He was so bad when he came on.

I think Cuadrado is getting unnecessarily slaughtered, he really wasn't as bad as people say.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, he hasn't shown much quality but it is early days, however he has shown other things which Jose will like, he keeps tight to the flank, giving us width and always giving us the option to switch the play, he also runs in behind, a lot, and that is something nobody else in the squad really does, from deep, sometimes he runs through the middle and sometimes he runs straight down the flank, but he pushes defenders deeper when he does so. There were a couple of moments in the second-half where we tried to play him through as Stoke pushed on looking for an equaliser but the pass was cut out. Cuadrado makes these diagonal runs into the opposing box and he is a forward looking player with lots of pace, furthermore he got in a good position to score but was denied by a double save from Begovic. It wasn't the best effort but it wasn't the worst either and if that goes in his confidence soars and he probably gets loads of praise on these boards.

 

I'll agree we haven't seen any dribbling ability from him, he has given the ball away needlessly and he looks a little lightweight for the Prem, but it is early days. Jose likes players that fit into a tactical system, that can integrate themselves into a team, play as instructed, and of course do a fair bit of work defensively. Cuadrado needs to acclimatise before we can really judge him but I don't think he should be written off just yet. He will be playing with a lot less abandon at Chelsea than he is accustomed to and it will take a while for him to get to grips with it, but Jose has obviously seen something he likes and we should all probably have a bit more faith. Crucially, he is an athletic player, fast and mobile and tenacious, and he's obviously got some pedigree, it's not like we've signed a complete dud.

 

He's not going to be one of the world's top players, we know that, but he can still become a very effective Premiership performer and a very valuable member of our squad.

 

Give him time folks. Give him time.

Before anyone laughs at my post above, I refer to the video of Hazard posted in the Hazard thread ..

 

http://www.theshedend.com/topic/23031-eden-hazard-appreciation-thread/?p=992460

 

If you watch the video between 7mins and 7mins 30secs, you will see the chance Cuadrado nearly scores from, which comes as a result of his movement (as well as the skill of Hazard obviously).

 

Cuadrado drives into the six yard box, goes one way then the other to create the space and give Hazard the option, and is then denied by the keeper with a decent effort.

 

How many times have we seen Willian do this when he has played out on the right? Never. Willian would just not be in the six yard box sniffing out a goal, let alone showing that bit of movement to create the space. I'm not knocking Willian because he's a different player, I'm just showing what Cuadrado potentially offers.

 

Willian has become a very good Premiership performer, a key component of a team doing very well indeed, a player that is never rested, this despite the criticism he attracts. He is an example of a player that has had to work hard to adapt to the Prem, a player that is afforded a lot less freedom than he was accustomed to at other clubs, and a player that has had to toughen up and start working a lot more defensively and tactically too.

 

It's way too early to write Cuadrado off.

all of that is true davey.

 

but it is also probably true to say that schurrle would have offered us more in these six months and the fact that we were prepared to lose both him and salah suggests he was bought to play and have an impact this season as well as in the future. so far he's offered nothing and because of that we've ended up with another position in our first 11 where it seems jose doesn't fully trust any alternative options.

 

for that reason both the manager and player deserve some criticism.

 

also it has to be asked- if he doesn't put in enough (or any) performances of substance before the summer window, what happens? hazard is great, willian is trusted. maybe oscar is testing the managers' patience but for now lets assume his place is relatively secure. where would cuadrado fit in? in terms of numbers it is likely we will bring in another player I guess. and then what becomes of him? way down the pecking order with a huge fee. his age means he might not have a massive resale value for a buying club and the only place in europe where he has any sort of cachet is italy, where there isn't a lot of money.

 

buying wingers is what jose is worst at when it comes to the transfer market. and he has form when it comes to spending big money on them and losing faith so quickly that within a year he changes the system to exclude them entirely.

 

it might be way too early to write him off. but I think we can already have serious concerns.

Drogba is immune to criticism? What!? He gets criticised every time he plays.

He is not immune from criticism in my opinion, Although we all know there are some out there who cant bring themselves to slag off a legend  when they've had a poor game.

Was actually quite shocked at how poor Cuadrado was against Stoke. Looked utterly petrified. As if he's never played a senior game of football in his life. For 24 million you expect a basic level of competence and composure.

Am sure he was signed in January as a rotation option with the expectation we were going to progress into the latter stages of the Champions League. We offloaded Schurrle and Salah with full expectation that Cuadrado was going to start a fair number of games. Otherwise it makes no sense that we would deliberately weaken the squad in this way.

It didn't take Jose long however to lower all our expectations and claim that Cuadrado was not going to be ready till next season! It's maybe a blessing we got knocked out of the Champions League in retrospect.

Got to ask why on earth our scouting/board assessment was that Cuadrado was ready to play a crucial role in the season run in. Clearly, Jose took one look at him and decided otherwise. Sounds like the whole thing was a total cock up if you ask me.

