The success of every club hinge on the midfielder’s ability
to distribute passes quickly to their striker in front of the opponent’s goal
area. This is one aspect Chelsea
has been lacking ever since the departure of Makelele. Chelsea new signings of talented young
midfielders with the likes of Eden Hazard, Marin and Oscar has given the Club
and fans more confidence to compete and eventually win the EPL title this time.
Fernando Torres had disclosed in one of his speech that, the least trophy Chelsea could win this
time is the English Premier League title. Due to the quality of midfielders the
Club has brought in. But how true is this when the Makelele's style of play has
become a thing of the past? What role has Makelele played in Chelsea's EPL victory in 2004 that Mikel Obi
hasn't? Here we shall discuss it vividly.
The success of Chelsea lies on the holding midfielder as
this is the essential engine of the team squad on the pitch. When former Chelsea right-back Mario Melchiot was asked about the best
player in Chelsea's
team 2003/2004 season, the Dutch man said it was Claude Makelele without
mincing words. He said the holding midfield was the club’s backbone just as the
essential engine of a Rolls-Royce.
The French defensive midfielder was instrumental
in the clubs success and was admired for his ability to read the game and his
expertise in taking up the right position when the team was under attack.
Makelele was praise for his ability to collect the ball from the defence and
quickly spread it out to Chelsea’s
danger men upfront. But following Fulham’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in 2006, Manager
Chris Coleman revealed that the key position at Chelsea
was the defensive midfield and the key in stopping Chelsea was in stopping Makelele who was the
engine in the defensive role.
For Chelsea
to reclaim the EPL title once again, they need a defensive player that will
play like Makelele. John Obi Mikel was brought into the club to follow the
departing French man’s role in 2005. Since then, the Nigerian midfielder has
rather create his own style of sluggish play to force the blue boys bend to his
style on pitch. Chelsea’s
draw back in recent years has been a failure to move the ball quickly from the
defence to create enough space for goal scoring opportunities to its attackers.
Mikel’s high percentage, yet tenuous pass that slows down the transition from
defence to attack has particularly frustrated the fans. His last season’s
successful pass rate was 90% but yet failed to make a single key pass. About 85%
of his passes were directed to his defenders and only few percentage are pushed
forward or side-wards.
Mikel has lack the creativity to create danger passes to
his attackers or even setting up good passes to his attacking midfielders to
feed the men ahead. Ok if you analyze few successful teams like Barcelona, Manchester
city and Real Madrid, you will discover the opposite. Barcelona creates enough chances for the
attackers to hold the most possession of the ball in front of their opponent’s
goal area. With Iniesta, Sergio and Xavi Hernandez distributing killer passes
to Messi and Villa. The same to both Manchester
city and Real Madrid. where the key to their success is in the speed of
transition between the defence and attack. Xabi Alonso and Gareth Barry had
been the bridge between the defence and attack, releasing the ball to their
potential attackers respectively in little time without delay.
In the
pre-season matches, Chelsea
used the 4-2-3-1 lineup formation but has yet failed to move the ball freely
from the defence to the attack quickly enough to score goals. Mikel of-course
is the machine there to change this game for good. He needs to adapt to the
Makelele’s style to save Chelsea
out of this mess. With players like Hazard, Marin and Torres playing forward,
if Mikel can’t still deliver passes in time but instead stick to his sluggish
style of play then am sorry the club’s young talent will definitely fail to
shine.
Hi. I am a die-hard Chelsea fan and i love writing about Chelsea news, Highlights, Transfer gossips, completed transfers and anything that delights my dear club. Here on Upblues.com, We Keep The Blue Flag Flying. Join us and lets catch the fun. Up Chelsea, The Sky is Blue.
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