He's been excellent so far - a couple of defensive lapses I guess, but more than made up for by his efforts on the other end. For a defender, he is quite a good finisher. 

Fantastic start to the season by Branna. One of our top 3 players so far without a doubt. A great example of how increased competition improves the incumbent. I would think the long term plan is to put Dave at RB and Luis at LB (why else do you spend £20m odd on a 29 year old LB?) and to also rotate Ivan at CB. I think Jose made some comments to that exent recently. 

 

I think someone above alluded to JT's fitness, and it's worth keeping in mind that he's had a long standing problem with his back - apparently he has to take some painkilling shots before games to be able to get through them. I'm sure with age the pain only gets worse, so with this in mind it would be good to see Ivanovic rotated in at CB when possible. I'm not sure Zouma is quite ready yet.

Damn he has changed into a flying attacking full back without many of us even noticing.

He's really stepped up his game to answer his critics. He is benefitting from the team's desire to keep the ball on the ground more and also the more dynamic passing of Matic and Fabregas getting him into better positions.

Oddly I'd say his defending has suffered a little bit. Unlike say Azpi or Luis or Cole he doesn't have the speed to recover his position after getting forward, however previous games seem to suggest that Oscar/Willian/Ramires are more than capable of covering his gaps though it does drag a player from the middle. It's a risk/reward gamble when Hazard/Schurrle switch to his wing though; he combines better with them in an attack but they do not cover him as well as the Brazillian trio.

That said, Ivanovic certainly makes up his deficiencies in open play with mastery of set-pieces.

Would like to see Luis get some game time, very similar to Azpilicueta.

Luis has barely kicked a ball competitively! How can he have impressed or not impressed anyone yet?

 

Seemed mediocre at Madrid and hasn't done anything to change my mind during pre-season and the few minutes he played at Everton.

 

Should of stuck with Bertrand.

Really can't see how he seems mediocre what I saw of him last season for Atletico he was class.

Won La Liga and made a Champion's League final scoring 6 goals from fullback and looked mediocre?

Well I suppose that's possible given Ozil looked outstandingly mediocre during a World Cup and a 7-1 demolition of Brazil.

Seemed mediocre at Madrid and hasn't done anything to change my mind during pre-season and the few minutes he played at Everton.

 

Should of stuck with Bertrand.

 

He was arguably the best left back in Europe last season

Ivanovic is like a lion. he has his defaults but bottom line he's the king. indispensable asset.

There's a thread dedicated to his ass on rawk lol. If that's what they like, each to their own I guess.

He was arguably the best left back in Europe last season

 

Have to agree, he was a key part of the best defence in Europe last season, I can't wait to see what he can do.

 

Plus he has silly hair and a big nose so I feel like I can relate to him.

Genuinely interested to see what constitutes Luis being mediocre JoeyN. What would are the things that you would say distinguish a mediocre from a good fullback?

Headlines have all been on DC (and rightly so) but Brana has been incredible in all 3 of our first 3 league games.

 

He seems to have changed for the better over the summer , particularly going forward.

 

Either him or DC should get player of the month. Gary Monk for manager of the month.  

I just want to savour Brana and Terry. They have both been great servants for chelsea. It will be a sad day (and a massive hole in the defence) when both of them leave the club. 

The guy is a legend in my eyes. 100% passion and commitment when he puts on the colours. He's looked like a new player going forward so far, I don't know what has possessed him but I'm loving it. He's always had a knack for scoring some big goals as well. 

 

Absolutely love our Serbian fighter.

He was arguably the best left back in Europe last season

 

Not for me.

 

A good left back no doubt. World class? No where near.

17 Premier League goals since the start of the 2010-11 season.

 

Leighton Baines, is the only defender with more, 19.

He's been a beast for us so far this season. My scouse step father seems to think he is our weak link and that he's extremely prone to leaving his man and causing confusion in our defence. For me, it has only ever really been his crossing that has annoyed me. That being said he seems a lot better going forward recently and its always nice to practically have 3 centre halves going up for/defending a corner. 

17 Premier League goals since the start of the 2010-11 season.

 

Leighton Baines, is the only defender with more, 19.

 

That stat is even better because Baines takes Penalties and free kicks for Everton and Ivanovic doesn't for us.

He's excellent his season. I'm quite surprised how good he's in attack. There was some speculation that he may get sold. I'm glad it didn't happen.

I don't want to start a flame war on here, but what if we start seeing Ivanovic playing more in place of Terry at CB in order for the transition to go smoothly.  I mean obviously Terry is our captain and our team leader and nothing is going to change that, but with the amount of matches across all competitions we have, Terry might want some days off.  Also, at the rate our defense is going, Filipe Luis won't even get a sniff at LB and I think he should.  

Better than Falcao upfront

I don't want to start a flame war on here, but what if we start seeing Ivanovic playing more in place of Terry at CB in order for the transition to go smoothly.  I mean obviously Terry is our captain and our team leader and nothing is going to change that, but with the amount of matches across all competitions we have, Terry might want some days off.  Also, at the rate our defense is going, Filipe Luis won't even get a sniff at LB and I think he should.  

 

It's weird saying this, but his best contribution these days is his attacking not his defending.

It seems a lot of people think a full back's best attribute should be his attacking capability followed by his defensive ability. I'm with the defenders should defend first everything else second brigade. As a defender Ivanovic is put simply a brick wall. His attacking ability is very underrated as he does seem to get quite a few goals for a RB. It's almost as if he has been reading the forum and decided to remind everyone why he has been the first choice RB for so long. I do agree that he should be utilised in a central defensive role rather than as a full back as I feel Azpilicueta and Luis are solid defenders and offer more of a threat with their pace when attacking. The main problem with Ivanovic isn't his inability to cross but his lack of pace which means when he does try to push further up the pitch and an attack breaks down he is caught out of position and will struggle to get back but this must be something Jose has prepared for as we see Willian and others dropping back to provide cover.

Think ivanovic is looking better going forward ad he actually has a proper front man to aim at, and we have a playmaker dictating our attack. Too many times last year we had zero movement up top, didn't move the ball quick enough, and it resulted in ivanovic lumping it in to the box.

Defensively he has been sound apart from getting suckered inside for naismiths goal.

I think he will move inside once Terry stops performing regularly.

Top player and should be vice captain.