KaKa

Gouffran is seriously good. My goodness. Classy looking player.

We'd do much better to have the following ahead of Shola:

Carlton Cole

Kenwyne Jones

Jason Roberts

Leon Best (Losing this guy and kepping Shola  )

Ricardo Fuller

Now isn't that just humiliating?

Segun don't be so negative!

Obi Mikel unlike most other young Nigerian players, actually had the technique and mind to match his physical gifts.

These thing were never really fully appreciated and nurtured though.

Instead they just flung him in front of the back for, and relied on his athleticism.

Walcott has always made fantastic runs and finished brilliantly.

Can't imagine what he would have done with Fabregas, who was the master of playing those through balls, playing just behind him.

Always preferred him upfront. Looks more natural.

Bit clumsy out wide when the ball is played to his feet.

Really wish the media hadn't gone on and on about the number of French players.

Think Pardew is going to keep forcing Taylor into the lineup because of it, as some kind of way to prove we still have English players.

I have a solution ... but it will never happen!

Krul

Yanga Mbiwa Taylor Coloccini

Debuchy Cabaye Anita Santon

Sissoko

Cisse Gouffran

The FIFA World Youth Championship probably isn't the best competition to judge a player in like. Chelsea have turned him into a decent squad player for a Champions League winning side.

 

I know what you're saying, but it wasn't just about this tournament believe me. It was how he played all the time. This is the player he was.

 

There's nothing that would have prevented him from playing this way anywhere else.

 

It's not as though he was only able to do these things because of some physical advantage he had.

 

His game was based on fantastic vision, passing and technique.

 

 

At a lesser level though, I'm not saying that he wouldn't be a good attacking midfielder had he went somewhere else mind, I'm just not sure that he would have been a better player if he did.

Well we'll never know I guess, and that in itself is a tragedy.

I personally think he would have been a much better player, because I don't think he's all that good now.

What they have him doing, a 100 other tall African men could do.

The FIFA World Youth Championship probably isn't the best competition to judge a player in like. Chelsea have turned him into a decent squad player for a Champions League winning side.

I know what you're saying, but it wasn't just about this tournament believe me. It was how he played all the time. This is the player he was.

There's nothing that would have prevented him from playing this way anywhere else.

It's not as though he was only able to do these things because of some physical advantage he had.

His game was based on fantastic vision, passing and technique.

For the record I partly blame him for going to Chelsea rather than Man U, as I don't think he would have been played in this horrible role to the same extent anyway, as Ferguson isn't hung up on DMs.

However, someone has just mentioned Anderson, who it can be argued Ferguson has ruined to the same degree 

I didn't know he had any ability, I thought he just filled space and passed the ball five yards.

 

John Obi Mikel FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands 2005 on Youtube.

 

Just gives you a glimpse of the ability he had and what Chelsea have turned him into

Great minds ... 

On that video site we all love watch the clip called 'John Obi Mikel FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands 2005'.

Horrendous video quality, but you see glimpses of what he was.

As well as strreams of comments from enraged Nigerians lamenting the position he's being played in 

I don't understand how someone with such ability just accepts being played at DM like that. Even when Chelsea had no creativity, before the likes of Mata, Hazard and Oscar joined, they still shunted him back there.

It was absolutely criminal. I would have moved heaven and earth to change clubs.

Still makes me sad. Was supposed to be the next great out of Naija.

Seems to be the popular thing atm to put a strong, technically sound midfielder in an attacking mid role. See Fellaini and Yaya.

 

Come to think of it, Yaya actually plays everywhere.

 

Reminds me of when Sevilla bought Baptista. Big black dude = defensive mid, but they deployed him behind the strikers instead and he became a goal machine.

 

Aye. Wasn't Mikel meant to be an attacking player?

Yes, and I can't tell you how much it pains me to see what Chelsea have turned him into.

He was fantastic no. 10 type playmaker in Norway, playing delicious through balls to the forwards a la Fabregas.

You still see a bit of it when he plays for Nigeria.

Chelsea have ruined him.

I say start him if he has great pace and recovery. Our fullbacks are getting exposed and beaten so these defensive attributes are better than those that Taylor provides.

 

He may well help stop some of the goals we concede so our "3 in last 6" striker can hopefully win us the game.

You raise a very good point in the first part of your post.

Would be really handy having a CB with his attributes, for covering purposes, as we have full backs that get forward more.

What is up with raising the bid at the last second like that? Horrible.

