We can be heroes champions league final 01/06/2019

[BangkokSpud]

I’m going say the same thing I said after Ajax. This isn’t about bollocks, it’s the one thing this team does have enough of, it’s more about intelligence (football), composure and a coach that is great at coaching an ethos, but whose tactical arse can’t always cash the cheques that coach’s ethos writes.

As with the Ajax game, this wasn’t hard to call, they were going to squeeze early, setting us up so we were numerically overloaded when trying to play out, and having players like Sissoko who is uncomfortable receiving the ball under duress and lacks the technique to cope with it (he made a pretty poor 28 passes, 20 of them backwards (14)or sideways) is just counter intuitive, whether the crowd sing his name or not. His job isn’t to be a populist, it’s to marry an ethos with the right tactics and structure.

We basically wasted the whole first 45 minutes trying to get out of our half.

And the subs? Winks off? Really. And having let Alli bumble about for 80 minutes, he then takes him off just as he’s starting to see the ball more and look threatening for the first time in the game. We were finally starting to make better chances on the ground and the final death knell of that was bringing Llorente on and just pumping it in the air.

So it’s great that Poch coaches a proactive ethos that means we are a front foot side, and the fact that we’ve gone to a CL final, and pretty much dominated a very good team in terms of intent is also a good thing, but what’s not always great is Poch’s inability to match that great and well coached ethos with the right selections, tactics and format to capitalise on it. That doesn’t always matter so much on the regular days, (although it definitely has this season) but on the tougher ones it can, and it so nearly did early on in the groups (where PSV playing with nothing at stake got us through) also in both QF second leg and semi final first leg.

Bollocks are what’s dragged us all the way to Madrid, it’s the other stuff that’s been doing for us.

Very knee-jerk and seriously not like you Blakey, don't always agree with you but you're normally pretty spot on ...

"they were going to squeeze early" ... so their plan was to get a dodgy penalty in the first 25 seconds? Fuck that Klopp must be some sort of tactical genius to call that one ...

After the opening two minutes they hardly 'squeezed' at all - we had 65% possession they had just two more shots at goal ... if they did 'squeeze' then they did it incredibly badly ... they may have pressed a bit but the truth is they just sat back and let us pass it around - just look at the heat maps

Once Liverpool had been gifted a goal they did what they've done all season against the top sides, they parked the bus - sure they have speedy outlets so gave the impression of being threatening - but in reality it was ten men behind the ball for 88 minutes. Don't blame them they're very good at it, excellent keeper (most saves ever keeping a clean sheet in a CL final) well drilled defence ...

We made a tactical decision to play Kane, would Lucas have made a difference, well you can't say but against a parked bus Lucas is at his least effective so probably not ... subs are subs again against a parked bus they won't make a huge difference ... we needed a 25 yard screamer or a touch of fortune in their box, on the night we didn't get either.

Take away that 25th second referees call and it's a different game, but we can't do that, shit happens and on this occasion it was the exact shit that Liverpool needed ...

 

[Airfixx]

I understand your point but I imagine similar things were said when we lost the league cup final or the Fa cup semi-final and so on and- you get the point.

My fear is that the project will never stop being built and therefore will never reach a conclusion.
Like the penrose stairs just when you think you've reached the top you start from the bottom again and again.

And again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again

Why not call it quits then.... You're obviously not cut out for this shit.

 

[Mick Cooper]

OK, so my position. People have been asking me for days whether I’m nervous. My stock and honest response was:

No, I’m just over the moon I’m watching my team in a Champions League final. If we win it’s a bonus.

In hindsight, I should have said “as long as the ref isn’t a complete incompetent cunt and I see a game of football, I’ll be over the moon. Winning it is just a bonus”.

What an absolute cunt of a day.

100%

 

[iz futbal]

Allison made a few saves for sure but they all came late in the game. Let’s not imply spurs attack put in anything close to a historical performance today.

To be fair, Allison didnt do anything dramatic or miraculous. . Most of the goals he saved were what any goalkeeper in a decent team would save. Its not like he wont jump in the direct of the shot and push it away. We are supposed to put it beyond his reach , the shots were just poorly placed.

 

[Airfixx]

Var was never going to disagree with the ref today on the pen

Would VAR alone have given it if the ref hadn't already blown..... We'll never know I guess....

 

[NW1Spur]

I think the truth is UEFA wanted Liverpool to win. I don't think they want any new winners, unless they're carbon clubs. The ref was told to give them a penalty or send one our players off at the first opportunity with any decision that could somehow be justified. That the VAR guy didn't even ask him to take a look says a lot. There should have been a conversation from the VAR officials, "Dude that hit his chest first, you might wanna take a look at this." I think they were happy to give the Llorente goal because they were thinking, "knock City out and it clears the way for Barcelona and Messi". But when they went out Liverpool became the least worst option. If we're gonna win it, it would have to be in a dominant way that gives no room for them to fiddle the result. I'm just shocked they did it so early though, didn't really give the game a chance. After those two great semis they've really done a lot of damage to football. If you were new to the sport you'd think it's a load of bollocks after watching that.

