Dion

Feeling awful. My throat aches and I think I got a fever, I'll probably stay in bed all day long.

Yeah, but he also went missing in other big games later on. That's why I hope that was just fatigue. Still, I've observed this pattern of playing extremely well and then going missing in some games after that even before his transfer to Chelsea, which makes me worry a bit. Even if that's something to be expected in young players, especially when they're coming to a new league, it would be another sign of talent if Oscar didn't struggle with those conditions.

I'm really looking forward to see his performances this season under Mourinho and better fitness. I'm still a bit disappointed with his performances thus far. Having seen his performances for youth teams, his debut for Sao Paulo's main team, some of Internacional's matches and most of his NT appearances, I expected more in a blue shirt, even considering his long streak of games and first EPL season. I expected him to have improved more than what I saw. I'm hoping it has to do with fatigue and playing out of position, because some years ago I would bet money that Oscar would be already making a huge impact against the best teams in the world by now.

HAHAHAHAHA. I wish I could like this a thousand times.

Sorry, I shall find that one right now.

I never use shall properly - except when I'm using it as a synonym to will.

FTFY. And I'm one hundred percent sure. At least speaking for myself.

You are allergic? HAHAHAHA. Talk about do as I say, not as I do. BTW, I don't really believe in the things I said there, I'm just feeling bitter lately. Still, I do appreciate greatly when I don't have any crushs on anyone. Freedom at its best.

@DJames, you should listen to Barbara. Being single is the best. Love sucks. Love usually goes like this: - You like the person, she doesn't like you back -> it sucks; - You like the person, she likes you back -> it's awesome for some time, then, either of you start liking the other less and eventually break up, if she's the one breaking up it sucks a lot, if you are the one it sucks less, but you still feel like shit for some time for doing it. - You like the person, she likes you back, but something happens that separates both of you, for example, one of you move to another far away city and it becomes impossible to maintain the relationship -> sucks too. - And you still have: you like the person, you are not sure if she likes you back, you are confuse as fuck the whole time, she has a boyfriend AND she goes away. This is my personal favourite. ps: All characters appearing in this description are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I don't like the idea of Rooney coming. But then I like the idea of Suarez even less. Other strikers are looking very unlikely at this point. And Torres is a no-go. I don't like this situation.

You're 20 but already married? That's kinda rare these days. Wish you luck in your new city. I've always enjoyed moving. It gets a little bit tiresome after a couple times, though

Nobody is untouchable. And it's about doing what it's best for the team. Ok, Mata's best position may be CAM and he may lose a bit of effect playing from the wings, but it's all about balancing everything out. Let's just play with some hypothetical numbers to demonstrate my point. Let's say Mata's effect on the game from a CAM position equates to 90 points whereas playing as RW that would fall to 80. However, Oscar has 80 points as CAM and 50 as RW. If you play Mata at RW and Oscar at CAM, even if Mata would be better at CAM, the team will be better as a whole and also have more balance with Oscar in the middle - the opposing team will be threatened through the middle as much as on the flanks (balance) and we would perform 20 points better (actually, probably more because of balance - with Mata in the middle, the right wing would be a much less effective zone, reducing his passing options [because Oscar wouldn't get into good positions in RW or wouldn't make a run when he should] or because he would face more defenders [because Oscar wouldn't pull markers to himself from making runs and positioning well]). In the end of the day, even if you perform better in a certain position, you are only a team member, often some sacrifices are needed for the sake of team performance. I'm confident that Mourinho will choose the best option to create a winning team. ps: Sure the real world of football is a lot more complex than that, I just tried to show that having a player in a sub-optimal role for him isn't always a bad thing.

On my birthday? Now we can be sure Hazard is going to give me this birthday present, he wouldn't let me down

HELL YES!

Congrats, man! Hope for a convincing win and a Hazard hat-trick

I feel KDB edges Oscar by a significant amount in the long passing department, which is one of the most important aspects of a DLP. That's why I believe he could work better. Also his long shots would come handy whenever he made runs forward. Dribbling skills never go to waste even if you are playing in the pivot. The only downside is wasting his crossing, but it would still be useful for corners and free kicks. However, I feel the best scenario would be a 4-3-3 with him and Oscar interchanging roles and operating together. Mata would play as RW, Hazard as LW plus whoever is our best striker at the time.

I think it would be better for the team to deploy him as a RW mostly. That would leave the CAM spot for Oscar or KDB, supposing we kept playing 4-2-3-1, which I'm not sure is ideal. Anyways, with KDB's return and Schurrle signing we now have so many quality options. I was thinking, maybe KDB could be the DLP we need, his long passing looks promising from all the videos I've seen. If he can provide defensive cover to some extent he could be our most versatile player, delivering good performances in double pivot (DLP) and CAM because of his passing and long shooting or as a winger because of his crossing and ability to curl the ball, he looks to have some speed in him as well, not to mention his dribbling capabilites, he's probably the best dribbler of the team if the data I gathered is true. That would give us many ways to build the team and would help rotating players a great deal. I would really love if he could become a Gerrard or Xabi Alonso for us. And we all know how much Mou relied on and liked Xabi. In addition, if he could perform that role well, we could potentially have all our best attacking players together on the pitch.

Back to Mata, people.

A real pity. I like you both and it saddens me to see petty fights over silly stuff like this, I don't even know what you guys were talking about because when I saw the direction things were taking I stopped reading. Well. Whatever.

Aren't they a beautiful couple? They're having their first fights, how cute.

That's some serious money if true. I want him to stay, but for that amount of money... I just don't know.

Yes, he was the most commited to defense between him and Paulinho. But Gustavo has some great deal of passing skills, which helps building attacks tremendously. Just watch some of his games for Bayern before they signed Martinez or even look at his passing stats, he's a beast - not only defensively sound, but also has an eye for a pass. He was the player I wanted to see the most in our NT when they changed coaches, Felipão gladly answered my prayers.

I think he's better in both defending and attacking.

Nah, I'm playing in portuguese. If anything, I feel like I'm suppporting the effort they've made to translate everything to our language. Also I found the dub is pretty good. And it isn't the same as with movies, videogames are dubbed in both english and portuguese, thus it doesn't make that much of a difference.

@Rmpr, I bought the Last of Us :blue scalf: Played just a tiny little bit, though. What's up with that first room crowded with clickers (estaladores)? It's like the game slaps you in the face and says: the real game starts now. ps: I've never been more afraid of making noises in my entire gaming life experience.