robsblubot

Overrated: the bigger the match the more he vanishes (no we do not count as big anymore :() Not great in the locker room: he's stupid, arrogant, and only says BS. Papers will love him! Too old and will get an automatic starting spot... He does make sense though considering our signings have been pathetic lately.

I don't think James is overrated nor has he been enjoying the night life too much - he's just not that good. Quite simply Hazard is a lot better than him. Yes, Hazard's mind is elsewhere, can be lazy, but he had a tremendous season before which is something James never had. Yes, he had a good world cup with a pretty average team playing to his strengths who got knocked out as soon as played a big team and an awful one at that. Let's say if Madrid offered James + 20m for Hazard. I'd still think of robbery... Yes, I'd take james, BUT NOT to replace Hazard! We'd need lots of cash for that because James ain't it.

Cuadrado just isn't good enough. He flopped before and he will flop again. Fucking hate watching him play: poor first touch, no body strength, no end product. he has poor technique and relies entirely on pace - lacks power as well. the PL will always be challenging for him. i'd rather have salah back who is at least younger and on lower wages than cuadrado. Wages are probably the reason cuadrado will return.

That'd be more CM deals than we ever done - glad someone can see the obvious.

There is no danger of Willian joining Chinese clubs... Psg is another story of course.

To each his one, but these sliced up fictitious standings don't work for me: different oponents, fitness, momentum, and timing. The little improvement there was, and there was improvement, can be attributed to a number of factors. Guus did not take anyone anywhere. They are millionaire footballers who started the season unfit and lazily. They have visibly been improving their fitness which is hardly Guus' doing. I just believe that the merits of the mediocre improvement are(in order of importance): 1) fitness 2) Guus not being Jose (literally anyone but Jose would do) 3) Guus' ability im sorry but in my mind I can't scape the idea that Guus is the least important factor and the most important one is the players who lacked desire and quality. The small squad emphasized the poor individual form. had Guus done more, played at a higher level, improved the team further, especially against top sides where tactics play a bigge part) then I'd agree and give his due credit. what I see is still poor football performed by very expensive players. A team that can usually beat the small sides, ties the mid, and lose to big clubs. Hardly an achievement in my book. as much as I dislike Jose's antics, there was no excuse for players lack of dedication and desire. I cannot attribute their form to Jose otherwise I'd have to say Jose alone won the league before and not these horrible players. Neither being entirely true.

That's probably why he conviniently wears #8 and not #10, because our playmaker, who has the freedom to create and invent is hazard, not Oscar. just because Oscar plays centralized does not make him a #10. Jose and all his stupidity, stupidity that earns him millions, merely attempted and managed! To balance the team. if one thing changed this season was the our #10, our playmaker and adored player around here decided that for one reason or another, he was not going to play for Chelsea any more. Oscar is just another mediocre player we have in the squad. He happens to be one of the youngest of our mediocre players. Others have been mediocre for a year, or for a decade and yet people come here because Oscar wears an imaginary 10 for club and country.

People are still blaming mourinho really?! then Jose can do no right, can he? I mean he's been gone forever and aside from putting a smile in some of the most mediocre players we've got, we've been playing pretty much the same shit as before - just as unwatchable. let me put it in perspective: Everton, a pretty bad side on their own, spanked us because they are better than us. That's how bad we are. Do people miss mata really ?! Being wrong about Oscar does not make him wrong about mata. Juan mata imo does not belong in the elite - simple. finally, would it matter if we were 2or 3 places lower in the standings because it would have taken the players longer to realize they would have to suffer through him? i know someone will come here and say we would have dropped, but how do you know that? We were not in relegation and would not be had Jose stayed. who knows he might even have produced a less naive starting xi against psg. the truth is that Jose did make the same set of players play better, last season, than they have lately. Can you claim that hiddink would have been able to accomplish the same? Why have we stagnated? Why have we even regressed then? im far from a Jose fan, but boy I don't understand how Hiddnk gets a free pass from taking a set of very expensive players to this mediocrity everybody sees.

Passing is a pretty important skill in football and Oscar is very good at it. The best one twos I've seen had Oscar and hazard. ironically, Willian is criticized in Brazil for not producing anything in the final third. back to Oscar, reckon he'd do very well in a possession system with lots of movement and quick exchanges. Suspect we will find out soon enough as I do think he will leave in the summer. again, just don't be surprised when turns out he's not the quack some here predicted; it has happened before.

Well that's the strangest thing to me: not even the work rate is there. that used to be the only thing he could consistently bring when on the pitch - not anymore.

