Daniel1980

Watching this reminded me why I thought he was a little prick--and annoyingly talented one, granted--when he played for Arsenal. He's what, 20 here? He had quite a temper when he was a kid. And still isn't exactly the shyest and quietest bloke around. Was just reading barcaforum and the last few comments in Cesc's thread: "Perfect team & coach for Fabregas, match made in hell." "I wonder how Fab's at times rather foul play will evolve under the expert tutelage of Mou. I mean, he already showed a nasty mean streak before, so it could easily end up flourishing spectacularly at Chelskij" Btw, he's playing a deep-lying playmaker here, the deepest he played for Arsenal. And he played well. It's not true that he always chokes in big games--or rather, it's not a character trait.

It's true that he didn't have defensive duties and played a free role when he played a #10 at Arsenal, but he played #10 in the same formation we use: 4-2-3-1. But I'm inclined to think 4-3-3 with Cesc as the most advanced midfielder and MVG/Ramires + Matic would be the best: less responsibility defensively, more touches of the ball and more opportunities for defence-splitting long balls.

Yes, Cesc isn't that bad defensively, but he isn't that good either. Until I see more of him playing in the pivot, I'll reserve my judgement on this. I can see Jose playing Cesc over Oscar as #10 in big games. You underestimate Fabregas as #10. He's better than 7.5. He played great in his last season at Arsenal when he played a #10, making about 40 accurate through balls in 20-something starts.

I'd prefer Cesc as #8 too if his defensive workrate were better. I agree that he's by far better than our other midfielders when it comes to pass distribution, long balls and through balls. If he can improve defensively under Jose's tutelage and his defensive duties don't limit his creativity, it's a no-brainer for me too that he should play a DLP. If.But still, in big games I don't expect Cesc to be in the pivot.

Pretty sure he will play both. Notice how Jose deflected the question in Sky sports interview: "Do you see him as a deep midfielder or someone to play further forward?" He answers that he sees him as someone who thinks football faster than other footballers and that he has everything, etc. I think we shouldn't judge Cesc based on the two pre-season games he played so far. He's very effective as #10 too, more effective than he showed in the last game. His decision-making in the final third is great and his finishing is one of the best in the team. We must keep in mind that he just began training and is still only gaining form. He's not match fit yet. So I'm not sure what the best position for him is. Perhaps Jose isn't sure either.

I'm very happy with the new lads so far. They have trained with the team only for about a week, so their physical form is obviously nowhere perfect yet and they don't know their teammates, yet they performed very well. They will of course need a couple of months to fully establish understanding with their teammates and settle in, but what we have seen so far is extremely encouraging.

Can't deny that while I do want him gone, there's a tiny part that still hopes for this to happen.

Looks like they overcame their... eh...differences. I was a bit worried about that, but actually, they might get along really well now that they're on the same team.

The money isn't the problem -- we can easily afford him if we want -- our HG situation is. We'll need to cast out 3 non-HG players if we get Cavani.

The way they got all wound up on twitter when someone said that Cesc kissed the Chelsea badge was hilarious. Can't wait for their reactions when Cesc really does that. And he will. Eventually.

I was never a fan, but if he keeps it up, I might just become one. Great, unselfish performance.

He created several chances, but he didn't touch the ball as often as he did when he played deeper, wasn't as influential as when he played a DLP. But damn, that free kick. Think it's pretty safe to say he'll be our main set piece taker.

Costa has been brilliant. Matic too.

Looks like 4-3-3 unless Cesc plays in the hole.

Agreed. We don't need Pogba. We have plenty options in the midfield and MVG deserves a chance. We need a replacement striker.

I guess that explains why he's still here - brand recognition. It's insane how marketable he is. Really unbelievable.

Are we really selling Lukaku for a price that is just a few million less than Costa's? Pretty mind-boggling if true.

£28.5m? That's an amazing price for him. Great business by the club.

It's a match day. Even if they arrive today, they won't start training today.

That's a lot of pressure on one guy. In all seriousness, I hope we don't come to depend on Cesc too much. I dislike when we depend on one player. Even the best players have off-days and drops in form, especially towards the end of the season, not to mention possible injuries. I love Hazard, but I disliked how we often depended on him last season. Now I hope if Cesc has an off-day, Eden will step up, and vice versa. Best-case scenario, they both perform consistently and amazingly well, but it's highly unlikely, considering that they both suffer from inconsistency. However, I agree that a lot will depend on Cesc this season. He is an old-fashioned playmaker in the true sense of the word, and he'll be largely responsible for the flow of the team's play and creativity when he settles in.

I think we all do, but personally, I would like him to fully realize his potential. I don't think he's hit his ceiling as far as his talent is concerned yet.

Except I suspect Torres might be happy enough to sit on the bench and earn his ridiculous salary by doing nothing. I'm not happy with our striker situation, but I still hope Jose has a clear plan to fix it without resorting to playing Schurrle or Fabregas as a false 9, though they would still do a better job than Torres.

Well, no one would buy Torres, so I don't think Jose's opinion on him matters anyway. As for Drogba--yeah, I agree that it doesn't make sense. It never did to me. Unless we will bring in a young talented HG striker, I'll be disappointed with Torres and Drogba as Costa's substitutes. I hope Jose knows what he is doing and has a plan. He knows what is at stake.

If we're really selling him, I believe it's a combination of these reasons: 1) Lukaku doesn't want competition and wants to leave himself. 2) Jose doesn't think he's good enough and thinks we don't need him. He would sell Lukaku for that reason, not because of his attitude. Jose is many things, but most of all, he wants to win. If he thought we needed Lukaku, he would have ignored Lukaku's attitude and talked him into staying. Hell, Jose bought Cesc, who publicly said Jose should "shut up" not so long ago. I doubt Jose had particularly warm feelings towards Cesc(and vice versa), but he disregarded his personal feelings because he clearly rates Cesc and thinks he's what we need. So he swallowed his pride and approached Cesc and was so convincing that "he gave Cesc a lift" and convinced him to join the direct rival of the team Cesc captained just a few years ago. Jose would have done the same with Lukaku and convinced him to stay if he thought he was good enough. IF. It seems he simply doesn't think Lukaku is that good to make an effort to keep him.

If Lukaku is really leaving, we should have bought another young striker instead of getting a 36-old Drogba. Now, because of our HG situation, getting another striker is very unlikely unless Torres leaves too.