manpe

Yeah he was LCB, Cahill in center and Luiz on the right. He got outdone on pace several times. His turning and reaction time is bad, I'm afraid he's done on top level.

Speculation.

FYI I tend to edit my posts several times after posting, it's like an OCD I can't help it. You might want to reread some of them, I've corrected some wordings to better reflect what I was thinking.

We are all greedy to an extent. Most people in the world will say that they prefer the employer with the highest salary unless the working conditions are horrible, doesn't mean they think only about money, we just want the best possible conditions for survival and habitat. Generally speaking criticizing people for choosing the highest pay is hypocritical unless you totally exclude that from your decision making. You can make a point that footballers live in a different world, but truth is that the thought processes are the same, we are all human and are conditioned to living in relation to our social status and class, it is just different for millionaires from the class we are accustomed to. Question is if you are evil-greedy (resulting in harm to others) or normal-greedy (no harm to others) I have no problems with the latter. Hell, if Mikel's greed brings good to the less fortunate, then more power to him! Anyway, it seems the discussion over Mikel has dried out, I'm not interested in going philosophical over greed, money and all that. You might have a point and I respect that, I simply think you may be unfair towards him.

Cunt

You have all the right in the world to believe he is a greedy cunt and you COULD be right, but it is all only speculation and shall I say a bit prejudiced? I try to base my judgements on more substantial evidence. In fact I've heard about him doing good things with his money in Nigeria. If he was such a nuisance to the club, then they would have no problem ostracizing and forcing him out like they did with Bogarde, Malouda and I think also Anelka and Alex? Mourinho did that to Schweinsteiger for unknown reasons and he's not a worse footballer than Mikel. I haven't seen anybody saying or hinting anything bad about him, people who have actually worked with him. I don't recall any controversies and scandals surrounding him either, I believe he's a decent man the way he comes across, just not a very gifted footballer. He's survived every manager who all have found a way to utilize him. The club has extended his contract several times and it's not because everybody in the club hates him and wants him out. Maybe they do now and I believe he will go.

Top players wouldn't accept that, never said he was a top player, but he knows his limitations and is loyal enough to have accepted an in-and-out role. A squad cannot comprise only of top players who will throw their toys out of pram when they are benched, you cannot have a balanced squad without the Moseses, Mikels, Ferreiras etc. You automatically assume they simply don't care, are greedy and only want to milk money, but I base my judgement on what they say and do. Nothing Mikel has done or said makes me believe he is the next Bogarde. I choose to compliment and support our player in his decisions when it doesn't harm the club.

I separate attitude towards his job and playing skills on the pitch (aggression). Not the same things for me. You can then also say his attitude towards passing and quickness is crap, but I still categorize that under playing skills, which I agree are lacking. Paulo Ferreira also never was very competitive, but he was universally recognized as having great attitude and being a useful player. It doesn't mean they lack ambition or whatever. Mikel even said he wants to fight his way back to the team, but as this is obviously not happening I believe he will finally move on in January/summer.

I can't believe some people still believe that it was Carlo who signed him. Do you really think Roman was like "Okay Carlo, I don't trust you and am thinking of sacking you if things don't improve, but I will dish out club record fee for goldilocks just because you said so". Bullshit, it was the biggest marquee signing the club has ever made, otherwise they wouldn't have paid this insane money just because Carlo, who was sacked shortly after, wanted him. And the way the club held onto him showed that they were desperate to make it work regardless if other managers after Carlo wanted him. He might not have been against it and maybe even was warm to the idea, but I am 100% sure it was the club who went out and got him and would have done so regardless of the manager. People need to understand how transfers work(ed) in this club, especially for such money... it has little to do with the manager.

How did I contradict myself? That's what I said, he's too mellow to be a major player, and rightfully so he isn't.

Why no blame for the board? Do you think Ancelotti alone was at fault for this stagnation? It could be seen coming miles away, but the club did nothing, they even made it worse with Torres.

