Jawge: Which would you take...a man sent off or

[Karl]

or 2 goals down?

[Karl]

Oscar has been in the mood from the start of the game... His crosses were not turned into goals. Maicon messes up plays two or three times by not passing and thus losing the ball...but? ...when yuh salt yuh salt.
Now clear foul - Penalty! ...and he gets a caution instead of his penalty -

[Peter R]

After this WC, Oscar has risen high on my player to watch scale...

[HL]

Tilla will tell you ...you don't watch enough Chelsea game.

Oscar, Willian and Rameres(sp?) are all on the players to watch scale.

[Tilla]

Tell 'im fi mi HL! Oscar didn't have a great tournament and neither did Willian or Ramires. There is a reason why Jose Mourinho says Oscar would be his first choice #10 and not Mata. Oscar is talented.

I think Chelsea did some smart business offloading David Luiz before the start of the World Cup for 50 million pounds to PSG. If they had waited, I am sure they would be lucky to get 15 million for him after the tournament. Mourinho must be licking his chops and smiling to himself while thinking "I know talent when I see it."

While David Luiz has good ball control, passing and free kick skills, his lack of positional awareness when he is on the field is just appaling! I hope they can tame him at PSG where he should be partnering Thiago Silva in the heart of their defense. I can understand Mourinho's frustration with Luiz and why he chose to cash in on him even before a ball was kicked in the World Cup. Otherwise, he would have seen Luiz's stock plummet after the World Cup.

[Karl]

I think Chelsea did some smart business offloading David Luiz before the start of the World Cup for 50 million pounds to PSG. If they had waited, I am sure they would be lucky to get 15 million for him after the tournament. Mourinho must be licking his chops and smiling to himself while thinking "I know talent when I see it."

While David Luiz has good ball control, passing and free kick skills, his lack of positional awareness when he is on the field is just appaling! I hope they can tame him at PSG where he should be partnering Thiago Silva in the heart of their defense. I can understand Mourinho's frustration with Luiz and why he chose to cash in on him even before a ball was kicked in the World Cup. Otherwise, he would have seen Luiz's stock plummet after the World Cup.

Well PSG paid a premium. Normally I would agree with you not based on his quality but on the fact that a defender does not normal get top dollars....forwards do. David Luiz is a wonderful player.

The TEAM Brazil had wonderful players.
The problem was the quality of the TEAM. It was not a TEAM at the very top...and mainly as a result of not doing the simple things that today's fast-paced game demands.

- dribbled too much often;

- stayed on the ball too long too often i.e. not making the pass 'early' and that led to TEAM losing possession as on giveaways much too often;

If just those 2 little things were eliminated the manner of play would have been much improved and the results MAY have been vastly different.

[Tilla]

Well PSG paid a premium. Normally I would agree with you not based on his quality but on the fact that a defender does not normal get top dollars....forwards do. David Luiz is a wonderful player.

Ferninand went for 30 million back in the day, 18 year old Luke Shaw just signed with ManUre for $27 (his club wanted 35). Eliaquim Mangala has a release clause of 32 million on his contract, which City may be meeting. So if clubs consider a defender to be of exceptional quality, they will splash the cash. If there is competition for a defender between larger clubs, this will certainly push up the price.

Back to Luiz. I never said he wasn't a wonderful player, I only pointed out one of his major flaws as a defender. He does not "stay home" and roams all over the field which sometimes helps the team when in attack, but most times he will be caught out of position when the team is defending. I mean, so many times in this World cup for Brazil, he is way out of position when there is a counter attack. I think this is one of the major reasons Mourinho preferred Cayhill over him in defense. I agree with many folks that with his attacking capabilities, he may serve most teams better playing as a defensive midfielder who can join the attack.

PSG as well as Bayern Munich had an interest in Luiz for some time. I guess PSG decided to throw out their bait early with a price they thought Chelsea would not refuse to avoid fighting with Bayern after the World cup. I think that clubs when looking on spending on a player will not necessarily use a single tournament to make their decision. It is much easier to weigh the player's capabilities over a season or two at club level than a World Cup where the player's team could play a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 7 games in the competition.

[Karl]

Ferninand went for 30 million back in the day, 18 year old Luke Shaw just signed with ManUre for $27 (his club wanted 35). Eliaquim Mangala has a release clause of 32 million on his contract, which City may be meeting. So if clubs consider a defender to be of exceptional quality, they will splash the cash. If there is competition for a defender between larger clubs, this will certainly push up the price.

Agreed!
...I wonder what is the highest figure paid for a defender?

Forwards?
Some above $40 million...and some even as high as above $100 million!
Any above $150? ...not pound sterling or Euro but US dollars?

Back to Luiz. I never said he wasn't a wonderful player, I only pointed out one of his major flaws as a defender. He does not "stay home" and roams all over the field which sometimes helps the team when in attack, but most times he will be caught out of position when the team is defending.
I mean, so many times in this World cup for Brazil, he is way out of position when there is a counter attack. I think this is one of the major reasons Mourinho preferred Cayhill over him in defense. I agree with many folks that with his attacking capabilities, he may serve most teams better playing as a defensive midfielder who can join the attack.

Yup! ...too often he was not in his expected defensive position!

PSG as well as Bayern Munich had an interest in Luiz for some time. I guess PSG decided to throw out their bait early with a price they thought Chelsea would not refuse to avoid fighting with Bayern after the World cup. I think that clubs when looking on spending on a player will not necessarily use a single tournament to make their decision. It is much easier to weigh the player's capabilities over a season or two at club level than a World Cup where the player's team could play a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 7 games in the competition.

Bang on!