Oscar

[Alan Partridge 1,124]

The entire team is knackered due to Jose's lack of rotation.

But when Lampard, Torres and Mikel are in the starting 11 everyone moans!

Salah isn't ready yet and I dunno what is up with Shurrle never being picked although, he's pretty average. Today's performance shows why Azpi starts ahead of Cole

Our bench is not that strong, it looked a lot better on paper when Mata was on it

[Stats 6,982]

We got a lot of money for Mata but ultimately making the decision to sell him in January may be difference in us winning the league or not. Oscar has not been playing well recently which I am sure is temporary as class is permanent but to take him out of the firing line, Mata would have been the perfect replacement. Yes, he has not suited Mourinho's style of play but he would of had to adjust and like Mourinho said before Mata left, he still had a big part to play this season and us leaving out Oscar for a bit and playing Mata would still give us a cutting edge and much more prominent threat going forward.

That is the predicament we leave ourselves in. We made a great business decision in selling Mata considering he was not getting starts however the fact we done it in January like stated now creates possible problems as apart from Hazard, going forward we look weak sometimes and we are just scathing through games recently and had we had Mata around I would not really view it as a problem if Oscar was not playing well as you have another no.10 who might not be as good tracking back but is much more of a threat creating chances and would of gradually adapted more to Mourinho's pressing style.

If Oscar is given a rest for a bit maybe it is best we go 4-3-3 or so which suits Ramires and Lamps more while you still have Hazard at LW doing what he does best.

[JDY 1,290]

I think he's had an up and down past few months, and I definitely wouldn't go along with the notion that he's been awful. Considering the way he started the season he was always going to drop off a bit.

[Barbara 15,149]

If he's burnt out we should drop him, the last few months he's been awful, absolutely awful. He may work hard for the team, but i'm sorry, on current form we need more attacking wise, lately he has looked useless going forward.

I'm just being brutally honest, we cannot afford to have any more passengers... we're trying to win the league.

He hasn't been awful the last few months. Don't know which team you've been watching, but definitely not Chelsea if you state such a thing.

He's had a few very poor matches recently, but they were still mixed with good ones and decent ones.

And, no, we are not trying to win the league, but we may win the league. The goal was never this and as the team progressed more than Mourinho maybe expected, or preferred to bet on, we're very much in the title race. This team isn't being built for this season, but if stronger teams such as City or more stable such as Arsenal won't win it, we gladly will.

We can agree to disagree though.

[communicate 2,703]

But when Lampard, Torres and Mikel are in the starting 11 everyone moans!

Salah isn't ready yet and I dunno what is up with Shurrle never being picked although, he's pretty average. Today's performance shows why Azpi starts ahead of Cole

Our bench is not that strong, it looked a lot better on paper when Mata was on it

If all three play at the same time everyone will complain but rotation is important

[Reddish-Blue 2,226]

He hasn't been awful the last few months. Don't know which team you've been watching, but definitely not Chelsea if you state such a thing.

He's had a few very poor matches recently, but they were still mixed with good ones and decent ones.

And, no, we are not trying to win the league, but we may win the league. The goal was never this and as the team progressed more than Mourinho maybe expected, or preferred to bet on, we're very much in the title race. This team isn't being built for this season, but if stronger teams such as City or more stable such as Arsenal won't win it, we gladly will.

We can agree to disagree though.

He has been pretty awful of recent times.

Now I wish we had kept hold of De Bruyne...to play the backup CAM role for the rest of this season. We could of sold him at the end of the season..rather than January

[Joe Ay 66]

On current form, Oscar needs to be benched. Really frustrating to watch him recently as he contributes little to our offensive game. I'd like to see Hazard as our no. 10 with Willian and Shurrle on the flanks for the next few games.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

The only reason I wish we kept one of Mata or KDB this season is exactly because of this - it was inevitable. Oscar's burn out was going to come sooner rather than later.

Exactly!I really wish we would have kept KDB because after Mata he had the best vision in our team.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

But when Lampard, Torres and Mikel are in the starting 11 everyone moans!

Salah isn't ready yet and I dunno what is up with Shurrle never being picked although, he's pretty average. Today's performance shows why Azpi starts ahead of Cole

Our bench is not that strong, it looked a lot better on paper when Mata was on it

Do you base this on his 15 minutes of fame in Chelsea FC so far?

If anyone would have watched Oscar's performance last night you could also say that Oscar isnt ready. If u know what I mean.

We need to see more of him, alot more.

[bushman 2,043]

Do you believe Oscar was burnt by Jose & he needs a rest ?

[Azpinator 2,325]

I believe he's overrated by people here, like calling his inconsistency "being tired". I don't see Cahill, Azpi or Hazard being tired at this point, can you?

We've seen that last season so it's no surprise.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

I believe he's overrated by people here, like calling his inconsistency "being tired". I don't see Cahill, Azpi or Hazard being tired at this point, can you?

We've seen that last season so it's no surprise.

no this kid is not overrated at all. Trust me we'd all be drooling over the prospect of signing him if he played for another team. A brief run of bad form is understandable and maybe a game or two on the bench will help him both physically and mentally also.

The positive side of Oscar getting rest will be that we'll see more of Willian in the number 10 role.

