Branislav Ivanovic

[Sheva. 5,373]

Sigh, his and Ramires' lack of technical ability, in terms of being able to pass, cross and shoot properly, are noticeable every game!

At least he has the excuse of being a CB, Ramires is a midfielder and randomly gives the ball away trying to complete a simple, sideways pass

[Sidzeret 2,257]

At least he has the excuse of being a CB, Ramires is a midfielder and randomly gives the ball away trying to complete a simple, sideways pass

Oh, the pass accuracy of Mikel.

[lionsden 4,689]

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.

[Mjizzle 2]

At least he has the excuse of being a CB, Ramires is a midfielder and randomly gives the ball away trying to complete a simple, sideways pass

Ramires has made more accurate passes than any of are other midfielders.

[Strike 7,217]

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

[Jase 43,479]

Really shocked to see him start yesterday. It's either Mourinho took a risk or was just trolling everyone when he said Ivanovic just started training on Friday. If it's the former, then I think it speaks volume of how much Mourinho thinks of Cole at this point especially when Ivanovic didn't look 100% fit at all.

At least he has the excuse of being a CB, Ramires is a midfielder and randomly gives the ball away trying to complete a simple, sideways pass

Not even an excuse to begin with. The fact he has played at RB for ages now and yet can't even put in a proper consistently is mind boggling. And this is made worse when you consider the number of quality crosses he delivered in the 2009/10 season yet hardly one is seen these days!

[TrippingStep 336]

I've read that some people think he had a good game against Januzaj, but I don't think he did. Never really looks comfortable at the RB position and in particular the nutmeg against him and the overhit cross come to mind. Whilst he is a good defender, he is so poor technically. Notice how during the dropball there was a little unrest among the United players that Chelsea had kicked the ball out for a United throw-in instead of giving it back to De Gea. It was Ivanovic who did that, and it didn't seem accidental at all. I really think he just wasn't able to cross it all the way back to their goalkeeper, failing spectacularly. Sigh, his and Ramires' lack of technical ability, in terms of being able to pass, cross and shoot properly, are noticeable every game!

Again a player like Januzaj, Azpi would have been better as he's very good against dribbling player.

[didierforever 7,349]

Again a player like Januzaj, Azpi would have been better as he's very good against dribbling player.

i remember iva playing against the likes of CR and nani and literally keeping them in his pocket.

iva at the moment is not playing well ennough.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

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.

Mate Sagna has put in some delicious crosses this season.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

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.

[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?