Branislav Ivanovic

[Barbara 15,149]

Dont think he is actualy best fb but he shows passion and determination no one else does atm and that puts him further than his actual abilities. One of best at the moment.

right now, who could be playing better than him? I haven't been following much of the other leagues, I'm basing my guess here strictly based on what he's been doing and how difficult is for a FB to be as effective on both ends and as influential as he's been.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

right now, who could be playing better than him? I haven't been following much of the other leagues, I'm basing my guess here strictly based on what he's been doing and how difficult is for a FB to be as effective on both ends and as influential as he's been.

I would wait for 10 games at least, than we will talk. Last year he had pretty much same start too.

[DH1988 1,273]

Yeah agreed he started last year so well then faded pretty bad, fingers crossed

[Shakez 755]

Interesting points from José in the Chelsea tv post-match interview. Normally our right wingers (Willian, Salah, Oscar) tend to cut inside, wich leaves space for Ivanovic to operate in. When he's playing with Schürrle though he's much more restricted in his attacking play because Schürrle tends to stay out wide.

[The Chels 2,502]

right now, who could be playing better than him? I haven't been following much of the other leagues, I'm basing my guess here strictly based on what he's been doing and how difficult is for a FB to be as effective on both ends and as influential as he's been.

He's been very good going forward but not defensively imo. He gets skimmed rather easily, and he comes inside too much not closing down the opposition winger quickly enough. This affords them lots of space which led to Swansea's first goal, the Routledge chance which almost went in and Naismith's goal for Everton IIRC.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Despite how awesome Brana has been going forward, I don't think he has been as good defensively as some might think. Many goals we've conceded have come down his flank and he has been caught out of position several times.

[Myself 793]

Such a brilliant player.I do not know how he got so good at going forward

Practice, practice, practice.

[Amblève. 4,995]

He's been very good going forward but not defensively imo. He gets skimmed rather easily, and he comes inside too much not closing down the opposition winger quickly enough. This affords them lots of space which led to Swansea's first goal, the Routledge chance which almost went in and Naismith's goal for Everton IIRC.

Correct. I would think that a more mobile CB pairing or a third central midfielder could cover for him though.

[DYC. 7,542]

Despite how awesome Brana has been going forward, I don't think he has been as good defensively as some might think. Many goals we've conceded have come down his flank and he has been caught out of position several times.

Being excellent both offensively and defensively is impossible. One will always outweigh the other. With the way Ivanovic has been charging forward, when possession is lost, he'll always be caught out of position. That's why players have to cover each other.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Despite how awesome Brana has been going forward, I don't think he has been as good defensively as some might think. Many goals we've conceded have come down his flank and he has been caught out of position several times.

He's been very good going forward but not defensively imo. He gets skimmed rather easily, and he comes inside too much not closing down the opposition winger quickly enough. This affords them lots of space which led to Swansea's first goal, the Routledge chance which almost went in and Naismith's goal for Everton IIRC.

Totally agreed gents. He's been fantastic as an attacking full-back and been culpable time and time again in defence. But hey, José has clearly given him more licence to attack, and he is definitely going to contribute 10 goals this season from these advance positions. It's hard to get the balance right.

[laeth 527]

It's his positioning when defending which is the problem; his tendency to come inside like a centre back has caused so many goals down our right hand side. Azpi has the same problem playing as a right sided left back; they're both effectively playing out of position.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I would love to see a back four of Luis - Cahill - Iva - Azpi sometime. Especially if we're really trying to play that high press, high line system, and we need to put pressure on an opponent.

[Jase 43,479]

Totally agreed gents. He's been fantastic as an attacking full-back and been culpable time and time again in defence. But hey, José has clearly given him more licence to attack, and he is definitely going to contribute 10 goals this season from these advance positions. It's hard to get the balance right.

True but on the other hand, the defensive mistakes Ivanovic has made so far this season came when he was in the position to defend but made the wrong decision and positioned himself poorly in the back line, something that shouldn't really be happening with an experienced defender like him.. It's not like we've conceded goals on the break with teams exploiting out right side because Ivanovic was too far high up the pitch or something.

[bababoom 4,478]

I would love to see a back four of Luis - Cahill - Iva - Azpi sometime. Especially if we're really trying to play that high press, high line system, and we need to put pressure on an opponent.

Yes, i agree. i would love to see the whole team press collectively. Our defense has spells where they would push up individually but not together. Sometimes you would see Cahill run up and pressure his man while Terry sits back, other times Terry does the pressing but it's very rare. At home against Arsenal i see it working very well, no matter if Arsenal are home or away they play the same way, from the back. Look at Dortmund yesterday, they pressed in packs and dominated them.

[Jase 43,479]

Another goal we conceded came from his side after he was caught ball watching and not tracking Lampard. I know he's been great going forward but is Mourinho really going to persist with Ivanovic at RB when mistakes keep on happening? Seems so nonsensical especially when he singled out Schurrle only for the Lampard goal.

[Myself 793]

I think come January the team will look a bit like this

Courtois

Dave - Cahill - Ivanovic / Terry - Filipe

Matic

Oscar Fabregas

Ramires / Schurrle Hazard

Costa

I think that's our strongest possible lineup, Ivanovic has just been too poor defensively so far

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Seriously, he was ridiculous for the goal. For about 20 seconds he just stands in his place watching the ball moving from his left to his right then behind him then into our net. Smh...

[The Chels 2,502]

Schurrle makes one defensive mistake and gets singled out in the post-match interview by Jose. Ivanovic regularly makes many mistakes including not tracking Lampard, but continues to play every game (even though we have 2 better FBs) and is never criticised. A liability yet also undroppable for some reason.