No it doesn’t.

That’s like saying we must play a player because they cost a few million £ regardless of anything else. That’s not reality, players are picked on merit and performance levels, KDB never showed enough during the games Jose did start him then there was the attitude issue.

If he thought he should be starting games just because a club paid a few million then he would be very naïve indeed especially at a massive club like ours.

If your attitude stinks and you aint pulling your weight in games or training then you sit it out, that's the real world.

It's nothing like saying that at all. When you splash the cash on a player, you will have to grit your teeth and play him even if he's clearly not up to scratch. It wasn't that long ago that Torres was starting for us despite Ba and Eto'o being slighty better, although Eto'o fell off pretty quickly.

 

In an ideal world players are indeed picked on merit and performance levels, unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world. Managers have favorites which will always sway their decision as well as other factors. 

It's nothing like saying that at all. When you splash the cash on a player, you will have to grit your teeth and play him even if he's clearly not up to scratch. It wasn't that long ago that Torres was starting for us despite Ba and Eto'o being slighty better, although Eto'o fell off pretty quickly.

In an ideal world players are indeed picked on merit and performance levels, unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world. Managers have favorites which will always sway their decision as well as other factors.

Who did De Bruyne deserve to play in place of then?

We drop someone who is playing well just to keep a young guy happy because he throws his toys out the pramm when he is benched?

He did have chances and bar 1 he was pretty poor after pre season. He wasn't performing and instead of keeping his head down and working hard to get back in the team he choose to leave.

He clearly isn't ready to play for a 'big' club and seems like he and Lukaku thought they had some divine right to be in the starting 11.

No it doesn’t.

That’s like saying we must play a player because they cost a few million £ regardless of anything else. That’s not reality, players are picked on merit and performance levels, KDB never showed enough during the games Jose did start him then there was the attitude issue.

If he thought he should be starting games just because a club paid a few million then he would be very naïve indeed especially at a massive club like ours.

 

Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres disagree. 

 

Of course price has a bearing on a player, if a club is paying out huge sums to bring a player to the club you'll do everything you can to justify that investment. 

 

Regardless of if that is right or wrong that's the reality. 

Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres disagree.

Of course price has a bearing on a player, if a club is paying out huge sums to bring a player to the club you'll do everything you can to justify that investment.

Regardless of if that is right or wrong that's the reality.

Torres is hardly in the same bracket of £6-8 million De Bruyne.

De Bruyne was a low cost investment, he got some games and his attitude clearly irked Jose so he was sold.

If De Bruyne thought he would be walk into the team because Chelsea spent what was a faily low fee then he was being Naive.

Who was playing so badly at the time De Bruyne deserved to start ahead of them?

He clearly didn't want to stick around to try to muscle his way into the starting 11 just like Lukaku, that alone shows he didn't have what it takes to make it here IMO.

Edited February 26, 201511 yr by Chelsbear

We didn't have too many qualms about turfing Shevchenko out of the team, and that was supposedly with interference from above.

 

To be honest de Bruyne clearly didn't have the qualities José seems to want from his right winger (basically to provide balance), and he never really stood a chance of displacing Oscar or Hazard. I don't think he really has the discipline or the stamina to play in centre mid either, which would have been the only other real alternative as a starter, bearing in mind Fabregas hadn't yet joined the club.

Torres is hardly in the same bracket of £6-8 million De Bruyne.

De Bruyne was a low cost investment, he got some games and his attitude clearly irked Jose so he was sold.

If De Bruyne thought he would be walk into the team because Chelsea spent what was a faily low fee then he was being Naive.

 

So you agree the rules were different for £50m Torres then they were for £8m De Bruyne? 

 

Who was playing so badly at the time De Bruyne deserved to start ahead of them?

He clearly didn't want to stick around to try to muscle his way into the starting 11 just like Lukaku, that alone shows he didn't have what it takes to make it here IMO.

 

 

De Bruyne played very well against Hull and then was indifferent against Manchester United in a game where the whole team didn't move the ball quickly enough, can't single him out there. 

 

For the first 6 months of the season I would say no one was making the right wing slot their own and I would argue that price tag came into it again, by paying £30m for Willian I think there was an element of pressure to make sure the investment paid off and to give him playing time despite not playing particularly well in his first half of the season with the club. 

 

We sold Mata and De Bruyne only to bring in Salah... I don't think it's even debatable that we would have been better served keeping De Bruyne rather than buying Salah because 12 months later we've ended up dropping another £27m on an attacking player who on current evidence isn't better than KDB but I suspect, due to his price tag, he's going to be given a lot more chances to prove himself than KDB got. 

There are a variety of reasons, my friends.

And that's good. That's life. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not.

 

But please!

