Michael Ballack

[EskWeston 696]

He should be dropped , but to just discard him would be foolish imo. Had he put the one at the end away, or the header there wouldnt be these posts.

Malouda and Ballack could be replaced by Stoch and Mancienne, but I dont agree with some of the Kalou bashing thats appeared of late...

Kalou hasn't been on form of late for sure, but he can always make something happen.

The thing with Ballack for me is that we have Mikel, Essien and Lampard as our best midfield. We need to make space in our squad to allow us to build something for going forward with our ageing squad.......

[Badboy 1,526]

We really need to get malouda and ballack off the wage bill malouda is just chillin !

Edited March 11, 2009 by Badboy

[Alee. 182]

I agree he is just a goal post in the midfield !

No, when the ball touches him, there isnt a chance that it'll go in the net hence making him quite more useless.

[Matterz 67]

Do thnk he is getting on a bit, can be world class, just doesnt seem to happen all that often these days. Gives away a lot of free kicks and loses the ball often too, would still prefer to see someone younger and more of a playmaker come in for him Like Van Der Vaart or maybe even Diego

[the wes 7,212]

11:00 AM 24 April, 2009 Zenit St Petersburg could be about to move for Chelsea Football Club’s Michael Ballack.

Although the Blues have extended the Germany international’s stay at Stamford Bridge until the end of the season, Zenit have placed him at the top of their wanted list.

The Russian giants are set to offer Ballack a hugely-lucrative package to make the move, and German legend Lothar Matthaus believes a transfer could be on the cards.

"At Chelsea Ballack is just present rather than right in the thick of things,” he told Sport Bild. “He is a nominal player at the big London club - that is not an insult.

"The squad is packed with top stars. To establish yourself as a leading player there is hard. Ballack has not managed it. He is always in the first team. The question is only: for how much longer?"

[thejolta 1]

I can't believe there isn't a thread on here about Ballack. In my opinion, he's gotta go this summer. His wages are what 120,000? There are far too many matches where Essien and Mikel are forced to play in the holding role because for whatever reason Hiddink still thinks Ballack is our best option at Central Mid. Ballack has been incredibly painful to watch this year. He has no power on his shots anymore, plays piss poor defense, and is holding back some of our other players from getting time in midfield. His passing which always looks fantastic for Germany has been so hit and miss with him playing all kinds of balls straight for the defender. When he got his 2nd yellow in the 2nd leg of the Barca match I was actually thrilled because I can't stand seeing the man in our Starting XI.

He has 1 year left on his contract right? I'm not opposed to him staying next year as long as the new manager doesn't decide to keep sticking him in the starting XI, but for my own sanity I'd like to see him sold this summer. I'm not sure who would be willing to pay for his wages, but selling him back to Bayern (either Munich or Leverkusen) would be wonderful. This might also give Joe Cole that chance to play in the midfield role more often next to Frank.

Sincerely,

Ballack's Biggest Hater

[Matterz 67]

Whilst i see your point, I still think Ballack has so much offer this club. i would keep him but play him a lot less, maybe keep him on the bench more and rotate him, almost like we did with Makelele in his last season. Would be sad to see Ballack go tbh, but I really do get your point about his wages, they are enormous.

[the wes 7,212]

Whilst i see your point, I still think Ballack has so much offer this club. i would keep him but play him a lot less, maybe keep him on the bench more and rotate him, almost like we did with Makelele in his last season. Would be sad to see Ballack go tbh, but I really do get your point about his wages, they are enormous.

Ballack is a donkey its time for ballack to move on

[EskWeston 696]

I would rather see Ballack move on myself. He is just not the same player anymore and i would rather see us move forward with a new player than stick with Ballack for another season because he is Michael Ballack. In my opinion he has had a poor season.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I personally feel Ballack has had a very good second half to the season and has been an unsung hero over the last three or four months. He is being played in defensive midfield where he has been shown to be very powerful and efficient in that particular role, and has been very consistent in his performances. I think his role has become very much like that of Makelele's last season, and when called into the side, has been solid and assured for us. Whilst I wouldn't mind whether he stays or goes, I certainly believe that his season has not been a poor one at all.

[SystemBlueBob 0]

I guess I am in the minority

I have no problem letting him stay on with us next season. I want to see how he reacts to the next manager

In most of the 2nd half this season, he played pretty darn well, imo

The guy has talent and could be a big asset for us if the next manager uses him the right way

[chelseapaul 0]

WTF!!

The man himself has stated he's willing to take a pay cut to stay at Chelsea ffs.