Unfortunately he looks lost on the field. Definitely a downgrade from Schurrle at the moment. Hope he can get up to speed before the summer.

You are not the only one who's feeling that. I'm not saying he is not good but I just feel he's lost and disconnected from the team. I just hope he prove us wrong next season.

Cuadrado is a big waste of money

Cuadrado is a big waste of money

His signing has improved Willian, so it's not all bad. 

Cuadrado is a big waste of money

Whatever happened to been patient with players, we can't expect a player to adapt to a new league with cameo appearances can we? He's clearly been brought in earlier than planned which is actually a good thing cause it gives him to settle here. Give him a pre season and then a next sesson before judging him.

Remember as said before aswell United did the same with Vidic and Rio who looked horrible yet they turned out to be a Premier League greats.

While one possible explanation is that we brought Cuadrado in to make an impact this season, the other equally likely explanation is that Schurrle wanted to move on for various reasons and we therefore bought C for back up but mostly for the future/next season. I mean that Jose and the scouts may not have expected him to make a greater impact this season than Schurrle might have. As he has previously said, any player who wants to move on has to be allowed to move on.

Edited April 6, 201511 yr by ashwin

Whatever happened to been patient with players, we can't expect a player to adapt to a new league with cameo appearances can we? He's clearly been brought in earlier than planned which is actually a good thing cause it gives him to settle here. Give him a pre season and then a next sesson before judging him.

Remember as said before aswell United did the same with Vidic and Rio who looked horrible yet they turned out to be a Premier League greats.

 

There's a difference between needing time to adapt to a new league and new surroundings, and just looking lost and unable to do the basics on a football pitch.

all of that is true davey.

 

but it is also probably true to say that schurrle would have offered us more in these six months and the fact that we were prepared to lose both him and salah suggests he was bought to play and have an impact this season as well as in the future. so far he's offered nothing and because of that we've ended up with another position in our first 11 where it seems jose doesn't fully trust any alternative options.

 

for that reason both the manager and player deserve some criticism.

 

also it has to be asked- if he doesn't put in enough (or any) performances of substance before the summer window, what happens? hazard is great, willian is trusted. maybe oscar is testing the managers' patience but for now lets assume his place is relatively secure. where would cuadrado fit in? in terms of numbers it is likely we will bring in another player I guess. and then what becomes of him? way down the pecking order with a huge fee. his age means he might not have a massive resale value for a buying club and the only place in europe where he has any sort of cachet is italy, where there isn't a lot of money.

 

buying wingers is what jose is worst at when it comes to the transfer market. and he has form when it comes to spending big money on them and losing faith so quickly that within a year he changes the system to exclude them entirely.

 

it might be way too early to write him off. but I think we can already have serious concerns.

 

Okay, good post. Regarding your first point, Jose has always favoured a small squad, dangerously small if you ask me, and he has often come unstuck towards the end of campaigns because of it, when his teams are invariably challenging on all fronts and getting undone with injuries, tiredness and suspensions. This happened in his previous stint with us and was definitely the reason we didn't win the CL with him, IMO.

 

This season he has taken this policy to a whole new extreme, six recognised defenders, six, and that includes Zouma. I've never seen anything like it. Four recognised CMs, four, again unprecedented, four players vying for the three AM spots (including Cuadrado) and three strikers (including an ancient Drogba) vying for the CF spot.

 

That's a tiny squad by anyone's standards. It's not mentioned enough but it's remarkable that we've only lost three games in all competitions this season. Three losses in forty-six games, that would be remarkable in itself but then you have to consider we have the same eleven (more or less) playing every single game, in a tough, tough league, high pressure games. It's almost unthinkable, and it would be unthinkable for any other manager. The only player in our team who isn't a nailed-on starter most weeks is Oscar, who seems to rotate with Ramires. That's it. That's how it goes.

 

Now why do I mention this? Because it is clear Jose doesn't want unhappy players around, he only wants players who are committed to the cause and willing to accept his authority, no questions asked, and also put the team before themselves. You will play as he commands, you will sweat blood for him, you will accept your status and you will accept his, in a nutshell. Everyone else can go, and that includes Schurrle and Salah. Jose will be aware of their talents but they're history because they didn't fit the job description, simple as that. Cuadrado does. He's a right-winger, first of all, which we need, and which Schurrle wasn't. He's happy to be here and happy to fight and Jose has streamlined the squad with the departures of Schurrle and Salah to guarantee him playing-time, in order to keep him happy. He's also fast and athletic, as I've said, and he's clearly talented, though we haven't seen much of that as yet. Primarily it's about attitude and it always will be with Jose.

 

Fergie was the same in many ways, though a different manager whose teams probably played with more abandon, more times than not. Fergie had many sub-par players, as we discovered as soon as he left. How did they keep winning things under him? Because he was such a fantastic manager all they had to do was what they were told. He got them playing above themselves but he needed the tools, and guess what, he selected the tools.

