Can any of you 'older' members remember if he was any good? I only know Paul Parker's name from being an absolutely sh*t writer that hates Chelsea.

Paul Parker is weird, I don't know why he has to make stuff up and talk nonsense, because of a grudge against the club.

 

 

It's not the first time, probably won't be the last. He's clearly a bitter c**t of the highest order, worse even than Burley is as far as ex-Chelsea players go.

 

Like I said, ignore him and listen to people who know what they're talking about (like me, because I've been on the 'Ivanovic is the best in Europe' train for a while now).

Upon hearing this Ivanovic replied "Who the f**k is paul parker?"

How many goals would he get if we stuck him up top? That is the question.

Sorry, you are so right, I don't know why Paul hasn't made the step up to television yet.

What? Paul Parker doesn't have a grudge, he is a highly respected football pundit I'll have you know, that's why he writes for Yahoo Sports.

This will be why Paul Parker is not involved in football anymore and is instead trying to make a living writing/talking about it.

Another bitter little man who cannot stand us being successful

Can any of you 'older' members remember if he was any good? I only know Paul Parker's name from being an absolutely sh*t writer that hates Chelsea.

 

For us? I have vague recollections of watching him play a few times but nothing noteworthy. I think I was disappointed because that 1994 United team was/is iconic but he was pretty much a busted flush. Super Dan was better anyway and Parker didn't make the 97 final.

 

Funnily enough it's been suggested that Burley hates us because he was dropped for that game too. Maybe they should start a support group or something. Andy Myers was selected on the bench ahead of both and he's a great guy so f**k'em.

 

Parker for United was a decent player. Not Dennis Irwin good but better than Clayton Blackmore.

Can any of you 'older' members remember if he was any good? I only know Paul Parker's name from being an absolutely sh*t writer that hates Chelsea.

 

He was a great player to be fair... however he will always be known for that outrageous deflection in Italia 90 that gave Germany the lead.... 0.25

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQo-LSn-G74  

How many goals would he get if we stuck him up top? That is the question.

 

Playing Ivanovic up front would be the equivalent of using the infinite money cheat on Football Manager, it just wouldn't be fair on everyone else. 

 

At least by playing him as an orthodox right back/winger/striker/God among men we give the rest of the league a sporting chance. 

Playing Ivanovic up front would be the equivalent of using the infinite money cheat on Football Manager, it just wouldn't be fair on everyone else.

At least by playing him as an orthodox right back/winger/striker/God among men we give the rest of the league a sporting chance.

Or going fruther back to champ manager when you got your striker to man mark the goalie!

So what we're saying is that Ivanovic is the white Cherno Samba?

More clinical than Martin Palermo, faster than Sharbel Touma and cooler than Taribo West.

f**k paul parker, Brana is the definition of the never say die attitude.

Parker is incredibly bitter because he barely played a minute when he signed for us, and was garbage when he did. He was only here a few months before we got rid I think.

In my opinion ivanovic would be better in midfield. He drifts to central and isnt disciplined enough to stay in position in a back 4. He is an awesome player and undroppable, but if you had him in a 3 person midfield on the right, he'd be solid there offering both attacking a defensive qualities.

4-3-3 with ivanovic, matic and fab in midfield, and costa, haz and oscar/will/cuadrado up top.

In my opinion ivanovic would be better in midfield. He drifts to central and isnt disciplined enough to stay in position in a back 4. He is an awesome player and undroppable, but if you had him in a 3 person midfield on the right, he'd be solid there offering both attacking a defensive qualities.

4-3-3 with ivanovic, matic and fab in midfield, and costa, haz and oscar/will/cuadrado up top.

There is no way on earth ivanovic is good enough technically to play midfield.

he has been part of some of the best defences in Europe at right back, why at the age of 31 would you want to change his position so radically?

There is no way on earth ivanovic is good enough technically to play midfield.

he has been part of some of the best defences in Europe at right back, why at the age of 31 would you want to change his position so radically?

My point is that he is a weakness of our back 4, he's always out of position. We cant drop him though, he scores and is involved in a lot of our attacking play.

