Filipe Luís

[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.

[Tomo 21,733]

I can understand that Jose likes Azpi and considers him first-choice LB - I don't agree but I get it. What I don't understand, however, is Azpi starting 3 games in 8 days when we have a player of Luis' calibre fit and available for selection. The only way this transfer would have made sense is if Luis became our first-choice LB but he's not (he hasn't even been given an opportunity to try to settle down with a run of games). Mourinho spent 16m on a 29-year-old as a backup and that is a waste of resources. I thought we stopped making pointless transfers but clearly I was wrong about that.

Only just seen this and felt the need to give my side.

Normally I would agree that it would be a waste if money however this time I think it was nessecery even if he doesn't break into the team, after David Luiz's sale and Cole leaving we had four senior defenders, going in with 5 was risky enough and to have such a quality alternative like Luis isn't to be sniffed at.

[Styles 9,790]

Only just seen this and felt the need to give my side.

Normally I would agree that it would be a waste if money however this time I think it was nessecery even if he doesn't break into the team, after David Luiz's sale and Cole leaving we had four senior defenders, going in with 5 was risky enough and to have such a quality alternative like Luis isn't to be sniffed at.

Wouldn't Bertrand be considered a senior defender? He's 25-years-old and he probably would have been content with being backup. Or maybe we could have signed a young defender to develop with the minutes Luis is getting now.

I just don't understand the point of signing a 29-year-old Luis for the role he has now. I think Mourinho knew Azpi was his first choice LB so why did he sign Luis? It wasn't an Emenalo signing.

[Tomo 21,733]

Wouldn't Bertrand be considered a senior defender? He's 25-years-old and he probably would have been content with being backup. Or maybe we could have signed a young defender to develop with the minutes Luis is getting now.

I just don't understand the point of signing a 29-year-old Luis for the role he has now. I think Mourinho knew Azpi was his first choice LB so why did he sign Luis? It wasn't an Emenalo signing.

Who knows what the plan was, maybe he was signed with the full intention of being first choice but circumstance (like Ivanovic hitting form and to his own admission finding it difficult adapting to England) have put a block on that.

and with Bertrand I think it was just the case Jose didn't rate him, certainly not to the extent to have him as the immediate back up like Luis (currently) is.

[The Chels 2,502]

Wouldn't Bertrand be considered a senior defender? He's 25-years-old and he probably would have been content with being backup. Or maybe we could have signed a young defender to develop with the minutes Luis is getting now. I just don't understand the point of signing a 29-year-old Luis for the role he has now. I think Mourinho knew Azpi was his first choice LB so why did he sign Luis? It wasn't an Emenalo signing.

Remember how Jose got Azpi to man mark Luis in the CL SF 2nd leg (for the first half at least)? He clearly did at least rate him highly and recognised him as one of Atletico's most significant attacking threats. Not sure what's happened since!

[Alan Partridge 1,124]

At the current rate of games he's getting we could have kept Ash

[Special Juan 27,424]

Want to see him start tonight and fingers crossed he has a good game if he does.

[WNDS 502]

Luis could possibly have done better against Carrillo during the build-up for the goal, but then again, Carrillo was just having a great game in general and even left Azpi on his back-side before setting up a good chance at one point. Other than that, I though he was decent defensively, and made some great interceptions; he'll have to show a little bit more to push for a starting spot against the best teams, however.

On the other hand, he was great going forward, winning us a penalty and contributing to a lot of general build-up play. Against teams that we expect to sit back against us he MUST start, and is also certainly worth a shout against teams of a similar quality and style of play to Sporting.

[zolayes 14,489]

he does look good going forward but in defence looks a little shaky

[BlueLion. 21,491]

It's pretty clear that against shit teams, Luis needs to start. His crossing is very good for a full-back and he has a decent shot on him.

[The Chels 2,502]

Excellent going forwards but I do agree that he was a little shaky defensively. One of the reasons he was so good at Atletico was that he would attack as he did today but he'd rarely have to defend 1v1 which is perhaps one of his weaknesses. Instead they'd defend in groups of 2-3 which enabled him to press and tackle (which he is very good at) knowing that he could risk lunging in because there'd be cover. He doesn't look so assured in our less defensively stable setup, but as already mentioned his attacking strengths surely outweigh any defensive issues in games where the opposition will just defend.

[The Skipper 20,593]

He has to play against the buses, so comfy on the ball.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I don't see what else Kasmirski can do to establish himself as the number 1 left-back. Pretty amazing free-kick from the lad.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/2E0128D1E81156745649895669760_3309d831b4a.1.3.12817752881246750435.mp4?versionId=R1lxfZN.9BSkgM6qLPVmGA22zKmxYFh9