I've had disagreements with people about what is our strongest CB pairing, most people tend to include Terry in it but the choice between Cahill and Luiz is often pretty much even, so this is just to see what the majority seem to think.

Personally I believe that Cahill and Terry is our strongest pairing. They have a good understanding together, Terry is a fantastic leader and is the heart of the defence and Cahill is a great CB who is reliable, can shoot and is capable of getting on the end of a set piece. As much as I love Luiz I feel a bit uneasy when he plays, you never know what you're going to get with him, his long balls have become a great annoyance to me and he should never be anywhere near a free kick based on the ones he's taken for us.

Vote away and feel free to tell us why.

Your ignoring Ivanovich, whose arguably a better CB than Cahill

Terry & Cahill

luiz is to prone to errors due to general lack of football smarts, which isnt the case for cahill.

cahill is also very athletic and pretty pacey, though not to the same extent as luiz, but his football brain gives him the advantage here

Edited September 30, 201213 yr by onebelo

When Luiz plays at his best he's one of the best centre backs in the world. The key word is when.

Cahill is more solid, but I think Luiz's inconsistency has lessened recently to the point that he's a better overall choice than Cahill.

There was a time I would have said luiz straight away with terry,but he has made some bad defensive errors lately which would make Cahill and terry my choice

I've put JT & Luiz, but for the first time in a long time i'm not really bothered who RDM picks.

Our squad is getting stronger and stronger, with replacements on the bench just about the same level as those picked, and the CB position is no exception.

Alan

My choice would be Terry & Cahill, but it's marginal really. Any combination is a good pairing in my opinion. There's always the doubt about Luiz and what he will do but he is cutting a lot of the craziness out of his game. There's a vast improvement between now and when he joined.

Ivanovic is another option, but I think RB is his best position. He's never really been convincing at CB since he joined us, I think anyway.

It depends who the opposition is.

If it's against Barca or Bayern.Mthen it has to be Luiz and Cahill.

Against teams with very dangerous strikers like manyoo or Citeh I would have Terry and Cahill.

If it was against your average premiership team like Stoke, any combination of our 4 CB's would be ok.

Cahill and JT all day for me. We've never looked like conceding when those two play together.

Barca at home was the best defensive display I've ever seen. IMO would not have kept a clean sheet in that game with Luiz.

Cahill and Terry > Cahill and Luiz > JT and Luiz

It depends who the opposition is.

If it's against Barca or Bayern.Mthen it has to be Luiz and Cahill.

Against teams with very dangerous strikers like manyoo or Citeh I would have Terry and Cahill.

If it was against your average premiership team like Stoke, any combination of our 4 CB's would be ok.

Not for me, against Barca/Bayern I'd want JT in my backline every time, need someone who reads the game well.

Against City or Man U who have quick forwards I'd probably go for Cahill and Luiz.

For teams like Stoke JT and Cahill

Your ignoring Ivanovich, whose arguably a better CB than Cahill

no he isnt, not even close

Ive also noted how awful the relationship between Cech and Ivan is when Ivan plays in the center. There is always communication problems between them.

Me, Id personally choose Cahill and Terry. Cahill is already a favorite of mine.

I was lucky enough to be sitting in the Holte when he scored that Stunning bicycle kick doing Birmingham.

I've made no secret of the fact that I believe Cahill is our best CB. I think he's got a solid all-round defensive game. He's faster than Terry, he doesn't have brain snaps like Luiz. Just generally very solid at all his duties.

I think our best CB pairing would have to be JT and Cahill...that said I love all our CB's, they're all quite different. So Cahill is the best, but JT is the leader.

I think that any combination we put out is among the best in the world.

Luiz is rash, but it will disappear with time. I look at players like Puyol, Ramos, Coloccini or Carvalho and all of them were tarred with the same brush at some point in their younger days.

I don't think any club in world football can boast four defenders who are equally good in the air or on the ground, boast good passing ability and are easily the best in the world for goalscoring ability from set pieces.

I'd say Luiz & Terry, JUST over Cahill - Cahill & Luiz are VERY even but Luiz has improved somewhat, and he's a lot more solid albeit if there is one mistake per game, don't get me wrong Cahill is fantastic, but as a pairing as they've played more together, and it seems Robbie is going the same way for me it's Luiz & Terry. Luiz has the potential to be one of the best CB's in the world & to be the Brazilian captain, IF he matures a little more.

Anyone with Terry. Hard to say which is the best pairing. It depends I think. Cahill, Luiz or Ivanovic...JT against big opponents is why he is the man. Leadership and positioning.

Cahill & Terry; Luiz goes a bit mental at times but I guess that'll be fixed as he ages.

Terry and Cahill. Both solid, dependable, intelligent readers of the game, it's a joy to see them work together. Luiz is just a bit to unpredictable for my comfort, world class but a little like a mad scientist let loose with the chemicals... if it pulls off he's saved the universe, if it doesn't everything we've strived for so far might just be blown up.

There will come a time though when he matures and will be unbeatable, a true great. I can guarantee that when it does I'll still be moaning that he makes me worry and miss it!

makes me laugh everytime . brilliant

John and Gary for me, the most dependable and consistent pairing.

The Cahill signing could prove to be one of the most cost-effective acquisitions of the decade. He's been very impressive in his short time at the club, and he's got a bit of development left in him at this level so he'll improve a bit as well.

I'm probably the happiest I've been with our CB setup since we had JT, Carvalho and Gallas - say what you want about Gallas, he's a c**t, but he was absolutely fantastic for us and formed a great partnership with JT.

Terry for me is still the first choice at CB, Luiz as others have said is maybe inconsistent but also utterly brilliant when he's on form. Cahill is consistent and a top defender, then we have Ivanovic who do a fantastic job at covering if things get really bad too.

With some young defenders (Ake, Chalobah etc) about to emerge from the academy it's pretty exciting times, and I'm sure at least one of them will come through to take up the mantle from JT.

I think we now have defenders we can swap around to suit who we are playing, which is a very good thing. When we are at home against a side who will sit deep and dig in we can play Luiz and Cahill to get forward and add to our attack. When we need control and solidity we can play Terry and Cahill.

I'm always more confident on matchday when I see JT and Cahill together. Luiz has the potential to be world class, but he is simply too inconsistent and prone to mistakes to be starting ahead of Cahill IMO. I think RDM likes the athleticism of Luiz alongside Terry (who is still clearly our best, and England's best CB) as he feels Luiz can cover Terry when he's being challenged one on one with a quick player. Cahill is more similar to Terry and not as much of an athlete as Luiz, but he makes fewer mistakes than Luiz which is why I would put him alongside JT as our fist choice CB pairing.

Anyone mentioning Ivanovic at CB has lost the plot. He makes more mistakes than Luiz and has shown himself to be a top RB.

I came across this quote, thought it was ace.

“As a matter of fact, both men played in the final. They did it with no preparation time whatsoever (they could not train lest it aggravate their injuries). And early on in the final, David Luiz felt a pop in his hamstring. But he persevered. Both men were imperious and earned plaudits all around for their heroic performances, all the more miraculous given that for their own sakes they probably shouldn’t have played, but put personal discomfort aside to get Chelsea fans the piece of silverware that they have so long craved. It is this kind of selflessness and bravery why Cahill is no longer regarded as a mere understudy, and Luiz just a cheeky chappy who’s good for a fun photo but not much more. They are bonafide, lion-hearted centrebacks.â€

Do you know who wrote that ?

Alan