2 hours ago, sonic90 said:

We'll only have 1 right back for who knows how long then. Azpi was Mr Reliable but that was in a normal season, not sure how long he can play when it's a game every 3-4 days.

Azpi playing 3 games a week these days is going to be like me trying to please multiple women...... it's not going to go down well, and their very well could be some disastrous errors due to fatigue.

4 hours ago, Barry Bridges said:

Azpi playing 3 games a week these days is going to be like me trying to please multiple women...... it's not going to go down well, and their very well could be some disastrous errors due to fatigue.

You must be a legend to wear them all out.  What's the secret?

Silly boy.  Big fan of him and will be a mainstay for years to come.  But mistakes get punished to the full extent, and like Wolves, he gives the referee too much to think about by poor positioning/flat footed defended and then too close on the recovery.  To me, this moment changed the game and as always Chelsea mistakes get punished with goals.

1 minute ago, PhilH930 said:

Silly boy.  Big fan of him and will be a mainstay for years to come.  But mistakes get punished to the full extent, and like Wolves, he gives the referee too much to think about by poor positioning/flat footed defended and then too close on the recovery.  To me, this moment changed the game and as always Chelsea mistakes get punished with goals.

Reece looked nowhere near 100%. I am confused why Azpi didn't start because it surely can't be a good idea to play someone who is clearly not moving well. James is such a promising player his health must be number one priority and Azpilicueta is a very good back-up so playing him a few matches is not that big of a deal. Same for Chillwell who also didn't look fit. 

 

1 minute ago, reparto corse said:

Reece looked nowhere near 100%. I am confused why Azpi didn't start because it surely can't be a good idea to play someone who is clearly not moving well. James is such a promising player his health must be number one priority and Azpilicueta is a very good back-up so playing him a few matches is not that big of a deal. Same for Chillwell who also didn't look fit. 

 

I agree he didnt look fit, but our tactics seem to rely on him quite a bit. Go out wide to James and he crosses it.

8 minutes ago, reparto corse said:

Reece looked nowhere near 100%. I am confused why Azpi didn't start because it surely can't be a good idea to play someone who is clearly not moving well. James is such a promising player his health must be number one priority and Azpilicueta is a very good back-up so playing him a few matches is not that big of a deal. Same for Chillwell who also didn't look fit. 

 

Should have started Dave. Chilwell had to play if there was any possibility because our other options there are worse than a half fit Chilwell. Dave is at least reliable. 

For me Reece gets a pass on that mistake,fantastic player with a great future, and even though it made it 1-0 if the rest of team showed any fight we could have come back from that.

Does anyone know what the situation is with Reece? 

The rumour here was that he might need knee surgery. Haven't heard anything else (or seen him in the squad) since. 

My inclination would be to give him all the time he needs to recover fully. 

5 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

Does anyone know what the situation is with Reece? 

The rumour here was that he might need knee surgery. Haven't heard anything else (or seen him in the squad) since. 

My inclination would be to give him all the time he needs to recover fully. 

Not to sh*t on Dave, but the prospect of playing the rest of this season out with just Azpilicueta there terrifies me. He's nowhere near the same player for me. 

33 minutes ago, Slojo said:

Not to sh*t on Dave, but the prospect of playing the rest of this season out with just Azpilicueta there terrifies me. He's nowhere near the same player for me. 

Frank commented on Reece in the build up to the Morecambe game. Apparently, although he was out of contention for that game, he is back in training. So it sounds like there is some hope that he will be available for selection in the next few games.

7 hours ago, Slojo said:

Not to sh*t on Dave, but the prospect of playing the rest of this season out with just Azpilicueta there terrifies me. He's nowhere near the same player for me. 

