We basically paid 30m pounds for a player who just knows how to run and run and run and run.... so on and keep the ball in his feet. Nothing more. Typical Mourinho player.

To be fair to Willian i do feel playing him on the right hinders him a little. He is another like Schurrle who played better on the left so he can cut inside like he did at Shaktar. I might be in the minority on here but i prefer him playing No.10 than Oscar.

To be fair to Willian i do feel playing him on the right hinders him a little. He is another like Schurrle who played better on the left so he can cut inside like he did at Shaktar. I might be in the minority on here but i prefer him playing No.10 than Oscar.

 

our AMs dont have fixed positions. willian found himself on the left plenty of times and he was just as useless

Edited March 13, 201511 yr by launcher

our AMs dont have fixed positions. willian found himself on the left plenty of times and he was just as useless

 

I haven't seen him on the left very much.

I haven't seen him on the left very much.

 

the infamous pass to fabregas against west ham happened on the left

our AMs dont have fixed positions. willian found himself on the left plenty of times and he was just as useless

They don't drift around aimlessly either. The other two AMs' positions are dictated by what Hazard decides to do. He is the one with the license to target any weakness in an opposition's back line. But they will spend at least 80% of the time in their designated positions (ceteris paribus).

Don't think position matters much to Willian. Throughout he's career he's played across the midfield and never torn up trees.

Just runs about a lot.

Just two of those players netted us a £20 million profit. That's not an easy thing to do. Courtois would probably make us £15 million, Mata made us £14 million, Luiz made us about £20 million, T. Hazard made us £5 million and you could probably add all that up and arrive at roughly the profit E.Hazard would net us if we cashed in.

 

So yeah, above average. 

 

 

A backbone that disappears for a month every other year. No thanks.

 

I don't care where the players come from, but I think we have possibly the greatest scouting network in Europe. 

 

It's not always about making a profit, though. we let players go who have serious potential, then in a few years we'll be on here wondering why we let them go. it feels like we're just buying players to make small profits and not to actually make the first team, which to me is a real shame. instead we will go out and pay 30+ million on players of a similar calibre from lesser leagues. 

 

You cannot deny that we've made more losses than gains in terms of player prices and quality we've received. we bought torres for 50 million, willian for 30 million. I personally would have kept luiz as a central midfielder, even though we did make a good profit on him. Did we need to bring drogba back for the first team squad (could have kept eto'o or ba)? we bought remy and he's hardly feature; may as well have saved that money or brought in bamford as 3rd choice. we bought a 30 year old luis when we had a perfectly good enough, genuine LB in bertrand on loan or ake waiting in the wings. I understand hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we've certainly made some shockers in the transfer windows that needn't have been made. 

 

That's my opinion anyway. 

In the game against Everton when he played AM, he was much better. He could always run to the wings, and always was free with the ball. We should give him few games as AM and let Cuadrado prove himself from the right.

He wasn't that great against Everton.. tbf. But I wouldn't mind seeing a midfield of Cuad-Willian-Hazard...

But seriously I think he can't improve more than this, 2 seasons are a lot for a player. If Schurrle or any other players got that many chances I bet they would be much better i.e Schurrle, De Bruyne, Salah etc.

 

But the thing is he's a typical Mourinho player who can just run and run for all day and helps the team defensively, that's what Mourinho want's rather than flair players. That's why the others have been sold and he's still here yet despite showing no improvements at all.

It's not always about making a profit, though. we let players go who have serious potential, then in a few years we'll be on here wondering why we let them go. it feels like we're just buying players to make small profits and not to actually make the first team, which to me is a real shame. instead we will go out and pay 30+ million on players of a similar calibre from lesser leagues. 

 

 

We were talking about our scouting network, the one which got us these youngsters. Now you have a point about the signings of players like Willian, but that seems to be very much a Jose signing along with players like Eto'o and Drogba (and in fairness Fabregas and Costa). I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm concerned with some of Jose's moves in the market but in terms of identifying youngsters I think we're amongst the very best around, and yes profit is a motivation for that.

 

 

 

You cannot deny that we've made more losses than gains in terms of player prices and quality we've received. we bought torres for 50 million, willian for 30 million. I personally would have kept luiz as a central midfielder, even though we did make a good profit on him. Did we need to bring drogba back for the first team squad (could have kept eto'o or ba)? we bought remy and he's hardly feature; may as well have saved that money or brought in bamford as 3rd choice. we bought a 30 year old luis when we had a perfectly good enough, genuine LB in bertrand on loan or ake waiting in the wings. I understand hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we've certainly made some shockers in the transfer windows that needn't have been made. 

 

That's my opinion anyway. 