My point is that he is a weakness of our back 4, he's always out of position. We cant drop him though, he scores and is involved in a lot of our attacking play.

 

This isn't because of some flaw in his positioning, it's because he has a very important role in the team's attacking play and often can't get back in time.

 

Compare him to Jose Bosingwa to whom you could have given a shock collar which activated every time he crossed the halfway line and he would still have been out of position seven times out of ten.

Another interesting article:

 

If the Chelsea man had a Brazilian last name, he’d be at PSG right now

 

 

 

For a Westerner, the name doesn’t flow off the tongue. Visually, it’s not pretty either: BRANISLAV IVANOVIC. It’s got a Franken-foreign sound and look to it. Chopping it up into a simple “Bran Ivan” would give the 30-year-old Serbian a more familiar feel, but further Anglicization is the last thing anyone needs right now.

Chelsea’s partially balding middle-aged Serb looks more like a villain Liam Neeson killed in one of the Taken movies than a football scout’s fantasy. With apologies to his significant other, there’s nothing sexy about Ivanovic. He doesn’t have the hair or flair of David Luiz, the exotic name of Marquinhos, or the power of Thiago Silva. His Brazilian PSG contemporaries cost the French club approximately $150 million to assemble, with $70.6 million of that going into Chelsea’s oil-soaked pockets in exchange for Luiz. But Ivanovic, a tamer, more well-rounded player than Luiz, cost Chelsea a tidy $14.8 million back in 2008.

Based on performance and effectiveness alone the gulf between the transfer fees of Ivanovic and Luiz is objectively perplexing. Granted, each came to their current clubs in vastly different contexts, but at this very moment, Ivanovic is the one playing like the $70 million man, not Luiz.

Ivanovic’s role for Chelsea is the same that Mourinho mapped out for Brazilian fullback Marcelo at Real Madrid: Get forward like hell and let the centerbacks worry about defensive shape. A football contrarian wouldn’t dare stick a brutish Serb who can’t whip in crosses in an attacking fullback role, but that’s just what Mourinho’s done. It’s paying GIF-worthy dividends too.

 

 

Diego Costa would be proud to score this recent winner against Aston Villa—a golazo pivotal to Chelsea’s runaway title campaign. This goal, like his header against PSG in the Champions League this month, also underscores Ivanovic’s strengths as Mourinho’s attack dog from defense. He won’t ghost past his opposing number or target his forwards on early crosses, but he’s territorial in his approach. He just knows where to be. Ivanovic prefers to pop up in and around the penalty box to supply oncoming runners with short backline-splitting horizontal passes.

When in need, he’s not afraid to drop the hammer and score the damn goal himself. Defenses keep sleeping on Ivanovic, and he keeps on taking his chances like a striker. The same sh*t happens on set-pieces too, where Ivanovic’s tenacity to get a head on is only matched by his graceful aerial finessing. Like so, against Benfica in the 2013 Europa League Final:

 

 

He’s notched over 300 appearances and chipped in 30 goals and 28 assists over his Chelsea career—a remarkable tally for a defender—but he’s still can’t escape the workman-like Eastern European football stereotypes that have followed him to London. A recent alleged biting/choking incident against Everton stirred curiosites behind the man who doesn’t smile in his teammate’s Instagrams. Perhaps not smiling makes him smile? Is he aware of the inescapable irony behind placing his jawline on James McCarthy’s shoulder? It’s difficult to say, because getting a read on Ivanovic is, as past Chelsea managers can attest to, something that can go overlooked—Ivanovic only made 16 league appearances in his first two seasons at the club.

Mourinho’s only compounded the matter by recently calling Ivanovic a “competitive animal” with a “big heart”—fine words from a man who can possess a wicked, sometimes laconic tongue. But when “competitive” and “heart” are amongst a player’s top attributes to a manager, it’s usually because the player lacks genuine quality.

This clearly isn’t the case. Perhaps Jose knows better than to alert his touchline rivals to Ivanovic’s threat. If that’s indeed what’s happening here, it’s working. Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling once called Ivanovic the “scariest” opponent he’s ever faced. Explaining further, Sterling didn’t mention Ivanovic’s footballing quality or creativity. It wasn’t his actual production that was terrifying, but instead his physique, teasing that Ivanovic is a “big guy, big upper body, big lower body. A real tank.” Is scary the new sexy? Hey, at least someone is checking out his body.

