robsblubot

Perhaps you noticed his low work rate... consider this though: if you saw him before the injuries, you saw him at 18... (Milan signed him at 17). If you saw him later, then you saw him after some injuries already... he never really left the "potential" zone. His development was cut short by the numerous injuries he suffered.

That was indeed really good! Thanks! I've grown up supporting gremio, blues from the south of Brazil . A cold (er than the rest of Brazil) region and a club which historically plays a more pragmatic style - prob from German influence. Ah yeah Pato is originally from gremio's arch rivals internacional. with that out of that out of the way, as soon as I laid eyes on Pato I thought he was a Romario, a Ronaldo9 something like. At that moment I began rooting for him to truly achieve his potential, because frankly I just wanted to see what he would do on the pitch. Then the injuries came and the rest is history. I no longer believe that he has that same high ceiling From a Chelsea POV it may still be a win-win situation. But that potential genius is gone. It may be difficult for someone like me, who has glimpsed greatness in Pato, to aim lower and expect him to potentially become "only" a good player. Perhaps my expectations remain too high and I should just accept that that ship has sailed.

Great not only another insufficient player, but an unhappy one at that...

Kinda puzzling comment to be honest.... Is there anyone here who wants Pato do fail?! I truly hope people can tell the difference between what one wants versus what he believes will take place. Because all comments have pretty much only shown what the reality is - exclusively based on his recent, and not so recent, poor performances. BTW, I for one did not know that being happy, and wanting to join chelsea, were the only requirements really... If so, we might as well widen the rage of players we consider in a very dangerous way... pub players here we come! Just be happy! Hey the tens of thousands of dollars you gonna earn weekly might do the trick anyway...

The only, and perhaps subtle, source of confidence must be focus. We will be the only big club with 100% focus on this cup while others are certainly aiming higher... not a warm feeling mind you, but real. City have a much superior team at the moment. Not even sure using their starting XI is a good or bad thing: first team players might be a bit tired, while their quality subs may be pretty hungry.

Mikel has been tutoring him...

well they are both legendary players...

We will find out whether it's baseless or not for sure in the summer. this is one of the time one can actually find out whether shes been right or wrong... Come summer

Hand him another 5-year deal after this performance! One-match wonders is what we like!

Dp

It's a big chance for him - he won't get many more in his career. I expect him to give everything and hope that will be enough.

Adriano going to MLS at least pato can blame his recurring injuries.... Adriano however....

he does look like James Franco.... funny thing really is that we don't know squat about his game.

or James DeFranco a bit?!

Managers will focus on their tweaks and those minimal changes even though the manager before tried them all at different times. of course is a combination of factors, but multiple players getting into some sort of shape obviously helps a lot. On the last match kudos to fabregas and Costa for creating that moment of magic that won us the game. Great long ball and great first touch. the match changed after that ESP with the red so, I still expect some ups and downs in the near future-fab included.

opinion from someone who clearly has not been following Pato. Here's how much of a bet this is: his *brazilian* club, Corinthians loaned him off to Sao Paulo, rivals at that, where he was only OK. Sao Paulo was pretty much a non-contender in the last Brazileiro. At the end of the loan, Corinthians had NO interest in getting Pato back, because frankly he wasn't worth the money they had been paying him. So, can this deal work? Yeah sure! However, it is the craziest thing I've ever heard of. Falcao made some sense, but Pato makes no sense. Welcome Fiorella!

You are right: he's not better than Zouma. But it's like comparing apples and oranges. Zouma is a great chaser, but he's not very good with the ball at his feet. No, he's not a quack, but he's never going to technically dominate that area of the pitch - he will do that physically. Stones, however, is very technical and can do that via technique. That first pass from defense is very important as it starts our play and determines how quick our play can be. That's one of the reasons for my dislike for certain type of CM/DMs, but I digress. Finally, Stones would complement Zouma's game perfectly with the added plus that both are pacey, hence would finally be able to move our defense line up a bit. while we sometimes see the short term situation, the club must always think long-term. Stones, if signed, will indeed replace Terry. Maybe not this season, but perhaps next. Heck considering we are contenders for cups only, perhaps he can start right away.

Does Mikel go with him? If so, where do I sign? (btw I do know where to sign)

Not many national teams would consistently select squad players - Nigeria and Portugal are small enough that they do, but England would be a bit more reluctant in doing so, esp CB. I completely understand he doesn't want to lose his NT spot, but on the same token cannot understand why he's there to be begin with.

correct - start of season in Brazil and Pato will be completely unfit. Whcih makes this 6mo loan kinda bizarre.

Sorry but the excuses of average squad player do not fly anymore. Now as a starter, the bar is a lot higher. Decent long passer should no longer be enough. If we like Mikel as a starter now, then other players should get a free pass too, like your beloved Oscar. Hiddink, the magician turned our 10 year and one PL goal into a good starter for a top club. Come on... And I am the one making things up... Flamini is a lot better than Mikel at defending.... I mean a lot better! He has the intensity, the pace, and puts his foot out there to stop a run or even consistently foul players. Is he a bad player, yup! Perhaps, like you said, a worse footballer than Mikel. However, they both belong in the same tier market value wise - cheap. Mikel is very good with short passes especially when under little pressure. When under pressure his stats go down very fast. He just cannot hit those wonderful long balls when it matters, can he? You have to cite FA Cup matches, because in any remotely competitive match, such as the one against Arsenal, he was pretty unremarkable. I'd say he was having a very hard time until the red card, and was only decent afterwards, again, because he was under little pressure. To each his own - to me having Mikel as a starter is certainly part of the problem. Others seem to think otherwise. Just to list the actual problem here: we are not very good and cannot compete for silverware.

Same player for me though... If a bad player is on the roster for a long time he's bound to play eventually; that's why clubs should never keep bad players. When Alexis went pass Mikel, as if he weren't there, I remembered how much I dislike Mikel as a player. I honestly said WTF at that moment - as if actually surprised me - it shouldn't have. I have a really hard time finding anything Mikel does well. Passing? Nope. Either Fabregas is a great passer or Mikel is, because a technical gulf separates the two. Ever seen Mikel switch play with a long ball? I've seen him try. Defending? If jogging behind the line of play and letting players run past him - like folks acknowledge he does even when ?praising? him above - is defending, then I don't know what Zouma does. I couldn't decide who was worse Mikel or Flamini... both are technically inferior players. Mikel is stronger and Flamini tries harder... but boy painful to watch them pay football!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorella_Mattheis patos girl Good signing! (just to be clear: I meant Fiorella, not Pato)

I don't disagree that there must be a middle ground, but at this moment, we may be just too much on the cheap for that too. either we are all full on it on the criticism to our players, or they are indeed insufficient and therefore tactics must Indeed focus on defense. we can't have it both ways.

I am obviously NOT talking about PL exclusively, mind you... there are no evertons in the CL. These midtable teams you mention ALSO do not compete in the CL against the richest clubs. They also do not compete against City do they? It may appear nonsense to you, but my TV only shows the richest clubs in the world playing CL finals over and over again... perhaps it's coincidence.