David Luiz

[Jase 43,479]

If there's one thing Luiz can improve on, especially if he's going to play in midfield from time to time, is that he needs to keep things simple on the ball and not over-complicate matters. There were numerous occasions against Basel on Thursday that he could have released the ball quicker and pass it forward to set us on an attack/counter attack but instead, he tried to take 2-3 players on at once and he ends up losing the ball or winning us a free kick. The latter situation allows us to keep the ball but not much point when we have to start the attack all over again as opposed to being able to catch them out in attack/counter attacks from open play. Continue doing this and it would be no different to what Mikel does on the ball sometimes when he holds it for a tad too long and slowing down our attacks or gives the opposition a chance to hit us on the counter by losing the ball cheaply.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

think luiz deserves another stint in midfield than mikel in this game, we can always sub and switch things around.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

think luiz deserves another stint in midfield than mikel in this game, we can always sub and switch things around.

Why? David has been pretty bad whenever played in midfield; often out of position and always tries to dribble needlessly and ends up losing the ball. Luiz is also our best defender atm, we need him in the back.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Bad things? Name two please.

- Bad ball retention skill.

- Insisting on dribble when surrounded by opposition players and ending up in losing the ball on about at least 5-6 occasions.

- Sloppy passing.

- Too aggressive in defending. Always look to nick the ball instead of staying disciplined and not committing to a tackle.

- Weak positional sense.

Should I go on?

Luiz has amazing technical abilities; he's an amazing footballer. But why in the world should that mean he should play in midfield?! Offensively, we've gained enormously from his outstanding abilities when he's played at CB. From his long balls, from his ability to pass, from his long shots, from when he moves forward and adds numbers to the midfield. But he's been able to do all that because he's playing at CB. Why move him to midfield where he'll be under pressure and won't be able to execute any of that?

Luiz is not a midfielder, he's a defender, and an excellent one as well. I just can't understand why someone would want to play him out of position.

[Strike 7,217]

Not to be the grammar police, but I've always blamed Becks for popularising the surname 'Loos' and thus confusing people.

Damn you Beckham!!

Actually I reckon if Cech got sent-off then Luiz would be the first to volunteer to go in goal. He's just that kind of guy who steps up when it counts.

He's not a midfielder, but he does a better impression of one than Mikel.

I'm not defending him, just pointing out a few facts. Yes he overran it a few times, but he also brought it out of defence well at times and some of his one and two touch passing was not just accurate but quick too.

I'm not saying we should keep him in midfield. He's our best defender right now, but when you look at the other options we have right now there's a good argument to be made for keeping him there.

He's not a natural midfielder and right now he's not a great midfielder, but he might be better than the people at this club who put 'Midfielder' down on their CV at least for the foreseeable future.

Wow. Straight away you've compared Luiz's performance to Mikel and praised him. Is that a yard-stick of comparison now?

Firstly, he's played the bulk of his career in defence and his defensive ability is miles ahead of his ability with the ball. David Luiz should not play midfield unless there is an injury crisis. You don't use your best players as cover for another postion unless you absolutely have to. Take Tottenham for example, they continued to use Gareth Bale at Left Wing even though Assou-Ekoto, their only left-back was injured. AVB used Vertonghen and Naughton at LB, why? Simple - Gareth Bale is their best player. So he plays in his preferred position even though he could be an accomplished Left-Back.

The fact remains - This is an experiment and it hasn't been a big success. His best moment in the game against Basel had nothing to do with his position. He's our first choice CB. He shouldn't be used as a utility player

[Strike 7,217]

My suggestion would be only to play Luiz in the midfield position when we are chasing the game (bringing on Cahill for Mikel in a match would allow Gary to go in at centre-back and Luiz to play in the midfield; there would be a simple change in personnel but an instant significant shift in ideology in the midfield area) or against low-quality opposition (such as against Leeds, when he did a very good job there with several other midfield players out with injury).

I personally think he has come on leaps and bounds this season as a defender. For me, he has been our most consistent defensive player, better even than Azpilicueta. He is a centre-back and should stay there, in my opinion. He is a great footballer, yes, but he reads the play excellently and has got us out of many a sticky situation this season, in my opinion.

You're confusing Leeds for some other game. Vs Leeds, Luiz played CB and was responsible for the goal conceded - ran with the ball, lost it and the ball was in the net before he could recover

[The only place to be 11,313]

Wow. Straight away you've compared Luiz's performance to Mikel and praised him. Is that a yard-stick of comparison now?

