Matchweek 3

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Handball rules are like catches a couple years ago in the NFL. I don’t understand it and neither do the refs.
I'm a liberal on handballs - I think they're called way too often and we need to Defund Defang The Refs on that count - but the Maupay call matches my understanding of what should remain handball right now. His arms were up over the shoulder, which is definitionally "not a natural position", and you can pretty clearly see the path of the ball change when it goes past his arm.

The ones I want gone are the ones where the arm is dangling at the player's side, not extended (so, not the defender "making himself bigger"), but a powerful kick hits it, and the arm recoils visibly so it's easy for the ref to see that it hit it, and all the IFAB guidance in the world isn't going to change their instincts to call that.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Surprised the third goal wasn't reviewed for the shove by Werner in the buildup rather than the handball by Havertz. In any event, good showing by West Brom absent a ten minute lapse in the second half, still think they're going down though.
 

ninjacornelius

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The funny thing is that Chelsea probably can’t make any tactical adjustments at halftime. What can you change to get three goals when your squad is so attack-heavy to begin with? Methinks that Frank is in over his head.
So the answer was to take off Thiago Silva for ANOTHER attacker and then just leave Christensen out there in defense all by himself. I'll credit Lampard with originality for his 1-2-7 formation, but I kinda doubt that it's sustainable long-term.
 

teddykgb

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It’s shocking they reviewed that Chelsea handball and didn’t call it off. Havertz definitely gains an advantage by handling it and that’s one of the few small handballs I think we should be calling
 

SocrManiac

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Well, you can console yourself by watching replays of the Brighton-United highlights.

I'm predisposed to like Brighton because I'm a former Amex employee, but Maupay is SUCH a little shit (not so much for the panenka as the demonstrations after it, and a million other things I've seen out of him), and the rest of the team not far behind in general shittiness. Gotta love when bad things happen to bad people!
After Maupay injured Leno last year he became a permanent fixture on my shit list. I can’t stand him.
 

InstaFace

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Point is great and all, but no one connected with CFC should come out of that feeling good.
You're right. What they really need is another forward, maybe a winger, who can add some creativity, ball control through defenders, and get outsized attention from the defense. That would really open things up. 'specially on the left side. Any prospects of that happening? Say, somebody coming back from injury?
 

Dummy Hoy

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You're right. What they really need is another forward, maybe a winger, who can add some creativity, ball control through defenders, and get outsized attention from the defense. That would really open things up. 'specially on the left side. Any prospects of that happening? Say, somebody coming back from injury?
No doubt, but what they really need is a good keeper (they may have gotten one in?) and some semblence of coherence on counters against and free kicks.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Well, it was their Dr. Jekyll keeper out there today (Mr. Hyde played Wednesday), and I think he did credibly even if that first goal was arguably a little soft. But yes, obvious place to upgrade. And the fullbacks. Lampard kinda neglected that entire half of his formation in the transfer window, and thus far it shows.

I'm just a yank partisan who wants to see Pulisic bossing the EPL.
 

teddykgb

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Chelsea may be the biggest victim of such a limited pre season. I don’t think Lampard knows his best formation or his best XI. He’s got quite a selection problem already without Pulisic and he’s trying to make the pieces fit. He could have used a few weeks of experiments and position battles more than most
 

candylandriots

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Well, you can console yourself by watching replays of the Brighton-United highlights.

I'm predisposed to like Brighton because I'm a former Amex employee, but Maupay is SUCH a little shit (not so much for the panenka as the demonstrations after it, and a million other things I've seen out of him), and the rest of the team not far behind in general shittiness. Gotta love when bad things happen to bad people!
I'm a liberal on handballs - I think they're called way too often and we need to Defund Defang The Refs on that count - but the Maupay call matches my understanding of what should remain handball right now. His arms were up over the shoulder, which is definitionally "not a natural position", and you can pretty clearly see the path of the ball change when it goes past his arm.

