Branislav Ivanovic

[Jase 43,479]

There was a counter attack in the first half when we were 4 on 3 and then Oscar passed the ball to Iva on the right edge of the box who tried cross.....they're still searching for that ball outside of Stamford Bridge.

It's probably colliding with Puncheon's penalty in space as we speak...

[BlueLion. 21,491]

It's probably colliding with Puncheon's penalty in space as we speak...

Breaking news - the BBC are reporting that two Premier League footballs have collided with the international space station!

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Time will tell if our back four became solid when we played

Azpi-cahill-terry-cole

Ivanovic comes back and we conceded more chances in this match than the past 4-5 games without him combined.

Time will tell

[The Chels 2,502]

Ramires has a decent cross and from time to time can finish brilliantly. He isn't as poor as Ivanovic is technically.

He's definitely not as poor as Ivanovic, but that still doesn't mean he's good. For a central midfielder you'd expect a lot more. Tame shots and tame passes, it's almost become standard with him now.

He had a bad game yesterday and I'm a little worried he'll continue as first choice right back. I would love to see the club sign a leftback this week so that Azpilicueta can become first choice on the right side

I also think bringing in a definite first-choise LB would be good. Cole, as good as he has been, gets done against the slightest bit of pace and trickery it seems nowadays. But if a LB were to be brought in, can we definitely assume that Azpilicueta will be competing for his normal RB spot with Ivanovic? I wouldn't be surprised if Azpi were to become the back-up LB because Mourinho seems very fond of Ivanovic and I don't think we can be sure that it's just because he prefers Ivanovic at RB to Cole at LB (therefore meaning Azpi has to go RB).

I say this with all seriousness, he and Bacary sagna are the absolute worst crosser of the ball I have ever seen (at the top level). did anyone see his mishit cross that went over the bar yesterday when he was in acres of space and had all day to pick out a team mate.

With Sagna's crosses you don't always know what to expect, but from watching him you know he has the ability to - and very often does - whip an absolute peach of a ball into the box. The same cannot be said with Ivanovic.

There was a counter attack in the first half when we were 4 on 3 and then Oscar passed the ball to Iva on the right edge of the box who tried cross.....they're still searching for that ball outside of Stamford Bridge.

And that's definitely not the first time that's happened this season. Quite a lot of our promising attacks seem to break down when the ball gets to Ivanovic, mostly because he cannot cross to save his life. You'd think that in all the analysis of our games the coaching staff, including Mourinho, would have noticed this and either helped him improve his crossing or seek some other solution?

[lionsden 4,689]

With Sagna's crosses you don't always know what to expect, but from watching him you know he has the ability to - and very often does - whip an absolute peach of a ball into the box. The same cannot be said with Ivanovic.

Honestly I haven't seen sagna deliver a decent cross for the past 2 seasons at least.

What still baffles me is how certain players who have dedicated their entire lives to football, played at the highest level, trained under the best managers and with the best training facilities etc etc still struggle to execute the basics such as crossing, passing, ball control etc with any level of consistency.

I know talent counts for quite a lot but the saying that practice makes perfection simply doesn't apply to some or dare I say most of these professional athletes in sports.

[The Chels 2,502]

Honestly I haven't seen sagna deliver a decent cross for the past 2 seasons at least.

What still baffles me is how certain players who have dedicated their entire lives to football, played at the highest level, trained under the best managers and with the best training facilities etc etc still struggle to execute the basics such as crossing, passing, ball control etc with any level of consistency.

I know talent counts for quite a lot but the saying that practice makes perfection simply doesn't apply to some or dare I say most of these professional athletes in sports.

It really is remarkable that some at the highest level cannot perform even the most basic of footballing tasks - which is made yet more amazing when the player is a central midfielder (*cough* Ramires). With Sagna, I've definitely seen him deliver in some very good crosses, but do you think there is actually a less technically able RB in the league than Ivanovic?

[francozola 2,040]

He's been consistently poor for such a ridiculous amount of time now... Years, to be honest. He gets beaten too easily on the flank and is frequently caught out of position when oppositions try stuff like one-twos as we saw countless times yesterday with Januzaj. Honestly, I don't really get what Jose sees in him over Azpilicueta. He definitely bombs forward much more than Cesar, but the final contribution that each player gives to our attacking moves is probably equal, since Branislav's crossing is atrocious and Cesar's is not too bad. I get that Bran is a much more physical player, with his heading ability etc but he gets the simple stuff wrong so often that it's just mind-boggling to me how he's a starter at RB.

[The Chels 2,502]

He's been consistently poor for such a ridiculous amount of time now... Years, to be honest. He gets beaten too easily on the flank and is frequently caught out of position when oppositions try stuff like one-twos as we saw countless times yesterday with Januzaj. Honestly, I don't really get what Jose sees in him over Azpilicueta. He definitely bombs forward much more than Cesar, but the final contribution that each player gives to our attacking moves is probably equal, since Branislav's crossing is atrocious and Cesar's is not too bad. I get that Bran is a much more physical player, with his heading ability etc but he gets the simple stuff wrong so often that it's just mind-boggling to me how he's a starter at RB.

