Who Should Take Over The Makelele Holding Role?

[the wes 7,212]

what do you think lads

[Akemisu 0]

Lets live life on the edge...

..at least for a while.

[pablo814 1]

lets play it by ear and see what happens, but if we do need a holder, I say Mikel. Essien is too valuable with the ball to be a d-man, even tho he is fully capable as well...

[Kez 2,727]

Tough one, I would like to see us be more adventurous but if that dont work then Mikel, Essien is a powerhouse going forward

[Badboy 1,526]

Lol :lol: :lol: :lol: who voted Nobody! Abandon it and be more adventurous!

[Aesthetic Relic 301]

After watching the game the other day, I dont think its a case of replacing Maka. More of a case of changing the way we play.

PS seemed to play with 2 midfielders in front of the back 4. A tactic seen alot of in the Euros. If we play Mikel and Essien there then I'll be fine with that. but it does have its negative points. I've a feeling he'll obviously be playing Deco for the majority of the games so that only leaves 1 midfield position open if he's going to play 2 up front.

It would be hard to pick between Lampard, Ballack and Joe Cole as to who would start.

If he picks a different formation on Saturday then at least we'll know that there is going to be something other than plan "A" once the season starts.

[warnie_666 1,081]

After watching the game the other day, I dont think its a case of replacing Maka. More of a case of changing the way we play.

PS seemed to play with 2 midfielders in front of the back 4. A tactic seen alot of in the Euros. If we play Mikel and Essien there then I'll be fine with that. but it does have its negative points. I've a feeling he'll obviously be playing Deco for the majority of the games so that only leaves 1 midfield position open if he's going to play 2 up front.

It would be hard to pick between Lampard, Ballack and Joe Cole as to who would start.

If he picks a different formation on Saturday then at least we'll know that there is going to be something other than plan "A" once the season starts.

Well....he picked the 4-2-3-1 initially as it involves alot of ball possesion nad less running. He used it because it was our first match. But later he changed it to hes more preferred formation that is 4-3-3. And according to Mikel and Carvalho, he would be sticking to 4-3-3.

either ways we have 3 positions for 5 quality midfield players. Not all of them are going to play all the matches. So that shouldnt be a problem.

Edited July 24, 2008 by warnie_666

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

Sheva will make the role his own.

[EskWeston 696]

No-one will play the role like Maka did. We will have to adapt the way we play to compensate for that, Mikel will the deepest laying midfielder but he will still get forward plenty i feel. We will play different formations with different players. The key thing is that we have plenty of options to be able to change when we need to, and i think we do have that,

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

No-one will play the role like Maka did. We will have to adapt the way we play to compensate for that, Mikel will the deepest laying midfielder but he will still get forward plenty i feel. We will play different formations with different players. The key thing is that we have plenty of options to be able to change when we need to, and i think we do have that,

Agree, there'll be no one person playing that role -he created that job for himself and no one could touch him. Now different formations will apply.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Essien is the better defensively out of he and Mikel, but he's also the better going forward, and his runs going forward will be key to our attacking success. However we will just have to change our formation to cater for the players, which may see Mikel AND Essien shielding the backline.

[EskWeston 696]

Essien is the better defensively out of he and Mikel, but he's also the better going forward, and his runs going forward will be key to our attacking success. However we will just have to change our formation to cater for the players, which may see Mikel AND Essien shielding the backline.

We will see a role completely different to the one Maka did, Maka would sit there all game and snuff out attacks. Now like we saw on Wednesday we will most likely see 2 banks of midfielders, neither of which are "defensive" in the way Maka was....

It seems that we almost always play with 2 in the CM positions, playing the natural midfield role - then we will see either 2 attacking mids ahead like we saw with Frank and Deco, or we will see 3 attacking mids ahead - 2 of them being wingers.

It is something very new for us, but progressive and i think will work for us very well considering the players we have at our disposal.

[zinctek 402]

yeah i think no 1 can replace maka! top player, 1 of Chelsea's best players. essien shouldnt play that role he needs to play more up there than in the back!

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

Why I Left- Makalele

"I would have been more comfortable staying at Chelsea," he told Le Parisien.

"There, you are forced to be at your best and concentrate all the time and that’s how I like to be. I have always worked like that.

"Your level drops when you are in a situation where you can take it easy. Football is not easy. People think that it is easy when you are at a big club and you have made it. But it is not.

"You have to constantly prove yourself every day.

"The main difference between Chelsea and PSG is on the pitch.

"I have my family and friends here. I had to come back because it is the right time as I am still fresh.

"I signed for a year with the option of another one."

Setanta Sports

[terry26 6]

i voted for nobody

not just for adventurous play but i think forcing ess or obi to play the maka role would be stifling their natural game

[True_Blue 469]

I voted for Mikel,but i doubt we will play with a defensive midfielder under Scolari.

[the wes 7,212]

John Obi Mikel is confident that he can step into the boots of Claude Makelele at Chelsea. The Blues parted company with the veteran holding midfielder last week, allowing the Frenchman to join Paris Saint Germain.

"I played that role sometimes last season and hopefully I'll have a long run in the team now," said Mikel.

"It's something I've wanted - a run in the team - and I suppose Claude's departure has opened up that door for me, but I was playing in that role when I was in the team last season too.

"I was in and out of the team last season, but when I was given a chance under (former manager Jose) Mourinho before, I actually did okay in that holding role. I think I did very well under Mourinho and was playing regularly.

"Of course, when a new manager comes in everyone has to start afresh and roll up their sleeves. In Avram Grant's time I was in and out of the side, and that was a bit frustrating, but it's what happens in football.

"This time, under the new boss, I will try to make it my position in the team each week."

http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=103989

[Badboy 1,526]

The people who say nobody, know nothing about football nothing at all.

Edited July 25, 2008 by Badboy