David Luiz

[Tomo 21,733]

@,

United (full SB debut), City (few weeks later), Levekusen (twice), Valencia (twice), Napoli (2nd leg), Benfica, Bayern, Arsenal.

Just out of the top of my head the big teams he has performed well against.

[HRiver 1,512]

@,

United (full SB debut), City (few weeks later), Levekusen (twice), Valencia (twice), Napoli (2nd leg), Benfica, Bayern, Arsenal.

Just out of the top of my head the big teams he has performed well against.

I only mentioned the times he's failed against big teams this season. He's clearly not the same Luiz, he was very good in 2010-11, and last season he definitely wasn't as bad as he's been this season.

[Tomo 21,733]

I only mentioned the times he's failed against big teams this season. He's clearly not the same Luiz, he was very good in 2010-11, and last season he definitely wasn't as bad as he's been this season.

Fair point.

His bad games however as you pointed out were against Athletico, Shacktar and yesterday, add the Naples game in it i think we have his four worst displays in a Chelsea shirt, 3 of them he was paired with Cahill (who was just as bad on those nights, if not worse).

I think the problem with Luiz is he cannot play with Cahill or vice versa, he rarely has a bad game with Terry or even Ivanovic, he still has his sloppy moments every now and again, but rarely an outright terrible game.

Cahill's the same, fine with Terry, terrible when with Luiz.

[zolayes 14,489]

Lmao, critcize a player and he becomes a scapegoat immediately. Why is Mata not a scapegoat? Why is Cech not a scapegoat? Why are Oscar, Hazard or Ashley Cole not scapegoats? Even if they have a bad day nobody will consider them scapegoats, because everybody knows how good they are. Cole was not at his best yesterday but we all know how good he is. Luiz, on the other hand, is a different case. He simply is not good enough. Insecure, clumsy, reckless, he makes me nervous everytime I see him on the pitch, especially against United who have brilliant strikers at their disposal.

I don't care if he was good against QPR, he was humiliated by Atletico Madrid and Falcao, he was very poor against Shakhtar too and then the United game yesterday. Three very important games. A good performance against a side which belongs to the bottom of the table doesn't make him a good defender, or good enough for this club. He has to perform against big clubs and against world class strikers, and he hasn't done that this season.

calm down ..I wasnt specifically meaning you ,,,you mustnt get paranoid

[HRiver 1,512]

calm down ..I wasnt specifically meaning you ,,,you mustnt get paranoid

I was calm, I just think that Luiz deserves the criticism that he receives.

[DYC. 7,542]

Have you watched him this season? I'd rather have Luiz tbh.

Come on, as if a couple of bad games changes anything. Everyone goes through a bad spell. I'd jump at the chance of signing Kompany, not that it's going to happen.

Maybe we can steal Chiellini..

[BlueJewel 56]

I thought Luiz did okay on the night, he wasn't really at fault for any of the goals conceeded including the own goal. He could have done better but I think he did okay. I was however disappointed with Cahill and how he allowed Van Persie to turn him inside out, the only logical thing he should have done there and then was to have "professionally" fouled Van Persie and taken a yellow card for the team, that yellow could have saved us two red cards, and possibly three valuable points against a potential title rival.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Come on, as if a couple of bad games changes anything. Everyone goes through a bad spell. I'd jump at the chance of signing Kompany, not that it's going to happen.

Maybe we can steal Chiellini..

I was joking because I know we can never sign Kompany. He was actually the best CB in the world last year imo, I'd jizz my pants if we signed him.

And Chiellini would never leave Juve, he is also overrated (I blame FIFA), and this coming from a Juve fan..

[DYC. 7,542]

I was joking because I know we can never sign Kompany. He was actually the best CB in the world last year imo, I'd jizz my pants if we signed him.

And Chiellini would never leave Juve, he is also overrated (I blame FIFA), and this coming from a Juve fan..

Understood.

Haha you mean FIFA the football game? I'm not even a fan of the game. I watch Juve whenever I can and he's a quality defender imo. Tall, strong, fast and aggressive. Strong in the air, fantastic tackler, reads the game well and has a great knack of intercepting. He can be clumsy though (and a bit of a idiot) and can make some unnecessary fouls but nobody's perfect (except for Nesta). He wasn't doing well for a few years but really bounced back last season and has continued to play well this season, put in a very good performance against us as well.

But you're right, it won't happen.

