I'm perfectly happy with him as a back up CB, he proved he was good enough yesterday.

So next season will be Dave, Zouma, Cahill, Christenson, Luiz and Ake. That's 2 for every position in the back 3. You got Ake who can cover a number of positions and I don't actually mind Dave at RWB some games as his very consistent.

I do think Zouma playing a season away on loan could do him some good but then maybe a full pre season with the squad and manager might be just what he needs.

Could even allow some games for Luiz in midfield if needed.

7 hours ago, The Brit said:

Said it before, will say it again...this kid has the quality and temperament to be a chelsea player...could have been downhearted over not playing for months or for slightly losing Kane (not the first defender to do that) for the equaliser...but no, made a number of key tackles, some meaty ones too...let's give this kid a chance

Abssolutely. Also, when do we ever see him lose his head or look nervous when called upon? I haven't seen that. He always looks so composed in the ball and i always feel confident he won't lose it. Cahill on the other hand makes me nervous with the ball at his feet. I don't wanna seem too harsh on cahill as he's been a great player for us, but as we stand right now I just think if you put experience to one side, ake is a better player. 

7 minutes ago, enigma said:

Jokes aside I agree on the height issue. The great thing about ake is he is very versatile and that's a great strength for a player. Time will tell whether conte thinks he's the ideal man for the cb role.

I only think it's an issue because of Dave on the other side. If Dave's out or playing as a wingback then it should be ok.

Just now, Ernie_blue said:

So next season will be Dave, Zouma, Cahill, Christenson, Luiz and Ake. That's 2 for every position in the back 3. You got Ake who can cover a number of positions and I don't actually mind Dave at RWB some games as his very consistent.

I do think Zouma playing a season away on loan could do him some good but then maybe a full pre season with the squad and manager might be just what he needs.

Could even allow some games for Luiz in midfield if needed.

I honestly wouldn't mind seeing luiz in midfield partnering kante with christensen in the middle of the back 3. Luiz gives us something different in midfield and can be dangerous outside the box given the chance. All depends how conte wants us to play next season and who he signs for defence and midfield. 

I like Ake but I can't help but feel he'll always be a step below the standard required to consistently challenge at the top. He'll be/is a good CB, but at Chelsea we need great. For me van Dijk can be our Chiellini. Taking nothing away from Ake though aside from a couple of moments when he naively (for me) gave the ball away he was did what was needed yesterday. Will he be content to be a squad player I'm not so sure.

Edited April 23, 20179 yr by the special one

I doubt Zouma and Ake would be content with beeing backups for us next season, atleast not with one of Azpilicueta, Cahill or Christensen being infront of them in the queue. 

I hope we buy VVD and bring back Christensen. The back three could then be Christensen-D.Luiz-VVD : No big weaknesses in the air, pace both side of D.Luiz and all three good at passing the ball. We can also easily deal with those big powerful target men that alot of the PL sides use, by placing VVD next to them. We have good and versatile backup option in Azpilicueta, while Cahill is homegrown and a solid backup as well.

 

Pains me to say because I think he's been class this year but if we sign van Dijk I'd sell Cahill while we still can. Christensen I'm yet to be convinced by but in the context of the back 3 I think the potential is there to be an improvement over Zouma. So for me next season would be;

Azpi/Christensen/Zouma - Luiz/Ake/Christensen - van Dijk/Ake/Alonso

 - Zouma/Christensen to be a solid defensive sub for Azpi when defending a tight lead
 - Christensen to rotate with Azpi/Luiz
 - Ake to rotate with Luiz/van Dijk

Edited April 23, 20179 yr by the special one

On 4/23/2017 at 05:36, enigma said:

I honestly wouldn't mind seeing luiz in midfield partnering kante with christensen in the middle of the back 3. Luiz gives us something different in midfield and can be dangerous outside the box given the chance. All depends how conte wants us to play next season and who he signs for defence and midfield. 

Stop it mate. That Luiz in midfield experiment died a long time ago and rightly so. You're going to destabilize our back line with this idea. Absolutely no reason you take by far our best ball playing CB and put him in midfield.

On 4/23/2017 at 07:57, the special one said:

Pains me to say because I think he's been class this year but if we sign van Dijk I'd sell Cahill while we still can. Christensen I'm yet to be convinced by but in the context of the back 3 I think the potential is there to be an improvement over Zouma. So for me next season would be;

Azpi/Christensen/Zouma - Luiz/Ake/Christensen - van Dijk/Ake/Alonso

 - Zouma/Christensen to be a solid defensive sub for Azpi when defending a tight lead
 - Christensen to rotate with Azpi/Luiz
 - Ake to rotate with Luiz/van Dijk

1. We're not signing Van Dijk. That is pure media nonsense. If he leaves Southampton, he's likely going to City.

2. Christensen is already almost twice the player Zouma is. A bit disrespectful to him to say he has the "potential to be an improvement" over Zouma.

