Belgiannutt

Ah okay thanks.

Does anyone know when he's joining the preseason tour ?

lol at Costa tripping up the kid. With Costa and Hazard in our team there isn't a single ballboy in the league that would try wasting time. Fear us ballboys ! Fear us ! Muhahahahaha

The bigger and more reliable outlets yes they have a reputation to protect and will think twice before reposting something (not a lot of those around though) However the smaller and less reliable outlets ( alot more of those around) don't have a good repution to protect so they don't care. They only care about getting lots of people to click on their "news". They only care about having lots of people visit their website or buy their newspaper. It really isn't a good method to go by how many outlets are reporting the same news instead you should be more concerned about which outlets are reporting the news. 1 reliable outlet/ source is better than 5 unreliable ones.

That's not true. A lot of outlets just take news from other outlets. More links and sources doesn't make it more reliable or better.

True. I think he even said that to Chelsea tv ? That he was considering moving away from the intended approach and wanted to move to a more pragmatic approach as he feared we otherwise wouldn't make CL football. Think it was after we conceded 3 goals against Sunderland but not sure. If we get Costa and Luis i disagree. Last season we were struggling on a couple of positions due to a lack of quality. Striker, midfield, left back but with the transfers of Matic, Fabregas (Costa and Luis) we've solved that. The players you mentioned are young and a bit inexperienced but saying they aren't winners is extremely harsh. They lack experience at the highest level yes but there is only one way you gain experience. You don't need 11 leaders in the team. 2 or 3 will do. You just need to make sure they're all focused on reaching the same goal. No Hazard hasn't carried this team for the entire season but there have definitely been periods and moments last season where he did carry this team. Yes he needs to do it more and be more consistent this season. No one is arguing that but part of the mediocrity? Come on now. I really think you mean experience instead off "winning mentality". Yes it's pretty clear, especially with our choice at left back (Luis), that Mourinho is looking to add more experience to the team instead of young potential. Honestly i agree with your main point that we need(ed) more experience in the team but why do you always have to be so negative about our current players. A lot of the players you mentioned so negatively are gonna be part of that new core that is going to have to drive this team to succes for the next decade.

Well i think there are 2 aspect of a free role to consider. 1 is the fact you're not forced to stick to one position and can roam between positions. 2 is that you can focus on attacking and not worry about having to track a defender. Oscar enjoys the most benefit from the first one as he can roam and like you said "be everywhere" on the pitch. This is something that Neymar struggles with. Neymar on the other hand has the most benefit from the second aspect as he's doesn't have to track the right back and can focus soley on attacking. This is something where Oscar doesn't really benefit from as his defensive contributions are one of his main strenghts. It's really comes down to what you want to use and "boost". Oscar's positional awareness or Neymar's attacking potent. Now you're probably thinking that the free role hasn't boosted Neymar's attacking potent and that it has actually lessened it but i think the real culprit is the position Neymar is forced to play in. I mean why is Neymar playing centrally as a number 10 ? He's not a 10. He's an inside forward that likes to cut inside. Let him do what he's best at. A free role doesn't mean you have to play as a 10. Look at C Ronaldo. He gets a free role but positionally still plays as a left inside forward. I would play with Neymar on the left with a free role but ask him to primarily stay on the left. Oscar on the 10 and then just have Oscar mark the right back when defending deep. I still feel Scolari is right to give the free role to Neymar but he just needs to switch Oscar and Neymar and limit Neymar's movement a bit. imho offcourse.

Well i think Oscar is indeed more well rounded then Neymar but Neymar is more goal oriented. Give him a free role and he's a lot more likely to score goals and create danger then Oscar ( free role). Free roles are given to boost a player (and a team's) attacking performance not to offer more balance to the side. Neymar offers more in the attacking side which is why he gets the free role. I don't think Neymar's "problem" is being selfish. He just seems to want to do too much at times. Sometimes he's already in a great position to shoot on goal but then decides to take on another player. (today vs Chile)

Yeah you're right he did let his country down. The thing is they worship him which means he could do the most despicable things and the people defending him now would still defend him.

