Kenedy

[Barbara 15,149]

I think Mourinho got it right with Kenedy. He wasn't supposed to attack much, but he still offered something more offensive than Azpili would. Like others, I'd rather play Azpili in the right and bench Iva if we're using a winger in the LB, but I think he wanted to count with Iva physicality, height and the old story we know. This is Mourinho after all, expecting him to play a winger as a FB (an attacking choice imo) AND drop Iva isn't realistic from our part.

[Mechromancer 262]

People like Coentrao, Alba, Gaya and Marcelo began their careers in the 11 or the 9 position. So, what is the problem?

Kenedy looks promising, but he isn't a top tier prospect, in my opinion, so maybe he can develop a better career in another role.

I'm just speculating, obviously.

[sapper245 40]

Was at the game and thought Kennedy held his own against a good england under 21 winger Redmond, it was nice to see someone bombing on past on the over lap and gave Hazard and willian extra options.

Even put a great ball into the box which Costa stood and watched while standing on the penalty spot.

[lucio 4,474]

People like Coentrao, Alba, Gaya and Marcelo began their careers in the 11 or the 9 position. So, what is the problem?

Kenedy looks promising, but he isn't a top tier prospect, in my opinion, so maybe he can develop a better career in another role.

I'm just speculating, obviously.

the problem, is he has great shooting ability, and is going to be wasted in defence. i'd rather see him at lb, than the bench, but he looks better suited to our wing than pedro.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

[manpe 10,626]

Can't we be happy that we have a young exciting prospect who can play more than one position? That we now have actual proof that Jose is in fact able to surprise us all, something we have been crying out for. That he is using the squad beyond the usual suspects. Since when is it so unusual for wingers to play wing-back anyway? Why all this over-analyzing? The kid got a great experience and we won, so we are ruining him? If anything he earned himself more game time by proving he can be good in more than one position and be useful tactically.

The more I think about it, the more I like what Jose did. It was VERY rare for him to make such a call in a premier league must-win game. It also shows that if you're good enough no matter your age, you will play.

[lucio 4,474]

Can't we be happy that we have a young exciting prospect who can play more than one position? That we now have actual proof that Jose is in fact able to surprise us all, something we have been crying out for. That he is using the squad beyond the usual suspects. Since when is it so unusual for wingers to play wing-back anyway? Why all this over-analyzing? The kid got a great experience and we won, so we are ruining him? If anything he earned himself more game time by proving he can be good in more than one position and be useful tactically.

The more I think about it, the more I like what Jose did. It was VERY rare for him to make such a call in a premier league must-win game. It also shows that if you're good enough no matter your age, you will play.

this is anything but true with chelsea. kenedy is a multi million pound signing, he should be getting game time, on that count alone

[manpe 10,626]

this is anything but true with chelsea. kenedy is a multi million pound signing, he should be getting game time, on that count alone

You make "multimillion" sound a lot, but it was only £6.3 million. Everybody thought he would be another Piazon who was bought for roughly the same amount and who will never make it here. By that logic Baba should be an undisputed starter and so should have been Filipe Luis. It is peanuts, that kind of price tag doesn't guarantee you a minute and that is especially true in Chelsea, more often than not we dish out those sums for our loan army.

[lucio 4,474]

You make "multimillion" sound a lot, but it was only £6.3 million. Everybody thought he would be another Piazon who was bought for roughly the same amount and who will never make it here. By that logic Baba should be an undisputed starter and so should have been Filipe Luis. It is peanuts, that kind of price tag doesn't guarantee you a minute and that is especially true in Chelsea, more often than not we dish out those sums for our loan army.

what i was trying to say, was, the only youngsters who get game time, are the ones invested in. (zouma, kenedy)

academy players get nothing. except on academy day. they might get 30 seconds vs a league 1 side.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Call me crazy but I actually liked the move to LB. It could turn out to be a stroke of genius or a complete & utter failure but for at least he's trying something new for once. A proper attacking fullback can impact games almost as much as wingers. Dani Alves, Alaba, Lahm, Marcelo, Maicon, Ashley Cole etc were all invaluable to their respective teams and the majority of them didn't even begin their careers at fullback.

I'm not not fully convinced by Kenedy as a winger. He lacks the close control, ball retention and passing abilities of Eden, Pedro & Willian at this stage of his career. You look at his strongest attributes pace, strength, workrate and maybe fullback would be the best position for him to play. His one-footedness & previously mentioned deficiencies would be less of a problem in that role. I mean at least he's getting game-time.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,799]

Łukasz Piszczek was playing as a striker by the age of 24. Then he was one of the best full-backs in the world. Just a food for thoughts.

[iseah100 5,612]

So what? Are they gonna convert this poor guy to a fullback?

