Cesc Fàbregas

[bababoom 4,478]

Should we rest him against QPR? one more yellow card and he faces suspension which means he misses the Liverpool game...

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

Should we rest him against QPR? one more yellow card and he faces suspension which means he misses the Liverpool game...

And pair him with Ake for tomorrow? Not a bad idea

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Just play him tomorrow and tell him to get that tactical yellow card, easy stuff for Mou right?

[DYC. 7,542]

Kroos is "slow" and "immobile" as well and would have dominated that game yesterday. Still can't believe how shocking he was yesterday up against average footballers like Fellaini and Blind.

His minimal influence on the game affected the entire team.

Kroos is a completely different footballer. Simply put, Kroos is a Xavi type of player. A real midfield meastro. Fabregas is not. I don't know why people get annoyed with that statement, it's all about style. It does not make Fabregas a lesser player, it just makes him different. (The thing that makes Kroos special is his versatality though, he has the ability to adjust the way he plays. He was a completely different player under Heynckes, more Fabregas-esque).

But saying Kroos would have dominated is a 'bit too easy'. Real is so much better in possession than Chelsea, it's not even funny. The movement, the understanding between the players.. every touch is good, always turning into the right spaces, passing is precise, they remain calm under pressure. Their style is based on technique, possession and a high tempo/quick passing. Compare that with Chelsea's style. Powerful, disciplined, emphasis on counter-attacking. Chelsea dominate against lesser sides, of course, but that's because of the difference in quality.

And Kroos plays with Modric (very important like stroey said, just like when Xavi had Iniesta), James and Isco in midfield. All players strong in possession, all highly gifted technically. With Bale they're not as strong in possession but stronger on the break. Except for Hazard, Fabregas plays with Willian/Schurrle, Oscar, Matic, who don't compare in those aspects.

But even then, Fabregas' game is not the same as the likes of Xavi, Kroos, Scholes. He's like a classic #10 but he's not good in tight spaces. He's better when starting from deep positions, and then slowly moving up unmarked.

People will try to mark him out of the game. That's when either one of the attackers has to drop (Oscar tried but didn't do a good job this game) or one of the CBs should bring the ball out of defense (Cahill tries a couple times, but he's not that good on the ball).

I'm not heavily criticizing any of the players mentioned above or the team or Jose. It was a below par performance relative to the high expectations we've set so far but even so it wasn't so poor. Although, I would say one area we need to improve.

Zouma is highly rated but we need to also get (or promote) a proper quick ball playing CB for the future. Our CBs don't complement our defensive philosophy of high pressing. It's honestly a huge testament to the players and the coaching staff how good it's working. A more competent CB pairing will help considerably in controlling games too.

This is a controversial opinion but I think our CBs are holding back the full potential of this team. I'm not saying they are bad, Terry and Cahill have been fantastic but I don't think they fit the playing style Jose really wants.

Ugh I really wanted Benatia here.

This is true. But then again, Mourinho's Real had the right type of players yet they were never the most controlling side. A very counter-attacking side, pressing mostly in their own half or soaking up the pressure. I think it's safe to say Mourinho prefers it like this.

But yes, a ball-playing CB would help. I don't think Mou wants one though. I can see him getting a pacey CB though. Either that or Zouma will play a more prominant role. I do wonder wether he'll change his mind on Oscar and buy a playmaking #10. Doubt it though..

We can't forget this team will still do a lot growing though.

[chelseafc9010 224]

People saying it's an overreaction to one game, he was the same against Man City as well, less so against Arsenal but it is worrying. He seems poor on the ball under pressure in big matches.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

People saying it's an overreaction to one game, he was the same against Man City as well, less so against Arsenal but it is worrying. He seems poor on the ball under pressure in big matches.

No, he wasn't. We played too negatively against City, but in that game Cesc rarely put a foot wrong and was careful in possession and stayed focused throughout the game. Against Arsenal he was very good both defensively and offensively and was one of the most influential players on the pitch.

Even stats make it obvious:

Against United: 43 passes with 84% pass accuracy, 62 touches (very low for him, about the same amount of touches as Hazard, Matic, Luis, Cahill)

Against City: 66 passes with 87% pass accuracy, 81 touches (more touches than any other Chelsea player)

Against Arsenal: 70 passes with 89% pass accuracy, 89 touches (more touches than any player on the pitch)

The difference is glaring. He was far more influential and careful against City and Arsenal.

