Axel Witsel

[Kisho 33]

Spain was very different. Everyone knew Spain was incredibly talented and their national team players were excellent and pretty much all playing at a high level. The problem was that they were always falling apart and under-performing. These were teams filled with fabulous players. Raul, Hierrro, Zubbizaratta, Guardiola etc..They were also making tournaments and doing OK in them but just not winning. They got to the quarter-finals in the World Cup in 86, 94, and 02. They got to the quarter finals in the Euro in 96 and 00. Belgium has not even qualified for their last 5 attempts at the Euro and World Cup. Belgium is currently the 53rd ranked team in the world. It's like comparing England (disappointing, often advance past the group stage, but never win) to Scotland (almost never get in.) Also,this generation of players generally first started playing regularly for Spain around 2004 and really became the core of the squad in 2006 when they made it to the round of 16 in the World Cup. The disappointments belonged to a different generation. On the other hand, it was this generation of Belgian players that finished third in qualifying. It was Fellaini, Hazard, Dembele, Witsel, etc...

My point is that if these Belgian players were all as good as people said they were, they would be cruising through the group stages of the Euro tournament. England won their group and the team was quite poor. I bet if you asked people here who had a more talented squad, many, if not most people would say Belgium but it's not true. I think a lot of this is the tendency to overrate players that we don't see as much which is something that happens constantly when assessing transfers. Now, I think Belgium is likely to make the World Cup. Their qualifying group is very easy and they should be improving, but this past qualifying for the Euro has all of these supposed excellent players and they finished with something like the 22nd best record in qualifying. This is not slight on Witsel or on any particular player for Belgium, just that I can't believe that all these players are great.

I have the same concern

[Superblue 6,372]

Spain was very different. Everyone knew Spain was incredibly talented and their national team players were excellent and pretty much all playing at a high level. The problem was that they were always falling apart and under-performing. These were teams filled with fabulous players. Raul, Hierrro, Zubbizaratta, Guardiola etc..They were also making tournaments and doing OK in them but just not winning. They got to the quarter-finals in the World Cup in 86, 94, and 02. They got to the quarter finals in the Euro in 96 and 00. Belgium has not even qualified for their last 5 attempts at the Euro and World Cup. Belgium is currently the 53rd ranked team in the world. It's like comparing England (disappointing, often advance past the group stage, but never win) to Scotland (almost never get in.) Also,this generation of players generally first started playing regularly for Spain around 2004 and really became the core of the squad in 2006 when they made it to the round of 16 in the World Cup. The disappointments belonged to a different generation. On the other hand, it was this generation of Belgian players that finished third in qualifying. It was Fellaini, Hazard, Dembele, Witsel, etc...

My point is that if these Belgian players were all as good as people said they were, they would be cruising through the group stages of the Euro tournament. England won their group and the team was quite poor. I bet if you asked people here who had a more talented squad, many, if not most people would say Belgium but it's not true. I think a lot of this is the tendency to overrate players that we don't see as much which is something that happens constantly when assessing transfers. Now, I think Belgium is likely to make the World Cup. Their qualifying group is very easy and they should be improving, but this past qualifying for the Euro has all of these supposed excellent players and they finished with something like the 22nd best record in qualifying. This is not slight on Witsel or on any particular player for Belgium, just that I can't believe that all these players are great.

I understand the concerns but a couple of things to consider -

Firstly the Euro 12 qualifying started in 2010. A lot of the Belgian players gaining big reputations are very young and would have had even less experience 2 years ago. Even the more experienced 'go to' players in the squad like kompany, vermaelen and fellaini have improved drastically in that time.

The other problem for Belgium is they don't have a top class striker. Anyone could see against England they are a talented bunch but they lack a goalscorer. It's why hopes are pinned so high on

Lukaku.

One of spain's big positives IMO is that a core group play in the same club side (barcelona) and ironically Chelsea could potentially have that effect in the future on the Belgium team.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

I understand the concerns but a couple of things to consider -

Firstly the Euro 12 qualifying started in 2010. A lot of the Belgian players gaining big reputations are very young and would have had even less experience 2 years ago. Even the more experienced 'go to' players in the squad like kompany, vermaelen and fellaini have improved drastically in that time.

The other problem for Belgium is they don't have a top class striker. Anyone could see against England they are a talented bunch but they lack a goalscorer. It's why hopes are pinned so high on

Lukaku.

One of spain's big positives IMO is that a core group play in the same club side (barcelona) and ironically Chelsea could potentially have that effect in the future on the Belgium team.

Spain played the Euro without a striker and won! I generally agree with you that Belgian players were younger then and so on, but even so, I have a very difficult time believing that this group of Belgian players are all stars. This is nothing against Belgians, they have a young and exciting squad, it's just the fact that people almost always overrated players that they hardly ever see.

