robsblubot

that's one big assumption: that our midfield problems are caused exclusively by the limitations of our double pivot and has nothing to do with the AMs who roam in front of them. I personally think it's the latter. The number of players committed to defending is very telling: (aside from back line) 2 CMs and one AM (oscar) who has some aptitude to the task (despite his frail build). The others are absolutely terrible at defending. Other top sides have more rounded players in attacking positions.

I'm glad Mourinho phoned him, because I'm sure Ramires is feeling a bit down for not being part of the Conf. Cup Brazil selection, which makes his World Cup participation an uphill battle. Brazil are also missing him dearly. It's difficult to understand Scolari's logic or lack there of, when he calls up absolute cunts like Ronaldinho (recently dropped from the NT though) and Jo, or players that simply don't belong there such as L.Gustavo and Fred (can barely move) and leave out Ramires for being late once... A player who has always given 100% for club and Brazil.

Agreed. RVP had a terrible 2010 WC too. What I like about Cavani is that even when he's not at his best, he still works for the team. He should've scored for sure though, as that Nigeria team was a lot worse than I had anticipated. That's what I'm afraid of concerning Rooney: Rooney is either on fire or absent, and lately he's been more absent than on fire.

that's a lot of 'ifs'... I look a Rooney and he looks heavier than he did before, so perhaps the player you've been referring to is no more?! I'm not saying he's trash and he should retire, but I still remember the whole Torres ordeal, and Torres too did not look like the player he once was. And he certainly wasn't and isn't worth 50M.

I thought the whole point of signing expensive players was to have better options than our opponents... For me if Rooney isn't good enough to start for United because frankly, RVP is just a lot better than him, then he isn't good enough for Chelsea.

Yes a good goal; something that most if not all midfielders do more often than Mikel does. Wouldn't mind one bit if Mikel did more of that in the BPL next season. Perhaps an assist here and there too. I, and I guess others here, just don't see that happening based on nothing more than his own stats.

Aside from poor finishing he had a good game; Brazil got much worse when he tired and then replaced by Lucas. He's certainly an interesting player because of his strength and work rate (decent defending too). His finishing has just not been working for him lately. Certainly not worth the price tag at the moment though.

The game against Tahiti again... :banghead: BTW, bullshit: Xavi (La Liga): Apps 24(6) Goals 5 Assists 8 Modric: 25(8) 3 3 You prob meant Xabi, not Xavi. Xabi: 22(6) - 5 (he was better attacking @pool) Khedira: 19(6) 3 2 BPL: Carrick: 34(2) 1 4 Toure: 32 7 5 Arteta: 34 6 3 Mikel: 19(3) - - Only (top side) BPL holding mid with (almost) just as poor attacking stats is (coming from career-threatening injury) Lucas Leiva from lpool. Lucas: 24(2) - 1 And I believe he's got far better defensive stats than Mikel. ... BTW, Modric is overrated IMO.

Your original point is fair, but logically it would have to apply to other midfielders who eventually replace Mikel. And we see that they ALL (even Luiz who isn't a midfielder) do a better job linking up with the same midfielders Mikel has trouble with. Whoever replaces Mikel also scores goals and assists, yes, even Luiz! Perhaps the problem lies in Mikel himself?! BTW, Don't think the 3 AMs are that similar: both Mata and Hazard like to keep the ball, but Mata will try to pick up a pass or an assist, while Hazard will burst and try to beat his marker one way or another. Oscar is more alike Mata than Hazard, but he does not keep the ball for long, can track back and does a decent job defending deep in the mf. Both Mata and Hazard are really poor markers.

It has been pointed out that Falcao has been nullified plenty of times because he just doesn't know how to play with his back to the goal; he needs space to use his high energy and great off the ball movement. I haven't watched Cavani much, but he did impress me more than Falcao in the games I've watched. However, he also seemed like a player who is more comfortable facing the goal and on the move, rather than with his back to the goal. Is my impression correct or he is really more rounded than Falcao?

sorry, but I disagree. It wasn't the same pass as the entire defense was in line (a player is offside in the pic BTW). It was an easy pass to pick, and kudos to him for picking it. Come on, any midfielder picks one of these passes once in a while (did it myself many times), it's not that difficult. Oscar's one was far more difficult because how fast and dynamic the play was and because the opposition was not completely shit like Tahiti. Let me emphasize that point: Mikel isn't shit (regardless how you rate him), but Tahiti's National Team is. Now, how many assists does Mikel have in the PL? We know how many goals he's got... So, that's one player our opponent does not have to mark, because they know nothing is going to come from him. So, however good Mikel may be in defense (sometimes he is sometimes not so much IMO), the fact he is so poor attacking is always going to be an issue.

anyone counting how many MOTM for Brazil?! I've honestly lost count already... 5-7 in a row? watching him dictate Brazil's game is such a joy. He's turning into a really cerebral creative mid! And scores too!

I'd go for Damiao at this point. He's injured and haven't been playing very well lately... perfect time for an honest bid.

