Made me laugh, this.

(Courtesy of WAGNH)

My view on the situation, I feel like Conte may know Fab is a half a season player, so is using this as a kick up the back side/chance to give Oscar some time to build his confidence... Views?

My view on the situation, I feel like Conte may know Fab is a half a season player, so is using this as a kick up the back side/chance to give Oscar some time to build his confidence... Views?

 

I wouldn't go as far to say Conte may know he's a half a season player, perhaps he just recognizes that he's best used under specific tactical conditions. At a stage of the season when results are more important than performance to build momentum/confidence perhaps Conte wants resilience in midfield, something we're not guaranteed to get with Cesc. Oscar was dire today so hopefully Conte has Cesc in mind to start v Burnley.

Edited August 20, 20169 yr by the special one

If Cesc could press and dribble like Oscar all of our problems would be solved.....or maybe if Oscar could pass like Cesc. I don't know.

A shame he has to be dropped in order to accommodate a player like Matic ( maybe we should just accept he's a lost cause) or Oscar who can put in a shift but offer absolutely nothing upfront. And for once I'm worried because Conte sounded frustrated when saying they needed numbers in defence, clearly stating he's only an injury away from crisis at the back. If after the transfer window we still inevitably have to start Iva,Cahill and Terry, I fear Cesc will leave come the winter window as the manager has no choice than to keep protecting the back four.

Edited August 21, 20169 yr by summer is coming

Treat him mean, keep him keen.

he hasnt "sussed" him. Still early days as Conte rightly pointed out.

Conte is shrewd. He has seen what the player has to offer. He has started him twice as a substitute. That is spot on. Watch Fabregas's 'performances' last season, and appreciate the excellent management of Antonio Conte, so far.

My guess is Conte was trying to spur Cesc on, I mean seriously you won't need to be a great player to take over the role of Matic and Oscar. Cesc's weakness is well know, Conte may wanted him to work harder before he hands him the start. BTW, Cesc's cameo against Watford was the best 15 minutes I have seen for a while.

Conte is genius!

How do you solve a player who has first half of a season great and the other poor? You make him a super sub (not the sandwich!) and give them half the minutes so they are great all season!

Just reminded everyone that he is a Rolls Royce baller with that sort of vision and passing ability. He's earned his way back in the team surely.

No one in our team can provide like Cesc can, we can either have a work horse in or someone who actually can change games and offer killer passes.

I know which one I'd rather.

That has got to the main team till reinforcements arrive.

That's solid enough to accommodate Cesc, surely?

It's really worrying that's still our best side given the sh*t storm last season.

This windows been really poor tbh

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That has got to the main team till reinforcements arrive.

That's solid enough to accommodate Cesc, surely?

Aina for Ivanovic.

And the way Michy has been performing, dont think he is far off.

Think everyone needs to take a breath and realise it was only 1 pass. I agree he should be in the team but everyone is jumping on the wagon as if we are leaving Ronaldo on the bench.

Cesc didnt have a great Pre Season.

Yeah it was only 1 defense splitting pass that won us the game!

That has got to the main team till reinforcements arrive.

That's solid enough to accommodate Cesc, surely?

 

Not many goals in that team though? Not a popular choice but (unless we sign James) I'd keep Oscar in the team v Burnley and bring in Cesc for Matic.

Yeah it was only 1 defense splitting pass that won us the game!

Exactly.

We looked toothless until he entered the field...shocking some are focusing on that being positive about Cesc.

Not many goals in that team though? Not a popular choice but (unless we sign James) I'd keep Oscar in the team v Burnley and bring in Cesc for Matic.

The point of playing Matic and Kante is for the fact that they can cover defensively for Oscar. 

Exactly what is the point of even having Oscar in the team?We might score 2 but concede 3 with that line up.

Think everyone needs to take a breath and realise it was only 1 pass. I agree he should be in the team but everyone is jumping on the wagon as if we are leaving Ronaldo on the bench.

Cesc didnt have a great Pre Season.

 

Oscar hasn't had a great four seasons and still worms his way into the team.

Oscar hasn't had a great four seasons and still worms his way into the team.

 

I'm with you he should be nowhere near the team.

 

Yes it was a World Class pass and he should be in the team, but there is some heavy over-reaction here, forgetting many of cescs performances last year. (And half of the year before that)

Not many goals in that team though? Not a popular choice but (unless we sign James) I'd keep Oscar in the team v Burnley and bring in Cesc for Matic.

True, that. That seems to be the problem. Players can either do a defensive job or an attacking job. Not well rounded. Pedro, as crap as he has been, you know he's got a few goals in him. Matic is needed to add some presence to the midfield (in theory at least) but he adds very little offensively.

Defence was the biggest priority after what happened last season but the club have left it till the very end to address it.

And this bizarre policy of selling or loaning out players before replacements have been bought in...

Not good at all.

it's unfortunate that our possible midfield combinations all have pretty severe compromises, and with how our defense looked last year (and how they haven't gotten any younger), it's pretty easy to see why conte chose as he did.

 

kante, matic and oscar will struggle to create against well organized defenses.

 

kante, matic and fab will struggle to press like conte (and all top teams) wants to press.

 

kante, fab and oscar is very lightweight and can easily get physically dominated by opposing teams.

 

and in a two man midfield the compromises will be even further emphasized. you could of course argue that we are chelsea and should attack every other team bar the top 4 all the time and at all costs, but i don't think it works like that in the premier league. teams are too good to go full gung ho and we don't have the defense to stand high and invite pressure onto them.

 

i'd say let conte find his feet in the league, let him get a feel for how the game is played here, before throwing a tantrum towards his selections. we let in about twice as many goals as we should have last year, he's not wrong in prioritizing defense even though it might feel boring and two steps back.

 

 

on another (probably unpopular) note, i do feel that fabregas' impact vs watford, besides the pass for the second goal, has been somewhat overrated. i do feel that the midfield work by oscar, matic and kante was underrated (they ran watford into the ground - watford were basically just hoping to get something, anything, out of the game after 75 minutes) and i also think that the introduction of moses (who looked just about 100x more dangerous than pedro) and batshuayi (who helped relieved costa off of a lot of pressure against 3 big cb's) were just as crucial if not more.

Edited August 22, 20169 yr by opinionsarelike

Other (less likely) possible midfield combos?

- Kante, Fabregas, Willian?

(Small upgrade on the Oscar option, maybe? Could have Pedro or Moses then take up that right wing position and you have a more attacking side overall.)

- Kante, Loftus Cheek, Fabregas?

(A bit more going forward than with Matic?)

- Kante, Chalobah Fabregas?

(Again, maybe a little more dynamism than with Matic, but still on defensive side.)

Edited August 22, 20169 yr by Kante Conte