venom2011

The likes of Pasalic, MvG, Bamford, Chalobah, Piazon and Traore are very good talents who are still too young to be judged on how good they'll be. It's a lottery because any of them could stagnate or in some cases blossom, a la Matic. The club would be stupid to cash-in now. 21-24 is generally when a better estimate of their potential can take place. Right now I'd say on average probably 4 million profit per player. But there is a potentially huge upside to holding on to the better talents - Traore, Pasalic and Chalobah in particular.

No. There is no 'point' to any position. Only the role defined by the manager. You can argue that the 'point' of a winger is to create as well. Put Ramires on the flank and that 'point' is no longer valid. Oscar - 3 goals, 6 assists, 2.1 tackles per game, 1.7 Key Passes per game Ozil - 1 goal, 1 assist, 1.2 Tpg, 2.3 KeyP Mata - 5 goals, 3 assists, 0.9 Tpg, 1.5 KeyP Silva - 6 goals, 2 assists, 1.1 Tpg, 2.4 KeyP Coutinho - 2 goals, 2 assists, 1.5 Tpg, 1 KeyP These are just face-value stats. Never mind the work rate, the amount of times he covers positions etc. Should he be more productive? Yes. Are all these guys better than him? Absolutely not.

Most of those could be considered more creative, but their lack of contribution to other areas of the game outweighs the difference in creativity. To be effective Mata and Ozil need to be in teams that are very much tailored to cover their weaknesses. Only Silva is the real standout player.

Wouldn't work here. We really don't have much aerial ability across the front 4 unless Drogba plays. It is also the weakest part of Costa's game.

Forget Silva for a second. How many no.10s are really better (or more suitable) than him? I wouldn't take Eriksen, Mata, Coutinho over him. It's probably less than a handful of players who would be legitimate arguments for being better in the role, considering our team dynamic. Also I don't feel we look our best with Fabregas in the role. We look our best when we're playing an intense, high-pressing game and we lack some of that if Oscar is missing. And he's still only 23.

We've seen it so many times with players who are new to the pace of the league. It's not a real worry.

To be fair though, neither do any of the other teams. He would be the best player in any team in the league. We need players that can match his output, either by creating (in which none of our other AMs are good enough) or scoring (same thing). Moving Fabregas forward can be a temporary solution but then we'd need better midfield options.

#Premonition

Agreed. Against Derby Jose tried the setup, he then implemented it to good effect against Stoke, and lastly Oscar was ill for the Southampton game.It is pretty obvious that what we gain by playing Mikel, is not comparable to what we lose by not having Oscar's superb pressing and Fabregas on the ball in deeper areas. We lose more going forward than we gain at the back. Where height and strength play a bigger role (Stoke) then it evens out a bit.

I have only seen Reus about a dozen times but I believe him to be a better Schurrle, when what I think we need is a better Willian. Can't think of anyone available who fits that description though.

Not his best but I actually think he's improving. Stronger on the ball and his hold-up play is better than it was at the start of the season. He does need to offer more aerially though, for someone of his physique.

That is the key. Forget his price. It is still possible for him to live up to it. He is nonetheless a good player who is very good for the system Jose wants. There is not a right-winger in the league I'd want in his stead.

AM use him on the flank but he plays centrally for Spain which I feel is his best position. Fantastic young talent with the kind of work rate Jose covets.

Spot on. While I do think Hazard and Matic are our two best assets - purely because they'd improve almost every top European team - but we have decent backup for them in Schurrle and Mikel. Yes, they're not of the same quality but the team can still function adequately. Fabregas has no such equal. We don't even have someone like him in the youth setup. It's something Jose should rectify going forward. I haven't seen anything of Pasalic but either way we need some creative resources. We only really have Hazard and Fabregas who are world-class playmakers.

That depends on what you consider 'effective'. On the one hand you have a player who helps the team dominate the game by retaining possession (thereby ensuring the likes of Hazard, Costa and Fabregas have greater influence) and offers additional defensive protection. And on the other you have a guy who will provide an attacking outlet and perhaps have better 'numbers' over the same amount of time.We already have the best scoring rate in the league so I see no real reason to choose Schurrle over Willian.

Pretty much what was happening at the start of the season until Schurrle started looking horribly inept. Willian offers more consistency but yes we do need to find more of an overall threat going forward. That's why Filipe not playing really gets under my skin. The smaller teams are sitting back and trying to counter, sometimes giving us 70% possession. There is no need for Azpi AND Iva other than for consistency sake. Proper support down the left flank could make a big difference to our attacking game.

His technical ability and aerial game are behind that of Drogba, even now. It's the intangible stuff that make Costa a better striker than he seems at a glance. His movement and work rate is arguably better than any no.9 in the world right now. But unfortunately that means he does need some space to be at his most effective.

The sheer amount of times he positions himself to be available for a pass, going forward and back, is amazing and it should be a great lesson for the younger guys like Ake.

That may be true if you're just basing it on the last match but from the beginning of the season he has had as many dribbles/take-ons as he's ever had while here. He has also been more aggressive with his shooting. In his first season and a half here, he had one of the lowest crosses/game ratios of any top winger, which I felt was a major problem when trying to impact a game. But now he is statistically the highest rated player in the league and he's had a major impact in most of our games. Now I'm not saying he has fulfilled his potential, because he and Jose know he hasn't (and have said as much in the media). But what I'm seeing is someone right on the cusp of the elite level. Once his conversion rate improves he will be unstoppable.

I don't mean to sound harsh but you're about 12/18 months late with these comments. It was a bigger issue just after he arrived. There is clear progression in his game so I have no idea how people can be critical of him now and not earlier. If he put away every easy chance he's had (due to great movement) in the last 8 games he'd have about 8/9 goals.

Just wanted to say that I'm seeing big improvements from this guy. Without the ball he is making more dangerous runs than he ever has before. It's no coincidence that he's missed a slew of good chances recently (at least one a game), whereas before he wouldn't be in those positions to be able to miss. I think he'll 'click' fairly soon and start scoring for fun.

I'm not. It's painfully obvious that *most* football watchers only rate someone once they've stepped into the limelight and are unable to make a considered judgement until there is a consensus on the matter. He is getting better and better, and like Mourinho has said, if he adds a little bit more to his game he will be fantastic. Just about every player loses the ball more than they perform a successful dribble. He was substituted because he has been playing a lot recently.

Well he hasn't been good enough since he arrived. Average technique and a slow football mind. He was never going to gel with Hazard, Oscar, Willian etc. An experienced signing for those positions would be great.

Ivory Coast powerhouse. He'd be a decent squad striker. Also Schurrle is said to be Reus' replacement which makes sense but it means we would be looking at someone else.

Nah he's not to blame. I was against the transfer initially and it's plain to see he is not technically or mentally on the same wavelength as the others. But he's still decent backup. Not much better than Moses though.