That comment makes no sense. Of course Xavi is one the greatest of all time, his aging has no impact on that.

and yet you tried to use it as a stick to beat Cesc with.....  There likely isnt a midfielder in existance who probably would of fit into that Barca side better than Xavi did.  He was the perfect player for his role.

I reckon Mikel could have done a job

No, it's a well known fact that Wenger saw a new way of playing in Cesc and built the team around him.

 

That was his mistake. Why Wenger thought he could make the team work in the Premiership without replacing a midfield "warrior" like Vieira is a mystery to me.

Yeah, it's like trying to replace Michael Ballack with Raul Meireles and Oriol Romeu

okay, let's analyse this. Arsenal were the Invincibles, Cesc came in and although he was great for his age, ultimately disrupted that side. He then went on to be the face of the Arsenal we all recognize now, all passing with no ruthless edge. Won nothing at Arsenal and was never able to dominate a game in midfield as say a Keane or Vieira or Essien could do. Sure, he's not that kind of player but what he is is a luxury player. A player that can compliment the real important members of the team. Fast forward to his dream move to Barcelona where he could not dislodge an aging Xavi from the side and ended up having to play to the left of the front three in order to get game time. Fabregas is a lovely footballer but in no way should he be relied on to carry a team, lead a team or be at a high level consistently. I needn't even mention "second half of the season syndrome", ie when the going gets tough.

 

For me, the position alongside Matic was a huge chance missed in terms of strengthening this summer.

 

You need to brush up on your history, Fabregas wasn't the problem at Arsenal, it's Wenger, even Arsenal fans will tell you that. Fabregas won an F.A cup with them when he became a regular starter. It's the sh*t that Wenger built around him that messed Arsenal up.

i did write that article

Prat.

You need to brush up on your history, Fabregas wasn't the problem at Arsenal, it's Wenger, even Arsenal fans will tell you that. Fabregas won an F.A cup with them when he became a regular starter. It's the sh*t that Wenger built around him that messed Arsenal up.

You need to brush up on your history, Fabregas wasn't the problem at Arsenal, it's Wenger, even Arsenal fans will tell you that. Fabregas won an F.A cup with them when he became a regular starter. It's the sh*t that Wenger built around him that messed Arsenal up.

 

Fabregas was the first in a long line of failures that underlined Wenger's inability to build a serious team. Instead of building a team to support the likes of Fabregas, Nasri and van Persie, he ran them into the ground and wondered why they jumped ship at the first opportunity.

 

Eder: 

 

As for Barcelona, you obviously didn't watch him when he first played. Fabregas' "downfall" was having to be moved into central midfield to be groomed as Xavi's replacement but his first season at Barcelona proved he is far, far more effective further forward in either a false 9 or no. 10 position. Considering the two players competing for those positions were Messi and Iniesta, as soon as they returned from injury Fabregas was relegated to a bit part role. Similar to Alexis Sanchez, Fabregas was a great player who was in the unfortunate position of competing for a spot with one of the greatest of all time.

 

 

But his "problems" at Barcelona are alarmingly like the criticisms that many Chelsea fans have pointed out over the past weeks. Simply, he is both wasted and useless in a deeper central midfield role. I think coaches look at his ability and assume he is content with pinging long passes to wingers or strikers bu Fabregas is not a Xavi or Pirlo style of player. He's a far more attacking player who does his best work in the box or the attacking third and should only be used as a deep midfielder in very specific circumstances. The exact same criticisms that Barcelona fans levelled - speculative passing, lack of movement, unwillingness to press opposition midfielders, weak in the tackle - are exactly what has been said on repeat recently.

Edited September 5, 201510 yr by SydneyChelsea

Very revealing stats. Ivan is rightly in the firing line but Cesc has been shocking as well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3228270/Chelsea-allowed-clear-chances-against-Cesc-Fabregas-Nemanja-Matic-blame-not-protecting-four.html

Loftus Cheek showed more promise in his 20 minutes when he came on than Cesc from the start of the season.If he doesn't perform drop him it should stand for every single one of them.We still constantly play the same team from week to week why have sub's then? Give them a chance to prove their worth.

 

 

Squawka Football Verified account ‏@Squawka

Cesc Fàbregas' game by numbers: 0 tackles won 0 aerial duels won 0 interceptions 0 assists 0 shots 0 crosses

Cesc Fàbregas today against Everton:

0 tackles won
0 aerial duels won
0 interceptions
0 assists
0 shots
0 crosses

 

Seen that now.

Yes, but other than that.....

Hate it when he plays behind the striker, i know he isn't great defensively but i much prefer him next to Matic.

I think the only way this can work out is if we start playing with 3 midfielders.
He isn't good behind the striker and he is horrible defensively so putting him in the pivot isn't ideal either.

How did me manage to be so good the first half of last season?

Are those Fab stats correct? I thought he crossed one in the 2nd half after a pass from Ivan. Could def be wrong though.

Doesn't excuse his play. I'm just wondering if those are accurate.

Edited September 12, 201510 yr by chaboinateg

He has been a shambles. Everything is passing him by.

 

Looks like he's been eating too many samosas and getting woken by his Children at all hours of the morning.

Far too many players that are playing so poorly to drop them all, who would be left?

 

Azpi for sure, maybe Zouma and Pedro. Other than that?

Hate it when he plays behind the striker, i know he isn't great defensively but i much prefer him next to Matic.

I don't like him in the number 10 role, don't think he influences games enough being that high up the pitch, by the time he gets the ball it's too congested for him.

The deeper role suits his passing game more in my opinion.

Only reason I don't like him further up is because he doesn't press/hassle players like Oscar. Don't think where he plays matters or effects his passing all that much, he's had good and bad games in both roles. 

Edited September 13, 201510 yr by Remodez

Only reason I don't like him further up is because he doesn't press/hassle players like Oscar. Don't think where he plays matters or effects his passing all that much, he's had good and bad games in both roles. 

 

Off the top of my head I don't think he has had one particularly memorable appearance in the #10 role for us. 

 

Really not a fan of him playing there personally. 

Off the top of my head I don't think he has had one particularly memorable appearance in the #10 role for us. 

 

Really not a fan of him playing there personally. 

Southampton away, where he was booked for diving. Him and Hazard were the best players on the pitch. 

 

Problem is most of the time he plays there it's when we've set up defensively, which makes his job much harder. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/players/cesc-fabregas/11863577/Cesc-Fabregas-has-become-a-liability-for-Chelsea-and-Jose-Mourinho-must-decide-whether-to-drop-him.html

I remember he started playing senior football around 16, so he had 11-12 years of mileage on him, the wear and tear are kicking in fast. Look at someone like Rooney who's around for that long, he doesn't possess the speed and agility like he used to. After losing that physical zips, Cesc was no longer able to hold his own ground in defence, and the struggle began. The double pivot role is no longer for him, I feel. As a number 10, he doesn't have the dribbling or shooting skills like a Mata or an Oscar. I think the only place for him is as the deepest CM if we revert to 433.