Don't say, he's a weak Belgian. He's not. He's a good guy. Mental strong. He knows what he wants. And he really shows his discipline and his muscles in Germany right now. No doubt about it.

Who did De Bruyne deserve to play in place of then?

We drop someone who is playing well just to keep a young guy happy because he throws his toys out the pramm when he is benched?

He did have chances and bar 1 he was pretty poor after pre season. He wasn't performing and instead of keeping his head down and working hard to get back in the team he choose to leave.

He clearly isn't ready to play for a 'big' club and seems like he and Lukaku thought they had some divine right to be in the starting 11.

Well, without looking back with too much hindsight, I wouldn't have bought both Schurrle and Willian. One of them would have been enough and then the other space goes to KDB (Plenty of people said this at the time as well so it's not hindsight), that's an opportunity right there without having to drop anyone. Up until winter, our midfield was struggling with Lampard not being too comfortable further back and Ramires having some erratic performances. That's another opportunity right there.

 

Throw his toys out of his pram? Are we talking about Lukaku or KDB? KDB never did anything of the sort, he was unhappy but he didn't go mouthing off to the media the way Lukaku did. He just worked harder, which unfortunately for him wasn't enough. 

 

He was playing one game and then going a month, sometimes even longer, without playing again. You can't seriously be calling that a chance, how is he meant to build up and sort of form. He did work harder, Jose commented on this several times that he was working much harder in training but it still wasn't good enough to warrant a chance.

 

I don't like how him leaving is seen as some kind of weakness, he did what he could but ultimately it was clear it just wasn't going to work out. He had already wasted 6 months of his career and as a result had his place at the World Cup under threat, I would be surprised if he didn't move. Staying under those circumstances would signal a lack of ambition to me and that's not the kind of player I would want here to be perfectly honest. It may end up being the wrong choice as Mata is slowly finding out but it's better than sitting on the bench and collecting your paycheck. 

Of course it's not the only reason, I didn't say it was. KDB isn't completely free of blame.

The fact is though, if you pay that much for a player then you are going to play him (certainly more times than KDB got at the very least) regardless of his perceived attitude or performance in training.

The only reason he came back from his loan at Bremen was because Jose convinced him he was in the first team plans. He would have joined Dortmund otherwise.

Then there was also Jose's comments around December time where he says he would be giving him more game time, which, again, he didn't.

I think that depends on the manager. I doubt José would give much game time to any player who doesn't convince him on training, irrespective of hour much did he cost.

Regarding KdB coming back from loan, it really wasn't his decision, he had a contract with CFC.

Frank lebouef became the first person ever to have a world cup winners medal, and an oscar!

Frank lebouef became the first person ever to have a world cup winners medal, and an oscar!

 

He had a role in a film that was nominated for an Oscar.

Mata's looking somewhat the forgotten man at Man utd. Not a good choice for his career to go there.

How did he suddenly go from being so good to so average?

Well Man Utd never play him in his best position. He excelled with us in that free role behind the striker.

Well Man Utd never play him in his best position. He excelled with us in that free role behind the striker.

 

Well it's Rooney's favourite position, and clearly his recent performances (and the fact that he is captain) make it unlikely that he's going to be dropped. I think there's an argument to be made that it's di Maria and Fellaini's strongest positions too, although they have really spent too much time pissing about with different formations and shoehorning players into positions they aren't comfortable with to build any sort of consistency.

 

Man Utd need to sign well during the summer as it is clear they are still a few sandwiches short of a balanced squad - if they f**k around spending big money on players they don't really need again they run the risk of turning into an expensive Newcastle.

Credit to them for somehow turning a finished Ashley Young into a competent wing-back though, I would never have thought that possible or even had the idea in the first place, and this is coming from someone who once attempted to convert Shola Ameobi into a centre back on Football Manager.

He must be further down the pecking order now international football wise...

Which was the main reason he left

I'd have him back for £10m. 

Yeah I still think he'd contribute more to goals than Willian, Oscar and Cuardrado.

Yeah I still think he'd contribute more to goals than Willian, Oscar and Cuardrado.

 

Combined.

Odd how things have turned out. Still keep a keen eye out for the goalscorers in UTD games only because of Mata, in spite of the team he plays for.

Looked like he was bound to be a legend at Chelsea, and now he's disappeared into relative obscurity.

Edited March 3, 201511 yr by GhostOfDembaPast

Would we be top of the league if Mata was still in our starting XI?

Yeah I still think he'd contribute more to goals than Willian, Oscar and Cuardrado.

Yeah I still think he'd contribute more to goals than Willian, Oscar and Cuardrado.

We would possibly also let about twice as many goals in though too.

Would we be top of the league if Mata was still in our starting XI?

Its a great question isn't it. Would he have flourished having matic behind him, linking with fabregas? Or would he have struggled to fit into a faster transitioning side that we have now?