Kevin de Bruyne

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Of course you'd name a defender. With the 'tactis' Mourinho so often deploys in away games, the defenders are well protected, much to the detriment of any attacking game. Even Cahill looked like a world beater in 2013-2014 when we know he's distinctly average if we aren't parking the bus.

Name one attacker in that game who performed even marginally better than Kevin.

All of them hence why Kevin was the first to come off.

While no attacked had a great game that day, I distinctly remember how nervous Kevin looked and how he looked like he couldn't cope with the pressure of the match.

Seriously, what is your alternative explanation? Jose just woke up one day decided "I'm going to screw this guy over for absolutely no reason" and then laughed an evil laugh?!

[zolayes 14,489]

for about 4 years at least we cried out for more creative players .. we signed some then wanted them to defend more and got rid of them when they werent defenders

[iseah100 5,612]

So...does no one think he's great at Wolfsburg cause that team is built around him? How much defensive work does he actually put in? He seems very big headed.

[Stingray 9,441]

So...does no one think he's great at Wolfsburg cause that team is built around him? How much defensive work does he actually put in? He seems very big headed.

Not really, he did the same in Genk and Bremen (and i watched his games there as I do now). The 395 blue minutes here kinda biases some opinions imo.

[Styles 9,790]

All of them hence why Kevin was the first to come off.

While no attacked had a great game that day, I distinctly remember how nervous Kevin looked and how he looked like he couldn't cope with the pressure of the match.

Seriously, what is your alternative explanation? Jose just woke up one day decided "I'm going to screw this guy over for absolutely no reason" and then laughed an evil laugh?!

Oscar has played like this more times than I can remember and yet he is repeatedly given chances. Like others have said: there seems to be one rule for some players and another rule for others.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Oscar has played like this more times than I can remember and yet he is repeatedly given chances. Like others have said: there seems to be one rule for some players and another rule for others.

The difference, as I've said already, is that at the time Jose did not know who his best team was so he was willing to give other players chances and switch things around, and more importantly, we FIVE players for two starting spots while right now we just have two and Cuadrado who doesn't seem like he has started fitting in the team.

But assume I bite, why do think Jose has different rules for different players? What exactly does he gain by not treating players equally and hence ending up with a team that he knows is not the best possible?

[SoulTaker 46]

The difference, as I've said already, is that at the time Jose did not know who his best team was so he was willing to give other players chances and switch things around, and more importantly, we FIVE players for two starting spots while right now we just have two and Cuadrado who doesn't seem like he has started fitting in the team.

But assume I bite, why do think Jose has different rules for different players? What exactly does he gain by not treating players equally and hence ending up with a team that he knows is not the best possible?

If I remember correctly Jose said early last season ( I think it was a few days before the Swindon game) that he wanted to build the team with Oscar as his main #10.

[Term-X 7,891]

City being linked with him, please say we added some sort of buy back/first choice option in the deal.

[edetarod 2,155]

City being linked with him, please say we added some sort of buy back/first choice option in the deal.

KDB has embarrassed Mourinho

even if we had a buy back clause Mourinho wouldn't bring him back because of his ego

[hamad138 190]

City being linked with him, please say we added some sort of buy back/first choice option in the deal.

City wont get him cause VW wont sell. Unless they bid 100Mil

[stroey 2,525]

If I remember correctly Jose said early last season ( I think it was a few days before the Swindon game) that he wanted to build the team with Oscar as his main #10.

And that's a big mistake IMO, not for playing Oscar who was good in form. But to commit yourself to one player by saying "he is my 10, I want to build the team around him" so early on in the season (october/november).

While you have 3 other natural number tens in KDB, Willian and Mata who were all eager to proof themselves. They just had to fight it out on the right wing, along with Schurrle, 4 top players fighting for 1 unnatural spot.

One of the few things I really disagreed with Mou over the last decade.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

even if we had a buy back clause Mourinho wouldn't bring him back because of his ego

Even if he wanted him back, Kevin wouldn't come. ;-)

[SoulTaker 46]

And that's a big mistake IMO, not for playing Oscar who was good in form. But to commit yourself to one player by saying "he is my 10, I want to build the team around him" so early on in the season (october/november).

While you have 3 other natural number tens in KDB, Willian and Mata who were all eager to proof themselves. They just had to fight it out on the right wing, along with Schurrle, 4 top players fighting for 1 unnatural spot.

One of the few things I really disagreed with Mou over the last decade.

I agree. I just pointed it out since the discusion keep going on weither de Bruyne was good enough or if he was willing to fight for his place, which is a bit stupid if there was no spot to fight for in the first place. And I'm not blaming Jose for it, Oscar was the type of player he was looking for, fair enough. But blaming de Bruyne saying he was unwilling to fight for his place is harsh... And in my opinion it's no coincidence his drop in form coincide in time with that comment.

ps: That comment was actually made in September.

[Atholy 1,293]

No surprise here:

Titel says: Bayerns wants Debruyne. The Wolfsburg star player would come as successor of Robben or Ribery for more than €50 million.

[iseah100 5,612]

No surprise here:

Titel says: Bayerns wants Debruyne. The Wolfsburg star player would come as successor of Robben or Ribery for more than €50 million.

Fucking ridiculous

[ParNolio7 285]

KDB must have said or done something to Mourinho. It cannot be explained otherwise. Jose maybe had his doubts about him as a player but he definitely didn't like him as a person. It's obvious that something happened. Unfortunately Jose has a big ego sometimes.

I wouldn't look too much into all of that. José just made a poor judgement, happens sometimes. He's worked with so many players over the years, he can't get their potential / ability right every time. Still a big f**k up in KDB's case though.

[ParNolio7 285]

The thing is, KDB was in no worse a position than Zouma was this season or Cesar last. When you are out of favour in a competitive squad you simply must make the most of the limited chances you get, Zouma and Azpi did, KDB and Salah didn't.

I couldn't disagree with you more.

1. Zouma & Dave are defenders. Not a bad word about that, but you can't compare "supporting players" like that with playmakers.

2. Please don't mention Salah & KDB in the same comparison, it's an insult to KDB.

3. KDB hasn't had chances. Two appearances in the league cup doesn't count as a chance, it's another insult.

Just accept that we, Chelsea, Mourinho, whomever, f**ked up in KDB's case. It happens sometimes, you can't get it right every time, but you do need to be able to admit it.

Salah totally different story, not half the quality of KDB, couldn't care less about him leaving the team, even if it's true he didn't get a fair chance either, but that's the wat it goes at the top.

[ParNolio7 285]

The question then would be if he is good enough to be given that role in a top team like Chelsea

My word, that's SO pretentious. For the moment nothing actually says that we have a better team than Wolfsburg. That's one. Two, if he can do it against Bayern Munich (best team in the word), Inter Milan, ... what more does he need to proof? Again, we (Chelsea) just need to admit that we made a mistake with De Bruyne and get over it. Acceptance is the first step ;-)