CHOULO19

And what does that prove except the double standards that our fans have when it comes to players? The same double standards used to slate Luiz for a mistake and fail to see all of Cahill's and the same double standards that was used to abuse Kalou and make excuses for Torres. Excuse me for saying you do not understand the holding midfielder role but you did name attacking and box-to-box midfielders as alternatives. Not sure what you mean by "he won't elevate a single player's performance" but Mikel unlike Ramires and Luiz allows his partner in the pivot more freedom as well as the fullbacks and even Luiz when he plays at the back. The bit about him being average sounds very convincing but practically equates to nothing since you fail to provide a frame of reference or state what exactly about him is average. Which brings me back to my original question that no one is yet to answer convincingly:

This is exactly why people criticize Mikel, because they don't understand his role and want him to be an attacking midfielder or a B2b midfielder instead of the holding midfielder he is. Fellaini is an attacking midfielder with worse technical ability than Ramires. His sense is positioning is non-existent. Toure is a top player, but he is B2B midfielder without Mikel's distribution and defensive duties. I would agree on Lucas though, before his injuries, he was an excellent holding midfielder. Maka was one of the best holding midfielders in history, you can't write someone off because he isn't as good as Claude; that would be like saying Hazard isn't good enough to be in the starting XI because he is no Zola.

Fine, I'll bite. Who do you think currently in the league is better than Mikel and how (meaning in what areas)? What do you think a holding midfielder for a trophy-seeking team should have that Mikel does not?

I reckon, looking at Arsenal's tough run in they'll drop around 10-12 points; meaning we'll need 21-23 points from the remaining 33 to secure top four. This computes to roughly 6 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. From our remaining matches I think the results will be: Wins: WBA(H), Westham(H), Southampton(A), Sunderland(H), Swansea(H), Villa(A) Draws: Fulham(A), Tottenham(H), Everton(H) Losses: Utd (A), Liverpool (A) It'll be tight, but if we manage not to make some serious f*** ups we should be able to stay in top 4.

@Jim, Did you donate to yourself?

I suggest you make a thread in the tickets and travel section. You'll get some help there.

Actually I remember reading in the loan report that he's been moved back to CB in the past couple of games. And Omeru has been played exclusively at RB for his club but still did wonders at CB in the AFCONs.

That is completely besides the point which is how the team performs with or without Mikel. And just for the record, you never take off your holding midfielder when chasing a game because you need possession first to score. In fact, some old Italian managers used to bring on another holding midfielder when chasing a game to ensure that they have all the possession and keep the pressure on the other team. I think Romeu can be that player if he regains his AVB form. Yes I do think he good enough and keeps getting better. What exactly is note worthy in your opinion? If only goals and assists are noteworthy then why watch games? Just look up the score afterwards..

Oh no, How will I sleep at night?!

I swear I've been through this conversation before with Dionsa

In Terry's case I honestly don't he can play past next season, not just for us. He practically played the quarter of his career through injury and he's starting to pay for that.

Completely agree that we need a new CB but at the same time I think/hope we can afford to give Omeru or Kalas the chance to be that CB.

Right! I remember that one because Krul was about 2 meters off his line to save it! Although the one against Fulham I don't remember.

I still think him and Iva are our best CB pairing atm (since JT is playing with pain killers)

Probably Seriously though I really don't think they have the quality. Their keeper is excellent though which means he'll typical have the game of him life against us.

Wasn't that also the last pen he missed till today or am I forgetting anything?

Boro have been in worse form than us. They don't defend well at all and like to pass the ball from the back which should make it much easier for us. A draw would really screw up our schedule.

It was a very good penalty but an even better save. Ironically, the penalty was probably the best thing he did all match. He seemed to be completely missing, especially in the first half. Did very little defensively and even less on the offence.

Superman form from him today. Was at times defending for both himself and the nonchalant Luiz. He only made two minor mistakes all game which considering the City pressure is pretty good. This is what Garry has the ability to do, unfortunately he is extremely error making him very unlikely to go through many games with as little mistakes as he did today.

Mata's stamina isn't great. He's been run to the ground by Benitez in the past few weeks. Even when he is not tired before a game, his influence decreases greatly in the last 15 mins. We used to slate AVB for often subbing him off in the last 10-15 mins but i guess now we found out why. And no, he did not have a bad game, imo. He had some sublime touches, linked up extremely well with Hazard and tracked back and defended very well in the first half.

What does this have to do with anything? When Mikel came off we didn't create a single chance, conceded a second and barely managed to get the ball out of our half a few times. That's hardly the traits of a team that is chasing the game. I didn't go from anything. I said it was absurd to point him out because there were many defensive mistakes in that goal. I never said he didn't do anything wrong. And yes, you do need the passing stats. It is, after all, the main job of the holding midfielder. Like I said above, how much worse the team plays without him is evidence of how much better he makes the team. I think Chalobah will become a B2B midfielder. We're both just predicting but I'm pretty confident Mikel will deservedly be starting for us for years to come.

Nop. Not sure if he's on the bench or not.