🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Josh McEachran

[The only place to be 11,313]

I've been thinking about this, you've said it a few times now and I think you might be right.

Can you remember Josh McEachran playing against the likes of Marseille and such? He was bloody brilliant, so much potential. He seems to play well around good players, maybe we should just scrap the loan completely and play him now and then in our team, like cup games or champions league games.

In pre season he had a very good game against Villa when he was playing in CAM position, he even scored.

I was going to write a longer piece about him, but I really can't be arsed.

Essentially I see him as a high performance piece - like an F1 gearbox. Those things are technically brilliant, but they have to be coddled and kept at the precise temperature otherwise they malfunction. Plus to get the most out of them you need to put them alongside other high performance pieces of kit. Sure you could jimmy it into a Ford Fiesta but you wouldn't get the most out of it, it would occasionally misfire and eventually it's just going to give up.

Josh's ability has always been in seeing passes that other players can't see. But if his own teammates aren't good enough to read his passes then he simply spins his wheels. With someone like Chalobah, if his technical game isn't working he always has his physical presence and defensive understanding to fall back on. Josh doesn't really have that. You can't throw him on with 20 minutes to go and expect him to change the game or tighten things up. He has to be on from the start, linking play together and being that metronomic presence who puts players into better positions.

That's why the best place for him might be here. The type of team with the calibre of player that he needs to be around to flourish aren't going to be interested in taking a player on loan in all likelihood. He needs time to develop and there's too much pressure to take a risk on him. 20 games a season here might be more beneficial than 50 games at another Championship club.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Josh assist for the first goal in the match.

If it wasnt for some really poor finishing from the like's of ledesma,miller,Mcdonald etc he would have had close to 10 assists for this season.

[Nero 1,874]

it's so sad how chelsea talents wasted.

[Hannah 200]

Is it true that he is returning to Chelsea tomorrow?

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Is it true that he is returning to Chelsea tomorrow?

Where did you hear that?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Is it true that he is returning to Chelsea tomorrow?

Where did you hear that?

He tweeted that he's saying good bye to the fans today, but that's just because it's their last home game of the season. They still have an away game next week. So no, he's not returning tomorrow.

[Mr. Ziggles 110]

Josh wasn't even in the squad so I'm assuming he'll either be coming back or he's being rested for next week. I just hope he comes back.

[Clevemayer 764]

Hope he comes back which dickhead would Play an excellent cm or acm of regista as winger unbeliveable really

[Blue Gino 377]

Hope he comes back which dickhead would Play an excellent cm or acm of regista as winger unbeliveable really

Mowbray has had Josh playing deeper in midfield, sometimes on the flank helping out the fullbacks but overall he's been playing deeper, working on his defense. I think it's more in line with what Chelsea wanted in terms of developing him to play in a deeper role. Never understood the string bean attacks. Wilshere and Modric aren't exactly tanks out there. I think their low center of gravity helps more than anything.

[Clevemayer 764]

Mowbray has had Josh playing deeper in midfield, sometimes on the flank helping out the fullbacks but overall he's been playing deeper, working on his defense. I think it's more in line with what Chelsea wanted in terms of developing him to play in a deeper role. Never understood the string bean attacks. Wilshere and Modric aren't exactly tanks out there. I think their low center of gravity helps more than anything.

I still think he is fitted far more as AM and ACM then anything else

[lucio 5,418]

i dont think he is anywhere near good enough. at least not yet. give him to zola if watford go up.

[English Freak 456]

Mowbray has had Josh playing deeper in midfield, sometimes on the flank helping out the fullbacks but overall he's been playing deeper, working on his defense. I think it's more in line with what Chelsea wanted in terms of developing him to play in a deeper role. Never understood the string bean attacks. Wilshere and Modric aren't exactly tanks out there. I think their low center of gravity helps more than anything.

Wilshere might not be a tank but he's got enough strength to not be bullied off the ball...

In comparison, McEachran will easily get bullied off the ball and any decent midfielder with strength and a bit of pace would breeze past him.

