Official Chelsea FC Thread

treiz · Post #1141 » by **treiz** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 6:25 pm

It's so sad that Cuadrado couldn't become good, I had such high hopes. Wish him well when he leaves, really pleased about Pedro though, I'm gonna be a lot more reserved this time around.

To be fair, Willian was supposed to be our right wing with Oscar in the middle, but he just became so important for us that we needed him in the middle and with Iva getting caught out down the wing constantly it just made the team unbalanced. Still think Oscar could have a big year for us this year letting Willian stay down the right.

Post #1142 » by **fatlever** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 7:32 pm

Agreed about Oscar and Willian. Ideally they are still the 1st choice pairing at those two spots - CAM and RAM.

That being said, I am looking forward to the day that Oscar starts getting more minutes in the pivot. I think that might be his best spot down the road. Matic/Oscar pivot makes me smile. Oscar can bring the passing that Cesc brings, but is is much better defensively. And with Willian at CAM you don't lose the pressing that Oscar give you at CAM.

Even better, Pedro's arrive wakes Cesc up from his 6 month nap and we have even more options playing at a high level.

Post #1143 » by **5DOM** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 9:31 pm

fatlever wrote:Pedro is coming!!! Thank god that means no more Cuadrado and hopefully much less Ramires.

The right wing/right attacking mid spot at Chelsea is just one big revolving door.

Trying to count how many players have played at right wing in the last 3-4 years
Pedro (soon)
Ramires
Willian
Oscar
Cuadrado
Salah
Mata
Schurrle
De Brunye
Marin
Moses

Am I forgetting anyone?

I hope Kenedy gets a chance. Really like his potential.

Lakers415 · Post #1144 » by **Lakers415** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 2:56 am

fatlever wrote:Agreed about Oscar and Willian. Ideally they are still the 1st choice pairing at those two spots - CAM and RAM.

That being said, I am looking forward to the day that Oscar starts getting more minutes in the pivot. I think that might be his best spot down the road. Matic/Oscar pivot makes me smile. Oscar can bring the passing that Cesc brings, but is is much better defensively. And with Willian at CAM you don't lose the pressing that Oscar give you at CAM.

Even better, Pedro's arrive wakes Cesc up from his 6 month nap and we have even more options playing at a high level.

Cesc is a signifcantly better passer than Oscar...Probably the best passer along with ozil (for short passing mainly and thru balls) in the EPL...

Post #1145 » by **fatlever** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 3:37 am

When Cesc is on, yes, he is better. However, Cesc has been struggling big time since the middle of last year. He wen't thru stretches at the end of last season where it felt like he could barely complete a basic pass.

When you need to unlock a defense that is sitting back, then Cesc is your guy. When you need to not get overrun in the midfield by a team like Man City, I'd argue that perhaps he is not the best option.

Post #1146 » by **5DOM** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:09 am

We should just play them both:

Hazard-Costa-Pedro
Fabregas-Matic-Oscar
Baba-2 CB's-Azpi
Courtois

Oscar's probably our best defensive non-holding midfielder anyway.

Foye · Post #1147 » by **Foye** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 12:03 pm

5DOM wrote:We should just play them both:

Hazard-Costa-Pedro
Fabregas-Matic-Oscar
Baba-2 CB's-Azpi
Courtois

Oscar's probably our best defensive non-holding midfielder anyway.

Baba wont be a starter right away. A year ago he was a second league player. Its unlikely he directly impresses at Chelsea imo. It will probably take him a year to really adapt to a top team.

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Post #1148 » by **fatlever** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 6:41 pm

treiz · Post #1149 » by **treiz** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 1:25 pm

fatlever wrote:Agreed about Oscar and Willian. Ideally they are still the 1st choice pairing at those two spots - CAM and RAM.

That being said, I am looking forward to the day that Oscar starts getting more minutes in the pivot. I think that might be his best spot down the road. Matic/Oscar pivot makes me smile. Oscar can bring the passing that Cesc brings, but is is much better defensively. And with Willian at CAM you don't lose the pressing that Oscar give you at CAM.

Even better, Pedro's arrive wakes Cesc up from his 6 month nap and we have even more options playing at a high level.

Problem with that is, Cesc is so much better when he's got a lot of space in front of him, which is why I feel Jose persists on having him play next to Matic. Not saying he can't play the no.10 role, but he's just better when he collects the ball from the halfway line and is able to turn and survey the field, there's a lot less space to do that when pushed further forward.

