robsblubot

I completely understand where you are coming from, but I don't value those attributes so highly as you do. In my experience, players can and do develop those (defensive/mental) attributes once they move to stronger league and learn better tactics with better coaches/managers. However, players do NOT improve drastically their technical skills (ball control shooting, etc). Ex: Lampard has always had good shooting skills; he's improved on them, but not drastically. On Neymar, his development has stalled. Like you all I watch him mostly when playing international matches and it is obvious he struggles with a more physical game and stronger opposition. The only solution is a move to Europe. However, for Brazil, it's already too late as even if he moves next summer, he won't have time to fully develop until the WC. Brazil have a good side, but not WC winner material. However, when we talk about (future) potential, the final touch, the decisive touch is everything and Naymar has it.

ability to make the difference; match winning potential; potential to give you an edge against strong opposition. so, different attacking players can be measured against each other that way, IMO of course. I do hope Moses develops (he's very young) and become an excellent player, but I just don't see enough potential there to come close to Neymar or Hazard level. BTW, Neymar and Hazard are also 21...

Couldn't disagree more. Compared to Neymar, Moses is utter shit. I'm NOT saying Moses *is* shit, because he is a GOOD player, but not comparable to the likes of Neymar (or Hazard, or Mata). IMO Moses does not belong in this discussion. Neymar has the potential to be better than Hazard, and Hazard is twice the player Moses is. I guess we will have to wait and see who is right. I'm fairly confident in my predictions though.

wow! Moses?! I think sometimes the valuation of the players can be taken as evidence of their quality--at least as a hint. I also think Neymar is not worth 50m especially because he hasn't really developed enough for competitive matches and leagues, but it's silly to ignore the superior ball control at pace, the vision, and the goals. One or two seasons in Europe, a bit more physical presence and he could become a top top player no doubt. Here's the problem though: once a player becomes a Messi, that's it; we will never get him because his club will do everything to hold to him. So, we've got to place some bets here and there to get them young, and Neymar can be such (expensive) bet, which is what it takes to get a player of that caliber. I guess that's up to Roman, since it's his money. Oscar is such a bet.

yup, he should ask Lamps for a few pointers and perhaps spend some time with him practicing if he wants to improve on that. He's shooting like a defender... wonder why.

hehe when I quoted your post so I could *continue* the thoughts, agreeing or disagreeing, and perhaps adding to the discussion. The way this forum works may inadvertently make quotes a bit more personal, but it's merely about referring to something that has already been written--people don't like to type... bit lazy myself.

I'm Brazilian and do watch brazil play whenever I can. I've also played (for fun) with the clown Ronaldinho when he was U20 in Porto Alegre, who has always been a flop for Brazil. My point isn't so much about your point, or you; I'm entitled to make my own points after all this is the forum for such.

That is true, but for Brazil it is a disgrace. As a Brazil supporter I don't give a fuck whether Neymar is confortable or not, or how much money he makes in a weaker league officiated by clowns who's number one priority is protecting him. Defenders are not allowed to touch Neymar in brazil! That's why he cannot even shine against U23 teams so long as the referees aren't Brazilian. Agree he has tremendous potential, but without going against better sides with better defending, his potential will go unfulfilled. Yes time is still on his side, but not for Brazil. 2014 is looking dim because the one player who can make a difference hasn't produced a single superior game for Brazil. Not once I've seen Neymar do what he does in the league for Brazil, regardless who Brazil play. Why expect his development will be much better in 2014 when the conditions will remain the same?

Of course he will start; without Thiago, he's the best defender Brazil got!

That was pretty cool! Thanks for the video. I'm convinced then (by all replies); perhaps he's just playing nice since he's gonna stay there for a while. Back to Courtois though, it's a difficult situation; Cech isn't going to play forever, but he's relatively young for a GK, so he prob still has a few years ahead of him at Chelsea, which means Courtois needs to find game elsewhere.

I hope you are right. I just don't get that from his interviews...

That's exactly what I'm afraid of concerning Lukaku.

http://thinkfootball.co.uk/archives/8028 I agree with most if not all points of the article above. He has moved from a smaller side, so he may still improve especially on positioning (Giroud did the same in the first 5 min of the match against Arsenal). And that's precisely why I dislike the current Iva and Cahill partnership: they both cover, no one chases. Regardless, I certainly don't see him remotely close to becoming a long-term Terry replacement. The difference in class between the two players is absolutely obvious.

This is something that has always eluded me: how can a player be at the same time fit for country, but unfit for club?! David is still on for England friendly.

^^ players not supporting this or that manager is unacceptable, as they are well-paid professional footballers. This suggests the board and the owner don't give enough power to the manager. Start fining players for shitty uninterested performances and we will see who is who. However, I fear some players are really performing at their limit, and just aren't good enough to give Chelsea an edge over their opponents; some of them because too young others because of lack of quality.

it's not that he hasn't improved...he has. And he is young enough, so he will improve further--I have no doubt. However, my point remains that playing Hazard will not *add* (keyword here 'add') anything defensively compared to the player he'd be replacing. Now as bad as Bertrand is on the ball, he does add defensively; it's clearly not working though--conceding 3 goals and all... It's all relative of course. Hazard may have nullified their rb with his skill for ex. We just have some players in defense who have not been delivering (or delivering as much as their are capable of), but their names can't be mentioned (see current squad section and how their threads are always uneventful).

nonsense. We are losing because we can't defend, not because we aren't scoring. We've been scoring 2 goals away from home and that ought to be enough. Hazard adds nothing defensively. Pretty mediocre players in defense, lack of rotation with thin squad, poor managing, and board pressure to play Torres.

If you are right then we need to buy world class defenders, because aside from Terry, David was the best prospect in the squad.

Our defense has been rock solid without David Luiz! Our defenders look completely dependable and very very calm...

Agreed, imo the lack of pace (and acceleration) is the main reason for Torres' ineffectiveness. His low confidence stems from his newfound inability to go past his man.

We lost the game because of our defending or lack thereof. How many goals to we have to score away from home to win a freaking match? Certainly 2 goals ought to be enough! Turnbull is not good enough. I have my doubts about Cahill even being good enough for Chelsea (squad player for me so far), and I have a strong opinion that Iva plays best as a defensive RB. I don't know what the docs and/or fitness coaches told Rafa about Terry, but I have to assume he wasn't supposed to play Yesterday.

still.... I am yet to see anything from him, and by that I don't mean consistent performances, but something, anything! A dribble, a good run, a goal, an assist, anything! Opponents are taking the football from him way too easily and that is concerning.

I recommend a book called soccernomics then. It may present some interesting facts; they even attempted to measure the effect of tradition and weight it in when talking about, say England for example. Regardless, a very good read.

tradition does matter! Besides many of the Belgium players are on the young side, which makes it very difficult at the world cup. Just consider how few winners we've got and how long it has taken for Spain to break into this very selective group.

Very interesting point... but why would you want a very calm squad that may border complacency? David is one of the most aggressive players in the squad and I believe Chelsea value him for that. It seems Chelsea FC have been going through a change of stature that some supporters haven't yet fully embraced or even accepted. The proper and composed are't in fashion at Chelsea based on how they've building the squad. Roman does not seem to want proper dependable players who do well in a wet pitch at Stoke. He's, I reckon, attempting to build a squad that can dominate in Europe. Let me try to make my point clearer: Chelsea need their players to provide an edge against the other top sides. Of course Chelsea would like David to develop and become more composed, dependable, and less prone to mistakes, which happens naturally as players age (especially defenders). However, they believe, and they possess a lot more info than we do, that David can become a dominant player; that's what the amount we paid for him as well as his new wages tell me.