Nathan Aké

[BoyBlue96 990]

Nathan Gullit is back.

 

Hopefully the first Dutchman to really add something to the squad at Chelsea since Robben...

Did good at Bournemouth but I don't think he's up for it but I hope so...for him but also for us Dutch as the Dutch team has shit left backs since Gio van Bronckhorst retired.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

1 hour ago, manpe said:

Remember Bosingwa and how many attacking chances he ruined from good crossing positions? Or Ivanovic from last season?

Or everybody else, from any season you care to mention. Even if your name is Beckham or De Bruyne most of your crosses from open play will not find a teammate, and most of those which do will not be converted into goals.

I don't say the ability to deliver a cross is not desirable, I just say it's less of a benefit than many think it is and definitely less of one than the other WB attributes we could list. Find me a candidate who offers those other attributes and I tell you honestly, I couldn't care less whether he is the best or the worst in his position when it comes to delivering a cross. The difference between top and bottom of that category, in terms of outcome, will be pretty marginal anyway.

You and I go back much further than most posters on here. If we put our heads together, how many consistently great crossers could we name who have represented this club? And I include attacking players in that. I would suggest that any name we come up with would only seem to have been great when shrouded in a haze of nostalgia. A haze which causes us to forget all of their uselessly wasteful deliveries, and only remember the ones which came to anything.

I did a post a month or two ago in which I explained why I don't rate crossing as a big factor in the play of a wingback, and talked about the things which I think are more important. I won't attempt to regurgitate it all but if I can find the original I will link it. In the meantime, if you would find it interesting, why not list the attributes you think are important for wingbacks and say which ones you rank below crossing?

[manpe 10,855]

5 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Or everybody else, from any season you care to mention. Even if your name is Beckham or De Bruyne most of your crosses from open play will not find a teammate, and most of those which do will not be converted into goals.

I don't say the ability to deliver a cross is not desirable, I just say it's less of a benefit than many think it is and definitely less of one than the other WB attributes we could list. Find me a candidate who offers those other attributes and I tell you honestly, I couldn't care less whether he is the best or the worst in his position when it comes to delivering a cross. The difference between top and bottom of that category, in terms of outcome, will be pretty marginal anyway.

You and I go back much further than most posters on here. If we put our heads together, how many consistently great crossers could we name who have represented this club? And I include attacking players in that. I would suggest that any name we come up with would only seem to have been great when shrouded in a haze of nostalgia. A haze which causes us to forget all of their uselessly wasteful deliveries, and only remember the ones which came to anything.

I did a post a month or two ago in which I explained why I don't rate crossing as a big factor in the play of a wingback, and talked about the things which I think are more important. I won't attempt to regurgitate it all but if I can find the original I will link it. In the meantime, if you would find it interesting, why not list the attributes you think are important for wingbacks and say which ones you rank below crossing?

Good post and I very much understand your POV. I was more contesting the claim that crossing is "rock bottom last" attribute. Good crossers are hard to come by these days and they often seem wasteful, because as you said most crosses won't achieve anything directly, but a dangerous cross can cause a situation where you destabilize the opponent and carve out an opportunity to score eventually. Using this logic you can also say that shooting is not important, because most shots will not go in or even be on target.

How many consistently good crossers I remember? None honestly. During the time I've watched us we have never really been a team with great emphasis on wing-play and crossing like Man United for example, we have mostly been a battering ram through the middle.

What attributes are important for wingbacks? Speed to get up and down quickly, stamina for sure to be able to do that throughout a game. Tactical sense and positional awareness (City has shown us what happens when they are lacking that). Obviously defending skills like marking and tackling, because first and foremost they are still defenders and need to be competent at that. Those would be the attributes I would look at the most when evaluating a WB and you are correct, crossing ability is not that important in the list mainly because we rely more on combination play (yay!) and quick breaks. It's still a fine weapon to have knowing your WB can whip in a worldie when provoked to do so, instead of under- or overhitting 9 times out 10. This will be especially useful when we are facing teams that clog the middle and force us wide.

Which attributes rank below crossing? I will say long distance shooting and crazy dribbling skills, but beyond that I'm actually struggling to think of any. Considering the opponent you are facing and the type of game you're in, crossing ability can be of vital importance or completely unnecessary, but overall it's far from being among the core attributes required for a wingback that I agree with. Writing this post while giving it some more thought I realized that I might have overestimated the importance of crossing.

[ja1 1,166]

On 08/01/2017 at 1:40 PM, Leif said:

I agree with every word of yours. I think that bringing in the youth, is like a cherry on top of the cake. It's very pretty decoration. But, we still need a strong enough sponge/foundation first. And right now, our sponge is not completely ready. It's crumbly, and while it resembles a cake, if someone were to bite into it deep, they'd see that the core is not yet good enough to be leaping ahead to adding the decoration.

Maybe this wouldn't even be a conversation though if we were looking at our other youngsters. We do have some talent that I genuinely believe are already 6.5's, ready to be made 7/10 players very quickly under Conte. Those are Jay Dasilva, Musonda, perhaps Christensen, Tammy Abraham (he was already an absolute monster for the youth teams; the fact that he's now averaging a goal every 2 games in the Championship makes me think he's capable enough to be our next Demba Ba or whatnot.), & Kalas (still only 23, and when we played him, I thought he was truly superb. It confuses me why we don't use him). 

