Cesc Fàbregas

[The Skipper 20,593]

Another effective runner added to the team with the Remy signing hopefully.

He'll have a lot of guys to pick out. Wasn't kidding when I said he could possibly be PFA player of the year because the team mechanics suit him beautifully.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

First game for Chelsea as the #10. Didn't like that he was caught on the ball a few times, but he didn't make as many mistakes as Ramires and Matic, though it doesn't really say much, considering how sloppy they were. Defensively, it was very far from a flawless performance by Cesc and the other midfielders. It was obvious that physically it was a very hard game for him--a few times he practically stopped walking to catch his breath. Yep, it's not La Liga, Cesc.

But I have to say our midfield looked far more disorganized and poor in possession than when we played Matic-Cesc in the pivot. Ramires-Matic was supposed to bring more stability and make us stronger defensively, but the opposite happened. Matic-Cesc-Oscar was far more balanced, and Cesc allowed us to slow the game and control possession when he played in the pivot. It can be argued that Everton is simply a better team than the other two, but while it's true, Leicester is a pretty good team too(they had a draw against Everton). Some said Cesc played it too safe against Leicester, but his incredibly accurate pass distribution allowed us to slow the game and control the midfield in that match. Today with Matic and Ramires responsible for the ball distribution we were very poor in possession and it made everyone nervous and caused more mistakes by pretty much everyone.

That said, the few mistakes aside, Cesc made a few defence-splitting passes and created more chances than any other Chelsea player in this game. Right now he and Sigurdsson have most assists in Europe: 4 assists in 3 games. As expected, Cesc is also leading the through-ball chart: 4 accurate through balls in 3 games. (Costa is also the top scorer in Europe with his 4 goals.)

All in all, our new signings have been very influential for us.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Difference for him now compared to his Arsenal and Barcelona days are that

1. Compared to the Arsenal team, he isn't rely upon solely as the creator anymore. For example if he played for Arsenal last week I think they would still have drew 2-2 as he wouldn't have helped them much with the goals conceded. Same with today, he only contributed that very early assist for Costa but then had a normal, not amazing game anymore. That is when the other members such as Hazard, Matic, Ramires and Costa step in for the team. So he was right when he said it was 'easy' to play for Chelsea, perfectly suited for someone like him where the pressure isn't as much as at Arsenal or Barca. If he had a bad game we could have brought on Salah or Schurrle or Oscar if he was fit.

2. At Barcelona we all know why, Xavi/Iniesta shadow, false 9...etc and generally a bit of politic stuff as well. Also they went through so much effort they probably expected him to be Messi in assists, which despite his incredible skill could never happen really so again it was an issue with expectations.

Now lets say he repeats that dry run after Jan like he did at Barcelona, we don't have to worry because the others mentioned above will step up, people like Oscar...etc who has been quiet so far. He is really in the perfect team for him to express himself and do his best without having to worry about anything.

[Jase 43,479]

3 games in and Fabregas has already got 4 league assists this season. Only Sigurdsson can match it right now. Lamela and Ramires joint second highest with 2.

[Chelsea? 892]

think we might switch to 433 if our defense continues to be this poor

[didierforever 7,349]

i just watched what happened after the 3rd goal.

costa abuses coleman, howard does not take that well and runs towards costa.

what is weird is the reactions of the players around costa when howard and costa go head to head.

azpi who is hugging costa goes right into the fray.

rambo who is atleast 10-15 meters away, sees the altercation and start running towards it. right into the fray, pushing and shoving.

fabregas who was with costa all thru this time, sees howard and costa fighting, turns around and grabs the ball that was thrown by costa.

however great a player cesc is, he will never be proper chels. thats why never iked the idea of people wanting him as our captain.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

i just watched what happened after the 3rd goal.

costa abuses coleman, howard does not take that well and runs towards costa.

what is weird is the reactions of the players around costa when howard and costa go head to head.

azpi who is hugging costa goes right into the fray.

rambo who is atleast 10-15 meters away, sees the altercation and start running towards it. right into the fray, pushing and shoving.

fabregas who was with costa all thru this time, sees howard and costa fighting, turns around and grabs the ball that was thrown by costa.

however great a player cesc is, he will never be proper chels. thats why never iked the idea of people wanting him as our captain.

Did it occur to you that he simply might not have liked that Costa abused Coleman and that's why he didn't want to be part of that? Frankly, it was a dick thing to do--and stupid--by Costa. He shouldn't have done that.

There have been plenty of occasions both in preseason and this season when Cesc was very quick to defend a teammate. I remember when Costa was about to receive his first yellow card, Cesc was the first to go to the referee to defend Diego. When Fabregas thinks he's right, he's louder than anyone when he defends a teammate. I love Costa, but he wasn't right there and such dick behavior might cost us.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Did it occur to you that he simply might not have liked that Costa abused Coleman and that's why he didn't want to be part of that? Frankly, it was a dick thing to do--and stupid--by Costa. He shouldn't have done that.

There have been plenty of occasions both in preseason and this season when Cesc was very quick to defend a teammate. I remember when Costa was about to receive his first yellow card, Cesc was the first to go to the referee to defend Diego. When Cesc thinks he's right, he's always louder than anyone when he defends a teammate.

After the goal, Fabregas actually turns and celebrates with the Chelsea fans who are seated in the stand the cameras are situated in. Then he picks the ball up and actually pulls Costa away from the melee to calm him down, which is exactly what he needed.

Think some people are making mountains out of molehills. I remember some people saying another player who spent 8 years at Arsenal before joining us in his mid-20s would never be 'proper Chelsea'.

