Can Mikel* ever really come close to replacing Makalele?

[blizeH]

* or any of our other players, Essien, Sidwell etc

Just reading through some of the quotes on Maka's Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Mak ... %A9l%C3%A9

The first one by Perez I'll throw in anyway, just because it's a complete lol:

We will not miss Makélélé. 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. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten

Heh!

But then in stark constrast, ZiZi actually appreciated just how important the guy was to Madrid, this is his reaction to them signing Beckham and getting rid of Makalele:

Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?

Also, McManaman in his biography:

I think Claude has this kind of gift - he's been the best player in the team for years but people just don't notice him, don't notice what he does. But you ask anyone at Real Madrid during the years we were talking about and they will tell you he was the best player at Real. We all knew, the players all knew he was the most important. The loss of Makélélé was the beginning of the end for Los Galacticos... You can see that it was also the beginning of a new dawn for Chelsea. He was the base, the key and I think he is the same to Chelsea now.

And recently we've seem just how valuable he can be too, for example the Tottenham game whereby he almost single handedly bossed the midfield; could Mikel do the same? Or maybe Essien? Or any of our other players?

He's 34 now so we really have to start considering getting a firm replacement in, IMHO.

[Kev123]

In my opinion there will be only ever be one Makelele, others might come close, but nobody will be able to do the job he can. Saying that I don't think he has been as impressive this season as in recent years, although there have been some outstanding performances.

[Guest]

His 34, what exactly do you expect of him?.....

That said, he is still class and I think we shouldn't be getting rid of him yet.

[BLUENUT]

Haven't stopped winning trophies since his arrival.

There's only one Makalele, they named a positiion after him.

Can Mikel ever really come close to replacing Makalele? Not as a holding midfielder, couldn't lace his boots! But I don't think this is Mikel strongest position really.

(not a dig at Mikel, more a complement to Maka)

[Basarabeanul]

Mikel might become a great defensive midfielder, but he needs time and probably a team with lower expectations than Chelsea to play at for the next 2 - 2.5 years. It is always risky to make predictions about the future of some young, talented African player. In my opinion, they lack the discipline and pragmatism they could get as 8 year old kids at a good football Academy. They need to be supervised very close, and they will play like Weah, Eto'O, or Drogba. But they also may start getting red cards and collect scandal newspaper articles about them, start doing some cocaine and forget about practice, ending their career at some third division russian team.

[fester]

Maka is unique, how many players have a position named after them? However, he can't go on forever.

I think Mikel is an excellent replacement for Maka, and needs to continue to play for the Chelsea 1st team whilst finishing off his education. A lot is made of his sending off's, but in fairness only the first (v Reading) has been a straightforward call. In the Carling Cup final he did raise his hands but only in defense against an assault from Adebayor (or was it Eboue? ). The cards against Man U and Everton were both harsh compared to other tackles that have gone unpunished elsewhere (e.g. Kuyt in the Liverpool v Everton match).

Lay off Mikel he is still very young and is regularly putting in top performances for the team. I think that in the future Mikel will offer the team much more in the "Maka" position than Maka has, in particular he has a much greater range of passing. I think he can become a more Viera like player.

[Elliott]

Mikel can replace Makelele, but not for another few years yet. Obi does that job quite well, but in a completely different fashion to Maka.

Maka occupies space, and his reading of the opposition as it attacks, is second to none. Mikel seems to be more effective when told to sit on a specific player, and as we know, sometimes his positioning, as well as temperament can be his downfall.

This will improve with age, but he will never *quite* pull it off as Maka can. Anyways, i can see Mikel developing into a fantastic defensive midfielder in his own right, with the capacity for getting forward. His mould and physique reminds me alot of Vieira.

EDIT - I had'nt read Festers post!

[coco]

Haven't stopped winning trophies since his arrival.

There's only one Makalele, they named a positiion after him.

Can Mikel ever really come close to replacing Makalele? Not as a holding midfielder, couldn't lace his boots! But I don't think this is Mikel strongest position really.

(not a dig at Mikel, more a complement to Maka)

I say yes in the future he can. He is 20 Maka is 35 next month.

You are judging a 20yr old against a seasoned pro.

Give him chance.

At the moment he needs to concentrate on which tackles to go for and which not to.Basic i know but the premiership is so fast, it does take time.

[BLUENUT]

No-one play the Makalele role better than Makelele, it's named after him!!!!!

There are more strings to Mikel's bow, he is more than just a defensive midfielder IMHO

Makalele is irreplacable for what he offers a team, just ask Zidane and the Madrid side!

