robsblubot

And yet he starts and starts and starts and starts and gets a new deal...It must be very painful for you.

Yes, the grass is always greener... If the coach had started this guy... Had we had this fellow... thats always true until they play and aren't that different from the ones they replace

Easily verifiable: if he keeps on starting games the manager is happy with what he's doing which is obviously what has been instructed. Same with the new deal - money is the clearest evidence we can use in football. Some ppl ignore it but I pay attention to it. Both pay and valuation. The fact he got a new deal recently means he's here for the long haul.

Agree to disagree on mikel. For me there is nothing he does better than Barry and 100 others. Keyword here is 'better' because if the international inst significantly better than the local product then why is he there? Some of these youngsters will become good players perhaps great like sterling, but to have them you gotta buy them young. And we havent been doing that - doesn't seem important to the club.

Couldn't disagree more. CUadrado did well indeed, but Colombia played shitty teams in the WC group stage and were knocked out by a mediocre Brazil - game was dominated by brazil unlike chiles. Andre shone in the freaking final with the assist. Diminishing that accomplishment makes no sense to me.

Lots of young english talent out there, but inflated prices and the unknown makes then a difficult bet. Kane is looking like the real deal. Jones is young player; stone even younger. Only to name players who could contribute, because if we talk about squad then a number of English players could do better than what mikel does. Barry to name one.

Fair enough, though you are missing the big team factor. Shakhtar is the big team over there so spaces are hard to come buy whereas fiorentina is hardly the top dog in Italy, so pacey player like cuadrado will do wonders in counters.. Just watch salah play a lot better for them. Good luck finding any space behind the cbs when playing stoke at the bridge.

So was Andre and so wasn't hazard... I'm seeing this deal as a pretty expensive bet. Unlike getting millions for the extremely limited Bertrand - good deal.

That was precisely my point - cuadrado was a pacey player in a slow league.

Cahill was only a starter last season and we did not do so good parking the bus in a number of games.Defense was weak and demanded a lot of protection to work - as soon as the team tired a bit we resumed conceding. Go back to the results once again and you will see it. Pathetic results even after luiz lost his starting position, then some solidity, and then conceding a lot at the end of the season costing us the title. The notion that cahill was always a sure starter and is going through a tough spell is delusional. Reckon you are really referring to Terry instead. But then again one must be delusional to think cahill is a great player or a sure starter. Same folks who think the kid who just got a new 5 year deal is getting the boot.

Willian had very different stats before joining chelsea and the Epl. Used to score too.

oscar has tenacity and work rate. Mata is gone. And hazard is twice the player cuadrado is. While you are right he can still do well in his own way, he has few tools to work with. Similar to say Robinho.

Hope not, but can certainly see the Epl eating him alive.... He's got pace but little power. Interesting to see what is going to happen with this bet... Not sure at all he's better than Andre.

Thanks for explaining even though you shouldn't have to. However, one thing that I do agree with oscars detractors is that he must improve; and determining his potential is really the job of all coaches at chelsea. They have all the variables: training level, schedule, physical improvement etc. determining players potential is very difficult, but if they think Oscar cannot get to the level of Lampard in the near future then perhaps the club should go a different route. But I do think that they do believe in Oscar and that's the reason he is there. They certainly did not offer him a new deal recently because he's a nice guy...

Isn't oscar similar to Lampard in style of play? Incidentally wears the same #8... Not that creative,but hard working and scores and assists on occasion... Just saying.

Just for the record: as far as I'm concerned matic is a fucking genius and our best player.

what if the answer is neither? perhaps it was not as premeditated as suggested, nor as casual. He prob thought, "i'm gonna get to the ball even if I have to walk all over this fucker lying on the ground." Diego asked Terry for backup (pretty cool audio commentary): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02hvkfv

it's contagious in a very positive way: http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/diego-costa-gets-us-fired-up--chelsea-star-eden-hazard-hails-controversial-teammate-10007952.html Eden said, Can't ask Diego to hold that back; get a proper replacement (perhaps Remy though not sure) to play the odd games Diego will be unavailable.

