Another brilliant article on Zonal Marking, this one about the importance of players like Mikel, Carrick, Busquets and the like.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/07/30/central-midfield-role/

It's very interesting to see if this is a trend which continues and where it leads to... it also brings to mind how Lampard has played for England.

Good stuff. I have really gotten to appreciate the skills of Busquets over the last year, and it is nice to see that Mikel is appreciated for his play.

Perez was scathing after the Frenchman’s departure, saying, “We will not miss Makelele. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres.†Which, of course, entirely missed the point, and he was widely criticized for his ignorance.

Heard that a lot of times here.

Makelele is still one of me favourite players of all time. Strange but true

Makelele is still one of me favourite players of all time. Strange but true

Mine too. I was so happy when he joined us.

yup - lots of people thought Makalele had no skill because he played mostly short passes - but he was a genious with bags of skill - I would love watching him turn opposition players just by being in the right position and making a simple but deft touch on a ball to leave them nowhere and looking stupid - and of course his positioning was always incredible- the best I've ever seen at what he did

Heard that a lot of times here.

I've heard it a lot of times about Mikel, too.

Mikel is very important player for us. Great central midfielder!!

I think we may now have a record for the number of times an article has been posted! i make it four now!

Anyway, its a good article, though it will need more than a few well written words to get me to change my opinion on JOM.

A solid performance against a good team that attacks us through the middle all game would be a start....

How can people not rate Makalele when he was so good they named the holding role after him e.g. the Makalele position

Makalele was a quality player. Great close control and distribution. I still can't see what Mikel gives us. He takes too long to shift the ball from under his feet, doesn't get to it quick enough. Can't shoot (bar the one decent one he had against WHU the other day).

Makalele was a quality player. Great close control and distribution. I still can't see what Mikel gives us. He takes too long to shift the ball from under his feet, doesn't get to it quick enough. Can't shoot (bar the one decent one he had against WHU the other day).

Spot on, Mikel has started this season well but personally I dont rate him that highly. I hope he proves me wrong

Mikel has started to open up a bit more this season, Essien's return has allowed him a bit more freedom to start to pick a pass or two. His ball to Paulo before our third goal on the weekend is a good example.

He's still very young, and he's only going to get better with more experience at reading the game. I can see him being a stalwart for us over the next decade or so. He might even score another goal!

Ive liked how mikel has played this season. I think he had a great game against west ham.

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2157320,00.html

Interesting interview here. Apparently he's the Premier League's top passer again, and they weren't all sideways five yarders this time!

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2157320,00.html

Interesting interview here. Apparently he's the Premier League's top passer again, and they weren't all sideways five yarders this time!

Good to hear, Andy "I hate Chelsea" Gray was making out it was all short passes

Spot on, Mikel has started this season well but personally I dont rate him that highly. I hope he proves me wrong

What about him dont you rate very highly? As I see it he seems to have stepped up and is now a more establsihed first team player.

Thought Mikel looked good again against Blackpool. Not so much defensively, as there wasn't much to do there, but he distributed the ball well and quite creatively at times, pushed forwards into space intelligently when the opportunity was there, and the only times he really lost the ball were when he was fouled. The City game will be a very different test for him, but I think he's a nailed on starter at the moment.