[Azpinator 2,325]

no this kid is not overrated at all. Trust me we'd all be drooling over the prospect of signing him if he played for another team. A brief run of bad form is understandable and maybe a game or two on the bench will help him both physically and mentally also.

The positive side of Oscar getting rest will be that we'll see more of Willian in the number 10 role.

I know, and I think he's a great footballer and I love him, but sometimes reading some of the opinions makes you expect so much more of him in every single game, and that's not what's happening atm. He needs time to reach that level.

He was already benched in the Man City games, it didn't seem to give him enough boost if that's the case.

He has a kid so I think calling him a kid/boy feels wrong, I don't know.

[bushman 2,043]

What more can anyone expect of Oscar ?

He has been playing well. Somehow, Jose overused him, lately. He needs rest & hopefully he will come back to his previous form.

Otherwise, Chelsea might be in trouble, later.

[Barbara 15,149]

I know, and I think he's a great footballer and I love him, but sometimes reading some of the opinions makes you expect so much more of him in every single game, and that's not what's happening atm. He needs time to reach that level.

He was already benched in the Man City games, it didn't seem to give him enough boost if that's the case.

He has a kid so I think calling him a kid/boy feels wrong, I don't know.

His wife is pregnant, the kid isn't born yet. I think Hazard was a father at age 19 or 20... being a father makes you mature in a lot of aspects in your life, your football isn't one of those, so this argument isn't really a valid one imo. He's a kid in the curve of his football development. As for what you are implying he's a man way before he's a father. He's been affording his mother and sister since he was 15... his first more significant amount of money was to buy his family a house, not get himself a fancy car while he was living in a big city. So this kind of maturity he has for a while now. It influences little or nothing in his development curve as a footballer.

I was thinking earlier today... when you look at a guy as Oscar, you know he'll only get better and better and be a top10, top15 player in the world because of the class, talent, flashes of amazing skills. It's about waiting him to mature. When you look to a guy like Piazon or Schurrle, you know they're good and they have some nice things about them, but as much as they progress in their game (and they will), they won't ever become one of the big stars.

That's the difference about Oscar and some nice prospects. We can't look to a 22yo and think he's ready, the final product or something near it. He's far from it and I think he's been amazing the past couple of years given his age.

Right now he's at most very good (if not just good) in most of the aspects of his game - except work-rate, which he's great. But he's showed many times before (but also quite far and between) that he can improve his vision, his dribbles, his passes, his finishing based on key passes, outstanding strikes, movement, sprints, etc... We can see when he does those really well isn't just a coincidence, but rather the conscious decision. It's a matter of him practicing them (in training sessions, but also executing them in matches) until he improves them. Some he might become better than others, but the prospects about this kid are great.

Could we be wrong and he never live up the expectations? Yes, we could. But as some of us keep repeating, very few players in the world were able to do some of things he did at age 21-22, and then when they were 25-26 which is about the time players peak, those other guys were great. So if Oscar was better than them at age 22, it's only natural you expect him to be better than them at his peak. We're very lucky to have him and also Hazard. I have no doubt they'll be two of the biggest names of this generation in 3-4 years from now. Oscar is very technical, tactical and smart. He isn't anywhere nearly talented as others, or maybe he isn't that far behind and his simple talent compared to flashy talents just pales in comparison. But those three aspects of his game makes up for his minor talent compared to others. With Oscar and Hazard for the next few years with us, we'll be one of the most difficult teams to play against because they compliment each other ridiculously well given their characteristics.

[DanishBlue 426]

He is still very young and he has time on his side. I love Oscar and I think he is amazing even though he has been playing bad for a couple of games. I promise you that this guy will rock our world in 2 or 3 years when he gets older and knows about the Premier League. Just watch him when he plays for Brazil - that's evidence that he is a very good player.

[bababoom 4,478]

He hasn't been awful the last few months. Don't know which team you've been watching, but definitely not Chelsea if you state such a thing.

He's had a few very poor matches recently, but they were still mixed with good ones and decent ones.

And, no, we are not trying to win the league, but we may win the league. The goal was never this and as the team progressed more than Mourinho maybe expected, or preferred to bet on, we're very much in the title race. This team isn't being built for this season, but if stronger teams such as City or more stable such as Arsenal won't win it, we gladly will.

We can agree to disagree though.

Maybe i'm overreacting with him being awful, but the last few months, yes months, he's been hit and miss. No where near the level he was at earlier in the season. He should be dropped for awhile.

Of course we're trying to win the bloody league... we're top with only 11 games left, obviously Jose is playing it down but inside the camp he'll be telling the players we can win it. I agree with the fact that we're trying to build a team for the future and maybe Jose has over achieved but we're top, that's the reality.

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Of course we're trying to win the bloody league... we're top with only 11 games left, obviously Jose is playing it down but inside the camp he'll be telling the players we can win it. I agree with the fact that we're trying to build a team for the future and maybe Jose has over achieved but we're top, that's the reality.

Totally agree. Maybe winning the league wasn't Jose's main target at the beginning of the season but now the belief is there. With few games left like you said, the players must be feeling that dream. The fact that Mourinho says that we are not going for it doesn't take that ambition away from the team. His comments are only to take pressure off of the players and put it on City and Arsenal.