Paulo Ferreira was brought to Chelsea FC with a lot of hype, but he's never really lived up to it. That's not to say that Ferreira is a poor player, he's just never become a world beating fullback. Jose Bosingwa was brought in for a substantial sum of money after a poor year by Ferreira in the 2007-08 season, and Branislav Ivanovic has proven to be easily the best defensive option of the three over the last two seasons. So, who will start against Manchester United?
Manchester United Vs. Chelsea FC: A Shocking Fullback Selection Proposal From We Ain’t Got No History
Graham MacAree at We Ain’t Got No History surprisingly makes the case for Ferreira in his preview of Chelsea’s game against Manchester United. While Ferreira’s skills are limited, this actually makes a bit of sense.
I am going to do something insane here and propose that Paulo Ferreira starts. We know that United are comfortable with giving Branislav Ivanovic the ball and watching him overhit cross after cross, and they’ll probably design their defence around disregarding the right side in exchange for pinning back Cole on the left. Ferreira, while obviously not the defender Ivanovic is, can threaten going forward in a way the Serbian can’t, making him an interesting (if risky) selection here.
Personally, I think that the selection of Ferreira over Ivanovic is dependent on who Carlo Ancelotti thinks Alex Ferguson will play on the left side of midfield. If it’s Nani, then Ivanovic is probably the man for the job. If it’s Park Ji-Sung, I say you go out guns blazing with Ferreira.
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