Fabregas a big game bottler?

At Arsenal he was their first player since Vieira and Henry to actually perform on the big occasions. Our record against them was partially due to him being unavailable against us for several games.

Ramires will play instead.

You know I sometimes still can't believe he plays for us. I never ever thought he would either. So glad we got him you can see how much he's loving it here aswell.

Great news, Spain agreed to let him come home. He gets to hang out with Costa for a couple weeks before finishing up November with 3 big games in a week.

Finally spain are co-operating with us in a good way. 

Finally spain are co-operating with us in a good way.

You got Jose to thank though I don't know what we would of done without him???

honestly we will be such an empty team I'm glad his back and I thank The Lord every time I see him :))) I know some might say I'm exaggerating I just can't help I'm sorry.

Fabregas a big game bottler?

At Arsenal he was their first player since Vieira and Henry to actually perform on the big occasions. Our record against them was partially due to him being unavailable against us for several games.

 

I think that big game bottler tag gets wrongly labelled on a number of players just because they might have the odd poor performance in a big match.

There aren't may players who turn up and play their best in every big, important match - every one has their off day. Drogba is probably an exception as his record in cup finals etc is probably the best ever.

 

With Fabregas he has made a huge difference to the team and our playing style. But I do have slight concerns on how slow he looks at times when teams are running at us. The positives far outweigh the negatives and he has been brilliant but I think at times he may have to be sacrificed for a player with more energy and defensive qualities.

Who would be that player though nibs?

I can only think of Ramires and his passing, control and end product are pretty shocking compared to Cesc.

Then we have Mikel who is decent when you are trying to defend for your lives but if we are to attack he's like a man down.

Oscar has enver really been deployed in the midfield role beside Matic so I'm not sure how he would do there?

Who would be that player though nibs?

I can only think of Ramires and his passing, control and end product are pretty shocking compared to Cesc.

Then we have Mikel who is decent when you are trying to defend for your lives but if we are to attack he's like a man down.

Oscar has enver really been deployed in the midfield role beside Matic so I'm not sure how he would do there?

 

 

I agree. Don't get me wrong, Fabregas gives us far too much going forward to even consider sacrificing him regularly. But when we are under the cosh and the Liverpool game was a good example where a few times players went past him as if he was stuck in quicksand! My pick currently would be Ake, who is good defensively but as we all know, can still hit a decent pass.

Phil Neville is an absolute tool but I think he was right when he pointed it out.

 

I mean this is nit picking definitely but Fabregas has shown weaknesses in that midfield, Everton game he really struggled to grasp in with the balance of the team, Everton were constantly pouncing us and prevailed due to his expense. That's not blaming him at all, again this is nit picking. As for Swansea game, it was really well analyised by Neville and Carragher when we got absolutely destroyed by Swansea in the first 20 minutes, Fabregas's positioning was dreadful.

 

I suppose every side has a weakness, although I'm more concerned with our rotation sometimes, Ramires is excellent for us when we need him but should he get injured I can see us dropping points. As much as Fabregas isn't the most solid of midfielder we definitely rely on him a lot, after all he is a key player.

I agree. Don't get me wrong, Fabregas gives us far too much going forward to even consider sacrificing him regularly. But when we are under the cosh and the Liverpool game was a good example where a few times players went past him as if he was stuck in quicksand! My pick currently would be Ake, who is good defensively but as we all know, can still hit a decent pass.

 

For the Liverpool game I think that by half time we should have been playing 4-3-3, moved Oscar out to the right and put Fabregas behind Costa. 

 

That would have allowed Ramires to drop back deeper rather than playing on the right where he is often inflectional going forward. 

 

Fabregas has 9 assists and 2 goals so far this season and so he's obviously far too influential to leave out but he is drawn towards the ball... Most games that's not a problem because we're going to dominate possession and territory but against sides more willing to have a run at us he's more prone to being caught out of position. 

 

Maybe Jose just sees it as a risk worth taking? 

Good points.

