Am I the only one who sees glaring flaws in his game? Reading around online today I read repeatedly that his energy and workrate was a key factor in our win. Dont disagree BUT in possession he ALWAYS frustrates me. It seems like he always delays his passes and often dribbles into congested areas of the field where he increases the likelihood of turning the ball over. Against City I counted 4-5 times that he gave the ball away in the middle of the park which led to swift City counterattacks. Overall my concerns relate to his use of the ball when in possession and trying too hard to dribble when a simple, efficient pass would suffice.

What is your opinion of him?

I think he's a great player, and I don't use the term lightly. Deceptively skilful, to add to all his other attributes.

A legend in the making. No doubt.

It must be me Davey.

Every Chelsea fan I know rates him, maybe Im overly critical I just get so frustrated with him.

I dunno I love watching him run with his pace late in games, it really puzzles the opposition and makes him difficult to control.

I think he can improve, a lot, which is actually a very good thing considering how effective he is already. A bit like Sturridge I would say.

His touch and passing, and some will disagree but his finishing are areas he needs to improve on imo. But he's already been doing that since he's been here and in a few seasons, we're gonna have one hell of a player.

Remember what Kaka had to say about him. I bet nobody beleived him this time last year!

“I am pleased that Ramires has joined a top European club," said “But I actually think it’s pretty scary for the Premier League and for teams who are looking to win the European Cup this season.

“For me there is no doubt that Chelsea have signed the very best young central midfield player in the world.

“Now he is at Chelsea I think he will become the best midfield player in the world within two years and will be placed in the same bracket as Claude Makelele, Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.

“Not only is Ramires a great player but he is a humble boy and is always willing to listen and learn from those that have been in the game a long time.â€

Am I the only one who sees glaring flaws in his game? Reading around online today I read repeatedly that his energy and workrate was a key factor in our win. Dont disagree BUT in possession he ALWAYS frustrates me. It seems like he always delays his passes and often dribbles into congested areas of the field where he increases the likelihood of turning the ball over. Against City I counted 4-5 times that he gave the ball away in the middle of the park which led to swift City counterattacks. Overall my concerns relate to his use of the ball when in possession and trying too hard to dribble when a simple, efficient pass would suffice.

What is your opinion of him?

He made mistakes in that game for sure. City is so compact in midfield that he ran into 3-4 players and no one can go past that. He also made some game changing runs. One comes to mind where his sheer pace got him past Clichy and he took the second yellow card. If it was anyone else in our team making the run it would have been easy for Clichy to stop him.

He is still a raw product but you have to admire his work rate, pace, ability to score goals and tackling. He will get better in all of those areas. He is as sure starter for me in every game as Cech.

I agree, Evissy. Under AVB, Ramires is asked (or allowed) to make runs. It's obvious he enjoys them. When Chelsea sit back, I guess there's more room for him to run into. When it works, he opens up the other team. When it doesn't, as happened at times against City, he runs himself into a crowd and loses the ball.

Take the good with the bad and expect him to improve his decision making as he improves. Every time I have a question about him, he proves me wrong. For me, his only real glaring weakness is his first touch.

He is one of a few players in the team with really good pace and bundles of energy. His amzy runs are sweet and will only get better.

He has a bite in the tackle as well, aggressive and hardened for the size of him.

Class player and will only get better

Just if we had Modric right behind him, what a great combination that wouldve been, with Rami's exceptional runs and Mod's god passes, so deadly. Sweetdreams.

About Ramires, well to me he is like a diamond first year he was 1/4 polished, now mby 2/4, so in the next few years who knows if he reach 4/4.

Edited December 14, 201113 yr by Rami

It was Ramires run that changed the game imo, getting their player sent off really tipped the scales in our favour.

Firstly he had 4 lungs. Secondly his runs are sometimes turned over, but he nicks the ball off people just as often and he's incredibly difficult to dispossess legally. Clichy tried it and it ultimately won the game for us. He's become a staple of our midfield and will be for years to come. He could improve his passing game but I don't really see him as an intelligent passer. What he brings to the table is a rare skillset. He reminds me of Essien in many ways.

Great pace, great energy. But lacking in actual ability i'm afraid. His passing can be pretty poor at times, but he's very good at going on those runs through the middle and getting people to hack him down and get cards.

I love he kicks the ball in front of him, and runs after it like a man possessed, absolutely clattering anyone in his way.

He is an amazing player, indeed his work rate and energy are his best attributes, but he's also a very clever player, very quick, very strong (deceptively so for his size) and very good technically good.

He has certainly grown as a player this season, which owes much to being allowed to get further forward in my view. Under Carlo (and going back to Mourinho) the midfield player next to Frank was always more functional, rotate possession, win the ball, support Lampard.

One of the positives of AVB's reign has been his encouragement of that player (almost always Ramires) to get forward in tandem or at times instead of Frank or Meireles. So instead of being a more defensive minded player we've seen him come into a real box to box role, the kind he excelled at for Benfica. It's amazing to think when we first bought him most thought he would play at DM!

