Diego Costa

[Rmpr 8,977]

Some Brazilians are very biased against Costa and I think I know why

It's understandable though.

Good way to try prove a point. Very rational. Your football knowledges are impressive!

Anyways, I dont need to pretend to like him in order to have an unbiased opinion. I hate Diego Costa and it is not because of it that my judgement on his ability will change.

People in these forums know me well enough. My love and hate situation with some players are very strong, but I have never allowed it to cloud my thoughts. I absolutely dispise Luis Suarez, but I have constantly praised him during those past seasons. I love David and Oscar, but it hasnt stopped me from heavily criticizing their 2014 performances. The same with Neymar whom I like and Messi whom I dont like. Etc.

[Rmpr 8,977]

It's not a bad deal at all. We need a half decent striker that can actually finish. Diego Costa fits that position. The reason for all the hype is because we haven't had a competent striker since 2012. People are getting excited, the English media are all over it to put pressure on us etc. If we were to sign Costa as well as 4 other players for price tags of +30 million, nobody would even notice him. I find the players that get overlooked by the media in the transfer window are always much better off. Pressure is a cunt. .

If he meets the least of the expectations I agree.

Like I said, he is not my cup of tea (nor the type of player who would fit the team imo), but as long as he scores the goals we need I am happy!

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

This goal scoring record is the real myth. His goal scoring (which wasnt even that great to begin with) doesnt tell everything about his football. It is just one stat amongst many others!

Lukaku has had a great goal scoring record for the past two seasons (playing in a way weaker team in a way tougher division), but that doesnt mean he had great seasons. There were many times he was simply unplayable and many Everton fans review his season as mediocrer or alright at best.

Lukaku hasn't had two great seasons? And then you contradict yourself to downplay Costa's goalscoring record.

Everton fans view his season as mediocre? These Everton fans? http://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/lukaku-to-spurs.66225/ They are desperate for him to stay.

Anyway, I don't want to turn it into a back and forth. You are a mod nowadays and I'm sure you have other things to do.

I respect your opinions even though I completely disagree with almost all of it.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

If he meets the least of the expectations I agree.

Like I said, he is not my cup of tea (nor the type of player who would fit the team imo), but as long as he scores the goals we need I am happy!

okay you've clearly highlighted that Costa won't fit in this team now do you mind throwing out some names as to who you think would ideally satisfy our needs por favor?

[Rmpr 8,977]

Lukaku hasn't had two great seasons? And then you contradict yourself to downplay Costa's goalscoring record.

Everton fans view his season as mediocre? These Everton fans? http://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/lukaku-to-spurs.66225/ They are desperate for him to stay.

No, I am just saying because their goal scoring records were good it doesnt automatically mean they had a good season. If you read most of the posts in that Everton forum you will see plenty of complaints and I say PLENTY with capital letters! However, they want him to stay because he is their only option, basically the only good striker they can dream of signing.

I am also not trying to downgrade Diego (no, not the other Diego, lol), I definitely think he is one of the top 10-15 strikers in the world. But I am honestly not sold. I trust he can score and wont miss many sitters (if any), though I feel he is not what we need as a team.

Anyway, I don't want to turn it into a back and forth. You are a mod nowadays and I'm sure you have other things to do.

I respect your opinions even though I completely disagree with almost all of it.

Until the discussion is productive and both are posting valid arguments, I believe this respectfull civilised back and forth is exactly what this site needs. It used to have it all the time and it was incredible!

It used to instigate debate and spread people football IQs throughout the various threads so everybody could always learn something or participate in a nice debate every so often...

Nowadays I see way too many nit picking and name calling and way too little actual football discussion!

[Rmpr 8,977]

okay you've clearly highlighted that Costa won't fit in this team now do you mind throwing out some names as to who you think would ideally satisfy our needs por favor?

Personally, no one available!

I am not criticizing the club for going after him because I understand the situation we are in. He is basically the only good striker left in the whole market.

It is the famous case of "I dont know what I want but I know what I dont want".

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I'll like to say that even though the likes of Ibrahimovic, Suarez, Aguero and van Persie are more technically gifted than Diego Costa, no striker in the world combines height, brute strength and lightening pace as Diego Costa does. Strikers are world class in different ways and those three things are essential for a target man in a counter-attacking team like Atletico and us even more so than technique. And is not like Costa is shit technically. He is more than good enough but not exceptional like those guys.

If I could get a pick of all WC strikers in the world, the only one I might consider picking ahead of Costa is Kun Aguero. But I'm not sure even he will like to play upfront on his own regularly in a league as physical as the PL.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Personally, no one available!

I am not criticizing the club for going after him because I understand the situation we are in. He is basically the only good striker left in the whole market.

It is the famous case of "I dont know what I want but I know what I dont want".

