5 hours ago, axman2526 said:

To be fair to him everyone was appalling today. Frank got his selections wrong and his formation wrong.

Playing a wingback system with no offensive wing backs at home. Good grief that is schoolboy level mistakes.

But if we are to genuinely challenge for any trophies, we need attacking players capable of being consistent and at least getting double figures in goals every season.

Our options are Pulisic, Hudson-Odoi, Willian and Pedro. Not a single elite attacking player in our team. Meanwhile, our rivals have more than one genuine goal threats. 

3 minutes ago, enigma said:

Hey, it's because he isn't playing on the left side. Once he moves there he will be a world beater. 

Wouldn't it have made sense to rotate a 31 YO wing after playing 90+ on Sunday?

Dave was played out of necessity, it would have been nice to be able to rotate him as well. 

I think Rudiger hit a bit of a wall as well. I think he's played every minute since he's been back.

anyway...

4 hours ago, sonic90 said:

There were worse players than him today, he was back to his usual levels. If others around him were playing better then he would have been doing well enough. Once in a blue moon we'll get what we got last week but he's not Hazard level and won't win us games on his own.

It doesn't matter who was worse. He is the most experienced player in our side, barring Azpi. He should be leading by example and taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

He just isn't consistent enough to be at a club who wants to challenge for the biggest trophies. Pulisic has more goals in less games this season, and is one of the youngest players and has just come to the league. He is making Willian look bad. 

Edited December 26, 20196 yr by enigma

The witch hunt against Willian is pathetic really the guy ran his socks off today and probably played the best of the bad bunch coupled with inept tactics what else do you expect when no one else around him was performing and the tactics crippling l. Jeez give it a rest man he wears the badge proudly

Just now, Brutos said:

The witch hunt against Willian is pathetic really the guy ran his socks off today and probably played the best of the bad bunch coupled with inept tactics what else do you expect when no one else around him was performing and the tactics crippling l. Jeez give it a rest man he wears the badge proudly

He was sh*t, just as sh*t as many other players out there. He ran around a lot, like he usually does, but he was his usual stop start self and created absolutely nothing from the many attacking positions he got into, and his corners were complete dogsh*t like usual. Every time he tried to take anybody on he would lose the ball because he either messed up a touch or wasn't strong enough. He probably seen more of the ball than any of our attacking players today, and he did nothing with it. Not a single bit of creativity or good play came from him. Using the old "he ran his socks off" excuse is such an overused defense of Willian at this point. He runs around a lot because he is the best runner we have in the team, only Kante comes as close in that area, so of course he is going to look like he ran his socks off. 

If this was a one off from Willian, then the most people would say is that he had a bad game and then we would move on, but today has been Willian throuhgout his entire career, and that is why he gets so much criticism. There is no f**king witch hunt, it's pathetic that people even think that. No Chelsea fan wants to see another Chelsea player to fail, we are just fed up with these false dawns from Willian.

 

Surely Willian would have been better rested and ready for Arsenal on Sunday. Willian against a team with numbers back brings the same performances but he will most likely be better against an open Arsenal team on the counter.

The whole attack was blunt and sh*t but that doesn't make Willian's performance good enough because he runs abit more, we have heard this for years about Willian and I'm pretty sure many Chelsea fans predicted this Willian performance before kickoff, it's been a pattern for many years now.

Classic Willian.

9 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

No Chelsea fan wants to see another Chelsea player to fail,

But some will cheer in here when he gets injured

Still insist we should only be offering him a 1yr contract with an option for an extra year. Everything looks all rosy as he is currently a nailed on starter, however if we are ever going to progress as a team he needs to be upgraded big time. We all know what happens when he is out of the team.

First half Willian was our best player only to be undone by others around him. 

Remember Willian and Abraham in a few occasions where they won the ball played it beautifully to Azpi on the right and azpi lost it.

that can be very discouraging for players in a team when they are trying their best but others are lacking. So i feel he is receiving unfair criticism when there were others much worse than him.

20 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

He was sh*t, just as sh*t as many other players out there. 

Solely speaking in terms of the Southampton game i don't agree, there were a lot bigger problems than him.

2 hours ago, Argo said:

Solely speaking in terms of the Southampton game i don't agree, there were a lot bigger problems than him.

Yes, he wasn't the worst player on the field, but he was still sh*t. He had so much of the ball and did nothing with it. 

18 hours ago, Argo said:

Solely speaking in terms of the Southampton game i don't agree, there were a lot bigger problems than him.

I agree, I had him as the least bad of all of the first XI

But the problem, he's not just another player for Chelsea. He'd be fine as just another player for a team loaded with playmakers like Barcelona, but for Chelsea he's seen as a key player, the #10, the most senior player, a member of a front 3 hoping to compete for titles.... 

