I really do worry about us without him. He makes us tick and Ramires simply slows the play down seemingly everytime he receives the ball. I expect either he or Mikel will start on Saturday but I'd like to see Ake there. He has a lovely touch and has never looked out of his depth when he's featured.

When did Rami ever slow things down? He doesn't slow anything he is just not very accurate passer in a slower pace. He expects everyone else to be as quick at running as he is from the look of things.

Rami doesn't slow play down at all. He's actually one player that can come off the bench and speed things up if play is too slow as he did vs Liverpool. We all know his weakness is controlling the ball and making successful combination passes but all in all he's a very good addition to have.

I would like to see Ake instead of Mikel though as I believe he is a better player

When did Rami ever slow things down? He doesn't slow anything he is just not very accurate passer in a slower pace. He expects everyone else to be as quick at running as he is from the look of things.

 

I think there's confusion between being able to move fast and being able to move the ball fast. Ramires does have a great driving run in him but a lot of the time when he receives the ball at his feet he does seem to slow it down. It happened against City a few times when you'd see the ball brought out by someone like Azpi, it'd move along to Hazard, Willian, Matic and then slow when it got to Rami.

 

It's not a massive revelation that he's not the best passer is it? He simply doesn't have the distribution skills of those around him, relying on his physical attributes instead. 

Ramires can speed up the nature of the play overall really well. But I get what Blue Daze means, often on counter attacks he slows the attack down with the ball at his feet.

The ball travels fastest when it's passed. 

 

Ramires tends to dribble the ball forwards a lot and likes the ball at his feet, in that sense, yes he does slow play down. 

 

Sometimes someone willing to carry the ball forward is a good asset to have...

 

So that's me sitting firmly on the fence with regards to Ramires.  

The ball travels fastest when it's passed.

Ramires tends to dribble the ball forwards a lot and likes the ball at his feet, in that sense, yes he does slow play down.

Sometimes someone willing to carry the ball forward is a good asset to have...

So that's me sitting firmly on the fence with regards to Ramires.

Would rather have willian in the center, does everything rami does and does it better

Ramires can speed up the nature of the play overall really well. But I get what Blue Daze means, often on counter attacks he slows the attack down with the ball at his feet.

 

You're right too, that when the play is slow then he does have the ability to drive through the lines and put us on the front foot but I really don't think that's as effective as having proper ball-players in there.

 

Personally I think that when you've got people like Hazard, Remy, Cuadrado and Oscar ahead of the midfield that it's best to look to release them in the fastest possible way.

His form has been fading as of late... and so is Chelsea's. We haven't beaten a team convincingly since Swansea.

Still coming back from injury/illness isn;'t he?

Still coming back from injury/illness isn;'t he?

Yeah but this c**t wants to whinge about all our players in the aftermath of the game.

?

Yeah but this c**t wants to whinge about all our players in the aftermath of the game.

Thank you for the respect.

Thank you for the respect.

You're welcome.

Was about to make some disparaging comments about Arsenal until I realised that Fabregas was part of their 2005 FA Cup-winning side. I know he got into the Arsenal first XI when he was very, very young but even so he's been around for a surprisingly long time...

Was that assist number 20 for the season for our 2nd? 

Think so, although not sure what it means because it was down as an own goal so would the assist not be Costa?

I've no idea.

The guy's such a machine - he even assisted Costa in the post-match interview.

 

Now to get back to that scintillating early-season form.

Was that assist number 20 for the season for our 2nd? 

 

Assist number 21. For some reason, the League Cup final assist hasn't been credited to him on ESPN's stats, i'm counting it though.

Edited March 3, 201511 yr by Scott Harris

So here's the thing, Fabregas has gone off the boil, no doubt about it, and it's a worry, because he has a reputation of fading as the season progresses.

 

He is nowhere near the form of earlier this season and as a consequence, we are no longer playing a fluent, passing game, because he was pivotal to that style of play.

 

Gone are the days when he would control the tempo, when he would create chances at will, and when he would spray the ball around at his leisure.

 

I thought he did better in the second halves against Spurs and West Ham, but he's nowhere near his earlier level, hence we're a lot less fluent.

 

Away from home, or against the best sides, there are legitimate questions about him and Matic as a two, because Fabregas is too lightweight, he contributes almost nothing defensively, and we can get overrun, this is particularly true now, as he's grown tired. I'm afraid to say in some games recently he's been almost a passenger. Hate to say it, because he's obviously a fantastic footballer, but it's true and it's a cause for concern.

 

So, what's gonna happen? Two things, one is that we'll be seeing a lot more 433 in my view, with Matic at the base, and Ramires bolstering the midfield, with Oscar missing out, himself out of form recently.

 

The other thing is this and I think it will happen. Zouma will play in midfield alongside Matic. That way we won't get overrun in those games where we might otherwise. Sure, Zouma is limited in the DM role but he offers us protection, strength, power and athleticism, and he will afford Matic a bit more freedom. Matic isn't a DM in the traditional sense anyway. He's much more than that.

 

(Edit: Some will say why not Mikel instead of Zouma. I would say because Zouma gives us much more protection defensively, and this is what'll appeal to Jose.)

 

So 4231 with Fab further up in Oscar's place, allowing Fabregas to get on the ball and be creative in the final third, and making him less of a liability defensively into the bargain. However Fab doesn't press like Oscar, he doesn't get through half as much work as Oscar, he basically gets to play the free role when he's pushed further up.

 

Which brings me to Mata. Whenever I see Fab pushed further up in Oscar's place I can't help feeling he's doing the same job Mata was but not as well. Mata couldn't press either, he was pretty slow and lacking strength too, and he was pretty sh*t defensively, but he scored and assisted at will, he had a real cutting edge to his game, and he was about a million times better at set-pieces than Fab.

 

I know he's gone and I know we're doing much better now than we were with him, so no complaints, but it's interesting nonethless, Jose got rid of him purely because of his defensive contribution, yet we see Fabregas taking up Oscar's position, and I think we'll see it more, and yet he contributes just as little if not less than Mata did defensively.

 

Thoughts .. ?

Edited March 6, 201511 yr by Davey Baby

Zouma in midfield will only be for emergencies imo

No coincidence that Fabregas' form has dipped since Oscar has been in and out of the side.

The pair of them have missed a few games since the turn of the year due to injury and illnesses.

Get them both back in the team, get them both back up to match fitness and sharpness and the whole team will improve.

I don't agree that Mata's set pieces were better than Fabregas'. That was one aspect of Mata's game I always felt was overrated, Munich aside.

Oscar is fantastic for the team. He really helps link the attack.

 

To think some people want Coutinho instead. Jokers.

No coincidence that Fabregas' form has dipped since Oscar has been in and out of the side.

The pair of them have missed a few games since the turn of the year due to injury and illnesses.

Get them both back in the team, get them both back up to match fitness and sharpness and the whole team will improve.

We have had quite a few poor games away from home with both in the side, Tottenham for one.

Earlier this season, when we were unbeaten, Ramires was always selected for the big away games when available, sometimes at the expense of Oscar.

I'm constantly amazed at how underrated Fabregas is both defensively and in terms of his contribution to our pressing game. Yes he's had a dip in form but so has Costa and both are in their first season in the Premier League, or returning to it.

He'll more than likely have a proper rest with a 2 game suspension looming so I reckon there's a good chance he's back to his best for the run-in.

And he's twice the off-the-ball presence Mata was and that's being kind to Juan.

Edited March 6, 201511 yr by Blue Daze