themightyblue

Cech Ivanovic Cahill Terry Cole Lampard Luiz Moses Mata Hazard Ba

Yeah agree. Don't think there's much point speculating on his role next season either as we don't even know what our options will be! Should just enjoy the great performances he is putting in currently

But the point is we weren't hitting the macs, spurs or Arsenal on the break in those matches. We actually went toe to toe with them and dominated with Ramires excelling. He may be at his best on the counter, but he is still a good player even when we try to dominate as he can make his runs from deep to unsettle the opposition defence fromtheir structures. He's currently better than all 3 of those players

What about for games against the likes of united, arsenal, spurs where he has excelled. No need to try a belittle him and claim that teams like steau are his levels. Also you say they are a weak team, but where was Lamps last week against this so called weak team?As I've already explained it depends on the type of DLP we get. If it is one similar to Alonso who holds his position in the centre of the park an orchestrates from deep then Ramires has to start next to him. If it is a DLP without much positional sense then he would probably start ahead of Ramires and rotate. Way too early to say he won't fit yet

Don't think anymore needs to be said. Played another vital role in a big game. Another good game. I'll shut up now

Cheers mate. I hope so

Ok cheers. I'd been searching up and down this thread for 'WHS's comment' but couldn't find anything. Saved me a lot of time

That is just one example of a double pivot. You can have one player who is capable of holding while also being able to be a playmaker from deep and dictate things, while the player next to him plays box to box and recovers the ball for the team. See the midfield 2 that Madrid play with Alonso and Khedira as an example. Khedira has more technical ability than Ramires, but they are similar players in there terrier-like approach to the game. Then they have Alonso to hold and dictate things. Bayern did a similar thing last season with Gustavo and Schweinsteiger. Gustavo was the ball winner while Schweinsteiger was deep lying playmaker. Ramires doesn't have to be the one that is sacrificed, it could equally be Mikel or Romeu depending on the player we bring in. If it is someone in the Alonso mould then Ramires should start as he'll be needed for ball recovery while the other midfielder dictates. If it's someone who's a bit more offensive then it has to be Mikel/Romeu who holds next too him. There isn't one set way for a midfield 2 to be played, it all depends on the discpline of the player we get in Summer, so I wouldn't have your heart set on Ramires not playing majority of matches because managers have tended to see the importance of Ramires and his qualities. Mate you've said that about 5 times now, don't think I need to reply to that anymore

Quality. Did your friend mention anything about the players being aware of this?

I'm a bit behind here, where can I find We Hate Scouse's comment on our potential next manager? Cheers

Think I've already answered this twice. I think he should be playing the majority of games, most of our recent managers have agreed with this. We'll see what happens next season, but he's a big game player and is scapegoated far too often. He doesn't have to be the one sacrificed. He can play next to someone who can pass, hold his position etc, but I've explained this already. If we're going to win the League we need to someone to retrieve the ball and do the dirty work. Ramires will be our man to do so.

Well it's his 3rd good game in a row now. Playing with Mikel at the start of the season he and the team were bossing things against most teams. Hopefully we see more of this and he can prove more people wrong

Which is why he has a key role to play for us now and in future

He moved inside with around 20 minutes left and City on top. Ridiculous to judge him in those circumstances. Sometimes it's not all about technique, there'll be times where we need players to do all the dirty work, make tackles and win the ball back from the opposition. This is what Ramires does perfectly and what makes him such an asset. We weren't counter attacking in this game, after the break we took the initiative and were on top and Ramires was still flourishing. Even in the first half, as I said earlier he was the one working to win the ball back and doing so successfully. When it comes to big games, he is usually the one to step up. Twice against United this season, twice against Arsenal and against Spurs and in all of these games we've been taking the initiative and attacking. Ramires doesn't have to be the one that is sacrificed. If you find a holding midfielder who can spray passes around like Xabi Alonso then you can play Ramires next to him as a ball winner like he does currently. He's undoubtedly got a big role in these next few years for us

Not going overboard. Even in the 1st half, he was the one retrieving the ball for us and making interceptions. Did the same in the 2nd half and started to be an attacking threat with the introduction of Mikel. It was another very good performance, arguably motm. He was on the wing against City

Oustanding from Ramires AGAIN in a big game against a top team. Keep silencing those doubters Rami!

He is at his 100% best in those circumstances, but he's is still very much an asset even when we look to play on the front front. We were top of the league and dominating teams at the start of the season with Ramires in our starting team and in the games against United, Spurs and Arsenal Ramires was one of of our best players when we were playing on the front foot. Of course your not going to use Ramires to dictate tempo, his job is to be that ball winning midfielder like Khedira does for Madrid so that we can recover possession and let the three Attacking midfielders work their magic. If you want him to dictate things then your always going to be disappointed. I'd also want a player like that, but I also want someone who's not afraid to get stuck in, do the dirty work for the team and helps us get the ball back so we can keep possession. Need both for different circumstances

Being 9th in the league proves otherwise and yeah lets forget his motm performances against Arsenal and good performances against the likes of United, Barca, Valencia, Spurs etc and say these past two games show Ramires' level. Ramires would look just okay in the Championship, despite looking very good at times in the CL and PL? The PL is on another level to the Championship and reserve football, plenty of players who have looked good there haven't succeeded in the PL. Be careful what you wish for

He looked better than everyone bar Ake and Oscar against Boro and WBA are a very good team, and he once again had another good game. Had these been two poor performances people would have come on here and slated him straight away, but when he plays well nobody says anything. I'd also like to add although I rate Chalobah, put Ramires in the Championship in that Watford team and he'd look like a world-beater..........

2 good games now. Not a peep from the doubters

Good response............. Fact is, on the wing he is wasted and it doesn't seem like Mata will be moved to the wing. He has massive potential centrally and his range of passing is something we'll need in a deeper position. Perfect Lamps replacement

If Oscar isn't going to be played centrally in the attacking band of 3, then I hope we can get a manager to groom him for the DLP role

Don't want to underestimate them too much. Think Ake should have some involvement, but only from the bench in this first leg. In the 2nd leg at the Bridge, he can hopefully start Cech Azpi Cahill Terry Bertrand Luiz Mikel Moses Oscar Hazard Torres Turnbull, Iva, Cole, Lamps, Ake, Marin, Mata Give Ramires a much needed break too

Most of his goals have come playing in a 4231. The 442 played at WBA has only been a recent thing. In fact his 2nd goal came about with Long off the pitch and Lukaku as the lone striker

Torres was written off for a good reason. Not needlessly