Leif

This is off-topic, but this is where the debate is, and I'm just going to put a thought in - Regardless how good a passer is, if he's in the middle of the "3" in a 4-2-3-1 formation, they very rarely get to dictate a game. Especially if you have a player like Torres, who's always trying to stand in an almost offside-position (aside from when he, for whatever reason, comes deep), that "3" will be constantly getting closed down by the opponents - which means more physicality, less time on the ball, and less 'dictating' of play. That then leads them to pass back downwards to the double pivot - Lampard and Mikel, as they don't want to lose the ball. That's where our problem starts - This is the point where we're supposed to recycle possession and get the ball forward again, but how often do Lampard or Mikel pick a pin-point pass out to the wing or striker from that position? They don't. They pass back to the defenders, and then we go through that silly lethargic phase of slow & awful passing - the exact opposite of what Oscar was doing for Brazil in a very similar position. We need a playmaker in the double pivot. People seem to think that Mata should be our primary playmaker; and I believe that's simply because we've rarely been blessed with decent passers, so people think he's now a God of passing. (He is very good though.) Mata is an attacking midfielder. Who dictated play at Valencia when Mata was there? Banega; not Mata. How often did Mata even dictate play last season? On the odd occasion he got the ball. But why was it an odd occasion? Because the players we have in a deeper position are NOT playmakers - which we NEED, to either dictate play themselves or get the ball to Mata. Infact, the closest player we've had to a playmaker, besides Mata, has been David Luiz - and that's just sad. Example - Real Madrid play a 4-2-3-1. Who controls the game? Xabi Alonso; in the double pivot. Ozil to them is similar to how Mata is for us, or even Hazard (probably); Does he dictate the game? Well, sometimes in the opponents half when they're trying to break down a team; but generally Alonso does the dictating. Ozil is more the 'cutting-edge' type of player, who, after receiving a pin-point ball from Xabi Alonso, will quickly turn and play a through-ball to Ronaldo, Benzema or Di Maria. Who does the dictating for Barcelona? Xavi. Juventus? Pirlo. The only player I can think of who does any dictating for a team in an advanced position is Silva at Manchester City; but their tempo rarely changes, so Silva doesn't actually 'dictate' all that much to be honest; as all the players are in harmony and doing the same thing; regardless whether he's on the field or not. They can easily just slot in Nasri for him instead, too. Yaya Toure also does a fair bit of dictating of play - In the double pivot. Oscar will not be able to dictate play (which is why I assume most of us have been impressed by him) if he is in the front 3. You can say all you want that 'he can drift deep', but what happens then? We turn into a 4-3-3? Then what's the point in starting out in a 4-2-3-1 in the first place? I'm not predicting where Oscar will play for us; but it's absolutely foolish to believe that we don't need a playmaker (which he is) in our double pivot. (Apologies for any errors, spelling mistakes etc. Very tired.)

I guess I'm the only one on here who doesn't see much special with this guy. If he didn't look a little bit like Kaka (Let's say he swapped appearances with..Conor Clifford) and came from anywhere but South America or Spain; I'm sure he wouldn't be getting even half the hype he's receiving. Go ahead now - Flame me for voicing an opinion

Just spoke with his cousin Daniel. To quote him: - "I AM GASSSSEEEEEDDDDD!!!!" at this news. Sounds like his whole family are celebrating.

Juventus are Serie A champions. They're doing well financially. They're trying to bulk up on high quality players for their first time in the Champions League in a while. They want depth; which they lacked last season. They will not be selling their #1 right-back. Absolutely no way.

I am SOOO pumped to see what AS Roma produce next season!!!!!!!!!! Will their new "who cares about letting goals in? Just outscore the opponents!" philosophy work? How many cigarettes will the new manager have during each game? Who knows. But I'm excited. (I'm also curious to see how Fiorentina perform given they've signed some really good midfielders.)

I've said sosososo many times that he only works in a counter-attacking system; but I realise now that that's ignorant of me to say. I'm sure he can adjust. Any player can adjust. (Well, apart from Torres... ) To get the best out of him, a counter-attacking system is probably ideal, but what's clear to see is that he's simply a work-horse natural finisher, with surprisingly decent pace. I'm sure he'd improve us immensely if he could work in our new system... which we still don't actually seem to have figured out yet.

In the Bundesliga, yes, but Marseille were awful last season, and Ligue 1 is quite a step down from the Bundesliga, so I'm expecting him to actually be one of their better players next season.

I only wanted him when I thought we'd be missing out on the CL next season, as I'm sure he'd be great for a team in the Europa League. However; who on earth could imagine - "The European Champions have just signed Victor Moses from Wigan Athletic to solve their winger problem." ? I actually think this guy would be fantastic in the Bundesliga.

Looks like he's ours. Marseille are about to sign Boenisch on a free. He can play right or left back. He's too good for Marseille to just be a back-up option, and they can't afford to have him AND Cesar on their wage bill.

Ooo, that was a delightful pass to Elia(?).

Young viewers shouldn't be allowed to watch this match. That was complete rape.

.... :o :o :o :o :o

I'm not even taking the piss - Peter Crouch.

We simply must go for one of 3 formations in my opinion - Manchester City's 4-2-3-1. Arsenal's 4-3-3/4-2-1-3 Brazil's 4-2-1-3 I won't go into a big analysis of how they're different from our current 4-2-3-1. It should be obvious enough.

SHOOSH! I WANTED TO SOUND LIKE A SMART ASS! Thanks for ruining it. But you're right.

Let's have a raise of hands from those who think we're going to be signing the oil-rich Premier League champion's starting right-back based on stories without quotes.

What do we think then? Will he play for Werder Bremen tonight vs. Borussia Dortmund? Or will this be too early for him considering he's just got there?

Shoulda been working on his game instead of RT'ing everyone yesterday.

Why are you to telling people to keep their opinions to themselves (On a FORUM for fuck sake) AND launching a personal attack to everyone by telling us to "SHUT IT"? It's not cool to just randomly instigate.

Since this is the most active thread right now, I'll be cheeky and put this here - WHAT A PASS FROM OSCAR!

Of course. There's always a way around it though. "To not see" and "not to see" are completely different phrases; both of which are correct when used in the right terms. I know you're trying to be smart now, but I did use "not to see" correctly. You're simply not familiar with the phrase. So you can slate me previously for taking spelling & grammar seriously, but then you take a little flag which in all honesty, has nothing to do with anyone else on this forum, seriously? Double standards. Finally; you DID suggest, in my opinion, but I won't try and portray that opinion of mine as fact as you were rather vague. If there was a misunderstanding on that part, then that's fine.

Well that was fun. I assume there's a hit out on me now where all my future posts are dismissed etc. Similar to Kojo. (Apologies for bringing you into this.)

Excuse me? Of course that counts. As the conversation progressed, it changed from "Stamford Bridge" to simply "Have you seen them live?". I hope you knew that before entering this conversation, otherwise you shouldn't be in it.

Ever heard of a paper round? Well this is embarrassing. "To not see" was actually written with perfect grammar & spelling. LOL. Now a lying bastard? Just ask anyone on here - Last week my flag was the Brazil flag, and the week before that the English flag. Yet again, an invalid 'point', if you could even call it that. Oh really? I seem to remember you making reference to my join date and then suggesting I hadn't seen many, if any, games before this season. Correct?

Have you read the previous posts? If not, I'll excuse you for not picking up the sarcastic tone in my comment.