Stats

WOW. This is actually a crisis!

You really are too biased sometimes. You overrate a lot of our players and are dismissal of others. It is clear we are not going to agree on this point but you state to me that playing with Balo is a ridiculous point. No it is not. If he had Sturridge with him last season, it would have worked. Balo looked uninterested and of course when you play with average strikers it does not help. But your excuse for Costa is that they do not play to his strengths. Yeah, I agree but going 8 or 9 games and only scoring 1 against Luxembourg of all countries is poor. No excuses there. Stop making these excuses to suit your agenda then dismissing others. You can't even rate Coutinho as a good player which just shows how oblivious you are sometimes. I even saw you say Costa is more complete than Aguero and I don't know how you formed that conclusion since Aguero has everything. You also said the same about Benzema and while I am not saying Benzema is better you state Costa is more complete as a fact and it is not. Then the way you talk about Oscar, you would think he has been player of the season when in reality he has not been. He has been inconsistent. I think he will turn out to have a quality season when he gets fit but he needs to perform on a consistent basis. While I think Costa is an excellent striker, I don't think he is better than Aguero tbh. As for Sterling, he has been impressive for City. Pellegrini is happy with his form anyway. Like I said WBA he missed chances but his pace caused problems and all the others he has been very effective. He has not been average at all. Going to leave it at that because we are not going to agree with each other.

That influenced there decision, yeah but he has improved them. He is a permanent starter. I knew it before the season started that he was going to walk in their team. City are the best team in the league right now and they look complete but it is ironic that he would not have walked into ours or Arsenal's team. You made a point of saying he would struggle to get in to better teams. So I used Douglas Costa as an example who is not German and before the season started, many people would have said he is inferior to Coutinho and look he starts regularly for arguably the best team in the world. Believe me, you only have to look at the comments on Douglas Costa when he was linked with us to see what people thought of him. I don't look at goals and assists only. I look at general performance. Same reason why I value Willian. Coutinho was their best player by far last season. You are one of a few who think he is a average player and was poor last season. Look at what other pundits had to say of him. Lambert was an example of the type of players he was playing with. Sturridge could not keep fit, Suarez was gone, Balotelli is Balotelli and then they had the likes of Borini, LOL. Sterling and even Coutinho a couple times IIRC had to be used as a striker because the fellow strikers were so poor. If Coutinho was so poor for the majority of the season like you make out why was he in the team of the season? Even some of the choices may have been debatable I think it is obvious to see from that, that he had an excellent spell at some point last season. Was better than Oscar, that is for sure. Once again you look at goals and assists too much. Sterling has improved City a lot. You are just looking at stats. His movement and pace has allowed Silva to excel even more as he gets much more time on the ball. If they get too close to Silva, then Sterling is given more space to roam and vice versa they get too close to Sterling, Silva is given more space to roam in to. Sterling has a goal and assist to his name but he has been effective.Not brilliant. West Brom, he caused them all sort of problems but just did not score. Against us, caused Ivanovic problems after problems and against Everton I thought he was one of their best players. Against Watford, he was given MOTM. His injection of pace is a huge reason they are wiping teams off the floor so far. Coutinho has not even been given the same amount of time Oscar has been given for Brazil so that is not even fair. You are actually coming across hypocritical mate. You ignored Costa's international form and stated he was the second best striker in the world (not that I ridiculed your point as I believe he is in top 5) yet you use Coutinho's form for Brazil to say he is a bad player. Hypocrisy at it's best. Especially as Costa has had more starts than Coutinho for his country yet has only managed 1 goal and Spain have played some really average teams. So Costa's form at international is not great but that is excused however because Coutinho does not perform at international stage that makes him a bad player? Come on, that is really hypocritical.