The simple truth is, that it’s difficult for a balding Serbian centerback-turned-fullback to be recognized as as Chelsea’s best attacking rightback since Glen Johnson. Johnson’s game, similar to the Brazilians and Spaniards surrounding Ivanovic in Chelsea’s XI, is effortless at its worst, and classy-without-trying-too-hard at its best.

Trying hard isn’t cool, but scoring sweaty goals sure as hell is. Enough so to go shirtless though? Ivanovic thinks so.

 

 

http://8by8mag.com/ivanovic-too-sexy/

 

 

 

Another interesting article:

 

If the Chelsea man had a Brazilian last name, he’d be at PSG right now

 

 

 

For a Westerner, the name doesn’t flow off the tongue. Visually, it’s not pretty either: BRANISLAV IVANOVIC. It’s got a Franken-foreign sound and look to it. Chopping it up into a simple “Bran Ivan” would give the 30-year-old Serbian a more familiar feel, but further Anglicization is the last thing anyone needs right now.

Chelsea’s partially balding middle-aged Serb looks more like a villain Liam Neeson killed in one of the Taken movies than a football scout’s fantasy. With apologies to his significant other, there’s nothing sexy about Ivanovic. He doesn’t have the hair or flair of David Luiz, the exotic name of Marquinhos, or the power of Thiago Silva. His Brazilian PSG contemporaries cost the French club approximately $150 million to assemble, with $70.6 million of that going into Chelsea’s oil-soaked pockets in exchange for Luiz. But Ivanovic, a tamer, more well-rounded player than Luiz, cost Chelsea a tidy $14.8 million back in 2008.

Based on performance and effectiveness alone the gulf between the transfer fees of Ivanovic and Luiz is objectively perplexing. Granted, each came to their current clubs in vastly different contexts, but at this very moment, Ivanovic is the one playing like the $70 million man, not Luiz.

Ivanovic’s role for Chelsea is the same that Mourinho mapped out for Brazilian fullback Marcelo at Real Madrid: Get forward like hell and let the centerbacks worry about defensive shape. A football contrarian wouldn’t dare stick a brutish Serb who can’t whip in crosses in an attacking fullback role, but that’s just what Mourinho’s done. It’s paying GIF-worthy dividends too.

 

 

Diego Costa would be proud to score this recent winner against Aston Villa—a golazo pivotal to Chelsea’s runaway title campaign. This goal, like his header against PSG in the Champions League this month, also underscores Ivanovic’s strengths as Mourinho’s attack dog from defense. He won’t ghost past his opposing number or target his forwards on early crosses, but he’s territorial in his approach. He just knows where to be. Ivanovic prefers to pop up in and around the penalty box to supply oncoming runners with short backline-splitting horizontal passes.

When in need, he’s not afraid to drop the hammer and score the damn goal himself. Defenses keep sleeping on Ivanovic, and he keeps on taking his chances like a striker. The same sh*t happens on set-pieces too, where Ivanovic’s tenacity to get a head on is only matched by his graceful aerial finessing. Like so, against Benfica in the 2013 Europa League Final:

 

 

He’s notched over 300 appearances and chipped in 30 goals and 28 assists over his Chelsea career—a remarkable tally for a defender—but he’s still can’t escape the workman-like Eastern European football stereotypes that have followed him to London. A recent alleged biting/choking incident against Everton stirred curiosites behind the man who doesn’t smile in his teammate’s Instagrams. Perhaps not smiling makes him smile? Is he aware of the inescapable irony behind placing his jawline on James McCarthy’s shoulder? It’s difficult to say, because getting a read on Ivanovic is, as past Chelsea managers can attest to, something that can go overlooked—Ivanovic only made 16 league appearances in his first two seasons at the club.

