Oscar

[didierforever 7,349]

honestly, sometimes I think his main problem that leads to such inconsistency is confidence.

He was anonymous for most part of it - attacking and defending - until he assisted the goal, then he turned into a new player, with a lot of energy and determination - especially defending - and was up to the level Mourinho expects from him.

So I think he has some trouble physically enduring the second of the season and as the bad performances go piling up, his confidence gets hammered and it only gets worse. It's of course, only a guess, but one has to wonder how an assist turned his game around in the match so much as it did...

come to think of it, its the exact same thing that happened against newcastle.

he was having an absolute stinker in the first half and then scored and that simply changed his whole game.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Him and Fabregas and Hazard and to an extent DD did a wonderful job of carrying the pressing workload in such a defensively minded team. 2nd goal in 2 matches he has participated in. I was particularly impressed by how much Cesc worked.

None of you can tell me Ramires woud have done that. I have full confidence that if we had Remy we would have scored more. But when you strikeforce is depleted and pace/strength isn't on your side this is the way you have to do it and we did a sterling job. And nobody can take that away from us.

@DDForever: Here's a proposition, when you need more defensive presence in midfield, how does Matic-Koke-Oscar sound? Buying Koke, I agree, would allow us to cope better in matches where we are outmuscled/outpaced in midfield - he can do Fabregas' job right? As a playmaker. And having him and Oscar in the team would allow us to press more and better. Wouldn't do any harm being able to rest our midfield without having a massive downgrade in quality, too.

[Barbara 15,149]

Way too soon for such a comparison, but if he continues to develop as the more optimistic of us expect, maybe he could be very useful.

And if there's one thing we missed this season was Lampard's presence at the edge of the box, his goals from long range and someone to make opposition worry about his shots.

I still have hope Oscar could - despite all his limitations - develop into an useful player for us. The guy seriously needs to work on his confidence issues though. I feel like if he works on them, his inconsistency will drop considerably.

[Jase 43,479]

Did well today but is it just one of those rare good performances or is he coming back to form? We shall see in the next few games.

[coolhead23 1,146]

Really came into the groove after the goal ... Put in some strong tackle, had a good game ... It is always amazing to see how the baby faced boy puts in such strong tackles...

[Vytis33 1,043]

Willian loaned whatever battery he runs on to Oscar today.

[LondonsFinest 692]

I am a Oscar critic, but kudos, today he had a Solid game. Not the best, but he did, what he had to do, and he did it well. Fastening play the moment he got the ball, springing passes.
What I don't want to see, personally, that is, is anyone saying he had the best game. I know he assisted, yes, and it was an amazing back heel. But it's a simple pass, and him being a world class player is supposed to do it on a regular basis. Don't make this the Torres thread, I mean, he won us the corner in 2012...

That being out, as I said, he was good today and I want to see more of the same. I finally saw him having the balls to put long passes or not slow the game, making a fast - forward pass, unlike, when he usually gets his head up to look for players and takes a few extra touches. If, and IF he maintains form, I've said he is amazing, but the lack of consistency in him, worries me, hence why I will wait until after the Arsenal game, where I expect him to start.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Oscar - the one Mourinho is dying to sell and who he never plays in big matches is starting ahead of Willian and Ramires against United... that's my cue not to come back to TC today, regardless of the result and regardless of how he plays. If we lose, it's on him, if we win, it's despite of him, if we draw it's his fault. If he plays bad, all of the same, if he plays well, at least we'll be able to fool someone to pay big money on him come a few months. Yeah, I already know the whole script for this thread, regardless of what happens.

He only started ahead of Willian because Willian was ill...

[The Skipper 20,593]

Regardless, Oscar was pretty good today must say. More of the same please. If he plays like this mostly you won't find people critiquing him all the time.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

https://twitter.com/JakeFCohen/status/589477321389772801

Way too soon for such a comparison, but if he continues to develop as the more optimistic of us expect, maybe he could be very useful.

And if there's one thing we missed this season was Lampard's presence at the edge of the box, his goals from long range and someone to make opposition worry about his shots.

I still have hope Oscar could - despite all his limitations - develop into an useful player for us. The guy seriously needs to work on his confidence issues though. I feel like if he works on them, his inconsistency will drop considerably.

Oscar will develop like most midfielders do. Midfielders peak at 26-28 and oscar hasn't gotten there yet, that's why I'm reluctant for us to sell him.

On another note, today showed he can play in the wing. I liked when he played there a couple of times for Brazil

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Good performance. Tenacious and hard-working. A good call from Mourinho. Again.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Best game for us in a while, especially towards the end of the first half and start of the second. His pressing was incredible and he made it count in the final third as well with that genius assist. More of this, please.

[CFC888 219]

He's signed for United...

https://instagram.com/p/1pvPEKolyD

[DYC. 7,542]

2012/2013: 43 starts + 21 sub apps - 12 goals + 9 assists

2013/2014: 38 starts + 12 sub apps - 13 goals + 6 assists

2014/2015: 34 starts + 6 sub apps - 7 goals + 9 assists

[Barbara 15,149]

2012/2013: 43 starts + 21 sub apps - 12 goals + 9 assists

2013/2014: 38 starts + 12 sub apps - 13 goals + 6 assists

2014/2015: 34 starts + 6 sub apps - 7 goals + 9 assists

His finishing which always looked neat has been a nightmare lately. He's missed some sitters recently that had me pulling my hair off. I again blame it on confidence (lack of it) and when I say this I'm not giving him an excuse, I'm actually demanding him to find a way to build confidence from something, somehow... if he doesn't start building confidence, he'll never be better than an average player (as I believe most of his inconsistency lies on his lack of confidence - and some of it lies on the physical demands he can't cope with). I think a player like him should end the season with 15 goals and 15 assists to justify his place in the team, but a double digit return of assists isn't bad imo (and he's only one away from it) it's the goals and the overall passing that has been terrible.

[didierforever 7,349]

@DDForever: Here's a proposition, when you need more defensive presence in midfield, how does Matic-Koke-Oscar sound? Buying Koke, I agree, would allow us to cope better in matches where we are outmuscled/outpaced in midfield - he can do Fabregas' job right? As a playmaker. And having him and Oscar in the team would allow us to press more and better. Wouldn't do any harm being able to rest our midfield without having a massive downgrade in quality, too.

fair enough, but i dont think if it would work with our board. for the last 4 windows (since jose has come in), it seems our transfer mantra is to spend what we earn (or near abouts). buying koke/pogba is atleast 50mil and that does not even begin to solve our main problem. as good as GC has been recently, we still might need a varane who would cost close to 30mil. all in all, need 80mil funds or near that region (it still does not include the 2nd GK fee or the mikel replacement fee, if mikel is sold).

[didierforever 7,349]

MOTM so far. if DD comes in for him at HT (cos of concussion as people are saying, we wont be the same).

[iseah100 5,612]

MOTM so far. if DD comes in for him at HT (cos of concussion as people are saying, we wont be the same).

If Oscar has a concussion Chelsea should be fined a hefty amount.