That's true but i think that applies for all the attacking players out there. Free roles usually means the player can focus on what he does best and that automatically boosts a player's performance. but free roles are rare in modern football and only given to 1 player per team,the best player of the team in terms of attacking quality and he simply isn't, neither at Brazil (Neymar) or at Chelsea (Hazard) (at Chelsea there wasn't even a free role for any player, not even Hazard)

Your question is pointless. We're not getting James. Monaco bought him for 45 million (I think). Then take into account that Monaco would be reluctant to sell and the fact that he's playing a great World Cup. I mean the asking price is gonna be ridiculous.

I'd punish him more for saying such stupid shit like that. Honestly the amount of crazy being talked to defend Suarez is frightening. According to the Venezuelan president (you know the guy who's running an entire country and is expected to be able to use more then half a braincell) has said that it's a conspiracy against Suarez for knocking out Italy and England. I mean it just leaves me speecless how delusional some people are reacting to this incident. Venezuelan president : Conspiracy, made up. (deluional) Uruguayan president : Didn't see a bite. (must be blind i guess) Uruguayan National Coach : Suarez being made a scapegoat, journalists out to get him. (dementia kicking in i suppose ?) Uruguayan captain Lugano : Old scars, Chiellini lying. (Retard) Honestly what the fuck are these people on !! He bit someone. For the third time in his career. How the hell can he be made a victim in all this ?!

There is no hurt ? So someone sinking there teeth into your skin doesn't hurt at all ? Again a dangerous tackle is part of football. With a dangerous tackle there is still the intent to get the ball while when biting someone there is only one intent, hurting the player. There is no intent ? How can you say that ? He bit someone, unprovoked and the ball wasn't anywhere near them. What other intent could he have but to hurt the player ? Even if it's only slight insanity. He still can't control himself biting other people which means he's insane and shouldn't be allowed on a football pitch untill it's sorted out.

You don't consider biting someone as excessive ? Well let me put it this way if he's insane and can't control the urge to bite people then he should be put in a mental institution and undergo tests before he's allowed back on a football pitch. If he's sane then he had intent to hurt another player and should be banned for a long time. Also you keep comparing dangerous tackles to biting but with dangerous tackles you can still argue that the intent was there to get the ball. It's still part of football. Suarez biting someone, the intent to hurt (or insanity) is crystal clear. You can't say he was trying to get the ball, got caught up in the moment and then bit Chiellini. Don't really get why you're trying to hide behind what to label the action. Insanity or intent to hurt. Both reasons should result in no football (for a long time) for Suarez. and like i said if it's intent to hurt then he's a repeat offender. 3 freaking times !

You really shouldn't underestimate the effect this has on Children. Children are extremely prone to copying (famous) people they look up too.

I think you're mixing up the act (dangerous tackle, biting someone) with the consequences of that act (broken leg, bite marks). When deciding how long to ban someone you should only look at the act and how much intent there was to harm the player, not what happened to the intended victim. For example leg breaking tackles happen a lot. The fact that the victim doesn't break his leg doesn't mean the aggressor should be given a lesser punishement because his intended victim got lucky to have not broken his leg. Also biting isn't something a sane person does and it's the third time he's done this. That also comes into play when deciding how long to punish him. I actually feel he should have been punished longer. The guy just has mental problems. Oh and the attitude of the Uruguyan Coach and that one player is just disgracefull. Pretending like Suarez didn't bite Chiellini and calling him a liar. 1 word for that : Classless