Those are our gems. Those are all players who'd be good enough for the top 6 or so Premier League teams, right now. No other team in the top 6 would take Ake, Ruben or Chalobah. We and City would both be better with Christensen, right now. Arsenal would be better with Abraham (he's perfect for their system; just stand up top and score, don't do much else.) Kalas would be useful here or at City; but he'd truly shine at Liverpool. Musonda is more delicate so I won't say anything about him in this regard. Dasilva similar. We have youth players already good enough for the Premier League's top 6, so why do we focus on our youth players that're barely good enough for the top 6 of the npower Championship? 

I like how everyone ignored this car cash of a post

[Chelsea? 892]

1 hour ago, ja1 said:

I like how everyone ignored this car cash of a post

😂 😂😂

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

Love the racall of Nathan Ake. He can really be the ultimate utility man, playing as a  LWB, LCB, and in CM too. An article was just released that Marcos Alonso has been carrying an upper leg injury even before he arrived, and it's been getting progressively worse the past few weeks, so I think it's clear Conte wants him to play as LWB primarily for right now. 

Having said all that, I'll be very curious to see how Conte puts together our defense for next season. Top clubs usually don't carry more than 1 young Developmental CB. And as it stands, we'll have 3 next season with Christensen, Zouma & Ake. That's 1/2 too many. 

In my ideal world, Ake makes it here as a LWB primarily. Christensen/Luiz/Azpi/Cahill for CB spots, Azpi also as supplemental RWB when up against. Zouma on Loan. 

Edit: Interesting video here, where Nathan Ake states he sees himself as a CM/CB more so than LB. Think it's clear he doesn't like LB role that much. Wonder what this means. 

 

[Dazzy_Vance 454]

So crossing isn't important? How did we concede our two goals against Tottenham again?

The word "cross" doesn't just mean some absolute peachy inswinger from 40 yards out that hits the target on the top of their head. A lot of goals scored come from grounded crosses as well.

[Sideshow Luiz 2,310]

When the news of his recall came around, my immediate reaction was to assume he was going to play as LCB.

We'll see.

[-Kaplan- 410]

On January 8, 2017 at 1:47 PM, The Skipper said:

He's almost tailor made for the LCB role and also provides good cover at CM imo. 

He's not physical enough, IMO. I would rather have him as a back-up to Marcos Alonso.

And if Marcos has been carrying an injury since he joined, then maybe Nathan is coming as a just in case. 

[volfan89 97]

Seems like the lad has matured a ton over the last year and a half. You can see it in his face that he's grown up too. I think he'll surprise a lot of folks and get into the squad on a regular basis. Sooner rather than later. 

[Special Juan 27,093]

Alonso is now no longer in the comfort zone, he has competition and I do not think Antonio will be scared to switch it.

[Unionjack 7,531]

Nathan Ake reveals exactly what Antonio Conte said to him after Chelsea return

“He wants to see me here, how I’ll do in this team and, yes, to learn different positions.

[Last Sicarius 610]

Ake take 6, that what we can see at Chelsea site.

[Captain Ahmed 528]

Rush young man,you will go far in keeping your mentality of winner

[Unionjack 7,531]

 

Conte assesses Ake following return to Chelsea

Conte assesses Ake following return to Chelsea

 

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has revealed he has been looking closely at Nathan Ake playing as a centre-back in training this week.

Conte recently explained that his decision to recall Ake from a season-long loan at Bournemouth was partly based on the Dutch youngster’s versatility.

Ake, 21, can pay in the centre of defence or in midfield, and Conte is also keen to deploy him as a wing-back in training to see if he might also be an option in that role for the Blues.

For the time being, though, Conte has been looking at Ake as a centre-back.

“In these days I tried him as a central defender,” Conte explained.

“It’s important for me to have a bit of time with him to know him better and to try to find out the best position for him.

“He can play in different roles and it’s very important for us he is able to do that.

“He can play as a central defender, in the middle or on the left. He could also play as a wing-back. It’s important now to work with us.”

Conte also suggested that Ake’s return to the squad could save Chelsea having to spend on an alternative during this month’s transfer window.

“This makes me more calm in the January market,” said the Italian.

“He has good personality and he’s mature. It (coming back to Chelsea) is not a gift for him. Somebody must deserve to come back.

“In a year and a half he has improved a lot. This shows that it’s important for a young player to play on loan, and then, when they are ready, come back and play with us.”

 

[OneMoSalah 8,611]

Interesting hes back, I would hope he'd be back up LCB to Cahill, because still I think Cahill is a stronger player and also more dominant in the air as well as being taller. Azpi and Ake both as CBs would be a nightmare, Azpi isn't too tall and Im sure Ake isn't either.

[Unionjack 7,531]

The Blues boss reveals that the much-loaned midfielder was recalled from Bournemouth to play a part in their pursuit of the Premier League title

Nathan Ake has a part to play in Chelsea's bid for the Premier League title, according to manager Antonio Conte. "Nathan Ake came back with us because I evaluated his situation and our situation and he is a good reinforcement,"

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/683/main/2017/01/20/31759442/conte-why-i-brought-ake-back-to-chelsea?ICID=OP

 

[Unionjack 7,531]

Hes definitely playing tomorrow. Just dunno if its WB or CB  yet

‘He (Ake) has the possible of playing in different positions, as a central defender and a wing-back,’ the Blues boss explained.

‘Tomorrow is a good opportunity for him to show me he’s in our ideal of football and show his improvement to us.’

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/759746/Chelsea-News-Nathan-Ake-Antonio-Conte-Brentford-FA-Cup

 

 

I hope its as WB.

Lets hope he has a blinder.

.