Oscar

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Imo, the only truly World Class players we have are Courtois, Hazard & Matic. Hazard is amongst the very best wingers in the World(Neymar, Robben, Messi, Hazard & Ronaldo), Matic is amongst the best in his position (Kroos, Matic, Alonso, Mascherano, Busquets) and Thibo is the consensus 2nd best GK in the World right now.

Costa, Cesc & Filipe Luis are the only other ones on the cusp of that elite group. Azpilicueta, Oscar & RLC have the potential to be WC sometime in the future.

Terry.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Suarez, Aguero, Ibrahimovic, Lewandowski & Benzema are all comfortably better than Costa. He's in tier 2 along with Cavani, Tevez.

Suarez, Aguero, Lewa when on form.

I would say he is on par with rest. Tevez is old, Ibra is a fucking myth. Scores for fun, but when he should do the work in CL, he is invisible. I wouldnt take Cavani either. When he was at napoli yes, but he is seriously inconsistent.

[DYC. 7,542]

Imo, the only truly World Class players we have are Courtois, Hazard & Matic. Hazard is amongst the very best wingers in the World(Neymar, Robben, Messi, Hazard & Ronaldo), Matic is amongst the best in his position (Kroos, Matic, Alonso, Mascherano, Busquets) and Thibo is the consensus 2nd best GK in the World right now.

Costa, Cesc & Filipe Luis are the only other ones on the cusp of that elite group. Azpilicueta, Oscar & RLC have the potential to be WC sometime in the future.

Cesc is world-class. Sure, he has his flaws but that goes for pretty much anyone. And if anyone wants to mention big game performances, the big game performer is a rarity in football. And Mourinho sacrifices the level of individual performances for the sake of results in big games (look at his history, his star players are never considered the best). It hurts Hazard as well.

Costa is world-class too. I know his technique is far from impressive, but it's far from abysmal too. He'd never be capable of being leading the line of an elite club like Chelsea if that was the case. But his pace and power, athleticism, finishing, relentlessness and winning spirit is what makes him world-class. The man is a killer. And his movement, anticipation and timing is unmatched. No one beats him in these areas. Defenders think they've got him under control, they think they have the upper hand when marking him, but all of a sudden he's gone, at the exact right moment, and puts the ball in the net. It's an amazing trait. I think that's why he's so respected among his peers, making Team of the Season and all, despite being a massive prick. I'm sure even Skrtel voted for him.

His overall contribution far exceeds merely finishing chances. He leads the charges, he gets everyone pumped up, he's a nuisance, he'll lead you to victory. Say what you want about his attitude, he rarely gets sent off. I do worry at times, thinking he'll hurt the team by getting sent off, but his record proves he's fully aware of what he's doing.

You mentioned Benzema. Brilliant talent. As a fan for so many years now, I've had to defend him more than a few times (when his quality was questioned). He is one of the best strikers in the world, but he's an example of a striker that doesn't win you titles. He's too nice. He's not a killer. He has a tendency to disappear for extended periods, has often failed to convert when the pressure was on, and fails to carry his team. In his younger years I thought/hoped this was something he'd develop over time, but it never happened, and I don't think he will. Supporting cast rather than leading star. Surround him with top class talent and he will do fine. That's why he's the perfect striker for Real because everything revolves around Ronaldo. His style complements him perfectly too. But I'd never want him at Chelsea instead of Diego.

Diego has outperformed Ibra these past two seasons btw. Especially last season since Ibra is sadly declining. And Costa does not get the credit he deserves for his exploits at Atletico in his final season. Ibra remains a better player in pure terms of individual ability but his impact is no longer the same. The consistency is waning.

Suarez is a class above any of the top strikers of today.

[DYC. 7,542]

Suarez, Aguero, Lewa when on form.

I would say he is on par with rest. Tevez is old, Ibra is a fucking myth. Scores for fun, but when he should do the work in CL, he is invisible. I wouldnt take Cavani either. When he was at napoli yes, but he is seriously inconsistent.

