Willian

[LAM09 6,535]

Unfortunately, looks like that's going to be the case with Willian till he leaves/is sold. We'll be praising him for his defensive work not his attacking plays, even though he's an attacking player.

I totally agree. Some people totally forget that he is a RWF, and not a RB.

[Rom2013 446]

Maybe he will be sold because of his age. But he is the kind of player every team should have.

Hard worker, consistent, good in attack, good defensively, doesn't moan when on the bench, even when we play against teams from lower divisions he always does the same work. He is not the one being dropped from the team, I continue saying that he is the second best AM of this team (I think now he will be the third with Cuadrado being the 2nd), and the more consistent AM of the team by far.

[JDY 1,290]

He will never be fully appreciated for doing the simplest things (which for some players can be the hardest): just being reliable in possession, and having the ability to keep the ball under pressure. He plays a great supporting role for the better players like Hazard. A bit like Nasri does at City, struggles when he needs to take authority and make the difference, but his ball retention and ability to link play will be undervalued because of that.

[lionsden 4,689]

I was referring to his technical ability. He had several shots yesterday without hitting the target.

The less said about Oscar the better.

It's funny because most people (myself included) actually consider him to be our most technically gifted player after hazard. You must be redefining technical ability if you consider that aspect of his game lacking and not up to Chelsea first team standard.

[LAM09 6,535]

It's funny because most people (myself included) actually consider him to be our most technically gifted player after hazard. You must be redefining technical ability if you consider that aspect of his game lacking and not up to Chelsea first team standard.

I go by stats. His are awful!

[lionsden 4,689]

He should replace Oscar in the middle and start Cuadrado at RW. His best games has come when he's operated from the centre. I honestly believe we would be a better team for it.

[Tomo 21,681]

I go by stats. His are awful!

Dennis Bergkamp netted on average once every four games as a forward for Arsenal, that stat says average forward, any one who saw him play knew different.

Im not saying Willian is on that level, just a bit of perspective.

[LAM09 6,535]

Dennis Bergkamp netted on average once every four games as a forward for Arsenal, that stat says average forward, any one who saw him play knew different.

Im not saying Willian is on that level, just a bit of perspective.

How many assists did Bergkamp have?

[Tomo 21,681]

How many assists did Bergkamp have?

Don't know but strikers are mainly judged on goals no?

Infact he was lagging behind on both scores compared to Henry yet some people regarded the Dutch man as the better of the two.

[LAM09 6,535]

Don't know but strikers are mainly judged on goals no?

Infact he was lagging behind on both scores compared to Henry yet some people regarded the Dutch man as the better of the two.

He was more of a SS than CF in my book.

Either way, he offered something attacking wise, which Willian doesn't. Not sure why people are blind to that the majority of time.

[WNDS 502]

I was referring to his technical ability. He had several shots yesterday without hitting the target.

The less said about Oscar the better.

Willian is surely one of our top three players (along with Hazard and Fabregas) when it comes down to raw technical ability. I fail to see how shooting off-target indicates otherwise. Yes, shooting does involve it's own form of technique, but it's technique that is pretty much unrelated to a player's ability to keep a ball under control in difficult situations; Iniesta, Xavi, Hazard, Ribery, Arda Turan etc. are all players with tons of raw technique and all of them possess average shooting ability.

[LAM09 6,535]

Willian is surely one of our top three players (along with Hazard and Fabregas) when it comes down to raw technical ability. I fail to see how shooting off-target indicates otherwise. Yes, shooting does involve it's own form of technique, but it's technique that is pretty much unrelated to a player's ability to keep a ball under control in difficult situations; Iniesta, Xavi, Hazard, Ribery, Arda Turan etc. are all players with tons of raw technique and all of them possess average shooting ability.

They assist on a regular basis. You have to do one or the other more often than not. He doesn't do either.

I'm not sure why some people fail to realise that. The AMF position should be Cesc's, and that's that. If we do get a quality CM (Pogba) in the summer, he'll either have to do better than Juan, or get used to the bench.

[WNDS 502]

They assist on a regular basis. You have to do one or the other more often than not. He doesn't do either.

I'm not sure why some people fail to realise that. The AMF position should be Cesc's, and that's that. If we do get a quality CM (Pogba) in the summer, he'll either have to do better than Juan, or get used to the bench.

You only have to look through pages and pages (and pages) of this thread to see that almost everyone acknowledges that Willian's productivity is below-par. Your past few posts have read as if you are using Willian's (undeniable) lack of productivity as proof of his supposed lack of technique; I was merely taking issue with your assertion that Willian's technique isn't good enough.

