Joshybizzle

Looks like a pretty universal consensus

I've gone for Courtois myself I feel like his is going to be a name to remember, look at what Athletico have managed to achieve with him in goal, they're top of the table in a league dominated for the last decade by two of the top teams on the planet, not to mention his success in Europe winning the Europa League in the 2011/2012 season on top of being the unreputed number one for one of the only teams not to be beaten in this years Champions League (Athletico Madrid & Real Madrid) Baring in mind, this is all on loan having come straight from the Belgian League Like i said, if i was making the decisions it'd be Courtois

We all love Petr Cech, how can you not? But is it time to give Thibaut Courtois a run in the team or risk loosing one of the best young goalkeepers in world football right now

Petr Cech is as Chelsea as any player in the squad and (for a goalkeeper anyway) at 31 he's pretty young, he's played 324 games for the club and no one can question that he's managed to consistently prove himself to be one of the top goalkeepers in the league if not the world. He's had a dip in form recently, if there was ever a time for Thibaut Courtois to make his claim to being out numero uno, he's constantly hailed as one of the best keepers in the world (repeatedly by the big Spanish two who seem to be trying to lure him in), notice what i said, one of the best keepers not just 'best young keepers' Out with the old in with the new? We all love Petr but if we don't bring Courtois into the fold soon we're going to loose him and i can see us regretting it for a long time Edit: English Language

Well everyone was saying how immense Hazard is but he needs to score more goals to get the kind of world class recognition he deserves What more can you do after that than go out and score a hat trick of exquisite goals? Little off topic.. A certain Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first PL hat trick against Newcastle.. At 22.. Just sayin'

I've got to admit this is one of the only areas of our game i feel we're letting ourselves down, with Hazard alone drawing an average of 2.8 fouls per game, not to mention Willian and Oscar, we really should be converting more set pieces, especially when you consider we've got players like JT (6'1) Cahill (6'3) Matic (6'4) Ivanovic (6'2) and last but not least Luiz (6'2)

This is going to go one of two ways, either Newcastle are going to completely fall to bits without any of the players that make them tick (Cabaye at PSG, Remy suspended and Tiote out with a hamstring injury for the next couple of weeks) like they did against Sunderland in what was a flat and unimaginative performance all round Alternatively they could step up their game for the same reasons and really try to hurt us like they have in the past, especially last season for instance where they did the double over us, but I'm confident Jose knows all of this, like to see a strong performance at home and maybe put a couple past them this afternoon

You just took that to another level!

You're entitled to your opinion and i'm entitled to mine (can't find the bloody picture, but it would have gone here..) But knowing one of those is his sister is kindaaaaa odd or maybe i'm speaking from the experience of living with my little sister Getting kinda off topic here

I hope that wasn't his sister in bed with him .. Do you get Brazilian Rednecks?

There was a picture of him on Instagram in bed with two lasses too The kids got game

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Eden Hazard, what can I say that hasn't already been said hundreds of times over I'll try a different approach... He's not Cristiano Ronaldo and hes not Lionel Messi, but the fact people are talking about them in the same breath is hardly surprising, he's really stepped up to the plate this season, in a team that (at least) started this season with such an abundance of attacking options he's shined the brightest and longest with his consistency having bumped up a couple of pegs, he's gotten rid of that habit of drifting out of games for long periods. You can see that in his belief that he can take anyone on with his incredible 3.8 dribbles per game this season, up from his rather average 1.8 dribbles per game last season, he's also the most fouled player in the Premier League with an average of 2.9 fouls per game (shame we've been struggling to make the most of our set pieces lately). The dribbling hasn't been all for naught either with his tally of 9 goals in the Premier League, a very respectable return and putting him level with his total for last season at just past the halfway mark. He's also laid on 5 assist so far, which is the highest in the team but maybe not something to write home about, that doesn't mean he hasn't been instrumental in our success so far this season though with 2.6 key passes per game outlining his vision and creativity at the other end of the pitch. If he hasn't been banging them in himself he's seen them fluffed over the bar/past the post by our slightly lackluster strike force this season. You can't ask Hazard to try and outshine Messi & Ronaldo, asking him to be compared to him though seems to have evolved him into a more confident player and our teams top performer in a quietly successful season (so far!). He leaves his impression on games and has numerous times been voted man of the match without a goal or assist to his name as is his work rate. He's can only get better, don't worry, José's got this one

