JDY

He played well the other day, but only in the 2nd half when Arsenal had the majority of possession, and Everton were defending deep looking for the counter. Still a very limited player, and this was evident in the first half when Everton had more of the ball. Slow in possession, relies on his physical frame to get him out of trouble rather than his technical ability (or lack of). Caught out of position numerous times resulting in clumsy tackles. Anyone who watches the Belgian national team would know that he's one of the most frustrating players in the team, as Belgium usually have the majority of possession. We have moved away from the sort of team Fellaini would thrive in, so I wouldn't want him here.

Another good display earlier. Tremendous work rate throughout, which was appreciated by the fans at the Cottage .

Cheat0r!

Solid utility man for the better sides, nothing more. Looks like PSG are trying to copy Juve's M.V.P (Marchisio - Vidal - Pirlo/Pogba) with M.V.C (Matuidi - Verratti - Capoue)

Expecting a happy birthday Rafa thread

I just don't see why people have to put a negative spin on everything and can't just be happy that he is doing alright at the moment.

The difference between now and then is that his all round game looks 100x better. Before when he went on a run of scoring, that was all he was doing. He was still his frustrating self in every other aspect. He looks sharper, confident, and is linking play very well at the moment.

Morgan Schneiderlin of course

Or sold to Porto/Benfica for £5, scores for fun then sold for £40m Can't say I know anything about this guy. Although I remember when Nikola Kalinic was meant to be the next Croatian superstar, hasn't gone to plan.

Remember when we used to play Arsenal and they played nice little passes in and around our box, but with no cutting edge, only for us to power through and physically dominate? This reminded me of that, except now we are becoming like Arsenal, and City the old Chelsea. Was at the game also. Such a dire first half and sloppy in the opening minutes of the 2nd half. You can't afford to give a team of that quality a 2 goal lead and expect to come back. As people have said above, the game was lost in the midfield. Overrun is an understatement.

Just above the relegation zone. Remember Gebre Selassie? The Czech RB who was in great form at last summer's Euro's. One of the worst RB's in the Bundesliga, I remember some wanting us to sign him on here.

Very rarely. He usually plays behind the lone striker, or on each side of the band of 3. Earlier in the season he was more CM in 4-3-3. But Schaaf is a bit of an idiot, he changes his formation basically every week. Starts defensive midfielders on the wing one week, then at fullback the next, while playing like 7 attacking midfielders the week after.

Been to every Chelsea game in the FA Cup at Wembley since Boro and we've never lost. Hoping the streak doesn't end on Sunday. I don't hate City but they've been the major problem for us in recent years, especially that c*nt Tevez.

Pretty stacked at RB so not needed. If we were to buy a German RB, my pick would be Tony Jantschke of Gladbach

Strange, a lot of the transfer threads you've made recently are of players I like to watch This guy has been good but inconsistent this season (acceptable giving Frankfurt's position). Think of Ramires but with better technical ability, his long passes in particular are class. His contract is up in 2014 IIRC, so one to keep an eye on.

I'm honestly pretty confident about this tie. The best outcome we could've hoped for in terms of travel and them being the weakest team left in the competition. They may have upset the odds vs Spurs, but Tottenham's defending over the two legs was absolutely horrible. Definitely made Basel look better than what they are.

Put the goals he has scored aside for a moment, his general hold up play recently has been very good, whereas earlier in the season it was infuriating seeing him lose the ball EVERY time he got it. Long live Zorres

Romelu very vocal, Hazard playing with Benteke's ears. And I don't speak French but it sounded like Benteke called someone a c*nt? Lol

This is what people mean when they say they would like a more dynamic player than Mikel: Granted it was a bad ball from Luiz, but in one on one situations it is too easy to bypass Mikel, as he rarely can react in time to make a challenge. This is one of his weaknesses, and in some ways his lack of athleticism inhibits what we can do as a team, i.e. pressing

No praise for his performance today? Lacklustre until he came on and provided the spark.

Different roles. Yacob and Cork both screen the defence and act as the anchor, much like Mikel. Whereas Schneiderlin and Mulumbu have more freedom to join attacks when possible, and in general be the more aggressive player when winning back the ball. In effect Schneiderlin would take Ramires' spot, but that doesn't mean the players mentioned can't adapt.

http://www.eplindex.com/29962/epls-underrated-midfields-tactical-stats-comparison-europes-elite.html Worth a read if you have the time. Severely underrated player.

Anyone catch the match earlier? Kevin was pretty average but so was the whole Bremen team. If you have the chance to see it, have a look at Lukimya's mistakes for both of Schalke's goals. It epitomizes Bremen at the back this season. Promising going forward, disaster waiting to happen in defence.

I think 80% of the people in this thread are aware of what his role entails. The only misconception in here is that if you don't rate Mikel highly, or find him to be decent/average at best, then you don't understand his role. It's extremely annoying seeing people being talked down to like they have no clue. Let's not forget that Mikel is only 25 years old (26 later this month). If he can take his game to the next level in the coming years then great. Look at Michael Carrick, the same role except he's a far more complete player than Mikel. He's having the best season of his career at the age of 31, and I can only see him getting better when he has an aggressive ball winner/box-to-box alongside him next season (can certainly upgrade on Cleverley). To me Mikel is a player that does his job well, but nothing more. Carrick is the best holding player in the league because tactically he is excellent, but on top of that his passing is second to none. He screens the defence expertly and plays incisive pass after incisive pass. By this I don't mean 30 yard defence splitting passes, but ones into dangerous areas between the midfield and defence, where players can pick up the ball and be in positions that open up the play. If Mikel can develop into anything similar then there is no need for the DLP that some are crying out for at the moment. I would prefer a more aggressive B2B alongside him.

Nope, Juventus have the most complete midfield IMO