I'm also unsure if I agree with your view that Fabregas should play in the CAM role for us. With the way Mourinho currently has the team set up, the 'CAM' is actually much closer to being a box-to-box player than a primary playmaker. In addition to this, the CAM is charged with leading the press, something that Fabregas is not capable of doing effectively (he's too easily bypassed).

With the acquisition of Cuadrado, Willian currently appears to be a good candidate for the CAM/box-to-box role because of the tactical flexibility he could bring to the team. He is capable of pressing effectively, he has the pace both to recover position when the press is bypassed and to spring us forward on the counter-attack from deep positions, he is better in possession than Oscar is (due to his superior levels of technique), and he is also capable of switching positions with both Hazard and Cuadrado throughout the game as all three of them can play across the AM positions (unlike Oscar).

Yes, it's true that if we get Pogba then the midfield situation changes, but he's going to be (extremely) expensive if we DO get him, and at this moment in time we DON'T have him. We are still in the running for three trophies this season, and there appears to be a good chance of us winning two of them; we might as well focus most of our speculation regarding line-ups/formations/player roles etc. upon the squad of players that are actually at the club's disposal (for now).

[Jase 43,479]

He will never be fully appreciated for doing the simplest things (which for some players can be the hardest): just being reliable in possession, and having the ability to keep the ball under pressure. He plays a great supporting role for the better players like Hazard. A bit like Nasri does at City, struggles when he needs to take authority and make the difference, but his ball retention and ability to link play will be undervalued because of that.

I think people do appreciate that but those attributes can only take one so far. Willian is an attacking player after all and as long as he doesn't produce the goals and assists on a more regular basis, he's gonna be hammered quite a bit here.

[LAM09 6,535]

You only have to look through pages and pages (and pages) of this thread to see that almost everyone acknowledges that Willian's productivity is below-par. Your past few posts have read as if you are using Willian's (undeniable) lack of productivity as proof of his supposed lack of technique; I was merely taking issue with your assertion that Willian's technique isn't good enough.

I'm also unsure if I agree with your view that Fabregas should play in the CAM role for us. With the way Mourinho currently has the team set up, the 'CAM' is actually much closer to being a box-to-box player than a primary playmaker. In addition to this, the CAM is charged with leading the press, something that Fabregas is not capable of doing effectively (he's too easily bypassed).

With the acquisition of Cuadrado, Willian currently appears to be a good candidate for the CAM/box-to-box role because of the tactical flexibility he could bring to the team. He is capable of pressing effectively, he has the pace both to recover position when the press is bypassed and to spring us forward on the counter-attack from deep positions, he is better in possession than Oscar is (due to his superior levels of technique), and he is also capable of switching positions with both Hazard and Cuadrado throughout the game as all three of them can play across the AM positions (unlike Oscar).

Yes, it's true that if we get Pogba then the midfield situation changes, but he's going to be (extremely) expensive if we DO get him, and at this moment in time we DON'T have him. We are still in the running for three trophies this season, and there appears to be a good chance of us winning two of them; we might as well focus most of our speculation regarding line-ups/formations/player roles etc. upon the squad of players that are actually at the club's disposal (for now).

My opinion of him will not change until he delivers. I personally wouldn't like him to play as our AMF, as I can see him being more wasteful than he already is. Work rate can only take you so far at this level of football.

[LAB 1,030]

Meanwhile... no one here wants to talk about Willi. Take a break from Oscar's page already!

Do you think Juan's arrival clicked Willian lately or it's just random?

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Done well recently all of a sudden

-Scoring opener vs Watford

-Setting up opener vs Newcastle with his quick/short corner

-Pivotal in setting up the only two goals against Swansea that werent basically Swan OG's, whilst he was on the pitch. Including an amazing solo-run and curving throughball for the 4th.

-Assisted game winner vs Liverpool

-MOTM, atleast in my mind, vs Aston Villa with an assist for the opener

Hope he keeps this up.

[lionsden 4,689]

Done well recently all of a sudden

-Scoring opener vs Watford

-Setting up opener vs Newcastle with his quick/short corner

-Pivotal in setting up the only two goals against Swansea that werent basically Swan OG's, whilst he was on the pitch. Including an amazing solo-run and curving throughball for the 4th.

-Assisted game winner vs Liverpool

-MOTM, atleast in my mind, vs Aston Villa with an assist for the opener

Hope he keeps this up.

It would be a shame if he loses his place to Cuadrado because I believe he's an attacking midfielder being played out of position on the wing. Him and Oscar should fight it out for the starting spot in the middle.