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That's what a few of us were concerned about. And that is exactly why age matters: far easier to bulk up a 22yo than a 26yo. However I'm just not that crazy about his technique as his control of the football is just not up there with our starters. Saw the same during the WC where he was ok (against poor opposition).

Couldn't agree more. He was completely out of it after the collision. He shouldn't have been kept on for both his own health as well as the team's. How the officials thought the gk did not foul Oscar is beyond me and I guess most ppl.

I find it hard to give too much praise to our defense today because of the strategy and intent. I feel that the attacking players had the short end of the stick while all defense players looked good because they were mostly dealing with scraps. The entire team defended well. That's why I voted for William who was one of the best players going forward. With the defensive praise out of the way, very disappointed with hazard today - he was watched and double marked but get used that because it will happen more and more often. But he needs to be more aggressive and make more runs - way too passive.

I've finally watched the return leg and if, like the British announcer, you spotted luiz ball watching in the first goal, then I'm sorry to say that you are either a moron or (less sorry) have a crush on him. Iniesta dribbled past the entire psg team (brilliant!!! Magic!!!) and then passes it to Neymar who got a pace and a perfect first touch. So what did you expect David luiz do? If you say stop the attack then, you definitely have a crush on him... Btw it seemed to me, a fucking moron as I am, that barca did not need luiz help at all to beat psg. They outplayed them in both legs.

Agreed We'd make top four without a replacement. Could challenge though. Just not sure about bale - like him a lot but his general contribution is low - he's more of moments player.

Quite on the contrary, Neymar carried a subpar Brazil side all the to the semis of the worl cup getting all the attention in the world - wish he hadn't though. Barcas prob is actually thy got too much of a good thing...

You've just described Mikel... well minus the technical ability assuming Nathaniel can hit long balls. And Nat can still improve a lot including upping his work rate and awareness.

My top 6 are 1. Messi A wide gulf 2/3. Suarez and Ronaldo A less wide gulf 4. Robben 5. Neymar 6. Hazard Hazard just needs to keep on improving. Nothing different than what he's been doing. As soon as his shots start going in more often he will overtake robben and start challenging Ronaldo and Suarez. Edit: Neymar is still ahead of Eden on shooting and goals.

You misunderstood what I wrote as I did not say he loses possession - you cannot lose what you don't have. He never keeps the ball long enough to lose it. Once again you are making a directly link between the CB pairing and the defensive numbers which is wrong. The correlation is very subtle because it pertains another 9 players as well as the team setup/strategy and above all, intent.

Please spare me of your rhetoric - either you quote me on what you claim I've said or it's just another figment of your vast imagination. Luiz is an excellent natural player, which makes him interesting but as a defender he's at about the same level of Cahill - good but flawed. His performance in defense against us was a surprise to me (I thought he was going to play in middle) even though I do think he is a dangerous player to play with or against. Cahill enjoys a level of protection that has made Luiz look 'solid' for long stretches of time and in a very defensive minded CL win. I know the footballing world is not made of the sharpest tools in the shed, but do we have to be surprised every time Luiz makes a mistake? He's mistake prone... if you want to play him in defense then adequate protection must be provided. Don't let him be the last man, esp when injured as he'll be late and make a fool of himself. Your obsession with Luiz is unhealthy... Going back to Cahill though - It's not about his solidity - because we know he is a solid dependable defender who's going to make few mistakes. However, he can be beaten by better players. He cannot hit a long ball to save his life which slow us down when he reclaims possession. When he hits row Z we lose possession. When he is incapable of cleanly take the football and/or dribble his marker in a more proactive way, we lose possession. His lack of pace is a problem especially when we are chasing and have to move the defense line up the pitch - we become vulnerable. He also makes a terrible partnership with Terry because they are very similar players so nobody chases and both sit back. Zouma isn't the most technical player out there, but when someone has to play DM it's zouma not Cahill. Because zouma has more pace and s a bit more rounded even if not particularly technical. So, again, it's not that Cahill is a a bad player, but IMO he's not good enough. The same way you think Oscar is not good enough, and some say he's 'solid' because we can depend on his hard work, I say we can do A LOT better than Cahill as a starter even though he won't be a liability. And mind you, Cahill is 29, not 23...

Cahill being brilliant ... LololololilololololFeel younger and less wise already... recommend checking the word 'solid' in the dictionary. It describes being firm at most dependable - little to do with technique/quality. Esp going by how the word is overused around here. Now if you think defenders don't need technique then it is indeed possible to think Cahill is a brilliant player. as good as hummels and Kompany. And what does Cahill do with the football After he bosses the 18y box? Row Z or the player closest to him... Btw football isn't only played inside the box...

Can't a defender be solid and still (even very) poor? Because that's how I see him. And yet there are a number of folks here who seem to directly link solidity to quality. Without going into extremes and verging on controversial, I deem Cahill to be more solid than Kompany but the latter is twice the player. Kompany would make the whole team play better. Hazard would make more plays as would all other players - cascading effect from the quality in possession.

