dangerous. Guendouzi bossed midfield. The sour note is Mavropanos, who did not play especially well and got injured in the first half. We may have made a mistake there. There are more players in the youth pipeline, too. (I still wish we'd kept Isaac Hayden.)
3) Other than Dinos, no one got hurt, and everyone gained some confidence. Granted, many of these players will not start against Chelsea in the final, but seeing Elneny and Mustafi play well was very reassuring. (Please, Shkodran, don't Mustafi us up in Baku.) Kos looked pretty awesome as an emergency sub; you know he's going to start, alongside Papa.
The season in general was frustrating as hell. Dropping two games at the start to big rivals put us in a hole, but the long unbeaten streak gave me hope. We were in the top four hunt until almost the very end, but that was because all four of the contenders for the last two spots played terribly down the stretch. It came down to any of several moments, like Auba's penalty miss at Wembley, or Emery's brain fart when he selected the team that would face Palace, or one of Mustafi's Mustafi-like Mustafi-ings that gave away a goal, or one of the missed sitters that our strikers unaccountably committed. But that's over.
I like what Emery's done with this team. Torreira was probably decided without his input, but Guendouzi came largely because of him, and those two will be midfield heros for us for a long time. It's not his fault Aaron is leaving. He's got what he could out of Xhaka. The strikers are working very well with each other. Has he handled Ozil properly? I think he has. Iwobi has played himself onto the team.
Our problems are defensive, obviously. I firmly believe that had either Bellerin or Holding not been injured, we'd be in third place. But they were. We're getting them back, and I sure hope they're as good after surgery as they were before, because they were both terrific for us. Lichtsteiner has obviously got to go; sadly, I suspect Jenko will have to find a new home as well. Monreal and Kos are aging off the team soon. Kolasinac looked so good early on, but a defender has got to defend better than he does. I'd keep him, but he needs work. Leno is in my opinion top notch and I'd try to tie him down to us long term. Cech's retiring after Baku, and Martinez and Ospina are on loan. I doubt the latter will be back, but Emi will probably be our backup, unless we buy someone else. He may be good enough. The real need is for more solid central defenders. Calum Chambers should come back; there's one. He's been playing defensive midfield for Fulham, but no way is he playing in the Championship next season when we need him so badly alongside Rob or Sokratis. I honestly don't know what to do with Mustafi. What drives me batty is after he screws up and then looks around and gesticulates wildly to indicate that he's either been fouled or a teammate should have covered for him or something. I don't recall him raising his hand in acknowledgment that he did something dumb, and he does more dumb things than any other defender. On the other hand, he's athletic and gets to more balls in the air and on the ground than you'd expect, and makes great plays every game. But it's the one or two colossal cock-ups in big games (like the foul on Kane or gifting a chance to Zaha) that overshadow it all. We sure could use a young left back too, for when Nacho retires. I don't know when Hector can start in games, but AMN looks like a solid backup, though it would be fun to see him as a winger.
Midfield is a major problem now. Matteo and Lucas are our foundation. Xhaka is still formidable, but not irreplaceable. Aaron is irreplaceable. There's no one like him. Would you have taken Paul Pogba for him? Me neither. Ozil...that's the big question, isn't it? On the back of this season, no one is going to offer much for him and his huge salary. We may be stuck with him. He's immensely talented, but something is wrong with him or his game or both that Emery can't fix. He's still popular with his teammates and he hasn't lost the supporters, unlike the unlamented Alexis, so there may be great years for him here. But I wonder. Mkhi does what he can, but that seems to be less than what's needed most of the time. He seems to me to be a less than 90 minute player, but he does do some really good things often enough to indicate he can play a positive role. Is Suarez staying? I doubt it. Smith-Rowe, Willock, and Maitland-Niles could grow into valuable midfield assets and get substantial minutes. Elneny has to be frustrated by the minutes he's getting. He may be sold.
Laca and Auba are fantastic up top. Iwobi could be a good striker if the guy could just finish. Nketiah may make the first team; the jury's out on that. There's a case to be made that we could use Welbeck up there, but he may have played his last game for us. I really like him and hope he stays.
I'm always optimistic. Between the guys coming back from injury and new acquisitions, I think we
will be a top four team next season. Whether we're playing ECL or EL depends on what happens in Baku.
1) PEA bagged a brace and shared the Golden Boot with two guys from Liverpool. His last few games have shown a striker in excellent form, which bodes well for Baku.
