Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel blamed the pitch, but these managers used wind, ball boys and kits as excuses
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was sidelined on Wednesday night after seeing his side fall to a second defeat in three games Premier League game, with a gloom Lost 4-2 at home arrive Arsenal.
With his side now conceding eight goals in that same time frame, the German is desperately searching for answers in his post-match interview at Stamford Bridge until he settles. be the root of the problem.
– Olley: Arsenal beat Chelsea to breathe new life in top 4 race
– Daily ESPN FC live stream on ESPN+ (US only)
– No ESPN? Instant access
Indeed, roots are literally the problem for Tuchel, who has blamed the condition of the yard for the role it played. Eddie NketiahThe opening goal, when the striker hid it after catching a back pass from Andreas Christensen.
“To say the pitch is difficult here might sound like an excuse but it’s a very, very difficult pitch we have here,” grumbled the Chelsea boss. “It was not in our favor. The ball bounced very very very awkwardly in front of Andreas when he wanted to play this ball.”
Tuchel also mentioned the error do Edouard Mendy in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid watched the Blues keeper hit a back pass like Karim Benzema scored to complete his hat-trick with a score of 3-1.
“We made the same mistake against Real Madrid that cost us the next game,” he added. “This [Nketiah’s goal] If we were in the next game, I can’t remember when we conceded a goal like this. “
Rather than any act of treachery on behalf of the Stamford Bridge team, it is entirely possible that Tuchel’s defenders have simply lacked composure under pressure in recent weeks. Who can say for sure?
Of course, the Chelsea manager is not the first to resort to fanciful and/or flimsy excuses in the face of suboptimal results. In fact, it became a tradition at the beginning of the game.
Klopp versus the elements
A cheerful and funny character most of the time, even Liverpool Coach Jurgen Klopp has been forced to come up with some truly puzzling excuses in times of considerable difficulty.
Indeed, after experiencing an exasperating goalless draw in the Merseyside derby in the 2018-19 title race, that saw the Reds lose City of ManchesterKlopp vented his frustration by lashing out at the elements.
“I know people don’t like it when I say it, but the wind comes from all different directions, the ball is in the air a lot,” he clenched.
Klopp then blamed the wind again when Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolves last year, complaining that his players were “difficult to control the ball” due to poor conditions at Molineux. Obviously Wolves seem to have coped well tonight.
Ferguson saw the gray fog
Never shy when it comes to redirecting criticism away from his players, Sir Alex Ferguson has waged numerous private battles with all and sundry during his long and distinguished tenure at Manchester United.
One of the Scots’ most infamous rematches came in 1996 when United encountered a rough form away and rightly blamed the club’s new gray change strip.
United have lost four of the five games they’ve played in the cursed kit, with the final defeat coming before Southampton at Dell.
Coach Fergie’s side were trailing 3-1 at half-time when he ordered his players to forgo gray shirts because the dull, mottled pattern meant they were trying to differentiate themselves in the midst of the heat. crowd scene.
The visitors emerged in the second half with a blue-and-white striped third kit, but still found themselves erroneously ended in a 3-1 defeat when unable to “restore” the balance.
Wenger struggles to settle into his new home
Often insidious and elusive to Fergie’s temper, Arsene Wenger forged fame to offer equally feeble excuses during his heyday as a coach. Arsenal, including its tendency to brazenly and repeatedly claim not to have had any incidents can be described as controversial.
The Gunners boss infamously blamed the referee for his team’s 10-2 (TEN-TWO!) Bayern Munich in 2017, and the same Wigan Warriors rugby team rocked Wigan Athletic’s JJB stadium a week before the team’s disappointing 2-2 draw in 2010.
However, his magnum opus came after a lousy start to the 2006-07 season with poor draws before Aston Villa and Middlesbrough led Wenger to blame Arsenal’s brand new Emirates Stadium – an expensive, luxurious, modern stadium that he himself had tirelessly worked to build.
“Personally I put our bad start to the season when it came to the new stadium,” he said. “We dropped some points that any team would drop when they move to a new stadium.
“It is associated with unfamiliarity [for our players]Just like a team playing without a bad memory.”
Mourinho blames Barca boys
Jose Mourinho has successfully put the blame on most of the time in his managerial career, with his own players often bearing the brunt alongside match officials, the media, executives club, fan, bodybuilding, ball, etc
The longtime bittersweet Portuguese leader also has a respectable record when it comes to playing boys, who have tripped over and over again.
Most notably, when he was managing Real Madrid, Mourinho was angry with Barcelonaboys play ball (or lack of ball) after watching their team lose the game Clasico in the second leg of the 2011 Spanish Supercopa.
Speaking after the game, he revealed that he was saddened by the disappearance of Barca players after the first half, with the Catalans leading 2-1 tonight and leading 4-3.
“Real Madrid gave a spectacular performance from the first minute to the last. We came here to play,” said Mourinho. “What I’m about to say is not a criticism, I’m just stating a fact: There were no lads on the ball in the second half, which is typical of small teams when it comes to difficulties.”
Barcelona won 5-4 on aggregate and claimed their 10th Supercopa title
Guardiola talks ball
Like Mourinho, his longtime manager, Pep Guardiola, has also gotten in trouble with some genuinely funny people when it comes to post-match excuses.
Indeed, the owner of Man City was really heartbroken after watching his team be led by the then-champion Wolves team on penalties, after 120 minutes of goalless play in the Premier League. Round 16 Carabao Cup 2017.
After Wolves had just become the first opponents to prevent his side from scoring in allotment time that season, Guardiola said there was definitely something wrong with the ball.
“The ball is unacceptable for a high-level competition,” he complained. “It’s too light. It moves everywhere. It’s not a good ball. It’s impossible to score with a ball like that, and I can say that because we won.
“I don’t make excuses. All my players say: ‘What’s that?’ I’m sorry, Carabao Cup, it’s not a serious ball for a serious competition’.”
The ball in question is a Miter Delta ball, which has been used in English football tournaments since the 1960s.
Forgive the party spoiler
Perhaps the best, most flimsy, most baffling excuse ever made by a professional football manager at the start of the 2012-13 season Newcastle United Football Club just lost 0-2 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Toon faced Greece’s Atromitos in the Europa League qualifying playoffs on Thursday and as such, they asked for their game against the Blues to be moved from Saturday to Sunday to give them an extra day of preparation.
However, as it was only the second game of the Premier League season, the authorities denied the request and Newcastle were forced to rush in, conceding first-half goals from Player Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres.
Alan Pardew was Newcastle boss at the time and the best he could do to reassure himself and his team was to blame the scheduling of a popular Caribbean street fair to take place in London on Sunday. same date in August since 1966.
“Today is a little unfair to us,” Pardew muttered afterward. “We can’t move the game to Sunday because of the Notting Hill Festival.”
Ah yes, that old chestnut.