Well thankfully the decision makers at the club do know what they want and their record has been impeccable over the last 3 yrs. Costa isn't gonna solve all of our needs but he does address a fair few of them. This is a squad of 23 players not 11, Jose knows what type of striker we need to accompany someone like Lukaku or Costa, its why he pursued Rooney and why we ended up with Eto'o as a stop gap. I don't think the acquisition of Costa means we answered our striking needs it just ticks off one of the requirements.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Well thankfully the decision makers at the club do know what they want and their record has been impeccable over the last 3 yrs. Costa isn't gonna solve all of our needs but he does address a fair few of them. This is a squad of 23 players not 11, Jose knows what type of striker we need to accompany someone like Lukaku or Costa, its why he pursued Rooney and why we ended up with Eto'o as a stop gap. I don't think the acquisition of Costa means we answered our striking needs it just ticks off one of the requirements.

They're the ones that got us into this problem in the first place if you think about it! It's simply unacceptable that one of the richest clubs in the world goes into two back to back season with

(1) Torres as its only recognized striker then panic buy of average Ba in January (in 2012/13)

(2) Torres, Ba and past it Eto'o (2013/14)

Simply unacceptable. What were we expecting? To win the league and CL with that lot? Only if you have Jesus as your manager! No wonder we only have 1 measly Europa league in the last 2 seasons.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

They're the ones that got us into this problem in the first place if you think about it! It's simply unacceptable that one of the richest clubs in the world goes into two back to back season with

(1) Torres as its only recognized striker (in 2012/13)

(2) Torres, Ba and past it Eto'o

Simply unacceptable. What were we expecting? To win the league and CL with that lot? Only is you have Jesus as your manager! No wonder we only have 1 measly Europa league in the last 2 seasons.

in buying the right players.

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

People saying Costa wont flop because he has attitude and is different than Torres. Where did you all come to that conclusion?

Yes, he is different than Torres and he shows desire and guts, but it doesnt mean he wont flop because of that. I see a good in form striker, not a great one. He is not very technical and he doesnt have many tools at his disposal, he does only the basic (he does it very well, but still). I can see some EPL teams being able to shut him down!

In my opinion we needed someone more skilled who can also help in the build up and/or change position with our wingers from time to time. Similar to what Suarez does in Liverpool...

Oh well, I hope I am wrong and that Diego Costa (gotta stop calling him Diego Cunt now) scores 30 goals next season to shut my mouth!

Costa is more than a battering ram like some people have claimed.

He does have very good technical ability, he doesn't just do 'the basics' as you call it lol. You said on the next page you've watched all the Atletico games this season but still you make such a ridiculous claim that he just does the 'basics'?

He is a good dribbler, ok hes not Luis Suarez or Messi but still a good dribbler, sure at times he might hold onto it a bit much but thats nothing to do with the technical aspects of his game, just greed. Still he manages to draw a lot of fouls, averaging 3.4 per game, he's won 116 fouls in total in La Liga. More than all of our strikers, more than Eden (surprisingly), Willian and the rest of them.

He makes on average 1.3 key passes per game in a reactive counter attacking team which is more than all of our forwards. The same as Oscar. Only Hazard and Willian in our team make more key passes per game than him actually. Sure he only has 4 assists in La Liga (again more than Oscar and also Willian) but still 1.3 key passes per game is the same as our so called best #10 and only bettered by Hazard and Willian, I think that shows him off more than someone who does the basics as you said. According to Squawka he created 45 chances in 34 appearances, 3 less than Oscar, just under half of what Hazard created and less than Willian..

Also on his technique? Remember when he scored an overhead kick and was more than comfortable trying it against us while under pressure as well as a few other times in La Liga? Yeah 'not very technical' I doubt that very much.

I think this stats show he isn't just a striker who can do the basics. Hes a very good rounded player to be perfectly honest, blessed with good technique and great physical attributes as well and someone who claimed to have watched all of Atletico's games this season would have seen that surely?

I agree though sure he isn't a great striker as I don't feel there are very many these days but hes a hell of a player in his own right.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Well thankfully the decision makers at the club do know what they want and their record has been impeccable over the last 3 yrs. Costa isn't gonna solve all of our needs but he does address a fair few of them. This is a squad of 23 players not 11, Jose knows what type of striker we need to accompany someone like Lukaku or Costa, its why he pursued Rooney and why we ended up with Eto'o as a stop gap. I don't think the acquisition of Costa means we answered our striking needs it just ticks off one of the requirements.

Wow, really? Impecable over the last 3 years?

Where is the DM/CM partnership everybody knew we needed since God knows when? Oh yeah, one of them arrived six months ago and the other we are still looking for. Where is our balanced attacking trio? Not even Jose has figured it out and look at the gigantic expeculation there is for even more changes for next season in a position we've already spent hundreds of millions on. Where is the ST we have been needing since Anelka left and Torres proved to be a flop? Wait, we are talking exactly about him and only because we passed on a numbers of available (a better) strikers in the last couple of seasons. LB anyone?

