He seems finished. Ever since he came back from his last injury, The Bison has been a shadow of his former self.

What a pity. Only a few years ago the Ghanian looked like one of the world's best midfielders. This year he turns 30. I think, in the summer the club faces real dilemma whether it's worth it to persevere with Essien. There's no denying his natural ability, but the string of serious injuries robbed of his energy and mobility and his recent form doesn't warrant even a place on the bench.

unfortunately i think the best thing for the club would be to sell him in the summer. one of my favourite players, and scored 2 of the most memorable goals at the bridge. (equalizer against arsenal, left volley vs barca).

the game yesterday really highlighted how poor our midfield has become, we lack bite, and leadership. ramires hasnt looked as good since he came off injured against QPR. Romeu seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.

personally id love to see us bring in Yann M'Vila from rennes. he bosses the midfield in the way the bison used to do for us.

Yeah, poor sub play by Essien, Ramires was poor all match, Lampard was mostly invisible, Meireles was his average self. All that ferocity from Napoli was gone.

I remarked during the Napoli match that I was surprised Essien stayed on. I thought he'd be the first sub because he seemed so slow and ineffective. It was shocking to see him bundled off the ball. That was unthinkable before his knee injuries.

He seems a yard slower and half as strong. It's a real shame as like mentioned above, he was a world class midfielder.

I think to sell is our best option whilst we can still get a decent fee for him.

I think the criticism of ramires though is a bit harsh. He's not a attacking wide right midfielder.

He seems a yard slower and half as strong. It's a real shame as like mentioned above, he was a world class midfielder. I think to sell is our best option whilst we can still get a decent fee for him. I think the criticism of ramires though is a bit harsh. He's not a attacking wide right midfielder.

Agree with all of this, to be honest the midfield in general was extremely poor. Felt sorry for Ramires - he's great in the centre of the park where he can use his energy and get stuck in...however out wide where it requires some attacking skill (he never seems to have the ball FULLY under control I swear) it shows him up; good defensively there but offers little going forward....which is what we need; although can understand that given the fact Bosingwa had to come on for Branna.

Our whole midfield were sh*t, thats why we lost the game.

I never really seen what Essien brings to the midfield and I realise I'm in the minority of 1 on this...! He's not great at defending, he doesn't create chances or score that many, I just don't see it. Yea there was a point where he was a "beast"... But what was his main role? Winning the ball back? Doubling up on an attacker from the opposition? I'm seriously asking, I've no problem with being shown I'm wrong on this because I can't understand why he's so highly rated and I've just never understood it.

At the moment im clinging on to the fact that its still to early from a return from injury to make a full evaluation but lets be honest the signs dont look good.

One thing you could always says about Essien was that he would be combative, but so far in this past month back from his absence it looks like thats gone too. Its sad to see him pull out of challenges and constantly be 2nd to balls.

Fingers crossed things change but i have my doubts. Very sad for him but its not surprising, the body can only take so much.

Edited March 22, 201214 yr by bjd

I never really seen what Essien brings to the midfield and I realise I'm in the minority of 1 on this...! He's not great at defending, he doesn't create chances or score that many, I just don't see it. Yea there was a point where he was a "beast"... But what was his main role? Winning the ball back? Doubling up on an attacker from the opposition? I'm seriously asking, I've no problem with being shown I'm wrong on this because I can't understand why he's so highly rated and I've just never understood it.

What Ramires brings to the team now x 2. Also, unlike Rami he could actually boss a midfield.

When Essien was at his best, just seeing his name on the team sheet, I felt like that was half the game won.

Edited March 22, 201214 yr by footballoholic

At the moment im clinging on to the fact that its still to early from a return from injury to make a full evaluation but lets be honest the signs dont look good.

One thing you could always says about Essien was that he would be combative, but so far in this past month back from his absence it looks like thats gone too. Its sad to see him pull out of challenges and constantly be 2nd to balls.

Fingers crossed things changes but i have my doubts. Very sad for him but its not surprising, the body can only take so much.

Being 2nd in challenges is sad to see for someone who used to bully pretty much every player he played against. As you say, its no surprise considering the injuries he has had.

