Thistle

Willian's guide to attacking:
Step 1. Receive the ball in a good area
Step 2. Face up to defender and do not move for 3 seconds
Step 3. Schimmy
Step 4. Pass backwards
Step 5. Repeat the above

Willian's guide to attacking:
Step 1. Receive the ball in a good area
Step 2. Face up to defender and do not move for 3 seconds
Step 3. Schimmy
Step 4. Pass backwards
Step 5. Repeat the above

Willian's guide to attacking:
Step 1. Receive the ball in a good area
Step 2. Face up to defender and do not move for 3 seconds
Step 3. Schimmy
Step 4. Pass backwards
Step 5. Repeat the above

Willian's guide to attacking:
Step 1. Receive the ball in a good area
Step 2. Face up to defender and do not move for 3 seconds
Step 3. Schimmy
Step 4. Pass backwards
Step 5. Repeat the above

Willian's guide to attacking:
Step 1. Receive the ball in a good area
Step 2. Face up to defender and do not move for 3 seconds
Step 3. Schimmy
Step 4. Pass backwards
Step 5. Repeat the above

Willian's guide to attacking:
Step 1. Receive the ball in a good area
Step 2. Face up to defender and do not move for 3 seconds
Step 3. Schimmy
Step 4. Pass backwards
Step 5. Repeat the above

Lmao at people wanting Oscar sold. No idea.

I can understand the criticisms completely, but I'm not too worried at the moment.

Yes, I agree he needs to do more. I think his 'improvement' last season wasn't a big one by any stretch of the imagination. For example, his goal tally of 17 is a bit inflated due to his 5 penalties and 3 against Newcastle (including 1 pen). I do think he would've assisted more though if our front line wasn't so below average. However, he definitely lacks the consistency at the moment to make him great. We need to see more of the dominant performances like the ones against Sunderland and Newcastle or his one against a big team like Bayern in the Super Cup.

However, the reason I'm not too worried at the moment is his age. He's still very young at 23. The greats usually have that one 'breakout season' which they finally begin to fulfil their full potential and I don't think Hazard has had that yet. Ronaldo had his at 22/23. Messi was always good, but wasn't scoring a goal a game until 22/23. But comparing Hazard to these two is always unrealistic and unfair. So its probably better when you look at the likes of Robben and Ribery who both had theirs at around 24/25.

Again however, these players played in absolutely dominant teams with WC players in almost every position on the pitch. I mean, do you even compare a midfield of Mikel/Lampard/Ramires to the midfields consisting of Xavi, Scholes, Alonso, Schweinsteiger etc.? I don't think so. At the same time though, are we really complaining that Hazard isn't running the pitch and doing it all himself? It is a team game isn't it? I don't think it's a level playing field. I don't think it's totally fair on Hazard to compare him with other great players in such great teams as well.
What is different this season is that we have that beast Matic from the start. We'll finally have that midfield metronome we've been crying out for in Fabregas; meaning Hazard won't have to drop deep all the time. We'll finally have a top striker to create space; and one who has a much better chance of actually putting away the multitude of chances (created by Hazard) the likes of Torres has fluffed. Hopefully, we'll also have a LB in Luis who'll both be able to let Hazard do his thing and also support him going forward. Who knows? Perhaps Mourinho wanted Luis instead of Shaw because having a LB at the peak of his powers could fast track Hazard's potential (instead of waiting around for both Hazard's and Shaw's). If that's the case, I say screw Shaw.

Yes, I would say it's all set up nicely for Hazard to have his 'breakout season' in the next year or two (at most). However, I think we can only be 100% critical of his performances after the coming season (at least).

We need to start showing faith in these guys who are going out on loan and give them an opportunity in our first team. After a while they will begin to think that they will never play for us. I mean Lukaku is in doubt to be with us next year FFS!

Hazard already made it clear he doesn't wanna leave so why are people still talking like he does ?

