Willian

[Ze Mario 638]

he's gifted with his long shot ability yet i didnt see him doing that last night. I think he felt inferior because he thinks ppl rated players like Hulk better than him. This is his 1st WC and he wants to play it safe so he can be called in next comp.

Such a waste, this Willian play with more freedom at Chelsea because our manager is so good at giving boost for his confidence

[Mustafa 885]

Man, I really really think this lad needs to be sat down and talked to about his strengths and how he can use them to become a top player one day. He has a great attitude and has great skill but he rarely shows initiative. Imo he doesn't take on his marker enough, have a pop at goal enough, attempt a penetrating pass enough. He seems to always cut in and switch the ball. I mean its seems like he's just there....

For me he has the ingredients to be a top quality player, but it just seems like his contribution to the team is limited to helping out the fullbacks defensively and trying to keep possession without doing anything positive.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Man, I really really think this lad needs to be sat down and talked to about his strengths and how he can use them to become a top player one day. He has a great attitude and has great skill but he rarely shows initiative. Imo he doesn't take on his marker enough, have a pop at goal enough, attempt a penetrating pass enough. He seems to always cut in and switch the ball. I mean its seems like he's just there....

For me he has the ingredients to be a top quality player, but it just seems like his contribution to the team is limited to helping out the fullbacks defensively and trying to keep possession without doing anything positive.

Great post

However - could it be argued that he lacks vision/footballing intelligence? I really hope not - as that is a difficult thing to teach - it's instinctive, or as you say it could be lack of Confidence - masking his abilities.

If you listen to the best players - they shape a mental picture of what they want to happen when they receive the ball and execute it.

Maybe we need to get Willian in with a Sports Psychologist - it wouldn't hurt and could address both Confidence and his execution.

Whatever happens though - I like the guy, gives everything, every match - so really hope it gets sorted.

Would love to see him in training - if he performs in a low pressure environment - then it is just confidence...

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Man, I really really think this lad needs to be sat down and talked to about his strengths and how he can use them to become a top player one day. He has a great attitude and has great skill but he rarely shows initiative. Imo he doesn't take on his marker enough, have a pop at goal enough, attempt a penetrating pass enough. He seems to always cut in and switch the ball. I mean its seems like he's just there....

For me he has the ingredients to be a top quality player, but it just seems like his contribution to the team is limited to helping out the fullbacks defensively and trying to keep possession without doing anything positive.

Good post. Willian just reminds me of mikel in terms of not asserting himself.

[Shakez 755]

Great post

However - could it be argued that he lacks vision/footballing intelligence? I really hope not - as that is a difficult thing to teach - it's instinctive, or as you say it could be lack of Confidence - masking his abilities.

If you listen to the best players - they shape a mental picture of what they want to happen when they receive the ball and execute it.

Maybe we need to get Willian in with a Sports Psychologist - it wouldn't hurt and could address both Confidence and his execution.

Whatever happens though - I like the guy, gives everything, every match - so really hope it gets sorted.

Would love to see him in training - if he performs in a low pressure environment - then it is just confidence...

I think he's some sort of training God, regarding the praise he get's from Lampard, Luiz, Mourinho etc. the guy never has been a prolific goalscorer though (neither has Hazard), but that didn't stop him from beïng picked as a regular at Corinthians, Shakthar and now Chelsea. He was the only AM that received some sort of praise from Mourinho at the end of the season.

Anyway i also agree with Mourinho "that a player with his ability should score more goals". Fuck it, Schürrle and Willian should just fusion-dance

[The Skipper 20,593]

Anyway i also agree with Mourinho "that a player with his ability should score more goals". Fuck it, Schürrle and Willian should just fusion-dance

. They would make the perfect player.

[Jype 6,398]

KTF he has only had one year with us

Also worth noting that last season he didn't even have any pre-season with the team, having only arrived in late August when the season had already begun.

I remain confident he'll make a much bigger impact this coming season, same goes for Schürrle too.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Yes it was his first season last year, but did he ever really show what he could be capable of?

