63rd game and ppl expect us to be as fresh as our first, went the distance in every competition we entered but apparently that’s still not good enough, took f***in City and their camel jockey cnuts down to the last seconds of the last game of the season, still not good enough,
When you put it like that, you would think that every player played 63 games, which was not the case. A lot only played 1 full game for the past 2 weeks, and some of those didn't even play a full 90 minutes in that time before the final. We've rotated a lot during the season, because that's what you have to do if you want to win the amount of trophies we do. We went off to Southampton with our 5th, 6th and 7th choice forwards upfront, while those above them in the pecking order had the night off.
63 games takes its toll on any Squad, especially our Squad. There is a reason you need strength in depth and we don't have it.
So we've gone from "the best squad we've ever had" to "no strength in depth" in a week. Amazing what 1 defeat does to people. From euphoria to the abyss in just 7 days. Football doesn't work like that, and neither do we.
We've been behind in every game this month bar the cup final. We've had to dig deep in all of them, and we found an answer most of the time. This time we had to face Real Madrid. I hated the prospect as I knew what was going to happen, and it happened. So we move on to the next task in front of us, and pray to whatever god you believe in, that we avoid Real Madrid in the European Cup again for about another 20 years.
Think we had a lot of fatigue out there today which didn’t help. Long long season playing every game possible.
Has that happened before ?
We didn’t play like we can, but still proud of them all.
So a deserved break and on to next season. Can’t wait !
There's no break for most as they're off on the international circuit. And by the beginning of July, they're back in training and flying off halfway round the world for meaningless pre season kickabouts in the back of beyond. So their break will be minimal again. Some of them will probably get a longer break during the WC, if they're not at it.
I'm not accepting fatigue as an excuse for this. You don't know if/when you'll get to play in these games again. If you want to win these games, then you have to give everything you've got. We had 24 shots in a final, so we gave it everything but it just, as is usually the case in a European Cup Final against Real Madrid, was not quite enough in the end.
As said above, most players have barely played 50 games this year, apart from Alisson who has played every minute of every game since the League Cup Final. He was due a break as well but unlike everyone else, he never got one. The first team playing 63 games in the season, is normal if you want to win everything going, as we should. That's what the most successful sides in our history have managed to do, and that's what the current side has to do atm. It's nothing extraordinary tbh.
I hope UEFA and the French authorities get nailed for this. They've come out and blamed the fans despite it being their responsibility to organise these events, to plan correctly and follow what should be established procedures for managing large events. They f*cked it up and there is a wealth of evidence to show it. Who holds these people to account?
It was the first full capacity European final since we won it, and the chaos outside was a bit of a shock because there was no sign of anything wrong during the 2 hour build up outside the stadium on our tv channel. But in many ways, it isn't a shock. Fans are the least of UEFA's considerations for these games. The allocations are pathetic, the policing is always ott, accommodation is limited, while the costs are astronomical. I've been in that stadium before, I've been in that area of the stadium before, I walked in 10 minutes before ko and there was no issue whatsoever. So forcing fans to wait 3 hours lined up against a fence is frankly appalling behaviour, and the cover up has already begun. They can't cope with a bunch of away fans at an average PSG-Marseille game, let alone adequately police a European Cup Final. And the travelling Kop made up of various nationalities, who put up with their treatment with unbelievable restraint, deserve a full apology instead of what they got. Held fully responsible yet again.
The season is done, but that just means that tomorrow's work starts today.