He certainly has weaknesses. His passing is poor at times and his finishing is worse, but he'll grow into that. He also seems to have a bit of a victim mentality with referees, perhaps being a bit petulant at times and letting his concentration wane.

Funny you should mention Essien Castiel. My biggest worry with him, is that he relies so much on his athleticism that injuries could seriously hamper him later in his career, much like they have done with Essien. His light frame and high centre of gravity when he dribbles make me very concerned that he could suffer a serious knee or an ankle injury at some point.

Edited December 14, 201113 yr by Spiller86

He has certainly grown as a player this season, which owes much to be allowed to get further forward in my view. Under Carlo (and going back to Mourinho) the midfielder player next to Frank was always more functional, rotate possession, win the ball, support Lampard.

One of the positives of AVB's reign has been his encouragement of that player (almost always Ramires) to get forward in tandem or at times instead of Frank or Meireles. So instead of being a more defensive minded player we've seen him come into a real box to box role, the kind he excelled at for Benfica. It's amazing to think when we first bought him most thought he would play at DM!

He certainly has weaknesses. His passing is poor at times and his finishing is worse, but he'll grow into that. He also seems to have a bit of a victim mentality with referees, perhaps being a bit petulant at times and letting his concentration wane.

Funny you should mention Essien Castiel. My biggest worry with him, is that he relies so much on his athleticism that injuries could seriously hamper him later in his career, much like they have done with Essien. His light frame and high centre of gravity when he dribbles make me very concerned that he could suffer a serious knee or an ankle injury at some point.

Apart from build, why would he be susceptible to injury more than anyone else?

He is one of our key players. Sure he's not perfect but what player is?

Btw, hes the player with the highest number of successful dribbles in the premiership,and he's 5th when you take into consideration top 5 leagues. thats a bloody impressive stat

My theory and I'm not a sports scientist (perhaps SC can help me out) is that he runs high. He has a high centre of gravity and therefore a lower level of balance. Given that I'd suggest he'd be more vulnerable to being knocked in an awkward way by a tackle and therefore more susceptible to an injury in the leg joints.

It's something I've noticed with rugby players a lot. Those with the really high running style tend to be more susceptible to serious knee injuries in particular.

Great feedback.

Yeah it seems my opinion of him is not congruent with the majority of our fans, Im probably guilty of being overly critical.

I will definitely re-evaluate him taking on board all the points made in this thread. Thanks.

Reminds me of Essien but faster and not as strong

Reminds me of Essien but faster and not as strong

I agree, although I think he's stronger than one would think by looking at him. I mean, with his lean long limbs, he looks almost lightweight, but he can definitely hold his own out there.

My theory and I'm not a sports scientist (perhaps SC can help me out) is that he runs high. He has a high centre of gravity and therefore a lower level of balance. Given that I'd suggest he'd be more vulnerable to being knocked in an awkward way by a tackle and therefore more susceptible to an injury in the leg joints.

It's something I've noticed with rugby players a lot. Those with the really high running style tend to be more susceptible to serious knee injuries in particular.

Interesting, it's not something I would know a great deal about to be honest.

Does Crouchy run high?

Maradona had a low center of gravity, but he often ran high. Sorry...

I sort of mean he isn't particularly balanced when he runs. You see some guys who are sort of crouched when they dribble with the ball, head more over the ball. Others lean back more. Robben is an example of a guy who has a high centre of gravity when he runs.

Edited December 14, 201113 yr by Spiller86

Ramires has improved vastly this season. His tackling has improved, positioning has got better and I read somewhere he has the most number of dribbles in premier league this season.

The one thing that strikes me is his workrate. His bursts from central midfield keeps me buzzing with energy. In the match against United , I remember a moment when Hernandez got a head start , beat the CBs and was running at cech. Ramires unleashed his pace, ran back and nicked the ball from behind to clear it. That was one moment I could never forget and it keeps me excited as ever seeing Ramires play.

Surely he has to improve his finishing and passing . His energy is always going to invite a lot of fouls from oppositon players. And, on the topic of injury, I believe the chances of him getting injured is less compared to essien. Essien's knees got bad because he had a bulked up body and knees could not hold his weight. I remember Kaka also saying that Ramires rarely gets injured Which I hope always stays true.

Great pace, great energy. But lacking in actual ability i'm afraid. His passing can be pretty poor at times, but he's very good at going on those runs through the middle and getting people to hack him down and get cards.

you probably should watch this if you think he lacks ability, specifically the assist section. He has plenty of ability, but seems to be labelled as just a runner and tackler which I find a bit hard to understand. But the main things he brings to our team is energy, effort and pace at the moment. He brings a massive impetus to our attack when we get the ball to him as he is very direct and its something we havent had from midfield for quite some time.