César Azpilicueta

[nyikolajevics 2,697]

12 hours ago, Vesper said:

his defence has been shit lately

if we are not going to play a back 3 (and even then maybe)

OUT

he offers nothing of league winning, CL challenging play at this point

no sentimentality from moi at this shambolic point

Still, I wouldn't give up on him that easily. Not bc I am sentimental but bc I firmly believe he is a great player. True, he has not been good lately, but who has? Let's just wait what happens this summer. (transfer ban, managerial situation). Also, he is a player who became a starter for every singe coach. Sometimes as RB, sometimes as LB, sometimes as CB, but no boss left him out.

 

12 hours ago, manpe said:

Height is where the similarities end imho. Puyol was an exceptional CB, as was Cannavaro who is even shorter. Both vastly more physical and better at defending. Azpi, for me, a bit too laid back and not aggressive enough to be a good fit in a 2 CB pairing. Those two would hassle the fuck out of you until you lost the mood to play. For example, who would you play against Drogba in a physical battle, Puyol or Azpi?

Good point.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Azpi or Puyol vs Drogba. Neither. Puyol would either go to ground pretend a head injury or foul on purpose knowing the corrupted ref would not give a penalty.

Cannavaro was not physical either but he would have gone under in todays PL for sure.

But I get the point. Azpi is not a cb in a back 2. He was in a back 3 but still got exposed from time to time. Now he is just a stand-in RB which is really really sad but he has regressed so much. He used to have a decent bit of pace but now he lost that it becomes obvious that his positioning is actually not as good as we thought. I am sure he will still work on that but we should not rely on it. HIs tackling is still superb and I actually don't mind his crossing but for sure he is no world class anymore. But if he can teach Reece James his timing and defensive cover runs we will be fine.

[manpe 10,861]

15 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

Azpi or Puyol vs Drogba. Neither. Puyol would either go to ground pretend a head injury or foul on purpose knowing the corrupted ref would not give a penalty.

Cannavaro was not physical either but he would have gone under in todays PL for sure.

But I get the point. Azpi is not a cb in a back 2. He was in a back 3 but still got exposed from time to time. Now he is just a stand-in RB which is really really sad but he has regressed so much. He used to have a decent bit of pace but now he lost that it becomes obvious that his positioning is actually not as good as we thought. I am sure he will still work on that but we should not rely on it. HIs tackling is still superb and I actually don't mind his crossing but for sure he is no world class anymore. But if he can teach Reece James his timing and defensive cover runs we will be fine.

I tend to agree. He's slowly going the Ivanovic route, both were run to the ground by managers too afraid to rotate. Ivan overstayed about 2 seasons and that tarnished his legacy a bit.. I don't want that to happen to Azpi too. The club should learn to sell at the right times, not when it's too late. In today's game quick full-backs are super important, only Emerson comes close to the required pace.

[Jase 43,479]

Not saying Azpi has suddenly turned into a natural attacking right back but is it just me, does Azpi look better going forward when CHO is playing ahead of him?

[Vytis33 1,270]

29 minutes ago, Jason said:

Not saying Azpi has suddenly turned into a natural attacking right back but is it just me, does Azpi look better going forward when CHO is playing ahead of him?

 

Not saying you're wrong on this but he sure has looked more susceptible defensively this year.  A few examples of that today.

[MoroccanBlue 5,380]

Odoi's directness may had something to do with it. 

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

44 minutes ago, Jason said:

Not saying Azpi has suddenly turned into a natural attacking right back but is it just me, does Azpi look better going forward when CHO is playing ahead of him?

I think so because theres less burden on him to provide width, Pedro and Willian when theyre on the right like to come centrally congesting the pitch and making the chance for 2 on 1s minimal in comparison to what we seen with Callum tonight. Azpi also got in the box a few times too. Azpi isnt going to blow anyone away with pace but creating 2 on 1s gives him a chance.

[Jase 43,479]

4 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

I think so because theres less burden on him to provide width, Pedro and Willian when theyre on the right like to come centrally congesting the pitch and making the chance for 2 on 1s minimal in comparison to what we seen with Callum tonight. Azpi also got in the box a few times too. Azpi isnt going to blow anyone away with pace but creating 2 on 1s gives him a chance.

I can't remember exactly which games but he has been decent attacking wise in some of the recent games. He isn't going to beat anyone 1 v 1 but him being able to create overlaps or even underlaps to drag players away is a big bonus. 

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

4 minutes ago, Jason said:

I can't remember exactly which games but he has been decent attacking wise in some of the recent games. He isn't going to beat anyone 1 v 1 but him being able to create overlaps or even underlaps to drag players away is a big bonus. 

Hes been reasonably good for a few games now but because he isnt a hugely pacey fullback, although hes no slouch, he is going to have limitations against some teams. Regardless Id rather have somebody as defensively solid as him than a more offensive and weaker defensive fullback.

The issue necessarily isnt our fullbacks being poor (well could argue about Alonso and Zappacosta tbf), its more often or not they arent wide enough or we dont create enough 2 on 1 opportunities to isolate opposition fullbacks in the final third in wide areas to gain an advantage. 

Ironically, hes been very decent offensively throughout his career here despite the fact people seem to think when he first joined he wasnt offensive enough and now some believe hes past it.

His evolution in terms of his versatility and also improving technically (quite a big improvement too, which was even more evident in a back 3 under Conte) is a huge credit to him. Regardless of what people think, can only say £7,000,000 well spent. 

 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

What is going on with him? 

He used to be one of those tough defenders who dont give a shit while still not being a prick. 

But these days he gets rattled so quickly, panics, loses shit, starts bitching about every single ref decision and not in a positive way. Every time the camera points at him, he is screaming at something and looks completely rattled. When we are losing its especialy evident. 

He went from my favourite player into someone I dont mind replacing any time now. 

Has nothing to do with his performances, he declined a bit, but I thats understandable in new system. However his acting and behaviour on the pitch is awful. 

[LAM09 7,050]

On 4/19/2019 at 7:18 PM, BlueLyon said:

What is going on with him? 

He used to be one of those tough defenders who dont give a shit while still not being a prick. 

But these days he gets rattled so quickly, panics, loses shit, starts bitching about every single ref decision and not in a positive way. Every time the camera points at him, he is screaming at something and looks completely rattled. When we are losing its especialy evident. 

He went from my favourite player into someone I dont mind replacing any time now. 

Has nothing to do with his performances, he declined a bit, but I thats understandable in new system. However his acting and behaviour on the pitch is awful. 

His legs are going and he can't adjust back to being a RB.

[Nicco 927]

Azpi is genuinely worse than Alonso, starting to reach Ivanovic zone.

[Special Juan 28,141]

Very average footballer, very fortunate to be still playing at this club never mind at this level. 

The team is littered with very middle of the road players and he's one of them.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

I was going to say other than his final ball didnt think he was all that bad today. There was no urgency from any players today but didnt think Azpi was horrendous, he had a bad start (whole team did) and Lukaku absolutely smashed him but other than that did okay or so I though?? Hes played better yes but him and Alonso for all the flack they get played okay today. Even Jorginho played okay defensively today. 

Be interesting what happens in the summer if we have no transfer ban, Sarri wanted Hysaj and he wanted to move. Reece James also is a question Sarri will have to answer if hes still here.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

Needs to be given the Paulo Ferreira treatment and phased out from starting and rather be used as a sub moving forward. His not good enough for modern football.