Every top flight defence seems to be suffering this season, us included. CFCCAN astutely commented in the rivals thread that the first side to sort their defence out will win the league. I've seen several theories from posters here but what exactly should we be doing in order to restore that solid, intimidating shield in front of Cech? Do we need to go out and buy a world-class centreback? If so, who?

Is the problem in our defensive midfielder? Mikel is no Makelele but he has been turning in good individual performances for me. Is the holy trinity slacking too much on their defensive responsibility, leaving our fullbacks too exposed? Are our fullbacks themselves not good enough? Is our goalkeeper not up to his previous standards? Is the entire system we're employing just defensively liable? There is no obvious answer to me and its quite perplexing. Our creative issues in previous seasons, which are now pretty much resolved, seemed like a fairly obvious solution - but this problem doesn't seem to have one apparent cause. If you were RDM, how would you address it?

I think it's what's infront to be honest we need a new Makelele, the CBs themselves are all good footballers, Luiz definitely needs some discipline which I think he has more when he plays alongside JT. I like Mikel but I don't think he's good enough personally so I'd sign a new DM in January.

Edited November 11, 201213 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

Promote Mikel to captain

Sell

Terry

Luiz

Cahill

Ivanovic

Cole

Azpilicueta

Buy

Zambrotta

Thiago Silva

Baines

Zabaleta

Liam Ridgewell

Terry

Ranocchia

The probably for us is our formation. Playing with 3 attacking midfielders as we do and a Striker who always drops deep, means most of our attack comes through the middle of the pitch. That means we get very clustered in that middle area and have to rely on our fullbacks to go bombing on to give us some width and get some crosses in. That's why we never get crosses in from the byline, because our fullbacks don't want to try and beat a man and get to it, lest they lose the ball and are miles out of position.

So that leaves us with our striker, our 3 attacking midfielders and our fullbacks all pushed on into the middle 3rd when we are attacking, plus probably one of our CM as well like Ramires or Lampard. That leaves us with Mikel and our 2 CBs to defend and that's it when the attack breaks down, meaning there is loads of space for the opposition to attack. Against some teams they won't exploit it much, but play against a team with a pacy attack who aren';t afraid to run with the ball, like Ath Madrid, Man Utd, Shakthar..and they will expose you time and time again.

Compare that to Jose's team. We played with wingers then...Duff, Robben and Cole, who were happy to run at defenders, get to the byline or cut inside sometimes, meaning our attack had more width and more pace and we didn't have to send our fullbacks forward too much. In fact Jose didn't seem to like his defenders going much beyond the halfway line, and they had Makelele in front of them as well.

So the problem here is that playing with the trio of AM we do, we have absoultely no width and we have tor ely on them to either thread an eye of the needle pass through crowds of opposition players, or spread it wide to a fullback, leaving us exposed at the back. The solution to this is to play with width. That's not that easy as those attacking 3 love to play centrally, and even if you put Hazard on the wing he'll cut inside all the time. And Mata is wasted on the wing.

But that's RDM's problem, not mine. That's just the way I see it, how he ends up sorting things out is up to him.

The problem has been noted on every thread about our defence now...teams that play attacking and have fullbacks that bomb on are going to concede goals. The only way to compensate is the introduction of classical wingers meaning our width would not be needed from our full backs but by doing this you have to drop 2 of our ,magicians which is just a backwards step! Just enjoy the phase we are going through it is a work in progress...Barcelona wasn't built over night it came from playing a certain style over a number of years and having 2 of the best footballers of the last decade has definitely helped

The problem has been noted on every thread about our defence now...teams that play attacking and have fullbacks that bomb on are going to concede goals. The only way to compensate is the introduction of classical wingers meaning our width would not be needed from our full backs but by doing this you have to drop 2 of our ,magicians which is just a backwards step! Just enjoy the phase we are going through it is a work in progress...Barcelona wasn't built over night it came from playing a certain style over a number of years and having 2 of the best footballers of the last decade has definitely helped

Playing deeper and not having Luiz go walk-about would probably alleviate the issue somewhat because we wouldn't be caught flat-footed on counter-attacks so much. It would wear out our players faster (running longer distances) and possibly test our ability to keep possession, but it is one option.

