Willian

[Daniel1980 1,425]

It was a good game by Willian's standards. I thought he was better than Oscar today, but over the season so far Oscar has been definitely better.

[LAB 1,030]

Today he had a good game overall, but not threatening enough in the final third once again. By his standards today he was better, but that doesn't mean that he was great and the criticism he is getting is unfair.

[bababoom 4,478]

Was good, but it has to be said his final pass is atrocious.

[Styles 9,790]

It was a good game by Willian's standards. I thought he was better than Oscar today, but over the season so far Oscar has been definitely better.

He was comfortably better. If we're going to have one non-threatening 'attacker' in the team then it's Willian ahead of Oscar for me.

All I will say is that if Willian shouldn't be in the team (or doesn't have a future here) because he contributes very little in attack then the same also applies for Oscar.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

He was comfortably better. If we're going to have one non-threatening 'attacker' in the team then it's Willian ahead of Oscar for me.

All I will say is that if Willian shouldn't be in the team (or doesn't have a future here) because he contributes very little in attack then the same also applies for Oscar.

Oscar's more decisive, though. He can shoot. His decision-making in the final third is generally better too. Unless we're seeing the beginning of Oscar's slump in form, I think he deserves to start. Though he is rather uncreative for a #10.

[Barbara 15,149]

He was comfortably better. If we're going to have one non-threatening 'attacker' in the team then it's Willian ahead of Oscar for me.

All I will say is that if Willian shouldn't be in the team (or doesn't have a future here) because he contributes very little in attack then the same also applies for Oscar.

except Oscar still contributes more...

Whenever Oscar makes room to Mikel we should have someone playing instead of Willian. Having Mikel AND Willian in the same lineup could increase home accident rates with people infringing pain onto themselves out of frustration.

I don't know what's been so wonderful about him in the final third today, I think he improved and he contributed to how we dominated the final third, but he still made 8 bad decisions out of 10.

And one of Oscar's biggest contributions today - and many other times - was creating space for others, space that Willian wasted. I'm in no way saying Oscar was better - he wasn't - but I wish I could see this amazing player you see on Willian that should displace our player with more assists after Cesc and who still remembers how to score - not to mention key passes, chances created, passes in the final third % and even tackles.

Oscar has been superior to Willian in every single aspect you look at - stats and performance wise - throughout the season, but I suppose each of us have a preference, regardless of what's shown in the pitch.

There's only so much room for AMs who excel in defending and pressing rather than attacking and whether you want to admit or not, numbers and volume of play show that Oscar has been better than Willian on both leads. They should rotate imo.

[Styles 9,790]

Oscar's more decisive, though. He can shoot. His decision-making in the final third is generally better too. Unless we're seeing the beginning of Oscar's slump in form, I think he deserves to start. Though he is rather uncreative for a #10.

Honestly, Oscar is a marginally more decisive/better decision-maker at best (if at all).

[Barbara 15,149]

Honestly, Oscar is a marginally more decisive/better decision-maker at best (if at all).

lol

right, mate. Lesson learned. Not going to discuss this with you anymore.

To each their own.

[Madmax 9,219]

What am I missing here?

Oscar vs Willian (EPL)

Goals : 3 vs 1

Assists : 5 vs 1

Key passes per game : 1.7 vs 1.1

Shots per game : 3.1 vs 1.8

Neither is a particularly great attacking threat but one decent game from Willian doesn't override Oscar's obviously greater input thus far this season and there's only one winner there.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Honestly, Oscar is a marginally more decisive/better decision-maker at best (if at all).

Oscar's been definitely more decisive in the final third.

Also, a pretty telling stat:

TOTAL FORWARD PASSES

Fabregas - 977 passes

Hazard - 486

Oscar - 466

Willian - 249

Out of all our main AMs, Willian is the one who plays forward passes the least. You can often see Hazard dribble past two defenders and give Willian the ball, Willian make a couple steps forward, wait, and then pass the ball back(or lose it). He's ineffective. Oscar is nowhere as effective and creative as Hazard and Fabregas, but he's definitely better than Willian.

[Barbara 15,149]

What am I missing here?

Oscar vs Willian (EPL)

Goals : 3 vs 1

Assists : 5 vs 1

Key passes per game : 1.7 vs 1.1

Shots per game : 3.1 vs 1.8

Neither is a particularly great attacking threat but one decent game from Willian doesn't override Oscar's obviously greater input thus far this season and there's only one winner there.

