Thibaut Courtois

[Leif 6,006]

1 hour ago, pHaRaOn said:

And what's wrong with Courtois' attitude towards the club?

Consistently stalled on contract renewals due to angling for higher pay
Demanded to be #1 while Cech was still here, despite proving nothing with us
Hardly giving his all, which is undebatable having seen a lot of his Atletico games; he was a monster for them, which was nothing to do with their defence, but the willingness to put his body on the line
Said 3 yrs ago that due to being on loan so much, he doesn't have a strong connection to the club; which you'd think could change in that time, but when has he ever complimented our club or said he's glad to be here since, with sincerity? 

Finally, he's clearly stopped pushing himself in training considering his ability has regressed. He lazily kicks the ball upfield instead of learning to distribute to an available midfielder for example. A truly committed goalkeeper recognises and eliminates bad habits - like his pushing the ball straight towards an opposing player, instead of employing an easy 'smother the ball' technique. If you want the best for your team, you become the best you can be. He shows no desire for that.

He shows signs of taking his position for granted. Some of us want players who show pashunnn to be the best even if they're undisputed number 1. The most passion he's shown is going 'come on!' *hits hands together* when we've scored in an important match. But so did Eto'o who didn't give a shit about us.

It's clear as day when a player really cares about and enjoys being at your club. Does Courtois tick those boxes?
Is it irrelevant whether or not players enjoy being here? - are they just our paid slaves?

(I think in the first 30 seconds of this video he shows more grit than he has with us in total. For me he was the best goalkeeper in the world while there. Were it not for those 'smash the ball straight to the opposing player in front of me!' moments, I'd say his stint at Atletico was the best form any goalkeeper has ever shown. Alas, I give that honour to plain ol' Cech) -

 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Jase 43,479]

http://www.espnfc.com/soccer-transfers/story/3304703/thibaut-courtois-contemplating-move-to-spain-due-to-family-situation

Quote

"It [my private situation] is not always easy, but I'd also seen this coming," Courtois told VTM Stadion. "I knew that she [his former girlfriend] would return to Madrid, so that has its influence too. I love my children to death. When you miss them, you are sometimes wondering: shouldn't I play in Spain in the next few years? That's why I want to take my time to make a decision on that contract extension."

"In the media they're always talking about money," he added. "I'm not denying that it plays a role, but everything has to be in its right place. If I sign a new contract, I will want to say to Chelsea: Look, I commit myself for an 'X' amount of years.

"I am happy here. I like playing for the club, I like London. My private situation is always gnawing a little bit, but for the rest I'm feeling very good at Chelsea. I don't see any reason why I won't sign a new deal. I just want to consider all options. Everything has to be right.

"It's not the right moment to make hasty decisions. Not for Chelsea, not for me. Within a couple of months we will sit around the table again and talk openly. There's no pressure, apart from the media. The club knows that too. Basically I want an agreement before the end of the season."

Asked if he meant an agreement with Chelsea rather than another club, Courtois replied: "Normally with Chelsea."

[the wes 7,212]

[BlueLion. 21,491]

On 08/12/2017 at 5:24 PM, DDA said:

Courtois is one of, if not the only player I really dislike from our squad. I don't think he has lived up to the hype for years now too. He was immense at Athletico... came here and just makes simple saves abd catches the ball well. He doesn't really make huge saves like De Gea does.

De Gea only makes "huge" saves because his footwork and positioning is generally quite awful. He's a "one for the cameras" goalkeeper. I am in no way denying his excellent and he is probably the best in the world, but saves that the likes of Courtois, Oblak, Buffon make that look normal or unspectacular, de Gea has to make look special, mainly because he saves by punching rather than parrying. It's an ugly technique.

[the wes 7,212]

Why don't we Swap courtios for Oblak then both parties would be happy with the swap deal 😃 but that's to smart for our board to do ffs 

[Tomo 21,733]

I put this to everyone who doesn't think he'll be a loss or isn't bothered if he goes.

We very rarely look troubled at set pieces, infact the Atletico game was the first time we have conceded from a corner since the first game of last season, you think Courtois isn't a key reason for that?

[yuvala 2,167]

On 8.12.2017 at 2:48 PM, communicate said:

Nope. For me the definition of top keeper is the one who save all shot that should have been saved and rarely make mistakes. Sound simple but only top keeper does theese. 

On 7.12.2017 at 8:10 PM, Tomo said:

Because his positioning is so good he doesn't need too. If keepers were judged on how spectacular their saves looked then Shay Given would be the undisputed best keeper off all time.

 

On 7.12.2017 at 8:21 PM, cfcs most wanted said:

I don't think that Courtois has been out of form, you can't expect a keeper to stop all kinds of shots coming at him. I don't think there has been a single moment all season where I would have wondered about Courtois's form. A keeper is no god. he hasn't all season ever put in a bad performance to be worrying about him. 

 

Well, agree to disagree then I suppose.

For me he never really seems to make that many crucial saves, just the easy ones.