You don't realise exactly what Maka does until theres someone else doing it, only not as fluently. Against Spurs it was a walk in the park, Maka was back in the middle.

Just look at last season against Spurs in the cup, Diarra played the holding role and wasn't a patch on Maka. Maka makes it look so easy.

Mikel is going to be a great asset, I'm not taking anything away from him, but there is only 1 Makalele, and he's been at the top of his profession for the past 10-15 years.

[ecthelion]

I already gave answer to this question in the chelsea vs Tottenham thread pg 10. Mikel can never replace Makalele or for that matter anyone in this world. What's amazing about him is that even though he is a defensive midfielder he hardly ever gets a red card. Many people harp on about how good Roy Keane was as

a DMF but he was never as good as Makalele. SOme say that he is a human shadow, some say he is the smilling assassin i say that he has always been the backbone of any team he has ever played for.

People keep on talking about ho good players like c.ronaldo and ronaldinhio are but frankly speaking they will never be as vital to a team as makalele is to every team that he has played for. Every player can play defensively but no one can play like makalele. When asked who was the best player in the real squad Zizou said that it was Makalele. It was no coincidence that real stopped winning tittles when makalele left their team. Although players like Makalele never receive international recogniton for what they do but for me he has been the best chelsea player for the past 4 years. I think it is mikel's badluck that he has to replace someone like makalele.

[g3.7]

mikel can't and isn't a replacement for maka-

just because it is usally one or the other doesn't mean that the job they are asked to do is (or should be) the same.

it's like having the choice between ballack or essien and trying to say that essien can't do what ballack can- if he's in the side it will be to a different job, even if he plays in the same area of the pitch.

simple.

oh, and maka is a great great player and won't lose any quality in the next couple years- he might not be able to play quite as often (personally I've seen no example that this is actually the case, however, jose, grant and the man himself disagree), but away to barcelona you won't find a finer player.

I would hate to see him retire elsewhere and find it bizarre that people say he should be phased out? why? bah to this insatiable thirst for young players, let's enjoy perhaps the best player of his type in history while we still can.

[blizeH]

let's enjoy perhaps the best player of his type in history while we still can.

+1

And I think you're right, Maka has at least another couple of seasons left in him yet. I'm just wondering what we're doing to do once those two seasons are over :)

[TomP]

Where was Maka at age 20? - beginning his career in the French League.

Where is Mikel age 20? - consistantly in the first team in one of the top sides in the world - despite our squad containing the likes of Lampard, Ballack, Essien and Maka.

Don't get me wrong - at his current level, Mikel is not in the same ballpark as Maka in his prime (which is now past).

But passing complete judgement on the abilities and long-term career prospects of a 20-year-old is a bit short-sighted.

Especially when the are completely different players. He has a range of passing, physical strength and presence that Maka doesn't. And he has the same calmness on the ball as Maka had at age 30. If in 3 or 4 years, Mikel has 3/4 of Maka's positional awareness and decision-making ability then he will be an awesome player.

[Makelele]

Where was Maka at age 20? - beginning his career in the French League.

Where is Mikel age 20? - consistantly in the first team in one of the top sides in the world - despite our squad containing the likes of Lampard, Ballack, Essien and Maka.

Don't get me wrong - at his current level, Mikel is not in the same ballpark as Maka in his prime (which is now past).

But passing complete judgement on the abilities and long-term career prospects of a 20-year-old is a bit short-sighted.

Especially when the are completely different players. He has a range of passing, physical strength and presence that Maka doesn't. And he has the same calmness on the ball as Maka had at age 30. If in 3 or 4 years, Mikel has 3/4 of Maka's positional awareness and decision-making ability then he will be an awesome player.

well said...i think one of maka's best qualities is his intelligent fouling, if only he could teach Mikel how to do that

[mad_mac]

Makelele is a legend in football, and I truly mean that. Unfortunately, he's not enough of a showman for most people to realise his talent, but Mcmananananamamanamna's post about how vital he was to Real is testiment to just how great a player he is. Look at what happended to Real when he left, and look what happened to us when he arrived! I would love for him to stay and continue to play for us until he retires; the things he and Ballack bring to the game, especially in CL matches, are undeniable.

I remember when we signed him, they were talking about him on Sky's Saturday warm up to the games. Jeff said "I thought there was thunder rumbling down at Stamford Bridge, but it was just a clashing of egos." He then said makelele was asked "why do some peolpe think you are the best defensive midfielder?" to which maka simply replied "just because I am!" Loved him from the minute I heard that

Anyway, can Mikel become maka? No, because he is not maka. he will become a dominant midfielder, and alongside Essien, I think could form one of the most dominant midfield duos in all of European football

Scott