Then there's the defensive aspect:

Tackles: 2.3 vs 1.2

Clearances: 1.4 vs 0.2

I mean, Willian is good defensively, but the only edge he has on Oscar on both aspects is stamina and pace. Oscar's decision making isn't anything spectacular (except Costa and Cesc we don't have great decision makers) and he isn't the most decisive player either. The thing is if I had to rate Oscar on those I'd give him a 6.5, but I'd give Willian at most a 4. His decision making and decisiveness are pretty bad, one of the worst in the whole team, not only compared to Oscar. He offers many things in the team balance, but Oscar is not marginally better than Willian in terms of return, he's better by a safe margin.

I think at the end of the day the difference between them is that Oscar is quite smart. I've read quotes by Mourinho, Dunga, Fàbregas, Hazard, Neymar and many pundits praising Oscar for his intelligence and ability to read the game. If Willian was half good in that aspect, he could be our best player because he's way more talented than Oscar. But he lacks any ability to read the game properly, he lacks vision unless it's the obvious pass and he doesn't have the best football brains.

I still believe he'd be great in a less competitive league.

[Styles 9,790]

except Oscar still contributes more...

Oscar has better numbers. I still prefer Willian because I think he's a better ball-handler, smarter player and more versatile.

Whenever Oscar makes room to Mikel we should have someone playing instead of Willian. Having Mikel AND Willian in the same lineup could increase home accident rates with people infringing pain onto themselves out of frustration.

It worked perfectly fine the other night when they both helped the team win in one of the hardest away games of the season.

I don't know what's been so wonderful about him in the final third today, I think he improved and he contributed to how we dominated the final third, but he still made 8 bad decisions out of 10.

And one of Oscar's biggest contributions today - and many other times - was creating space for others, space that Willian wasted. I'm in no way saying Oscar was better - he wasn't - but I wish I could see this amazing player you see on Willian that should displace our player with more assists after Cesc and who still remembers how to score - not to mention key passes, chances created, passes in the final third % and even tackles.

Oscar has been superior to Willian in every single aspect you look at - stats and performance wise - throughout the season, but I suppose each of us have a preference, regardless of what's shown in the pitch.

There's only so much room for AMs who excel in defending and pressing rather than attacking and whether you want to admit or not, numbers and volume of play show that Oscar has been better than Willian on both leads. They should rotate imo.

I thought Willian made some perfectly good decisions today (couple of good shots and set-up Hazard too) - and some of his passing in the build-up was very good, he's a very smart player in possession in my opinion - but not everything he tried came off which is normal.

I don't even want to get into the vague 'creating space' thing that Oscar does (I see clearly how Costa creates space for the team, don't see it with Oscar to be honest) but Willian played better than Oscar today.

The elephant in the room is that Fabregas can also play CAM and he'd contribute more than just 'providing space'. That's ultimately what I want to see: Fabregas playing CAM. What happens with Oscar after that? I genuinely couldn't care less to be honest. Willian owns the RW until somebody better than him is bought in.

[Styles 9,790]

What am I missing here?

Oscar vs Willian (EPL)

Goals : 3 vs 1

Assists : 5 vs 1

Key passes per game : 1.7 vs 1.1

Shots per game : 3.1 vs 1.8

Neither is a particularly great attacking threat but one decent game from Willian doesn't override Oscar's obviously greater input thus far this season and there's only one winner there.

Which is my point - after that it comes down to personal preference. Obviously the numbers favour Oscar but personally I prefer Willian.

[Barbara 15,149]

Oscar has better numbers. I still prefer Willian because I think he's a better ball-handler, smarter player and more versatile.

It worked perfectly fine the other night when they both helped the team win in one of the hardest away games of the season.

I thought Willian made some perfectly good decisions today (couple of good shots and set-up Hazard too) - and some of his passing in the build-up was very good, he's a very smart player in possession in my opinion - but not everything he tried came off which is normal.

I don't even want to get into the vague 'creating space' thing that Oscar does (I see clearly how Costa creates space for the team, don't see it with Oscar to be honest) but Willian played better than Oscar today.

The elephant in the room is that Fabregas can also play CAM and he'd contribute more than just 'providing space'. That's ultimately what I want to see: Fabregas playing CAM. What happens with Oscar after that? I genuinely couldn't care less to be honest. Willian owns the RW until somebody better than him is bought in.

I like Cesc as #10 too, although it's only worth to play him there when we play teams parking the bus and we need a spark of creativity in our attack, something Oscar clearly lacks.

Willian owns our RW? LOL. He's been lucky André and Ramires have been injured and ill. At the form Ramires was early in the season, there was no way Willian would have started half the matches he did. If Ramires is displacing someone in the wing then you know they are nowhere impressive, far from it.