no, I implied that Hazard looks better than he actually is because he is flashy, and Oscar doesn't look as good as he actually is, because he isn't. If you disagree, or even think it's also a moronic idea, that's fine by me. Eden is indeed ahead of Oscar even though they are very different players even complementary! The difference however, isn't as big as people make it out to be. Eden has had quite a few quiet games lately including this week against Liverpool. His measurable contribution was low. He's had very quiet runs of games too, like in the world cup. Against City away Eden couldn't complete a single play. Against Liverpool he had trouble assisting, squandering an excellent chance when Oscar was completely open and he put too much weight on his pass. Assists and goals decide games not dribbling on its own. For me both of them need to improve. Again, Hazard is indeed ahead of Oscar, but both need improving to get to the next stage in their careers, and begin challenge the top players. And Chelsea need both of them to become better players, to become a force in Europe and challenge Real, Bayern, and Barcelona - don't think we are quite there yet. Another way to look at it: if Eden, Oscar, and perhaps Willian develop as Chelsea (and Jose) want them to, we will be able to challenge the top teams. If they do not, however, then we will have to buy (very expensive and perhaps unavailable) players in order to do that (challenge the top European sides). People around here may not have the patience to wait, but clearly the club is willing to bet on it.

oh no I am not a fan of Oscar. I expect him to become a much better player than he is now. You said that Hazard is not far behind messi, and to me only a fan can say that. My bad, you said Hazard is not behind Robben (lesser gods), which is not as crazy - fan esque... still pretty controversial. Robben is playing at the top of his game, while Hazard is still improving. Right now Robben is far more consistent as well as dangerous because he scores more goals (shoots better). For me Robben was pretty much the best player at the WC and Hazard did not show.

Belgiannutt, you are clearly a fan... nothing wrong with that, but I don't agree much with what you wrote. For me Hazard is very very far from those two. I honestly don't think he can even reach messi as Messi was already pretty unplayable at Hazard's age. Younger players are less consistent and I feel Oscar is being constantly judged as a senior player, even when his manager himself says he's work in progress. Even when his peers, most his senior, do not produce consistently either. Some players do nothing and do not get criticized because they are elegant, flashy, and dribble. Oscar on the other hand has a pretty good number of assists and goals, but is constantly criticized. Assists and goals speak for themselves. If you really want to look for mediocrity, look no further than the senior players we've got who can't consistently break into the starting XI.

disagree - chances can be created any number of ways. dribbles MAY create chances. There are a lot of inconsequential dribbles out there. The difference between the better and the not so great players is that the better ones consistently create chances. The difference between Hazard and Messi is that Messi dribbles lead to goals while Hazard's less often. Hazard is a great player right now, but to even be considered among Messi and Ronaldo he has to up his game big time.

Thought he was very similar to the other CAMs, including Hazard. William in the second half and overtime was the better one for me, but all of them had very little to no contribution up front. Oscar had a couple of assists in the first half, one of which he found Costa in the box, but Costa tried a fist time shot which was blocked. Costa was good in his overall play, but not so great with finishing (both assists and shots). Similar to Hazard as well. I am beginning to realize people around here respond to flashiness and dribbles, but not so much the end product. Oscar will never be that player, of the flashy dribbling, but the simple passes and the through balls here and there.

There was ONE clear incident in the match: penalty on Costa. Even though that was also up to interpretation, replays give little doubt. On the alleged stampings, there is no clear intent shown as he is at no moment looking down, but rather trying to run quickly. However, if he does get a ban, Remy cannot possibly replace Costa.

Pace pace and more pace! The dynamics of out defense changed completely as ours CBs were rarely in line! Terry was always sitting back in cover while Zouma was the one giving chase, being proactive. Defense looked great actually. We had trouble in midfield as they played in a very high tempo and Coutinho, Lucas, and even Can had were pretty good. Liverpool played well, which limited our CAMs tremendously. Zouma also seemed a bit more comfortable in possession and his passing was better too - nice to see. Liverpool's Sakho on the other showed poor technique esp passing; regardless of his physical prowess I doubt he's ever going to become a great player, despite his youth. You gotta know how to play footy and technique is the hardest skill to develop. Now we need a sub for ZOuma! Gary can do Terry's job (sitting) albeit without the same quality, but we've got nobody else to do what Kurt does. The squad does seem pretty short.