[didierforever 7,349]

Did it occur to you that he simply might not have liked that Costa abused Coleman and that's why he didn't want to be part of that? Frankly, it was a dick thing to do--and stupid--by Costa. He shouldn't have done that.

There have been plenty of occasions both in preseason and this season when Cesc was very quick to defend a teammate. I remember when Costa was about to receive his first yellow card, Cesc was the first to go to the referee to defend Diego. When Fabregas thinks he's right, he's always louder than anyone when he defends a teammate. I love Costa, but he wasn't right there and such dick behavior might cost us.

look at it properly. cesc sees howard and a couple more evertonians coming costa's way. turns, picks the ball and after azpi and rambo join the fray, then he joins. if he had wanted to remove costa from the fray, he could have done from the start. he simply dint. it was a weird reaction from cesc anyways you want to put.

as for costa, well, let's ignore the fact that Seamus Coleman was doing his best to get Diego Costa booked all match, finally getting the striker to snap a little before the own goal. also, he just mocked coleman, whats wrong with that. tit for tat. thats what makes him costa. a fighter, a beast.

[zolayes 14,489]

I was delighted when we signed Cesc . Im even more happy about it now ,

still some will find something petty to blame him for.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

didierforever, on 31 Aug 2014 - 1:26 PM, said:

look at it properly. cesc sees howard and a couple more evertonians coming costa's way. turns, picks the ball and after azpi and rambo join the fray, then he joins. if he had wanted to remove costa from the fray, he could have done from the start. he simply dint. it was a weird reaction from cesc anyways you want to put.

as for costa, well, let's ignore the fact that Seamus Coleman was doing his best to get Diego Costa booked all match, finally getting the striker to snap a little before the own goal. also, he just mocked coleman, whats wrong with that. tit for tat. thats what makes him costa. a fighter, a beast.

I think it's pretty clear why he didn't join immediately: being actually next to Costa, he heard what he said to Coleman and felt uncomfortable because of that. At least he looked pretty uncomfortable to me. Other guys who ran to Costa's defence probably hadn't even heard what Costa said. Whatever you say, Costa was a cunt there. If you think there's nothing wrong with mocking and taunting someone, well...

Diego is the one who should be blamed for that incident. Cesc isn't exactly an angel himself, so to make him uncomfortable Costa must have been a total arsehole there. Anyway, you're really making mountains out of molehills. In all other incidents, Cesc has demonstrated that he's very committed to defending his teammates. Costa simply didn't deserve it there, tbh.

[didierforever 7,349]

I think it's pretty clear why he didn't join immediately: being actually next to Costa, he heard what he said to Coleman and felt uncomfortable by that. His body language is very obvious. Other guys who ran to Costa's defence probably hadn't even heard what Costa said. Whatever you say, Costa was a cunt there. If you think there's nothing wrong with mocking and taunting someone, well...

Diego is the one who should be blamed for that incident, not Cesc. Cesc isn't exactly an angel himself, so to make him uncomfortable Costa must have been a total arsehole there. Anyway, you're really making mountains out of molehills. In all other incidents, Cesc has demonstrated that he's very committed to defending his teammates. Costa simply didn't deserve it there, tbh.

i am not making a mountain out of a molehill.

all i did was make an observation. (people seriously get very defensive about their favourites on here).

i used to be the captain of my university in cricket. and the first thing told to me was stick together no matter what. show a united front. you can talk to the instigator later in the dressing room. but on the field, specially in the face of an altercation you have to support your teammate irrespective of if he deserved it or not.

[sainttourist 68]

Don't know why everybody still think we play with AM and DMs, for me it looks like more three in CM. We have more all round midfielders then specialists in certain area, look at stats Rami have 2 assist and goal, Matic also goal + assist. They doesn't stay back for cover like it were before, now they all have permission to go forward, it is harder, they need to look each other for cover, but it brings more options in attack. I think with time they get better understanding and it will bring team to next level.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Howard comes running out moaning but literally at the split second he goes for Costa, Fabregas turns his head. As soon as he turns back around and sees Costa and Howard he pulls Costa (who is already on a booking) away. He does the right thing. Anyway, that's far too much time spent talking about a complete non-incident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-MGbWwyoSo

[Daniel1980 1,425]

i am not making a mountain out of a molehill.

all i did was make an observation. (people seriously get very defensive about their favourites on here).

i used to be the captain of my university in cricket. and the first thing told to me was stick together no matter what. show a united front. you can talk to the instigator later in the dressing room. but on the field, specially in the face of an altercation you have to support your teammate irrespective of if he deserved it or not.

You are making a mountain out of a molehill. You're making a fuss over nothing because Cesc didn't immediately defend his teammate who taunted and insulted another player. Cesc did pull Costa away, which was the right thing to do. If you want to blame someone for the incident, blame Costa for being a dick and getting a silly yellow.

[lucio 5,418]

100% non incident. not worth talking about

[The Skipper 20,593]

Didierforever doesn't like Cesc anyway, so I'm not surprised he's trying to pick apart such a non issue. Sounds like an opposition fan sometimes.

[Polo7 3,496]

i am not making a mountain out of a molehill.

all i did was make an observation. (people seriously get very defensive about their favourites on here).

i used to be the captain of my university in cricket. and the first thing told to me was stick together no matter what. show a united front. you can talk to the instigator later in the dressing room. but on the field, specially in the face of an altercation you have to support your teammate irrespective of if he deserved it or not.

What are you on about? Makes absolutely no sense. Even when we win some "fans" try to find something negative.