That is an excellent point. Willian and Hazard both operate more inside as playmakers, but when you have no runners then your playmakers can suffer. Pedro is the runner we lost with Schürrle, speaking of which I now think that having Schürrle here would have been great with Conte. We let go some really good players who would have been of great use right now. Pedro is not the best player in the world, but we need him in this collective not least because of lack of an alternative to someone who brings what he brings to the team. He's an unselfish team player with a great drive to do well whenever given the opportunity, let's recognize that when we also slate him for his deficiencies that he certainly has.

A bit strange line-up, don't really see how it fits unless he's playing some different formation. But I trust in Conte to know what he's doing.

Rest is overrated this season - no European football and travelling that comes with it. One of them can easily play this one and rest some other time. West Ham are no walk in a park, so we can't take this lightly, domestic cups are the best chance of glory we have this season. Shuffle the squad a bit, but don't fold completely. We have no adequate depth to replace both and expect same results.

Reading this makes me wonder why Luiz is the middle man not Cahill. Luiz is faster and more aggressive, not known to be very tactically disciplined either. Judging by those criteria they should swap places with the slower and less aggressive Cahill.

Tapatalk

Whatever we say about him, his attitude has always been top notch and is one of the good guys. Been a loyal and useful servant all these years. Still remember the young Mikel who we nicked right under SAF's nose, it seemed like he used to get booked or suspended every other game Shame he couldn't keep some of that aggression in his later career, has become far too mellow to be a major player.

Yeah, all too familiar. And it's not like he's instigating this on purpose like he used to, he's just lost control.

Can't watch the video now, but fluidity and covering is something I have noticed too. With 3 at the back, we have great defensive solidity, area coverage and also have the option of one of them pushing forward when it's safe/necessary to increase numbers in midfield. Azpi and Luiz do that occasionally. We are better in possession too because the backline can afford to push higher up now without Ivanovic holding them back while the most dangerous areas are covered.. and instead of having 2 options to pass at the back, we have 3 and that is harder for the opposition to press because they would need to commit more players forward leaving them more exposed. We are using the confusion to our advantage at the moment, it's a matter of time before others start adapting their plans to our new shape and we need to be prepared for that. Honestly, the more I think about this formation, the more I realize how clever it is and how shit 4-2-3-1 was.

He still writes articles regularly, but hasn't visited the forum since last thursday which is odd. Guess interest has gone and focus shifted to homepage, a shame if true. If that's the case then he should find and appoint another member with IP Board experience to micromanage cases like this if he's not up for it anymore. Perhaps blocking ads in mass by all the frustrated users to protest would catch some attention? Or is it too low?

Didn't know he used to be a ballboy at Chelsea as a kid, imagine going from that to playing against United for the first team. True blue.

Shows he's an intelligent fella not looking to stay in his comfort zone Anybody signing for Chelsea took a huge risk, last season it was more of a "break" rather than "make" place for players to be and a player with his choice of suitors chose the most risky option.

Link? Can't quite understand what you mean by hands off approach.

That's sad. I was just thinking a bit earlier, that the whole situation is sad really. He is so angry and even looks ill these days, I cannot recognize the confident and bold Jose of before. He looks totally shattered, his increasingly aggressive comments and behaviour are a sign of lack of confidence in himself and it has forced him to go on the defensive. Real truly broke him. For the first time he was at a place where he wasn't adored, where he wasn't managing the outsiders anymore, where the us against the world rhetoric didn't work anymore, and had very heavy expectations on him from the get go with any kind of failure going under heavy scrutiny. It seems to have truly broken him, I take no real joy in his demise, after all it's still the same Jose Mourinho who absolutely without a doubt deservedly is a legend here. I just wish he had gone somewhere abroad, taken on another outsider team with potential where his methods would have worked and where he wouldn't have so much constant pressure.

It was a dumb bet from the beginning, sorry for saying that. I think now it's best to see it out or wait until you get a better offer. He will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season provided he stays injury free.