Oscar

[lionsden 4,689]

Dude is 22, why sell him? He will keep on improving. Even if you wait 2 more years, you could still easily get the 30-35M transfer fee for him. First half of the season, his form was amazing, on par and some months even better than Hazard.

He's still having a hard time adjusting it seems, his off form period aligns with winter in London.

First half of the season i.e from August to December his stats in the league reads 5 goals and 0 assist (that's ZERO assist for a playmaker) in 18 appearances. That's your definition of amazing form?

[The only place to be 11,313]

First half of the season i.e from August to December his stats in the league reads 5 goals and 0 assist (that ZERO assist for a playmaker) in 18 appearances. That's your definition of amazing form?

In the beginning of the season he was the best player in the team.

[The Skipper 20,593]

He has the potential to be a double-double player (10 goals, 10 assists a season) IMO, he's already there with his goalscoring pretty much but his assist game needs to improve a lot still. I've seen flashes in that regards but he does need to step it up creatively - hopefully he becomes that double double player next season when he's consistently got a more competent striker in front of him.

[Styles 9,790]

@lionsden, is your issue with Oscar that you don't rate him as a 10 or you don't rate him as a player at all?

[lionsden 4,689]

@lionsden, is your issue with Oscar that you don't rate him as a 10 or you don't rate him as a player at all?

The former even though I find him extremely overrated by many as his actual footballing ability and output aren't consistent with the hype and accolade he receives but he's not a bad player at all. far from it. just not a playmaker and overrated that's all.

In layman terms I rate him as a good player but not a "potential to be one of the best players/no 10 in the world" good

[bushman 2,043]

First half of the season i.e from August to December his stats in the league reads 5 goals and 0 assist (that's ZERO assist for a playmaker) in 18 appearances. That's your definition of amazing form?

Have you not watched him prior to January?

[Styles 9,790]

The former even though I find him extremely overrated by many as his actual footballing ability and output aren't consistent with the hype and accolade he receives but he's not a bad player at all. far from it. just not a playmaker and overrated that's all.

Fair enough.

[Special Juan 27,103]

I'm trying my hardest to find out who has overrated him.

[lionsden 4,689]

I'm trying my hardest to find out who has overrated him.

Try majority of Chelsea fans for starters

[Mr_President 404]

i

Which is the primary duty of a no 10. It's a'kin to a striker that can't finish for shit. like it's a bad thing to criticise and not rate players who are lacklustre at their primary duty. How's this any different from when people were using the all round play/assists stats and work ethic argument to excuse Torres lackluster finishing, positioning and movement in the box which are primary requirements of a striker. If you will be taking up the playmaker position then you have to deliver or relinquish the role to someone that can actually create.

And not just the lack of creativity either, the amount of times I have seen him lose possession due to a combination of sloppy first touch, lack of finesse and composure and wayward passing is shocking for an outfield player nevermind a no 10.

Depends on the system, I doubt Mourinho expects Oscar to be the creative focal point of the team as most no. 10s are. I'd also argue you need to wait to see that side of his game develop. He's 22 ffs and it's not like he hardly creates anything now, is it. Let's just wait and see how he develops but calling for him to be sold for £38m is ridiculous unless you have a better replacement lined up for him.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

At this rate, let's just put everyone up on sale when they go out of form...

Absolutely, we should have sold Hazard in January because he did fuck all before the turn of the year!

[Special Juan 27,103]

Try majority of Chelsea fans for starters

Where? When? Who?

[bushman 2,043]

Try majority of Chelsea fans for starters

[Mr_President 404]

Try majority of Chelsea fans for starters

I am not attacking your standpoint, mate I am just trying to understand.

What do you mean by 'overrate'. Do you think most Chelsea fans think Oscar is world class? I certainly don't think he's at that level yet and nor do most sane Chelsea fans I've spoken to. What I do not deny is that Oscar has great potential and, more importantly, is already a central figure in our team. His game has been more than just goal/assist stats or, as some suggest, 'running all over the place'.

[bushman 2,043]

How can anyone rate any player by stats only?

Oscar had contributed much more to Chelsea than his goals or assists. If one cannot see, then he should watch darts instead.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

The biggest change in our playing style this year has been our high pressing. Oscar is the one who triggers this. At the moment, he's asked to trigger the press, help recover possession and play on the peripheries and let Hazard shine. If Jose wanted the goals and assists from his #10 he would have kept Mata and sold Oscar. Oscar is doing what Jose wants him to do, based on that is why I say he was on form during the first half of the season.

That's like saying why doesn't Modric get 10 tackles a match when he plays in the pivot? That's not what his coach wants of him. Jose realizes Oscar's strength and weaknesses and he's built the team around his strengths. I can understand you want your #10 to get goals and assists. Every Chelsea fan does, we all remember Mata go ape shit here for 2 years after all. But it doesn't seem Jose values that as much as he does the other things Oscar brings to the table. However, I do feel he sees the potential that Oscar would eventually be able to be a bit more decisive, but he's young and has shown improvements so I do feel he will get better and turn those weak points into strengths.

