Ramires

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

Too much is made of his crossing ability, or lack of it. We've lost our big aerial threat in Drogba, is it really necessary for our wingers to be hitting in 10 crosses a game?

i havent heard that arguement (his crossing) but if thats being said then yea i agree no need. but he needs to be in cm, and in a 433 or 4141. he cant beat anyone one v one only on counter in space. which is why if we can be full throttle, with hazard and marin on wings and mata as cam, rambo can be that extra man making those runs into space and helpin us unlocking defenses. thats the only way 433 can work. a true LW &RW, aswell as cam. so long we havent had both and now we do, along with one of best cam/lw in juan manuel mata. i am confident 433 will work if hazard lw mata cam and marin rw. rambo in cm. it will definately work.

[klopfzeichen 78]

i havent heard that arguement (his crossing) but if thats being said then yea i agree no need. but he needs to be in cm, and in a 433 or 4141. he cant beat anyone one v one only on counter in space. which is why if we can be full throttle, with hazard and marin on wings and mata as cam, rambo can be that extra man making those runs into space and helpin us unlocking defenses. thats the only way 433 can work. a true LW &RW, aswell as cam. so long we havent had both and now we do, along with one of best cam/lw in juan manuel mata. i am confident 433 will work if hazard lw mata cam and marin rw. rambo in cm. it will definately work.

To be honest there's no much difference between that 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 with Hazard-Mata-Marin up top and Ramires in double pivot. Also Mata isn't a CM.

[FormerRussianSpy 163]

For those of you who think Ramires cant cross, give it a break.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9OWZdkcnjs

[francozola 2,040]

^ one example doesn't really prove anything tbh

Anyway he isn't that bad but he's clearly not comfortable nor good enough to play in that role imo

[Jase 43,479]

^ one example doesn't really prove anything tbh

Exactly. Even Bosingwa had his crossing moment when he drilled in a perfect low cross to setup Malouda for the winner against West Brom last season.

And speaking of crosses, it just amazes me how our crosses/crossing never seem to improve. Almost every game, the players consistently put in crap crosses into the box and hardly reach the intended target. Do they even practice it in training?!!

[5354 204]

Exactly. Even Bosingwa had his crossing moment when he drilled in a perfect low cross to setup Malouda for the winner against West Brom last season.

And speaking of crosses, it just amazes me how our crosses/crossing never seem to improve. Almost every game, the players consistently put in crap crosses into the box and hardly reach the intended target. Do they even practice it in training?!!

Hahaha

I never remembed any good consistent crossing from our club.. other than from Ashley....

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I never remembed any good consistent crossing from our club.. other than from Ashley....

Even Ash's crossing is on the decline. Last year he rarely made good crosses.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

^ one example doesn't really prove anything tbh

Anyway he isn't that bad but he's clearly not comfortable nor good enough to play in that role imo

Exactly...I hate when people use youtube videos to try to prove a point or even to show a player's quality. They are purposefully selective moments and do not show anything other than those selected moments. Youtube videos do not prove anything. Ramires is not a great passer. I know that because I've probably seen him play in about 75 matches for Chelsea.

[Kinol 337]

He just doesnt work as a right winger. Yeah, he was fantastic when he set up the first girl but on the wing he was worthless and always slowed us down. He really lacks some basic football skills.

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Tbh that Napoli cross wasn't exactly difficult as nobody closed him down. If you had a good 3 or 4 touches to get the ball out of your feet and shape your body to cross the ball in 9 times out of 10 you'd hopefully pick someone out.

[Peace. 4,352]

And speaking of crosses, it just amazes me how our crosses/crossing never seem to improve. Almost every game, the players consistently put in crap crosses into the box and hardly reach the intended target. Do they even practice it in training?!!

Bro, you put the nail on something. Sometimes, I wonder what the players do during the training sessions... Our crosses and freekicks are abysmal. I refuse to believe that we practice these aspects of the game. Our defending on set pieces is frail. We fail to make the easiest passes. Our shoots aren't very accurates. All these things are stuff you practice and improve during the training. Sometimes I get the feeling the players and managing staff go to Cobham to have a good time.

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

we dont need to learn how to cross that much with no aireal threat anymore, but we need to learn how to send score on free-kicks besides being offside. free-kicks will be soo plentyfull this season but i dont see us sccorein even 5 goals from them. we need to work on that ascpect more than any other in the coming weeks. becasue hazard alone wins like 3-4 and thos chances in the right squad can be deadly and really alter teams from fouling that much.

also we need to work on our corners as-well, just horrific they are, absolutely horrific.........