Schurrle showed in the Fulham game exactly what we could expect when he's settled (and against Stoke too). Hazard showed in his first season how great he could be too (the West Ham match springs to mind). Even Oscar showed on his debut against Juventus exactly what he was all about.

To my mind Willian still hasn't done that. He's a tidy player but he really needs to actually start giving an end product.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Yes it was his first season last year, but did he ever really show what he could be capable of?

Schurrle showed in the Fulham game exactly what we could expect when he's settled (and against Stoke too). Hazard showed in his first season how great he could be too (the West Ham match springs to mind). Even Oscar showed on his debut against Juventus exactly what he was all about.

To my mind Willian still hasn't done that. He's a tidy player but he really needs to actually start giving an end product.

He's too shy and prefers to be like mikel and pass the ball to the fullbacks/wingers instead of asserting himself once in a while.

He sometimes reminds me of a talented 18yr old instead of a mature 25yr old

[Jype 6,398]

Yes it was his first season last year, but did he ever really show what he could be capable of?

Schurrle showed in the Fulham game exactly what we could expect when he's settled (and against Stoke too). Hazard showed in his first season how great he could be too (the West Ham match springs to mind). Even Oscar showed on his debut against Juventus exactly what he was all about.

To my mind Willian still hasn't done that. He's a tidy player but he really needs to actually start giving an end product.

I've seen enough of him at Shakhtar to tell his end product, while could still be better, is nowhere near as bad as we saw last season.

A valid point that the others have shown more glimpses of what's to come if things go according to plan but I think Willian is also capable of great things and there is a reason why a bunch of clubs were willing to pay £30m for him last year. Coming into a new club and country is no easy task for a foreigner, especially for one who didn't speak English at the time, but he has already shown he's capable of adapting to living in countries like Ukraine and Russia which for a Brazilian are surely harder places to fit in than London so the mental strength should be there somewhere and hopefully by the start of the season he's fully ready for the challenges that lie ahead. If not, then there's always Schürrle who will definitely be a hit this year.

[dee25 1,044]

Yes it was his first season last year, but did he ever really show what he could be capable of?

Schurrle showed in the Fulham game exactly what we could expect when he's settled (and against Stoke too). Hazard showed in his first season how great he could be too (the West Ham match springs to mind). Even Oscar showed on his debut against Juventus exactly what he was all about.

To my mind Willian still hasn't done that. He's a tidy player but he really needs to actually start giving an end product.

Uh uh. So Schurrle's hat trick is an indication of what he could be capable of but Willian's goals against Stoke, Norwich and Saints doesn't offer a glimpse of what he could offer once he settles?

[The only place to be 11,313]

I've seen enough of him at Shakhtar to tell his end product, while could still be better, is nowhere near as bad as we saw last season.

A valid point that the others have shown more glimpses of what's to come if things go according to plan but I think Willian is also capable of great things and there is a reason why a bunch of clubs were willing to pay £30m for him last year. Coming into a new club and country is no easy task for a foreigner, especially for one who didn't speak English at the time, but he has already shown he's capable of adapting to living in countries like Ukraine and Russia which for a Brazilian are surely harder places to fit in than London so the mental strength should be there somewhere and hopefully by the start of the season he's fully ready for the challenges that lie ahead. If not, then there's always Schürrle who will definitely be a hit this year.

Who was the other club willing to spend £30 million on him? Spurs? So in their view he was on par with Lamela? I'm not saying he's that bad, but using the market to determine a player's quality sometimes has it's pitfalls.

Willian looks like an incredibly tidy player but it's just the end product that he's lacking. Schurrle got double the number of goals in fewer starts and offensively you can see how he'd link up with a proper striker next season. He has that innate knack of being in the right place to get goals and I'd bet on him to get into double figures next season whereas from Willian you're looking at him being at best a facilitator.

It's just sometimes hard to believe he's actually going to be 26 before the season starts and that we spent around £30 million on him. I think it's sometimes overlooked just how bad a bit of business that might actually be.

[Fernando 6,463]

Who was the other club willing to spend £30 million on him? Spurs? So in their view he was on par with Lamela? I'm not saying he's that bad, but using the market to determine a player's quality sometimes has it's pitfalls.