Just hope Oscar can come back ASAP, I do feel like with him back we should run more of a 4-3-3 as opposed to a 4-2-3-1, have Matic stay back at all times and have Cesc and Oscar rotate between who facilitates and who goes forward. I do agree about Pedro though, having somebody as direct as him can be a positive for Cesc, sort of what I was hoping for with Cuadrado.

Foye wrote:
Baba wont be a starter right away. A year ago he was a second league player. Its unlikely he directly impresses at Chelsea imo. It will probably take him a year to really adapt to a top team.

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I certainly hope not, because this would mean that Iva has completely fallen off a cliff. What I would do to get Bertrand back :lol:

Post #1150 » by **fatlever** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:48 pm

I am very curious to see who gets the starts this weekend.

Both Oscar and Moses are most likely out. Assuming Jose keeps the Matic/Cesc pairing in the pivot, who will join Hazard and Willian in the attacking band of 3? Will the ineffective Ramires be given another chance (please no)? Will Pedro get the start after only two days of training? Or will Cuadrado get another chance to increase his transfer value? Longshot, perhaps Remy or Falcao are deployed out wide. Or will Cesc move to #10 with Ramires, Mikel or RLC moving into the pivot? I'd vote for giving Pedro the start. He's good enough to figure it out.

Does Jose make any changes with the back four? Terry was subbed off at halftime for Zouma in order to get some speed. Cahill has a broken nose and Ivanovic has been awful in the first two games. I'd at least start Zouma for Cahill, with Ivanovic on a short leash.

My lineup

---------Courtois
Ivan Zouma Terry Azpi
-----Cesc------Matic
Pedro--Willian--Hazard
---------Costa

DD12 · Post #1151 » by **DD12** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:22 pm

fatlever wrote:When Cesc is on, yes, he is better. However, Cesc has been struggling big time since the middle of last year. He wen't thru stretches at the end of last season where it felt like he could barely complete a basic pass.

When you need to unlock a defense that is sitting back, then Cesc is your guy. When you need to not get overrun in the midfield by a team like Man City, I'd argue that perhaps he is not the best option.

No he is not. Oscar is superior to Fabregas in every single skill set in my opinion.

J-Mezzy · Post #1152 » by **J-Mezzy** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:29 pm

Is Pedro's work rate high enough to pay RW for Jose?

Post #1153 » by **fatlever** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:22 pm

DD12 wrote:
fatlever wrote:When Cesc is on, yes, he is better. However, Cesc has been struggling big time since the middle of last year. He wen't thru stretches at the end of last season where it felt like he could barely complete a basic pass.

When you need to unlock a defense that is sitting back, then Cesc is your guy. When you need to not get overrun in the midfield by a team like Man City, I'd argue that perhaps he is not the best option.

No he is not. Oscar is superior to Fabregas in every single skill set in my opinion.

Not sure if there is a misunderstanding or not. I was only talking about Cesc being a better passer than Oscar (when Cesc is on - like early last season), not a better player. I'd take Oscar over Cesc 10 times out of 10. Passing is the only area where I would give the nod to Cesc.

Post #1154 » by **fatlever** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:23 pm

Pogba rumors heating up again...

J-Mezzy · Post #1155 » by **J-Mezzy** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:32 pm

Yes to Pogba, but I doubt Juve sells this late in the transfer window

treiz · Post #1156 » by **treiz** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:13 pm

J-Mezzy wrote:Is Pedro's work rate high enough to pay RW for Jose?

He's got the energy and directness as well as (and this is key) a willingness to stay out wide, he played for Barcelona and Spain so you certainly have to hope he'd have the work rate to press from the front.

Can't imagine him starting tomorrow though, maybe after half time the earliest. I'd be more inclined to start RLC next to Matic and push Cesc forward.

Post #1157 » by **magik9113** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:15 pm

Right after we made him #10, he's not going anywhere

Post #1158 » by **fatlever** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:45 pm

The Sun trying to report Pogba deal is done. :lol:

If only we could trust them as a source. Have they ever been right about anything?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/TheSunFootball/status/634825013712039936[/tweet]

J-Mezzy · Post #1159 » by **J-Mezzy** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:46 pm

magik9113 wrote:Right after we made him #10, he's not going anywhere

Pogba as a 10? Interesting

Post #1160 » by **fatlever** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:54 pm

Not even going to think about getting excited about Pogba until
1) a reputable source confirms it, followed by 3 more reputable sources, followed by both clubs confirming
2) until it is confirmed that Oscar is not part of a deal for Pogba. You can take Ramires and Cuadrado, but leave Oscar the **** alone.