terrychan2011

Is it now fashionable to slag off Oscar, then? I suppose so. Mikel is injured and Cahill actually had a good game on Saturday. Ivanovic scored so that spares him for criticism. No Filipe Luis so we can't mock him for being too offensively minded. Can't slag off Drogba too much because he's a legend. No penalty decisions or refereeing debacles to complain about, either. Leaves poor Ossie to feel the brunt of it. We're not satisfied unless we have someone or something to moan about.
I've said it before - you don't measure his productivity in terms of goals and assists, because he'll never be your Frank Lampard or Cesc Fabregas in those regards. He might be operating in the number ten position, but he plays so deep that effectively when we line up he might as well be operating next to Matic and Cesc might as well just stay between Eden and Willian. Oscar is a combative, tenacious little bastard who has one of the highest work rates I've ever seen in a young player.
If you want him to be more like Phil Coutinho, then he can, quite easily. Coutinho is by far the better dribbler but his decision making makes Willian or even Theo Walcott look like Iniesta in comparison. But that would mean us losing a massive degree of our defensive stability, and when we're playing with such a higher defensive block like we are this season we need every player to pull his weight defensively. Look at Liverpool - their front five do next to nothing in a defensive sense. They're entirely reliant on the three centre-backs and the two defensive midfielders to do all the dirty work. If you want us to do the same then that is more than possible. We only open up against the shit sides in the league. In every game where we've scored 3+ goals, Oscar has been outstanding in an attacking sense, with Swansea away being the best and most recent example. When we play with a tighter midfield, he knows he has to do a massive defensive job so you don't see that flair, spark and creative output you might otherwise see.
Face it, people. Under José he's never going to be the next Kaka. But under José he, and Chelsea, will win a fuckload of trophies. We could let him off the leash like we did in his first season under RDM/Rafa, and we'd get picked off by the big clubs and have to settle for third and another Europa League. I know what I'd choose. Every big side needs "mechanical" players who do their job and they do it well. Barcelona have Busquets; Bayern have Alonso; Real have Khedira (when he's fit); City have Fernandinho; United have Blind; Liverpool have Lucas. They are by no means the best players in their sides, but they do a job that allows the players around them more creative licence.