The ones I want gone are the ones where the arm is dangling at the player's side, not extended (so, not the defender "making himself bigger"), but a powerful kick hits it, and the arm recoils visibly so it's easy for the ref to see that it hit it, and all the IFAB guidance in the world isn't going to change their instincts to call that.
Please keep your posting here :)

Joel Ward had a day I’m sure he would like to forget, and it wasn’t even his fault.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Chelsea may be the biggest victim of such a limited pre season. I don’t think Lampard knows his best formation or his best XI. He’s got quite a selection problem already without Pulisic and he’s trying to make the pieces fit. He could have used a few weeks of experiments and position battles more than most
He seems to have realized that Werner isn’t a 9 and that he needs a traditional CF in there around whom to structure the attack. The problem then is that there are only three spots behind the striker for six very good players (Pulisic, Werner, Havertz, Ziyech, Mount, CHO). And I don’t think Lampard has the tactical creativity (unlike Pep, who has similar selection issues) to fit more of them into the side without looking even more fragile at the back.
 

teddykgb

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He seems to have realized that Werner isn’t a 9 and that he needs a traditional CF in there around whom to structure the attack. The problem then is that there are only three spots behind the striker for six very good players (Pulisic, Werner, Havertz, Ziyech, Mount, CHO). And I don’t think Lampard has the tactical creativity (unlike Pep, who has similar selection issues) to fit more of them into the side without looking even more fragile at the back.
I disagree with you quite a bit about Werner but agree that he has that problem either way. I think it is madness to buy a lightning quick shoot on sight player like Werner and play him out wide. You play a player like that at the tip of your attack and you let him work between the lines and take chances. Lampard has no good traditional CFs and a ton of creative winger types there’s no need for him to compound that problem by shifting Werner there.

it seems fairly obvious to me that he needs to play 4-2-3-1 with Werner up top and Havertz behind. Then he can rotate two wingers around that setup. But it largely leaves Mount without a position and Lampard seems to really like him.

edit: I think Havertz has a ton of potential and if a player like that is available you probably have to buy him but he’s such a tweener that ithas some knock on effects on the rest of the setup. If they had purchased a CB with that money they’d probably have better balance and have more 4-3-3 options which suits their cadre of wingers better
 

InstaFace

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Havertz and Mount splitting CAM duties 60-40 leaves plenty of playing time for both of them. Likewise Werner and Abraham, 60-40 in the CF role. Chelsea is in 4 competitions, after all, and there will inevitably be injuries and absences to sap that depth. And for the wingers on either side of them, then: right now just Werner, Mount and CHO (with Abraham up front), but very soon Pulisic and Ziyech too, with Werner moving up front.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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He seems to have realized that Werner isn’t a 9 and that he needs a traditional CF in there around whom to structure the attack. The problem then is that there are only three spots behind the striker for six very good players (Pulisic, Werner, Havertz, Ziyech, Mount, CHO). And I don’t think Lampard has the tactical creativity (unlike Pep, who has similar selection issues) to fit more of them into the side without looking even more fragile at the back.
But isn’t that Everton’s music???
 

Mighty Joe Young

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I’m a little confused over why Andreas Christensen was in the Chelsea lineup yesterday? Are professional foul straight reds not worthy of three game suspensions anymore? As a I understand it they changed the suspension rule to make it non competition specific - meaning the mid-week League Cup game counted.

Edit: nevermind .. google is your friend.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Ok .. another (probably stupid) question ..

In the Leeds/Sheffield game Leeds were storming the box .. a shot hits the Sheffield defender flush in the face and he immediately collapses .. the rebound goes to another Leeds attacker inside the box in an excellent scoring position. The referee immediately blows the play dead due to the blow to the face.

OK .. so far so good .. but after play restarts the ref gives the ball to Sheffield .(????). who punt the ball down to the Leeds keeper.

