Oscar

[Dion 2,476]

I don't get most people who criticize Oscar.

Today I thought he was deserving of some criticism, but it's been almost four hours since the match ended and nobody said anything.

What did he bring to the table today? He wasn't awful, but José brought him when he needed changes, when someone needed to turn things around and get them going and he contributed with nothing. I had some stream issues at the end of the match, but honestly, I can't even remember Oscar in the pitch except when the camera focused on him when he was introduced in the match.

He was a passenger, added nothing and was just a waste of space. I'd rather have kept Willian - who wasn't brilliant, but was there.

So it actually surprises me that when he actually doesn't have a good match no word is said here (but when he's decent or even good people nitpick everything about his performance). Maybe he was so invisible today that people forgot he was even there, but then again, the usual suspects never miss anything.

Hope if he plays any part against City that he makes much more than he did today, as that equaled to a very round, bold zero...

He was so invisible not even his critics remember he played

I said it before, most of the times the criticism upon Oscar sounds completely random and that's what annoys me the most, he plays well or okay and people want his head - he comes on, changes nothing, contributes to nothing and then we get silence here...

[AndersonBLUE 819]

I'm one of his biggest critics but constantly bashing after every game is just stupid

I don't need to analyze him after every game but every so often to get a better judgement on him

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Analyses what about Oscar yesterday? He had a poor game but Fabregas and Drogba arguably had even worse games so obviously the tension is on them more than him. This type of performance is what you call a Mikel, didn't do anything extremely bad or anything good worth noticeable aka Cleverley type performances.

[Styles 9,790]

Father and son.

[meetdoscar 335]

I don't think bringing him on at the end of the game to play at no. 10 was the wisest idea. He would have served better from the wings if he had to come on as a sub. Its very rare for a team to change no. 10s as an impact sub while chasing a game or trying to win a game, as much as i respect mourinho i thought it was stupid and the result would be the same 10 times over. The starting no. 10(fabregas) had already set the tempo for over an hour how do you expect a new no. 10 to adapt when the players are already in synch with the former(fabregas). That sub disrupted our play but against a better team and he does that sub in the middle of the game we may just loose it.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I don't think bringing him on at the end of the game to play at no. 10 was the wisest idea. He would have served better from the wings if he had to come on as a sub. Its very rare for a team to change no. 10s as an impact sub while chasing a game or trying to win a game, as much as i respect mourinho i thought it was stupid and the result would be the same 10 times over. The starting no. 10(fabregas) had already set the tempo for over an hour how do you expect a new no. 10 to adapt when the players are already in synch with the former(fabregas). That sub disrupted our play but against a better team and he does that sub in the middle of the game we may just loose it.

When Oscar came on he was pretty much playing out wide.

[meetdoscar 335]

When Oscar came on he was pretty much playing out wide.

He started centrally, was struggling then moved out wide later

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I'm not sure why Jose replaced Ramires with Oscar. Yes, Ramires was nothing special and presented very little threat in attack, but it was a strange substitution. Jose should have brought in Costa and Remy earlier instead.

[stroey 2,525]

Nothing to say about his performance, it was a normal Oscar performance and he just played 25 minutes.

[Stats 7,053]

Analyses what about Oscar yesterday? He had a poor game but Fabregas and Drogba arguably had even worse games so obviously the tension is on them more than him. This type of performance is what you call a Mikel, didn't do anything extremely bad or anything good worth noticeable aka Cleverley type performances.

Fabregas was not poor. Defensively yes. Offensively he scored 1 and again displayed some of his sublime passing skills. Fabregas was better than both Oscar and Drogba who did not offer anything on an offensive point of view.

[meetdoscar 335]

It must be oscars fault we haven't won in two matches. No haters this week at least. He played the most minutes of any chelsea player at the world cup so i am satisfied he is getting some rest especially with the run of four games coming up starting with bolton. He should be refreshed.

[Barbara 15,149]

It must be oscars fault we haven't won in two matches. No haters this week at least. He played the most minutes of any chelsea player at the world cup so i am satisfied he is getting some rest especially with the run of four games coming up starting with bolton. He should be refreshed.

hope not to see him taking part at all against Bolton. Want to see him against Villa.

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

Really confused by his form since the turn of the year. Needs to get himself together. Hes not playing every week now so hes got to be a bit fresher than he was last season surely? Hope he gets out of his rut, hes a good player but I haven't seen much of it in a Chelsea shirt since the first 3 or 4 months of last season.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Think he will play against Villa. He didn't play much lately, so he will be fresh. Andre and Salah will likely play against Bolton, IMO.