That is rubbish, I am sorry. Coutinho of the second half of the season was fantastic. It is not his fault he was playing with average players who could not finish. Sturridge was injured for majority of last season and he was playing with dead wood like Lambert. Of course it is going to be difficult. He had so many quality games last season. I can't believe why you don't think he is good enough to play for a major club. The 'bigger club' statement is not a horrible excuse. When you are playing with much better players you will excel. Look at Sterling. He looks home at City and when he was playing with Sturridge and Suarez he looked much better. When he played without them like last season, he failed to impress as much. Like you, I never use to be a fan of Coutinho but I watched him last season and bar the begging stages of the season he improved his game to another level and I think he is an excellent player. I remeber people said the same thing about Sterling. Because he was average by his standards last season at Liverpool, people were saying he would struggle to be a regular starter at a better team. Now look. He is a permanent starter at City and Coutinho was much better than him last season. That is why I said in the future. I can actually see Real going for him if he manages to be consistent. And tbh I would have Coutinho in our team. It is easy to say he will not get into big clubs. Look at Douglas Costa. If you said last season he would be a regular in Bayern's team or even get anyway near you would have laughed now he starts every game and even when Ribery is back he is likely to keep his place because of his form.

Well Oscar is at a better club... I would not be surprised to see Coutinho make a move to a bigger club in the future.

You are right. I think there will be a lot of opportunites for Pedro and Willian. They will attack us. Baines is injured which is a huge blow for them. Galloway is injured too IIRC. Oviedo is 50/50 too and either way is very poor defensively. I am confident about this game. It is just about stopping them scoring. But I think we will create a lot of chances this game.

No believe me, when playing Arsenal fans feel he is very inconsistent. If they had a choice of Ramsey and Wilshere in the CM, they would want Ramsey. If Coquelin was injured, Ramsey would play in the CM, not Wilshere. Pre-season proved that. Wilshere played out wide IIRC. I just think that is ridiculous to laugh at someone saying Ramsey is better than Wilshere when most Arsenal fans think that. I agree that injuries have set back Wilshere but remember Ramsey had a serious injury too but the difference is that Ramsey came back stronger and is turning out in to the player Arsenal fans expected Wilshere to be. This was around this stage last season but it reflects what Ramsey gives more than Wilshere. Yeah he played more mins but it shows how good Ramsey's all round game is. This season you cannot really use those stats as he is being played out wide. Agree to disagree. http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2014/09/13/head-to-head-jack-wilshere-vs-aaron-ramsey-how-far-behind-his-ar/

Why are you showing me what an Arsenal fan says of Ramsey? That is so biased. My friend who is a massive Arsenal fan does not rate Wilshere at all and criticises him. Anyway I disagree with that. Ramsey is a quality CM for me but he just likes to go forward a bit too much. And yeah I don't get why Wenger plays Ramsey out wide but the fact he starts him in like every game says something. Same analogy you have been using to show why Brazil managers use Coutinho ahead of Oscar. Do me a favour, the same way you got the one quote from a fan about Ramsey, why don't you do a poll with Arsenal fans and find out who they think is the better CM/player and why they think that? Then we will see criticism about Wilshere but no you choose one quote which a fan said about Ramsey. Most Arsenal fans rate Ramsey over WIlshere. Please do that because I don't want to keep engaging about who is the better out out of 2 Arsenal players on a Chelsea forum thanks.

Ramsey is a better player. Just ask Arsenal fans and they will tell you. Wilshere, even when fit has struggled to match the potential fans billed him up for. If that is the funniest thing you have heard you need a reality check and slap yourself in the face because majority of fans would say Ramsey and it is not a ludicrous claim like you are making it out to be. Ramsey is not just a goal poacher. What a stupid claim. He has agility, good passing range, excellent balance plus quick foot work. He also has excellent movement with and without the ball which makes him such a goal threat. Wilshere cannot even get into that Arsenal team when fit. You are right in the fact that Wilshere does a lot of things Ramsey is good at and few years back I would have said Wilshere. Now, Ramsey is better and more consistent which is why he keeps his place in the team and Wilshere does not. If it was such a ludicrous claim please tell me my Ramsey is a permanent starter whilst Wilshere is more of a back up/ rotation?