It's interesting that the way our defense is setup and the characteristics of the players are not considered when we discuss the style in which we play. It's like around here football is American football where defense and offense are literally different teams.

Having a negative opinion of Oscar, especially if a sane one like, "we can do better" as opposed to an insane one, "he's shit!" Is absolutely fine. The strange part, or perhaps should not be strange any more, is the idea he's getting sold on a fire sale. he just signed a new deal after dropping his performance in the second half of the season - just like now. So what has changed to make the very loud minority think Jose has changed his mind on him? Do they have insider info by chance? Or are they trying to interpret tabloids? Tabloids don't report news - they fabricate them.

This is the happiest you sounded in a long time - didn't think that was even possible after reading the Oscar thread. I'm glad luiz has this effect in you - perhaps he's indeed worth more than 50m after all...At least people here now know what makes you happy and what tabloid you like to read.

Please don't insult the clowns - it's a legit profession.Our members know better than managers, scouts, and the free market, and don't really bother with logic or with the other 10 players on the pitch for the matter. Of course they were all awful quiet after the bridge game. It's not being a clown - it's being arrogant (at least I hope that's the case)

Zouma as a DM only in a most extreme situation/emergency and QPR ain't it! Wish we had proper back up so I'd never seen him play there again - he is awful there. He's an excellent CB (better than Cahill already), esp for his age, but he's not a good passer and being a good passer is one of the most important attributes for the the DM position. I've said that over and over again: our lack or control in games stems from the type of player we have in the defensive positions, not this or that player. It hasn't really changed over the years regardless of who plays middle and front.

I'm not saying trust me, "Oscar is going to turn into a star in a couple of years" because frankly I don't know. Just consider, however, that perhaps you don't have access to all the information they have at the club. Perhaps the fact his performances drop in the second half of the season is well understood at the club. It could be temporary or something they are willing to accept - we just dont know.

Good job! you keep disagreeing with things I did not write. when did I say you are not entitled to your opinion? Thought I did exactly the opposite. I merely wondered about the reiteration of the same points and what you exactly wanted to accomplish with it. I explained why you contradicted yourself by saying he was good enough for serie A but not good enough for the BPL, even though we are winning the BPL. Please don't compare single elimination with a long championship where the best team wins - we were not the best CL team then but single-elimination allows the weaker side to win at times. Yes, Mikel did not improve and we were wrong with him. We were also wrong with Matic who Did improve A LOT after we let him go. The point of the article I linked, that I am sure nobody will bother to read, is exactly that it is hard to predict these things because the development is dynamic with tons of variables, which makes it non-linear. But if you can predict these things with as much certainty as you show in your posts, you are truly wasting your time on these forums. Successful scouts make a lot of money doing exactly what you claim to be able to do. Concerning price tags, there is no debate: any item's valuation, player's rights too, is defined by demand and how how much one is willing to pay for it. Your opinion or mine matter not. Luiz may score a goal a season against us and you still come here and ridicule him for some strange reason. That's just strange to be honest, but whatever makes you happy.

There was no conclusion about Oscar, just called you on your BS. Unlike you I don't pretend to have all the answers and frankly don't care to. Predicting the development of youngsters is one of the most difficult things in football and top scouts and managers get it wrong all the time. You are entitled to your opinions however crazy they may sound to me (and they do as you think 30m+ players are shit), but when you contradict yourself, especially within the same post, that's usually a sign you are going a bit too far. You have already written your opinion about Oscar. Some here agree others don't... If in a few years, at chelsea or elsewhere, Oscar then at 26 is still exactly the same player, then I will say, "darn! I was wrong about him!" And that will take like maybe 5 minutes of my time and won't change a damn thing in my life. I just hope you are not under any illusion that whatever you write here may influence people enough to make a difference - nor that someone at chelsea actually comes here to read all the crap we write... because that would be crazy indeed. This gives an idea of how difficult it is and why there is so much money in it: http://www.academia.edu/667981/Talent_Identificantion_and_Development_Programmes_in_Sport_current_models_and_future_directions

please dont misquote me... where did I write what you said I did? Or are those your "conclusions" again?!I referred to something you actually wrote as opposed to something completely made up like you did:

just an angry dude ranting non-stop against a 23-year-old in a bad patch. His posts make no sense anyway... he says if Oscar goes to a shitty league like Seria A he will score tons of goals, but not good enough for Chelsea. but but we are WINNING the EPL WITH Oscar!!! lol So how is he not good enough if he is factually good enough to win the league with?! Listening to him one would think we improve tremendously whenever Oscar doesn't play, and yet in reality the difference is subtle to non-existent.

Unlike folks here on tc the perhaps Liverpool, the club, understands that the more the merrier.

No such a thing is being done. Lampard was a top player because of his ability to score goals as a midfielder! Goals change games and win matches so obviously he was a special player. And yes Ronaldo would turn into a quaresma without the goals as skill wise he's nowhere near messi.

I think you've missed the entire point... that's exactly what my point was....