Oscar

[Oscar 441]

You did watch the game and let me guess, Coutinho was shit right? Even though most reviews and fans have given him good ratings and compliments?

Oscar was good in the second half, poor in first half. If he was that good he would have stayed on but he did not because he was not offering much offensively. That simple. We got both goals when he came off and that goes against #we don't lose when Oscar plays. I am not saying he was awful but he does not do enough offensively for a player you seem to rate above the likes of KDB. Let's see if he keeps his place against Porto. I think he might be dropped.

SO, Cesc stayin on means he played well .......

Ivan stayed on too.... As did pedro...

STATS ≠ LOGIC

[robsblubot 3,545]

Still goes down as his though but generally he was one of the better players in the game. They played him as a no.8. Think I read he completed every single one of his passes and was impressive.

But going to Oscar, I hope this myth that you and others put out that the team balance improves when he is in the team, is put to an end. Did you see how vulnerable we looked in the first half?

Sorry but that's not a valid conclusion.

You are making a direct connection between oscar and balance and that's just not right. Especially some that is related to every single playey with a possible exception of the gk.

Oscar had a poor game - he tried things and they did not work. Others were as bad or worse.

Oscar does improve the balance but the balance isn't right. I thought the lineup was a bit too attacking for this game tbh. Pedro is an attacker.

[Stats 7,060]

SO, Cesc stayin on means he played well .......

Ivan stayed on too.... As did pedro...

STATS ≠ LOGIC

If you realised I was being sarcasm to laugh at that ridiculous #Oscar improves us theory. No he does not. The problem lie much deeper than Oscar playing or not. Merely my point. But I can guarantee you Oscar is dropped for Kiev. Matic, Fabregas and Ramires will be the trio in midfield and Hazard, Willian/Pedro with Costa will be the line up.

[Oscar 441]

If you realised I was being sarcasm to laugh at that ridiculous #Oscar improves us theory. No he does not. The problem lie much deeper than Oscar playing or not. Merely my point. But I can guarantee you Oscar is dropped for Kiev. Matic, Fabregas and Ramires will be the trio in midfield and Hazard, Willian/Pedro with Costa will be the line up.

Chelsea is playing PORTO ........

SO, you can guarantee that!

[Stats 7,060]

Sorry but that's not a valid conclusion.

You are making a direct connection between oscar and balance and that's just not right. Especially some that is related to every single playey with a possible exception of the gk.

Oscar had a poor game - he tried things and they did not work. Others were as bad or worse.

Oscar does improve the balance but the balance isn't right. I thought the lineup was a bit too attacking for this game tbh. Pedro is an attacker.

He adds balance but the likes of Fabregas and Hazard performing is not down to Oscar. It is down to us not having control in the game. My point is when we are losing in situations like this and Hazard is not playing well Oscar will not step up in the same way others would and that is my biggest concern and why I prefer seeing Willian in the team.

Chelsea is playing PORTO ........

SO, you can guarantee that!

It does not help that he was not impressive. I have said and others for a long while that we probably are better of in a 4-3-3. Like I said he improved second half, in dictating play, linking play and spraying passes but when we needed a goal and others were not up to their usual standards, I don't think he steps up and that is why he came off imo. Willian is much more direct.

[Styles 9,790]

Balance was missing today.

Hopefully he brings the balance next game.

[Oscar 441]

He adds balance but the likes of Fabregas and Hazard performing is not down to Oscar. It is down to us not having control in the game. My point is when we are losing in situations like this and Hazard is not playing well Oscar will not step up in the same way others would and that is my biggest concern and why I prefer seeing Willian in the team.

It does not help that he was not impressive. I have said and others for a long while that we probably are better of in a 4-3-3. Like I said he improved second half, in dictating play, linking play and spraying passes but when we needed a goal and others were not up to their usual standards, I don't think he steps up and that is why he came off imo. Willian is much more direct.

Willian's goal was all Ramires blocking the sight of Krul..

All of willian's goals this season have been REALLY REALLY LUCKY

[Stats 7,060]

Willian's goal was all Ramires blocking the sight of Krul..

All of willian's goals this season have been REALLY REALLY LUCKY

I know but he adds a different dimension. When Hazard is in one of his passive moods he is often a player who takes responsibility for the team which I appreciate. Also those goals, while they have been lucky, it is also a skill tbh to whip it in like that which means even if a palyer does not get their head on it, the delivery can actually cause a problem for the keeper.

[Barbara 15,149]

Balance was missing today.

Hopefully he brings the balance next game.

it wasn't only balance and he was the only decent player in the first... what can he do when everyone around him sucks?

He wasn't that good, but the others were much worse...

[Styles 9,790]

it wasn't only balance and he was the only decent player in the first... what can he do when everyone around him sucks?

He wasn't that good, but the others were much worse...

True, everybody was bad today.

When everybody else is on fire Oscar can be the balance guy, but when when everybody is off he will struggle.

[robsblubot 3,545]

He adds balance but the likes of Fabregas and Hazard performing is not down to Oscar. It is down to us not having control in the game. My point is when we are losing in situations like this and Hazard is not playing well Oscar will not step up in the same way others would and that is my biggest concern and why I prefer seeing Willian in the team.

It does not help that he was not impressive. I have said and others for a long while that we probably are better of in a 4-3-3. Like I said he improved second half, in dictating play, linking play and spraying passes but when we needed a goal and others were not up to their usual standards, I don't think he steps up and that is why he came off imo. Willian is much more direct.