If you read, you would see I said apart from Swansea. Yeah and that Juve game was what 3-4 seasons ago now and what standout performance has he done?He was our best player against Swansea but was not a standout performance. Coutinho has had many standout games. Yeah and after January he was thoroughly consistent. Oscar did not really have a consistent patch throughout the season like Coutinho. Well tbh I don't think Coutinho should have been in it but then many other players who you would have put instead were also inconsistent. Also, does it strike to you that when Neymar was suspended against Germany that is when they got battered. They had no players who could take on the responsibility. I actually think Oscar had a decent game but I just don't think he gives you that ability Coutinho does. I think Oscar is a good player, but I just don't see him taking responsbility most times when other players in our team are not on form. Coutinho does give you that. Looks like we will have to agree to disagree but I think Oscar would find it tough in that Liverpool team. Sterling has gone to City and improved them but even he was no way near the same level as Coutinho last season. I would not be surprised to see a major club come in for Coutinho eventually. Are you serious? Have you seen what the two have produced in the last 2 seasons? Oscar has scored more goals and so on but in terms of actual performance over the last 2 seasons, Coutinho has been a lot better. I get you like Oscar but he has not produced enough quality for us a consistent basis. Coutinho has had many world class performances for Liverpool.

Ramsey is better than Wilshere. He is playing out wide but he needs to play CM. He is one of the best athletic midfielders around. Good balance, excellent footwork, agility and all round play.

Yeah but if Coutinho played with Neymar, I actually think they would of got to the final but Neymar got himself sent off and subsequently banned. Coutinho did not even have enough game time to show his trueself for Brazil. Did he even once play with Neymar in the Copa? Not sure. I don't care if people in Brazil see that. I watch Chelsea every game. Probably more than most of these Brazilians who apparently say that. Bar our first game of the season against Swansea, Oscar has never really stepped up when the team was poor. Ironically he did against Newcastle when we beat them 2-0 last season with a goal and assist and that changed the game but his general performance bar those moments was poor. Coutinho regularly individually inspires Liverpool to win games on his own like those moments against City, Southampton and Stoke where not only he scored, he was the MOTM by far. Even our COC game at Anfield last season, Coutinho was the best player on the pitch imo. Coutinho use to be inconsistent but when Oscar was fit last season, he was thoroughly inconsistent. Coutinho for the majority of last season was consistent hence why he was in the team of the season. I hope the Brazil manager does try out Coutinho and Neymar in the same team more because I think with time it will flourish.Too much reliance on Neymar whereas Coutinho takes a lot of responsibility. I don't feel Oscar does this that much and that is why when we play bad,it is rare to see Oscar be the exception and play better than everyone else. Last season, only Hazard and Willian were players who stepped up last season when the rest of the team were below-par. If you look at when Liverpool beat City last season and the performance Coutinho put in, I don't think I have and will see Oscar put in an individual performance like that. That is becuase imo, he does not have that type of ability that Coutinho does to change a game on his own.

Yeah because Coutinho is performing in the biggest league in the world surrounded by much more average players and sometimes is a one man team for them. And maybe the fact that Brazil never picked Coutinho in the WC is why they performed so badly, clearly looked like a one man team and got battered 1-7 by Germany. If you are looking at club form and actually see what he produces for Liverpool on the field, then you will know how good of a player he is.

Well out of the 8 penalties he took, 5 of them he earned himself. Silva and Aguero are respected and admired amongst many. I think most people regard Aguero as the best striker in the league. If both of them stayed fit over the course of the season they would definitely receive individual accolades. That is something Hazard has managed to do. And no top 5 is not a stretch to put Hazard in. But let me guess, you probably are going to look at goals and assists to say why Hazard is not....

I am basing it on what I see. BTW Coutinho was given MOTM against Stoke this season and that was a stunning solo effort. I just feel he has the ability to take control of the game. Dribble past players, create chances and is generally improving. Yeah, I don't think he should have made PFA team of the year but he was quality. Maybe for Brazil, Oscar is a better fit but when I watch the two play for club, excluding goals and assists, I just think Coutinho is a better player. Coutinho should really have 2 goals to his name but that was an outstanding save from Cech. Another game where he took complete control and they could not deal with him. Physically, that is the thing, his balance has improved immensely. You only have to look from last season and the opening stages of this season to see how much of a goal threat from long range Coutinho is starting to become. Southampton, City, Stoke etc. While Oscar is a good player and they are around the same age, I feel Coutinho has got a much higher ceiling. He has got that burst of pace, dribbling, vision and I just feel he is becoming a complete player. Agree to disagree. Before I would have said Oscar. Now I feel Coutinho is just getting better and better.