3. Alonso will never play at LCB. It's a colossally bad idea.

9 minutes ago, Barrettinator said:

1. We're not signing Van Dijk. That is pure media nonsense. If he leaves Southampton, he's likely going to City.

2. Christensen is already almost twice the player Zouma is. A bit disrespectful to him to say he has the "potential to be an improvement" over Zouma.

3. Alonso will never play at LCB. It's a colossally bad idea.

They're both totally different types of centre back, and before Zouma's injury I would have said Zouma was ahead of Christensen. A bit disrespectful to malign his ability after being out for a year with a horrendous knee injury. 

1 minute ago, RMCM said:

They're both totally different types of centre back, and before Zouma's injury I would have said Zouma was ahead of Christensen. A bit disrespectful to malign his ability after being out for a year with a horrendous knee injury. 

I'm not maligning his ability. It's more credit to Christensen. And fair enough, Zouma needs to go out on loan for half a season. He needs game time to at least get back to the level he was before his injury.

Thought Ake was terrific on Saturday, comes in for a huge match at what must have been a slightly intimidating venue and plays superbly.

I hope we stay clear of Van Djik, he would end up being just like Lovren is at Liverpool, I.E. a poor signing for a side looking to play football and build out, hes an ok CB but to get a starting palce for us at the back I'd want a serous improvement over what we have, not something similar.

 

Looked comfortable when he came on, his composure is outstanding tbh, and he okay in the 2/3 duals he had with Lukaku. If he gets a couple of games in in luiz's absence, coupled with the fa cup semi final, I'd say it would've been good for his development to come back and be part of this. Both himself and christiensen are quality. 

39 minutes ago, big blue said:

Looked comfortable when he came on, his composure is outstanding tbh, and he okay in the 2/3 duals he had with Lukaku. If he gets a couple of games in in luiz's absence, coupled with the fa cup semi final, I'd say it would've been good for his development to come back and be part of this. Both himself and christiensen are quality. 

I think it spoke volumes, that Conte preferred Ake to Zouma, and rightly so on current form. For me Conte has started to trust Ake as one of his "gladiators"

Always been a talented and good defender, he proves it more and more. Can't wait to see him playing more games.

On April 23, 2017 at 13:57, the special one said:

Pains me to say because I think he's been class this year but if we sign van Dijk I'd sell Cahill while we still can. Christensen I'm yet to be convinced by but in the context of the back 3 I think the potential is there to be an improvement over Zouma. So for me next season would be;

Azpi/Christensen/Zouma - Luiz/Ake/Christensen - van Dijk/Ake/Alonso

 - Zouma/Christensen to be a solid defensive sub for Azpi when defending a tight lead
 - Christensen to rotate with Azpi/Luiz
 - Ake to rotate with Luiz/van Dijk

Zouma has no place in this system, especially as a sub for our best defender while defending a lead.

Been really impressed with Ake, he's been patient with his limited playing time but has taken those chances very well. Just read that unless he features (even as a substitute) in our remaining fixtures he won't be up for a Premier League medal...

 

"According to league rules, a player must have played at least five matches in the Premier League for that club to get a medal, and with Chelsea on course to seal the title he is one who won't want to miss out."

1 hour ago, Raven8er said:

Been really impressed with Ake, he's been patient with his limited playing time but has taken those chances very well. Just read that unless he features (even as a substitute) in our remaining fixtures he won't be up for a Premier League medal...

 

"According to league rules, a player must have played at least five matches in the Premier League for that club to get a medal, and with Chelsea on course to seal the title he is one who won't want to miss out."

I thought this rule was changed a couple years ago - guess i was wrong.

So, we'll probably see him a bit now

6 hours ago, Raven8er said:

Been really impressed with Ake, he's been patient with his limited playing time but has taken those chances very well. Just read that unless he features (even as a substitute) in our remaining fixtures he won't be up for a Premier League medal...

 

"According to league rules, a player must have played at least five matches in the Premier League for that club to get a medal, and with Chelsea on course to seal the title he is one who won't want to miss out."

Loftus Cheek received a winners medal in 14/15 even though he only played in 3 matches so i would imagine Ake would get one

AFAIK, the club can apply for and pay for medals for players that didnt reach 5 games.

Ake will get one, now all we have to do is win the bloody thing. :D

If only the lad were a couple of inches taller.

As tremendous as he is I can't help feeling a lack of height is going to count against him when it comes to getting minutes in the back three. 

dunno why we don't play him next to kante. matic is below average this season, and i feel ake couldn't do any worse. of course cesc needs games too, but wish conte would give our other cm options mins over matic at some point; it's painful to watch him this season putting in mediocre performances.