6 minutes ago, g3.7 said:

come on- de gea is fantastic. as is courtois.

I genuinely don't understand how people are unable to seperate that type of player from the likes of butland or pickford (at the moment) or given (in his day).

the difference in class is so clearly apparent (to me). remember, begovic, judged against the latter group, is not notably inferior. and then notice the difference in our defence and quality as a team overall when he steps in for courtois. 

He is class, but i just laugh when people think he is on another level to Courtois.

Just now, Argo said:

He is class, but i just laugh when people think he is on another level to Courtois.

if they are talking about the listless, rushed back from injury courtois of last seaason then that is a fair point.

but I think you and I can ignore that if they are talking generally- there isn't a whole level above the likes of courtois or de gea, be it currently or historically. it is fine details between them. as it would be if you put cech or buffon in at their peak. these guys belong in the same group, even if we can agree one is better than the others, I don't think it is possible to be better significantly. 

4 hours ago, DrogbaIsKing said:

he's a top 5 keeper in the world...you're kidding yourself if you dont think so. Pickford? Seriously??

 

4 hours ago, STATS said:

Sorry this is ridiculous. His only one bad season was last one. The prior 1 to that, he had a stellar season with us, taking over Cech's position and helping us win the league. Let's not forget the couple seasons he had at Atletico. He was brilliant and it was no surprise how desperate Atletico were to keep him for another season. He helped them win the league and almost the CL. Courtois does not have to make save after save but one thing he is defo the best at in the league is his command of the box. Countless times he comes and collects crosses, corners. That is enough to prove a top class keeper. We would have drawn that game at Sunderland had it not been for that fantastic save he made from PVA. There are more saves he has made this season that has been crucial which I can't remember on the top of  my head but this comparison with Pickford, don't be ridiculous. He is a very good keeper, albeit a rookie but to compare the two is ridiculous. Courtois has proven this season he has everything and it is not simply down to the defence. He assures confidence throughout the team with his dominance.

 

Was anything he said untrue? (aside from the Pickford comment, however if Thibo has Sunderland's defense in front of him does he look so good?) Of course who he thinks is top 5 in the world is objective but don't you have to be performing consistently for an extended period of time to be considered there? He's a good keeper and all but if we're mentioning him in the same breath as Buffon and Neuer he must be great. He's had a couple great seasons in Madrid where they were competing for titles and one here when we won the title. Last season was a shambles on his part and I'm still not convinced his positioning and distribution are good enough to consider him better than Neuer, Navas, Buffon, Lloris and De Gea 

"Last season was a shambles on his part"

You could say that about every one of our players bar Willian.

Doesn't suddenly make you a lesser player...doesn't with Diego, Hazard or the others and certainly doesn't with Tibo either.

See the overrating of De Gea is going on

He isn't overrated, he is pure world class

"Last season was a shambles on his part"

You could say that about every one of our players bar Willian.
Doesn't suddenly make you a lesser player...doesn't with Diego, Hazard or the others and certainly doesn't with Tibo either.

Sunderland are in a mess this season, yet Pickford when in goal always try to prove a point even there defence is bad.

1 hour ago, TheChelseaBlues said:

 

Was anything he said untrue? (aside from the Pickford comment, however if Thibo has Sunderland's defense in front of him does he look so good?) Of course who he thinks is top 5 in the world is objective but don't you have to be performing consistently for an extended period of time to be considered there? He's a good keeper and all but if we're mentioning him in the same breath as Buffon and Neuer he must be great. He's had a couple great seasons in Madrid where they were competing for titles and one here when we won the title. Last season was a shambles on his part and I'm still not convinced his positioning and distribution are good enough to consider him better than Neuer, Navas, Buffon, Lloris and De Gea 

I was referring to the Pickford comment and this is his only real season starting week in, week out.  If you are going to use that comparison about the defence you might as well say Costa and Defoe are on the same level then as Defoe has scored a lot of goals with sh*t creativity around him. But no, of course they are not because Costa is at Chelsea for a reason. Pickford is a very good keeper but Courtois has proved for years now that he is a top goalie and he is still is a rookie for a keeper and already has won major trophies.

1 hour ago, Chelsbear said:

"Last season was a shambles on his part"

You could say that about every one of our players bar Willian.

Doesn't suddenly make you a lesser player...doesn't with Diego, Hazard or the others and certainly doesn't with Tibo either.

I think it does. Are Diego, Hazard and others the best at their positions in your mind? If anything I think more of Willian as a player because he kept his head down and did his work when the going got tough. If Hazard has a gem of a season last year he'd get talked about as the 2nd or 3rd best winger in the world behind 1a Messi and 1b Ronaldo IMO. Sulking and putting in sub standard performances does precisely that, it makes them lesser players when compared to those who go on playing despite the rough time their team may be having. It doesn't change their talent level of course but talent isn't everything. The best in the world aren't where they are because they coast through matches and seasons falling back on their talent. 

