James McCarthy M free agent b.1990

[Stuttgart88]

I've seen Bilbao give Barca a proper game of football without resorting to 10 men behind the ball and cynical play.

Like Stuttgart says Barca battered the Arse last season at the Emirates but like last night Barca didn't take their chances.

Did Chelsea narrow the pitch last night? It looked bloody tiny on the tv. I suppose if you have 21 players in one half for 80% of the time it is going to look cramped.

One thing that does surprise me with Barca is that then when the Barca gk has the ball and Chelsea had 3/4 players in the Barca half (wow I know) they didn't try and speed the attack up. The Chelsea midfield didn't have time to 'set' yet Barca would play the ball out slowly amongst themselves and almost wait for Chelsea to form their defensive shield. I know these guys are top class players and believe in their football 100% but trying to play through 7 instead of 11 is a lot easier!

If I was a coach one of my mantras would be that the way to get through 11 behind the ball is tempo. Just passing and passing by itself won't get you anywhere, but speed it up and the gaps will appear.

[paul_oshea]

I think its the distance on the ball, pull them in then spray the ball 20 yards, the oppossing team is pulled over and back and then space will be provided on the other side of the pitch, the system chelsea used yesterday was very rigid and very tight. They weren't getting pulled over and back but why would they, Barca were hitting 20-25 consecutive passes over and back no more than 10 metres, thats all well and good if you want to create space in behind and pull defenders out, but it didnt work for Barca because Chelsea stuck to the system and didnt move. Had barca kept it tight and short at first, then sprayed the ball 25-30 yards across pitch it would have sucked chelsea in and create space on the other side. They were too direct trying to walk it in behind them and it backfired for them, even though they still managed to create 4-5 clear cut chances. Had they played the above type possession play id say they would have created at least double that.

I'm begining to think Trap is quiet an intelligent tactician, which I dont and didnt think we need against some opposition but is justified in some instances.

[Stuttgart88]

Do we need Walters up top against Spain?

The Nou Camp pitch is much bigger, it'll be harder for Chelsea to pack the last third of the pitch like they did last night. But I still think Chelsea will get at least one, probably someone like Terry from a set piece. The thought of JT ending up as a heroic captain fills me with dread.

[tricky_colour]

Is Messi Spanish now

Ha ha wish he was

He does play in Spain so he is half Spanish.

[paul_oshea]

I work in England im not .0000000001% english.

[tricky_colour]

Is Messi Spanish now

Actually I was right, albeit accidentally , "Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi

What a piece of luck!!!

[osarusan]

The Nou Camp pitch is much bigger.

It's 2 metres longer ans 1 metre wider, according to wiki. Not a huge difference. I think the height of the cameras plays tricks with our eyes.

[Stuttgart88]

I'd be amazed if that was true.

[geysir]

If what was true, the pitch size or the camera height playing tricks?
The 'huge pitch at the Camp Nou' compared to Stamford Bridge, is a pundit myth.

[Stuttgart88]

Christ, it's nitpickers galore on here today.

Nou Camp certainly looks bigger than Stamford Bridge.

I always look to the shortest distance between the circumference of the centre circle and the "D". In some piches it looks big - e.g., Parkhead where there's a lot of green space in between whereas in others, e.g., Highbury, you can tell that it was short.

Maybe I'm just being conned by an optical illusion but I trust my instincts.

[DeLorean]

The camera angle makes a massive differnce. They seems to have two different camera angles for White Hart Lane. It looks quite spacious normally with the high camera angle, but they had a low camera for Champions League games for some reason and it's looked very narrow. The new Wembley looks narrow as well because of the camera angle, I don't like it!

Poor James Mc won't know what's going on when he logs in.

[paul_oshea]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...d-3087131.html

[brine3]

Nou Camp: 105 x 68 m
Stamford Bridge: 103 x 67 m

Also from wikipedia.

Not a big difference.