Newsflash:
A 20 year old boy managed to score 31(!) goals in his 2 first EPL seasons!
Goals against all top teams: Man United (3!!!), Liverpool (2), Arsenal (2), Man City (1), ... except for Chelsea (oh yeah, he's not allowed to play against us)!!
Yet news has spread that some fans are doubting if they want him back at the club ...
=> I really cannot find any words to describe this... really can't!!
ps: STOP thinking he has attitude problems & he doesn't want to play as a 2nd striker next season. Romelu is a model pro who works his ass off every single day + he will be more than happy to play together with a TOP striker next season (together or sub him).

LMAO.Here are them pal (joined into one pic) :

Should anyone want these in higher quality drop me a message.

At the beginning of the game Martin Tyler and Gary Neville was talking about Juan Mata, they were saying what a coup it was and it shows that they can still sign the best players in the world... Lets be honest here, as far as we know United was the only club willing to offer that much for Juan. He wasn't getting played here, Jose clearly didn't fancy him meaning his only real choice was United. In the summer if United get the likes of Vidal, Reus and Gundogan i'll be shocked.
The United fans don't know it now but Champions league is a big deal, not only the revenue but for attracting big players. You can look at City for example and say they signed the Likes of Tevez, Toure and Agureo without champions league football, but look at their wage bill and lets be honest it was a great project for those players. United don't have that.
Look at us for example, we were 7th and many of us said we wouldn't mind not getting CL, because it meant we can rebuild... looking back, how wrong were we? we signed Marin in April, and that was us preparing for life without CL football. Instead we won the Cl and managed to get Hazard. That's the difference.
I'm not saying they cant buy big players, because they can, but lets say United were close to signing Vidal and City come in last minute, who would he want to join? City or United...

Mata got another one of those 'assists' that actually isn't an assist.
He passed the ball to Ashley Young who cut inside two players and smashed it in from 30 yards.
A fantasy football assist but not one in real life.

Mata still has an extremely important role to play in this team even if he is no longer a first choice starter or the main man. Oscar is not going to play every game and we need someone world class to fill the gap. Juan will continue to get plenty of opportunities but he has two choices: Continue to improve as a footballer and adapt to Jose's game or leave the club.

Lmao at name. Please never change this!

Lmao at name. Please never change this!

Lmao at name. Please never change this!

Lmao at name. Please never change this!

Lmao at name. Please never change this!

Lmao at name. Please never change this!

Mata still has an extremely important role to play in this team even if he is no longer a first choice starter or the main man. Oscar is not going to play every game and we need someone world class to fill the gap. Juan will continue to get plenty of opportunities but he has two choices: Continue to improve as a footballer and adapt to Jose's game or leave the club.