Same thing happened with cuadrado... No excuse for poor first touch at this level.

I remember people saying the same things they say of Oscar today of Willian back then; Willian also used to produce very little in terms of end result, but that has changed in the last couple of seasons. Oscar used to have more assists and goals than Willian . point being is that a lot can change in a couple of seasons and Willian is/was older than Oscar. I also think he needs to leave because he hasn't been able to contribute coming off the bench or starting. just don't be surprised if he does improve and become a good player elsewhere.

GKs are different beasts. you cannot rotate them bc they lose confidnce not to mention timing aka match fitness. he's also one of the most dependent players on the pitch. When the defensive system is sound, the opponent's shot will be weaker and more predictable - fewer potencial paths to get to the goal. the way we've been playing no wonder courtois is struggling just like begovic was struggling before but nobody remembers. Massive overeaction with one of the very few world class players we got.

Only one of the players you listed above has been a sure starter with all managers forever... Even today, the others you mention have not Been able to contribute coming off the bench or starting. Psg beats us because they can afford having a cavani coming off the bench, while we have remys and mikels, or oscars who for different reasons, have not been effective. although i agree with you about having some strength in depth, these players have proven over and over again that they just arent good enough. Perhaps cahill and iva can still play a part but the others need to move on.

Heh it's the second time in a row they beat us and soundly. Looks like a trend. So we need to do something so it doesn't become routine/status quo. a good example of high block defensive side was Corinthians who beat us after we won CL. benitez rotated too much though.

Always thought Jose was criticized for always using a low block, not for being defensive. reckon you can play very high on the pitch and still employ defensive minded players like Ramires for ex. it is not about hitting us on the break or not - that's about high block. I refer to the type of players in the starting xi and their characteristics - not very defensive. imo bad strategy

That was good anticipation - dunno how they count interceptions... They may have counted that as a bad pass from the back for ex. not much disagreement from me aside from very specific points, but we've been there before and much of our disagreement comes down to personal preference in style of play.

Don't disagree with much there and agree that Mikel is a good short passer - numbers show that too (not only eyeballs). For me though, that's so very little... so not enough. His defensive numbers are not great. Don't even have to look at a particular game, but his overall defensive numbers are poor for a DM. And his attacking numbers are very low for a CM. So, perhaps the scores are reflecting that he's only good at one thing and missing some attributes that the position demands in their view (and mine)? But yes, arbitrary scores aren't that important. Even though I did not watch the game, I'd prob pick a few players ahead of him as best player - wild guess. And I'd say the majority of people would at the very least pick Costa ahead of Mikel? prob not a wild guess.

Either Hiddink's strategy was correct and PSG are not that great, or PSG is a superior side and our strategy was the wrong one. Because there is ONLY one way to play against a better team and that was NOT what Hiddink did. You don't play against a better team with kennedy as LB and with two CMs who can't tackle to save their lives. That's just crazy. I am talking about solidity... about stopping the opponent and disrupting their play constantly. About not conceding when you know your chance is to score a goal without conceding. It sucks playing that way, but it does increase your chances against better opponents. I digress though - Hiddink is obviously a genius who has turned pub players into PL champions... no wait that's Leicester.

world goes around... a few pages back and it is you quoting stats from these same sites... pass completion. But fair enough. My apparently too subtle point is that perhaps your opinion of Mikel is the extravagant one. He doesn't seem to be the most popular player out there - fans, pundits, sites, and former players. I think this site has very peculiar opinions about certain players - some too favorable and some too negative. Very easy to determine which is which. I personally think Mikel will be forgotten the same month he leaves the club. I'm just choosing to ignore him sooner *. * I barely watch Chelsea play these days - not something I enjoy doing so I just don't. Perhaps next season... cheers

This has literally nothing to do with what I wrote. You seem to be disagreeing with your imaginary friend again. Did he make a mistake? Couldn't care less... did not know.

Mikel got a 6.2 from whoscored for psg game. About the same on squawka. Along with courtois and Oscar our worst players according to them. had zero interceptions, 30% of his tackles worked. not my opinion, just what i read and saw out there and to contrast with the vocal minority here.

There is one thng working for us which is Blanc. he's the french wenger... No wait...

that took me a while... It as a good one - my bad for missing it.

How so? W don't have a single rounded midfielder in the squad. the closest one is Matic, but also more of a DM. Fabregas is extremely attacking minded which calls for a more defensive minded parter, but thats the type of stuff the new manager will have to figure out. it he does want to have 2-3 rounded midfielders, he will need to buy and replace players - no choice.