We could do a lot worse than having Willian in the squad, but we need a more productive, more consistent, more creative, more dynamic player than Willian in the role(s) he takes at Chelsea.

I've been happy with his effort and attitude this season. But if Willian is our best player in a season... We won't be winning anything. 

15 minutes ago, Skinnedy said:

I agree, I had him as the least bad of all of the first XI

But the problem, he's not just another player for Chelsea. He'd be fine as just another player for a team loaded with playmakers like Barcelona, but for Chelsea he's seen as a key player, the #10, the most senior player, a member of a front 3 hoping to compete for titles.... 

We could do a lot worse than having Willian in the squad, but we need a more productive, more consistent, more creative, more dynamic player than Willian in the role(s) he takes at Chelsea.

I've been happy with his effort and attitude this season. But if Willian is our best player in a season... We won't be winning anything. 

I think the fact we do not have a better goal scorer besides Abraham elsewhere in the team is the problem not necessarily Willian.

This is why if we play with three CBs we need Alonso as he is a goal threat, without him we are toothless with just Abraham up front.

In the other formations with Mount, Pulisic or CHO we at least have players than can score albeit occasionally rather than regularly.

1 hour ago, Strider6003 said:

I think the fact we do not have a better goal scorer besides Abraham elsewhere in the team is the problem not necessarily Willian.

That Willian occupies a spot normally reserved for goal scorers is a problem. Has been for years. 

That's not on Willian though, that's on the club. 

That Willian occupies such a key role for the club, a role in which he is ill suited, is also a problem. And that's also on the club. 

I don't think it's ever been a question that Willian can be a key role player for Chelsea, the question is whether he'd accept a backup role. I'd sure love to see CHO improve and bring in a WC wing to find out. Right now, he's 1st choice on merit.

That he's 1st choice on merit and that he is the #10 is in a nutshell why Chelsea is closer on points to Crystal Palace in 9th than Leicester City in 2nd. 

His hard work and willingness to run got us the winner, sprinted past Saka despite the guy having a headstart on him. Good stuff

 

But can he do it on a mild Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge?

Thought he was our best player today............. again.

1 hour ago, just said:

Thought he was our best player today............. again.

Hadnt really thought about MOTM today, don’t think there were any stand outs but Willian is a good shout. 
Worked hard today and although I thought he’d fluffed his lines for our second by taking it too wide he then created a good pull back to Tammy.

I thought he w**ked that up at the end when he took that touch away from goal. 

Yes looked like his touch was heavy and then a magnificent cut back, luck or skill not sure........... good finish though.

 

Edited December 30, 20196 yr by strider6004

I would hope his contract is renewed for another couple of seasons,he has been loyal to the club,and can help the youngsters grow.Plus he still has something to give hasn't lost his ability and speed.

That's something I noticed yesterday he's still bloody quick even on the other side of 30

Doesn’t anyone consider the possibility that Willian’s shortcomings and errors are a direct consequence of the shift he puts in? I imagine many of you have played football to some level and therefore must recognise a tendency to become more error-prone after a really intense period during a game. E.g.: you’ve tracked back to defend, then there’s a break, you chase and by the time you have to do something with the ball your touch let’s you down due to sheer exhaustion.. Think how many times Willian is in this situation in a game. I’d be dead several times over. Fitness/ the engine is such a crucial ingredient in modern football. Too many of you focus on the errors and not on the engine that’s got him in those positions in the first place. Barcelona aren’t crazy for wanting him and every other club in the premier league would take him in a heartbeat. We’re lucky to have him. 

59 minutes ago, Dean said:

Doesn’t anyone consider the possibility that Willian’s shortcomings and errors are a direct consequence of the shift he puts in? I imagine many of you have played football to some level and therefore must recognise a tendency to become more error-prone after a really intense period during a game. E.g.: you’ve tracked back to defend, then there’s a break, you chase and by the time you have to do something with the ball your touch let’s you down due to sheer exhaustion.. Think how many times Willian is in this situation in a game. I’d be dead several times over. Fitness/ the engine is such a crucial ingredient in modern football. Too many of you focus on the errors and not on the engine that’s got him in those positions in the first place. Barcelona aren’t crazy for wanting him and every other club in the premier league would take him in a heartbeat. We’re lucky to have him. 

That second goal on 87 where he passes forward to Tammy and then sprints magnificently to get in front of Abraham for the return, his touch past the defender perhaps a bit heavy yet the sheer determination to get to the ball and turn it back to Tammy with the right amount of pace. Impressive think he must really be enjoying playing under Frank.