I can't really understand why Mourinho favours him either. Many say it's because Mou thinks Ivanovic at RB > Cole at LB, but I'm not so sure. He is a physical player, which offers something different to Azpi, but to me his physicality is more than offset by his lack of positional awareness, lack of technical ability on the ball leading to many a breakdown in attack, and his lack of pace. Equally, his physicality makes him more likely to get done by 1-2s like we saw yesterday in the early stages with Young and Welbeck (who aren't exactly creative geniuses), does it not?

[lionsden 4,689]

It really is remarkable that some at the highest level cannot perform even the most basic of footballing tasks - which is made yet more amazing when the player is a central midfielder (*cough* Ramires). With Sagna, I've definitely seen him deliver in some very good crosses, but do you think there is actually a less technically able RB in the league than Ivanovic?

Ramires technique really is shocking for a midfielder.

In regards to the question in bold, Chris smalling runs ivanovic very close. but in their defence, they are centre backs who have been converted to full backs for some strange reason. To me it's not so much the lack of technical ability because I have seen plenty of technically limited players get the basics right consistently i,e players like Oshea, Belletti,neville et al. what does my head in is the realisation that Ivanovic's crossing and overall offensive game isn't going to get any better due to his lack of scope for development.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Ramires technique really is shocking for a midfielder.

In regards to the question in bold, Chris smalling runs ivanovic very close. but in their defence, they are centre backs who have been converted to full backs for some strange reason. To me it's not so much the lack of technical ability because I have seen plenty of technically limited players get the basics right consistently i,e players like Oshea, Belletti,neville et al. what does my head in is the realisation that Ivanovic's crossing and overall offensive game isn't going to get any better due to his lack of scope for development.

We're moving a bit off topic here, but Belletti technically limited?

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Same shit here, nothing has changed. Thank fuck ya all are managing the club and Jose Mourinho is a forum member.

[lionsden 4,689]

We're moving a bit off topic here, but Belletti technically limited?

he was no Cafu that's for sure

[Polo7 3,496]

I think we play better with Azpi at RB. Ivanovic kills all our attacks.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

he was no Cafu that's for sure

He was no Ivanovic or Smalling either, that's for sure as well!

[Beigl 1,387]

I think we play better with Azpi at RB. Ivanovic kills all our attacks.

Yeah right,but this would mean we have to play Cole who doesn't offer much more offensively on LB than Ivanovic on RB.Also the partnership between Azpi and Hazard seems to get better every game.Cesar helps Eddie a lot for example his well timed overlapping which gives the Belgian space to cut inside and shoot.That's something you won't see from Ashley.

[Blue Armour 4,439]

He's been consistently poor for such a ridiculous amount of time now... Years, to be honest. He gets beaten too easily on the flank and is frequently caught out of position when oppositions try stuff like one-twos as we saw countless times yesterday with Januzaj. Honestly, I don't really get what Jose sees in him over Azpilicueta. He definitely bombs forward much more than Cesar, but the final contribution that each player gives to our attacking moves is probably equal, since Branislav's crossing is atrocious and Cesar's is not too bad. I get that Bran is a much more physical player, with his heading ability etc but he gets the simple stuff wrong so often that it's just mind-boggling to me how he's a starter at RB.

Strength and aerial threat. You need someone upfront to bring down aerial passes from Cech. Sad, but that's the truth when you no longer possess a target-man up front. A target-man would also make more of the below par crosses that come from Ivanovic

[francozola 2,040]

Same shit here, nothing has changed. Thank fuck ya all are managing the club and Jose Mourinho is a forum member.

This is a forum, I don't know what else you expect other that people giving their opinions about the club. I get that there can be a lot of over-reactions and things like that but just because you don't agree with posts doesn't mean the other person's arguments aren't valid. And it's just opinions after all, it's not as if what anyone is stating is fact. Don't get what you want in a forum other than discussion?

Strength and aerial threat. You need someone upfront to bring down aerial passes from Cech. Sad, but that's the truth when you no longer possess a target-man up front. A target-man would also make more of the below par crosses that come from Ivanovic

Yep I acknowledged Bran's superior physical ability, just feel that the negatives outweigh the positives regarding him.

Also I wouldn't really blame our strikers (i know you're not blaming them either) for not making more out of his crosses, since his are so horrendously off target and aimed at absolutely no one in particular. He just gets the ball on the flank and just hoofs it in basically.

I'm intrigued to see Jose's ultimate plan: does he plan to convert Azpi to a LB, does he aim to bring in a top-class LB in the summer to be a starter (pretty much guaranteed to happen) and keep Bertrand as a back-up and whether Ivanovic will continue to be our starting RB or will he switch to Azpi once that happens.

Thankfully the current dilemma in those two positions isn't hurting us that much as the players are still doing a competent job no matter who of Ashley, Cesar and Bran is chosen to start.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

If we really want a dynamic team and comfortable in possession team then Ivanovic really should not be starting as a fullback for us period.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Strength and aerial threat. You need someone upfront to bring down aerial passes from Cech. Sad, but that's the truth when you no longer possess a target-man up front. A target-man would also make more of the below par crosses that come from Ivanovic

Hopefuly that will change with Matic in midfield and us having normal full backs...

[kellzfresh 7,229]

I think he had his best game for us against stoke. I thought he'll destroy every single attack we had with terrible crossing but he was passing better for a change. He even tried a silky dribble and it came off. I hope he's changing for good and not crossing all our attacks to drogba at galatasaray.