28 replies to this topic

[The Moos]

"loz":1eoqoj4v said:

Selling him would be insane!  He is one of the most gifted youngsters in football (notice I said 'one of' not 'the most gifted') and he is still very young and also doesn't have the benefit of years and years of top drawer coaching that some of the other 'top youngsters' have had.

The boy has a very very bright future.

If he can control his temper and stop making stupid tackles then, yes, he will have a very, very bright future.

I don't want us to sell him but if he can't improve mentaly within the next 2-3 years or so then I actually wont mind selling him.
However, I think he will get better so we probably won't have to sell him {SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif

[ethicalstrategy]

The frustration comes from the fact that the english game doesn't allow you time on the ball and because refs generally will let little niggles go more often than not.  I seem to remember Fabregas getting sent of a couple of times in a similar fashion.

He will learn over time.

He could certainly learn from Maka how to break up the play and foul without getting penalised, but I hope we see a much more rounded game from him.  Just because he starts in place of Maka doesn't mean he has to play the same game.

[loz]

"ethicalstrategy":2yateazg said:

He could certainly learn from Maka how to break up the play and foul without getting penalised,

IN fairness to him that is a lot harder to do when you stand head and shoulders above just about everyone else on the pitch.  As soon as a player bounves off him refs assume it is a foul whereas Maka gets away with a bit of 'subtle' angling of the body weight.

I think the main thing he can learn from Maka is that 99.9% of the time he doesn't need to tackle like there is a steam train up his rear end.  Simply sticking with the player and making life difficult for him is often more than enough to either slow the game down thus allowing your defenders to get into position or to force him into a slack ball or a bit of mis control which then would allow Mikel to get his foot in and win  the ball.

[Elliott]

Mikels main problem is born out of his classy style. He hardly rushe's a pass, and is learning to choose the right option. He does have a certain 'lethargic' technique to him, and when teams press quickly, and high up the pitch against us, he isnt given that extra second. Alot of the time he was getting caught on the ball, rather than releasing it faster, to compensate for West Ham's game plan.

It was frustrating to watch, let alone play in.

Mikel did loose it, and it's something that he will grow out of, to a certain extent. To let the boy leave us due to his attitude at 20 would be ludicrous. Barring Fabregas or maybe Anderson, no-one comes close to his quality for such a young age.

All the senior players had a word with him, right after the incident occurred. (Drogba, Terry & Lamps). Which is what you would expect.

[ethicalstrategy]

"loz":2ap3080j said:

I think the main thing he can learn from Maka is that 99.9% of the time he doesn't need to tackle like there is a steam train up his rear end.  Simply sticking with the player and making life difficult for him is often more than enough to either slow the game down thus allowing your defenders to get into position or to force him into a slack ball or a bit of mis control which then would allow Mikel to get his foot in and win  the ball.

You see, I thought that was pretty much how he played for most of the match.  The bad tackle came from frustration at being constantly nipped at by the West Ham midfield.  If you look back at where he has got himself in to trouble it has either been from cynical fouls (shirts tugs etc), or frustration, either at himself when he loses the ball or with the opponent.

Hopefully he will be able to get a grip of that aspect of his game.  He is clearly capable.

[Liam]

"dreadis":24dvlear said:

he cannot behave like a mongoloid moron on the pitch!!

The only moron around here is you.

[djc026]

I think Mikel is worth keeping on to.  He is young and has plenty to learn but looks capable of doing it, plus i hope we would not spend around £14 million on a 17/18 year old only to sell him off!

He does have the odd moment of madness but we can iron that out of him he should go on to be a good player for us.

[Liam]

Another game gone by and another less than impressive performance from the SHEFF.

This time though it really was worrying as he looked to have no idea how to handle Bentley who played a classic "in the hole" role.

He's clearly no Makalele and it remains to be seen exactly what role he might play for us in the future.

[evissy]

I wouldn't sell Mikel even if he didn't learn to control his head. He is only going to get better and I bet there isn't many coaches that wouldn't love to have Mikel. I think he is going to be one of the leading players in EPL in the future. Hope he stays fit!