It's a shame Luiz didn't have two seasons under Mourinho

Fixing our defence is less of a problem, its our lack of a consistent goalscorer.

we just need to buy Falcao until christmas and we will outscore other teams.

Until then lets hope Oscar, Mata and Hazard can continue to work their magic

A good start for me would be to have someone finally take responsibility when we are defending set pieces. When JT is there, he's barking out orders to the rest of the team on who should be marking who. However, when JT isn't there, I don't see Luiz/Cahill/Ivanovic doing this. One of them just has to man the f*ck up and get it sorted. Conceding goals on set pieces infuriates me because if the team is set up correctly and everybody does their job properly, it then becomes incredibly difficult for the opposition to score.

Remember under Mourinho, we never conceded from set pieces. This was because Jose drilled the art of defending set pieces into the players relentlessly on the training ground. I can't help but feel that this particular rudiment of defending has been somewhat lost amid the new emphasis on creativity and attractive football, and to me that's a real shame.

As an observer the biggest thing I've noticed is that the attacking three behind Torres do not make enough effort to get back and make a midfield wall of 5 when they don't have the ball, preferring to stay forward in the hope that the defence win the ball back and get it up to them for another attack. I've also noticed Ramires/Mikel do not fill in the defensive position for either full back when said full back attacks, leaving the vacated space open for counter-attack. The defence also play a high line, but John Terry does not have enough pace to recover if there is a mix up and the personnel chosen to play in the back four is not consistent enough for understanding to reach a level where there are no mix ups.

If I knew all the ins and outs of fixing the defence however I would hand in my CV to Abramovich.

John Terry

Get rid of mikel bring back mireles if we have to. Simple sorted.

AS much as I defend Mikel, I think a fantastic DM and a solid striker would make us a real force.

I think a striker would make all the difference, Our midfield and often defence are so wrapped up in trying to get up and score goals that gaps appear and players get out of position more than they would if a reliable striker was leading the line.

that wasn't the downfall today lthough it still comes into the outcome of games as we get increasingly impatient and chances go begging.

over simplifying obviously but I really feel that a mixture of this and the opposition not being scared of our main striker is costing us dearly.

Not meaning to bash Torres at all here but I really think any striker in the top few teams would have had a better goals to minutes ratio with these players around them than Nando and at this stage he should be back up competing for a place and not nailed on to get it.

Seriously defender wise we are quite well of and Cahill, Terry, Ivanovic and Luiz are IMO the best four choices of CB in the league, Cole is still the best LB and Ryan an able understudy, Ceasar is looking like he can be decent and Ivan can do the Job as well.

there are more problems than a blunt striker with no competition for his place (Danny just hasn't done enough with his small chances) but I don't think any of the other problems really need changes of face to sort out.

We defended well against Liverpool on the whole, you could see the world of difference it made having JT on the field.

Get a better DM and use Terry and Cahill as the first choice CB pairing.

Without an experienced defender & leader on the pitch,we seam to struggle to organise at the back.

Usually at corners for example,Ashley Cole takes up a position by the goal post,just in case.

I guess that is something that's not much coached thesedays & appears to be left for the players themselves to decide.

Without a commanding 'presence' in the defence, we will continue to leak goals.

Every top flight defence seems to be suffering this season, us included. CFCCAN astutely commented in the rivals thread that the first side to sort their defence out will win the league. I've seen several theories from posters here but what exactly should we be doing in order to restore that solid, intimidating shield in front of Cech? Do we need to go out and buy a world-class centreback? If so, who?

