Cesc Fàbregas

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

an absolute joy to watch. Can't wait to see more this season!

[Shakez 755]

an absolute joy to watch. Can't wait to see more this season!

Agreed!

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Funny when he tried a cheeky pass into the box when he could have taken the shot on. Need to get the last of that Barca shit off him and he's golden.

[zolayes 14,489]

Arsenal fans at Arsenal Mania when someone posted a gif of Cesc's goal:

They loved him to a ridiculous degree, and now seem to be torn between "Cunt!" and "It's not really his fault, I wish he still played for us." I'm really looking forward to our game at Emirates. Curious how they greet him. Better get earplugs, though.

He WAS Arsenal and the few gooners with brains know that

[The Chels 2,502]

First off, what the **** is he talking about lol? and secondly, where can I watch the interview where he said that? I'm assuming he means Cesc is a complete midfielder but I'm not entirely sure. At least he's confirmed he intends to play him in CM, Oscar can breathe a sigh of relief.

11:08 onwards

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Not sure if this has been posted yet.

"Fabregas is the player we need to modify a little bit the profile of our game, which we need," Mourinho added. "We want to give the next dimension to our game in midfield and Fabregas is this kind of player which I like to call 'the seven', because he's not the six and he's not the eight."

"Normally the seven is the winger, I also call the seven the guy in midfield who's not the six, he's not the eight. Or he's a six and eight at the same time. So he's a seven and we need him a lot."

First off, what the **** is he talking about lol? and secondly, where can I watch the interview where he said that? I'm assuming he means Cesc is a complete midfielder but I'm not entirely sure. At least he's confirmed he intends to play him in CM, Oscar can breathe a sigh of relief.

Jose want Fabregas to act as "a Ronaldo" in his team, but from CM position.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Jose want Fabregas to act as "a Ronaldo" in his team, but from CM position.

No offense but i don't think that's what Mourinho meant.

I think he meant that to get the best out of Fabregas we had to make our midfield 3 more fluid in the way they move.

He's not an 8 because at times he'll drop off and demand the ball from the CB's (like a 6 normally does) but he's not a 6 either because at times he'll be in a more advanced position inside the final third of the opposition (like an 8 normally does).

So not an 8 or a 6. The middleground is a "7". (this basically has nothing to do with the 7 winger position)

Mourinho just confirmed what the majority of us already knew, that Fabregas likes to both orchestrate attacks from deep but also likes to attack from a more advanced position and infiltrate the oppositions defence. (goal vs Ferencvaros)

[Styles 9,790]

I know you guys are bored of me saying this already but Fabregas is ridiculously slow, I've seen fat people running for the bus move quicker than him. And while he's excellent at making through balls his general passing really isn't that good.

[stroey 2,525]

I know you guys are bored of me saying this already but Fabregas is ridiculously slow, I've seen fat people running for the bus move quicker than him. And while he's excellent at making through balls his general passing really isn't that good.

Yeah he is slow but he thinks fast, we have Willian, Schurrle, Eden, Salah, Costa, Rami to compensate the pace of the team. No one has the passing ability of Cesc, playing him in the pivot will do wonders this season.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I know you guys are bored of me saying this already but Fabregas is ridiculously slow, I've seen fat people running for the bus move quicker than him. And while he's excellent at making through balls his general passing really isn't that good.

He isn't that slow but it doesn't matter, he sees the game a second ahead of everyone on the pitch.

[Barbara 15,149]

I know you guys are bored of me saying this already but Fabregas is ridiculously slow, I've seen fat people running for the bus move quicker than him. And while he's excellent at making through balls his general passing really isn't that good.

His general passing isn't that good?

I think you're overestimating his slowness and I don't think you've watched Cesc Fàbregas enough (and I don't mean this in a patronizing or derogative way) if you say he isn't a general good passer... I'm surprised to read that...

I agree completely with Mourinho. He's the key we were missing in our puzzle (it's easy to talk about striker, because we played with only one last season - and that's summing all three we had together, meaning we had half of one with Samuel and a quarter of one with either Torres or Ba). He takes us to a new level. People label Mourinho as defensive all the time, but a team to afford, need and want a player of Cesc's caliber isn't a team defensive oriented. It's a team willing to take risks, to want to bring it to the next level. His speed on the ball and off the ball isn't that much important when we have a high press system that proved to work really well and players that can offer him cover. We have pace-y players to make runs to receive his balls, so he isn't missed there either. We missed a brain when we had a lot of muscles and a tad of geniality with Hazard, but Cesc is definitely the brain we've missed. We lost that with Mata and Mata didn't do it the way Cesc does (not better, not worse, just differently, although Cesc is way more versatile than Mata). Hazard can have his fun moments of a genius more freely now, there's someone behind him doing all the thinking. Schurrle can hopefully run and move smartly because there's someone to catch him. Oscar can share the burden of being creative (as it isn't natural to him) with someone else. (and for God's sake, I'm not even remotely implying Eden or any of our other AMs don't think, they do, it's just Cesc is a brilliant, fast mind that sees the whole story in his head in seconds, before executing it).

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I know you guys are bored of me saying this already but Fabregas is ridiculously slow, I've seen fat people running for the bus move quicker than him. And while he's excellent at making through balls his general passing really isn't that good.

So he can make excellent through balls but can't do simple passes... Hmm.

His general passing is more than fine. Some mistakes, sloppy and misplaced passes are to be expected when he expects his teammates do different things, since we play completely differently from Barcelona or even Arsenal.

He is pretty slow, you're right, but everyone has known it for ages, so I'm not sure why you bring it up. I doubt Jose failed to notice that he isn't a speed monster before signing him.