another opinion....
Oscar: Mourinho’s winning gamble.
Posted on January 2, 2014
This player has been bashed by many, and accused of being overrated and should be benched by Mata at Chelsea and Coutinho at Brazil. He is never mentioned among the world’s finest talents, everyone always opts for other names.
Let’s now take a moment to appreciate the things that go unnoticed about Oscar!
A player who has established himself as a starter for 2 great teams like Chelsea and Brazil, from his first year at Europe and his first season at international level. He is a favorite for 2 great managers like Scolari and José Mourinho. The latter described him as his team’s best player this season. Coincidence?
How many players can cover the pitch, tackle, win the ball back, and be the hard workers that Oscar is? Do you even notice that he always does well in big games? For example last year in UCL, or Europa League, always scoring. Against Spain last summer, Bayern in UEFA Super, or even against Liverpool last week.
Look what the teams where he is a starter at and was given confidence have reached: Brazil have won the Confederations Cup, and Chelsea are only 2 points off the EPL, having already topped their UCL group. Compare that to how Chelsea finished last season where Oscar wasn’t the main man, was still new and hadn’t established himself, and you’ll see that Mata’s absence hasn’t turned out to be a negative thing at all for Chelsea. The team is in fact doing very well, and Willian, Oscar, Hazard were near flawless in recent games.
In fact, when Mata was scoring goals for fun, the effect on Chelsea was very small compared to this season. His side was 14 points away from Premier League leaders at this point.
For the many who questioned Oscar’s ability to hold the number 10 role at Chelsea, there is no statistical evidence on that, was it for the team or individually.
Oscar in EPL: 13 starts, 6 goals, 2 assists.
Mata in EPL: 11 starts, 0 goals, 2 assists.
Chelsea at this point last season: 14 points off top UCL group stage exit.
Chelsea at this point this season: 2 points off top, UCL round of 16 (ongoing).
Moreover, it’s true that Oscar isn’t known to be a top goal scorer, but on the other hand, there is this unbelievable stat, whereas Oscar who came off the bench against Southampton in the last game, made 5 tackles, most in a game. Mata would need 2 or 3 games to make 5 tackles.
He is no doubt a great player, but his work cannot be compared to Oscar, who is a machine, covers all pitch and is more of an all around player.
Let’s not forget that Oscar is more than 3 years younger than Juan, which also means that as time passes, it’s only normal that Oscar develops.
Oscar scored 4 goals in 34 EPL appearances last season. He has scored 6 in 18 appearances so far, and we’re only half way. And that is just a small example.
Although, everyone who watches this player knows that goals and assists are the last thing that make him the great talent he is. He is a type of playmakers who can be man of the match without getting involved in any goals. You sometimes feel that he’d almost play as a center back, if he was a bit taller, taking in consideration his defensive stats.
Skills alone are not enough in football. You need to have tactical awareness and discipline. You need to cover the whole pitch and not a certain area.
If you look at the game against Liverpool, one of the turning points was Mourinho’s lineup. Chelsea applied high pressure on Liverpool’s defensive line, preventing them from a proper build up play, and causing them to make many wrong passes or get dispossessed. Hazard, Oscar and Willian, had no doubt played a big part in this tactical approach by the Portuguese manager.
Compare that to Liverpool’s forwards, who did not apply the same pressure on Chelsea’s defenders, which gave them more freedom.
Saying that Mourinho only plays Oscar because he hates Spain, is not a very convincing argument. Whereas that very same manager was accused last year of hating Brazilians themselves, for benching a fat Marcelo and an injured Kakà. Even more, José prefers Spanish international Azpilicueta over Ashley Cole at times, and Fernando Torres over Eto’o. But that argument could be even less valid, when you reckon that Oscar has only started 2 more games than Juan in EPL.
Mata didn’t complete 90 minutes in most of them? Well, if he was so convincing (with 0 goals, 2 assists in 11 starts, for a player who lacks work rate), then I don’t think Mourinho would have shortened his playing time.
For example, I can’t really blame Mourinho for subbing Schurrle and Mata out, for Willian and Oscar against Southampton. The positive effect was clear, and that’s a fact. The Brazilian duo changed the game for him. And it has happened in other times as well, where Mata failed to convince, and his substitute did better.
Juan is definitely one of the best players, and he has proven his quality in the past. But bashing Oscar just because he took his place, is never a good way to get him back into the starting lineup. Only his on the pitch performances can do so, something he failed to do in the last game. Whereas, his manager confirmed that Chelsea lacked intensity and weren’t very convincing, until Willian and Oscar “changed the game”, as he added.
As for Willian, there is no doubt that he will provide more quality to this already decent Chelsea side. With more time, and more games, he has all what it takes to break into Brazil’s lineup at World Cup.
And Willian himself, is an example that playing time is never a restriction from showing your quality. He has only started 6 league games, that’s 5 less than Mata
Source

The curious case of Juan Mata:
Mata was a good player at Valencia, but he was far from a huge prospect when he signed for Chelsea back in 2012. He was the major signing in an aging squad that had AVB as the head coach and with few "flair players" left, Robben, Duff, Cole, Philips, Zhirkov were all gone, and Malouda was in decline.
It was easy to understand why many Chelsea's fans felt in love with the little man. He justified his player of the season awards with his stats: 55 assists and 32 goals. Despite his talents, goals and assists, Chelsea never looked really strong when he was the "maestro" of the team.
I have to admit the winning game against Liverpool, and the 2nd half against Southampton were the best PL game the team had since 2011. The midfield looked strong with AND without the ball. Mata is a player that needs a team that keeps the ball in their feet for 60 or 70% of the game, but he won't find that in PL.
He should be happy to be a Chelsea player and fight for his place.