Is the problem in our defensive midfielder? Mikel is no Makelele but he has been turning in good individual performances for me. Is the holy trinity slacking too much on their defensive responsibility, leaving our fullbacks too exposed? Are our fullbacks themselves not good enough? Is our goalkeeper not up to his previous standards? Is the entire system we're employing just defensively liable? There is no obvious answer to me and its quite perplexing. Our creative issues in previous seasons, which are now pretty much resolved, seemed like a fairly obvious solution - but this problem doesn't seem to have one apparent cause. If you were RDM, how would you address it?

if we buy Fellani to partner Ramires then i can see us conceding less. Mikel is 'slow' and it showed today because when he was going up to join (and show no composure for his goal chances) the attack he was still in the opposition's half when the ball was about to enter our penalty area! i am sure under Jose players were told to motor back into position like Ramires does! you should check up the levante and real match today and watch essien and alonso!

Today i thought the defense was decent, what can you do when the dumbass ref refuses to keep an eye on a cheat like Suarez ? It was the attack that i was pissed with, we lacked the killer goal again.

Overall though i think the defense lacks concentration for 90+ minutes, i don't know why we are like this but we need to wake the hell up.

Few points:

1. Momentum

Playing with the wind behind your sails is everything in sport. What we need to see more of are those periods where Chelsea are dominant, where every 50/50 goes in our favour, and crucially where it feels like the opposition cannot get the ball out of their own half. We don't seem to do that, bar periods where we are behind chasing a game. There's no law that says we can't turn the screw when we take the lead, too.

The keys to this are playing the ball out of defense and retaining possession, not wasting it with hopeful long passes. I've also noticed that we're especially careless when we're playing overlaps with our fullbacks. Other teams seem to nail the overlap very well but ours are disorganised and clunky, with fullbacks running too soon or wingers delaying passes. It kills the width and takes two players out of the opposition's way for the counterattack, and since they are usually an overcommitted fullback and one of the attacking midfielders, it may help explain the alarming amount of sloppy goals conceded from opponent's wing play this season.

2. Rushed clearances

This is a really, really basic one. All our defenders, Terry included, are guilty of very silly and rushed clearances, hoofing the ball straight back to the opposition in the centre of the pitch. This is one of those really basic things that are taught by every Sunday youth coach; if you're going to clear the ball, make sure you aim for the sideline, not the centre.

3. Ineffective midfield

Ramires and Mikel, as a pairing, do a lot of good and Ramires's hyperactivity appears to be a natural foil to Mikel's languid style, in some small perhaps they cancel each other out. However they seem, as do the whole midfield, to lack communication between each other in defending. Ramires is often trying too hard to win the ball where Mikel stays still and tries to position himself for the intercept, but increasingly we are seeing them get caught out by failing to track forwards and midfielders making runs from deep. This is magnified by our attacking midfielders also being a bit too hyperactive in our own half, and like Ramires are often going ball chasing instead of running to get back into position.

If we're going to press, it needs to be done correct in the opponent's half, not ours. Once the ball is in our half players need to race back into position.

4. Torres

Because no topic is complete without blaming him, Luiz or Mikel in some way, and I've already mentioned the other two.

Maybe this is stupid but ever thought of 3-1-2-3-1?

Iva Terry Cole

Luiz

Ramires Mikel

Mata Oscar Hazard

Torres

3 top defenders, Ivanovic taking the right side, Terry bossing the center and Cole on the Left. Luiz playing the DM role (he is fast and there isn't that much space to make mistakes that he often do and even if he do them there is someone behind him who can correct the mistake eventually) Ramires and Mikel(replace mikel with a typical Midfielder) bossing the midfield. Our three Amigos and Torres(hope someone else) having free play here. This is a good line-up in my point of view. You can defend better because Luiz can shift fast into defense and since he is naturally a defender who likes to run forward a bit he would fit in that position. One of Ramires and Mikel can help the defense when needed and they would cover some space in the midfield when we are getting attacked and would boss the midfield the whole game(replace mikel with a naturally midfielder). Mata , Oscar , Hazard and our Striker would have time to think about attacking and not defending. This seems to work for Juve why not for us? I personally think this is the best solution unless we buy a world class DM and CB

