Clockwork

Damn That sentence could apply to almost everyone tbh.

They are not Ferrari either.You missed the point. There will always be standout players in every league, everything is given important in a relative way. Everything can not be monotonous, there is no such thing as reality only a perception of reality exist. Are you still following me? The players you listed are standing out in comparison to others. I can not say they are good players, but I can say they are good in comparison to other players in the league. This phenomenon exsist everywhere. They just don't get the hype and media attention players in the EPL gets. The players you mentioned were almost in complete obscurity before arriving. They didn't become good or worse. What I can conclude is that these great EPL teams are sucking in CL and EL, this as certain I can be.

Buying better players does not always equal better product on the pitch. What good is a Ferrari if you use it like a fiat? I can't say if the mid table have gotten better, the drop off at the top gives a perception it has. It is not reality.

They prefer PL because it is more attainable. People with low standard will say PL. but you don't see Barca or Real fans saying the same thing, because their standard is higher. CL is the biggest club competition in the world, best of the best. The PL has incredibly declined over the years, it is not a great league anymore. We were the runaway Champion, and we got outplayed by a 10 men PSG side. Not to mention they had a lot of injuries heading into the tie. PSG is not the standard of European football, they got demolished by Barca. It was really shocking how easy it was for Barca, it was really a reality check for me. That we are going comfortably win the league, but we are far from being one of the best in Europe. I am kinda slowly but surely realizing that we have lost our ambition to be elite. First with our summer transfer window, now sticking with Mou in spite of being 16 with almost 1/3 of football being played. Btw why isn't it surprising Mou hardcore defendants are the one saying PL>CL.

That is seriously an annoying attempt at a rebuttal. Straw man argument.

Why am I not surprised Jorge Mandes is his agent.

Are we linked to Batshuayi? Only Belgium striker I actually rate.

If Aston Villa get relegated we should go for Jordan Amavi, even if Baba improves.

LMAO who could forget those Iniesta-Busquets-Xavi vs Alonso-Pepe-Khedira midfield battles. Then you look at Madrid bench seeing Ozil and Modric on the bench.

Modric would probably flop under Mourinho or thinly used, in fact that is exactly what happened at Madrid. In his first year the Spanish media labeled Modric a flop. People complain about Ramires or any other player, but the only reason he is still at Chelsea is because of Mourinho. He wouldn't be here if he was saldomly used or wasent valued by Mourinho.

I see where you are coming from. I could see how it can be beneficial for Willian as a Cm, he can be dangerous taking the ball from midfield, by making his trademark bursts. I went with Oscar as CM because I think from a defensive standpoint he has good tactical awareness and understands the position better. He has often dropped deep to allow Cesc to move forward, so for me it was a natural choice. He has played in the pivot before, just not from the beginning of the game. We really do don't move well off the ball in the attacking sequence, the option to pass is not always there or should I say it takes time for that option to develop. So that plays to Willian strength, Willian is quite strong on the ball and he can hold on to the ball much longer until available pass options develop. In comparison to Oscar, this plays to his weakness. He is physically limited, he is quite easily pushed off the ball by stronger defenders the more time he is holding on to the ball the more that plays to his weakness. He likes to make quick passes, use his off the ball movement and make instinctive decisions. So based on that I chose Willian as CAM due to his possession abilility, and I feel more space could benefit Oscar game as CM. he gives you better defensive ability then Cesc, and better offensively then Ramires.

First time posting a starting XI. But this would be my ideal choice based on everything so far Costa Hazard Willian Pedro Oscar Matic Baba Cahill Zouma Azpi Begovic

After rereading my own post, you are right it was condescending and stupid on my part. I apologize.

It is not a big deal but what is the point of the "Undecided" option? You Just don't vote if you are undecided.

He just doesn't rate Hazard that highly, he just has a different opinion. I don't get the 2-3 pages of fuss back and forth.

Indeed, Mourinho is not that stupid. No respectful person would have such belief. Many factors goes into defending set pieces, height ranks very low on the list. more likely Mourinho just does not rate Baba.

Interesting theory friend. But that is not how most who followed the situation saw it.Mourinho simply preferred Khedira and Alonso as his ideal pivot duo. He also preferred Diarra and Granero over Sahin as alternatives. Sahin hardly got any chance even when healthy Mourinho did not rate him. We have seen this type of Mourinho behavior at Chelsea with numerous players. Ex: KDB, Mata, Cuad, etc. More proof, is that Mourinho was stubbornly a huge fan of Khedira. In fact he preferred him over Luka Modric the following season. In that one sole season, Modric was labeled a flop. For me that is insane for any manager to prefer Khedira over Modric and Sahin. But as we know Mou likes his industrious players. Sahin simply got the same treatment Mata, KDB, and Cuardado got. And the same treatment Baba received so far this season.

What end product did he add this season? Are we counting dead ball situation as the player end product? His only live ball Goal+Assist came against West ham, and that was frankly a gift.

Lol he is not a no name, anyone who watches a little bit of Serie A knows who he is. Do not mistake your lack of football knowledge, with the player being an unknown commodity. I really like Vazquez, a classical Argentianian playmaker. He is very similar to Pastore, less creative and talented(I guess?) but more consistent. Would not fit into the way we play though, but good player never less.

I wonder what advice Sahin would give to Gundogan about playing under Mourinho. I don't think he would recommend a move to a team managed by Mourinho.

Don't think the club has a choice, if it was up to them they would keep him on the loan system as long as possible. kid has to do what is best for his career, can't blame him for it.

Criticsm still stands. enjoy your knee jerk time.

No doubt he is better then anything we have outside of Azpi, said that since day one. but that is not saying much when your competition is Ivanovic and Zouma. The jury is still out, still got long way to go to convince me.

Have to give it to the men, his worshippers follow him like a cult. Jim Jones would be proud

Oscar and Mata played well together before Mou arrived. If there is one player that pushed Mata out it is Willian signing. It was never a Oscar vs Mata, both could play together. Mou made it Oscar vs Mata in the media because it was strategic. Oscar was playing better then anyone. It was hard to argue against why Mata should play ahead of inform Oscar. What if Mou made it a Willian vs Mata argument? Willian was a new signing, didn't prove anything yet. It would been hard to justify why a new signing should play ahead of 2x Chelsea player of the year.