I'm one of those that thinks Ivanovic's crossing is more often than not, completely wayward and i couldn't for the life of me figure out why for the first part of the season we insisted on working the ball up the pitch then letting Ivan sky the cross 75% of the time! But his attacking isn't why he's in the side (despite scoring some incredibly important goals, ala Europa League final and Man City earlier this week, considering his role in the team, how often he chips in with a vital goal is extremely impressive. But attacking isn't why he's in the team, in the 13/14 seasons he's been used exclusively at right back and he's having a fantastic season so far and the stats speak for themselves with an average of 2.2 tackles per game, 1.2 interceptions per game and 1.2 aerial duels won per game. But i think the most incredible stat is his ZERO errors that have led to a goal since joining us in 140+ appearances in the Premier League, to put that into perspective Cech has made 10 such errors, Terry 5 and Ashley Cole 5 Playing as a fairly unspectacular right back he's never going to be considered a club legend (a word a lot of supporters throw around) but the big guys definitely worked his way into my heart Also, he's got a SERIOUS ghetto booty, i mean just LOOK AT IT.. IT LOOKS BACK AT YOU, also if you type 'Branislav Ivanovic' into Google its like the third most commonly searched term so i'm not the only one that's noticed!

Hey!

The player behind the striker is expected to be the creative force in the team, but that's not Oscar's game. He can make a good pass, but like once every 6 games. It's not good enough for a #10, but he fits the hardworking approach under Mou, and scores goals to make up for his lack of assists, so it's all good for now. I won't be surprised if he's left out for Willian more though, assuming Salah settles in well - and turns out to be the left-footed pacewhore Mourinho wants. I think we're looking at a player similar to Robben in Salah and I'd appreciate the goal threat but that's a good shout Oscar and Willian do tend to do quite similar jobs and vital jobs for the team but quite unspectacular in terms of end product so it wouldn't surprise me to see them rotated when Salah gets his footing, if he does!

Only one that went for Falcao, go me! I just feel like if we've got a predatory finisher lurking on the shoulder of the last man every time we counter attack Oscar, Hazard or Willian have got the quality to consistently put the ball on his toe/head and he's not likely to miss ACL injury is bad news but i'm trying not to be a debbie downer, at a decent price and in the right state of fitness i'd take Falcao all day long personally But asked to make a decision right now i'd go for Cavani.. Actually i might have voted wrong can we have a recount

In terms of assists his 2 in 22 games in very low for a #10 but i don't think that's his role in the team, plus we've been practically playing without a strikers goal threat for the last few seasons). I think if we had someone like Falcao/Rooney/Cavani/Costa then we'd be seeing Oscar laying on a lot more goals, even the hightest assisting player in the league (Mr. Juan Mata) couldn't get Torres firing and Ba and Eto'o aren't having the best time of it I don't think he's in the side for creativity really, I wouldn't say that's one of his stronger attributes anyway and he doesn't lay on a ton of assists but we haven't been scoring masses of goals, but the system we're playing right now i don't think we need to

Oscar. I really didn't see this guy coming, i remember reading something about Tottenham being in for a 21 year old Brazilian wonder kid so i'm pretty sure i did what we all do.. I watched a youtube compilation. From what i saw there wasn't any denying the kid was a class act, especially when it came to the odd spectacular goal, then the next thing i know we've signed him and he's got the number 11 shirt (i thought it would take a while to find a worthy candidate) i wasn't complaining understandably! I wasn't expecting him to get nearly as much time in the team, for instance last seasons (international friendlies and whatnot considered) he made 80 appearances over the 12/13 season, which is massive for a 21 year old! He ended up making 34 appearances in the Premier League racking up 4 goals and laying on 7 assist in his debut season. This was all while still adjusting to the league and the physicality which he seemed to struggle with a little at first, but those are pretty good numbers mixed in with some eye catching performances, that goal against Juventus anyone? That made me get out of my seat! Keeping in mind he hasn't really had time to adjust to any specific role in the team yet having played in varying systems under 3 managers in under 2 years, just because he's playing in the number 10 role doesn't mean hes always been expected to lay on goals, for instance under José he's managed 2 assists in 22 premier league appearances, but he's almost made 2.5 tackles from one of the most advanced positions on the pitch. That's how José wants him to play and he's blossomed into it pressing high and keeping things stable among the mercurial three in behind the striker. He scores the odd wonder goal and hes obviously got a very good shooting technique, along with a nice teasing free kick like the one he took against Stoke and so far this season he's banged in 7 goals in 28 appearances domestically & in Europe so we know the boy can score in pretty much any competition. In terms of assists his 2 in 22 games in very low for a #10 but i don't think that's his role in the team, plus we've been practically playing without a strikers goal threat for the last few seasons). I think if we had someone like Falcao/Rooney/Cavani/Costa then we'd be seeing Oscar laying on a lot more goals, even the hightest assisting player in the league (Mr. Juan Mata) couldn't get Torres firing and Ba and Eto'o aren't having the best time of it He is young and he's got bags of potential, he's not your average #10 laying on goals but more of a willing runner and an engine further up the pitch capable of chipping in with the odd (and often spectacular) goal and that's been paying off dividends for us in the system we're paying, but offensively i don't feel he offers a threat like say, Hazard going forward but he's got time on his side and we've got his signature, so roll on the next couple of seasons because as we all know.. anything can happen in football