 

How much playing time has Cuadrado had? Not much. Sure he may have had more had he impressed, and that's been disappointing, particularly as you say it doesn't allow others to have a much-needed rest, but we have to consider the lack of playing time, for that is crucial before we jump to conclusions. He hasn't come in and hit the ground running but that means little in the grand scheme of things although obviously it has an impact on this season, but he can still have a part to play, and with every few minutes and with every training session, he's adapting.

 

He wants to be here and Jose wants him here. Jose did what he felt he needed to do in the window and who are we to argue, morale counts for so much more than we can fully realise, everybody has to be pulling in the same direction, there has to be a good spirit in the camp. It doesn't matter who you are, if you don't bring that to the party you are gone in Jose's world and rightly so. He hasn't won so much for nothing.

 

Regarding the summer and who we buy, I'm not worried. We'll have money and that's before the funds we raise through departures. I'm sure if Jose can buy Bale or Reus he will. As I say there is plenty of space in the squad. Chances are however he can't and we at least have adequate options on the flank. We paid £23m rising to £27m for Caudrado I believe. We may have overpaid but not by much, he is 26, approaching his peak years, with lots of experience and a big reputation. It's not massive money by today's standards. He'll possibly be a squad player and a very good one at that, we will see. I'm sure Jose has every intention of building the finest team he has ever built in his entire career. I'm sure he wants to build the team he is remembered for. Slowly but surely, brick by brick, he is building that team, and expertly so. This season will have taught him a lot, particularly the lack of depth he has at his disposal. He will be fully aware of the improvements needed and he'll be doing everything in his power to get the right players this summer.

 

We can be assured of that.

There's a difference between needing time to adapt to a new league and new surroundings, and just looking lost and unable to do the basics on a football pitch.

Despite what people have said I don't think he did that bad against Stoke, only thing off was his strength, passing and positioning were both fine. You really need to learn a little patience, seems you've been spoilt by the recent years.

buying wingers is what jose is worst at when it comes to the transfer market. and he has form when it comes to spending big money on them and losing faith so quickly that within a year he changes the system to exclude them entirely.

 

I'm intrigued by this. I'm sure you're right but can you give me examples, as my memory's not the best. I know he bought SWP and the less said about that the better. Did he buy Malouda? I know he let Robben go, also. 

 

Does anyone have a record of the wingers Jose has bought over the years? Did he buy Di Maria at Real Madrid? If so, that was a good signing.

 

Wingers are curiously difficult to get right, it appears to me. Often they have a short shelf life, in terms of performing at the peak of their powers. Over the years many wingers have caught the eye, only to disappoint as their careers have progressed.

 

Top, top wingers are very hard to come by.

He signed Quaresma, who was sh*t.

He signed Quaresma, who was sh*t.

When Inter signed him he was one of the hottest properties in Europe. I think it's clear it was all down to Quaresma there, wouldn't be the first or last time a manager has signed a player who is hot at the time but ultimately fails at a bigger team.

Also in his minimal game time here he actually performed quite well for us.

Edited April 6, 201511 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

Actually in his minimal game time he actually performed quite well for us

I like you, I respect most of your opinions. But if you dont take that back i will hunt you down and burn all your Chelsea shirts. He wound me right up in every game with his stupid outside of the boot passes/shots/throw ins....

 

 

 

 

I wont really burn your shirts, maybe just singe them a bit.

Edited April 6, 201511 yr by dkw

I like you, I respect most of your opinions. But if you dont take that back i will hunt you down and burn all your Chelsea shirts. He wound me right up in every game with his stupid outside of the boot passes/shots/throw ins....

I wont really burn your shirts, maybe just singe them a bit.

Didn't know you had some Scouse in you, d.

How dare you, that's...I'm....but....ypu can't even imagine how angry I am at that terrible insult.

How dare you, that's...I'm....but....ypu can't even imagine how angry I am at that terrible insult.

You're right, that was a step too far. I'm sorry, completely needless and vulgar. I'm ashamed of myself, please forgive me :(

You're right, that was a step too far. I'm sorry, completely needless and vulgar. I'm ashamed of myself.

so you should be, now go say 100 hail zolas and 100 our terrys as penance.

He signed Quaresma, who was sh*t.

 

Did he? I never knew that. Which team was he managing, surely not us, I thought somebody else signed him for us?

 

Quaresma is a classic example of the wingers I mentioned, lots of hype but didn't really live up to it, although in his case it seems a rather extreme example, as he totally disappeared off the radar.

 

Remember Joaquim? So much hype around him back in the day. Only goes to show how hard it is for wingers to fulfil their promise, and how hard the judgement call is when you sign them.

You know what, I think your right. In fact he might have sent him here on loan when he was inter manager.

He wound me right up in every game with his stupid outside of the boot passes/shots/throw ins...

 

Haha, no doubt he overdid it but the few times he got it right, it was pleasing to the eye.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMAe3IZdGIg