Kevin de Bruyne

[Rhino's Skin 972]

. And he played great at Chelsea until he got seated in the stadium for no reason at all by Mou.

very debatable.....played well in pre season friendlies but once the proper football started with more intensity he didnt figure as much or play as well

[Viper22 2,418]

Don't know where people keep getting that argument from...

He was excellent during his season on loan at Bremen. Just read the recent quotes from Klopp and Zorc. CL-finalists that year who did everything they could to get him to come to Dortmund after his first season in the Bundesliga. Chelsea and Mourinho vetoed the move, told him he had a big part to play in the upcoming season and then benched him for 4 months. This with the first World Cup in 12 years coming up for a young Belgian side where he had been the main man, by far, in qualifying the year before. The final drop was in december when Chelsea had that month with 8 games and Mourinho stated that he needed KdB for the upcoming exhausting month and he'd get plenty of minutes. He got about 8 and handed in a transfer request and moved to Wolfsburg.

After a month he turned it back on in the Bundesliga and got the most assists since new year in the league with 6.

Looking back, it's strange to see Mourinho escaping with any criticism that season. He did well to temper expectations with the small horse stories but Chelsea had every chance of winning the title that season and were right in the mix until the end of the season. But Oscar went of the boil and Hazard had that injury. If he had kept either KdB or Mata more involved during the season, they could've made a difference. Instead Chelsea had to bed in a new Salah who didn't deliver.

A lot of similarities with this season. Except the amount of points Chelsea were infront at new year. A Cuadrado that struggled and a team that was driven into the ground during the first half of the season and struggled in the 2nd half.

All that said tho. I don't think KdB is a Mourinho player. He's way to aggressive in his passing. Which is fine in a team that excels in transitioning but hard for a team that plays against a handball defence most of the time and have to watch out for counters.

The first part is well put and a decent argument, but opinion. From my knowledge and from people I know who solely watch the BL they said he was no better than 6/10 at Bremen. Good stats, not great at staying involved in games especially when the going got tough. But like I said, that's opinion.

I understand why he moved, especially if his main aim was to play for Belgium at the WC, but the stories that have come out (there are many of them, and while they all could be lies I seriously doubt it. No smoke without fire and all that) have shown that, like Lukaku, he had a serious attitude problem and essentially demanded to be the main man.

Now, don't think I am criticising that, I do like a certain amount of arrogance in players and love the confidence that players like Zlatan and Pirlo carry themselves with. All the top footballers need a certain amount of arrogance, it's only natural. But IMO you can only be that confident in yourself and your own abilities when you have proved that you really are that damn good. KDB hasn't proved that yet and when he was at Chelsea he definitely hadn't proved hardly a thing.

He demanded a move, forced a transfer to Wolfsburg, fine. If that's what he wanted and he felt like he had to be the main man at whatever club he was at then fine, Chelsea under Mourinho obviously isn't the place for him. Mourinho demands that all players work their nuts off for him and club, it's just his way, hence the whole Hazard issue that arose where Mou laid into him a tad and RLC recently even though he's fairly obviously one of Mou's favourites. I get that Mou's dominant nature can clash with some egos and it has done in the past but if you're at the club then you have to work under him, KDB obviously clashed and wanted to leave, fair enough.

My point was more that he should prove himself fully first before throwing shit around, especially at a club that he left. Now I can understand his reasons for doing so and everyone can see that he wasn't given a fair chance but acting like a bitter child so soon after leaving the club comes across as just that; bitter and childish.

As for the part of your comment that I have emboldened: Firstly I think you'll find that Mourinho copped a fair bit of flack that season. Both from the press and especially on here. Many people didn't buy into his 'little horse thing'. I personally think that Mourinho did almost a well as someone could have done considering the mess the club was in after having problems patched and not solved by so many short term managers for such a long time (pretty much since Mou left). He transitioned us from a team that was in the EL into a team that competed for the title in 1 year. That was more than enough for me. The next year he transitioned us into comfortable title winners. That was brilliant for me. The signing of Salah obviously didn't work out but that's not really the replacement you should be looking at. Mourinho chose Oscar over Mata and KDB, that is that comparison that should've been made. Now, obviously Oscar is far from perfect and had some serious issues in the 2nd half of the season but I greatly doubt that having Mata or KDB instead of him for the whole season would have made a large amount of difference to where we finished, our main problems were goalscorers, especially against the lesser teams that defended tightly and KDB and Mata are not that.

As for the 2nd bolded part, that is just plain wrong. At the turn of the year Chelsea and Man City were level on points, so it was hardly as if we built up a top lead early on then lived off it during the 2nd half of the season. We played very well and very smartly through the 2nd half of the season to pull away from the challengers. We played like champions.

Your last statement is bang on correct though, that we can agree on. Look a quality player but not a Mourinho like playing style, or attitude.