Mourinho’s only compounded the matter by recently calling Ivanovic a “competitive animal” with a “big heart”—fine words from a man who can possess a wicked, sometimes laconic tongue. But when “competitive” and “heart” are amongst a player’s top attributes to a manager, it’s usually because the player lacks genuine quality.

This clearly isn’t the case. Perhaps Jose knows better than to alert his touchline rivals to Ivanovic’s threat. If that’s indeed what’s happening here, it’s working. Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling once called Ivanovic the “scariest” opponent he’s ever faced. Explaining further, Sterling didn’t mention Ivanovic’s footballing quality or creativity. It wasn’t his actual production that was terrifying, but instead his physique, teasing that Ivanovic is a “big guy, big upper body, big lower body. A real tank.” Is scary the new sexy? Hey, at least someone is checking out his body.

The simple truth is, that it’s difficult for a balding Serbian centerback-turned-fullback to be recognized as as Chelsea’s best attacking rightback since Glen Johnson. Johnson’s game, similar to the Brazilians and Spaniards surrounding Ivanovic in Chelsea’s XI, is effortless at its worst, and classy-without-trying-too-hard at its best.

Trying hard isn’t cool, but scoring sweaty goals sure as hell is. Enough so to go shirtless though? Ivanovic thinks so.

 

 

http://8by8mag.com/ivanovic-too-sexy/

Great read m8.

It's not a crossbar in Munich this time Ivan but that will do!

BRANISLAV IVANOVIC has been offered a new £90,000-a-week contract by Chelsea

 

The Serbian defender, who helped Chelsea get to the Capital One Cup final last week despite a huge gash in his foot that left his boot filled with blood, is handling the talks over a new one-year contract all by himself.

The 31-year-old's offer is in line with the club's policy of only giving players over 30 12-month contracts. Skipper John Terry is set to agree a similar deal in the few weeks.

Ivanovic, who has dismissed the idea of using an agent, has been a key player for Chelsea for seven years since he joined from Lokomotiv Moscow for a bargain £9million.

He has scored six goals this season, including the only goal against Liverpool in the semi-final second leg, and the winner in the Europa League final in 2013.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has described Ivanovic as one of the club's best ever signings, calling the defender "a competitive animal with a big heart".

Ivanovic, whose current deal runs out at the end of this season, has now scored 31 goals in eight seasons at Stamford Bridge.

He was targeted by Italian club Fiorentina last year as talks over a new deal stalled, but is known to want to stay in London.

Chelsea, as Express Sport revealed on Friday, have also offered fellow Serb Nemanja Matic an improved £4.8million-a-year deal even though he has only been back at the club for a year.

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/562398/Chelsea-Branislav-Ivanovic-new-contract

No brainer right now, one of the best defenders in Europe right now, why wouldn't we offer him a new contract?

It was an Express "EXCLUSIVE" on Friday that Chelsea were set to offer Branislav Ivanovic a contract extension, just like his teammate for both club and country, Nemanja Matic.  Exciting!

Picked up by others during the weekend, the Express upped the ante on Sunday by claiming that Mourinho actually wants Chelsea to give Ivanovic a four-year extension, which of course would fly in the face of the club's policy of giving players 30 and over just one-year contracts (Ivanovic turned 31 just a few weeks ago).  Even more years of Ivanovic!  Even more exciting!

Unfortunately, while the rumors are great (just like Ivanovic), the trouble is that neither story makes sense.

Funnily enough, it was only a couple days before the original Express story that Mourinho himself explained the club's aforementioned contract policy for older players.  So why would he then already try to circumvent it with a four-year contract for a 31-year-old, especially when that's something that wasn't afforded even to John Terry?  Not to mention, Ivanovic's current contract doesn't actually expire until after next season.  Giving the right back even a one-year contract extension now would guarantee him 2 years of Chelsea pay, defeating the entire purpose of motivating with the challenge of 1-year deals.

So while Ivanovic has been a key part of Chelsea for last six seasons, and hopefully he can continue being that for a bit longer, if we are to stick to established policy, he won't be "eligible" for a new contract until this time, next season.  Sorry, Bane...

 

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/3/9/8174023/branislav-ivanovic-contract-extension-rumors-nonsense