Disappointed there was no Gareth Hall. Would have been a treat to see his silky skills again.

21 hours ago, Ajbod said:

I rember joses reaction to that goal, "WTF is he shooting... OMG"

I remember the commentator trying to blame the keeper. 

😆

Goalkeepring error? no goalkeeper is saving that.

Looking back at the match it really does bring tears to my eyes. a lot of these players are almost forgotten about for football fans outside of the chels but it is still ridiculous how good they are. 

The likes of Essien truly should be spoken about in the same vein as players like Viera and Keane, he was an animal. Not only was he such a boss in the midfield, but his technique and skill goes under the radar hard. Even Mikel was a great player but some of his latter years has probably sullied how good he really was during his prime. Lets not forget that night in 2012 where Lampard was actually very poor and our midfield was being carried by Mikel.

And lets not forget about the 2nd most talented player in our history... Mr Zola too! 

On 11/09/2023 at 10:44, RIP Mourinho said:

Give them a 6 week training plan and Essien and Mikel could still do a shift in the middle of the park watching this

Essien is finally injury free and you set him up to our current fitness program and medical department? Why so much hate? 😅

3 hours ago, SHrIT said:

Lampard

Best English midfielder of his generation.

10 hours ago, SHrIT said:

The likes of Essien truly should be spoken about in the same vein as players like Viera and Keane, he was an animal. Not only was he such a boss in the midfield, but his technique and skill goes under the radar hard. 

Is there anyone who actually disagrees with this though? I think you'd be hard pressed to find a serious fan who does not rate Essien alongside Vieira, Keane and Toure as the best defensive central midfielders in the EPL's history.

Apart from injuries, the only other thing that dimmed Essien's star was that he had to take a back seat to Michael Ballack, even to the extent of playing as a utility player across defense and midfield in his prime years.

Edited September 13, 20232 yr by SydneyChelsea

12 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Is there anyone who actually disagrees with this though? I think you'd be hard pressed to find a serious fan who does not rate Essien alongside Vieira, Keane and Toure as the best defensive central midfielders in the EPL's history.

Apart from injuries, the only other thing that dimmed Essien's star was that he had to take a back seat to Michael Ballack, even to the extent of playing as a utility player across defense and midfield in his prime years.

That's a wild claim. 

As much as I rate Essien we are talking about 3 years of peak performance vs nearly 10 years from Keane, Vieira, and Toure. The latter's influence in the Premier League dwarf Essien's. 

20 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Is there anyone who actually disagrees with this though? I think you'd be hard pressed to find a serious fan who does not rate Essien alongside Vieira, Keane and Toure as the best defensive central midfielders in the EPL's history.

Apart from injuries, the only other thing that dimmed Essien's star was that he had to take a back seat to Michael Ballack, even to the extent of playing as a utility player across defense and midfield in his prime years.

Whenever there is a debate talking about the best prem midfielders and what not, his name almost NEVER gets bought up even though I believe he is up there. When was the last time you even heard a pundit mention his name? Yet the likes of Viera and Keane are mentioned almost every week. 

8 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

That's a wild claim. 

As much as I rate Essien we are talking about 3 years of peak performance vs nearly 10 years from Keane, Vieira, and Toure. The latter's influence in the Premier League dwarf Essien's. 

Longevity wise he's not there but in terms of peak for peak performance he most certainly us imo