Ramires being sidelined?

Some thoughts I had below in an article last summer. Now a year on I think Ramires works well deep but you need to play him with the correct partner, this year that has been Mikel as he’s the only one who will not stray, I think a nailed on partner for Ramires should be an area Chelsea look to strengthen in the summer.



Where do you guys see Ramires fitting in the season, how important is he and can he nail a place down?

I am a big fan of Ramires but I do think, to a degree, he could become a victim of the changing emphasis at Chelsea in the coming season, we’ve not fully seen it yet as recruitment has not been concluded and due to the injury of Marin but I suspect Ramires could find him self on the bench more than he’d wish this season.

In our more traditional midfield three Ramires in recent seasons was virtually the first name on the team sheet; the midfield runner, an athlete with an incredible engine and a versatile array of attributes making his a real asset. However this season playing 4-2-3-1 opportunities could potentially be limited.

He could play in the deeper two positions and I had favoured this in the past, I liked the idea of him adding an extra dimension running from deep but having watched how we’ve shaped up I’m not so sure. I think Chelsea would be far better with Mikel offering a solid base along side a player who can distribute like Oscar, Ramires is very capable at both but excels at neither. I’d also be concerned at space he could potentially leave between midfield and the back four. Along Mikel he may work better but then you’d lose a player of the calibre of Oscar dictating the game from deep.

The alterative is to play him on the right of the supporting three, I have no problem with him here at all and he has many qualities to do good work. He has the energy and tenacity and can also offer protection to the full-back but given the more fluid direction Chelsea are looking to take it looks likely that this berth will be filled by a more offensive player such in Hulk / Marin / Moses.

I’d be interested to hear how RDM views his role this season, had he not inherited a squad I think it unlikely Ramires is a player he buy, that said he clearly also recognises Ramires’ qualities.

It’s a long old season for Chelsea and of course a squad is more relevant today than it has ever been but I think although Ramires will get plenty of game it will be more as a utility man and as RDM selects horses for courses.

Or do you disagree, do you think Ramires can make a position his own this season and if so where?

I think that Ramires is the type of player that Jose could well see as a vital player in his system.

Having said that the problem with Ramires in our current 4-2-3-1 system is that he is jack of all trades but master of none.

He doesn't work as a winger and in central midfield he seems to lack the basics in terms of positional discipline and passing.

In a 4-3-3 Ramires works perfectly because it allows him to play the box to box game he so thrives at. The problem is that the 4-3-3 seems to be much less popular these days and I'm not sure if we would ever go back to it.

As said above if we continue with the 4-2-3-1 then I see Ramires's future as a good squad player.

we need a deep laying midfielder who can pass really well like João Moutinho, Alonso, Pirlo, Modric (we used to have Ballack who played that role well).

Than someone to get replace Mikel. He has been donkey for us since joining, people call us fickle but we give our players a chance he has been a regular for soo many years and hasn't improved or even been all that good. The only thing he does is break up play but even sucks at that sometimes. I would like us to go for Vidal, Daniele De Rossi, Javier Mascherano, Bastian Schweinsteiger (btw how good was he against Barca)

about Rami i think he is wasted in the deeper midfield role, his finishing is very clinical and i would like to see him moved up and give competition to the three amigos with KDB and Moses being our other options.

I would like to have him more as a squad player. A player who isn't the first player on the team sheet to be brought in when hes needed to play either in the double pivot, the right wing or in 3 in midfield.

Ramires has great strengths. However he has great weaknesses. And with our approach of playing Mata, Hazard and Oscar all together, I don't think Ramires suits that system. He lacks strength, so struggles to give physical support to Mazacar. His touch is pretty poor, so he isn't able to move the ball to the trio quick enough, and he lacks vision to thread a forward like Torres in on goal.

However he does have great qualities in the big games. He can stretch a midfield with his running, press the team high, offer support to the RB (when playing on the wing) and can break down counter attacks. So he does have many uses.

Hes just not well rounded enough for me to play every week. Thats why he should be brought in for games which would expose to the opposition to his best qualities.

So it looks like there's uncertainty about whether Ramires can nail down his own position, and a bit of disagreement about his best role (i.e. box to box, DM, or on the wing). I feel that he does seem to be a box to box kind of player, and as pointed out above, in DM he lacks discipline, and his shooting/attacking abilities are wasted.

Not sure he'd be happy in a purely sub/squad role, but that would seem to be his niche. As superb and phoenix point out, if we weren't so rigid in our system, Ramires' versatility could be much more of an asset than it is at present.

I think in a year or two I could see him being more of a squad player but someone who'd get picked for the big games rather than 'small' ones

I think in a year or two I could see him being more of a squad player but someone who'd get picked for the big games rather than 'small' ones

Yeah I agree Although thats not necessary a bad thing. He could be utilized brilliantly.

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Better strength for the squad than an injustice to Ramires if he's not starting next year IMO. In a pivot Oscar should not be played ahead of him though.