🇧🇷 Filipe Luís

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

Great cameo, should be our starting left back. End of.

[Stats 7,142]

Cause Jose is a stubborn ass guy.

If we were like United without no Europe or cup competitions then maybe I could understand but when we are involved on all fronts, it is ridiculous why he is not given more starts. On balance of things, he has done really well in a Chelsea shirt.

[Fernando 6,585]

Will never understand why he doesn't start these sort of games, was quality when he came on.

Well I guess this was just Mourinho admitting he was wrong.

Because I never really seen LB for LB from Mourinho at Chelsea.

Those was Carlo tactic and they where ugly at times.

This time it wasn't that bad.

And I think this (hopefully) is the start of Felipe at LB.

[The Chels 2,502]

What I like most about Luis is his intelligent pressing. He was one of the few players to recover the ball high up the pitch which led to a good chance. I love that Atleti style of play.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Will never understand why he doesn't start these sort of games, was quality when he came on.

Watch the second goal. If he was properly position or at least aware of who was behind him he would and should stop the ball to Cisse. Not saying it's all his fault, but Azpi provides defensive solidness that Luis is yet to show.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Watch the second goal. If he was properly position or at least aware of who was behind him he would and should stop the ball to Cisse. Not saying it's all his fault, but Azpi provides defensive solidness that Luis is yet to show.

Someone was clean through on goal, it's easy for you watching it to notice the other player, but Luis is thinking of going back to the line and blocking the shot.

[iseah100 5,612]

Watch the second goal. If he was properly position or at least aware of who was behind him he would and should stop the ball to Cisse. Not saying it's all his fault, but Azpi provides defensive solidness that Luis is yet to show.

Grasping at straws, there.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Someone was clean through on goal, it's easy for you watching it to notice the other player, but Luis is thinking of going back to the line and blocking the shot.

Grasping at straws, there.

We had two other players running to chase down Sissoko (and clearly not catching him), he should have been looking to see if someone else was coming in support.

It's not a major mistake (and like I said I'm not blaming him for the goal, there were bigger mistakes made for the goal than that), but it's those little details that sometimes make the difference like they did today.

He asked why Azpi keeps getting picked over Luis and I said why I think that is. Now, I'm sorry if this gets in the way of the rage on Mourinho and trying to blame him for the loss, but it makes a lot more sense to me than "Jose is a stubborn idiot" or "Iva is an ass-licker"...to me at least.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Still nothing special. There are a few left-backs in the league better than him offensively and Dave is better defensively. He was brought on today to create something, but it wasn't enough.

[WNDS 502]

Watch the second goal. If he was properly position or at least aware of who was behind him he would and should stop the ball to Cisse. Not saying it's all his fault, but Azpi provides defensive solidness that Luis is yet to show.

Really harsh. We have conceded a few goals like this when Azpi (or whoever) was in exactly the same position as Luis relative to the attacker. Besides, before Sissoko mis-controlled the through-ball, Luis was in a good position to either cut out the pass to Cisse or make an attempt at blocking/rushing a shot from Sissoko himself. Cisse simply showed good anticipation in stalling his run slightly once Sissoko had let the ball fall behind him.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Really harsh. We have conceded a few goals like this when Azpi (or whoever) was in exactly the same position as Luis relative to the attacker. Besides, before Sissoko mis-controlled the through-ball, Luis was in a good position to either cut out the pass to Cisse or make an attempt at blocking/rushing a shot from Sissoko himself. Cisse simply showed good anticipation in stalling his run slightly once Sissoko had let the ball fall behind him.

Alright, forget that incident, it was only one example. Let's look at in general, in all of the his PL appearances Luis has not looked as solid as Azpi defensively. He's made a few obvious mistakes and has been beaten a bit too easily. He's obviously struggling with the physicality of the league as he himself has said/hinted at on several occasions.

If he is so clearly superior to Azpi, then explain to me how Jose keeps starting Cesar?

