Guest Sindre Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5258843,00.html Looks like Mikel is going to sign a new deal with the club in near future and thats without a doubt great news. I know many of you don`t share my opinion on the guy but i do think that he has been one of our most important players this season. Another great game against Barcelona at Camp Nou to.
Benji Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Good news very talented player! Don't think we want to lose him.
Nibs Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Good news very talented player! Don't think we want to lose him. ......unless we get offered 35m euros.........................
bjd Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 hmm, im still not convinced. but he proved me wrong on tuesday but i still think he can be a liability and gives away far to many niggly fouls. he seems to be pointless against average teams and at times this season he has been utterley outclassed by some 'floating' forwards, gerrard and a 10% fit totti spring to mind. still, i guess he has a lot to learn and he will only do that playing more regulary with players like lamps and ballack and it nice to see us offering a new contract to a young player rather than a 30+! though having said that i still think we should let kalou go.
ethicalstrategy Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 ......unless we get offered 35m euros......................... Liam would let him go for a lot less than that!! Of course, I hope we keep him.
g3.7 Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 great move. now stop making him a defensive midfielder.
sexelk Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 great move.now stop making him a defensive midfielder. agreed, he is better than that well stop making anyone a DM. just goes along with a horrible formation
abramovich Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) great move.now stop making him a defensive midfielder. OK, Mikel is not a defensive midfielder. Then what exactly is his role? He doesn't have much speed, isn't a good dribbler and can't shoot if his life depended on it. His passing is fine as long as it's simple stuff in our own half but he's no Riquelme when it comes to passing forward. He is a big strong lad, has got a very good composure and is very hard to get the ball off. Yet his positioning is questionable and he gives away dumb unnecessary fouls virtually every game. Granted, it may be due to him being played out of position so my question is once again: what is his real position? For me, a box-to-box midfielder has to bring much more to the table than Mikel currently does. Edited April 30, 2009 by abramovich
midlandblue Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Mikel is perfect for the Ballack role, in time.
sexelk Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) OK, Mikel is not a defensive midfielder. Then what exactly is his role? He doesn't have much speed, isn't a good dribbler and can't shoot if his life depended on it. His passing is fine as long as it's simple stuff in our own half but he's no Riquelme when it comes to passing forward.He is a big strong lad, has got a very good composure and is very hard to get the ball off. Yet his positioning is questionable and he gives away dumb unnecessary fouls virtually every game. Granted, it may be due to him being played out of position so my question is once again: what is his real position? For me, a box-to-box midfielder has to bring much more to the table than Mikel currently does. his passing range is acually very good. it's just that in the holding midfield role, your passing is pretty much confined to 2 yard passes. if mikel was given a similar role to shabby alonso at liverpool then he would shine more than he already does and as i'm sure you all are aware, i think he should be on ahead of ballack as he brings much more to the table next season i would like to see 2 of mikel, essien and lamps in a central midfield 2. 2 wide men and 2 up top, perhaps 1 dropping slightly off if we do go for aguero or someone similar all 3 of them (as a 2) are more than capable of controling the centre of any pitch against any other midfield 2 Edited April 30, 2009 by sexelk
g3.7 Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 he should carry the ball forward more, and be passing higher up the pitch. has great composure, touch and short passing... it's hard to say exactly how creative he is, I think he has it, but there are less than five players in the world who can genuinely create things from so deep in the pitch. it's not the position that is a problem, but it doesn't seem to suit mikel defensively, which is obviously a big problem. he could probably become very very good at it in time, but it does seems to waste what he's good at and highlight his flaws just now. sometimes a defensive midfielder is needed, sometimes it isn't. there is no such thing as a horrible formation. they are neither good nor bad. the most important thing is how it's applied.
WoodmanBlue Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Very happy, think he is a great little player, still very young and has alot of promise to become even better! Why go out and pay alot of money for players when you already have players of high enough quality in the squad. Well done chelsea
mad_mac Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 Very pleased. I remember saying that Mikel's short range passing and composure on the ball meant he could play at the head of a diamond if we played a narrow 4-4-2 diamond formation. Hope we do see him used in a slightly more attacking role. If we were to continue under Hiddink, then we'd play a 4-2-1-2-1 With Mikel and Essien maily forming that first two right behind Lampard. then a Wide two and a front man. I think it would be those wide men, and even a very strong baack up for Drogba!