[Jase 43,479]

Bro, you put the nail on something. Sometimes, I wonder what the players do during the training sessions... Our crosses and freekicks are abysmal. I refuse to believe that we practice these aspects of the game. Our defending on set pieces is frail. We fail to make the easiest passes. Our shoots aren't very accurates. All these things are stuff you practice and improve during the training. Sometimes I get the feeling the players and managing staff go to Cobham to have a good time.

It's incredibly frustrating to watch that we can't even do the basic things right in every game as you pointed out there. Those problems have been apparent for 2-3 years now and yet, there doesn't seem to be any improvement!

And speaking of free kicks, has Hazard actually taken one for us so far?! I have seen Lampard, Mata and even Luiz taking it but not Hazard. What on earth is that all about?!

we dont need to learn how to cross that much with no aireal threat anymore, but we need to learn how to send score on free-kicks besides being offside. free-kicks will be soo plentyfull this season but i dont see us sccorein even 5 goals from them. we need to work on that ascpect more than any other in the coming weeks. becasue hazard alone wins like 3-4 and thos chances in the right squad can be deadly and really alter teams from fouling that much.

also we need to work on our corners as-well, just horrific they are, absolutely horrific.........

That is just being plain ignorant. Crosses are a vital part of the game and we might not cross as much as before but regardless of whether we still have the aerial threat like before, they are still useful in setting up goals, be it from high crosses or low crosses.

[TrippingStep 336]

Bro, you put the nail on something. Sometimes, I wonder what the players do during the training sessions... Our crosses and freekicks are abysmal. I refuse to believe that we practice these aspects of the game. Our defending on set pieces is frail. We fail to make the easiest passes. Our shoots aren't very accurates. All these things are stuff you practice and improve during the training. Sometimes I get the feeling the players and managing staff go to Cobham to have a good time.

I think it's that our senior players have had success in a playing style and don't want to change their habits.

I've read an interview of Cech when he said to don't expect a changing style, only small adjustements for this season as they had plenty of success the last years with their playing style.

They are used to play in a certain fashion and don't want to change or adapt.

I think that for a real change it will only happen when the historical leaders of the dressing room will retire

[Kinol 337]

If Ramires gets some time tomorrow on the pitch against Sweden he will probably play as the 2 DMs in a 4-2-3-1 formation. That way we can get a impression of him on that position.

[Land 331]

No,he will play as a winger or a CM in the 3 man midfield

[FormerRussianSpy 163]

Exactly...I hate when people use youtube videos to try to prove a point or even to show a player's quality. They are purposefully selective moments and do not show anything other than those selected moments. Youtube videos do not prove anything.

Tbh that Napoli cross wasn't exactly difficult as nobody closed him down. If you had a good 3 or 4 touches to get the ball out of your feet and shape your body to cross the ball in 9 times out of 10 you'd hopefully pick someone out.

I agree, Youtube videos are essentially glorified highlights, but how does that discount the skill and technique required to pull off what is exhibited? Surely you're not implying that Ramires' cross, or most successful crosses are a product of luck and not skill.

I concede that using a video of exceptional moments isn't particularly indicative of a player's overall quality, but at the same time you can't possibly take the position that it shows absolutely nothing.

I mean any great striker will miss as many or more shots than he makes. Compiling some goals, or just exhibiting one without the context of the game and his misses doesn't immediately discount the value/skill/difficulty of the particular play and sure as hell doesn't discount the efforts of the player.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

I agree, Youtube videos are essentially glorified highlights, but how does that discount the skill and technique required to pull off what is exhibited? Surely you're not implying that Ramires' cross, or most successful crosses are a product of luck and not skill.

I concede that using a video of exceptional moments isn't particularly indicative of a player's overall quality, but at the same time you can't possibly take the position that it shows absolutely nothing.

Yes, I can. If a player makes 100 crosses in a season, and 4 crosses are great and 96 are poor, does the fact that he made 4 great crosses show anything? It just shows that he's not good at crossing the ball. Every player playing for Chelsea has incredible ability. You don't get to the top of the Premiership without it. There isn't a single player that can't occasionally make a great cross or score a beautiful goal or pull off some skill move. It doesn't prove anything. The average footballer makes about 20 passes a game .Ramires made a pass every 2.5 minutes last season. That's a lot of passes. Some of them are going to be great.