I wondered the exact same thing, is Jose readying him for the bollocks our moronic media will write if he doesn't score every game.

I wondered the exact same thing, is Jose readying him for the bollocks our moronic media will write if he doesn't score every game.

 

 

I think this. Jose has to keep him grounded. And prep him for the stuff to come. 

 

I think it would have only been a matter of time, he was probably biding his time and a friendly in oz is probably a better time to dig him out then competitive match. As said above he probably also wants to see what he's made of. When faced with critsisiem and adversity people tend to react one of two ways. They pack sulk around and feel sorry for them selves or they give it the big "f**k you, ill show you what i'm made of" and they go out on a crusade to prove people wrong. You win titles with the latter, not the former. 

 

Woodward once said of his decision to pick Matt Dawson over Austin Healy, that Austin was the more talented of the two but Dawson just hated loosing more. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11690900/.html

Perfect response. Thought the wording of the criticism was a little bit off but it's obviously worked and I was dead wrong. Hope he backs it up on the pitch and if he actually listens to Jose then he could become a hell of a player. Sky really is the limit.

Good lad.

Take it and use it to better yourself!

Very glad to read that and I'm sure Jose is too

An attitude like that will make the kid a success or give him every possibility to be a great player unlike someone like Lukaku who was unwilling to embrace constructive critcism from his manager and is now languishing at Everton.

This kid is in trouble. 

 

Prior to Mourinho's comments about Ruebens' laziness, I had noticed Rueben was very lazy and tactical naive. It is okay for a young player to be tactically naive, like Traore was yesterday, but it is not okay for a young player to be lazy.

 

I watched Reuben against Liverpool and while i liked his performance, I could tell there was a problem. Against West Brom, he was worse! He wouldnt track a running man and will leave spaces where he should be covering. I said "well, the whole team was rubbish," so let me ignore it.

 

And then post-season came and Mourinho tongue-lashed him. And I said to myself! "Oh! Wow! i wasnt imagining things. Of course the media and some chelsea fgans attached mourinho, rather than looking at the player who needed to improve.

 

Reuben then promised to change and work very hard.

 

 

Yesterday, I made it a point to watch rueben from a tactical perspective. Watch him on the ball and when he didnt have the ball. I was shocked! The kid has not changed at all. His laziness was horrid! He wouldnt press high, wouldnt cover spaces behind him, at some point, I saw this kid walking back after the team had lost the ball. Tactically, once again, he just didnt know what spaces to occupy. I wouldnt blame him for the collapse in the second half, as I believe Terry and the Ramires need to take a long hard look at themselves, byut Reuben was up there for the cause. That midfield collapsed PARTLY because Reuben was lazy and didnt know what spaces to tactically cover.

 

He is on thin ice, I believe and I wont be surprised to see him sent out on loan. 

I think your point about him being on thin ice is unfair. I have noticed that he does do the Mikel jog back when we lose the ball rather than the Matic career across to cover. But that can be fixed.

Laziness and lack of positional awareness won't change over night as work rate will be ingrained into his natural game and I personally won't hold it against him for now but will expect it to have improved by the end of the season as I'm sure this is the part of his game Jose will have him working on. And I am sure Matic and or Oscar (depending on the role we want him to play) will be able to help him along in this.  

Laziness and lack of positional awareness won't change over night as work rate will be ingrained into his natural game and I personally won't hold it against him for now but will expect it to have improved by the end of the season as I'm sure this is the part of his game Jose will have him working on. And I am sure Matic and or Oscar (depending on the role we want him to play) will be able to help him along in this.  

 

Laziness is a very bad attitude. And you are right, its not easy to change overnight. However, when you are in a big club where there are players more talented and better than you working hard, I am sorry, but the coach wouldnt even give you a time of day. If he was playing for a tiny club, then the coach may bear his attitude for a while and try and see how he can spend months fixing him while the team is dropping points. 

 

I hope I am wrong, but he was horrible yesterday and I wil be shocked if he gets many opportunities this season.

I think your point about him being on thin ice is unfair. I have noticed that he does do the Mikel jog back when we lose the ball rather than the Matic career across to cover. But that can be fixed.

 

I am not going to pretend that I know Mourinho personally or that we speak. However, I am certain he is on thin ice, because Mourinho pretty much said that in that famous press conference. He pretty much said the feeling has changed for me. and with the way the team was sh*t against NYRB and the fact that Loftus-Cheek was poor (laziness and awareness), I am almost certain Jose is livid with him.

 

Look at Jose;s presser today, came out and praised Moses and Traore. We all saw how hard both worked yesterday.

Whilst the criticism so far has been valid, let's remember how poor Zouma looked in our pre-season last year, especially in his positioning. After just a few months of the season however he had improved markedly and with the competition behind Fabregas/Matic being relatively light, lets hope for a similar development on his part.

Whilst the criticism so far has been valid, let's remember how poor Zouma looked in our pre-season last year, especially in his positioning. After just a few months of the season however he had improved markedly and with the competition behind Fabregas/Matic being relatively light, lets hope for a similar development on his part.

 

ZOuma wasnt lazy or tactically deficient. He was struggling with a new tactical scheme, just like Moses and Traore were yesterday. And Jose promised that both should learn the system pretty quickly. On the other hand, Loftus-Cheek is lazy and tactically deficient.