So now we get nothing for him, even though we're clearly not going to keep him.

Silly behaviour.

Going to enjoy bumping this when Balotelli takes over the world 

Nice! Diame's clause triggered at the buzzer!

Samba looks like he could have fathered Oba Martins for crying out loud. That brutha ain't no kind of 28.

Redknapp needs a strong chairman or he just goes buckwild.

It's the reason Levy wasn't having it, and got rid.

I know if we had a better manager we wouldn't be worrying about relegation that's for sure.

I totally agree with your point on recruitment, but there's no way we should be this far down the table, even with the squad we had early on. Not buying that.

We havent won away from home for some time and he played to protect a lead which we ultimate did. We won.

 

I want to see what he does at the next home game considering the stick he got from the Marv debacle last time.

 

Beyond Pards I dont see options that could handle the job and work under the regime and pressure that goes with our well supported club.

The regime that provides players like Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Cisse, Debuchy, Sissoko, Gouffran, Marveaux, Anita, Tiote, Colccini etc etc etc.

I agree it is a monumental task only a fool would accept.

I have to agree his buys do seem to be sensible and with the impression that thought has gone into them. Unlike the ridiculous scatter gun approach of the previous regime.

 

Not sure Borini and Allen were sensible buys tbh and Sahin definitely wasn't, he's still very unproven in that regard. Sturridge looks good so far but it is far too early to say and same goes for Coutinho.

Borini hasn't settled at all yet. hat one looks shaky, but I think he'll ultimately be a solid player if not spectacular.

Allen for me has been really good. Does the simple things very well. A lot of their build up goes through him. Doesn't stand out a great deal, but is a key player. I like him.

Pardew's thought process is embarrasingly simple:

If trying to maintain a lead? Bring on Shola up top. He will hold the ball up for us. FAIL!

If behind in the game and need a goal? Bring Shola on up top, and go direct. He will turn into Drogba, and win every header until someone scores from one of his flick ons. FAIL!

Time and time again it's what he does in teach of these instances.

The hoofing second half was diabolical, and everyone was doing it, as a clear instruction from the manager. No doubt about it.

 

However, the particular enthusiasm with which Steven Taylor carried out this command really wound me up.

 

He wasn't even attempting to aim for Shola. He was just ballooning that thing into the stratosphere.

 

It was down right offensive. Honestly.

 

Despite clear footage to the contrary.  Ok then...

 

I saw insatnces of Pardew asking the players to stay back in that second half. No doubt. Why would he do that?

 

Purely a coincidence that as soon as Shola stepped on the pitch, the ball started flying over our entire midfield with embarassing regularity?

 

It was a calculated a plan. One Pardew thought was a genius idea to counter the pressure they were applying.

 

He didn't have the confidence to allow us to settle back into a period of posession, by just freshening things up with Anita coming on for Jonas, and Mbiwa for Taylor.

 

The man has no courage whatsoever.

 

To leave Jonas on and take off Sissoko and Gouffran in particular, who still looked fresh, was crazy.

 

 

 

Myself and others have seen footage, during the particularly dark times of last night, where it is clear that Pardew is telling his players to keep the ball.  That seems to me to go directly against your 'guess' that Pardew instructed the players to hit the ball long.

 

Yes at one point he lost it, shouting when Krul hoofed it forward for the tenth time, with seconds between Shola doing nothing and it coming straight back.

He probably lost it because he was upset it wasn't enough of a hoof as it didn't travel forward far enough!

Okay, you know what, let's look at it this way.

Why do you leave Jonas on, who wasn't keeping posession of the ball whatsoever?

Bring on Shola, who was looking like he just woke up from sleeping on the bench, and who himself is woeful at keeping posession?

Bring on a centre back who is new to the league at DM, which would give us more problems in keeping posession?

Play our best posession DM in Anita in what looked like a roaming defensive second striker harrying role?

So he does all this and then yells at them to keep posession? Is this not then some kind of mad person?

He's definitely a talent but time well tell if he fulfills that talent, could go either way quite frankly. (Coutinho)

I like what Rodgers is doing at Liverpool, at the very worst they're going to have an exciting team to watch.

He does tend to get the best out of players like Coutinho too. Sigurdson for example should have gone there rather than Spurs in the summer, he hasn't looked the same, and he's set to be pushed further out of the picture with Holtby signing for them now.

£10 million on Chris Samba?!!!

Harry Redknapp is going to obliterate that club by the time he's done.