I never really seen what Essien brings to the midfield and I realise I'm in the minority of 1 on this...! He's not great at defending, he doesn't create chances or score that many, I just don't see it. Yea there was a point where he was a "beast"... But what was his main role? Winning the ball back? Doubling up on an attacker from the opposition? I'm seriously asking, I've no problem with being shown I'm wrong on this because I can't understand why he's so highly rated and I've just never understood it.

He gave us control of the midfield. He was never purely defensive or purely attacking but he made us significantly better at both.

He would win the ball back very quickly and high up the pitch. His pace allowed him to cover the entire midfield and his strength allowed him to dominate it. Although he wasn't creative in the sense that Mata is, he definitely made things happen by picking the right pass and having the ability to motor past the opposition midfielders and drive into the space.

All of those things meant that we could basically be sure that we would dominate the midfield against pretty much any side in the world... even if Mikel didn't show up and Lampard was caught up the pitch, Essien would usually be enough. That's how good he was and that is what he offered us at the peak of his powers.

If he ever gets back to where he was and if Mikel continues his good form or Romeu stays with us and becomes as good as we think he might be able to, a deeper two (in the 4-2-3-1 Di Matteo favours) of Mikel/Romeu and Essien will be more than a match for almost any midfield in world football.

I have wandered away from the main point of what I was going to say here but Essien is one of my favourite players ever. His main role was one of support. He would support the attack and he would support the defence and he was one of the very few I have seen who is truly world class at both in the modern game and has the fitness and athleticism to do them at the same time. I would love him to get back to that but I'm afraid he never will.

Edit - I feel I should point out that I partly love Essien so much because I used to play in a similar style to him and I too had serious problems with my knees. I was out for a year and haven't been able to play in midfield again since.

Edited March 22, 201214 yr by Eggy McMuffin

U know Xabi and Mascherano when they were at livpool ?Essien at this best was both of them combined.However sadly these days are long gone and my opinion is he should be sold.

I wouldn't necessarily say he is 'finished' at the club, but the Michael Essien of old (with the kind of raw power that would make Roy Keane look like a simpering little tart) is certainly finished. He seems to be able to fill in at DM, but with the ever-improving Mikel in the ascendancy and Oriol Romeu coming through he probably doesn't have that long left in the starting XI and will probably start filling a Ferreira-esque role sooner rather than later.

It really is sad to see Essien now when you think of just how good he used to be.

But he is not alone. You look at Essien, Lamps. Miereles & Mikel and they are the mainstays in our midfield. None of them would get into the City or Utd side, nor Sp*rs or Arsenal for that matter. It is no wonder we are struggling to make top 4.

I wouldn't necessarily say he is 'finished' at the club, but the Michael Essien of old (with the kind of raw power that would make Roy Keane look like a simpering little tart) is certainly finished. He seems to be able to fill in at DM, but with the ever-improving Mikel in the ascendancy and Oriol Romeu coming through he probably doesn't have that long left in the starting XI and will probably start filling a Ferreira-esque role sooner rather than later.

What do you base that on mate?!

What do you base that on mate?!

I would suggest it's based on that he's playing better right now than he did last season.... or indeed earlier in the season.

It really is sad to see Essien now when you think of just how good he used to be.

But he is not alone. You look at Essien, Lamps. Miereles & Mikel and they are the mainstays in our midfield. None of them would get into the City or Utd side, nor Sp*rs or Arsenal for that matter. It is no wonder we are struggling to make top 4.

I think three of those would be first choice for Man Utd. Central midfield is their weakness. Scholes is a mainstay in their midfield right now, Lampard, Mikel and a current form Essien would be first choice I would suspect. I agree with the rest, though.

I would suggest it's based on that he's playing better right now than he did last season.... or indeed earlier in the season.

He's hardly playing well though. Doing ok i guess, no better or no worse than at any other time in his overlong career with us i guess.

Anyway, apolgies for turning this away from Essien.

Agree with Nibs - our midfield is very poor all round and should be the first point of call when we look to make changes in the Summer. Last night i thought every player who played in midfield throughout the game was poor and offered nothing. Merieles being the worst by some distance though.