Few points:

1. Momentum

Playing with the wind behind your sails is everything in sport. What we need to see more of are those periods where Chelsea are dominant, where every 50/50 goes in our favour, and crucially where it feels like the opposition cannot get the ball out of their own half. We don't seem to do that, bar periods where we are behind chasing a game. There's no law that says we can't turn the screw when we take the lead, too.

The keys to this are playing the ball out of defense and retaining possession, not wasting it with hopeful long passes. I've also noticed that we're especially careless when we're playing overlaps with our fullbacks. Other teams seem to nail the overlap very well but ours are disorganised and clunky, with fullbacks running too soon or wingers delaying passes. It kills the width and takes two players out of the opposition's way for the counterattack, and since they are usually an overcommitted fullback and one of the attacking midfielders, it may help explain the alarming amount of sloppy goals conceded from opponent's wing play this season.

2. Rushed clearances

This is a really, really basic one. All our defenders, Terry included, are guilty of very silly and rushed clearances, hoofing the ball straight back to the opposition in the centre of the pitch. This is one of those really basic things that are taught by every Sunday youth coach; if you're going to clear the ball, make sure you aim for the sideline, not the centre.

3. Ineffective midfield

Ramires and Mikel, as a pairing, do a lot of good and Ramires's hyperactivity appears to be a natural foil to Mikel's languid style, in some small perhaps they cancel each other out. However they seem, as do the whole midfield, to lack communication between each other in defending. Ramires is often trying too hard to win the ball where Mikel stays still and tries to position himself for the intercept, but increasingly we are seeing them get caught out by failing to track forwards and midfielders making runs from deep. This is magnified by our attacking midfielders also being a bit too hyperactive in our own half, and like Ramires are often going ball chasing instead of running to get back into position.

If we're going to press, it needs to be done correct in the opponent's half, not ours. Once the ball is in our half players need to race back into position.

4. Torres

Because no topic is complete without blaming him, Luiz or Mikel in some way, and I've already mentioned the other two.

makes a lot of sense what you are saying and it just dawned on me that perhaps the reason we are like this is down to JT and Lamps. without them we seem to have no one stepping up to the plate in terms of taking the 'captain' role!

makes a lot of sense what you are saying and it just dawned on me that perhaps the reason we are like this is down to JT and Lamps. without them we seem to have no one stepping up to the plate in terms of taking the 'captain' role!

I tend to agree with Sydney and you but air sure hope we are wrong. Terry may be gone for the year and now Lampard is rumored for China and Cole surely leaving this summer. Suddenly, we would have lost the core of all our trophy winning squads, apart from Cech. I think Mata or Cahill would or could take the reigns but it surely be a bumpy road.

makes a lot of sense what you are saying and it just dawned on me that perhaps the reason we are like this is down to JT and Lamps. without them we seem to have no one stepping up to the plate in terms of taking the 'captain' role!

It's a fair point, just who is that player...?

If Ash is set to leave us, I like the idea of this:

GK: cech

CB: ivan, cahill, luiz

RWB: ramires/azpilicueta

LWB: bertrand

DMF: mikel

RAM: oscar

CAM: mata

LAM: hazard

CF: torres/anyone else

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by PYRMDSCHMS

A defensive midfielder, who's mobile and can actually support the attack is what's needed. Mikel has improved over the last couple of years, but he's not suited to the style of football RDM is trying to implement, and it's not a question of learning or working harder. He simply doesn't have the necessary skill set to play the part.

Fernandinho from Shakhtar was a great example of how you can protect your defense and support your attack efficiently. I'm not suggesting we should go after him, but his playing style is what's required in that position if we want the new system to work.