Coutinho really should be in Brazil's team.He is better than Oscar but even if it means Oscar staying in the team, Coutinho should be playing with Oscar. He has stepped his game up to another level. He works hard, great balance, improved his long range shooting and he is a game changer. Amazing player.

Yeah and he probably earned all 8 penalties if that was a dig at him. If you get fouled in the box like he does, that is a skill and he has every right for those penalties to be included as a personal achievement as he earns majority of them. Just imagine if Suarez was the penalty taker at Liverpool. He would of had over 40 league goals and that would have been fully justified, like Hazard's pens because majroity of them he earns due to his great skill on the ball.

Agreed however Boga is built like Hazard. They are both fairly stocky which helps them with their great balance on the field.

I have written about my admiration for Boga a few times on here but I will do it once again. I think he is fantastic. I remember when he made his debut for our U21 against Fulham at the mere age of 15 and he absolutely shined. Was not fazed at all and was the best player that game. A typical Hazard like player with his dribbling ability, the way they can both hit full speed just with a click of a finger and their excellent balance in shrugging of defences. Boga's free kick ability is excellent as well. You are so right though. Boga is not highlighted as much as some of the others when I think he has got much more potential than Brown and the others you listed. If he gets over his injury problems, the sky is the limit for him. Just far too talented. I think some people have even forgotten the goal he scored for our first team against RZ Pellets and our U21 game against Everton which were two fantastic solo goals. Friendly or U21 game, when you produce something like that you just know that the player is something special. There are too many clips posted in his thread where I hope people look over just to his sheer talent. Musonda is the only other player in our youth/U21 teams/out on loan who is capable of doing something similar. Would of preferred if he went to Rayo as I think like Kakuta, that loan would have been ideal for him but I like what I have heard of Rennes and the football they play so hopefully he shines out there. Been posted earlier in the thread but this goal against Everton was just sublime. What an individual effort. Can't help but purr over that. Was looking back at this thread from page 1 and seeing the amazing clips people have posted of him. A joy watching them over again. http://zippy.gfycat.com/BogusAlertKoalabear.webm

Too much wishful thinking bro. You stated before our game with City that you were not worried about the game as "they are nothing special" and "overrated" and they ended up beating us 3-0. Yeah, they had good balance but the question will remain can Navas perform consistently for the whole season which City fans and probably Pellegrini is unsure about. While they will lose the pace on the counter they will have the excellent creativity of KDB and Silva which Navas cannot provide and while KDB is not as fast as Navas he is not a slouch and has a fair amount of pace. What you have to rmember is KDB is a good passer as well.They now have two players capable of providing Aguero with excellent through balls. Something Navas cannot do. The interchanging of KDB, Silva and Sterling is going to make them a big threat. You have gave your reasons as to why you think it will not work which is fair enough but like I was saying I think it is too much wishful thinking without realising the huge benefits it will bring to their team. I have not even mentioned the goal threat. As well as KDB creativity, he scores goals which is something Navas struggles to do. Another key dimension KDB has to his game.

Navas you mean. Nasri lost his place before KDB came in.

Of course Costa is going to start. No chance Mourinho will leave him out. This is not a game to be tinkering around with strikers. Costa is our best striker and although he has not got of to the best start, he is still quality. Let's just remember what he did at Goodison last year and hope for more of the same this Saturday. The fact that he has been playing internationals while Falcao has not will make no difference. It probably will help Mourinho pick Costa even more with the fact that he has more minutes to his name.

I have regretted it from long time ago.

Pacquiao probably wrote it

Weird. Skysports seem to think he put in an excellent showing. http://www.skysports.com/football/news/19692/9982245/kevin-de-bruyne-gives-masterclass-for-belgium-against-cyprus