[Clevemayer 764]

LMAO

Seriously... I said it before and still will say this... Oscar is more in the Lampard mood, sometimes has a quick feet and surely is ok whit his tricks and flips (thats what I mean by saying technical) but he isn't a magician on the ball... so whats funny with that? I think even salah has more tricks in his locker then Oscar...

[pattieboyd 56]

Oscar delivers timely reminder he can be a main man for Mourinho

When Steve Holland identified Wednesday’s Capital One Cup clash with Bolton as a chance for Chelsea players on the fringes to make a statement on the pitch, there was no need for specific names.

Petr Cech, supplanted by Thibaut Courtois as the club’s No.1, Filipe Luis, itching for an opportunity to prove he deserves Cesar Azpilicueta’s place, Kurt Zouma, the youngster trying to break up an experienced defence, and Mohamed Salah, not yet fully trusted by the management, were all obvious picks.

Oscar fits less easily into that category, having already made three starts this season, but the slight Brazilian had as much to prove as anyone. On a night when Chelsea were lively yet wasteful the point he made was less than emphatic, but it was made nonetheless.

The 23-year-old is still struggling to show the kind of imaginative genius that beguiled Andrea Pirlo and left Gianluigi Buffon helpless en route to scoring one of the greatest goals in Chelsea’s European history in September 2012, or the blend of tenacity and creativity that persuaded Jose Mourinho to jettison Juan Mata, a club hero and two-time player of the year in January.

Tuesday’s performance, however, showed the first evidence of green shoots of a timely recovery. The relentless energy, so lacking towards the end of a 54-game season that concluded with an ill-fated World Cup on home turf, seems to have returned. Oscar once again prodded and probed on the ball, always looking for the space to test embattled goalkeeper Andy Lonergan or enable a team-mate to do the same.

On 55 minutes, with Chelsea well on top but the scores level, his persistence paid off. Loic Remy’s blocked shot sent the ball spinning into space 30 yards out. Oscar gathered it in, swivelled neatly and sent a low shot flying beyond a flailing Lonergan and into the bottom corner.

“It was a real quality strike,” Holland admitted after the match. “We said at half-time that we were happy with everything but it needed one or two individuals to produce a bit more quality to make the difference. In the end that moment of quality won the game. That is an ability we know he’s got.

“To play that position it’s important you’re not just a good link player but you also threaten the goal.”

The strike was typical of the man but, over the past few months, it has become all too easy to forget what Oscar is typically capable of. His last goalscoring performance – and arguably last good one – for Chelsea came in the 6-0 demolition of Arsenal in March. He scored twice but did not stand out on a day in which every man in blue found top gear, and delivered a series of limp displays in the title run-in before an underwhelming personal World Cup.

Now the stakes are higher than ever. Over the course of a season which yielded just three goals after Christmas and three assists in 10 months, Oscar slumped in Mourinho’s estimation from “Chelsea’s best player” in November to one not trusted in the biggest matches in the Premier League and Champions League.

It is a trend that has continued into this season. His four starts have come against Burnley, Leicester City, Swansea City and Bolton. Against Schalke he came off the bench and did not even feature in Chelsea’s toughest away trips to Everton and Manchester City.

Cesc Fabregas is now Mourinho’s creator-in-chief and the man he most willingly waxes lyrical about in public. "The team was waiting for a player of his dimension,” he crowed last week – a comment as much a jibe at Oscar’s recent deficiencies as a compliment to his new midfield maestro.

The two can, of course, co-exist – particularly with Fabregas occupying the base of midfield alongside Nemanja Matic – but it is already clear that Mourinho trusts the Spaniard to be his No.10 against elite opposition with two disciplined, shuttling tacklers flanking him.

Oscar has the talent to change the situation. Overcoming his manager’s doubts and the gifts of a more mature genius will be a tall order, and further decisive moments against more formidable opposition than Bolton will certainly be required.

“Oscar was the match-winner and we’re not surprised by that – he’s a very talented player who we know is capable of that sort of strike and hopefully he will now go on a run,” Holland added.

Tuesday’s performance against Bolton, however, at least suggests he is up for the fight. [SOURCE]

[Myself 793]

absolute class goal today, why has it gone so under the radar?

[termninja 5,290]

absolute class goal today, why has it gone so under the radar?

As for the goal itself, it's kinda a trend in football that when players score from outside the box with a low shot, not a lot of attention is turned toward the goal when you compare the headlines when the balls goes higher up. We don't see often the headlines of "Oscar scores a screamer to give Chelsea a lead" but instead is like "Oscar with a nice goal to put Cheerless through". It's only a nice goal ...

Oscar did well on this game but I must say I got disappointed with his passing on a few occasions. I feel he lacks the cutting edge passing to succeed as a n10 for us and this has been on my mind for quite a while.