[Superblue 6,372]

Spain played the Euro without a striker and won! I generally agree with you that Belgian players were younger then and so on, but even so, I have a very difficult time believing that this group of Belgian players are all stars. This is nothing against Belgians, they have a young and exciting squad, it's just the fact that people almost always overrated players that they hardly ever see.

Spain didn't play much of the Euros without a striker but were still top goalscorers as they have a number of attacking players with a good end product in the final third of the pitch. At the moment the only player of real quality in that area for Belgium is Hazard and he is only 21 himself.

The glut of their talent at the moment is in defence (Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Kompany) and in deeper midfield positions (Fellaini, Witsel, Dembele) which also explains the problems they are currently experiencing. If Lukaku can become a pretty decent striker over the next couple of seasons with still the potential to progress it will make a lot of difference IMO. The other thing is that a lot of the players in the squad now still have years left in them, and there is a big pool of talent emerging so I think it is too early to judge Belgium at the moment. They are on the verge of becoming a very good team, and the acid test for them will be to qualify for the 2014 World Cup which will give this crop of players a big experience of tournament football at international level. I believe Euro 2016 will be when their true potential is realised.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Spain didn't play much of the Euros without a striker but were still top goalscorers as they have a number of attacking players with a good end product in the final third of the pitch. At the moment the only player of real quality in that area for Belgium is Hazard and he is only 21 himself.

The glut of their talent at the moment is in defence (Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Kompany) and in deeper midfield positions (Fellaini, Witsel, Dembele) which also explains the problems they are currently experiencing. If Lukaku can become a pretty decent striker over the next couple of seasons with still the potential to progress it will make a lot of difference IMO. The other thing is that a lot of the players in the squad now still have years left in them, and there is a big pool of talent emerging so I think it is too early to judge Belgium at the moment. They are on the verge of becoming a very good team, and the acid test for them will be to qualify for the 2014 World Cup which will give this crop of players a big experience of tournament football at international level. I believe Euro 2016 will be when their true potential is realised.

I think you are exaggerating the youth of the team. Witsel is 23, Fellaini is 24, Dembele is 24. Kompany is 26, Vermaelen is 26. Lukaku is very young and Hazard is only 21 but that's it for extremely young players. 23-24 is an age where many top players have already started to establish themselves. Look at Spain. Alba is 23, Mata is 24, Sergio is 23, Pedro is 24, Fabergas is 25, Pique is 25. (Yes, I know they have older, superstar players, but I am simply saying that 23 or 24 is old enough where you should be producing results. Anyway, this has gotten off topic.I just think that the talent of a player like Witsel is being massively overstated.

[mediator 2,026]

Axel Witsel's sister, Whitney : http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/8012/photo/photoalbum/detail/1359332/1059598/2/La-soeur-de-Witsel-en-cheerleader.dhtml

[DDA 9,985]

Axel Witsel's sister, Whitney : http://www.7sur7.be/...eerleader.dhtml

She'll do !

[Superblue 6,372]

I think you are exaggerating the youth of the team. Witsel is 23, Fellaini is 24, Dembele is 24. Kompany is 26, Vermaelen is 26. Lukaku is very young and Hazard is only 21 but that's it for extremely young players. 23-24 is an age where many top players have already started to establish themselves. Look at Spain. Alba is 23, Mata is 24, Sergio is 23, Pedro is 24, Fabergas is 25, Pique is 25. (Yes, I know they have older, superstar players, but I am simply saying that 23 or 24 is old enough where you should be producing results. Anyway, this has gotten off topic.I just think that the talent of a player like Witsel is being massively overstated.

I actually meant there are reportedly a number of highly rated young Belgians coming under Hazard's age group still in their teens. The current stars you mentioned in the national team will be important over the next few years as they will provide real experience within this squad which they perhaps didn't have enough of in 2010. They seem to be going through a spell of producing good players, whether that materialises or not who knows?

On the subject of Witsel, I don't know much about him. I know he was highly rated at Standard and saw him a couple of times against Liverpool I think and he impressed, I have watched him a couple of times for Benfica and Belgium since and he seems to have developed but I haven't watched enough of him to be able to give a constructive opinion of him I feel.

[mediator 2,026]

Why Witsel is a great prospect : http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18310262

England vs Belgium 2th june.

"Belgium had only had one player sitting in midfield: Axel Witsel..."

"Belgium's sole defensive midfielder Axel Witsel had the highest pass completion rate of players that started and finished the game (98.1%)".

He mastered the midfield, once again.

[Hamilton 2,120]

Witsel with an excellent dribble and assist today in a friendly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e_xecX19c8M#!

