Cesc Fàbregas

[Special Juan 27,111]

Of course he was missed, he's been nothing but brilliant since he joined.

Such a clever footballer.

[xPetrCechx 13,548]

Of course he was missed, he's been nothing but brilliant since he joined.

Such a clever footballer.

the opposite from mikel and ramires.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Missed him dearly today.

[Yeboii 1,844]

Missed him dearly today.

Still got a 2-0 win so it wasn't that bad. We have showed that we can win without Costa, Fabregas and Hazard in the team this season!

[xPetrCechx 13,548]

Still got a 2-0 win so it wasn't that bad. We have showed that we can win without Costa, Fabregas and Hazard in the team this season!

all at the same time?

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Barca are creating nothing without him, since Iniesta and xavi has lost their creative spark. To think I wanted Rakitic instead of Fabregas

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Missed him dearly today.

Especially in the first half when both Matic and Mikel were painfully sloppy.

[Stats 6,988]

any news on the injury?

He's not injured. He was suspended for picking up his 5th yellow last game.

Bloody hell, You me frightened for a second until I got reassurance

[Barbara 15,149]

For me it doesn't matter we won 2-0 (I mean, of course it's the most important, but that's irrelevant for the argument I'll have. Let's not fool ourselves, currently Hull plays the worst football in the league after Liverpool), we were awful without him.

We looked disorganized at some spells and lost throughout most of the match, our midfield terribly sloppy, but mainly, no bite at all and the transition was even worse than last season's.

We relied on Cahill to keep having long range passes to Iva in the right - and they actually worked a couple of times. Mikel not surprisingly kept passing the ball backwards. When was the last time our GK has touched the ball so much in a match? To make matters worse, Cech has the horrible habit of roofing the damn ball, instead of passing to one of the back four, which means we constantly riffled the ball.

That's why I was damn pissed and I can't believe there are people stupid enough to say he's our weakest link... He's our most important player alongside Hazard.

Hazard bailed us today - which is a joy to watch because he should be winning us matches, but let's be honest here, Hull presented no resistance. They pressed well in the first half, which made our transition look like a Championship side, but other than that, they were toothless and their defensive system wasn't even that good.

So we barely managed to score a couple of goals against the team in the league that's in the worst form, we didn't threaten enough, we didn't convince, we didn't play well, we did nothing worth mentioning, unless we decide to talk about Hazard. Can you imagine if we lose Cesc in a slightly challenging match then? We're screwed.

I don't know if Cesc makes Matic play better or if Mikel makes him play worse, but that must have been the worst match Matic had for us since he came back. Sloppy, shaky, inconsistent, even stupid at times.

When the team doesn't know what to do with the ball to get it in the attack, we have Cesc presenting himself and at least trying to get something done. Oscar did it a few times today, but then he had to pass the ball to Mikel and everything went to fuckery.

André had two good chances, but nobody, not even once, found him running in the 10+ minutes he played.

We're almost dependent on Cesc playing for us, and although that's the highest praise a player could receive, it says a lot (negatively) about a team with the squad we have. Every time we play without Cesc this season will be a nightmare, so I hope it doesn't happen much.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

you just called the guy who's always showed he's hungry to win and who has 11 assists for us in the EPL the team weakest link...

that isn't even about having an opinion, that's just downright stupid. How can a guy that runs the most in the ENTIRE LEAGUE, tackles everywhere (he even led the statistic in one weekend) and continues to assist as crazy the weakest link? Sorry, it makes no sense.

I don't understand people that don't like him, but I accept it. Everyone can like whoever they want. But he improved us, his stats speak for himself. You can call him whatever shit you want, the weakest link isn't one of them. That's plain BS

Hm maybe I wasnt clear enough, but you then said you didnt even read the whole post, so dont know why even bother responding then...

I said Cesc in big game isnt same Cesc as in small games. In small game, he is fucking Pirlo, dictating tempo, starts every attack, makes assists etc. In big game, he is not Pirlo. He dissapears and is unable to dictate tempo. He oftenly cant handle opponent high pressing and gets dissposesed or makes wrong pass.

That said, he was key player for our team so far, making assists and everything. Against ManU or city, he quite dissapeared (not being bad player, but far from what he can do in small games), still made those assists though. But speaking purely from dictating the game and our play, he was no where near as good as he was against certain smaller sides. And I say that because you have Modric, Kroos, Schewini etc who play similar role for their teams and they perform similar, no matter the opponent. That allows their teams to rely on them and they will perform as they do usually. We have to alternate tactics in big games because Cesc doesnt turn up (he did made those assists, but so did Mata for example and wasnt enough). And when you have such player aka flat track bully, he can be quite liability in big games.

It will work in league, because there are many small teams who still give 3 points and we can just play on draw in big games, but CL is another story.