[SkStu]

7140 sq. meters v. 6901 sq. meters...It's quite a bit more green space than you would think.

[seanfhear]

7140 sq. meters v. 6901 sq. meters...It's quite a bit more green space than you would think.

There was many a major Land dispute in Ireland over a lot less !

[geysir]

1 meter wider along each sideline? I suppose the green space location value is higher along the sideline than the endline.
Tony Pulis would consider the green space over the sideline to be more valuable, useful as a runway for a Delap throw.

Maybe the extra 1m along the sideline has the makings of a deal breaker to Barca getting their act together on home ground against the Chelsea wall?

[John83]

As far as I can tell, those are the correct figures, which are normal dimensions for top tier professional clubs. I, too, recall tell of Barca's enormous pitch, and even remember reading that a Belgian team successfully appealed that it was too wide, delaying a match while the sideline was repainted. A quick google fails to confirm it, so while I guess some construction or rule change has forced them to reduce the pitch dimensions since, it's possible the whole thing is nothing more than urban legend.

[tricky_colour]

It's half a metre each sideline and a metre on each end a difference of 3.5% in area.
I compared it to the rest of the premiership pitch sizes


1. Manchester City, City of Manchester Stadium, 116 x 77 yards, 8932
2. Manchester United, Old Trafford, 116 x 76 yards, 8816
3. Blackburn Rovers, Ewood Park, 115 x 76 yards, 8740
4. Everton, Goodison Park, 112 x 78 yards, 8736
5. Aston Villa, Villa Park, 114 x 75 yards, 8550
6. Middlesbrough, Riverside, 114 x 75 yards, 8550
7. Arsenal, Emirates Stadium, 114 x 74 yards, 8436
8. Derby County, Pride Park, 114 x 74 yards, 8436
9. Reading, Madjeski Stadium, 111 x 76 yards, 8436
10. Sunderland, Stadium of Light, 114 x 74 yards, 8436
11. Wigan Athletic, JJB Stadium, 114 x 74 yards, 8436
12. Portsmouth, Fratton Park, 115 x 73 yards, 8395
13. Chelsea, Stamford Bridge, 110 x 75 yards, 8250
14. Fulham, Craven Cottage, 110 x 75 yards, 8250
15. Liverpool, Anfield, 110 x 75 yards, 8250
16. Birmingham City, St. Andrews, 110 x 74 yards, 8140
17. Newcastle United, St. James’s Park, 110 x 73 yards, 8030
18. Tottenham Hotspur, White Hart Lane, 110 x 73 yards, 8030
19. Bolton Wanderers, Reebok Stadium, 110 x 72 yards, 7920
20. West Ham United, Boleyn Ground, 110 x 70 yards, 7700


(2007 figures, Portsmouth have not been promoted, )

Unfortunately that is in square yards.. so converting the original figures
Nou Camp 8539
Stamford Bridge 8253.

So the Nou Camp is big but not particularly big and vice versa for Stamford Bridge.

I am not sure if Barcelona need a particularly big pitch, they don't seem to use the whole with of the pitch when attacking, would help if they had bigger goals though, the would be about 3-1 up if they were.

[geysir]

Craven Cottage looked tiny, maybe it was the camera angle, maybe it was the 4:3 streamed transmission,
or maybe that missing yard on the sideline is the hard yard that matters.

I just started watching when Wigan went ahead midway in the 2nd half. Those last 30 minutes were about Wigan trying to hang on. I dozed off before the end and missed the Fulham winner. Maybe it's me, maybe it was the game, but it was a hard 30 minutes of football (midfield clutter) to watch.

[seanfhear]

I think that any new stadiums should be required to make their pitch to the upper limit (whatever that is). Extra room gives good players the opportunity to play and makes it a lot more difficult for less good players to squeeze the footballing ability out of the game.

There has been examples past and present when the not so good footballing teams have moved in the sidelines (on their own pitchs obviously) so that they can put the squeeze on the opposition.