 

[KEDS]

Unfortunately for me, as time passes I’m getting more and more upset about the match. Seeing retweets of ‘pool fans celebrating on my TL, knowing it could’ve been us is beyond frustrating.

I would’ve rather them dominate us, instead of the feeling I’m having right now where I’m asking myself questions in my head, “what if we did this or that; Poch started x instead of y....”

I think for the meantime, I’m going stick away from football news and media bar our transfer(s). One good thing is I’m in the US, so it can’t be too hard. Can’t imagine how my uk brethren are going cope ochfacepalm:

 

[Airfixx]

The problem with our philosophy from the top of the club to the bottom summed up in one sentence.

What a load of bollocks.

 

[Notabadsquad]

Allison made a few saves for sure but they all came late in the game. Let’s not imply spurs attack put in anything close to a historical performance today.

Agreed.

The quartet of Kane, Son, Alli and Eriksen are supposed to be. Maybe now were supposed to be our game changers.

One should not have started although hd was getting better as the match went on, sort of.

I teally have liked Alli but he was off again , When does he come under threat for his spot? Then Eriksen and you look at Hazard and think hmmm...

Son got better and was our main threat but still painted a frustrating and at times a frustrated figure.

 

[Reidy]

To be fair, Allison didnt do anything dramatic or miraculous. . Most of the goals he saved were what any goalkeeper in a decent team would save. Its not like he wont jump in the direct of the shot and push it away. We are supposed to put it beyond his reach , the shots were just poorly placed.

Man Ure at Wembley all over again

 

[FightingIllini]

So, obviously that game was totally shaped by the early penalty call. It was cruel and frustrating, but ultimately by the letter of the law the correct call, and clear as day for all to see, no point in VAR really. Not sure that's really the intent of the rule but alas.

Still, given the way Liverpool reacted, slamming on the brakes and soaking up pressure, I'm not sure that early penalty was as much of a disadvantage to us as you'd imagine. I thought that was a shocking tactical decision by Klopp frankly, he really tempted fate there and we might very well have won, whereas against Liverpool in full flight playing heavy metal football I didn't fancy our chances at all. If you would have offered me a free Liverpool goal in exchange for them playing in second gear all game, I probably would have taken it.

I think folks are comparing today's performance to December 2016 Spurs more than April 2019 Spurs. We were a lot better today than we'd been for awhile. Kane looked a shadow of himself and was ill-suited at his fitness level for straining against a parked bus. For me, seeing what Kane was offering, and the sort of game it was (he'd have been better off as a deadeye finisher in an open game just lurking and making late runs) I'd have taken him off on the hour mark. Still, Sissoko and Winks controlled the midfield well, Rose was good, Son was full of danger, it was a decent enough showing. Not dominant and far from clinical, but better than we might have hoped. A draw would have been a fair result.

But alas, it wasn't to be. Football is cruel.

We'll see where we go from here. One gets the sense tonight may have been the ending for this squad as we've known it over the past four years. What a ride it's been, but it's very, very hard to take the empty trophy case at this point. We didn't deserve the trophy on the balance of this CL campaign, but my lord do we ever deserve it on the balance of the Poch era.

It hurts. It all just kinda feels like a tease at the moment. It really is deceptive to think that we're a CL final level club now. The future is very uncertain.

 

[BangkokSpud]

We did dominate possession but there was such a lack of intensity. One thing I pray will change next season is our obsession with passing it back to hugo all the time. The football has been poor for most of the season and very laboured lacking any spark. We need to get back to playing forwards at tempo and the high press.

So playing like the double EPL champions have done for the past two years is a bad idea? the same way the slightly successful Barca, Real Madrid and Bayern play is poor? We play the right way we just need a little bit more quality in midfield and out wide ...

You can't play tempo and high press against a team playing ten man defence - for reference see last night

 

[Mick Cooper]

I’m going say the same thing I said after Ajax. This isn’t about bollocks, it’s the one thing this team does have enough of, it’s more about intelligence (football), composure and a coach that is great at coaching an ethos, but whose tactical arse can’t always cash the cheques that coach’s ethos writes.

As with the Ajax game, this wasn’t hard to call, they were going to squeeze early, setting us up so we were numerically overloaded when trying to play out, and having players like Sissoko who is uncomfortable receiving the ball under duress and lacks the technique to cope with it (he made a pretty poor 28 passes, 20 of them backwards (14)or sideways) is just counter intuitive, whether the crowd sing his name or not. His job isn’t to be a populist, it’s to marry an ethos with the right tactics and structure.