[Dion 2,476]

I find much of the bashing on Luiz really unfair tbh. He was not THAT poor yesterday. And even if he were, A. Cole had an awful start, Cahill wasn't much better either, nor was Ivanovic, who's even received a red card (it wasn't a foul imho, but he could have avoided it). Neither I think we can get a better cb than him or cahill easily or for cheap. The best thing we can expect for now is for RDM to find the best defensive system with the players we've got and hope things come together. Maybe then we won't even demand another cb.

[The Skipper 20,593]

There's a reason Luiz starts over Cahill who is a good defender himself. RDM is not dumb.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I was calm, I just think that Luiz deserves the criticism that he receives.

Of course it's cool to criticise a player after a few below par performances, but there is difference between criticism and saying we should sell him/that he's been a waste of money etc.

Luiz hasn't reached his peak at all for us, there's still a lot to come from him.

[mediator 2,026]

i'm happy with him if he stops those stupids long passes to hazard and mata....

4 or 5 possessions are lost each game because of that. What a donkey

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Of course it's cool to criticise a player after a few below par performances, but there is difference between criticism and saying we should sell him/that he's been a waste of money etc.

The "Sell him, he's a waste of money" posts are always an absurd overreaction that doesn't understand the nature of the sport.

1) The vast majority of players go through ups and downs. How many people were saying "sell Cech, sell Lampard, sell Cole, sell Drogba, etc.." after their relatively poor starts last year? Having a bad few games doesn't mean your a bad player..

2) Football is a team game. Take Ivanovic. If Chelsea had more width, he'd be able to stay back more and inevitably be in better defensive positions. So, yes, his poor defensive positioning is somewhat his fault, but it's also down to the system we play.

Luiz is frustrating because he fails when he he either seems to zone out and make some basic mistake or when he tries to do too much.He needs to stop those long balls up the field. He needs to stay in better positions. Like in acting or in sex, sometimes doing less is gets better results.

[The Skipper 20,593]

The "Sell him, he's a waste of money" posts are always an absurd overreaction that doesn't understand the nature of the sport.

1) The vast majority of players go through ups and downs. How many people were saying "sell Cech, sell Lampard, sell Cole, sell Drogba, etc.." after their relatively poor starts last year? Having a bad few games doesn't mean your a bad player..

2) Football is a team game. Take Ivanovic. If Chelsea had more width, he'd be able to stay back more and inevitably be in better defensive positions. So, yes, his poor defensive positioning is somewhat his fault, but it's also down to the system we play.

Luiz is frustrating because he fails when he he either seems to zone out and make some basic mistake or when he tries to do too much.He needs to stop those long balls up the field. He needs to stay in better positions. Like in acting or in sex, sometimes doing less is gets better results.

Fully agree. I say give it a few seasons, and Luiz will sort out this problem. Apart from the minor mistakes he makes now and then he's an excellent prospect. As he gets older and more experienced he'll start making better decisions and he'll read the game better.

[Strike 7,217]

There's a reason Luiz starts over Cahill who is a good defender himself. RDM is not dumb.

Disagree with that. I agree with the part where the public bashes Luiz but that's no reason to say he's a good defender.

the reason for the public bashing on luiz is that his mistakes are obvious to the naked eye. i don't agree with the public opinion of luiz but i certainly don't agree that he is a great defender. looking at luiz objectively, he improved considerably at the back end of last season and had continued in the same way this season but he has made a fair few mistakes this season. weird tendecies to play Hollywood passes and also to drop very deep to a "blocking" position. you can't say he is a good defender based on the fact that RDM prefers Luiz or that the public marks him.

as @CHOULO19, mentioned, Cahill's mistakes are less apparent. cahill is often caught on the counter and also has the tendency to back away as in the case of the first United goal where he didnt dare challenge Young for the ball.

what we have to accept is that our defenders are no beasts. they are nowhere near the best in the world. Luiz has a better potential but it has been around 2 years since he arrived and he still doesn't look reliable. you can't make a case for Luiz being better than Cahill or that he will turn into a world class defender. both luiz and cahill are Good defenders but i fully expect the club to sign a new CB once Terry hangs up his boots

[Strike 7,217]

http://www.carefreechronicles.com/2012/10/pointing-fingers-goals-from-luiz-og-and.html

not sure if posted already but that's an analysis of united's first-half goals. doesn't tell the whole story about our defence but analyses what went wrong in the 2 early goals conceded

[Kieran. 6,317]

When Luiz is at the top of his game, he's world-class but his dips in form are way too common and very concerning.