Sir C;3479514 said:Yeah I like Luiz too, but I havent been THAT overwhelmed by him this season. He didnt step up when we went through our bad patch. He still makes mistakes, he is still rash, he still gets booked too much. However, I agree he is maturing, he is getting more solid defensively and more disciplined as a player. For a time I thought we would have to retrain him to midfield or lose him, now I agree with you that he could be a key figure in our defense IF we start defending properly.
Great season: Mata, Cech, Cole
Very good season: Azpilicueta, Luiz, Ramires, Ivanovic
Promising season: Oscar, Ba, Hazard, Moses, Bertrand
Slightly disappointing season: Cahill, Mikel, Marin, Romeu (mainly due to injury)
Disappointing season: Torres, Benayoun
I didnt include Terry and Lampard but they were both pretty ok I guess, some important goals from Lampard.
Getting booked too often, sure, although I think it has to do with the whole defense. Yellows generally come when you have to make a rash tackle or stop a counter, which is rarely just one players' fault. It's not that I've been overwhelmed with him, but gradually I have become much more secure with him in the side, to the point that I consider him to be the 2nd most indispensable member of it, because of his contributions in all areas of the game.
I disagree with your ratings, though. Cole has, at most, slightly bettered last season, which was rather poor by his standards. Bertrand has been fine, I suppose you could say promising because he has become a serviceable player. Ba showed a lot of promise, but I'm actually disappointed with his goal tally. That said, I think it's a huge reflection on the fact that what we need is a creator and not a forward. I mean, we need better forwards, but Ba is more than capable of bagging more than the ones he has. I worry that we'll get Falcao or Lewandowski and not address the creation issues and it's just gonna be the same.
My only disappointment with Mikel is that Rafa hasn't trusted him more. I think he is very undervalued and underrated. Cahill was fine, I mean, he's 4th choice. He's our worst defender and it shows on the pitch, but for 4th choice he's good enough, not sure anyone has a better 4th choice than we do, perhaps barring Madrid and Bayern, perhaps.
Yossi should not be playing for us, so I'm not disappointed. I am with Marin though, I really thought there was something there. I-m not blaming him entirely, though, even if he doesn't perform in training it still makes more sense to give him more chances than fielding Yossi again and again.
And yeah, the attacking band trio of Moses, Hazard and Oscar flashed and disappointed at different times. A lot of promise there, good year for them considering it's their first.