[MCM4PR3Z 410]

very debatable.....played well in pre season friendlies but once the proper football started with more intensity he didnt figure as much or play as well

Best player in preseason, got MOTM in first league game. Then placed on the bench for 90 minutes next game. Man Utd game he played a little hour and everybody played bad including him. Seated in the stadium forever since then, played a Capital One Cup game again after 25 games in a row in the stands and played bad, end of story.

[Tomo 21,684]

Best player in preseason, got MOTM in first league game. Then placed on the bench for 90 minutes next game. Man Utd game he played a little hour and everybody played bad including him. Seated in the stadium forever since then, played a Capital One Cup game again after 25 games in a row in the stands and played bad, end of story.

Look at the minutes Azpilicueta got until about mid October that season, he was in just as much peril as KDB but he made the most of the chances he got and made himself a fixture, then rose to the challenge of Felipe Luis coming in and has got even better.

When you are out of favour in a competitive squad you need to make use of the minutes you get, no one was expecting KDB to be on his best form, but to show something to give Mou food for thought, he showed nothing.

[MCM4PR3Z 410]

Look at the minutes Azpilicueta got until about mid October that season, he was in just as much peril as KDB but he made the most of the chances he got and made himself a fixture, then rose to the challenge of Felipe Luis coming in and has got even better.

When you are out of favour in a competitive squad you need to make use of the minutes you get, no one was expecting KDB to be on his best form, but to show something to give Mou food for thought, he showed nothing.

Yeah, only was MOTM a few games in preseason and in the first league game. Then never got a chance again to play. He showed nothing indeed, it's his fault.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,451]

for me he should have been given more game time and he should have been more patient himself.

of course we can only comment on what we see "on stage"..behind the scenes he might have been a brat/cunt.

I wouldn`t say any of the young Belgians we have/had were mentally mature enough to play for a top club when they arrived,which isn`t entirely all their fault,they have been hyped up so much.

[Rhino's Skin 972]

Best player in preseason, got MOTM in first league game. Then placed on the bench for 90 minutes next game. Man Utd game he played a little hour and everybody played bad including him. Seated in the stadium forever since then, played a Capital One Cup game again after 25 games in a row in the stands and played bad, end of story.

Pre season means sweet FA ...only gaining fitness counts.

Oscar or Lampard were man of match in most eyes and media reports in that first match.

Against Utd he wasnt all that but as you said the team as a whole were off key.

Allegedly having problems in training with Mourinho and the coaches by then.

Dropped completely for Super Cup and Everton.

Came on as late sub v Basel before league cup game v Swindon where he was shocking.

But please dont let facts get in the way of a slight bout of memory loss which encourages a mild case of increasing numbers

[Madmax 9,219]

If pre season meant anything other than public training sessions, Marko Marin would be one of our untouchables.

[MCM4PR3Z 410]

If pre season meant anything other than public training sessions, Marko Marin would be one of our untouchables.

If he doesn't get any chances at all, you also have to look at what he has done in preseason games ofcourse.

[Weckerz 3,781]

Every damn time you browse this thread you read the same shit someone else said a couple of pages ago

[Rhino's Skin 972]

If he doesn't get any chances at all, you also have to look at what he has done in preseason games ofcourse.

but when pre seasons are generally played at 50 -75% intensity by teams then its not a lot to go on. Hell...Lukaku looked a world beater also on pre season.

He did have opportunities but failed to take his chances and seemingly there was conflict between him and the coaching staff over training regime.

Good player, wrong fit, have no sympathy for him but wish him continued success in Germany where he seems to fit in

[iseah100 5,612]

@KDB[emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]

[Tomo 21,684]

Yeah, only was MOTM a few games in preseason and in the first league game. Then never got a chance again to play. He showed nothing indeed, it's his fault.

If pre season was a true barometer Marko Marin would be here still.

fair point re the first game.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

If pre season was a true barometer Marko Marin would be here still.

Well he is still here

[zolayes 14,489]

Well he is still here

best post for 3 pages at least

[Neira 19]

Lot's of Mou ass licking in this one. He's right and KDB was wrong, period. Well, Mou is still at the club so that explains it a little. Arguments are laughable. The best thing Kevin can do now is return to another PL side and score a decisive winner against the blues before lifting the trophy. Revenge will be sweet.

[iseah100 5,612]

Lot's of Mou ass licking in this one. He's right and KDB was wrong, period. Well, Mou is still at the club so that explains it a little. Arguments are laughable. The best thing Kevin can do now is return to another PL side and score a decisive winner against the blues before lifting the trophy. Revenge will be sweet.

What the fuck?

[OhForAGreavsie 5,776]

Lot's of Mou ass licking in this one. He's right and KDB was wrong, period. Well, Mou is still at the club so that explains it a little. Arguments are laughable. The best thing Kevin can do now is return to another PL side and score a decisive winner against the blues before lifting the trophy. Revenge will be sweet.

You seem like you're looking forward to it. Is that how you intend it to seem?