Right-back Ramires?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

A thought that occurred to me amidst all the Hulk-Hazard-transfer-chaos is where will Ramires fit into all of this?

Roberto fancied Mikel in the defensive midfield position, and also Mata 'in the hole'. It is highly likely Hazard will begin as our left winger with Mata in the free role behind the forward, with the two able to interchange. Hulk would line up on the right, Torres through the middle.

If di Matteo stays - unlikely, I know - then that leaves one more midfield position for Lampard and Ramires. It is highly unlikely that Lampard will be benched; his performances under di Matteo were as good and consistent as anyone, and with Lampard in the team you have a guaranteed 15-20 goal addition to the side.

Against Barcelona in the Nou Camp, Ramires played at right-back and put in arguably his best shift for the club. He has all the qualities to be a good right-back - he is fast, tenacious and a very good reader of the game. His tackling is not quite up to the standard of Mikel, but the thing with Ramires is his ability to recover and attempt a second block of challenge. As I have said, his reading of the game is excellent as you see him making as many interceptions as anyone else at the Premier League's big clubs. Another key element is his stamina - the full-backs have to be athletic at Chelsea, and he fits the bill. The only thing that lets him down is his inconsistent crossing and passing ability, which - although better than Bosingwa's - is a little lacklustre.

But if you weigh up all the pros and cons, you certainly have a convincing case for the Brazilian. As to whether he would want to play there is another matter. We will have a lot of games next season - potentially 60+ again - and in a utility role he will be very useful. He can operate at CDM, CAM, RW, and now I think we could see him feature at right-back should the situation call for it.

But my question is this - could Ramires become a full-time right-back for us? With Ivanovic the focus of speculation over a £23 million move to Real or Barcelona, we may well be in the market for a new right-back. Furthermore we have been linked with van der Wiel once more since Bosingwa's departure was confirmed. Putting him there gives us a real attacking thrust down the right, and would save us having to heavily invest - especially when you consider that young Todd Kane could be ready to feature for us in two-three years time.

Your thoughts?

[Spike 12,049]

Maybe. This just brings to mind all the times Essien played RB. Essien was alright, not great but I feel Ramires would fit into that position with much more ease given his pace. I think he would be great against teams with limited width and attack. Against a poor team like QPR where the lads can dominate, I feel Rami would be a beast at RB.

I would still like Kane to get a shout next season.

[Swedish House Mafia 508]

No.

[capriccioso 2,545]

I would like to see it. He's immense at right back on FM, hopefully that translates to real life

[BlueLion. 21,491]

No.

truly amazing contribution.

[Madmax 9,219]

No. For all his endeavour and tireless running, he's best suited to starting adjacent to ball winners who can play him in behind his marker by trusting his acceleration and timing. Wouldn't be half as effective starting out from the back where he's got to sprint a fair bit even before he comes up against anyone trying to stop him.

Torres

Hazard/Mata-- Mata/Hazard-- Ramires

Lampard-- Mikel

[Spike 12,049]

I would like to see it. He's immense at right back on FM, hopefully that translates to real life

What the hell don't you do on FM?

[cujo101 75]

He is not a right back. Sadly Michael Essien may have to go.

[Swedish House Mafia 508]

truly amazing contribution.

No problem.

[DYC. 7,542]

I've been saying this to myself for months and still think he could make a quality RB. He relies too much on space to be succesful as a winger on the long run.

[capriccioso 2,545]

truly amazing contribution.

Damn you, Alex, I choked on my apple because of that!

No problem.

I don't agree with the message but that is surely the greatest gif in history.

[Henrique 9,133]

When I read the "Righ-back Ramires" I was going to say: stop the bullshit, then a realized it was made by BlueLion.

Well, under RDM Mata was playing as a pure number 10, and only a asshole (André Villas Boas) would play Mata as a winger, so he will stay in that position, assuming our next manager wont be an asshole.

Hazard should play as a left winger, like Ribery at Bayern.

Lampard played as a second DM under RDM, since he is too old and slow for an ACM role. Ramires played a really nice football when he was free to attack and to run in the right of the field.

Mikel is a DM, but his style is out-dated. The guy cant attack, the guy cant score, the guy cant shoot, the guy cant make too much long passes, all he can do is defend, defend, defend.

Whats going to happen is: Mikel, Lampard and Ramires will play, but sometimes not together, sometimes one of the them will be on the bench, sometimes both.

It does not make any sense to make Ramires play as a right back, and that will fuck Brazilian NT, even though I dont care about BNT, Ramires does. I also think it does not make sense to make this starting XI things like many guys are doing, because the starting XI against Barcelona is not the same starting eleven gainst QPR, just like when your starting XI in a second leg in a CL knockout stage when you just won the first leg 1-0, its not the same when you lost it 3-1.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

No problem.

Well that just about sums up what you contribute to this forum. GIFs and monosyllabic responses. Grow up and when you can string a decent response together you may converse with the big boys.

No. For all his endeavour and tireless running, he's best suited to starting adjacent to ball winners who can play him in behind his marker by trusting his acceleration and timing. Wouldn't be half as effective starting out from the back where he's got to sprint a fair bit even before he comes up against anyone trying to stop him.