[iseah100 5,612]

We had two other players running to chase down Sissoko (and clearly not catching him), he should have been looking to see if someone else was coming in support.

It's not a major mistake (and like I said I'm not blaming him for the goal, there were bigger mistakes made for the goal than that), but it's those little details that sometimes make the difference like they did today.

He asked why Azpi keeps getting picked over Luis and I said why I think that is. Now, I'm sorry if this gets in the way of the rage on Mourinho and trying to blame him for the loss, but it makes a lot more sense to me than "Jose is a stubborn idiot" or "Iva is an ass-licker"...to me at least.

Brana isn't solid defensively either. Why sacrafice Luis instead of Ivanovic?

Azpi is the best one on one defender in the league, so obviously Luis won't be as good defensively.

It doesn't make more sense, if Luis had been on when we were playing well he would have added more offensively than Azpi.

[xPetrCechx 13,571]

need to solve the cahill problem.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

To be honest in the 1-1 situation sometime I think plays should take one for the team and foul the player even if it means a red card

[The Chels 2,502]

If he is so clearly superior to Azpi, then explain to me how Jose keeps starting Cesar?

'If Jose says so, then it must be right'. That's not a great argument. Why did Simeone play Luis at LB all the time? If he had a choice between Luis and Azpi, I'm fairly certain he'd choose Luis. And if Simeone says so, then it must be right. Right?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Brana isn't solid defensively either. Why sacrafice Luis instead of Ivanovic?

Azpi is the best one on one defender in the league, so obviously Luis won't be as good defensively.

It doesn't make more sense, if Luis had been on when we were playing well he would have added more offensively than Azpi.

Because Brana offers things down the right that neither Azpi nor Luis can. This guys sums it up better than me:

offers so much in support, often take goal kicks to his side, creates a fuckton of space for opposition. Most touches in the box for a defender in the league if i'm not mistaken. Massive physical prowess. Would take a long run of poor games for him to get dropped I think

[WNDS 502]

Alright, forget that incident, it was only one example. Let's look at in general, in all of the his PL appearances Luis has not looked as solid as Azpi defensively. He's made a few obvious mistakes and has been beaten a bit too easily. He's obviously struggling with the physicality of the league as he himself has said/hinted at on several occasions.

If he is so clearly superior to Azpi, then explain to me how Jose keeps starting Cesar?

No, no, I agree with you that Azpi is the best of our full-backs when it comes to defending (the best of all PL full-backs in my view), and I also agree that Luis has struggled at times against the directness/physicality of some PL teams (e.g. Crystal Palace). The question isn't really 'why always Cesar?', more 'why never Luis?'. He isn't going to get to grips with the PL if he's always on the bench .

Ultimately, though, I just didn't agree with you that Luis was culpable in any real/tangible way for the second goal we conceded today; if Sissoko doesn't mis-control initially, I think Luis' positioning is about as good as it's going to get in that situation.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

'If Jose says so, it must be right'. That's not a great argument. Why did Simeone play Luis at LB all the time? I'm certain if he had the choice between Luis and Azpi, he'd choose Luis. And if Simeone says so, then it must be right. Right?

No, what i'm saying is that if Jose keeps on doing it, then there must be some rationale behind it. Obviously, you (and WNDS) don't agree with Jose, but I'm asking, if it's not because of the defensive solidity like I'm saying, why do you think Jose keeps playing Azpi? Because "Jose is suborn" and "Iva is an ass-licker" does not cut it.

No, no, I agree with you that Azpi is the best of our full-backs when it comes to defending (the best of all PL full-backs in my view), and I also agree that Luis has struggled at times against the directness/physicality of some PL teams (e.g. Crystal Palace). The question isn't really 'why always Cesar?', more 'why never Luis?'. He isn't going to get to grips with the PL if he's always on the bench .