[Magic Lamps 10,414]

Call me crazy but I actually liked the move to LB. It could turn out to be a stroke of genius or a complete & utter failure but for at least he's trying something new for once. A proper attacking fullback can impact games almost as much as wingers. Dani Alves, Alaba, Lahm, Marcelo, Maicon, Ashley Cole etc were all invaluable to their respective teams and the majority of them didn't even begin their careers at fullback.

I'm not not fully convinced by Kenedy as a winger. He lacks the close control, ball retention and passing abilities of Eden, Pedro & Willian at this stage of his career. You look at his strongest attributes pace, strength, workrate and maybe fullback would be the best position for him to play. His one-footedness & previously mentioned deficiencies would be less of a problem in that role. I mean at least he's getting game-time.

Maybe you are right in your conclusion that he might be better off as a fullback but I can't really retrace all the premises of your reasoning. How is he one-footed? Yesterday he shifted the ball on his weaker foot several times to gain an advantage and pulled off decent crosses/shots. Also the commentator said he was two-footed. I did not really see how strength is a major asset of his either. slightly below average in that regard irc, got bounced off the ball easily be Mulumbu on a few occasions. Then I would like to know how you obtained information abot Pedro & Willian's passing when they were 19. IMO his main attributes are dribbling, pace, shooting and workrate. However I agree with you that his lack of close control makes him an oddjob for attacking positions. Reminds me of myself. I also started of as an attacker with decent shooting, finishing, pace, size and strength but horrible technical side of the game. So I got gradually shifted backwards ending up at RB.

[DYC. 7,542]

Łukasz Piszczek was playing as a striker by the age of 24. Then he was one of the best full-backs in the world. Just a food for thoughts.

Alba was a winger. Moved to LB after a two years in the first team I think. Now he's Barcelona's and Spain's fullback and a key player.

Don't understand some of the reactions. This is nothing new or innovative. It happens all the time. Never thought Mourinho would make such a move though. He likes a different type of fullback.

Agree with Gilvorak. Fullbacks can be very influential. I'm so tired of these technique-less defenders, lacking any true attacking nous or poise on the ball. Not to mention the lack of pace Chelsea have had for years in the backline.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Probably the most attacking fullback setup we've had since Iva-Cole...

In smaller games like that at Norwich it's a stroke of genius.

[lucio 4,474]

Call me crazy but I actually liked the move to LB. It could turn out to be a stroke of genius or a complete & utter failure but for at least he's trying something new for once. A proper attacking fullback can impact games almost as much as wingers. Dani Alves, Alaba, Lahm, Marcelo, Maicon, Ashley Cole etc were all invaluable to their respective teams and the majority of them didn't even begin their careers at fullback.

I'm not not fully convinced by Kenedy as a winger. He lacks the close control, ball retention and passing abilities of Eden, Pedro & Willian at this stage of his career. You look at his strongest attributes pace, strength, workrate and maybe fullback would be the best position for him to play. His one-footedness & previously mentioned deficiencies would be less of a problem in that role. I mean at least he's getting game-time.

i would agree, if pedro was impressing me

[MefiX19 1,092]

If we need super attacking fullbacks we can play him as RB and Baba at LB

[Gilvorak 3,734]

i would agree, if pedro was impressing me

Pedro hasn't been great but he does the basics well at least. I just liked the fact there was fluidity in attack for once and no broken down plays on that left hand side. This discussion is irrelevant anyway, this experiment won't last long.

[kellzfresh 7,211]

Call me crazy but I actually liked the move to LB. It could turn out to be a stroke of genius or a complete & utter failure but for at least he's trying something new for once. A proper attacking fullback can impact games almost as much as wingers. Dani Alves, Alaba, Lahm, Marcelo, Maicon, Ashley Cole etc were all invaluable to their respective teams and the majority of them didn't even begin their careers at fullback.

I'm not not fully convinced by Kenedy as a winger. He lacks the close control, ball retention and passing abilities of Eden, Pedro & Willian at this stage of his career. You look at his strongest attributes pace, strength, workrate and maybe fullback would be the best position for him to play. His one-footedness & previously mentioned deficiencies would be less of a problem in that role. I mean at least he's getting game-time.

Exactly this. He provided so much width and attacking play that I've not seen from ivanovic or azpi for a long time. And he has the speed and energy of a proper full-back. He did better than baba imo.

I'm not against him playing there against smaller teams. He put some crosses into the box (which costa missed) and added to the wide play of our team. Barcelona, bayern and madrid use even more attack minded players who can cross like alba, Alaba and marcelo so why can't we have ours.

[Amblève. 4,995]

Tbh, the only thing that worries me about Kenedy playing LB is what's gonna happen with Baba. With the money spent on him you'd expect him to start over a winger at LB, especially since Baba himself is more known for his offense than his defense.