Torres

Hazard/Mata-- Mata/Hazard-- Ramires

Lampard-- Mikel

That line-up there relies on us not signing Hulk, whereas what I was saying relies on us signing him, so it's a little off the mark to compare tactics, but what the hell! I do agree with you that his potency would definitely be limited, but I would say even if he is not going to be a full-time right-back, that we could certainly employ him there if injury dictates the manager to do so, or we wish to play with an ultra-attacking line-up. But my concern for Ramires is he is too good not to have playing for us every week. He has become an integral part of the side, and he is probably the most prudent signing we've made over the last two-three years. If Hulk does indeed sign up, he will no doubt take that RW/RM slot, and you will see the triumvirate of he, Mata and Eden swapping over during the course of a game. I don't think Ramires would be happy as a super sub, in all honesty. All the kid wants to do is play football, and it would be criminal for him not to feature. I suppose, as part of an ultra-attacking side, you'd start him ahead of Mikel, but Mikel himself has come on leaps and bounds under di Matteo as well. As for your second point - this is Ramires we're talking about! If he isn't sprinting then he isn't doing his job correctly!

He is not a right back. Sadly Michael Essien may have to go.

I think Essien's time is certainly up at Chelsea, I completely agree. Like Ramires, so much of his game relies on his physical abilities and dynamism, but the bloke literally has no knees. He now moves with such lethargy it is painful to see. Happy memories of him sailing across the pitch have all but gone now. He is a spent force and he must go to a slower league and reshape his game into a deep-lying midfield role.

When I read the "Righ-back Ramires" I was going to say: stop the bullshit, then a realized it was made by BlueLion.

Well, under RDM Mata was playing as a pure number 10, and only a asshole (André Villas Boas) would play Mata as a winger, so he will stay in that position, assuming our next manager wont be an asshole.

Hazard should play as a left winger, like Ribery at Bayern.

Lampard played as a second DM under RDM, since he is too old and slow for an ACM role. Ramires played a really nice football when he was free to attack and to run in the right of the field.

Mikel is a DM, but his style is out-dated. The guy cant attack, the guy cant score, the guy cant shoot, the guy cant make too much long passes, all he can do is defend, defend, defend.

Whats going to happen is: Mikel, Lampard and Ramires will play, but sometimes not together, sometimes one of the them will be on the bench, sometimes both.

It does not make any sense to make Ramires play as a right back, and that will fuck Brazilian NT, even though I dont care about BNT, Ramires does. I also think it does not make sense to make this starting XI things like many guys are doing, because the starting XI against Barcelona is not the same starting eleven gainst QPR, just like when your starting XI in a second leg in a CL knockout stage when you just won the first leg 1-0, its not the same when you lost it 3-1.

I think that is going to be the (pretty obvious, in fairness) reality of it. It will depend on the next manager's style of play, preference of personnel, and his tactics to face a particular opponent.

My case for Ramires at right-back is not necessarily a permanent one, but would you not agree he can 'do a job' there if the situation calls for it? He showed against the world's supposed-best attack in the Nou Camp that he is a good enough reader of the game, and also has the necessary positional discipline to perform an attacking role from RB without being overly zealous.

But I do totally agree with you that Ramires played "nice football" on the right hand side of the field. He naturally loves to defend, so he gave great protection to the right flank. He also established a good partnership with Mikel, who would fill in whenever Ramires ventured forward, and vice-versa. My concern is that he may well not play the football he deserves to next season, which is a shame. He is the player I enjoy watching most for Chelsea - more than even Mata. His dynamism is incredible and his passion and enthusiasm for the game is infectious. It would be criminal if he plays anything less than 40 games next season (fitness permitting) - and this case would suggest he can play more often, in a variety of positions.

[capriccioso 2,545]

We're not talking about him as a permanent right back. Temporary, if Ivanovic and Ferreira are unavailable.

[Matterz 67]

For me he has shown that his best position is in that advanced right midfield role next to Mata, where he can really use his pace to run at defenders and counter attack, plus he can track back to help out defend. I dont think HUlk is a necessary signing if im honest, we still have Sturridge who can play on the right if we need him to. I think if we can get a right back who can put in quality crosses, it would compliment Ramires well on the right side. Personally I think we are short a world class passer in the midfield who can be rotated with Lampard, Mikel and Meireles I guess (Shows how little depth we have there).

[Swedish House Mafia 508]

Well that just about sums up what you contribute to this forum. GIFs and monosyllabic responses. Grow up and when you can string a decent response together you may converse with the big boys.

Yeah no worries bro, the 'big boys'.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

For me he has shown that his best position is in that advanced right midfield role next to Mata, where he can really use his pace to run at defenders and counter attack, plus he can track back to help out defend. I dont think HUlk is a necessary signing if im honest, we still have Sturridge who can play on the right if we need him to. I think if we can get a right back who can put in quality crosses, it would compliment Ramires well on the right side. Personally I think we are short a world class passer in the midfield who can be rotated with Lampard, Mikel and Meireles I guess (Shows how little depth we have there).

I think this will be less of a case next season. Mata will have adapted more to the English game, and have appearances at a European Championships under his belt. Furthermore it will have sunk in that we are European champions - morale will be awesome amongst the players at the start of next season considering all the silverware we could potentially have won by December (Charity Shield, Supercup, Club World Cup). But back to my point, Mata will be even better next season. He was incredible in his introductory season, but he will continue to grow and develop as he gains more Premier League experience. Add in the returning Kakuta and McEachran, you have young (albeit unproven) players with exciting qualities including good distribution. Marin and Hazard are both creative players who can make good passes, and Benayoun may stay for the final year of his contract as an additional option. I have no idea why we loaned him in the first place!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Yeah no worries bro, the 'big boys'.

Haha, act your age, not your shoe size, it isn't very becoming of you at all.