 

Torres was the last of the old-fashioned signings so I think it's a little unfair to include him. It's from that moment that we made a concerted effort to sign value players. I agree with what you're saying about Drogba and Bamford (a player identified by our scouts and who has increased massively in value) but I disagree with Bertrand. Played over 200 first-team matches, doubt you could name 3 in which he's been exceptional or even very good. Also agree with Ake (scouted, signed, increased in value but under the old regime).

 

Like I said, I think we have one of the best scouting networks around and they're certainly better than above average.

He wasn't that great against Everton.. tbf. But I wouldn't mind seeing a midfield of Cuad-Willian-Hazard...

But seriously I think he can't improve more than this, 2 seasons are a lot for a player. If Schurrle or any other players got that many chances I bet they would be much better i.e Schurrle, De Bruyne, Salah etc.

 

But the thing is he's a typical Mourinho player who can just run and run for all day and helps the team defensively, that's what Mourinho want's rather than flair players. That's why the others have been sold and he's still here yet despite showing no improvements at all.

 

Oh come on, Everton was one of his best games, surprisingly he did very well in the middle, created a lot of counter attacks, got the game pumping forward.

 

That's more than what Oscar would have done.

He rally did show improvement at the start of the year. Last few games he's been very poor, but before that there were some really encouraging signs that he was kicking on.

I guess it was the threat of losing his place. Now that he's seen Cuadrado is not nearly the threat to his place everyone thought he'd be, he's regressed again.

Just wait and watch how Cuad makes his place on bench permanently.

Liverpool brought out Pele at half-time for a few minutes.

 

We had Willian on for about 75 minutes.

 

Is it just the latter's assist that separated the two Brazilians today?

Assist was key but his general play is very poor.

We best hope Cuardrado hits the ground running in the summer or we will still be looking for a right winger

Yesterday summed William up for me. Lots of running. A bit of tracking back, Some neat play around the box. But ultimately disappointing. 

 

Not causing opposition defences anything like enough problems and if Cuadrado had impressed up to now, Willian would have been subbed early. And he cannot escape any blame for the first Hull goal. Not sure what he and Ivan were doing but it was really poor play from both.

Liverpool brought out Pele at half-time for a few minutes.

 

We had Willian on for about 75 minutes.

 

Is it just the latter's assist that separated the two Brazilians today?

 

I think Willian is a bit more mobile nowadays

We best hope Cuardrado hits the ground running in the summer or we will still be looking for a right winger

 

We should be, because Willian isn't a right winger. We are just playing him there and then criticising him for playing like someone who isn't a right winger.

 

I thought his assist for the winning goal would cut him some slack for one week but I guess not.

Jose should let him play as AM few games.

He's not left footed and who even uses traditional/old school wingers these days? we need a player with a left foot, whom can cut in and shoot more. Willian is f**king pointless on that RW. He doesn't shoot,he hardly takes on his man and he rarely ever puts in crosses, so what is he offering as an offensive use? 

who even uses traditional/old school wingers these days?

 

Willian isn't an old-school winger (he's a number 10 by trade), his usual move is to cut inside while Ivanovic hugs the touchline. The closest thing we have to a 'traditional' winger in the squad is Cuadrado.

I don't understand why he doesn't try more often to take the man on on the outside. Yesterday, there was one moment where he was stood waiting to receive the ball from Iva whilst being on the half way line near the touchline with a large stretch of the pitch empty in front of him.

If he had made a run Iva could have carried the ball further forward and a very promising situation could have developed, yet he was happy to stand still, receive it where he stood and just shuffled infield.

He did get the assist, and I've been a staunch defender of Willian, but it is becoming more and more frustrating watching him. Can't be that difficult to make some incisive runs, after all, we all know he's got the stamina.

If he hadn't set up the goal, it would have been one if his v worst performances so far.

Ramires, often times, was also at his shockingly unbrazillian best yesterday. That moment when he tried to control the ball and it leapt three feet into the air and he ended up doing some kind of scuffed overhead kick.

Edited March 23, 201511 yr by GhostOfDembaPast

Totally agree. For me, Willian has become our most frustrating player - especially when you think back to how he played for Shakhtar against us before we signed him and he looked unbelievably good.

 

As you say, bar the assist yesterday, his contribution was forgettable. He never seems to want to take on a defender and recently seems to be slowing the play down more and more. No point comparing him with Hazard as they are worlds apart, but when Hazard gets the ball he is always moving and at least committing the defender - trying to make something happen. Far too often, Willian just takes the simple option and nothing comes of it. It's frustrating as we know that he does have it in him and he can offer us a lot more.

Jose should let him play as AM few games.

He already has and didn't perform any differently than he does out right.