Out of the key players injured, who have we missed the most??

Essien, ballack and drog have been none starters so far, so which out of the key players have we missed the much.

Gotta think essien has being a huge blow for us in the way we play in midfield. mikel's awareness and vision is something that has being found wanting. a fit essien gives this team and the midfield the kick start it needs.

What do you guys think??

It's my first thread, so be nice. lol

Edited November 6, 200817 yr by 4EVERCHELSEA

Essien, the man is immense, plays in most positions and is so commited.

Purely because of the quality of what we are left with in his absence I would say Drogba, I dont know if the way we are playing would suit his style or if Scolari knows what he wants to do with a fully fit (and hopefully fully commited) Drogba but I do believe we would be a lot harder to nulify if Drogba had been our main target man,

Strange when you look at our goal average but not so strange when you look at the lack of Goals against bettr quality defenses.

Edited November 6, 200817 yr by Chippy

Drogba, for the sheer ability to score against a defence which has a better class of player than Chris Riggot in it...

(No offence to Chris Riggot... he's a far better agent of the game than Carjacker or Ferdinand...)

Essien, the man is immense, plays in most positions and is so commited.

I disagree, since until yesterday, Mikel has filled in well in Essien's role, and our back line is so much more deep now, we really have not missed the Bison too much.

I disagree, since until yesterday, Mikel has filled in well in Essien's role, and our back line is so much more deep now, we really have not missed the Bison too much.

I dont think mikel has being that good at all. there is no way essien would have made the mistakes mikel did in rome. i just dont think he brings anything fantastic or different to the team. you look at macca when he was in that role, he broke up plays feed the flair players and did one hell of a job, same with essien. although essien's speed and power is far better than what macca's

Essien quality wise is a much better player and gives the midfield the driving force ot needs while aslo breaking and stopping attacking moves.. you just dont get that from mikel. i know he's young and raw, but i dont feel he's going anywhere...

Some like mikel, some dont.

Edited November 6, 200817 yr by 4EVERCHELSEA

A fully it and interested Drogba without a doubt - our team with a centre forward who actually fought for the ball, who actually troubled centre halves and who actually knew where the penalty box was at all times, not just occasionally, would be far ar better.

I don't think we have missed Essien all that much. For me Mikel is far better in the holding role than Essien - (yes he had a mare against Roma but that was his first poor performance of the season ) because Mikel is just as comfortable playing left or right but with Essien we focus too much on the right hand side. When Mikel, Lampard, Ballack and Essien are all fit it would be Essien I had on the bench.

Essien and a fully fit, motivated DD.

Essien is the complete package for a player. He can play anywhere. What seperates him from Mikel, of the quality Mikel has, he can score goals! Mikel's good going forward but as soon as he prepares to shoot, everyone watching groans because we know a goal kick is iminent. Midfield diamond with Mikel at the base, Essien and Deco on the right and left (obviously with a liscence to roam) and Lampard at the top. Put Kalou/Anelka/Cole playing not as a striker, but to support DD up front. Foolproof! :(

Now DD is a player we've been missing. Even though Anelka is the league's top scorer, his finishing hasn't been brilliant, lets be honest. Goal against Stoke was nearly saved, his hatrick vs. Sunderland was 2 tap-ins and a very unconvincing slide that hit the keepers knee and looped over him into the net! Drogba has the eye and need for goals that Anelka doesn't have. Anelka rarely powers his shots and goes for the neat finish, but Drogs' motto is: if in doubt, smash it! That hunger for goals is something we've missed, along with his ability to win 90% of high balls given to him, able to win most header opportunities he gets (when Malouda or Kalou or Joey Cole can actually put a good cross in!) unlike Anelka who couldn't win a header if his life depended on it!

Drogba, get fully fit NOW!, and Essien, be back ASAP!

Edited November 6, 200817 yr by Ruh Buh Juh

There is no doubt that Mikel has done well in the holding role, very well in some games, but he offers very little otherwise, as for Essien, in center midfield, right midfield, right back or even center half, he offers so much more and can drive a team forward if needed.........Mikel cant or doesn't.

All true midland but that is actually less of an issue now as we are well covered at centre half and right back now. It does however allow us more flexibility during a game so once Scolari gets into the idea of changing things during the game then it will be useful!

