Branislav Ivanovic

[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 20,609]

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.

[Barbara 15,149]

Yep, he's been sloppy in that goal... but at least Azpili is back on form. He's made a flawless match.

Iva needs to put more effort defensively... his actions in the attack can't make up for his shortcomings defensively. I admit I jumped on his bandwagon, but I think it's a matter of him fixing his positioning, putting more effort, I wouldn't call for his head yet. He just needs to balance his game more.

I don't know about the CB thing. I prefer him as a FB and I've been having some problems with Cahill (I lost account of how many times he backtracked from the City players today instead of going towards them), so it could be a nice change, but Iva does seem a bit sloppy now marking. So wouldn't it be exchanging six for half a dozen? If he isn't focused on defending all the time, then he could cause problems in the center defense even worse than he one he causes in the flank. He needs to get his shit together, regardless of where he plays.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Again at fault for the goal. He's been a complete liability defensively all season. Doesn't deserve to be starting games at RB.

[nono 791]

Yep, he's been sloppy in that goal... but at least Azpili is back on form. He's made a flawless match.

Iva needs to put more effort defensively... his actions in the attack can't make up for his shortcomings defensively. I admit I jumped on his bandwagon, but I think it's a matter of him fixing his positioning, putting more effort, I wouldn't call for his head yet. He just needs to balance his game more.

I don't know about the CB thing. I prefer him as a FB and I've been having some problems with Cahill (I lost account of how many times he backtracked from the City players today instead of going towards them), so it could be a nice change, but Iva does seem a bit sloppy now marking. So wouldn't it be exchanging six for half a dozen? If he isn't focused on defending all the time, then he could cause problems in the center defense even worse than he one he causes in the flank. He needs to get his shit together, regardless of where he plays.

Well Azpilicueta has been by far our best defender this season. I hate to imagine what would happen if he was playing as poor as Ivanovic. *shudders*

[BlueLyon 9,359]

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

So I read Ivanovic is poor at defending, but good in attack, yet you would put him from RB into CB place? I would expect to shift him on wing then, not central defence.

But yeah, hes been poor in defence in few games now.

[Myself 793]

So I read Ivanovic is poor at defending, but good in attack, yet you would put him from RB into CB place? I would expect to shift him on wing then, not central defence.

But yeah, hes been poor in defence in few games now.

misworded that haha

He's good at defending, just never actually... you know, defends.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I'll be very surprised if he isn't benched next week. We should give Luis-Azpi pairing a chance.