Ultimately, though, I just didn't agree with you that Luis was culpable in any real/tangible way for the second goal we conceded today; if Sissoko doesn't mis-control initially, I think Luis' positioning is about as good as it's going to get in that situation.

Well, because Jose is a manager who always looks for defensive solidity first. I agree, there are some games where I think it is worth the risk starting the less solid Luis over Azpi for his offensive contribution like against Sunderland. But let's be honest, we're all going by what he was doing at Atletico. His offensive contributions with us have not been much better than Azpi.

On any account, no I don't think Luis should have started ahead of Azpi today because Newcastle, especially at home, are a VERY tough side who are very difficult to defend against, but once they scored and sat back Luis was going to be more useful and I thought he came one at the exactly right time. So I have zero complaints about the issue today.

[The Chels 2,502]

No, what i'm saying is that if Jose keeps on doing it, then there must be some rationale behind it. Obviously, you (and WNDS) don't agree with Jose, but I'm asking, if it's not because of the defensive solidity like I'm saying, why do you think Jose keeps playing Azpi? Because "Jose is suborn" and "Iva is an ass-licker" does not cut it.

Because he overestimates Ivanovic's attacking qualities and overlooks his defensive frailities. What I (and many other Chelsea fans) want is to see Azpi at RB and Luis at LB. We would then see both FBs contributing to the attack and we would also be more defensive stable than we are now with Ivanovic's constant backing off and lapses in concentration. Azpi and Luis are also much better at pressing higher up the pitch since they are more agile and this would help us considerably in both the attack and defence.

I just don't understand how it is fair to say to Ivanovic that he can make as many mistakes as he wants without ever being dropped or criticsed.

[WNDS 502]

No, what i'm saying is that if Jose keeps on doing it, then there must be some rationale behind it. Obviously, you (and WNDS) don't agree with Jose, but I'm asking, if it's not because of the defensive solidity like I'm saying, why do you think Jose keeps playing Azpi? Because "Jose is suborn" and "Iva is an ass-licker" does not cut it.

Well, because Jose is a manager who always looks for defensive solidity first. I agree, there are some games where I think it is worth the risk starting the less solid Luis over Azpi for his offensive contribution like against Sunderland. But let's be honest, we're all going by what he was doing at Atletico. His offensive contributions with us have not been much better than Azpi.

On any account, no I don't think Luis should have started ahead of Azpi today because Newcastle, especially at home, are a VERY tough side who are very difficult to defend against, but once they scored and sat back Luis was going to be more useful and I thought he came one at the exactly right time. So I have zero complaints about the issue today.

As I've already said, I agree with you that Luis is not quite as defensively solid as Azpi, but he is nonetheless a mostly excellent and well-rounded defender in his own right, and so long as he is used intelligently in the right games and against the right opposition, I don't really feel that we would be sacrificing all that much of our defensive solidity at all. I mean, he's hardly Marcelo, either in defense (much better) or when attacking (a fair bit worse).

I just feel that Mourinho is neglecting much of the potential for tactical flexibility within out team. As far as I'm concerned, with three full-backs as good as ours, we should adopt more of a 'horses-for-courses' approach as to who plays:

Teams that we expect to sit deep against us - Azpi and Luis

Teams that are direct and physical - Ivan and Azpi

Teams that are vulnerable in the air - Ivan and Azpi/Luis

Teams that employ 'traditional' wingers (right-footers on the right/left-footers on the left) - Azpi/Ivan and Luis

Teams that employ inverted wingers (e.g. Bayern and Real) - Ivan and Azpi

Of course, this wouldn't always be the case, as there are other factors/tactical issues to consider outside of these simplistic match-ups that I've posted, but this type of approach would ensure that all three players get adequate and meaningful game-time AND REST. Some might not be keen on the idea of rotating the full-backs, but I'm not advocating game-by-game changes; merely that Mourinho actually bothers to change things at up at full-back when appropriate.