because the average goals per game is the average score between a side at home and a side away, so it is entirely relevant for comparison purposes. mourinho has created a miserly kind of football when playing away. a football that yields about a goal per game for both sides combined, where the normal yield is 2 3/4.
i didn't argue mourinho's away tactics are ineffective. i observed that they are dull to watch. they are dull because they yield few goals. they are dull because watching a team park 10 men in the penalty area for much of the game is dull. i don't doubt that chelsea fans enjoy themselves. but that is because for supporters, winning is a big deal.
but as a neutral watching games between chelsea and other top teams, it's not very entertaining. whereas i look forward to watching man city and liverpool playing against anyone. except chelsea. i expect that will mean they (ie man city and liverpool) will gather supporters around the world.
chelsea seems likely to end the season in third. in my view, that is a slight underperformance relative to salaries paid. chelsea pays the second most to its players of teams in the league.
the sad thing is, chelsea has the players to be constructive. great midfield. decent attackers.
As Chelsea's goalkeeper observed: "We played within the rules, we played how we thought we could get a result - tried to frustrate Liverpool - and it worked. Football is a strange game sometimes."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-vs-chelsea-mark-schwarzer-3469423#ixzz30BR54d5X
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