[Styles 9,790]

Mowbray has had Josh playing deeper in midfield, sometimes on the flank helping out the fullbacks but overall he's been playing deeper, working on his defense. I think it's more in line with what Chelsea wanted in terms of developing him to play in a deeper role. Never understood the string bean attacks. Wilshere and Modric aren't exactly tanks out there. I think their low center of gravity helps more than anything.

You're right. They have strong legs and are both very quick over the first few yards. Josh doesn't have that little burst of acceleration.

[Styles 9,790]

Interesting comments here on a Middlesbrough forum about McEachran's season - http://oneboro.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=5002

[Special Juan 28,141]

Boro have had a completely horrific season, I have been a few times this season to watch Josh and he has done fine for me. The big picture is this Boro team has been nothing short of horrific since the turn of the year and Mowbray has completely lost his way.

[Rmpr 8,977]

People already giving up on him? LOL!

He is not anywhere near ready, but typical Chelsea impatience in this thread...

[Styles 9,790]

Boro have had a completely horrific season, I have been a few times this season to watch Josh and he has done fine for me. The big picture is this Boro team has been nothing short of horrific since the turn of the year and Mowbray has completely lost his way.

True. I haven't watched them play but followed results and they went through a massive period of shit form. He's unlucky he didn't go to a good team like Chalobah.

[Special Juan 28,141]

True. I haven't watched them play but followed results and they went through a massive period of shit form. He's unlucky he didn't go to a good team like Chalobah.

Still are in shit form, only a few weeks ago they had something like seven points from a possible 42 or something like that.

People like Ishmael Miller, Marvin Emnes and Sammy Ameobi are not even Championship players, completely car crash footballers.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

True. I haven't watched them play but followed results and they went through a massive period of shit form. He's unlucky he didn't go to a good team like Chalobah.

Mowbray is an idiot. Most of the time Josh was played on the right wing!

EDIT: This is spot on about Josh:

I'm of the opinion that McEachran has suffered more than most due to the style of play we have. Early in the season, I felt there was bags of potential in him and saw a player who is a real footballer. Our biggest problem is that he is the kind of player who will excel when playing with specific types of players and styles. He does not suit our languid, lazy, slow style that we've seen for most of the season.

He is the kind of player who we should be building a team around so that when he gets the ball, he looks up and finds movement in front of him and can play the ball forward and pick a pass.

Why has it gone wrong for him? Because we don't have that movement up front - I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated by our lack of front running. It's no good having both strikers dropping off to the wings and leaving nobody up front to aim for. The whole point of a patient passing game, in my mind, is that your midfields play keep ball while your forwards create space with clever runs.

The other problem I see for McEachran is that he is too similar to Leadbitter. A typical scenario from this season is that Josh gets the ball, Leadbitter demands it off him, turns around passes to someone else, gets it back, passes to Josh, then demands it back. When we had all that space when dominating teams, it worked reasonably well because both were able to spend time higher up the pitch. Once teams understood they could get in behind these 2 that was it. For anyone who says McEachran is too soft and weak, take a look at Leadbitter, who is one of the softest midfielders I've ever seen. You can't have 2 powder-puff midfielders, especially in a struggling team.

Personally, I think if Josh goes to a team that plays in a style that best suits his abilities then he'll have a great season. I'd love him back, but I don't think we're right for him unless we make him the focal point of our midfield and give him that freedom, as well as give him moving targets to aim for up front. He won't get that with Leadbitter being our first choice midfielder and so is wasted being with us.

Overall, I'm disappointed that he didn't continue his form into 2013 but then that goes for each of our players. Otherwise, I think he was a decent loan signing who we ultimately didn't get the best out of.

[Thomas Williams 166]

EDIT: This is spot on about Josh:

I couldn't agree more, it's a shame though. I'm sadly almost certain that between this and the whole Swansea debacle that it's undeservedly cost him the chance to ever play in our starting 11.

Hope I'm wrong though.