Thought he was one of the few, genuine bright spots of last season. Solid right back with more than enough pace and gives us much more going forwards than Ivan IMO. Hope Jose gives him a fair share of starts this campaign.

I think he's better going forward than Ivan and think he is our best RB, it is a tough decision as Ivan is decent over there and offers the threat at set pieces and the better cover for the CBs, I think it would serve our forwards better to have Dave in his rightful position myself though.

Edited September 16, 201312 yr by Chippy

I'm hoping he gets the nod midweek and can remind Jose of what a good player he is.

 

I love Ivan but I think we are limiting ourselves by playing him every week as our right back. We don't have a player whose natural position is to play right wing so the width and crossing ability Azpi can offer on that side would be a huge plus to us. 

Think Ivan is by far the better option at RB, and I had no doubt Dave would find himself behind him in the pecking order.

 

For me, Ivan is top notch. Not the most dynamic going forward but no slouch either. He can cross and he can score. What did Dave do from an attacking point of view last season? More than Ivan? Hmm.

 

The bottom line is Ivan's the better defender, and that's all Jose will be bothered about. He's more aggressive, he's more solid. If you were an attacker, you'd probably fancy your chances more against Dave.

 

Dave is a good player and I love his name, but Ivan is a fantastic player, and I'd have him in the team before him every day of the week.

 

Dave will play his part, no doubt about that, and his chances will come, but I think for the big games, fitness permitting, he may find himself missing out.

I'd agree with Davey.

Apzi is my preferred RB, shame he was away for the Confeds, Mourinho would have seen him for the same amount of time as Branna & could have compared. He had a slow start for us, really hope it doesn't take as long this time round.

Think Ivan is by far the better option at RB, and I had no doubt Dave would find himself behind him in the pecking order.

 

For me, Ivan is top notch. Not the most dynamic going forward but no slouch either. He can cross and he can score. What did Dave do from an attacking point of view last season? More than Ivan? Hmm.

 

Azpi is miles better attacking wise. Frankly, im not sure how its even debatable. Whenever i see Ivan with the ball at his feet, im reminded how much we are missing Azpis clever interplay with our midfielders. Hes been combining so well with mata and Hazard and while he may not get many assisst, he gets involved in a lot of our goals

 

I think his absence is one of the main reasons why we are struggling for goals at the moment

Edited September 16, 201312 yr by Lane

I'd rather Dave playing as our first choice RB to be perfectly honest, we need his pace and inter play going forward. Ivanovic is great, but i think dave is a better rounded fullback, he may not be as much of a tank, but he still makes a lot of good tackles. 

Think Ivan is by far the better option at RB, and I had no doubt Dave would find himself behind him in the pecking order.

 

For me, Ivan is top notch. Not the most dynamic going forward but no slouch either. He can cross and he can score. What did Dave do from an attacking point of view last season? More than Ivan? Hmm.

 

The bottom line is Ivan's the better defender, and that's all Jose will be bothered about. He's more aggressive, he's more solid. If you were an attacker, you'd probably fancy your chances more against Dave.

 

Dave is a good player and I love his name, but Ivan is a fantastic player, and I'd have him in the team before him every day of the week.

 

Dave will play his part, no doubt about that, and his chances will come, but I think for the big games, fitness permitting, he may find himself missing out.

What? Ivan was all over the place last season at RB, players constantly got the better off him whereas that rarely happened with Dave and on the rare occassion that they did, he had the pace and strength to catch up. 

 

To me I see him as a CB first and foremost and a backup RB to Dave. I was worried when Jose was talking about Ivan being first choice RB, it's like last season didn't happen (although I'm sure most people wish it didn't!). 

Azpi is miles better attacking wise. Frankly, im not sure how its even debatable. Whenever i see Ivan with the ball at his feet, im reminded how much we are missing Azpis clever interplay with our midfielders. Hes been combining so well with mata and Hazard and while he may not get many assisst, he gets involved in a lot of our goals

 

I think his absence is one of the main reasons why we are struggling for goals at the moment

 

Agreed and Azpi passing and ability on the ball is better than Ivans.Look at Azpi pass for Mata for the goal against Arsenal at home for example dont think Ivan would of made that pass.Also dont think theres much difference between the two defensively either,very rarely last season did Azpi ever get beaten.Dave isnt amazing going forward but hes still much better than Ivan.