[Dion 2,476]

His general passing isn't that good?! Wow, just wow. I can't even...

He is slow, his general passing isn't that good and his dribbling, whilst not bad, isn't spectacular either. I'm thinking we may just have spent 30m on a slightly improved Mikel, silly board. If not his passing, what does he offer then?

[BlueLyon 9,359]

His every 10th pass is completely off, even if its the most simple one. It seems as he loses concentration here and there...

But apart from that he is better than I though he will be, well at least in the start. This is preseason though and now lets see how he does in fast Premier league.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

No offense but i don't think that's what Mourinho meant.

I think he meant that to get the best out of Fabregas we had to make our midfield 3 more fluid in the way they move.

He's not an 8 because at times he'll drop off and demand the ball from the CB's (like a 6 normally does) but he's not a 6 either because at times he'll be in a more advanced position inside the final third of the opposition (like an 8 normally does).

So not an 8 or a 6. The middleground is a "7". (this basically has nothing to do with the 7 winger position)

Mourinho just confirmed what the majority of us already knew, that Fabregas likes to both orchestrate attacks from deep but also likes to attack from a more advanced position and infiltrate the oppositions defence. (goal vs Ferencvaros)

Yup, basically that's what I thought, lol. Someone who could get and hold the ball, dribbling when needed, could pass, defend and going forward. What I mean 'a Ronaldo' is more on 'a freedom' given to Fabregas. Sorry, if I make it looks more complicated, lol.

[Barbara 15,149]

His every 10th pass is completely off, even if its the most simple one. It seems as he loses concentration here and there...

But apart from that he is better than I though he will be, well at least in the start. This is preseason though and now lets see how he does in fast Premier league.

are you aware that gives him a 90% in pass accuracy and that's still outstanding?

I don't understand people's instances on Cesc tbh. I understand and can even relate to those having a hard time accepting an ex-Arse skipper at the Bridge. It left a bitter taste in my mouth the first days of the speculation but I was sort of sold already when he was announced and one week later I've changed my favorite player from Hazard to him... That's me, Mrs. Adaptive. I know some people will take longer, especially given his history with Lamps. I get all that. I have a hard time understanding their interpretation of him technically. He has weaknesses just like the next guy, but they seemed a bit overestimated now and some of them don't even match the reality - as for example, the level of his pass. Short, long, easy, under pressure, he's a great passer, his stats state as much and in terms of pass stats don't lie much. Accuracy could be debatable, but in all honesty it isn't because unlike Mikel his passes aren't backwards and to side. He has the best through balls stats, one of the best assists stats - those two stats are 100% precise. There's no taking away from them, just as goals. I don't get how come he isn't a good passer with those stats (although my opinion on him isn't based on them, but they'll make do to backup my point here).

[Daniel1980 1,425]

are you aware that gives him a 90% in pass accuracy and that's still outstanding?

Probably not.

Iniesta - 90% pass accuracy

Pirlo - 88% pass accuracy

Silva - 88% pass accuracy

So they all misplace at least every tenth pass. It's perfectly normal--brilliant, actually.

There are a couple of people here who have an overly critical attitude towards Fabregas, criticizing him for ridiculous things and having some unrealistic expectations no player can meet. Give the guy a break ffs. He played very well yesterday and in preseason in general.

I know he played for Arsenal and was a smug little prick at times--I couldn't stand him either---but come on. He's a Chelsea player now.

[Styles 9,790]

Yeah he is slow but he thinks fast, we have Willian, Schurrle, Eden, Salah, Costa, Rami to compensate the pace of the team. No one has the passing ability of Cesc, playing him in the pivot will do wonders this season.

He isn't that slow but it doesn't matter, he sees the game a second ahead of everyone on the pitch.

His general passing isn't that good?

I think you're overestimating his slowness and I don't think you've watched Cesc Fàbregas enough (and I don't mean this in a patronizing or derogative way) if you say he isn't a general good passer... I'm surprised to read that...

I agree completely with Mourinho. He's the key we were missing in our puzzle (it's easy to talk about striker, because we played with only one last season - and that's summing all three we had together, meaning we had half of one with Samuel and a quarter of one with either Torres or Ba). He takes us to a new level. People label Mourinho as defensive all the time, but a team to afford, need and want a player of Cesc's caliber isn't a team defensive oriented. It's a team willing to take risks, to want to bring it to the next level. His speed on the ball and off the ball isn't that much important when we have a high press system that proved to work really well and players that can offer him cover. We have pace-y players to make runs to receive his balls, so he isn't missed there either. We missed a brain when we had a lot of muscles and a tad of geniality with Hazard, but Cesc is definitely the brain we've missed. We lost that with Mata and Mata didn't do it the way Cesc does (not better, not worse, just differently, although Cesc is way more versatile than Mata). Hazard can have his fun moments of a genius more freely now, there's someone behind him doing all the thinking. Schurrle can hopefully run and move smartly because there's someone to catch him. Oscar can share the burden of being creative (as it isn't natural to him) with someone else. (and for God's sake, I'm not even remotely implying Eden or any of our other AMs don't think, they do, it's just Cesc is a brilliant, fast mind that sees the whole story in his head in seconds, before executing it).

So he can make excellent through balls but can't do simple passes... Hmm.

His general passing is more than fine. Some mistakes, sloppy and misplaced passes are to be expected when he expects his teammates do different things, since we play completely differently from Barcelona or even Arsenal.

He is pretty slow, you're right, but everyone has known it for ages, so I'm not sure why you bring it up. I doubt Jose failed to notice that he isn't a speed monster before signing him.

OK, not another peep out of me on Fabregas. We will revist this again in a few months/end of the season. I hope he proves me wrong.