Thing is Loz, if you start with Mikel and need to make a change to the team, then unless you continue to use Mikel in a holding role you would have to bring on a sub for another player. If Essien starts then you dont have to bring him off, he can adapt to other formations and playing styles without using a sub to achieve the change.

Thing is Loz, if you start with Mikel and need to make a change to the team, then unless you continue to use Mikel in a holding role you would have to bring on a sub for another player. If Essien starts then you dont have to bring him off, he can adapt to other formations and playing styles without using a sub to achieve the change.

Trouble is that Essien, for all his other strengths, is not as good in the Maka role as Mikel is. His body positioning is not top when defending and his tackling is often rash. He is also less composed when making a challenge and he doesn't keep his position on the field as he should in that role.

Back to the original topic, we have missed Drogba the most. Loz pretty much summed it up for me - our forward line has been found wanting against every team with a decent, packed-up defense. Drogba would have at least turned things our way with his physical play and power.

Edited November 7, 200817 yr by Virosh

That was my point when I said that it allowed us more flexibility during the game and that is certainly an argument in Essien's favour.

I miss having the Porsche in midfield.

Virosh, I dont believe we would get the best out of playing Essien in the Maka role and if anyone in the team can fill this position then yes it's Mikel. My point was not to say I prefer Essien to Mikel in the Maka role, my point was thet I feel we have missed Essien (as a player) the most this season which is the topic of this thread.

one thing I will disagree with you on is, Essien being rash in the challenge, in comparison to Mikel? some people have very short memories.

Essien is not a holding midfield player. He can play there but he can play at right back and centre half too. His best position is on the right of midfield. We have certainly missed his drive in some of the bigger matches.

The player we have missed most is definitely a fit Didier Drogba. Anelka couldn't hold a candle to him.

We've missed Drogba most simply because we have no suitable replacement for him.

The loss of Essien shouldn't be underestimated though.

We've also badly missed a fully-fit, top of his game JT.

Drogba.

We've missed a lot of players to be honest - Carvalho and Essien being the two that really spring to mind as other contenders for this, but Drogba is such an awesome player, the best striker in the world when he's at the top of his game, so for that reason alone it has to be him.

We've also badly missed a fully-fit, top of his game JT.

agree 100% with this. hes no more than 70% fit at the moment, and has been for the last 12 months. now i appreciate the efforts he puts in as much as anyone, but at some point he will become a liability unless he rests and gets fully fit. we now have good cover for him when everyones fit, so for gods sake JT, rest and come back as the unbeatable, world class captain we know and love.

Virosh, I dont believe we would get the best out of playing Essien in the Maka role and if anyone in the team can fill this position then yes it's Mikel. My point was not to say I prefer Essien to Mikel in the Maka role, my point was thet I feel we have missed Essien (as a player) the most this season which is the topic of this thread.

one thing I will disagree with you on is, Essien being rash in the challenge, in comparison to Mikel? some people have very short memories.

1. I am glad we have a point of agreement in Mikel being the better of the two in the holding midfielder role :wub:

2. I respectfully disagree that Essien is the player we have missed the most. Despite injuries, we haven't had that many quality missing from the middle line as we have been missing in the forward line.

3. You are absolutely right to accuse me of short memory there ;) I should have specified I had meant the Mikel of this season - he has been far more composed in his tackling (albeit for one very notable mistake) than before and in that respect I think he is less of a liability in his defensive play than Essien.

It has to be Essien, we've missed his drive and tenacity in the middle of the park, we've missed Ballack and Drogba at the same time, but Essien offers so much more to our game than the other two

Drogba, solely because of two facts: we need goals to win games. His replacement isn't anywhere near as good.

JT and Essien are great players, but we have more than adequate coverage in their respective positions

Drogba is such an awesome player, the best striker in the world when he's at the top of his game

Agree with you completely. He was mind-bogglingly good at points last year.

In terms of who we have missed the most through injury, I'd say Drogba 100%.

In terms of who we've missed the most period, I'd say us missing out on Robinho is looking like a major, major loss.

I've always like him as a player but will freely admit I had doubts about how well he would cope with the pace and physicallity of the EPL. Well, watching him at City, (who, for all the money, are still a pretty average side), he has blown those doubts away. If we'd got rid of Malouda and put Robinho in his place we'd practically be home and hosed by now.