Mikel is a strange one, he has put in fairly consistent performances over the last couple of seasons that seem warrant him being in a higher level team, but without ever doing anything spectacular in fact the only time you really notice him is when he makes a mistake, other than that i rarely even notice he's in the side, probably because he's not got much, if any, offensive threat. He's a big powerful midfielder, great composure and technical ability when avoiding challenges or winning the ball back, but his tackle/interception stats have always been quite low, passing is usually 90%+ but that's because he tends to lay balls off left and right or pass backwards... SO MANY BACKWARD PASSES .. I don't think John is a bad player, but we've just gotten a huge upgrade in shape of Nemanja Matic Personally, i hope Mikel moves on next seasons because i think he'd be a regular first team starter for say Galatasaray or Roma or someone like that and i'd wish him all the best, he might even get to play further forward like he does for Nigeria, unlikely though and for the rest of this season not a bad squad player to have

That's a very good point, with the height and heading ability we've got in the side we really should be threatening more from set pieces

Yeah i'm getting a bit bored of seeing it now to be honest Not like we can't beat the best team in the premier league and one of the highest scoring teams in Europe without him or anything ..

Think you hit the nail on the head there

So I've seen a lot of people slating David Luiz for his pretty wasteful Free Kick taking last night, not that it mattered in the end thankfully! I'd just like to see who you guys think should be stepping up, maybe you prefer someone different depending on if its the left or right side of goal? Maybe you like David Luiz's tomahawk free kicks, maybe you're a fan of Oscar after he scored that beauty against Stoke? Maybe you prefer the tried and tested Frank Lampard who really has scored some screamers, i'm talking about FA cup against Tottenham a couple of seasons ago I'm talking about shots on goal here, not crosses from our wide Also, i'm not a huge fan of Willians corners, i always liked seeing Oscar or Hazard step up to take one, so who'd you take on corner duty? For me its either Luiz or Oscar, but Hazard can hit them, I've seen Eto'o take one but.. Just no TLDR; Who should be stepping up to hit our free kicks & corners?

I just want to expand on @ 's point Willian has really helped this team tick this season, at first i was a bit wary, there didn't seem to be any planning involved in the transfer (at first) when i heard we'd suddenly signed him from under the nose of Tottenham and Liverpool (which is always fun!) for around £30m which is a lot to spend on a player from the Ukrainian league, but we knew only too well what this guy is capable of, so as much as i was surprised (and a little confused considering we had five AM players already including our two time consecutive player of the season) but willing to see what happened There's absolutely no questioning his work ethic up and down the pitch he's one of the key reasons our high tempo pressing game has been working out so well for us this season, hes got great acceleration and can be extremely tricky with the ball, always a willing runner up and down the right If i was going to be critical though.. He's disappointed me slightly with his offensive contributions, two goals and two assists in 15 premier league matches isn't a great return for £30m, his crossing can be a bit wayward at times, his passing is pretty crisp and I've seen plenty of chances he's laid on a plate get blasted over or wide, as it normal with out strikers lately so he's not completely to blame. He doesn't tend to shoot too much but as long as we've got goals coming from somewhere in the team he can be forgiven for that too. Also his corners aren't the best, against Man City last night they were quite poor barring Cahill's header against the post I'm not questioning what he brings to the team, i rate him very very highly and i know he's still adjusting to the Premier League i'd just like to see a bit more offensive input from the guy but as long as he keeps playing like he has been i'll happily keep my gob shut