I agree. He is sh*t nowadays, he’s been fantastic over the years but he’s becoming a liability sadly. I hope he goes next summer, I don’t want to see him going down the road Ivanovic did. The abuse he received was awful

6 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

I agree. He is sh*t nowadays, he’s been fantastic over the years but he’s becoming a liability sadly. I hope he goes next summer, I don’t want to see him going down the road Ivanovic did. The abuse he received was awful

sh*t is incredibly harsh, he still can do a job for us in multiple positions when needed, he just is no longer first choice.

2 hours ago, dkw said:

sh*t is incredibly harsh, he still can do a job for us in multiple positions when needed, he just is no longer first choice.

Yeah you’re right, sh*t is harsh. I still think he’s not good enough, like you said not a first team choice anymore.

6 hours ago, dkw said:

sh*t is incredibly harsh, he still can do a job for us in multiple positions when needed, he just is no longer first choice.

Quite right. Is there anyone you'd rather have as a player in your squad but outside the first XI than César Azpilicueta?

Azpilicueta has the misfortune of being the second-best right back and the second-best left back in the squad. If you consider that both of our first-choice full-backs get injured fairly often, having Azpilicueta around is a blessing, and thankfully the misfortune is his alone.

I imagine if you asked him the question you'd get a response similar to the one JT gave to Gallas when he was interviewed in 2016...

4 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

Yeah you’re right, sh*t is harsh. I still think he’s not good enough, like you said not a first team choice anymore.

Azpi's pace is gone. He was never the fastest, but it was better and he compensated it with superb positioning and anticipation, much like JT. Unfortunately pace is too important for full-backs, moreso than for CBs. In foot races he can't keep up with opposing wingers...hell, he even let Declan Rice storm past him like he was a lamppost. BUT as a backup, there are few or none better we could have.

Given he has very good positional awareness I wonder if Dave can prolong his career at the top by becoming a Carvalho like centerback, who often was in the right place at the right time.

12 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Given he has very good positional awareness I wonder if Dave can prolong his career at the top by becoming a Carvalho like centerback, who often was in the right place at the right time.

We do seem to have the players to play a back 5 with, don't think Azpi quite has the physicality to play in a back 4 but having Azpi and Thiago in a backline will certainly shore us up defensively. This would allow James & Chilwell to venture forward more freely and as a result our wingers such as Werner, Pulisic and Ziyech can start drifting inwards and offer some creativity from Central areas.

       Azpi- Silva- Zouma 

James                          Chilwell  

 

12 minutes ago, Imran_CFC said:

We do seem to have the players to play a back 5 with, don't think Azpi quite has the physicality to play in a back 4 but having Azpi and Thiago in a backline will certainly shore us up defensively. This would allow James & Chilwell to venture forward more freely and as a result our wingers such as Werner, Pulisic and Ziyech can start drifting inwards and offer some creativity from Central areas.

       Azpi- Silva- Zouma 

James                          Chilwell  

 

It's a bit bewildering why Lampard has totally ditched 3 CB formations. It's worked well for us in games where we need more defensive solidity, with a few hiccups here and there, but in general this formation's been useful in certain types of games.

The backline you proposed + Mount/Kovacic and Kante in midfield + Ziyech, Pulisic, Werner/Tammy in attack. Yes please! 🙂 

On 21/12/2020 at 19:23, PhilH930 said:

You must be a legend to wear them all out.  What's the secret?

I let them run for their freedom first, and then once that tires them out they are easier to contain.

Back in training apparently. Also clearly a top lad:

 

24 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Back in training apparently. Also clearly a top lad:

 

 

 

52 minutes ago, coco said:

 

 

How do these people sleep at night

If I see him roll the ball back with one foot and then play it to Rudiger one more time.......

Really annoyed me as well with his constant pass back to the defense.

Didn’t think he had the best game yesterday, but is an integral part of our attacking game like Chilwell, he was up against a very good Harvey Barnes last night, last season we moaned about the lack of attacking ability from the fullback position with Dave and Alonso plodding up and down the flanks, we have added to this now with Chilwell and James, so onwards and upwards