But you love Cesc and wont admit that, which I understand. Like I said, when we face Madrid, Bayern, Barca, Psg, Atletico etc...we will see who is right. I seriously hope it will be you, because I want us to succeed, but I have my doubts.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

I'm crying for a backup as good as Fabregas if he is unavailable for selection. And somebody please learned how to take a decent set pieces from him.

[Barbara 15,149]

Hm maybe I wasnt clear enough, but you then said you didnt even read the whole post, so dont know why even bother responding then...

I said Cesc in big game isnt same Cesc as in small games. In small game, he is fucking Pirlo, dictating tempo, starts every attack, makes assists etc. In big game, he is not Pirlo. He dissapears and is unable to dictate tempo. He oftenly cant handle opponent high pressing and gets dissposesed or makes wrong pass.

That said, he was key player for our team so far, making assists and everything. Against ManU or city, he quite dissapeared (not being bad player, but far from what he can do in small games), still made those assists though. But speaking purely from dictating the game and our play, he was no where near as good as he was against certain smaller sides. And I say that because you have Modric, Kroos, Schewini etc who play similar role for their teams and they perform similar, no matter the opponent. That allows their teams to rely on them and they will perform as they do usually. We have to alternate tactics in big games because Cesc doesnt turn up (he did made those assists, but so did Mata for example and wasnt enough). And when you have such player aka flat track bully, he can be quite liability in big games.

It will work in league, because there are many small teams who still give 3 points and we can just play on draw in big games, but CL is another story.

But you love Cesc and wont admit that, which I understand. Like I said, when we face Madrid, Bayern, Barca, Psg, Atletico etc...we will see who is right. I seriously hope it will be you, because I want us to succeed, but I have my doubts.

Well, I did bother to read this one, so there you go. I'll give you a lot of arguments of why you said something that makes absolutely 0 sense.

The weakest link can't be someone that according to you compromises in big matches when big matches don't represent even 20% of the matches we play in a season. Today was just the biggest proof of how much he influences positively our games.

Are you calling PSG big? Sorry, I know you're French and all, but they aren't anywhere a big team, they aren't good enough (major proof of that is that Mourinho said yesterday that if he could pick an opponent for the round of 16 in UCL it'd be PSG). Barça have been alternating ups and downs. The only teams that are either strongest or at the same level as us are Madrid, Bayern and maybe City.

Also Cesc isn't responsible and shouldn't be held accountable for how Mourinho sets the team against stronger sides (regardless if stronger than us, but stronger than average). And you realize what a contraction is to say he isn't good enough for the big games, despite assisting? You said it yourself, a guy who assisted our goals in the most difficult games we had in theory can't be the weakest link in the team.

Again, I had a problem with how far you took it. He isn't at all the weakest link the team, there's no angle you can make it work to defend your opinion and it has nothing to do with my undeniable love for Cesc. If you had said that he isn't good enough to play the big matches, I would have disagreed but I would have never answered to you. what you said makes no sense whatsoever.

Cesc wasn't brilliant in those two matches, I agree with you. The blame resides partially on him, but also partially on Mourinho. Mourinho is always going to play way too conservative in those matches, Cesc just becomes one of the sacrificed lambs. Against the Manchester teams we isolated Costa in the attack and tried to feed his runs, but we basically didn't create anything because the first priority to everyone that wasn't named Costa and Hazard in those games, was to defend. If Oscar and Willian were swamped with defensive responsibilities, being attacking midfielders, what do you think happened to Cesc, a pivot player? He could have done better, but he still assisted our goals, so I can't even complain much. I have more complaints about the system, our conservative approach than about Cesc. And I definitely don't believe the recurring myth that he can't perform in big games. Arsenal was never strong enough to face big teams, not Cesc's fault. Barcelona never suited his game and after everyone figured out how to stop their tiki taka and Xavi and Iniesta entered the descending years of their careers, Barça was just harmless - which isn't Cesc's fault either.

I'll accept that argument after he plays at least two seasons for us and consistently doesn't show up in those games, but as long as he's providing the assists for the goals we score on them, I can't accept it either. I can and will say he can do better, especially if Mourinho doesn't set up the team so defensively aware, but he has to underperform a lot more in MOST upcoming big games for at least two seasons, for me to have a fair sample and be inclined to accept this nonsense, because right now given the context he played for Barcelona and Arsenal, this myth that he can't play big matches is just that, nonsense of people that don't analyze all variables, don't understand the game tactically and are more than ready to jump every bandwagon that comes their way.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Well, I did bother to read this one, so there you go. I'll give you a lot of arguments of why you said something that makes absolutely 0 sense.

The weakest link can't be someone that according to you compromises in big matches when big matches don't represent even 20% of the matches we play in a season. Today was just the biggest proof of how much he influences positively our games.

