lionsden

So what you are basically saying is a player that is highly regarded by most people (including neutrals) as one of the finest playmakers in Europe and has consistently performed at elite level for 2 seasons in a row should and does deserve to be relegated to the bench on the basis of "tactical inflexibility". Since I have been watching football, clubs have always built a team around its best and most influential outfield players and managers devise tactics that suits and gets the best out of them. And what does that say about mourinho? That he's a manager incapable of changing tactics or playing any other style apart from counter attacking football . if mata can be criticized for lacking tactical flexibility then it should also be fair to label Jose a one trick pony too right?

Because favoring Oscar over mata is what jose wants and having it the other way round goes against the popular opinion as majority are Jose bootlickers. straight logic there. The people that now see mata as a liability and inferior to oscar where the same people that rated the Spaniard as not only our best player but also a top 3 player in the epl last season. It's no coincidence that their change in opinion coincided with Mou's decision to drop mata in favor of Oscar. Mou could favor Charlie adam over maradona in his prime and some fans will still find a way to make it sound like it's a reasonable and logical decision.

TBH It's easy to mistake basel for barcelona. . . . .similar jersey, name even rhymes baselona. just a honest mistake by jose

And how was it benitez's fault that we didn't pass the group stage when the damage was obviously already done before he arrived? perhaps he should have bribed shaktar and the refs to beat Juve in the deciding match.

Wimbledon tennis?

Corinthians can be dirty too but it's usually in big games or games of significance. AM however are down right dirty 24/7. . . . it doesn't matter whether they are playing almeria or barca.

That award goes to Athletico madrid. I have never seen them play a clean and fair game under simeone

He takes off his favourite player, this is a miracle

intellectuals never resort to insult and patronising tactic. That's what people who are to mentally weak to form a counter argument do

AVB is doing poorly at spurs because like Jose, he's terrible at getting his team to break down packed defenses and create chances in multitude of ways i.e tactically rigid. which proves my point

A response people who are incapable of rebutting a statement or forming a counter argument use. Jose maybe very successful but he's and has always been tactically rigid.

Emenalo just summoned his team of scout to a meeting and the subject of the meeting was discovering 2 new attacking midfield target for the January window as a kneejerk response to this performance

Yes. I have a problem with a tactically rigid manager that's totally incapable of playing any other style of football and relies heavily on counter attack (pub team tactic). when we fired AVB I though that would be the end of terrible, low quality football but I guess I was wrong.

A premier league team incapable of stringing 3 passes together. disgraceful

Absolutely terrible. in jose we trust indeed.

lol You know what i mean tho. Lampard created plenty of chances for us over the years infact he even led the league in assist one season (can't remember which) and was a far far more creative player than oscar will ever be but you still wouldn't call him a typical playmaker. that's my point.

Oscar had made us a better team yet we have exactly the same amount of points (24) in exactly the same amount of games (12) as last season before sacking RDM. That's some improvement right there.

he's a box to box midfielder. that's what he is. I must have missed all these lovely, out of the ordinary passes and chances he's being creating since joining us.

Thanks captain obvious. next thing you would lecture me on how Pirlo and Xavi are different type of playmakers to the likes of Totti and Ozil. If you think Oscar and Iniesta have similar playing styles and have comparable output then I'm truly lost for words. you must seriously overrate oscar. maybe your argument would actually hold more weight by providing relevant stats that shows 1) we are a better team with Oscar as the main playmaker rather than mata and 2) His assist and creativity chart compared to mata at similar stages of the season etc. and also how has Oscar made his teammates better since being the focal point of the attack . How has he for e.g make Hazard a better player?

Nothing absurd about how I see a playmaker. it's a matter of opinion and job title doesn't neccessarily define a players skillset. I have seen some playmakers in my time the likes of Valderrama, zidane, rui costa, Iniesta, scholes,riquelme, ozil and so on. His job title says one thing but his skillset and how he's always played the game right from his under 20 champ and internacional days tells me something else. it's a matter of personal taste and opinion. . . .I know what I want in a playmaker and he simply doesn't fit that profile at all. you and others are welcome to disagree. each individual sees the game differently.

Without a shadow of a doubt and as long as Coutinho shows consistency and competency required, he keeps his place. Coutinho is a playmaker and oscar isn't. . . .his skillset is more suited to that of a B2B midfielder and that's how he plays to me. I will however say that oscar has been very consistent for Brazil and no doubt deserves to start in the team just not as my playmaker behind the strikers.

I absolutely agree with you and it baffles me how a team with the resources such as our is so utterly inept offensively, we have had access to some of the finest coaches, tacticians, players etc over the years and still continue to struggle offensively. Sometimes you wonder if we even practice any offensive drills in training. really frustrating.

Does it? well I rather prefer lazy and slow playmakers like Zidane,Riquelme,mata et al to the highly mobile workhorse, playmaker wannabe like Oscar. Majority of legendary playmakers and DLP's of the past and present aren't known for their work rate. if you do your primary role incredibly well, it more than makes up for your deficiencies. I prefer my playmakers to excel at actually creating chances and playmaking rather than running around the pitch like headless chickens.

Wrong. it tells us how much importance Mourinho places on players with high workrate.

We must have different definition of the roles of a playmaker and I disagree that oscar hasn't put a foot wring this season. in fact it's a false statement as just 12 days ago before the int'l break after 2 inept performances against Newcastle and W'brom,he was one of the players fairly singled out for criticism. for a playmaker, he has barely created any quality chances and looked generally devoid of ideas in the attacking third. With all of Oscar's "work ethic" this season, he still remains a far (and I emphasize the word far) inferior playmaker and footballer to mata. if mourinho is so obsessed with work ethic he should save some money, sell all the technical players in the squad and recruit some workhorses from the English lower league and french ligue 2. some players in those league have ridiculous engine and work ethic since the technical aspect of football is so overrated and hold little significance. Scrap that I have a better idea, Jose should lure Mo farah and Haile Selassie. Their stamina is highly proven and would put themselves about on the pitch.