Fully agree with that. Even so you can't just dismiss the stat completely. Yes there are chances that weren't really chances in the stats but Hazard's numbers (chances created) were a lot better then any other player in the top 5 competitions.(I think 20 more then the runner up) That says something. It's not an pinpoint accurate stat but it's a good indicator that Hazard creates more danger then the other players. Again you can't dismiss the chances a player created because the player who got the chance missed. The creator still created the chance. The quality is still there. For example Hazard vs Stoke. Created 2 tap in chances (1 for Lampard, 1 for Ramires and Eto'o) He also created a chance for Oscar who hit the post but that wasn't a tap in but still Hazard created those chances. The fact that they missed doesn't detract from the quality Hazard showed to create them. Well i brought CC into the discussion because i consider chances created to go hand in hand with assists. So in a goals, assists discussion i feel CC has it's place too. Well he is more passive due to his laidback character but like i said that can be both an advantage as a disadvantage. He indeed doesn't force his way into games as much as Ronaldo or Bale does but Hazard also isn't as wastefull as those 2 are and that's also down to the difference in character. Like you say Bale,(Ronaldo) will get annoyed at times and try and force his way into games making poor decisions and wasting possession while i find that Hazard, throughout the full 90 minutes, will be more balanced in his decisionmaking. Honestly i would want Hazard to be a little bit more aggressive in his approach but not as much as Bale or C Ronaldo as they really can be extremely wastefull and downright annoying.

Well judging by the evidence in this thread i'd have to say... no...

Well you're right that there is less space in the middle but as a player you can be a lot more dangerous in the middle as once you get past your main marker you can immediately run at the central defence or take a shot on goal. (and you also have more options to pass to the side) I think it's a possibility to play Hazard centrally but he then needs to have someone playing on the nr 8 position that can find him in tight spaces and the general passing tempo of the team would have to be higher. Messi is able to attack the centre so efficiently because Barca stretch the play extremely well, move the ball quick and have players that can find him in tight spaces. With Mourinho's system i would just leave Hazard on the wing. Like i said in my post a couple pages back. Just get an attacking left back that can overlap and support Hazard so Hazard can move away from the side and that way counter the double marking. The chances created stat isn't a big lie. Yeah you shouldn't just take the number of chances created and think they're all clear cut chances and tap ins. However that doesn't mean you should just dismiss it. What you should take from the chances created stats is this : Hazard creates a lot of dangerous situations. yes they don't always result in ccc or assists but it's still proof of his superior ability to create goals. Don't really get why you're comparing hardworkers with dribblers that score goals or create chances. Hardworkers aren't as rare as players who can take out 2-3-4 players in a flash and create chances or score goals. Scoring goals or creating chances while being able to dribble multiple defenders are more valuable abilities then hardworkers. Not saying hardworkers aren't important to have in your team. You need hardworkers but they aren't as special and should therefore receive less "spotlight" In modern football where all teams are able to put down an organised defense, players that can take out multiple defenders are extremely valuable. Odd how dismissive you are of that skill. Sorry but that's just a ridiculous statement to make and i'm getting quite tired of hearing the argument that Hazard is lazy, cause let's face it that is what you're calling him. I think you're talking more about the difference in character then their workrate on training. Yes Hazard has a more laid back character then the other players we've compared him to but i consider that as much an advantage as a disadvantage. He's less likely to choke under pressure and he's also a lot less egotistically driven as the other players we've compared him to. Which makes him a better teamplayer. Honestly i really doubt he's working only half as hard as Bale. Hazard played 50 games this season, playing in a system that utilised a high pressing game. He also had to help out defensively and track back while when recovering the ball, counter attack which means sprinting 50-60 yards every time he joins the attack. Not once did he complain of fatigue or had cramps or whatever that would prove that he's not working hard on training. The reason why i compared Neymar to Messi and Ronaldo was because Rom said he had no doubts Neymar was a player that could reach the same level as them. I disagreed with that and compared the numbers of Neymar to that oof Messi andd Ronaldo. I agree with what you're said. They're in their own league and shouldn't be considered the norm. I think a lot of the discrediting has to do with the hype and the overrating that Neymar has. I mean yes every flair dribbler is a bit overrated and has more hype then he should have but with Neymar it takes ridiculous proportions which gets extremely annoying. I said before that even when he was playing in the Brazilian league he was already being mentioned in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo. A lot of people consider him the third best player in the world which he simply isn't. I think that's why a lot of people try and counter that by underating him then. (Bit similar to the extreme hate and extreme love Torres gets from fans) Well i said Bale and Neymar would be + 25 goals 10-15 assists in the next seasons. So i do rate them. Just not as much as some people do. Fully agree. Cheers to that.