[Duppy Conqueror 1,557]

He can play cm, cam, or RW too. The most versatile player ever. Always 200%, won't never see a bad game of him.

He's got 3 lungs

he can play 3 positions. norman whiteside and clayton blackmore played every position apart from goalkeeper. dave webb played an entire game for chelsea in goal.his normal position was CB and sometimes FB he played in Midfield a few times too. John Charles one of the greatest players in the world in his day slipped into CB when the other team had the ball and stormed upfield to play his base position of CF when his team was attacking. the ultimate version of a box to box player.

that`s just 4...there`s plenty more i could call upon.

i know ever is a nice short word to use but it doesn`t have to be thrown about so lightly.

[Hamilton 2,120]

He scored a header today against Real Madrid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgBQlsvrpMs&feature=youtube_gdata

[Heisenberg 1,824]

He is good but we have too much midfielders now.

[OneMoSalah 8,889]

Don't Benfica not want 31 million for him, that is basically like dealing with Porto. Far too fucking much!!!

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

Mikel has been terrible in the past few games, I hope he can step it up. Essien was looking alright in pre-season, lamps still not good enough and Romeu is still too come.

However, Witsels versatility and playing style could be exactly what we need to reach that balance. Always giving 100% and could add that aggression in midfield to complement and ease; Hazard, Oscar and Mata's defensive responsibilities.

[Dylan_91 90]

i think were in need of a decent dm and i think he would suit us perfectly. Hopefully him or tiote but for some reason rdm believes lampard and mikel are a good enough cm partnership when theyre clearly not. cant remember the last game we actually controlled the match

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

Mikel has been terrible in the past few games, I hope he can step it up. Essien was looking alright in pre-season, lamps still not good enough and Romeu is still too come.

However, Witsels versatility and playing style could be exactly what we need to reach that balance. Always giving 100% and could add that aggression in midfield to complement and ease; Hazard, Oscar and Mata's defensive responsibilities.

yeah but it would be him and rambo to help ease their lack of defense responsibilites, but hazard is not in that group for me, he is very good at chasing back ball when he feels it was his fault or even in just regualr play.

axel is exactly the rodwell type only more finished product.

but if we want to replace mikel with almost 30mill target

imagine price for lamps replacement--good thing we got KDB!

[JDY 1,290]

Witsel is the complete midfielder. Great debut season for Benfica but too pricey. Has about 4 years let on his contract so Benfica have every right to be demanding so much.

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

yeah but it would be him and rambo to help ease their lack of defense responsibilites, but hazard is not in that group for me, he is very good at chasing back ball when he feels it was his fault or even in just regualr play.

axel is exactly the rodwell type only more finished product.

but if we want to replace mikel with almost 30mill target

imagine price for lamps replacement--good thing we got KDB!

I've seen Witsel play as a midfielder, attacking midfielder and a right winger. He is so versatile and still manages to maintain such a high level of performance. Also I'd say Oscar has the best defensive awareness of the aforementioned trio but that's why our pivot has such a responsibility. We can't hold the ball like Barca but have players who are of that frame. Essien has been alright pre-season but we need a consistent beast in the mould of Witsel or even Fellaini that could help us control a midfield again. It's been too long since we've done that!

From a last 4 defeats a concerning problem has been our inability to keep a balance and I think a lot of that is down to the pivot with Lampard who still loves to run forward leaving Mikel with a big responsibility that he hasn't been able fulfill. Either they start working in the tandem of a few seasons ago or somebody is going to lose their starting place. For me both of them aren't anywhere near there best, and age isn't on Lampard's side so he's going to have to learn to look at his place in the starting eleven realistically.

For so many reasons I think Witsel would be perfect, he embodies the quintessential definition of a complete midfielder. However we face stiff competition from Madrid and United. Rumors have also calmed down from our links to him but I hope we don't let him go to United or Real so easily.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

@Eviltwinz93, he's belgian case closed.... nah but i agrre with your drift.

when the season ended, we al came here and said we need what (expensive cm (luka) or expensive winger(hulk)) and this was after the hazard signing. we got another CAM (oscar) and although i like the idea, it didnt adress any of our needs now did it? we gota hope that axel stays one more season there so we can be in the chase next tranfer window but if things heat up now we are fukin doomed! this is when i goo back to roman's meeting with scheinsteiger and hope it benefits us in near future.

your right, i dont think we can boss anybody in terms of possesion. but if vs wigan we can muster 60% and do that continuously vs lower teams then all is good in my eyes and it all comes down to finishing. but if vs the munich's barca's and madrid's of the world if we decide to counter-attack then thats fine as well only thing is that we'd need a more than capable dm who can pas ahead oh himself instead of behind 70% of the time. and that where axel will be really needed.