[chelseafc9010 224]

I'm not talking about his passing mainly, I'm talking about him being marked out of the game.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I'm not talking about his passing mainly, I'm talking about him being marked out of the game.

The amount of touches he had demonstrates the difference pretty well. The amount of touches he had against United is abnormally low for him--he was marked out of the game, and he wasn't marked out of the game against City and Arsenal.

[chelseafc9010 224]

The amount of touches he had demonstrates the difference pretty well. The amount of touches he had against United is abnormally low for him--he was marked out of the game, and he wasn't marked out of the game against City and Arsenal.

The touches against City were mostly passing to Terry and Cahill and back. He rarely ever had the ball with enough time to make the difference further up the pitch.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Just to throw this out there. One of Fabregas' weak points is that he doesn't have the close control and balls skills of a Modric, Iniesta, Gundogan or Xavi. It's sometimes difficult for him when the opposition gets in his face and puts pressure on him. Add that to his lack of quickness, it becomes a problem for him to shake off his marker. This is usually more apparent against higher quality sides who are far superior tactically to the smaller teams.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

I'm not talking about his passing mainly, I'm talking about him being marked out of the game.

I don't think he's been marked out of any game except yesterday. City he wasn't as influential simply because we played for a draw. Arsenal I thought he was good offensively and great defensively. Crystal Palace first half he was man marked first half and was poor but turned it around in the 2nd half.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

People saying it's an overreaction to one game, he was the same against Man City as well, less so against Arsenal but it is worrying. He seems poor on the ball under pressure in big matches.

Well that's one hell of an understatement. He won the official MOTM for that game!

[Daniel1980 1,425]

The touches against City were mostly passing to Terry and Cahill and back. He rarely ever had the ball with enough time to make the difference further up the pitch.

That has nothing to do with him being marked out of the game. He wasn't more marked out than any other Chelsea player. Against City we rarely went further up the pitch as a team.

Against United he was so well marked out of the game he couldn't even pass the ball to Terry and Cahill and back enough times.

Yes, he was sloppy and marked out of the game against United, but let's not rewrite history and pretend the same thing happened against City and Arsenal. It didn't.

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

Kroos is "slow" and "immobile" as well and would have dominated that game yesterday. Still can't believe how shocking he was yesterday up against average footballers like Fellaini and Blind.

His minimal influence on the game affected the entire team.

Took me a while to realise how different is to a Kroos, or pirlo or Alonso. They dictate play, Fabregas plays good give and go movements but is at his best when playing killer, which is something the aforementioned rarely do. Playing him deep in the pivot won't change that, a 4-3-3 is his beats position

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

You guys are overrating Kross imo. He's great at controlling play in a possession team but he's never looked good when the pace of the game increases or when he's pressed. He's been part of teams that always have 60% possession or more. Easy to ping balls around when you're always dominating and have loads of space and time.

Modric is the real beast. Him and Rakitic are probably the best complete CMs in the world on current form.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

You guys are overrating Kross imo. He's great at controlling play in a possession team but he's never looked good when the pace of the game increases or when he's pressed. He's been part of teams that always have 60% possession or more. Easy to ping balls around when you're always dominating and have loads of space and time.

Modric is the real beast. Him and Rakitic are probably the best complete CMs in the world on current form.

I agree on Kroos--he can be very nervous and sloppy under pressure--but disagree about Rakitic. I watch many Barcelona games, and he's a solid all-round midfielder, nothing more, with next to no creativity, and his passing isn't better than just above average.

[chelseafc9010 224]

I think Rakitic is overrated as well. Look at him in the El Classico he couldn't deal with the pressure, was poor on the ball with his passes, didn't really help Barca at all.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Thought he got better as the game went on but we have to give credit where it is due, Van Gaal had a really good game plan and his team executed the defensive instructions well.

From what I saw they man marked Cesc with Fellaini, Matic with Mata(lol he did okay though) and Blind on Oscar. That's why Hazard and Willian were afforded so much space down the flanks.

As good as Hazard was I thought he could've done more....

Cesc needed to get on the ball but only because we didn't make proper use of the space in the midfield. Hate to admit it but a ball playing defender like Luiz would've been useful here. If they're gonna hug Cesc so closely we need someone on the ball from deep who can distribute the ball.

He's not gonna zig zag and run away from defenders to get himself in position to receive the ball, we just have to be better at utilizing the space available

just my opinion of course.