Oscar

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Whos managing Talk Chelsea twitter account? I've read that story about the virus there.

TalkChelsea @TalkChelsea · 36m

Clarification: Oscar is out with a stomach virus according to Chelsea TV. #CFC

Chelsea TV first said virus then corrected it when Jose said it was an ankle injury in the prematch interview. I corrected it in Twitter feed as well.

[Rom2013 446]

This match.. this is why Oscar is so important to us.

Don't really understand why. In 2 minutes we were winning 2-0. Ater that we had to defend and did it well. In the first time Everton made something they scored. We were defending well, and the first goal it's absolutely normal and has nothing to do with the work of Fabregas. or any central midfielder.

The third one is a set piece, again no responsability for the center midfielders and Oscar would do nothing in there.

The only goal that was really poor defending as a whole was the second one. We scored 6.

The team played exactly the way we should play a game like this, after the 2-0 shut the game and we did it. They had a lot of luck in the 1-2 and the 3-4. They did nothing special to score 3 goals in this game, and 2 of the 3 goals conceded were individual errors more than the team defending badly.

By the way, this is a game against Everton at their stadium, when they are losing 0-2 in the second minute, it would be expected a reaction from Everton in the 90 minutes they had to react.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Don't really understand why. In 2 minutes we were winning 2-0. Ater that we had to defend and did it well. In the first time Everton made something they scored. We were defending well, and the first goal it's absolutely normal and has nothing to do with the work of Fabregas. or any central midfielder.

The third one is a set piece, again no responsability for the center midfielders and Oscar would do nothing in there.

The only goal that was really poor defending as a whole was the second one. We scored 6.

The team played exactly the way we should play a game like this, after the 2-0 shut the game and we did it. They had a lot of luck in the 1-2 and the 3-4. They did nothing special to score 3 goals in this game, and 2 of the 3 goals conceded were individual errors more than the team defending badly.

By the way, this is a game against Everton at their stadium, when they are losing 0-2 in the second minute, it would be expected a reaction from Everton in the 90 minutes they had to react.

We rarely had control of that midfield from the moment we scored until the moment Everton pushed forward and the game became disjointed. Fabregas was our only creative outlet and that meant Everton could put pressure on him and leave Ramires to it.

[Tomo 21,751]

Without him on the pitch it was far too easy for Everton to isolate Fabregas and we lost any distribution going forward because all we had in the first half was Ramires, and Matic was off-form today.

I think we missed him big-style today.

True, which begs the question, could Cesc be the one sacrificed in big games in future?

[Muzchap 8,966]

True, which begs the question, could Cesc be the one sacrificed in big games in future?

With the through ball that started the scoring - unlikely

Willian, Matic, Ramires and Fab need to spend time together to sort things out - it was the first time Oscar was missing - so I expect some problems.

Fabregas is a real essential starter for us and he is as nailed on as Costa starting IMHO - sure he can do some silly things, but his passing vision and ability to increase tempo is second to none in the team.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

True, which begs the question, could Cesc be the one sacrificed in big games in future?

I don't think any player should be untouchable, but it's unlikely unless he has a drop in form. He's the only player in the team that regularly makes defence-splitting passes. Yesterday he created 2 clear-cut chances for Costa with through balls, nearly created another chance for Eden if Howard didn't get the ball outside the box. Even when Cesc is isolated, he's more effective than most players.

That said, no player should be untouchable, including Cesc and Eden.

[The only place to be 11,313]

True, which begs the question, could Cesc be the one sacrificed in big games in future?

I've thought this before. I actually was close to suggesting he could be dropped for the Everton game and we could've gone with Ramires, Matic and Oscar or even Willian. We were far too loose in midfield on Saturday and Everton's midfield dominated our's.

That is the great thing about our squad though. We're hugely versatile.

[Jase 43,479]

True, which begs the question, could Cesc be the one sacrificed in big games in future?

Maybe. Maybe not. The fact that Mourinho kept him on the pitch even though Everton constantly found gaps and spaces in our midfield rather than replace him with Mikel to tighten things up showed how much confidence he has in him. That being said, that midfield organization and defensive discipline certainly needs to be sorted out. We do not want to be as messy as that when we head to the Etihad this month. Would get torn apart by an even better side than Everton.

[ZOS 580]

Chelsea's success this season will depend on how well the cesc-matic-oscar midfield works against the majority of our PL opponents (that includes MUFC ) as much as anything else. We'll need a fit, hungry and consistent Oscar

[The only place to be 11,313]

Yep Everton absloutely controlled the tempo and midfield in this game, Oscar distribution ability and droping back in our build up was seriously missed.

I actually think he could become the most important player in there because he has the defensive workrate to help out Matic but also has the ability to pick a pass.

It's also the reason I would've kept Van Ginkel around because he has the same potential to be a proper box-to-box midfielder. Ramires is a similar player but I think he's actually a little lacking in defensive intelligence and he's wasteful in possession. When a player gives the ball away 36% of the time he has it then you're not going to control the midfield.

[Shakez 755]

Tbh, ill be surprised if Oscar starts against top oppositions. He has a pretty good ball distribution ability (not his strongest point) and he tracks back fairly well. But the biggest thing he lacks is the pace to close down opponents quickly, and pace in general. Look at the Everton game, every single midfield player was getting pressed hardcore after we went 0-2 up and struggled. Only our right wing seemed secure from a defensive point of view. Oscar also isn't the greatest when getting pressed, he even tends to lose the ball when under ample pressure. In big games we need players that can close opponents down quickly (disrupt their play) + retain the ball under pressure. Ramires can retain a ball but has bad passing skills, the main reason Mourinho uses him is because he's very good at disrupting play. Coupled with his incredible stamina he can keep goïng till he drops dead (and then some).

We are never goïng to dominate possession, not even against teams like Everton. Oscar won't change that. I do agree though to start him against teams that don't play the pressing game, Arsenal is a big example.

[lionsden 4,689]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24zpc4_analyse-that-pat-nevin-everton-hd_sport

This video coupled with his average and often overrated stamina highlights why he wouldn't have made any meaningful difference in that everton game as we would still have been thoroughly outplayed if not even more. watch from 2.33-2.48 how easily he loses possession or gets dispossessed under any slight pressure (typical Oscar) and given how intense the everton pressing was, the result/performance would have been the same if not much worse in fact. We couldn't control the game because Everton pressed us very well and retained possession and not because of Oscar's absence

[bababoom 4,478]

This video coupled with his average and often overrated stamina highlights why he wouldn't have made any meaningful difference in that everton game as we would still have been thoroughly outplayed if not even more. watch from 2.33-2.48 how easily he loses possession or gets dispossessed under any slight pressure (typical Oscar) and given how intense the everton pressing was, the result/performance would have been the same if not much worse in fact. We couldn't control the game because Everton pressed us very well and retained possession and not because of Oscar's absence

You do know we one 6-3?

[Special Juan 28,136]

I think Pat Nevin should do another feature dedicated to certain Talk Chelsea members when we win, he could call it 'Over Analyse This'

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

But it wasn't our pressing that was the problem, it was the lack of defensive discipline. He would have been better than Ramires because he holds his position better when the team aren't pressing and trying to control space. Ramires' poor positioning (as well as Matic's) caused the first two goals. Ramires was in Man's land and Matic was trying to press at the wrong times.

We don't have to have the lion's share if the possession, but just like last year against Everton when they have the ball we need to be disciplined and control the space which we sucked at Saturday