Tevez is 31. That's not old. People kill me. Drogba was brilliant at 32, winning the double and all.

Tevez is better than Costa imo, but it's not a massive difference.

[Tomo 21,751]

I wouldn't put costa in the top brackets for strikers.

I would, he may not be the most pleasing technically but his off the ball movement, intelligent runs and play and most importantly his finishing causes absolute havoc for defences. Take it from someone who has played defence before I'd much rather face a skilful player with average movement over a player with great movement.

Atletico aren't creating anywhere near the amount of chances since Costa left, neither do we when he is not playing, he's just as big a reason as Cesc as to why we don't struggle vs lesser sides any more, if not more.

Putting everything into perspective (age, how good they are, how they suit our team) l would only swap him for 2 strikers and that's Aguero and Suarez (pure strikers before anyone drops Messj and Ronaldo in there).

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Tevez is 31. That's not old. People kill me. Drogba was brilliant at 32, winning the double and all.

Tevez is better than Costa imo, but it's not a massive difference.

I exaggerated indeed. Tevez aint old old, but a move back to argentina means he is done with top football anyway you look at.

[DYC. 7,542]

I exaggerated indeed. Tevez aint old old, but a move back to argentina means he is done with top football anyway you look at.

Fair enough, but it's not because he's not good enough. His rep took quite a hit after his antics at City, but you have to commend him for his great consistency. He's been a top performer since his Utd days and never declined.

Now I'll just type Oscar's name to make this post more relevant. I'll throw in another Oscar for free.

[Stats 7,140]

Suarez, Aguero, Ibrahimovic, Lewandowski & Benzema are all comfortably better than Costa. He's in tier 2 along with Cavani, Tevez.

I would not say Ibra, Lewa, Benzema, Tevez or Cavani are better than Costa. I think they are all quality strikers but do I think they are better than Costa? No. I don't see why people on here are saying Lewa is in a different league to Costa. He is not. His goalscoring record in the games he has played in the BL compared to Costa in the PL is inferior IIRC. Costa is playing in a much tougher league too. 34 goal for Atletico IIRC? Fantastic. Costa 20 league goals in 24 starts in his first season here. Fantastic. Would take Costa over the majority of strikers mentioned here. Excluding Ronaldo, Messi, the only strikers that you could say are better are Aguero and Suarez imo. That is it.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Costa is easily top 5/6 striker in the world based on the last 2 seasons.

And people need to stop mentioning Cavani please. He has not played like a WC player since he left Naples.

[TheIceMan 596]

WTF! Is this the Oscar thread or what?!?

[Tomo 21,751]

WTF! Is this the Oscar thread or what?!?

Sometimes threads can go off topic, it will be an nuisance to just go to the right topic every time for the sake of consistency.

It never sits right with me when we are told to get back on topic immediately, eventually everything will return to natural order, but sometimes interesting debates can happen in unexpected places and it would be a shame to just drop it.

[TheIceMan 596]

Sometimes threads can go off topic, it will be an nuisance to just go to the right topic every time for the sake of consistency.

It never sits right with me when we are told to get back on topic immediately, eventually everything will return to natural order, but sometimes interesting debates can happen in unexpected places and it would be a shame to just drop it.

Sure! So you like to be a bit of a rebell Yeah?

[Myself 793]

imo based on the last few seasons the best strikers in the world are (in no particular order)

costa

suarez

aguero

ronaldo

higauin (keep in mind that he's playing for a significantly weaker team)

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Sometimes threads can go off topic, it will be an nuisance to just go to the right topic every time for the sake of consistency.

It never sits right with me when we are told to get back on topic immediately, eventually everything will return to natural order, but sometimes interesting debates can happen in unexpected places and it would be a shame to just drop it.

Agreed. Now, get back on topic!

[Oscar 441]

imo based on the last few seasons the best strikers in the world are (in no particular order)

costa

suarez

aguero

ronaldo

higauin (keep in mind that he's playing for a significantly weaker team)

If ronaldo is there, than both neymar and messi should be as well.