Willian looks like an incredibly tidy player but it's just the end product that he's lacking. Schurrle got double the number of goals in fewer starts and offensively you can see how he'd link up with a proper striker next season. He has that innate knack of being in the right place to get goals and I'd bet on him to get into double figures next season whereas from Willian you're looking at him being at best a facilitator.

It's just sometimes hard to believe he's actually going to be 26 before the season starts and that we spent around £30 million on him. I think it's sometimes overlooked just how bad a bit of business that might actually be.

Well I don't put it as bad business like Torres, just an unnecessary at the time.

But now with Mata and KDB gone, it seems like to me he's the best we got to bring a nice balance.

Cause Schurrle is still very inconsistent. He remains a super sub until otherwise proven.

Salah, no need to say.

And Oscar....well I don't know that will happen to the guy.

Also worth noting that last season he didn't even have any pre-season with the team, having only arrived in late August when the season had already begun.

I remain confident he'll make a much bigger impact this coming season, same goes for Schürrle too.

No Pre-season excuse again?

That's what all the Torres fan boy threw at us.

Not to say I don't think he will come good, but I don't like this excuse.

[Jype 6,398]

No Pre-season excuse again?

That's what all the Torres fan boy threw at us.

Not to say I don't think he will come good, but I don't like this excuse.

I think it's more than fair that we as fans give Willian the benefit of the doubt for his somewhat disappointing debut season and only judge him now that he's fully settled in the country, the league and most importantly the team. He has lived in London for a year and gotten to know what it's like playing in the Premier League so he SHOULD now be more ready to make an impact than he was last season. Players are different, some of them settle in immediately like Mata three years ago or Matic this January but then there are also those who require the learning curve like Ramires, Oscar, Schürrle, Salah and maybe Willian too. Hell, Ivanovic didn't play a game for the club until almost a year after signing for £10m and look how far he's come now. Some players don't know the language and maybe get homesick while others, even some of the ones I just mentioned, have been very surprised at just how tough the PL actually is and they've had to do some extra individual training to bulk up and get better prepared to playing in England so I don't think it's fair to judge anyone too harsh after just one season. However if there's no improvement to be seen this year, all bets are off and there's no excuses anymore so fair criticism is very much okay if these boys still don't perform.

Torres was a player who'd already played in the PL for three and a half years at the time of the transfer and was supposedly a world class player, so at least for me the expectations were a lot higher from the start. It's players like Torres that are supposed to hit the ground running but for younger and more unproven players, especially those who come from different leagues and maybe don't know the language I like to allow a year-long adaption period before starting to really forge an opinion on whether I think they're good enough to play for the club.

[lionsden 4,689]

While i appreciate his ability to retain possession, we are not Barcelona who emphasizes tiki taka above all else. His main objective is/and should be to create and score and it's impossible to achieve being passive. He will have to shake off his mikelitis and be much more aggressive and direct next season.

As much stick as people gave Moses, that kid was direct and aggressive, it just a shame he is very limited.

[Amblève. 4,995]

It's just sometimes hard to believe he's actually going to be 26 before the season starts and that we spent around £30 million on him. I think it's sometimes overlooked just how bad a bit of business that might actually be.

It was a bad business from the get-go. We had already signed Schürrle and if the initial plan was to sign a left-footed player to play on the right wing aka what Mourinho told us in the pre-season then Willian was more than just redundant.

Willian is in his prime and at a price of 30m we spent unnecessary money on a player that will most likely never justify such a fee. Such a shame about the money, really.

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

As much as I agree with the thing about a lack of end product, hes coming into his second season where he will get a full pre-season. He still did well, in terms of adapting and consistency, he needs more goals and assists though that will come. Maybe 30M was a bit much, remember Anzhi, although they sold their big money and name players, were financially safe at that point still, also they paid more than 30M for him too IIRC.

[Jase 43,479]

To those who said Willian will be getting a full pre-season or even just pre-season this time, do you realize that by the time he returns from his break, the season will be starting already? Spain got knocked out in the group stage at the end of last month, or more specifically, 23rd June and the Spanish lads will only be back on 21st July.