Please, dont act like I dont know a shit of what I am talking about and the demigods at the board do everything right. Not that I am an expert, but I do write based on what I see and I what I see is that our club makes as many hits and fails as any other big club!

I think any person on this forum has the right to question what the club is doing. Isnt why we are here afterall? Imagine if all we had was robots aplauding everything the club/player/managers do. This place would be a nightmare!

I am only here stating I do have some big doubts over Costa. Time will tell if I was right or not. The difference is I will have a big smile in my face if I end up being wrong and the pleasure of saying I was told you so if he flops. So either way I win!

[Rmpr 8,977]

Costa is more than a battering ram like some people have claimed.

He does have very good technical ability, he doesn't just do 'the basics' as you call it lol. You said on the next page you've watched all the Atletico games this season but still you make such a ridiculous claim that he just does the 'basics'?

He is a good dribbler, ok hes not Luis Suarez or Messi but still a good dribbler, sure at times he might hold onto it a bit much but thats nothing to do with the technical aspects of his game, just greed. Still he manages to draw a lot of fouls, averaging 3.4 per game, he's won 116 fouls in total in La Liga. More than all of our strikers, more than Eden (surprisingly), Willian and the rest of them.

He makes on average 1.3 key passes per game in a reactive counter attacking team which is more than all of our forwards. The same as Oscar. Only Hazard and Willian in our team make more key passes per game than him actually. Sure he only has 4 assists in La Liga (again more than Oscar and also Willian) but still 1.3 key passes per game is the same as our so called best #10 and only bettered by Hazard and Willian, I think that shows him off more than someone who does the basics as you said. According to Squawka he created 45 chances in 34 appearances, 3 less than Oscar, just under half of what Hazard created and less than Willian..

Also on his technique? Remember when he scored an overhead kick and was more than comfortable trying it against us while under pressure as well as a few other times in La Liga? Yeah 'not very technical' I doubt that very much.

I think this stats show he isn't just a striker who can do the basics. Hes a very good rounded player to be perfectly honest, blessed with good technique and great physical attributes as well and someone who claimed to have watched all of Atletico's games this season would have seen that surely?

I agree though sure he isn't a great striker as I don't feel there are very many these days but hes a hell of a player in his own right.

Ok, I disagree with some points and agree with others, but fair enough!

The thing is I do want Costa to be as good as you portray and I do want to have misjudged him. The best thing that can happen is for us to finally have a top striker once again. I will be very happy if he end up being better than what I expect.

However, I also believe I am entiled to maintain my doubts until he proves me wrong. There is something in the way he plays that doesnt please me...

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Wow, really? Impecable over the last 3 years?

Where is the DM/CM partnership everybody knew we needed since God knows when? Oh yeah, one of them arrived six months ago and the other we are still looking for. Where is our balanced attacking trio? Not even Jose has figured it out and look at the gigantic expeculation there is for even more changes for next season in a position we've already spent hundreds of millions on. Where is the ST we have been needing since Anelka left and Torres proved to be a flop? Wait, we are talking exactly about him and only because we passed on a numbers of available (a better) strikers in the last couple of seasons. LB anyone?

Please, dont act like I dont know a shit of what I am talking about and the demigods at the board do everything right. Not that I am an expert, but I do write based on what I see and I what I see is that our club makes as many hits and fails as any other big club!

I think any person on this forum has the right to question what the club is doing. Isnt why we are here afterall? Imagine if all we had was robots aplauding everything the club/player/managers do. This place would be a nightmare!

I am only here stating I do have some big doubts over Costa. Time will tell if I was right or not. The difference is I will have a big smile in my face if I end up being wrong and the pleasure of saying I was told you so if he flops. So either way I win!

Not as easy as just buying especially under FFP. We had Lamps, Essien, Mikel, Ramires etc under contract and most of them were bought to play 4-3-3 not 4-2-3-1. Besides I wasn't speaking about what we haven't bought but more to who we have. There haven't been many duds when Chelsea set out to buy someone.

Anyways you may think you know what the club needs and to be quite frank you are entitled to your opinion but as spectators, not the decision makers, you need to understand that acquiring players isn't as easy as identifying a player and signing him. The Prem has strict Visa rules and also cannot engage in any 3rd party deals not to mention we have a squad of 23 men not 33 more often someone has to leave before someone comes in and with Chelsea's wages its extremely hard to move contracted players and make room for new ones... Not to mention agents and whether or no the player even wants to come here.

Just be patient, a couple years in the life of a football club is nothing. Don't expect everything to be resolved in one fail swoop, in time things will all be done accordingly. Jose and the board know what they're doing, give them the time and space to operate under these new constraints is all I'm saying.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]