Chelsea's Portuguese Legion: your performance assessment so far

[ferreirajl]

Hi,

I have been reading arround this forum for a while now, mostly to have an idea of what are Chelsea fans opinions about their portuguese legion, including the coach.

I thought about creating this thread to collect all your thoughts about these guys, simply because I have noticed that not all of them have managed to captivate the admiration of the fans. That is understandable in such a good team like Chelsea, but anyway, instead of my own interpretations maybe you could give a small evaluation of their performances so far.

Maybe a little rating system could be worked out for the players... lets say:

1= unsatisfactory - (total flop)
2= average - (average player, but not worthy of being at Chelsea)
3= reasonably good - (not a starter but, a good 2nd choice)
4= good - (Chelsea material; will help the team all through the season)
5= world class - (undisputed starter, a reference in the team)

This is just a suggestion but you can do your evaluation as you think it's best.
Please don't forget to drop a few lines about what do you think of Mourinho's tactical system. Personal remarks about his arrogance are futile IMO as this is his style and he won't change it.

Thank you for your time.

[nicephoras]

Tiago=3
Ferreira=4
Carvalho=4.5

Mourinho=4.75 (thus far)

Nuno Morais=Incomplete.

[BridgeMonkee]

Ok, this is thus far, I'm hoping to see some improvemnet :)
I'll know more after the Arsenal game

Tiago = 3
Ferreira = 3 and a bit
Carvalho = 4

Mourinho = 4

[mst77]

Tiago = 2.5
Ferreira = 4
Carvalho = 4.5
Oliveira = 2
Morais = ?

Mourinho = 4.5

[lobomojo]

Tiago = 3.5 solid, shows good potential, does very little wrong, but not much extra-special yet either, I rate him behind Smertin, Parker in a defensive minded line-up, and behind Cole, Parker, Geremi, and Johnson in an attack the bus lineup. But JM rates him high clearly and I rate JM much higher than me as a manager, though about even in arrogence as, "I am a special fantasy manager" :)

Ferreira = 4.75 Took him a couple games to settle in, especially on the attack, but I rate him the best most consistent rb in the EPL so far defensivly,
and definatly starting to show more on the attack

Carvalho = 4.75, very talented and smart player, solid, consistent mostly (had a couple mishaps recently) about even with Gallas, on a tier just below Terry a healthy Campbell, and the pre-test Rio, as one of the best in the EPL.

Oliveira = 2.5? but barely seen him play

Morais = have not seen him play

Mourinho = 4.95, Done a beautiful job so far, smart to build up from the back and get the discipline and organazation right first, even if it brought early critics. I was a little worried early about his desire to attack, not so much anymore. No nonsense, honest with his players, high expectations -meet them or be gone, even the arrogence I find refreshing. I hate managers with our talent that talk about needing luck, we are not really good enough to play with them, etc. I would like to see him give a little more sensable (not tinker) time to some bench players, but I think that is coming; it was importent for him to get to a good start with the high expectations and so many wanting him to see him eat his words.

[ferreirajl]

Mourinho = 4.95, Done a beautiful job so far, smart to build up from the back and get the discipline and organazation right first, even if it brought early critics. I was a little worried early about his desire to attack, not so much anymore. No nonsense, honest with his players, high expectations -meet them or be gone, even the arrogence I find refreshing. I hate managers with our talent that talk about needing luck, we are not really good enough to play with them, etc. I would like to see him give a little more sensable (not tinker) time to some bench players, but I think that is coming; it was importent for him to get to a good start with the high expectations and so many wanting him to see him eat his words.

Your evaluation of Mourinho is right on the mark IMO. I think he makes it a point not to hide his arrogance so that it passes on to the team, so players will either a) fold under the pressure or b) become a lot more confident
either way he knows what he's going to get from his players very fast.

[ferreirajl]

I'll know more after the Arsenal game


When will that game be? I'll probably be able to get it live here. They've been showing almost all Chelsea games live on cable.

[Clan]

Um...

Mourinho - the type of coach we needed to win the title.Didn't warm up too him at first, thought his continental style of play would see us drop too many points in away draws.Was on his back over the non playing of Damian Duff - he's sorted that situation out, looks like he knew what he was doing all along by holding the lad back untill he was convinced he was ready for full time football.Ditto with Robben.
His inclusion of both Robben and Duff in selections so far has me convinced that earlier worries of being a shade too defensive were unwarranted.
It's also a refreshing change to not have too listen to talk from the manager about not being in Arsenals class.I liked Ranieri - but honestly, who didn't cringe when he came out in front of the telly and said that.


Ferriera - dead solid right full.Another one i didn't warm up too at first.Rate him as probably the best right full in the league right now.Excellent tutor for Johnson too learn the finer points of the position from.

Carvalho.
World class - 'nuff said.

Tiago - still can't see why we bought him to be honest.Decent player in his own right, certainly can't be shackled with the 'not good enough for Chelsea' tag, but, when he comes on the pitch on the right, i always feel that we'd have been better off getting a proper right sided midfielder/winger instead.
Never does anything bad, but never does anything exceptional either.

Haven't seen anything of the others.

[nicephoras]

What I like about Morinho's arrogance is that he draws all the expectations onto himself and away from the players. I don't think he cares remotely about how the media hounds him, when he's the bigger story. So long as they leave the players alone, and don't put undue pressure on them.
The more I see of him, the more I'm convinced there's a method to the madness.

