Branislav Ivanovic

[chelsea_4_eva 1,157]

you guys underestimate his speed... he has always been a runner..

[Milan 17,850]

Any idea why is Ivan benched today? Just hoping it has nothing to do with his fitness because it would be great to see our another international player being benched tonight.

[Jase 43,479]

Any idea why is Ivan benched today? Just hoping it has nothing to do with his fitness because it would be great to see our another international player being benched tonight.

Think he has just been rested, hopefully. No news whatsoever on him picking up any injury etc.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Because their coach is an idiot, that's why. Not an injury, you guys can relax.

[termninja 5,290]

I gotta say, he has turned out into a rather good full back. Few years ago, all we could criticize him for was that he felt awkward as a right back and wasn't too offensive. Well, now he bombs forward in the style of Gareth Bale and actually scores and assist rather a lot, especially considering our front 4 are rather physically weak or short.

He had some bad games, but usually did alright this season. We have to take into consideration that he played quite a lot for 3 seasons in a row now, and as a full back he covered a lot of distance.

It also seems to me that he increased both his speed and strength in the last year.

Check it out

I see him as one of the physically strongest players in the PL.

Any idea why is Ivan benched today? Just hoping it has nothing to do with his fitness because it would be great to see our another international player being benched tonight.

After the match against Belgium in which we played well, but lost 3-0 in the end, our coach, Mihajlovic came out in the media and openly blamed Ivanovic and Kolarov for the loss because they were too offensive. That pissed of the two of them and they confronted him because he used them as scrapegoats for the loss even though they are our two best players who were leading the team. Mihajlovic responded by benching Ivanovic in the next game and changing Kolarov's number to number 3 to metaphorically show him he is a defender. Idiocy if you ask me, Mihajlovic changed the core of our national team so much and put such high expectations now everything is falling apart...besides, when things aren't going well, bigger players won't give 100% because they won't want to injure themselves, so it's a chain reaction...I hope it gets sorted for the upcoming EURO.

[DYC. 7,542]

I agree, he has done well. He makes a odd fullback but he does a good job overall. I just wish he would finally start to block his direct opponent from putting crosses into our box (at least try). It's incredibly frustrating and causes us quite a few problems.

[robsblubot 3,468]

Wasn't crazy about his decision to foul Young; it was a professional foul and a clear red.

It's all a split second decision, but I hope the coaches are talking to him about it; so many things could have happen in that play: Young could've missed a step (like he often does) and Ivanovic would've been there to stop him (or someone else); Young might have missed or stopped by Cech.

A goal in that united game was a dime-a-dozen (almost literally), so I'd rather we stayed with 11 players one goal down.

[Naked Mole Rat 437]

Poor Brana. The replay's convinced me that he didn't make any sufficient contact with Young. In fact, he did all he could to not make any contact. I wonder if there's any chance the club will make an appeal.

[Spike 12,049]

He should not have been sent off but what's more worrying is his slight regression in defensive ability. Under Carlo he was an absolute rock of a man, but now he loves to get foward a tad too often.

[manpe 10,861]

The moment I saw him clip Young I knew it was trouble. He shouldn't have gone so close to a notorious cheat like Young, he should have known better. He was on his stinky left foot, he would have probably blasted it wide or straight at Cech. A hard decision for the ref to make, I'll give him that. In the end I think it was a mistake both by the ref and Ivanovic.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Poor Brana. The replay's convinced me that he didn't make any sufficient contact with Young. In fact, he did all he could to not make any contact. I wonder if there's any chance the club will make an appeal.

He'll be banned for the Capital One Cup game and that's it. Professional foul is a one game ban, so it's no big deal.

[Jase 43,479]

He should not have been sent off but what's more worrying is his slight regression in defensive ability. Under Carlo he was an absolute rock of a man, but now he loves to get foward a tad too often.

Does he have a choice? We are now relying on our FBs to provide the width again since we are playing narrowly with Oscar, Hazard and Mata. And yeah, his defensively abilities have gone down the drain a bit. Has struggled against pacey wide players and even when going forward, he doesn't offer much. His crosses are just mostly woeful. Would really like to see Azpilicueta been given a chance in the first team more but doubt we are gonna see that. RDM will continue to persist with the same players for almost every game.

[Joker10 946]

How many games is he suspended for?

[Sheva. 5,373]

How many games is he suspended for?

1.

[Jase 43,479]

How many games is he suspended for?

Just 1. So will miss the clash against United on Wednesday. Doubt he would have played anyway.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Does he have a choice? We are now relying on our FBs to provide the width again since we are playing narrowly with Oscar, Hazard and Mata. And yeah, his defensively abilities have gone down the drain a bit. Has struggled against pacey wide players and even when going forward, he doesn't offer much. His crosses are just mostly woeful. Would really like to see Azpilicueta been given a chance in the first team more but doubt we are gonna see that. RDM will continue to persist with the same players for almost every game.

Think Ivanovic's crossing is underrated. http://www.eplindex.com/14552/premier-league-team-of-the-year-based-on-statistics-part-1-defence-opta-stats.html/2

Agree that Ivanovic's defensive positioning has been poor this season but some of that as you say, is not his fault. The team plays so narrow up front that Cole and Ivanovic have to get forward to create width. It bothers me when we concede goals and everyone automatically blames the defensive players. Sometimes, it is their fault, but sometimes, it isn't. Football tactics are dominoes. One player is out of position so another has to cover and then another is left exposed in a dangerous area...It takes a team to attack or defend properly. (That's not to say that there aren't individual errors of course!)

[Naked Mole Rat 437]

He'll be banned for the Capital One Cup game and that's it. Professional foul is a one game ban, so it's no big deal.

Really? I thought all straight reds were automatically subject to a 3+ match ban. Anyway, that's good.

[RamiCFC9 258]

Can't blame Branna here, had to sprint against one of the fastest players in EPL 1v1 obviously he wouldn't make it.For me its Cahill's fault 100%, the way RVP owned him was disastrous.