So .. why does the ref give the ball back to Sheffield? They don’t do contested drop balls anymore .. why not give it to Leeds outside the box ?
 

Schnerres

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If that situation happens in midfield, ref would have given it to Leeds or the Sheffield player would have stayed away. In a dangerous area, the "normal" team to receive the ball stays away and the ballwinner (here: Sheffield) kicks it to the opposing keeper or to a defender or out for a throw-in.
Contested drop-balls? Hm, that happened like in 90s/early 00s, but today it´s more or less a "gift it rightfully away" or a "get it gifted to gift it away" or a "get it gifted and not gift it away", if the situation wasn´t clear who had the ball (which could result in a more testy game)...
 

teddykgb

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Yet another awful handball penalty. Contrast with Havertz controlling the ball with a hand yesterday but it’s ok because he’s an attacker but a random ricochet off a header is rewarded
 

teddykgb

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If you’re an attacker you’re absolutely nuts not to just fire balls at defenders arms at this point. You’re far more likely to score from the penalty than you would from open play shots excepting really close circumstances
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Are there procedures for IFAB to change something mid season? It seems super clear that they fucked this up really badly.
 

scott bankheadcase

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It wasn’t a foul on hoijberg, it was a foul on Dier in the box that causes his arms to go up and Newcastle has the exact same situation on Ndombele’s cross 5 minutes earlier and they didn’t even check.

It’s flat out making the game hard to watch.
 

Section30

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VAR is undermining the integrity of the game. People don't believe there is fairness in how it is being implemented. I can't watch a goal without thinking, "how is VAR going to take this away?" You can't celebrate anymore. When owners, announcers, players, managers, are all speaking out about it is being handled how can they not make changes?
 

Jimy Hendrix

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It’s not VAR per se, it’s this horrible handball rule. VAR is a force multiplier for its shittiness, but it’s the rule that ignores how people physically safely jump with balance.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I probably would’ve thrown the next match
on after this one because why not, but that left such a sour taste in my mouth I will not do so.

I’m too self aware to seriously make a “I’m not watching anymore because of this” declaration, but it’ll hurt football on the margins.
 

Blundatola

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I don’t recall too much hand wringing last season when they started chalking off goals due incidental hand grazes by the attacking side. I thought at the time it was absurd that there was a different interpretation of the handball law for the attacking side. Now they’ve extended the ridiculous interpretation to the defensive side of things and everyone is up in arms? <shrugs>
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I don't see why they can't just have a class of situations - inadvertent handball but with the arm in a plausibly unnatural position - that is rewarded with an indirect free kick inside the box. That really seems like the best out of a bunch of bad options. You still penalize deliberate handball but you don't turn a nothing situation into a PK with an xg of .9 because a ball happened to ping off somebody's arm during an incredibly fast moving sport that you can't possibly play with your arms at your sides the whole time. At the same time, you give the attacking team a still semi-dangerous opportunity, to disincentivize defenders from abusing the rule by subtly leaving their arms in "unnatural positions" as blockers.
 

teddykgb

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Fair play for Bruce also not pulling any punches.

This sport has always been about intent and advantage. Dier gains no advantage in that situation. Yes, he’s theoretically bigger but we had a handball rule for decades and defenders were never purposefully jumping like lunatics to stop shots and crosses.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Fair play for Bruce also not pulling any punches.

This sport has always been about intent and advantage. Dier gains no advantage in that situation. Yes, he’s theoretically bigger but we had a handball rule for decades and defenders were never purposefully jumping like lunatics to stop shots and crosses.
Quoted for truth .. there has to be an intent. Accidental handballs - regardless of attackers or defenders - should not be punished.
 

teddykgb

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When City are pressing like this it can make things very difficult. Not a guarantee for much with Citys back line and lack of fitness but certainly look up for this
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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I’m not sold on City this season. Obviously they have enough quality to put anyone away in any given game but they seem on autopilot through chunks of the game sometimes. They miss Aguero and not just for the goals.