Milan Badelj

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

On 17/11/2016 at 4:08 PM, 11Drogba said:

As a member here who always respects your opinions I got really excited about Badelj after reading this. You usually say "we need a better player" when there is transfer rumor unless the player is legit world class. Could you please elaborate why you think Badelj would be such a great addition to our squad? Is it because of our tactics, his talent, your trust in Conte maybe combination of all those factors? I am especially curious about Badelj's attributes. Is he fast, smart and/or a fighter? Dou you think he is an improvement compared to Mikel as a substitute or to Matic for the first eleven?

I like his talent and I think he is highly suited to the system which has been working so well for us recently.

Badelj is bery competent technically. Unlike so many of the people we've watched toiling for our club, his technique allows him to play with his head up at all times. He doesn't have to focus on the ball  when he is in possession. Instead, his feet take care of the football and his eyes are free to concentrate on what he wants to do with it.

Almost every time a professional player touches the ball, the next thing he must do with it is make a simple pass. Before considering any other attributes therefore, a wise squad builder will establish that potential recruits are outstanding at this task. It sounds a deceptively easy task but just one or two players who are not good enough at it will drain your team of its efficiency.  Poor continuity players make your passing clunky, slow your attack and expose your defence.

It seems to me that our squad builders have never fully bought into this philosophy. As a result, they have produced squads which are forced to huff and puff their way to victories and trophies, instead of being able to rely on the type of football we all yearn to see from Chelsea. Heads-up mastery of the football, combined with two footedness, equips players to be very good at this simple, but crucial, phase of the game. Badelj brings these abilities.

 Such tools alone don't make you a good player. They are entry level skills which give players a platform to build on if they aspire to the top. Badelj builds on them well. He is very offensive minded, accepts the ball under pressure, gets facing forward and has a nice weight of pass.

On the downside, Badelj is not physically strong or bursting with energy. If it were possible to house his technique, and his attitude, in MJO's body, we'd have a perfect midfielder. The Croatian is not perfect, but he would be a very serious improvement to our squad.

Edit: I'm not saying Mikel's technique is poor. That is far from the case but Badelj's is better and his outlook moves his team forward more quickly. My biggest gripe with MJ0 is that too many of his passes are under hit and take too long to get where they are going. A split second difference can change an attacking opportunity into a slow, boring recycling of possession. There are times, and whole games even, when this is exactly what is required; Munich for example. MJ0 just seems stuck in that mode however. It is why, quite rightly in my opinion, he can't get a kick.

[Unionjack 7,531]

Anyone who wants to see the 27 year old in action can tune in to Fiorentina’s game this afternoon against Empoli .

Is he better than Chalobah?

I must say I dont know anything about him apart from Youtubes and interweb reports but he does seem to be a solid strong capable player.

I think what we need in central midfield right now is a more defensive minded, faster Cescy. Now if he fits that then hell yeah.

We have right now 2 very very good midfielders and 1 waiting for his chance that I would stand them up against anyone. But maybe its because theyre working so great together as a team so theyre playing as 1 unit.

So getting in another player is going to be a real gamble no mattewr who it is.

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

He looked decent for Fiorentina earlier when they had the ball v Inter with his passing but without it he along with the rest of the team were all over the place. He looks like he could be too slow for a Conte team in all honesty, like he is slower than Matic and probably as slow as Cesc. Borja Valero is the one guy we should be looking to sign from Fiorentina in my mind, although he is 30 odd and wants to retire there, he was brilliant in the second half when they had a man less and gave them something in the final third and also penetrative passes from deeper.

[the wes 7,212]

http://m.calciomercato.com/en/news/chelsea-prepare-e12m-bid-for-inter-ac-milan-top-target-89698

Chelsea linked to Badelj again