Daniel1980

I don't think people are scapegoating him(aside from a few people who had an intense dislike for him from the beginning). I think the issue is some people have too high expectations of him when it comes to defending. Some people are confusing something. You can stick him deep in the midfield but you can't expect him to perform as well as defensive midfielders. It isn't Cesc's role. He isn't a defensive midfielder. He isn't very good at defending. Expecting playmakers like Pirlo and Fabregas to be defensive geniuses is the same as expecting Mikel to make a perfect through-ball in every game: it can happen once in a while, but it's not his main job. If you choose to play with a deep-lying playmaker, you should just accept his weaknesses and enjoy his creative contribution. Fabregas deserves to be criticized if he doesn't contribute creatively--which is clearly not the case--or distributes the ball poorly, but blaming him for his weak defensive contribution is like blaming Matic for not getting an assist in every game. Why do we not blame Matic for not creating enough chances every game? Every player has their own main role and it shouldn't be confused. Or do we seriously expect Fabregas do the job of a creative midfielder and a defensive midfielder equally well? For a playmaker, Fabregas contributed enough defensively today, IMO. He certainly wasn't a passenger. He made 3 tackles and was far from lazy, always trying to win the ball--with limited success, admittedly. Oscar, Hazard and Willian made 0 tackles today; Oscar and Willian made 0 interceptions. Why aren't they getting the same criticism for their poor defensive contribution? Because they run faster and appear more hard-working? The thing with Fabregas is, there's the perception that he's very poor defensively and people single him out because of that. While he really isn't a genius defensively, for a playmaker he's decent. He wasn't any poorer defensively than Willian or Hazard today. Maybe I just have low expectations than some. Years watching Pirlo not give shit about defensive work does wonders to one's expectations.

Huh?

Yes, thought it was strange. A few great passes aside, Eden's general passing wasn't good today.

Luis definitely impressed. Was good both defensively and offensively. I think he deserves to start. Ivanovic at CB to replace Cahill.

You weren't the one only one. Not sure what match others were watching. Just checked - only Matic and Luis made more tackles than him. I saw him intercepting and making clearances too. I don't blame him for the goal we conceded - he was fouled and it happened in their half and our defenders had the time and opportunity to stop the counter attack but didn't.

That's why I didn't want Drogba back. For fuck's sake. Good: Luis, Cesc, Eden. Some wonderful passing from Cesc and linkup play between Cesc and Eden, but both wasted clear chances, though created a lot of chances for others too. Since Cesc actually scored, voted for him. But can't help but think if Drogba didn't start, we would have easily won the game.

Wait, is Ramires on the wing? Or is it 4-3-3?

I think he means he wants Cesc-Matic-Ramires in big games, and I agree. 4-3-3 suits better both Ramires and Fabregas. The problem is, they played very little time together in a true 4-3-3, so it'd probably take some time before they develop great understanding with each other.

And here I got my hopes up.

Filipe Luís @filipeluis · 2h Ready for @ChampionsLeague #CFC #UCL Does this mean he's starting?

Reading Arsenal Mania is just gold at the moment. Ramsey really looks very poor once again, but I won't be surprised if he scores anyway. Last season he was a better team player. This season he tries too hard to stand out and it hurts the midfield.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x260vfl_training-ground-report-monday-15-september-hd_sport

I loved watching Eden against Swansea because he actually looked very determined to "get the numbers," showing a great deal of ambition. I wonder if it's the effect of the new boys. He's no longer the "go to" guy and no longer the one getting the headlines. Some healthy competition should be very good for him. IMO, it's exactly what he needed to make a step up. Great players push each other.

Yeah. Makes Arsenal fans' conviction that he's unhappy at Chelsea even more hilarious. The definition of an unhappy player, yep.

We should, but I hope the players don't get complacent. We must score a few goals in the first half and take off our key players to let them rest. If we play against Schalke like we started against Leicester and Swansea, our key players will have to play in the second half too.

On Fabregas in the double pivot and 4-3-3: When he played for Spain NT a week ago, he looked much more comfortable playing in a three-man midfield, and he and Busquets totally bossed the midfield despite Koke looking shaky. I'm actually surprised with how well he's been doing in the double pivot for us. There's a lot of difference tactically between playing a CM in a 4-3-3 that he's accustomed to and playing a CM in the double pivot. To get the best out of him, he should be given a less restricted, more attacking role. Only natural. The same thing happened to Ashley.

Pirlo is a liability defensively. Maybe the stats don't reflect it, but I've watched him for years at Milan. Gattuso always had to cover his ass.

Yeah. I doubt Jose failed to notice Cesc's strengths and weaknesses before he bought him. He clearly didn't buy him to be a defensive midfielder. Some people just need to accept that playing Cesc in the DM's position wouldn't transform him into one. He would defend to the best of his ability, but his main job is to add creativity from midfield to our side, which he's been doing excellently. Personally, I don't like Cesc being played in the pivot--I think he's wasted there and he'd be better in a more advanced, free role in 4-3-3--but if Jose keeps playing him there, then he's clearly satisfied with how he performs there.

Agreed. That's precisely why I was of the opinion we needed to buy a fast top CB this summer. Our defence was so good last season mostly because our defenders were protected by our midfield and attacking players, which hurt our attack a lot. You can't have it both ways: if our midfield is more attack-minded, they can't cover everything, so ideally we need fast CBs for this to work, especially since Matic and Cesc aren't fast. That's why I wanted Benatia. JT is clearly struggling.

Pretty much everyone was pretty poor without the ball in the first half, to be fair. But yeah, he obviously won't complain, but he's far more used to playing in 4-3-3 when he doesn't have to worry so much about playing so close to defenders. Playing in the pivot limits his creativity a lot, IMO. He's essentially forced to do the job he isn't very good at(defending) and it limits his creativity and contribution in the final third. I mean, his decision-making in the final third and his final ball are one of the best out there, but he's wasted being played too deep at times. I said before the start of the season that Cesc would do much better as the most advanced midfielder in 4-3-3 and I haven't changed my opinion. In 4-3-3, he can control the play from the deep if needed, but he can also join the attack more often and link-up with Eden and Costa, as he did in the second half against Swansea.

I'm not against Hazard getting 250k, but wouldn't it make other players unhappy? Costa and Fabregas reportedly earn around 150k, and pretty much everyone else earns much less than that. Bad atmosphere in the locker room isn't good for the team.

I see no reason why Hazard shouldn't play all 90 minutes. He didn't have international games, so he doesn't need rest as much as those who played do.

By the way, why is Bonera still starting? I mean, the guy has to be one of the most terrible defenders I've ever seen play for a top team. Unbelievable how he continues to play with every coach. Starting to think he's Barbara's secret boytoy.

Laughing my ass off. Defending was shocking, but this was entertaining as hell. Milan: concede 5 goals in 2 games, score 8 and top the table with Juve. Keep it up, Pippo.

+1 And Hazard.