I'm not saying he's a bad keeper, I'm just saying he's currently not at that very top level..

[DDA 9,691]

1 hour ago, yuvala said:

 

 

Well, agree to disagree then I suppose.

For me he never really seems to make that many crucial saves, just the easy ones.

I'm not saying he's a bad keeper, I'm just saying he's currently not at that very top level..

He definitely isn't playing to the level he was operating at whilst in Athletico colours.

[Tomo 21,733]

1 hour ago, yuvala said:

 

 

Well, agree to disagree then I suppose.

For me he never really seems to make that many crucial saves, just the easy ones.

I'm not saying he's a bad keeper, I'm just saying he's currently not at that very top level..

Well he made a match winning save as recently as Man.Utd last month in the dying moments. I could go through all the times of his time here, but he has made crucial contribution's towards us getting points against all the big teams in the league.

Plus he makes most crucial saves look easy, don't confuse that with him not making crucial saves.

[cfcs most wanted 657]

8 hours ago, the wes said:

Why don't we Swap courtios for Oblak then both parties would be happy with the swap deal 😃 but that's to smart for our board to do ffs 

In my honest opinion, Courtois is still a better keeper than Oblak, people here are talking about Courtois not making spectacular saves. Keeping is not about being spectacular anyway. It's about positioning and awareness, and Courtois has it sorted out and is better at it than most keepers.

[Hybrid Angel 2,130]

13 hours ago, Tomo said:

I put this to everyone who doesn't think he'll be a loss or isn't bothered if he goes.

We very rarely look troubled at set pieces, infact the Atletico game was the first time we have conceded from a corner since the first game of last season, you think Courtois isn't a key reason for that?

With Courtois in goal have I have never felt safer when watching our team defend set pieces . The way he commands his area is unreal. Best in the world in this department by a mile imo.

[OneMoSalah 8,785]

I don’t see why Courtois doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

If we lose him that is a huge problem because for me he is in the top 5 GKs in the world, has got god knows how many years at the top left and is at least equal or perhaps better than David de Gea (who is somehow talked about being better than Neuer which is nonsense as Neuer is incredible and the complete goalkeeper). Also he is a leader, big personality and ultimately a winner. 

There are lots of very good goalkeepers around and very good young ones developing sure but Courtois is better than most out there.

[coolhead23 1,146]

1 hour ago, OneMoSalah said:

I don’t see why Courtois doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

If we lose him that is a huge problem because for me he is in the top 5 GKs in the world, has got god knows how many years at the top left and is at least equal or perhaps better than David de Gea (who is somehow talked about being better than Neuer which is nonsense as Neuer is incredible and the complete goalkeeper). Also he is a leader, big personality and ultimately a winner. 

There are lots of very good goalkeepers around and very good young ones developing sure but Courtois is better than most out there.

With all due respect, I dont think Courtois is anywhere the level of De Gea currently and yes De Gea is pretty much the best in the world at this point of time.

For me, Courtois has now gone into steady state for the last 2 yrs as if he has reached the max level of his development. He started off way way better than the likes of De Gea but now I dont know it seems he believes in his own hype (eg: he made a statement some time back that "As per him" he feel he is the best in the world). Its the little things which he needs to work on like I always felt his positions are a little off which doesnt allow him to reach the ball in time. 

Having said all the above, I would want him to stay and work on his development which will take him to the top. He has the potential and more importantly age to be up there with the best but currently he isnt. 

[the wes 7,212]

10 hours ago, cfcs most wanted said:

In my honest opinion, Courtois is still a better keeper than Oblak, people here are talking about Courtois not making spectacular saves. Keeping is not about being spectacular anyway. It's about positioning and awareness, and Courtois has it sorted out and is better at it than most keepers.

I would like to keep courtios if it's possible to do so I'm just weighing up are options if courtios was to go back to Spain 🙂

[BlueLion. 21,491]

15 hours ago, cfcs most wanted said:

In my honest opinion, Courtois is still a better keeper than Oblak, people here are talking about Courtois not making spectacular saves. Keeping is not about being spectacular anyway. It's about positioning and awareness, and Courtois has it sorted out and is better at it than most keepers.

 

Thank the lord, someone with some common sense.

 

Courtois rarely makes "worldy" saves because his positioning is outstanding. 

 

He probably has "maxed out" in terms of his progression for now - though let's not remember that most keepers have blooms in their development in first their early 20s, then in their early 30s. He's still one of the top 5 in the world, and you're a fool if you disagree. Furthermore, you try keeping clean sheets when Gary fucking Cahill and Marcos fucking Alonso back up 40% of your defence. 

 

 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[The Skipper 20,593]

On 08/12/2017 at 2:40 PM, Tomo said:

I imagine you would be bothered very quickly if we fail to replace him properly, which is very possible.

This is my only worry. As long as we got someone like Oblak to replace him, I’m absolutely fine with it. Some other interesting keepers to keep an eye (who I wouldn’t mind to replace Courtois) on are Donnarumma or Kepa.