It's quite normal to compare players. Ronaldo and Messi are the best players so people will always compare the upcoming, young talented players to them. , I don't really see a problem. The discussions have been calm and people have put in some good arguments and counter arguments and no one is insulting eachother. It's all good. Also it's offseason what else are we supposed to do !!!

I disagree. I doubt he'll reach those numbers (or any player for that matter) To be clear i'm talking about scoring 40 goals and assisting 10. Disagree goals alone don't decide who is the best. Like Lukakutostamford said Bale and Neymar will score more goals but Hazard creates more chances for his teammates and will have more balanced numbers then Neymar and Bale. That doesn't make him a lesser player then those 2. On your last sentence no i think both Neymar and Bale will reach those 25 goals with 10-15 assists in the next seasons but i could turn it around and say is there any doubt Hazard will make 20 goals, 20 assists per season in the next seasons at least ? Cause i have no doubts about that.

Like i said before scoring more then 20 goals isn't Messi, Ronaldo level. Having a hand in over 50 goals by either scoring or assisting is. I'm not saying Bale isn't a quality player but he shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Messi or Ronaldo. No i'm not i was clearly talking about Bale's season at Real Madrid but if you wanna talk about Bale in the PL. He only had 1 season in the PL where he scored more then 20 goals (21 goals, 4 assists) The season before that he "only" had 9 goals and 10 assists. Before you say he was younger. Hazard at the same age (21/22) had 9 goals and 11 assists in the PL. Don't really get your last sentence. Messi played 36 games 2 subs while Neymar played 28 games with 8 subs. 8 games difference but Messi outscored Neymar by 23 goals. I don't think Neymar would have scored 23 goals,or anything close to that, in those 8 games and this was still one of Messi's worst seasons in a while. Also we've been talking about numbers this whole time but apart from this whole discussion about assists and goals i just like players like Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard, Neymar more then Bale. Messi and Hazard i love the way they just glide past their defenders and Neymar and Ronaldo have that trickery to completely wrongfoot defenders. Bale just knocks balls past defenders and then runs after it. I just find Bale less enjoyable to watch. Bale just doesn't have the same level of trickery, technique, ballcontrol.

No they're not comparable they may have played less games but even taking that in consideration they still don't come close to the numbers of Messi and ronaldo. Bale : 32 games (7) 21 goals, 16 assists Neymar : 28 games (8) 13 goals, 11 assists Messi : 36 games (2) 36 goals, 11 assists (note that this is one of Messi's poorest seasons in a while. C Ronaldo : 41 games 48 goals, 13 assists How exactly are Bale and Neymar's numbers comparable to that off Ronaldo and Messi ? Why is it that when you compare Neymar and Bale's numbers to that off Hazard's you completely ignore the difference in system (attacking oriented system vs defensive oriented system) and the difference in leagues (Primera division vs Premier league) ? I mean those things play a big role.

Ronaldo was extremely poor aswell (but i think he was suffering from an injury no?) He made a good run but you're really exaggerating the quality it took to score that goal. The goal itself was nothing special, very important goal but not special.

Hardly a tap in ? Empty goal, 2 metres from the goal. That's an easy goal for me. The reason why Messi is considered the best is not only because he scores a lot of important goals but because of the way he does it. Dribbling a couple of players and then combining that woth an excellent finish.