Well, get used to seeing Ivanovic playing at right back in every game this season as long as he's fit. Mourinho will keep him in the team even with his job on the line.

He has been atrocious but to be fair the right side is frail not just because of him. Fabregas is the covering midfielder for that side which is basically like having no covering midfielder.

 

I'd say the experiment has firmly failed. Fabregas can't be a deep-lying midfielder in our current set-up against the majority of teams in the Premier League. He could play that role when we're away from home or during periods where we're sitting back and pinging balls for Hazard, Costa and Willian to chase down, but to break down a set defense with pacey counter-attackers he is an absolute liability.

 

Speaking of liabilities, Ivanovic is still showing the same signs he has for three years except he's grown a little older and slower. At the risk of repeating what has been said in the past, Ivanovic is a very good attacking (goalscoring) or defensive fullback but he is incapable of doing both in the same phase of play.

Mind you, I pointed all this out when we beat Everton 6-3 around this time last season and got called a troll. 

I agree 100% when it comes to Ivanovich and I've been saying those things for a while now.  

 

I don't agree about Fabregas though.  Yes, he hasn't been great (still better than some would like you to believe) but Fab is a different player when Oscar is in the 10 role.  The best our football has looked since 2009-10 happened with Cesc deep and Oscar in the 10.  Oscar is the one that drops deep when Cesc goes forward and the pair combine very well together.  Everything went to crap (including Cesc) when Tibo got his marching orders in the Swansea match and Oscar was sacrificed.  Then Oscar got injured and Cesc hasn't looked great since.  

 

I know not every bad thing about Cesc can be blamed on Oscar not being there (set piece delivery comes to mind) but I think he'll look a lot better when Oscar comes back.

1) JT is not finished, but he is on his last legs. This will be his last season for sure, he'll be in the MLS this time next year. This is probably why we're moving heaven and earth to sign John Stones as his replacement.

 

2) Fabregas has been sussed out and cannot operate in the DM role anymore. He needs to be further up the pitch in the #10 role. He lacks the presence to be a true DM on the level of Matic and this has become screamingly obvious in the past four games.

 

3) Ivanovic is finished, absolutely finished. Why on earth he was made vice-Captain is beyond me. I can only imagine that he got it because Cahill is taking the Captain's role from JT when he moves on at the end of this season. Ivanovic needs to be dropped and moved on in the January window. Azpi moves to his position and we bring Rahman in with Cahill and Terry taking the CB roles, Zouma or even Stones will take Terry's place.