At the end of the day we all want Chelsea to succeed. So I hope Willian becomes at least half the player you seem to see in him.

Also if you can't see how Oscar intelligently creates space for others and how he has been getting better and better playing 1-2s with Hazard and Cesc, then there's nothing I can do in that aspect.

Everyone likes certain players better than others. I like Oscar better than Willian, you feel the opposite. Both of us are free to think as we please.

[DYC. 7,542]

Oscar's been definitely more decisive in the final third.

Also, a pretty telling stat:

TOTAL FORWARD PASSES

Fabregas - 977 passes

Hazard - 486

Oscar - 466

Willian - 249

Out of all our main AMs, Willian is the one who plays backwards passes the most. You can often see Hazard dribble past two defenders and give Willian the ball, Willian make a couple steps forward, wait, and then pass the ball back(or lose it). He's ineffective. Oscar is nowhere as effective and creative as Hazard and Fabregas, but he's definitely better than Willian.

This is what annoys me the most. He often takes so long to on the ball, only to play the ball to the side or backwards. I don't get that. Oscar and Hazard are far more adept at playing one-two's (they're both experts) and act a lot quicker on the ball. They're positional sense is also far superior to Willian's, who is pretty poor in this aspect sadly. Crucial elements for attacking players.

This Oscar vs Willian thing is idiotic though. 'Willian is not great but Oscar is terrible. Oscar is decent but Willian is awful'. Embarrassing.

They're both Chelsea players and they're both starters. Chelsea are top of the league and are one of the best sides in Europe. They're both part of the reason this team is in such a position.

[Styles 9,790]

This is what annoys me the most. He often takes so long to on the ball, only to play the ball to the side or backwards. I don't get that. Oscar and Hazard are far more adept at playing one-two's (they're both experts) and act a lot quicker on the ball. They're positional sense is also far superior to Willian's, who is pretty poor in this aspect sadly. Crucial elements for attacking players.

This Oscar vs Willian thing is idiotic though. 'Willian is not great but Oscar is terrible. Oscar is decent but Willian is awful'. Embarrassing.

They're both Chelsea players and they're both starters. Chelsea are top of the league and are one of the best sides in Europe. They're both part of the reason this team is in such a position.

What's really embarrassing for me is seeing one player derided constantly for not being creative enough and then excuses being made for another.

Even when Willian plays well we have to endure the "well only by his standards!" and "what 'bout that one pass, eh?!" nonsense and it's absolutely pathetic.

[Rom2013 446]

The better numbers of Oscar are a lie. In reality last season Willian was better than Oscar in almost everything, just scored less 4 goals but was a better tackler, did more key passes, did more assists per minute, did also more interceptions and dribled more than Oscar. Tomorrow I put here the numbers.

In the last year and a half in absolute values Willian playing a lot less minutes than Oscar did more key passes, created more chances...

When you talk about the lack of quality of Willian in the final third... you can't do it without questioning the lack of quality of Oscar in that same aspect. Is that simple.

Many of the people that here demand more from WIllian are the same that were saying every week how increadible Oscar is. In the past 7 games Oscar was awful and you see nothing about Oscar on here... but every week they have something to say about Willian, and before this period the increadible OScar was a complete lie.

Now Oscar creates spaces... at first he was defending more because of Fabregas.... now that Oscar can't do the defensive work aswell, now he creates spaces... at the end of the season we will see how well he did. Last season he started his vacations 4 months before the others,,, but on this forum that doesn't matter.

[DYC. 7,542]

What's really embarrassing for me is seeing one player derided constantly for not being creative enough and then excuses being made for another.

Even when Willian plays well we have to endure the "well only by his standards!" and "what 'bout that one pass, eh?!" nonsense and it's absolutely pathetic.

I'm not getting into the thing. Both players get plenty of stick (I just saw a post of you calling Oscar irrelevant, quite disappointing Styles). Even Fabregas, who has been excellent, isn't allowed to have a bad game. It's never good enough and I've grown quite tired of it. There's too much focus on the negative.

As for today, I thought both Oscar and Willian were good though unspectacular. Oscar was unlucky not to get a goal from that free-kick and Willian was unlucky not to get an assist after that Hazard chance. But I don't like how one is constantly linked to the other. Evaluate them individually, don't constantly bring up the other up, especially to make one look worse. That's retarded.

Chels produced a level of attacking football in the first half you don't get to see very often, with two attacking players on the pitch some deem inadequate. Quite impressive if you ask me.