Ake I didn’t even think about and that’s probably due to lack of game time and starts but he’s obviously showing something to warrant his inclusions. I’m not too sure about how good he can be or actually is, hopefully he gets a few more starts soon so we can get more evidence of the boys talents.

It probably is a risk Jose sees worth taking as like against Arsenal it just takes one bit of magic from Cesc and the balls on a plate for Costa. Then again as a unit we are looked upon as almost machine like drilled to perfection but you can see how Cesc often loses his man and is always playing catch up but we knew he wasn’t that kind of player when we bought him.

I wonder ifjose was eyeing up this international break for fabregas and a few others so thought it worth the risk to play them the last few weeks.

I wonder ifjose was eyeing up this international break for fabregas and a few others so thought it worth the risk to play them the last few weeks.

I'd say so and it's paid off given both Costa and Cesc are given a much needed rest so they are ready to go again when we are back in action.

Worked out well really.

I'd say so and it's paid off given both Costa and Cesc are given a much needed rest so they are ready to go again when we are back in action.

Worked out well really.

Yeah, something like that can make all the difference to a season. Makes you wonder when the decision by Spain to not pick fabregas and Costa was made and when we were told.

Fabregas is way on course to beating Henrys record of most assists in a season

Edited November 16, 201411 yr by Bluerising

Other than injury, the one thing that worries me for when we get to the latter stages of the CL is teams man-marking Cesc and cutting his influence on the game.

If some of the PL's middling teams can use this tactic successfully (Fellaini MU away), I imagine some of the European giants like Madrid and bayern will employ it.

If/when this happens, the burden will fall to hazard and oscar to create for costa and the entire team. (Or perhaps Jose will change tactics when he anticipates it)

Now, obviously we can consider our side extremely strong and well balanced when this is a top item to be worried about. I've just been thinking about this since the match away to united.

A team man marks Cesc then Oscar gets more space. A team man marks Oscar then Hazard gets more space. etc etc etc

Aside from the fact that Fabregas is on track to break the record for most assists in a PL season, this article shows what else he's been impacting record-wise recently:

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/cesc-fabregas-now-best-creative-4687115

 

Against West Brom he broke the record for most successful passes made in the final third by any player in PL history.

 

He also fell 1 shy of Yaya Toure's record for most touches in a game in PL history.

Thank you Arsene Wenger for allowing us to sign Cesc Fabregas. Much appreciated 

Thank you Arsene Wenger for allowing us to sign Cesc Fabregas. Much appreciated 

 

I'm not even sure Febregas would have gone back there even if Wenger wanted him. Fabregas wants to win the Premier League, not challenge for Champions League spots.

That has crossed my mind a few times tbh. Take away the International achievements, he really hasn't won an awful lot of trophies in club football. 1 FA Cup, 1 La Liga, 1 Copa Del Rey and a few other minor trophies. Would have been unlikely to add to that collection if he had gone back to Arsenal.

“I told Ramos at the time that if he has something to say to me then he should pick up the phone and call and not send messages via the media,” he said.

 

“Yes, I felt offended, and told Sergio how I felt. We eventually spoke on the phone and all is fine.

“It really irked me that my level of compromise was doubted. I’ve played many times and been involved in call-ups without playing.

“I’ve played 94 games for Spain over the past nine years and have always shown up... always and always in good faith. I had tendinitis in my left hamstring.”

This comment is what makes me think he woukd have chose us over Arsenal:

“I didn’t come here to just play well and that’s it. I came here to win trophies and if I could play well and enjoy myself, the better."

Arsenal have been known for years as a side that play attractive football but don't win anything.

Let's not forget aswell that Wenger himself said that he knew Cesc had already made his mind up to join Chelsea and that he thinks that deal was in place long before. So that's probably why Wenger didn't try to sign him more than he had that position covered.

Edited November 27, 201411 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

The stats are all nice and dandy but we all know at Chelsea titles and trophies are the true testament of how he has done. He's one of the best players in the league at the moment and couldn't be happier he's ours. He is a true difference maker here.

Edited November 27, 201411 yr by evissy