We need to be patient, because if he does develop his creative side, he'll turn into one of the most complete footballers in the world. Dude will be worth 50-60M easy. When's the last time you've ever seen a ball winning #10 who can also contribute 10 goals & 10 assists. That's a realistic possibility with Oscar, that shit is scary.

Similar to Lamps, as in he is a unique and will give any team that competitive advantage if he continues to develop.

[DYC. 7,542]

The former even though I find him extremely overrated by many as his actual footballing ability and output aren't consistent with the hype and accolade he receives but he's not a bad player at all. far from it. just not a playmaker and overrated that's all.

In layman terms I rate him as a good player but not a "potential to be one of the best players/no 10 in the world" good

He'll never be a playmaker, I think that's very clear. Not at the level of a player part of the football elite. But he does have his qualities. Last year I said I see a goal-scorer in him, capable of hitting around 15 goals a season (including important goals, goals in big games). EDIT: 20+ goals in goals and assists.

He has this ability to pop up in the right places and he's good shooter. He started off well this year with his goal-scoring but suddenly faded away. He still seems to be dealing with inconsistency issues, not sure why. I don't think it's related to fitness, I'd say it's a confidence issue. But that's the weird thing since the manager has so much faith in him and has praised multiple times throughout the season.

What he's capable of doing is get into these dangerous positions but strangely not consistently.. For the most part he's not in the areas where he can hurt the opposition. So either he's afraid of taking responsisbility or he's constantly thinking of creating space for others or he has concetration issues, meaning a lack of maturity. Good coaching, building experience and a healthy confident boost should fix this. I personally think he'll develop a lot in this area in time.

And then there's his shooting. We've all seen what he's capable of doing. Not a powerful shooter but he can hit them precision and his shooting technique is impressive imo. But again, there seems to be a inconsistency. Some great shots, some disappointly weak efforts. The talent is there but improving his shooting will all depend on him. He'll have to work on it in training and in his own time.

He obviously needs to improve in other areas, like his passing and the 'quickness of his decision-making'. He tends to hold on the ball too long, slowing down attacks and eventually just play a simple short pass. Yes he's young but age goes out of the window when you're a starter at a club like Chelsea. You're expected to perform at a certain level. And when you think about that, I'd say his season has been decent. But he needs to do better imo.

But you make a decent point about his 'ceiling' as a player. I have to say I was impressed with him during the Olympics and I thought he would be special. But he hasn't been developing like I thought he would. It's been very steady rather than a explosive rise in the level of his play. I find it hard to say how much better he can become. It can go either way the way I see it. The amount of hard work the stars of football put in to get where they are is extremely underrated. Cristiano Ronaldo is always the main example of hard work but it's not just him. Messi was a extremely talented youngster but he didn't just become the player he is today. He worked extremely hard to actually develop that talent.

Anyway, I still think Oscar can become a great player for Chelsea. But I will agree with those who say he hasn't been great in his time here.

[lionsden 4,689]

He'll never be a playmaker, I think that's very clear. Not at the level of a player part of the football elite. But he does have his qualities. Last year I said I see a goal-scorer in him, capable of hitting around 15-20 goals a season (including important goals, goals in big games). He has this ability to pop up in the right places and he's good shooter. He started off well this year with his goal-scoring but suddenly faded away. He still seems to be dealing with inconsistency issues, not sure why. I don't think it's related to fitness, I'd say it's a confidence issue. But that's the weird thing since the manager has so much faith in him and has praised multiple times throughout the season.

What he's capable of doing is get into these dangerous positions but strangely not consistently.. For the most part he's not in the areas where he can hurt the opposition. So either he's afraid of taking responsisbility or he's constantly thinking of creating space for others or he has concetration issues, meaning a lack of maturity. Good coaching, building experience and a healthy confident boost should fix this. I personally think he'll develop a lot in this area in time.

And then there's his shooting. We've all seen what he's capable of doing. Not a powerful shooter but he can hit them precision and his shooting technique is impressive imo. But again, there seems to be a inconsistency. Some great shots, some disappointly weak efforts. The talent is there but improving his shooting will all depend on him. He'll have to work on it in training and in his own time.

He obviously needs to improve in other areas, like his passing and the 'quickness of his decision-making'. He tends to hold on the ball too long, slowing down attacks and eventually just play a simple short pass. Yes he's young but age goes out of the window when you're a starter at a club like Chelsea. You're expected to perform at a certain level. And when you think about that, I'd say his season has been decent. But he needs to do better imo.

But you make a decent point about his 'ceiling' as a player. I have to say I was impressed with him during the Olympics and I thought he would be special. But he hasn't been developing like I thought he would. It's been very steady rather than a explosive rise in the level of his play. I find it hard to say how much better he can become. It can go either way the way I see it. The amount of hard work the stars of football put in to get where they are is extremely underrated. Cristiano Ronaldo is always the main example of hard work but it's not just him. Messi was a extremely talented youngster but he didn't just become the player he is today. He worked extremely hard to actually develop that talent.

Anyway, I still think Oscar can become a great player for Chelsea. But I will agree with those who say he hasn't been great in his time here.

I can't disagree with much of this. If (and it's a big IF and a big ask) he eventually replaces Lampard and his goal scoring output then I would be a happy camper indeed and will tolerate his lack of creativity much much better.