BrumBlue1878
Player Valuation: £500k
Once again conviction and final pass let us down. Barkley was very poor IMO when he came on; loose touches saw us lose possession in good areas. Nothing stuck up front today; Naismith runs his socks off but from a technical perspective, he offers very little. I think we're trying too hard at present to score flowing, innovative goals on the counter rather than shooting and testing the keeper; lacked any real cutting edge or incentive in that regard. Osman impressed me today; I think he is now comfortable with the approach that Martinez is encouraging and the back four were excellent, as was Barry IMO. We kept hazard and their attacking line incredibly quiet and it was ironic that considering how dominant Distin and Jags were today we were undone by a free kick, which was wrongly given. I thought Mourinho's decision to bring on Ramires was a game changer; he offered security in the midfield which enabled Chelsea to gain more possession in the second half.
The effort was faultless and I'm delighted that Lukaku is on his way back because the lack of potency in the final third isn't too impressive at present. Lukaku is a centre forward who neccessarily doesn't need a good performance to score a goal, whereas in the past Jelavic or Naismith or even the likes of yakubu had to be on the top of their game to score. I think Martinez has to throw all his eggs into the FA Cup basket; realistically top 4 is out of reach but we need to continue to pressurise Spurs who have Europa league commitments (a potential hinderence) and finish above United and push towards Wembley. Beat arsenal and that not only sends out a statement to the FA cup's remaining participants but the league itself.
Lacked penetration or firepower today and that's the difference between us, a very good side, and a top side. Still we are 6th and in the FA cup quarter final; if you'd offered me that at the start of the campaign, I'd have been a very happy man.
Waffled on a bit again, apologies, hoping for a Palace win tonight to overpower the doom and gloom here in the Midlands.
Allez allez oh
The effort was faultless and I'm delighted that Lukaku is on his way back because the lack of potency in the final third isn't too impressive at present. Lukaku is a centre forward who neccessarily doesn't need a good performance to score a goal, whereas in the past Jelavic or Naismith or even the likes of yakubu had to be on the top of their game to score. I think Martinez has to throw all his eggs into the FA Cup basket; realistically top 4 is out of reach but we need to continue to pressurise Spurs who have Europa league commitments (a potential hinderence) and finish above United and push towards Wembley. Beat arsenal and that not only sends out a statement to the FA cup's remaining participants but the league itself.
Lacked penetration or firepower today and that's the difference between us, a very good side, and a top side. Still we are 6th and in the FA cup quarter final; if you'd offered me that at the start of the campaign, I'd have been a very happy man.
Waffled on a bit again, apologies, hoping for a Palace win tonight to overpower the doom and gloom here in the Midlands.
Allez allez oh