Edited September 16, 201312 yr by jack_super_class

Was thinking this the other day.  Seems as if, of all the players that the press has rumoured, Dave is the one that is surplus to Jose's requirements.  I also think Jose would play Essien off the bench sooner, as Essien gives the option of an extra midfielder, or an RB if needed. 

i definitely think Ivanovic is our best Right-back. domainant in the air, and he is decent going forward as well. but first and foremost, a defender should be able to defend, and ivanovic is better than Dave in that department

with the amount of fairly short attackers we have now, I think ivanovic is a necessity at full back for defending set pieces.

i definitely think Ivanovic is our best Right-back. domainant in the air, and he is decent going forward as well. but first and foremost, a defender should be able to defend, and ivanovic is better than Dave in that department

 

dave is great defensively

Ivanovic is best at center-back. 

with the amount of fairly short attackers we have now, I think ivanovic is a necessity at full back for defending set pieces.

 

You can be certain that will absolutely be a consideration for Jose when he picks the team. Same applies to Mikel in midfield when we play teams with a real aerial threat.

 

Dave and Ivan have completely different skill sets IMO. Dave is technically the better player by far. First touch, carrying the ball, crossing - all better than Ivanovich. Whereas Ivan gets the nod for aerial ability, physical presence and experience. Pace, I think Dave is the quicker, but Ivan is no slouch for a big fella.

 

Both are needed for a long campaign, and I just hope Dave gets a fair go to show Jose what he showed us all last season.

Think Ivan is by far the better option at RB, and I had no doubt Dave would find himself behind him in the pecking order.

 

For me, Ivan is top notch. Not the most dynamic going forward but no slouch either. He can cross and he can score. What did Dave do from an attacking point of view last season? More than Ivan? Hmm.

 

The bottom line is Ivan's the better defender, and that's all Jose will be bothered about. He's more aggressive, he's more solid. If you were an attacker, you'd probably fancy your chances more against Dave.

 

Dave is a good player and I love his name, but Ivan is a fantastic player, and I'd have him in the team before him every day of the week.

 

Dave will play his part, no doubt about that, and his chances will come, but I think for the big games, fitness permitting, he may find himself missing out.

 

 

What? Ivan was all over the place last season at RB, players constantly got the better off him whereas that rarely happened with Dave and on the rare occassion that they did, he had the pace and strength to catch up. 

 

To me I see him as a CB first and foremost and a backup RB to Dave. I was worried when Jose was talking about Ivan being first choice RB, it's like last season didn't happen (although I'm sure most people wish it didn't!). 

 

Following on from this I would also highlight that against Bayern Munich we were clearly exposed down our right hand side, something that Bayern were clearly well aware off piling on the pressure down that wing, especially in in injury time with Ribbery seemingly told to run at Ivan time & time again with success. It seemed pretty obvious it was highlighted at a weak spot and they exploited it. To me, Ivan often looks in trouble against a pacey winger, an area where Dave looks much more comfortable. When it comes to set pices and so on obviously Ivan is the stronger and more capable defender.

 

 

I think his absence is one of the main reasons why we are struggling for goals at the moment

 

Have to disagree there. As good as Dave was at times last season, I honestly don't think his presence in the side had much of a bearance on us scoring goals.

 

Thought he started brilliantly for us but his form did fade and his crossing was not that great. On his day, Ivan is our best all round defender and more dependable than anyone (bar the odd game like the Swansea cup tie last season where he had what can now only be desciribed as a couple of Jonjo Shelvey moments). And on top of all that I have lost count of the number of very important goals he has scored. I know defenders need to be defenders but Ivan's goal record and presence in the opposition box is a massive factor.

It's no slight on Dave that I prefer Ivan.

 

I'd take Ivan over any RB in the league.

Zabaleta is a bit good. 

It comes as no surprise to me that Jose has taken a pragmatic approach and chosen the more solid and dependable (in his view) ivanovic . whether he keeps that position to the end of the season is yet to be seen, but I do think Dave will end up there in the second half of the season.

Zabaleta is a bit good. 

 

Fit for a mid table team

dave is great defensively

i agree, but IMO ivanovic is even better. they're two quality full backs are we're lucky to be able to choose between the two of them

Have to disagree there. As good as Dave was at times last season, I honestly don't think his presence in the side had much of a bearance on us scoring goals.

 

Thought he started brilliantly for us but his form did fade and his crossing was not that great.

 

Ivan is not good enough on the ball. He is not fit for a quick passing game.

 

Azpilicueta was statistically our best crosser of the ball

Edited September 18, 201312 yr by Lane

#FreeDave