 

I am indifferent to Curtois leaving. I'm resigned to the fact that he will at some point, I just hope it's sooner rather than drawn out. There is a lot of young goalkeeping talent around nowadays and if Madrid want to pay us a record fee for Curtois I say let them have him. injuries aside I'm a big big fan of Jack Butland for us and Donnarumma. I don't think moving on from him will hurt us much in the long run. Maybe for a season or two it would be a downgrade since Thibo is coming into a keepers' prime years but we'd have a ton of money to help sooth our pain. 

Edited January 18, 20179 yr by TheChelseaBlues

 

2 hours ago, wallosh said:

He isn't overrated, he is pure world class

 

He is good and I think he deserves the praise he's getting with the way his teammates are putting everything on his shoulder. At least before their good run in the past two months.

seems I left out Courtois he's definitely top 5...Neuer, Buffon, Courtois, Lloris and De Gea...Navas is overrated

21 hours ago, wallosh said:

He isn't overrated, he is pure world class

When he has to face 6 shots a game, he's not so clever when he has only one or two things to do.

Real have "set aside" 25m for Courtois.  If they do this every year then at this rate they will have enough to make us consider selling him in about seven years. 

Edited January 22, 20179 yr by PythonLu

If for whatever reason we decide to cash in on Courtois end of the season, I wouldn't mind bringing in Tom Heaton. Huge fan I think he could do a incredible for a couple of seasons although there may be younger alternatives out there.

Has anyone else noticed that when he makes saves, he doesn't push the ball back into the danger zone so much anymore ? He used to be terrible for doing this and it was one of my main criticisms of him. These days he is pushing the ball to the side or out for a corner. Anywhere is better than pushing it back into the middle of the penalty area.

13 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Has anyone else noticed that when he makes saves, he doesn't push the ball back into the danger zone so much anymore ? He used to be terrible for doing this and it was one of my main criticisms of him. These days he is pushing the ball to the side or out for a corner. Anywhere is better than pushing it back into the middle of the penalty area.

I think Tibo is the best all round goalkeeper in the premiership. 

Courtois is an elite keeper we should be keeping him at all costs

He does everything with minimum fuss at moment, definitely cut out some of the unforced errors he had last year and earlier this season. Looking at the shots ( very few) he let in in the last 15 games, all pretty much unsavable. Then look at the ones he saved, he's definitely worth a number of points. It's ironic after Real lost their unbeaten streak, the next big news is they are going to sign Courtois. I suppose he's a wanted GK, but the timing is a bit suspicious. We should pay him all the gold he want to keep him. On paper, there are Gks like Butland, Hart or the kid from Milan to replace him, but in reality it will be hell of a task. Whoever comes in will be compared to Cech and Courtois every game, that's not a small shoe to fill.

22 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

He does everything with minimum fuss at moment, definitely cut out some of the unforced errors he had last year and earlier this season. Looking at the shots ( very few) he let in in the last 15 games, all pretty much unsavable. Then look at the ones he saved, he's definitely worth a number of points. It's ironic after Real lost their unbeaten streak, the next big news is they are going to sign Courtois. I suppose he's a wanted GK, but the timing is a bit suspicious. We should pay him all the gold he want to keep him. On paper, there are Gks like Butland, Hart or the kid from Milan to replace him, but in reality it will be hell of a task. Whoever comes in will be compared to Cech and Courtois every game, that's not a small shoe to fill.

These clubs can give us all of the money in the world for the likes of Courtois, Hazard and Costa, but we shouldn't take it. Courtois is finally starting to show why he was seen as one of the best in the world at Atletico Madrid. You can't replace that. The same goes for Hazard and Costa. Hazard's form has dipped in recent games but him and Costa are pretty much irreplaceable. Talent like Hazard doesn't come around often, and goalscorers like Costa are incredibly hard to find. We haven't had luck with strikers over the years, why would we want to put ourselves in the position where it could take us years to find another one ?

He had a couple of saves yesterday that gave us the three points. However, I saw him a bit shyer commanding the box with the big lads that Hull played inside the area in every corner and foul.

I was beginning to lose faith in him earlier on this season but I couldn't be happier at the moment.

Came out and said he's never been happier at Chelsea at the minute and loves it here. Couldn't have timed it any better with the rumours linking him to Madrid and his previous comments. 

 

I think Conte or someone in the backroom has said something to the players about their social and media presence this year. With both Costa and Tbo coming out and saying things like this when in the past you know a player would never shoot a rumour down when linked with another club etc. 

 

Kudos Courtois and may the clean sheets continue! 

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2017/1/24/14368494/this-is-the-best-that-thibaut-courtois-has-ever-felt-at-chelsea

On 1/19/2017 at 04:06, DrogbaIsKing said:

seems I left out Courtois he's definitely top 5...Neuer, Buffon, Courtois, Lloris and De Gea...Navas is overrated

Navas, yes! I even think Casillas is still better than him.

10 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2017/1/24/14368494/this-is-the-best-that-thibaut-courtois-has-ever-felt-at-chelsea

I can see it in the way he plays. He is also happy and comfortable with teammates. I don't get this rumours saying Chelsea might go with Joe Hart once Thibaut leaves.