[adri]

Ferreira = 4, a great defender, strong going forward.
Carvalho = 4, a great centre back.
Tiago = 3ish, still a weak link in midfield, give JM a year with him.
Oliveira = 3.5 (based on him 12 minutes vs everton last season)
Morais = ain't seen him.

Mourinho is second only to God;)

[CrisRicHeldTiago]

I'm not gonna grade any players, that wouldn't be fair to anyone, because I'm neither a Porto fan nor am I a Chelsea fan. But I do have to say that Carvalho, P. Ferreira, and Mourinho's track record's are impeccable.

As for Tiago, he's a very solid player...who is still feelin his way through the EPL. I think some people might be forgetting that he's a bit younger than Ferreira and Carvalho, and because of that, there might be a little longer period of development, in respect to life in the EPL. Tiago was considered class, even by rival fans, when he played for Benfica in the Portuguese Superliga. That should say something.

As for Filipe Oliveira. I've heard that he's a diamond in the rough. But at Chelsea, this kid will never get his opportunity...I don't think. Abrahamovich, will surely go out and sign the best...and not worry so much about developing the best. Nuno Morais...I haven't heard too much on this kid.

Mourinho knows what he's doing. But its still a long year for him and the players to prove their mettle.

[ferreirajl]

The more I see of him, the more I'm convinced there's a method to the madness.

This I can guarantee it from 2 and a half years of experience watching him with us.

I can give you a funny example of this...

Two weeks before last year's CL final, Porto played Benfica in the Portuguese Cup final. Porto played a rather uninspired game, got a man sent off in the 2nd half when the game was tied 1-1...well we ended up losing 2-1. This happened 2 weeks before the CL final (you see the implications on the morale of the players ;) ).

In the press conference after the game Mourinho went on like a madman, he attacked the ref, the linesman, the choice of place where the final is played (Lisbon), you name it. The newspapers were all over him... "unaceptable behaviour"... bla bla.... "arrogance"...bla bla bla... "sour loser"....bla bla

not a word about the poor performance of several players!

few people realized that with all that talk he never ONCE said "Benfica played better", or "my players didn't do enough". He couldn't afford to have his players harmed by any criticism just before the CL!!

That's brilliant stuff if you ask me, although Im sure it's pretty annoying for opponents :D

[BridgeMonkee]

Ferreira = 3 and a bit


Ferreira is the starter at RB.

Nobody gets a 5 until we have some silverware :)

That uncludes all the non-Portuguese players as well.

[ferreirajl]

Nobody gets a 5 until we have some silverware

:) thats very understandable... lol

[yasik19]

Hi,

I have been reading arround this forum for a while now, mostly to have an idea of what are Chelsea fans opinions about their portuguese legion, including the coach.

I thought about creating this thread to collect all your thoughts about these guys, simply because I have noticed that not all of them have managed to captivate the admiration of the fans. That is understandable in such a good team like Chelsea, but anyway, instead of my own interpretations maybe you could give a small evaluation of their performances so far.

Maybe a little rating system could be worked out for the players... lets say:

1= unsatisfactory - (total flop)
2= average - (average player, but not worthy of being at Chelsea)
3= reasonably good - (not a starter but, a good 2nd choice)
4= good - (Chelsea material; will help the team all through the season)
5= world class - (undisputed starter, a reference in the team)

This is just a suggestion but you can do your evaluation as you think it's best.
Please don't forget to drop a few lines about what do you think of Mourinho's tactical system. Personal remarks about his arrogance are futile IMO as this is his style and he won't change it.

Thank you for your time.


since i'm a chelsea fan, i love all the players. In terms of grading, just look at how many goals the portuguese defense has allowed. Not too bad, if you ask me. Thus, i think we should grade them together when they play, instead of separate. As a unit, i give everyone a 4.3 so far b/c we still have a long way to go.

[Andy Bennett]

Tiago - 2.5-3 He's OK but we've already got people who are better and aren't now playing.

Ferreira - 4.5 Definitely needed because Melchiot wasn't good enough and Johnson wasn't the finished article.

Carvallho - 3.5 I was very impressed with him at first and would have given him a 4-4.5... but I've noticed he gives away too many free-kicks when he comes out and clatters people, usually from behind and often just outside the box. That might come back to bite us in the arse at some point, particularly the CL with guys who can really bend a ball like Beckham, Ronaldinho, Zidane... well, there's quite a few of them to be honest.

[Walter3000]

i dont think youll ever get an accurate readout from most fans. especially the englishones who believe johnson and parker should be playing over fereirra and tiago

[Andy Bennett]

Er, I'm not aware of too many people arguing that Johnson should be starting every game rather than Ferreira.

However, Parker rather than Tiago... absolutely.

[nicephoras]

Er, I'm not aware of too many people arguing that Johnson should be starting every game rather than Ferreira.

However, Parker rather than Tiago... absolutely.

Neither should start over Smertin, personally. (When he's fit.)

[Clan]

i dont think youll ever get an accurate readout from most fans. especially the englishones who believe johnson and parker should be playing over fereirra and tiago

Eh?

Who has said that?

You been taking too many of the green ones and not enough of the black ones?