Edited March 22, 201214 yr by bjd

It really is sad to see Essien now when you think of just how good he used to be.

But he is not alone. You look at Essien, Lamps. Miereles & Mikel and they are the mainstays in our midfield. None of them would get into the City or Utd side, nor Sp*rs or Arsenal for that matter. It is no wonder we are struggling to make top 4.

Neither of the Manchester clubs are spoilt for choice in midfield; both of them start mediocre English players like Barry and Carrick and both had to make emergency old-man signings in January (however impressive both of those signings might have been). I think they would love to have any of those four in their squad.

What do you base that on mate?!

I thought it was universally agreed that Mikel was improving, just a little too slowly for some. I'm guessing you'd stick Romeu back into the starting lineup as soon as he's back from injury, but would you start current Essien over Mikel? (Not trying to catch you out or anything, I'm genuinely interested)

I thought it was universally agreed that Mikel was improving, just a little too slowly for some. I'm guessing you'd stick Romeu back into the starting lineup as soon as he's back from injury, but would you start current Essien over Mikel? (Not trying to catch you out or anything, I'm genuinely interested)

Its a decent question, and right now I would start Mikel which is something that really depresses me to type for a multitude of reasons. As i said before im clinging to the notion that that its too early to make a definite assesment of Essiens current status but the prognosis really only points one way.

At least Mikel has a bit of muscle about him and makes the odd successful tackle. Essien currently is no more than a passenger, its so sad to watch.

As you state id pick Romeu in a heartbeat over the pair of them but i just dont know what the story is there.

Edited March 22, 201214 yr by bjd

I think we all agree the 'Bison' is a shadow of his former self, we must also concede the knee injuries and the lack of an extended run in the side are the biggest factor in his decline.

As for Ramires, give the guy a break. He is being played out of position on the right as it is clear Danny Sturridge is both out of form and lacking in confidence after a barren spell in front of goal.

Ramires will be our genuine box to box midfielder for years to come.

Mata for me, has been a little inconsistent of late, much like David Silva at City, the long English winter and pressure during Christmas and March maybe in his first season the reason,

I believe RDM has installed self belief in our squad, however he made an error in my mind taking off Torres last night. I would have withdrawn Meirelles and pushed Drogba up with Torres who was looking lively and was in a right battle with Richards throughout.

Hazard is the major signing we need, let's face it.

Hes just one of many signings we need to make Star.

Sadly though, unless we finish in the top 4 (Saturdays game will give us a good indication of our chances of this) the idea of signing such wanted and rated players as Hazard will be dead.

Hes just one of many signings we need to make Star.

Sadly though, unless we finish in the top 4 (Saturdays game will give us a good indication of our chances of this) the idea of signing such wanted and rated players as Hazard will be dead.

Spuds and Citeh built up pretty good squads whilst not playing CL football, sure the top players will be harder to attract, but maybe that will be a good thing ?

Hes just one of many signings we need to make Star.

Sadly though, unless we finish in the top 4 (Saturdays game will give us a good indication of our chances of this) the idea of signing such wanted and rated players as Hazard will be dead.

I dont think it will impossible for us to sign players like Hazard, but it will obviously be difficult. But, if a player wants t get in on the ground floor of a squad rebuild at a top club then it can happen, plenty of top prospects move for reasons beyond european football for a season. I suppose once again it will all depend on who the next manager is. God I`m sick of typing that sentence.

Spuds and Citeh built up pretty good squads whilst not playing CL football, sure the top players will be harder to attract, but maybe that will be a good thing ?

Put it this way, if we get the special one back in the summer, we will have no trouble getting top players. Anyone else and it will be difficult.

Hes just one of many signings we need to make Star.

Sadly though, unless we finish in the top 4 (Saturdays game will give us a good indication of our chances of this) the idea of signing such wanted and rated players as Hazard will be dead.

Arjen Robben with Hazard would make all the difference to Torres, as you say Saturday is the 'big one' we simply have to win.

De Bruyne and Lukaku might just be the key to signing Hazard and maybe if we need to get back into the Champions League

Robben might be tempted to return to help us get back into the bigtime.