Sabre wrote:When we were 0-1 down and 1-2 down, the ESPN commentator said that this game should have been a confidence builder.
I'm actually happy because we're through, and we've learned a couple of lessons.
A game like that cannot be considered a confidence builder even if you win 12-0. Nor to decide Rafa is a genius or poor manager. Nor to evaluate whether Lucas and Mascherano do a good partnership. The difference in quality is so huge, it's not a game to evaluate these things.
After quality, in football there's another mental thing more important than any tactics, and that's concentration. If you have quality and proper concentration, you have 80% of what you need to win a match. The other 15% are tactics, how you manage the substitutions, whether you're able to keep a rythm through minutes etc. I'll leave a generous 5% for the effects of rotation.
So actually it was a good lesson because Finnan, Itandje and overall all the squad learned that you have to be concentrated no matter what. Havant & Waterlooville did their basic stuff well as long as they could, they of course got a corner (any team that trains could get that) and they got two goals due to their concentration and our lack of it in a couple of situations. We then put things in place with the quality, that could be seen in strikes like Lucas'
It hurted yes to see them 1-2 but actually it was a good lesson. Much better than a 7-0 with no important lessons. We could see aswell that Skrtel needs a few more training with us and a few more unimportant minutes.
On a side note, I was glad to see H&W fans enjoying the most exciting supporter moments of their lives. What they felt inside was probably comparable to the joy you lot felt when we won the CL. Perhaps even more because they're less used to this top happyness moments than we are.
I'd advice that litte left winger Potter to consider leaving England and come to Spain to work. I reckon that he could get a decent full time contract in Spain and forget about plumbing or whatever he's doing at the moment. He could come back to England with a bit of saved money, another language learned and a beautiful woman.
We're through, hopefully lessons are learned, bring on next match.
Sabre mate, you have the funniest way of putting things; 'top happyness moments'
venues against unheard of opposition and see what motivational skills your manager would need. the whole country is living in a false dream world as far as football is concerned, and you lot proved it yesterday. i'd liked to have seen aldershot/burton albion/torquay take you on yesterday, with havants' approach, they would of stuffed you.
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