Are you calling PSG big? Sorry, I know you're French and all, but they aren't anywhere a big team, they aren't good enough (major proof of that is that Mourinho said yesterday that if he could pick an opponent for the round of 16 in UCL it'd be PSG). Barça have been alternating ups and downs. The only teams that are either strongest or at the same level as us are Madrid, Bayern and maybe City.

Also Cesc isn't responsible and shouldn't be held accountable for how Mourinho sets the team against stronger sides (regardless if stronger than us, but stronger than average). And you realize what a contraction is to say he isn't good enough for the big games, despite assisting? You said it yourself, a guy who assisted our goals in the most difficult games we had in theory can't be the weakest link in the team.

Again, I had a problem with how far you took it. He isn't at all the weakest link the team, there's no angle you can make it work to defend your opinion and it has nothing to do with my undeniable love for Cesc. If you had said that he isn't good enough to play the big matches, I would have disagreed but I would have never answered to you. what you said makes no sense whatsoever.

Cesc wasn't brilliant in those two matches, I agree with you. The blame resides partially on him, but also partially on Mourinho. Mourinho is always going to play way too conservative in those matches, Cesc just becomes one of the sacrificed lambs. Against the Manchester teams we isolated Costa in the attack and tried to feed his runs, but we basically didn't create anything because the first priority to everyone that wasn't named Costa and Hazard in those games, was to defend. If Oscar and Willian were swamped with defensive responsibilities, being attacking midfielders, what do you think happened to Cesc, a pivot player? He could have done better, but he still assisted our goals, so I can't even complain much. I have more complaints about the system, our conservative approach than about Cesc. And I definitely don't believe the recurring myth that he can't perform in big games. Arsenal was never strong enough to face big teams, not Cesc's fault. Barcelona never suited his game and after everyone figured out how to stop their tiki taka and Xavi and Iniesta entered the descending years of their careers, Barça was just harmless - which isn't Cesc's fault either.

I'll accept that argument after he plays at least two seasons for us and consistently doesn't show up in those games, but as long as he's providing the assists for the goals we score on them, I can't accept it either. I can and will say he can do better, especially if Mourinho doesn't set up the team so defensively aware, but he has to underperform a lot more in MOST upcoming big games for at least two seasons, for me to have a fair sample and be inclined to accept this nonsense, because right now given the context he played for Barcelona and Arsenal, this myth that he can't play big matches is just that, nonsense of people that don't analyze all variables, don't understand the game tactically and are more than ready to jump every bandwagon that comes their way.

He is weak link in big games., not in small ones. If he makes assist, but allows our midfield to get overrun because he cant handle the pressure of opponent like he does in small games, he is weak link. There is a reason why he will most probably be given different role in big games. He is just incapable to handle his CM duty against big sides who put lot of pressure on him. It not all in statistics. Modric comes with almost none assists, but he does his job in midfield against whoever and that is where Madrid benefits. Cesc is decent at tracking, passing, etc but isnt near enough influental through 90mins in big games like he is in small ones. United overrun our midfield completely with fecking Fellaini. City was playing with man down, but we still couldnt establish control over them. Partly Mou tactics, but in those defensive tactics, Cesc isnt that instrumental either because he isnt running engine or excelent tackler (yes he has covered more ground than any other player in PL, but that is as misleading as stats can go)

Also I mentioned PSG, Barca etc because even though these are not biggest big sides in today football, he could, probably will struggle in those.

All that said, I like him anyway, and Mou knows he has role here but in big games he will probably be given #10 role with two more defensive players behind him, which means adjusting team when facing bigger teams. Does Madrid or Bayern adjust their teams in big games to accomodate their CM Modric or Schweinsteiger because they couldnt perform in same way as they do in small games? No. I believe we will only truly dominate world football if we will be able to play same tactics and same team in any game, no matter the opponent.

But when big game comes, I will hope you are right and Cesc kills it in midfield

Oh, and Im not french lol..Im from slovenia and nickname is more of coincidence (lyon is similar to lion, which was taken back then when I joined) rather than any personal love for france/lyon whatsoever. Though I like Lyon most among french clubs.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

DP

[Yeboii 1,844]

all at the same time?

Not that I remember, maybe. I meant individually though, throughout the season.

[iseah100 5,612]

In big games Cesc will be our weakest link.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I'm crying for a backup as good as Fabregas if he is unavailable for selection. And somebody please learned how to take a decent set pieces from him.

Actually, I thought Willian's delivery from the FKs was very good. Probably the only positive from his performance yesterday.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Actually, I thought Willian's delivery from the FKs was very good. Probably the only positive from his performance yesterday.

Might be as I don't pay too much attention on it, but I paid attention to every corner we had yesterday and it's all horrible imo. All almost went to near outside of penalty box, when Fabregas always sends it to near penalty spot.