Nibs Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 Very pleased. I remember saying that Mikel's short range passing and composure on the ball meant he could play at the head of a diamond if we played a narrow 4-4-2 diamond formation. Anyone playing at the head of a diamond has to at least carry a bit of a goal threat. That is never gonna be Mikel in a million years. I still don't think anyone knows what his best position is. He is a good player, but I find myself underwhelmed by the majority of his performances.
Tim Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 Happy enough he's signed, but I do agree that if he is ever to be seriously considered for a position further up the pitch, he has to work on his shooting. A lot. Right now, he offers pretty much no threat in that regard. I also agree that he is not, and will never be, a Maka replacement, or indeed any sort of destructive DM. Deep lying playmaker? Maybe, but like G4 said that is a very very hard position that very few can play. I can see him becoming something special, but I think it very much depends on how integral the club see him to our future midfield and how they/our new manager feel he should be used.
dkw Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 hes neither an attacking midfielder or a defensive midfielder. if trained correctly and allowed time to develop i think he could go on to play a similar role to pirlo. a sort of deep lying play maker.
Uno Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 I dont really rate Mikel, He has done well this season at times but i still dont trust him to give extra protection to the back 4 like maka did and like essien can. I would have rather kept Lassana than Mikel.
bonetti Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 (edited) I hope he can afford the 50% Tax and the cost of a Chauffeur Edited May 1, 2009 by bonetti
youlots Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 You don't rate him? On the basis that he's not Maka? Well....when you find the next Maka let us all know will you?! Look, Mikel is still very young & has developed well since he's been with us. Don't forget he's had what, four different managers since he's been at Chels and has to compete with some of the best midfielders in the world for a position on the park. Whether he develops, or will be given the chance to develop a more fluid style with an attacking element to his game in the future remains to be seen but as others have rightly pointed out his short passing game, defensive abilities (and especially the timing of his tackling) and general reading of the play have all improved for the better. And he's got a great attitude and seems content to do a lot of the mop up/linkage stuff w/o complaint & w/o any theatrics about where he's been positioned. Contract extension is good news: Chels shouldn't even think of selling him.
coco Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 I think were all waiting for Mikel to step it up to another level, he cant get by on strength alone, he needs another string to his bow, I would love to see him pick the ball up in a defensive midfield position, drop his shoulder and charge up field with the ball like a steam train, it would scare the life out of some defenders, the sight of that ugly mug charging down the pitch, bloody terrifying ! Glad hes on our side though !
midlandblue Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 I think were all waiting for Mikel to step it up to another level, he cant get by on strength alone, he needs another string to his bow, I would love to see him pick the ball up in a defensive midfield position, drop his shoulder and charge up field with the ball like a steam train, it would scare the life out of some defenders, the sight of that ugly mug charging down the pitch, bloody terrifying !Glad hes on our side though ! I'll drink to that.
andy Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 I rate him very highly and he is still only what 21/22 ? at this rate in 5 years time he will be outstanding There is no way that Manure and us would fight over a player like that if he is no good. I think he was exceptional in the first half of this seaosn and faded a bit but definatley at the moment a super strong sub with already bags of experience it can only get better
Virosh Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 I think Mikel can be a fantastic defensive midfielder and I think it's only experience he lacks. The skills you need to be a good player in that position is: *good control of the ball *the ability to keep the ball when pressed *the ability to take the ball cleanly *excellent positional sense *excellent reading of the game *constructive distribution When you look at his game, you see is he has the first two qualities in abundance, he has shown a lot of development on the third and the last three you can only truly master with experience. So my view is that he has the natural talent, all he needs is a lot of experience and good coaching and he can potentially become the best holding midfielder in the world.
PloKoon13 Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 I think were all waiting for Mikel to step it up to another level, he cant get by on strength alone, he needs another string to his bow, I would love to see him pick the ball up in a defensive midfield position, drop his shoulder and charge up field with the ball like a steam train, it would scare the life out of some defenders, the sight of that ugly mug charging down the pitch, bloody terrifying !Glad hes on our side though ! Yeah, I agree. I think he needs to take a leaf out of Lamps' book, and learn to improve on all his flaws one at a time, so he becomes a more complete player every season, something which is reflected in Lampard's continually world-class performances.
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