Personally see defensive weaknesses in both Azpi and James which is why I think we need to strengthen here in the summer. 

For a couple of seasons Azpi has done that RCB role yet I think the day is now dawning when he may need to be benched before he costs us. 

Interesting to see some of the comments here - I thought he was brilliant against Porto. Seemed like the one player, above all, who wanted the win. He was particularly influential during that scrappy period in the first half when we had lost control of the midfield. Had we not held strong then we would surely have lost. 

That RCB role suits him to a tee as well. 

19 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

Personally see defensive weaknesses in both Azpi and James which is why I think we need to strengthen here in the summer. 

For a couple of seasons Azpi has done that RCB role yet I think the day is now dawning when he may need to be benched before he costs us. 

Both of their weaknesses at the moment is speed. James is a great at defense and offense but he's a bit slow to do both in a span of 5 minutes which is why he doesn't bombard as often.

I think Azpi lost his composure a lot compared to when he was in his prime

Thought Dave looked a bit exposed on the right last night, but still did a half decent job, think a top right back is a must, unless Reece just holds it as his own, a better defender than RWB..

1 hour ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Thought Dave looked a bit exposed on the right last night, but still did a half decent job, think a top right back is a must, unless Reece just holds it as his own, a better defender than RWB..

I thought he did fine. I'd say he was largely tasked with halting Marcelo which he did comfortably. I think we've got enough cover at RB. Both James and Dave do well with CHO as needed. 

Well dave aint at Chillies level anymore, and Reece is sort of 50/50 player atm, even though i think he hs everything to be the best, just some positional choices to sort, be well off getting some 'Coley' direction

I don't remember much going on through his side to be honest. He did quite well against a much oder Marcelo, and even when Vinicius doubled Marcelo, Azpi still hold the defending position. I don't like him as RWB, but he did not do bad last night defensively, it's just that he hasn't got the attacking ability of James or CHO.

10 hours ago, RMH said:

I don't remember much going on through his side to be honest. He did quite well against a much oder Marcelo, and even when Vinicius doubled Marcelo, Azpi still hold the defending position. I don't like him as RWB, but he did not do bad last night defensively, it's just that he hasn't got the attacking ability of James or CHO.

The problem is, neither do they right now. Neither of them are creating enough, James seems to be struggling to beat his man because he lacks pace and Hudson-Odoi's end product needs a lot of work.

2 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

The problem is, neither do they right now. Neither of them are creating enough, James seems to be struggling to beat his man because he lacks pace and Hudson-Odoi's end product needs a lot of work.

Add to that James's end product has become erratic too. Earlier on this season it seemed almost every forward pass or cross looked dangerous. Now the one time he tried against Real has become too normally, overhit. 

Right now Christensen on merit deserves a place in our beat defence, and Dave replacing the RWB allows that.

2 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Add to that James's end product has become erratic too. Earlier on this season it seemed almost every forward pass or cross looked dangerous. Now the one time he tried against Real has become too normally, overhit. 

Right now Christensen on merit deserves a place in our beat defence, and Dave replacing the RWB allows that.

Yep, it's crazy how quickly things have changed. It wasn't long ago that we were getting frustrated at our players not scoring from his crosses.

The Dave wingback experiment should be stopped. He is too slow and adds little to nothing on offense. CHO will be a serious offensive threat on offense and be able to track back on defense. 

8 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

The problem is, neither do they right now. Neither of them are creating enough, James seems to be struggling to beat his man because he lacks pace and Hudson-Odoi's end product needs a lot of work.

I agree that James has regressed in the attacking front, but he still has the capacity of going forward and Azpi does that less often than James. That is what we needed though, to attack on Marcelo's side and James would have run him up and down (even if his end product is not as it was, he'd would have carried Real Madrid players out of position and tire them). The same with CHO, he is defensively suspect, but he goes forward and carries defenders with him, unlike Azpi. I love Azpi, but I think that other than defensive solidity he doesn't add much as RWB. I'd rather have him as the RCB or simply a RB in a 4 at the back system.

I can completely understand Azpi starting at RB against Real. You want experience there to keep the likes of V.Junior and Marcelo quiet, and I thought he did a great job doing that. I can imagine Junior would be causing James a lot of problems if he started, purely due to lack of experience at the highest level.

When James is experienced enough to start huge games, I would then only use Azpi as a centre back and find a back up for James.

On 29/04/2021 at 07:22, axman2526 said:

Add to that James's end product has become erratic too. Earlier on this season it seemed almost every forward pass or cross looked dangerous. Now the one time he tried against Real has become too normally, overhit. 

Right now Christensen on merit deserves a place in our beat defence, and Dave replacing the RWB allows that.

That is more on how james deliver his cross. James is a fb not a wb. He is at his best delivering from deep not take on player and then cross. 

If you recall james had good partnership with cho last season, same with Willian. Winger who can keep the ball high, attack then create space for james to cross. 

Edited April 30, 20215 yr by Bob stark

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

That is more on how james deliver his cross. James is a fb not a wb. He is at his best delivering from deep not take on player and then cross. 

If you recall james had good partnership with cho last season, same with Willian. Winger who can keep the ball high, attack then create space for james to cross. 

Fair point Bob.

Amazing once again !! this guy needs more respect. Incredible attitude at all time, he's a warrior.

Don't think I have ever seen a Chelsea player so knackered as Dave last night. With about 10 mins to go, he had sped forward into an attacking area -  it we lost the ball, and he could hardly move to get back. He left it all on the pitch. Captains performance 

43 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

Don't think I have ever seen a Chelsea player so knackered as Dave last night. With about 10 mins to go, he had sped forward into an attacking area -  it we lost the ball, and he could hardly move to get back. He left it all on the pitch. Captains performance 

All through the match he had a look on his face that said 'They will not succeed, even if I have to maim that Madrid scum'. Better not have a disagreement with him when he looks like that.

What a player, and a true captain. Probably nearing the twilight of his career at the highest level, completely deserves a champions league winners medal!

He is a fav of mine. Great player and so solid even when he is losing his legs. The way he bullied Hazard last night at some point was top class.

A proper leader. Been an exceptional player in the past decade.

Edited May 7, 20215 yr by Jezz

 

33 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

 

Silky Smooth Tekkers from Azpi there. He played a blinder, and gave it his all. Needs a rest against city though!

 

Cannot believe the way that muppet Sterling disrespected Dave by ignoring his handshake apology in the second half.

Great ambassador for the "respect" campaign he is.