ZOuma wasnt lazy or tactically deficient. He was struggling with a new tactical scheme, just like Moses and Traore were yesterday. And Jose promised that both should learn the system pretty quickly. On the other hand, Loftus-Cheek is lazy and tactically deficient.

You literally just contradicted yourself. 'He wasnt tactically deficient' ... 'he was struggling with the new tactical scheme'.

I dont think he's both lazy and tactically unaware. Not tracking back or not marking runners is either lazy, or not knowing wtf he was supposed to do. Walking when the ball is lost is the same. Either he was too lazy to track back OR he didnt know that was his job. Hes either ignoring instruction or too lazy to give any f*cks. Either way theres a problem needs solving

I know Jose said he'll stay but for me he needs to go on loan. He's clearly no where near ready for a major European team like us. I'd love to see him get a chance at a championship club where he could get first team chance to improve.

So were saying an 18 year old midfielder who has just broken into the 1st team has poor tactical understanding? Well I never.

As for the lazy thing, I said in another thread a while ago he will get this label as his style is very laid back and smooth, rather than the charge around headless chicken style preferred in the prem by some. He covers the ground superbly, gets up and down well. He is still very young and developing both physically and as a footballer. People scream for youth to be given a chance, well those same people need to show a lot of patience when they are integrated in. 2 games and questioning him is no the way to go. He has came straight pout of youth football where the pace and pressure is astronomically less, of course it will take him months to get up to speed.

Edited July 24, 201510 yr by dkw

For all we know Jose could have told him not to go wrecking himself. Judge him in a game that actually matters a damn.

Its a valid concern, he has always been critized for being a bit lazy. I remember several times he was yanked for the youth team for not working hard enough and drifting out of games. The excuse at the time was that he was so talented and it was no longer a challenge for him. Now he moved up a level and Mourinho felt his attitude on the pitch was bad enough to give him a lashing. He is certainly a kid who knows how to say the right things, time will tell if he knows how to DO the right things.

There's no point sending him on loan. It is not premier league experience he needs, so much as guidance by José. If he goes out on loan he will be allowed to continue to play lazy.

Its a valid concern, he has always been critized for being a bit lazy. I remember several times he was yanked for the youth team for not working hard enough and drifting out of games. The excuse at the time was that he was so talented and it was no longer a challenge for him. Now he moved up a level and Mourinho felt his attitude on the pitch was bad enough to give him a lashing. He is certainly a kid who knows how to say the right things, time will tell if he knows how to DO the right things.

My view is RLC was always one bad game away from a rollicking, I think Jose sees it as a must part of his education. He must learn to take criticism and deal with it. And we don't want him thinking he's made it before he actually has, like so many young talents today

If he's lazy he won't play and will be dropped to the unders again, it's pretty simple.

You literally just contradicted yourself. 'He wasnt tactically deficient' ... 'he was struggling with the new tactical scheme'.

 

 

Hmmm... I am surprised you see a contradiction. How do I explain this now. Well there is a huge difference between being "tactically deficient" and "struggling with the new tactical scheme."

 

The first one is "Ramires!" Well, okay. What i mean is that the first one is a player who simply fails to know what holes to plug when his team is defending. He is always out of position and when his team is attacking, he plays like he is the only one on the pitch, like Salah! He is unaware of the positions of his teammate.

 

On the other hand, a player who is struggling with the new tactical scheme will naturally know what hole to plug when his team is defending and will also be aware of his teammates movements when the team is attacking. Like Fabregas and COsta last year and Traore and Moses this year. In fact, I was very impressed with the way Moses and Traore covered in defense when the team defended yesterday. However, when the team chooses to attach in a certain way, because the player has not played with his teammates for a while, he might not be used to playing in that system. FOr instance, if you notice, Mourinho's system insists on wingers who cut into the middle. On the other hand, Moses kept on trying to drive down the by-line (on the right), which cut out Ivanovic's runs. Defensively, and this will concern Zouma, when a player is struggling with a new tactical scheme, he would naturally know what holes to plug, but he may struggle with "stepping up for offside, struggle with communication with his felow defenders and DM (Zouma had this problem) etc

 

 

I dont think he's both lazy and tactically unaware. 

 

 

I respect your position, but I am more inclined to believe Mourinho who disagrees with you. This is one of the reasons many young kids fail! Fans love them so much and want them to be a success that fans try to ignore the obvious for fear of criticizing them. It was the same reason Mourinho was roundly attacked for saying the truth about Reuben! "How dare you criticize our jewel." It does the young player no service.

I know Jose said he'll stay but for me he needs to go on loan. He's clearly no where near ready for a major European team like us. I'd love to see him get a chance at a championship club where he could get first team chance to improve.

 

absolutely. I am very disappointed because I thought more highly of him. However, these last few months have shown me that he is not mentaly ready for this level. Traore is his age mate and you can see the difference! Maybe going out on loan and playing senior football was the key for Traore.

He is a youth product he needs time to settle in. People can't seriously expect him to look like a million dollars right out the gate. The fact he played poor in a friendly (might I add our first pre season friendly) where other senior players also looked dire isn't exactly a proper way to judge him either.