Ronaldo Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Remember Mikel playing against Valencia away in 2008 and looking absolutely quality. Pure midfield dominance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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. Chelsea have destroyed Obi. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Messi in that tournament Quincy looked fucking amazing too. A truly great Dutch side - Quincy, Collins John and Hedwiges Maduro. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It's like fast black players end up on the wing instead of as the main striker in a lot of situations. There is a kind of bias at work. Look at Walcott scoring record since he started coming into the middle more...He had to threaten to leave before Wenger allowed him to come in from being a one dimensional winger. I belive there are a lot of situations that athletic black players with good engines end up being asked to lock down the midfield rather than being the creative one, that's why it was very refreshing seeing Sissoko given license to play his nautral game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It's like fast black players end up on the wing instead of as the main striker in a lot of situations. There is a kind of bias at work. Look at Walcott scoring record since he started coming into the middle more...He had to threaten to leave before Wenger allowed him to come in from being a one dimensional winger. I belive there are a lot of situations that athletic black players with good engines end up being asked to lock down the midfield rather than being the creative one, that's why it was very refreshing seeing Sissoko given license to play his nautral game. Wenger makes all of his young players do shifts either out wide, or deeper in midfield when they're still developing. Not until they're approaching their peaks do they get given the crucial #9 or #10 positions. Fabregas is an exception I think, as he was so advanced as a 16 year old. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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. Totally agree. Big strong african. [/playdm]. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It's like fast black players end up on the wing instead of as the main striker in a lot of situations. There is a kind of bias at work. Look at Walcott scoring record since he started coming into the middle more...He had to threaten to leave before Wenger allowed him to come in from being a one dimensional winger. I belive there are a lot of situations that athletic black players with good engines end up being asked to lock down the midfield rather than being the creative one, that's why it was very refreshing seeing Sissoko given license to play his nautral game. Wenger makes all of his young players do shifts either out wide, or deeper in midfield when they're still developing. Not until they're approaching their peaks do they get given the crucial #9 or #10 positions. Fabregas is an exception I think, as he was so advanced as a 16 year old. Walcott should be playing as a striker imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segun Oluwaniyi Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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 Nah. Nigerians love to complain, it is our number 2 export. What do people want from the guy? He 's very strong, disciplined, extremely composed and a good passer of the football which is perfect for the role he plays. Just because he was able to make Riquelme moves against people half his size doesn't make him Messi. People forget that even after that tournament he was still a child and grew about 3-4 inches and at least 15 kgs by the time he was a PL regular. I think he is very underrated because of expectation. Having pace is a blessing and a curse in football. It allows immediate success, but often stunts the growth of the rest of your footballing skill. How many extremely quick players have actually developed into a full package? How many of them have fallen into irrelevance after losing a step of pace? Where is David Odonkor? WHERE? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It's like fast black players end up on the wing instead of as the main striker in a lot of situations. There is a kind of bias at work. Look at Walcott scoring record since he started coming into the middle more...He had to threaten to leave before Wenger allowed him to come in from being a one dimensional winger. I belive there are a lot of situations that athletic black players with good engines end up being asked to lock down the midfield rather than being the creative one, that's why it was very refreshing seeing Sissoko given license to play his nautral game. Wenger makes all of his young players do shifts either out wide, or deeper in midfield when they're still developing. Not until they're approaching their peaks do they get given the crucial #9 or #10 positions. Fabregas is an exception I think, as he was so advanced as a 16 year old. Walcott should be playing as a striker imo. He should now because they have no options. Not in the past though, he's too limited and they had better forwards. Wenger's been trying to improve his allround game by playing wide, unfortunately footballers are clearly too thick to realise the benefits, instead selfishly wanting to play 'thru da middle'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole_Toonfan Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 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 Nah. Nigerians love to complain, it is our number 2 export. What do people want from the guy? He 's very strong, disciplined, extremely composed and a good passer of the football which is perfect for the role he plays. Just because he was able to make Riquelme moves against people half his size doesn't make him Messi. People forget that even after that tournament he was still a child and grew about 3-4 inches and at least 15 kgs by the time he was a PL regular. I think he is very underrated because of expectation. Having pace is a blessing and a curse in football. It allows immediate success, but often stunts the growth of the rest of your footballing skill. How many extremely quick players have actually developed into a full package? How many of them have fallen into irrelevance after losing a step of pace? Where is David Odonkor? WHERE? Nah i agree just i think his potential was best served in the position he was playing as a kid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinho lad Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Does he fast? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakie Doke Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Does he fast? Seems fairly quick from what we've seen of him, yes, and with a good eye for a pass. I think Pardew was exaggerating just a tad when he credited him with the victory, but his contribution was certainly plentiful. He showed great strength at times which you'd expect from someone of his stature but also looked very composed on the ball which can be a rarity. Looking forward to seeing more of him so we can judge him further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikon Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chicken little Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 :lol: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzieMandias Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Moussa leading Guardian poll for best transfer of the window: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/poll/2013/feb/01/best-signing-january-transfer-window-poll Still time to vote. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It has to be Holtby or Sissoko. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajun Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Voted N'Diaye. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 me anaal marra Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sissoko, Holtby or Demba. Probably Ba for me, a player of his quality for 7m is fantastic business clause or not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty66 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sissoko for me. Young,high potential,physically and technically suited to the league,France International. 2.5M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toontownman Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sissoko for me. Young,high potential,physically and technically suited to the league,France International. 2.5M 1.8m Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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