Fair enough, but that was not the point I made.

Oscar did have a poor showing and did not step up. Though I find it funny that Hazard gets no criticism and he's been consistently one of the poorest performers this season.

[killer1257 3,282]

it wasn't only balance and he was the only decent player in the first... what can he do when everyone around him sucks?

He wasn't that good, but the others were much worse...

We all know that Cesc is not famous for winning tackles and Oscar can win tackles,but he is not consistent with his game.Against Arsenal,he jumped in every duel and he did not win every duel,but almost everyone.One week later,he does not win any of them.Sometimes I think,that he does not win his tackles against the more physical sides,while playing against a more technical team,he shines.

Furthermore,we know that if Cesc,nor Oscar win tackles,Matic will not win his tackles either,because he can´t be the one who will win every tackle that Oscar and Cesc lost before.

Ok,sometimes Matic has his superman performances,but that can´t be the case all the time.

I like how you defend him,but his performance was not good.I expect from him much better pressing and this time he did not deliver.

Ramires did much better and our play improved immediately after Rami came.

[Barbara 15,149]

True, everybody was bad today.

When everybody else is on fire Oscar can be the balance guy, but when when everybody is off he will struggle.

because it's impossible to save a whole team by yourself. He was tackling, pressing and doing everything he could in the first, he tried the through ball many times - some successful others no, but he was trying. His limited dribbling skills showed, but what other players did with those balls he offered and from the tackles he recovered the ball? He came deep to give more options and space for Fabregas and Hazard, but what have they done with it? Bullocks.

I still think we play better with him than without him - given the current players we have - but today was simply impossible to help that team.

I've never seen such a heartless and toothless presentation from so many players at once.

[Stats 7,060]

Fair enough, but that was not the point I made.

Oscar did have a poor showing and did not step up. Though I find it funny that Hazard gets no criticism and he's been consistently one of the poorest performers this season.

One thing I give to Hazard despite our poor he has been is that he still comes up with that little bit of magic. Done excellently for Ramires goal and you just need him on the pitch tbh. But I don't think he has been as awful as people make. Just not been at the same standards as last season. Swansea poor first half. Second half he was a one man show and was very good imo. WBA, when we went down to 10, he was actually one of the key reasons we won. Constantly drawing fouls and using his excellent balance to keep hold off the ball. City poor but could not really do anything when our CM were dominated. Palace did not standout. Arsenal was very good, so mixed and match.

I desperately want him to score. Arsenal fans are obviously going to have a wankfest over Sanchez scoring his hattrick now.

[Tomo 21,733]

True, everybody was bad today.

When everybody else is on fire Oscar can be the balance guy, but when when everybody is off he will struggle.

That's true, its not always a bad thing, We can't expect everyone to be team carriers, some player just play their best when the tteam is on song, Malouda and Sterling two other examples.

[Styles 9,790]

because it's impossible to save a whole team by yourself. He was tackling, pressing and doing everything he could in the first, he tried the through ball many times - some successful others no, but he was trying. His limited dribbling skills showed, but what other players did with those balls he offered and from the tackles he recovered the ball? He came deep to give more options and space for Fabregas and Hazard, but what have they done with it? Bullocks.

I still think we play better with him than without him - given the current players we have - but today was simply impossible to help that team.

I've never seen such a heartless and toothless presentation from so many players at once.

That's true, its not always a bad thing, We can't expect everyone to be team carriers, some player just play their best when the tteam is on song, Malouda and Sterling two other examples.

OK, here's a question.

If we play bad as team regularly will a player like Oscar ever play well consistently?

Guys like Oscar are supposedly good players in well-drilled teams that have good players around them performing well.

We play shit football 90% of the time. How useful is Oscar in this set up?

[Tomo 21,733]

Probably not because like I said some players basically follow the form their team is in like say Oscar and Sterling.

But when we are on song, Oscar is a key part for the team flowing and clicking, like the West Brom first half last season for example, every thing went through him.

OK, here's a question.

If we play bad as team regularly will a player like Oscar ever play well consistently?

Guys like Oscar are supposedly good players in well-drilled teams that have good players around them performing well.

We play shit football 90% of the time. How useful is Oscar in this set up?

[robsblubot 3,545]

One thing I give to Hazard despite our poor he has been is that he still comes up with that little bit of magic. Done excellently for Ramires goal and you just need him on the pitch tbh. But I don't think he has been as awful as people make. Just not been at the same standards as last season. Swansea poor first half. Second half he was a one man show and was very good imo. WBA, when we went down to 10, he was actually one of the key reasons we won. Constantly drawing fouls and using his excellent balance to keep hold off the ball. City poor but could not really do anything when our CM were dominated. Palace did not standout. Arsenal was very good, so mixed and match.

I desperately want him to score. Arsenal fans are obviously going to have a wankfest over Sanchez scoring his hattrick now.

because you only (want to) see his attacking contribution. I also want to see him on the pitch because he can create, but he hasn't been creating enough and he is part of the defensive problem we have - all players are.

What I see is that all progress Hazard had made concerning his (sometimes lacking) defensive game seems to have gone down the drain this season. It's a matter of time until Jose starts criticizing him again for being lazy on the pitch and I'd have to agree with Jose on this one.

Teams cannot have prima donnas anymore and every player needs to work hard. Hazard should be enjoying even less freedom this season because of pedro. That's IMO one of the reasons for the imbalance we see today.