Firstly, he's played the bulk of his career in defence and his defensive ability is miles ahead of his ability with the ball. David Luiz should not play midfield unless there is an injury crisis. You don't use your best players as cover for another postion unless you absolutely have to. Take Tottenham for example, they continued to use Gareth Bale at Left Wing even though Assou-Ekoto, their only left-back was injured. AVB used Vertonghen and Naughton at LB, why? Simple - Gareth Bale is their best player. So he plays in his preferred position even though he could be an accomplished Left-Back.

The fact remains - This is an experiment and it hasn't been a big success. His best moment in the game against Basel had nothing to do with his position. He's our first choice CB. He shouldn't be used as a utility player

Actually Bale has played on the left-wing, the right-wing (when Lennon was absent against City) and in the central free-role.

As for the yardstick, I think it's right to compare Luiz to our current midfield because if they were doing a good job week-in and week-out (Ramires, Lampard and Mikel) then this wouldn't even be an issue. If Romeu hadn't been injured, this probably wouldn't be an issue.

But it is an issue so let's not obfuscate the issue for the sake of it.

[Strike 7,217]

Actually Bale has played on the left-wing, the right-wing (when Lennon was absent against City) and in the central free-role.

As for the yardstick, I think it's right to compare Luiz to our current midfield because if they were doing a good job week-in and week-out (Ramires, Lampard and Mikel) then this wouldn't even be an issue. If Romeu hadn't been injured, this probably wouldn't be an issue.

But it is an issue so let's not obfuscate the issue for the sake of it.

Yes but i disagree with your view that he should be played in midfield time to time. why fix what's not broken? he's doing well at CB.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Yes but i disagree with your view that he should be played in midfield time to time. why fix what's not broken? he's doing well at CB.

I actually agree that he's done well, but we do have good players in Terry, Cahill and Ivanovic as well. The question is whether he offers more in midfield than we lose using another combination of defenders.

It's a testament to how much he's grown as a player this year. If Mata hadn't been so important for us, Luiz would probably be my player of the season.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

I need to know the win/loss ratio when luiz plays in midfield. I don't remember loosing much though

[robsblubot 3,508]

Yes but i disagree with your view that he should be played in midfield time to time. why fix what's not broken? he's doing well at CB.

exactly! let's just fix what *is* broken... the midfield.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

Why? David has been pretty bad whenever played in midfield; often out of position and always tries to dribble needlessly and ends up losing the ball. Luiz is also our best defender atm, we need him in the back.

He hasn't been that bad, just inconsistent, just like mikel atm.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

He hasn't been that bad, just inconsistent, just like mikel atm.

It's not about inconsistency, but rather inability. He's been consistently sloppy on the ball, lacking tactical awareness, and too aggressive in defending whenever played in midfield.

[robsblubot 3,508]

He hasn't been that bad, just inconsistent, just like mikel atm.

Mikel plays rarely... I guess someone at chelsea agrees with some of us here.

While David plays every freaking match, twice a week.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

It's not about inconsistency, but rather inability. He's been consistently sloppy on the ball, lacking tactical awareness, and too aggressive in defending whenever played in midfield.

I'm inclined to disagree - he has the ability to play there I feel, yeah he was average in the Basel game but showed real promise in the swansea game - inconsistent. He has much more presence and determination when placed in midfield.

But yeah he can make sloppy tackles and challenges, he can work those out of his game in time though when he matures as a player hopefully.

[Jype 6,398]

Luiz has definitely been one of our best players in recent months. When Benitez arrived, people were saying he would do something Ancelotti, AVB nor Di Matteo could and that is making David Luiz a better and more consistent player. If there's one thing I give Benitez a lot of credit for, it has got to be this.

[The Skipper 20,593]

He's been consistently sloppy on the ball, lacking tactical awareness, and too aggressive in defending whenever played in midfield.

I disagree with Luiz being sloppy on the ball, he has one of the best ball control/technique in the squad. He just tries things as he's an adventurous player and sometimes it doesn't work; in which case he ends up giving away the ball It doesn't mean he's sloppy though.

Tactical awareness though I agree with - but that's simply down to him not being used to playing in the DM role - it would take him a couple of seasons to get fully accustomed at that which I don't think we have time for.

[Tomo 21,733]

The sooner he stays at centre half full stop, the better.