2) The youngsters did great. Iwobi, the dean of our home-grown young guns, had another very good game. I've always known he was going to come good for us. Eddie Nketiah got a goal, and Joe Willock looked really dangerous. Guendouzi bossed midfield. The sour note is Mavropanos, who did not play especially well and got injured in the first half. We may have made a mistake there. There are more players in the youth pipeline, too. (I still wish we'd kept Isaac Hayden.)
3) Other than Dinos, no one got hurt, and everyone gained some confidence. Granted, many of these players will not start against Chelsea in the final, but seeing Elneny and Mustafi play well was very reassuring. (Please, Shkodran, don't Mustafi us up in Baku.) Kos looked pretty awesome as an emergency sub; you know he's going to start, alongside Papa.
The season in general was frustrating as hell. Dropping two games at the start to big rivals put us in a hole, but the long unbeaten streak gave me hope. We were in the top four hunt until almost the very end, but that was because all four of the contenders for the last two spots played terribly down the stretch. It came down to any of several moments, like Auba's penalty miss at Wembley, or Emery's brain fart when he selected the team that would face Palace, or one of Mustafi's Mustafi-like Mustafi-ings that gave away a goal, or one of the missed sitters that our strikers unaccountably committed. But that's over.
I like what Emery's done with this team. Torreira was probably decided without his input, but Guendouzi came largely because of him, and those two will be midfield heros for us for a long time. It's not his fault Aaron is leaving. He's got what he could out of Xhaka. The strikers are working very well with each other. Has he handled Ozil properly? I think he has. Iwobi has played himself onto the team.
Our problems are defensive, obviously. I firmly believe that had either Bellerin or Holding not been injured, we'd be in third place. But they were. We're getting them back, and I sure hope they're as good after surgery as they were before, because they were both terrific for us. Lichtsteiner has obviously got to go; sadly, I suspect Jenko will have to find a new home as well. Monreal and Kos are aging off the team soon. Kolasinac looked so good early on, but a defender has got to defend better than he does. I'd keep him, but he needs work. Leno is in my opinion top notch and I'd try to tie him down to us long term. Cech's retiring after Baku, and Martinez and Ospina are on loan. I doubt the latter will be back, but Emi will probably be our backup, unless we buy someone else. He may be good enough. The real need is for more solid central defenders. Calum Chambers should come back; there's one. He's been playing defensive midfield for Fulham, but no way is he playing in the Championship next season when we need him so badly alongside Rob or Sokratis. I honestly don't know what to do with Mustafi. What drives me batty is after he screws up and then looks around and gesticulates wildly to indicate that he's either been fouled or a teammate should have covered for him or something. I don't recall him raising his hand in acknowledgment that he did something dumb, and he does more dumb things than any other defender. On the other hand, he's athletic and gets to more balls in the air and on the ground than you'd expect, and makes great plays every game. But it's the one or two colossal cock-ups in big games (like the foul on Kane or gifting a chance to Zaha) that overshadow it all. We sure could use a young left back too, for when Nacho retires. I don't know when Hector can start in games, but AMN looks like a solid backup, though it would be fun to see him as a winger.
Midfield is a major problem now. Matteo and Lucas are our foundation. Xhaka is still formidable, but not irreplaceable. Aaron is irreplaceable. There's no one like him. Would you have taken Paul Pogba for him? Me neither. Ozil...that's the big question, isn't it? On the back of this season, no one is going to offer much for him and his huge salary. We may be stuck with him. He's immensely talented, but something is wrong with him or his game or both that Emery can't fix. He's still popular with his teammates and he hasn't lost the supporters, unlike the unlamented Alexis, so there may be great years for him here. But I wonder. Mkhi does what he can, but that seems to be less than what's needed most of the time. He seems to me to be a less than 90 minute player, but he does do some really good things often enough to indicate he can play a positive role. Is Suarez staying? I doubt it. Smith-Rowe, Willock, and Maitland-Niles could grow into valuable midfield assets and get substantial minutes. Elneny has to be frustrated by the minutes he's getting. He may be sold.
Laca and Auba are fantastic up top. Iwobi could be a good striker if the guy could just finish. Nketiah may make the first team; the jury's out on that. There's a case to be made that we could use Welbeck up there, but he may have played his last game for us. I really like him and hope he stays.
I'm always optimistic. Between the guys coming back from injury and new acquisitions, I think we
will be a top four team next season. Whether we're playing ECL or EL depends on what happens in Baku.
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