Throughout the annals of history of football , we see that the greatest of teams are founded on their chemistry. The ability to move the ball as one cohesive unit is essentially what football is about. Sure you can point out the great heroes of yester years that managed to on their own lift their team to new levels of greatness – players such as George Best and Maradona.
But if you look closely you see that the best teams that have ever graced the game , you see one clear thing- teamwork. Recall the great Real Madrid team of the 60s , where players such as Canario, Del Sol, Di Stefano, Puskas and Gento worked as such a deadly force and left a impact on the footballing world. Lest who can also forget the great Liverpool team of the 80s which compromised of the greats such as Grobbelaar (whose antics with the trembly legs would go on to win the European Cup and inspire Dudek much later on), Neal, Kennedy, Hansen, Lawrenson, Whelan, Lee, Rush (who bagged an incredible 47 goals that season) , Johnston, Souness and Kenny.
If you then turn your attention to present day world of football the greatest team in the world would be beyond a shadow of a doubt Barcelona. Their moment, their vision and breathtaking passing solidifies them as one of the greatest. While many say they are renowned for their one touch football which was instilled by the great Johan Cyruff. But Xavi corrected this statement at a press conference last season where he said ”they don’t play one touch , but rather a half-touch.”
The point I am driving at here is simple- we as a squad have been missing the chemistry, that magic touch of teamwork that allows teams to transcend into the plateau of greatness. Our players have never been able to click and to connect on the levels that are required and are necessary. Although it has to be said we came bloody damn close with the Liverpool team of 08-09 where we had the likes of Xabi Alonso , Fernando Torres , Steven Gerrard , Javier Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt.
I agree, I think if you even update to even more recent. The Chelsea team that Jose Mourinho won the league with in his first season. 23m for Duff, 20 something for Drogba, these players were not highly acclaimed at the time and definitely not seen as world class, but I do remember them being great to watch during that first season, then they peppered the team with some big names and the spark seemed to vanish into time wasting and cheating. Not blaming the big names solely but that is what happened.
got sidetracked, but hopefully that is what the pool can do, get some chemistry, there were flashes last season when our passing game was fantastic, if we can combine that with better wide play and more goals from setpieces(corners fks etc) then we will be on our way into the top 4.
Don’t dwell on the past – this team must create it’s own legacy…
@Brendan: You will be better understood if you know the difference between “its” and “it’s”.