Top clubs willing to splash the cash for Luiz should be a all the evidence one needs to understand that he is one of the best CBs in the world. Just come up with a list of CBs who are valued 30m+ and you will notice how short the list actually is. Valuation of a player is not debatable as it does not represent individual preferences or opinions; it's the market talking. All defenders make mistakes especially positional ones! David is the CB who chases and pressurises the ball, which exposes him more to scrutinization. The other CB then has a much easier time and will look 'cool' and composed because of David's work. His high aggression and pace are obviously valued by other clubs and managers. Brazil are weak in 'D' because of the fullbacks who can't defend for their lives. That's why scolari has been employing 2 strong holding mids protecting the defense. Unfortunately, it won't work too well when the opponent can use the wings effectively. Fred is also a very limited striker IMO. Not to mention Julio Cesar, the GK, who is just past it. All in all, Brazil are only a good team with a couple of truly great players (Oscar and Neymar), who may be just too young to cut it at this level.

agreed, but, and it is a big 'but', is Moses good enough to win games?! So, we are in a pickle, and the manager looks at the bench and sees Moses sitting there and tells him, "you are next." So far he hasn't been able to win games or make a huge impact coming off the bench and I reckon he just doesn't have the ability. I guess I've just seen too many wingers come and go, dunno. So, is being a squad player, a decent cheap (like you said) homegrown player good enough for Chelsea? Don't we need options that can make a difference coming off the bench? Look at City and United. They've got the likes of Dzeko, Rooney, Nani, Valencia, Giggs, Nasri, Hernandez, sitting on the bench. That's the dilemma we have: develop youngsters, some of which have the ability to become great players, or have the strength in depth to win matches, at least as good as our rivals. BTW, both Mickel and Moses will be representing Nigeria, if they catch the next flight to Rio that is (missed the first one because of bonus disputes), in the confederations cup. Think their first match is on Monday. It's a semi serious competition in my book; top countries are more worried about injuries than anything else, but they know it's a good opportunity to get their game going. Traditionally whoever wins the Conf cup does very poorly in the world cup that follows. BTW, Marin hasn't really produced anything at Chelsea just yet, so there is no comparison.

If he is indeed on or around 80K a week, then yeah you are dead on.

When you bring up Mikel's performances in the AFCON (not really important to me), I feel entitled to also bring many other players/options into discussion. This guy is in his second season as a starter for Gremio (Brazil Serie A). He's extremely consistent, being chosen MOTM several times. He has recently become a sure call up for brazil and has started a few games against top teams. He's extremely quick recovering which makes him very difficult to beat. IMO he'd be less of a bet than Mikel is at this point; I guess we disagree here. Let's also disagree on the requirements of the role too, because for me knowing he has to cover here and/or there does not mean he *can* do it. That player must posses the quickness to move into the areas where he is needed and do so in time. His lack of pace is not even the biggest problem I have with his game, though it is probably the cause of it: he's a one trick pony. Holding mids like Mikel are obsolete. The top sides do not employ pure defensive players in the midfield and there is a reason for that.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/shakhtar-signs-gremios-fernando-133600671--sow.html Brazil-international who has started several times for Brazil (only 21) sold for 11m. BTW, reaction time and pace are IMO the most important attributes for the role of someone who has to provide cover.

You are right, but these types of players, who sit deep and do little else, are out of fashion these days. Even on this thread we have trouble finding another (top club) player who shares the same characteristics. All we find are players far more mobile and rounded than Mikel. The stats posted here about the win ratio with and without Mikel are very telling: at the very least his style does not seem to fit the current system.

Sanity says, "perhaps time to switch to another target..."

Tal Ben Haim was the worst defender I've ever seen playing for a top club... ever. thankfully we did not keep him for long.

Don't believe it either. I do believe that Mourinho can make David an even better CB. However, I reckon it will be difficult for him to work on his concentration in defense without losing some of his attacking aptitude (e.g. fantastic long balls/assist). It's understandable that his attacking focus demands some level of concentration which is taken away from his defensive game. Perhaps Mourinho will be able to help David to strike that balance, or perhaps he will decide that David would lose too much by becoming the CB Mourinho needs and so use him the middle. We will find out soon enough.

That's not true. Mourinho will get swathes of information on the current squad. He will also receive insider's info from the staff , which includes a lot more data/stats than what we have access to (for example fitness levels). It is likely Mikel will get a chance, esp if we don't sign a new holding mid, but I'd not believe for a second that Mikel's performance last season won't be taken into account by the new management. BTW, that's assuming Essien does not regain some form.

could not disagree more. There is a lot better football to be watched instead. When an African nation win something or at least make it to a freaking final somewhere, anywhere, then we can have a discussion about quality. BTW, I invite you to watch every state cup in Brazil. You will get to watch countless 'divisionless' teams playing against the few top sides who are coming from vacation. There will be countless matches to watch. They are all crap, but only after you watch a few matches from one of the states' cup you can then move on to the next state. There are many states, so you will be quite busy for a while...

One does not need to actually watch the games to have an opinion. Suffice to look at their World Cup record and compare it to other continents/zones. Another piece of evidence is the performance of our players when playing for their countries: regardless of how you rate Mikel, he is certainly not as dominant in the BPL; same goes for Moses. In football, respect is earned and the African nations haven't yet done that.