We basically wasted the whole first 45 minutes trying to get out of our half.

And the subs? Winks off? Really. And having let Alli bumble about for 80 minutes, he then takes him off just as he’s starting to see the ball more and look threatening for the first time in the game. We were finally starting to make better chances on the ground and the final death knell of that was bringing Llorente on and just pumping it in the air.

So it’s great that Poch coaches a proactive ethos that means we are a front foot side, and the fact that we’ve gone to a CL final, and pretty much dominated a very good team in terms of intent is also a good thing, but what’s not always great is Poch’s inability to match that great and well coached ethos with the right selections, tactics and format to capitalise on it. That doesn’t always matter so much on the regular days, (although it definitely has this season) but on the tougher ones it can, and it so nearly did early on in the groups (where PSV playing with nothing at stake got us through) also in both QF second leg and semi final first leg.

Bollocks are what’s dragged us all the way to Madrid, it’s the other stuff that’s been doing for us.

One day you'll melt so completely you'll run down a drain and well never hear from you again.
You self aggrandising, puffed up pisspot of a horror show.
Bugger off

 

[PhillyHotspur]

To be fair, Allison didnt do anything dramatic or miraculous. . Most of the goals he saved were what any goalkeeper in a decent team would save. Its not like he wont jump in the direct of the shot and push it away. We are supposed to put it beyond his reach , the shots were just poorly placed.

Allison did his job today just like Lloris. Neither keeper were tested much at all.

 

[Airfixx]

Also, two blatant yellow cards for the scouse cunts weren't given.

But that doesn't matter when you spend the first 60 minutes of a match not attacking, just keeping possession and only waking up for the last 15.

Honestly, I love Poch, but this "something will happen" idea has worn very thin. Sometimes you need to make things happen.

Yet things often DO happen tho... Presumably because we make it so too.

 

[BangkokSpud]

Would VAR alone have given it if the ref hadn't already blown..... We'll never know I guess....

No - VAR can only overturn a clear and obvious error (or an omission) - the penalty was a judgement call so given / not given if VAR is applied correctly it would not have overturned the referees decision.

The more relevant question is before VAR would any ref have given that as a penalty, and that answer is probably no ....

As a coach you will now be telling your wide players and strikers to lift the ball at defenders arms, under these new rules hit the players arm and unless it's glued down to his sides you're getting a penalty ... more goals, more controversy, great for the TV companies ... but is it proper football?

 

[Bow Lockes]

I have just had the most amazing day out with my family, yes we lost and were pretty much fucking awful for most of the match, but I have just sat with my boy watching us lose a European Cup Final.

So fuck all you moaning cunts, the high road was unreal before the game

 

[bus-conductor]

Very knee-jerk and seriously not like you Blakey, don't always agree with you but you're normally pretty spot on ...

"they were going to squeeze early" ... so their plan was to get a dodgy penalty in the first 25 seconds? Fuck that Klopp must be some sort of tactical genius to call that one ...

After the opening two minutes they hardly 'squeezed' at all - we had 65% possession they had just two more shots at goal ... if they did 'squeeze' then they did it incredibly badly ... they may have pressed a bit but the truth is they just sat back and let us pass it around - just look at the heat maps

Once Liverpool had been gifted a goal they did what they've done all season against the top sides, they parked the bus - sure they have speedy outlets so gave the impression of being threatening - but in reality it was ten men behind the ball for 88 minutes. Don't blame them they're very good at it, excellent keeper (most saves ever keeping a clean sheet in a CL final) well drilled defence ...

We made a tactical decision to play Kane, would Lucas have made a difference, well you can't say but against a parked bus Lucas is at his least effective so probably not ... subs are subs again against a parked bus they won't make a huge difference ... we needed a 25 yard screamer or a touch of fortune in their box, on the night we didn't get either.

Take away that 25th second referees call and it's a different game, but we can't do that, shit happens and on this occasion it was the exact shit that Liverpool needed ...

But in the first half all that possession was in our half, we didn’t complete a single pass into their area first half from 4 attempts, we completed 7 of 18 second half.

Second half they did she’ll, and concede ground, stop pressing high but they definitely did this to good effect first half.

They made 7 tackles in our half (and all well in our half, they made 2 just over the halfwY line second half.

 

[Airfixx]

Yeah, but in 2008 we were in the LEAGUE CUP FINAL.... not the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!
I know we won it.. but hey, what would you prefer.... League Cup 'glory' or a tilt at the Champions League??
Get some fucking perspective!

No chance, he'll weaponise our history against us however he possibly can.

 

[superstaryid]

Fucking disgusting cheating cunt full investigation needed , how much did he trouser?