Maybe the next person that will be liked to replace Michael Essien is Gus Hiddink! The media seem to attribute every player linked with Chelsea as a replacement for Michael Essien.
Essien is still with us, he is neither dead nor gone to another club; he will be out for six months, we’ve been through worse and we always come out better. And by the way Ramieres can cover for Essien – his game is closer to that of Essien than all the players that have been linked.
If a replacement is sought, it should be that of the big German whose key element was to kill the opposition’s game as Lampard advanced. He was a menace to marauding fullbacks and attackers like Bale, Evra, and Tevez. In the wake of Ballack’s departure, I knew our team was going to struggle. How could we allow Ballack leave? Just how? Who was going to absorb the pressure placed on our midfield?
And now we start another season without an attacking midfielder with the protective instinct, presence, and power of Michael Ballack. Playing with the German in midfield on a good day was like having two holding midfielders and two attacking midfielders – Like a VW Golf he was the typical German machine.
He wasted no time on the ball, made good passes, stopped attacking play, and scored goals. Who are we targeting to take that responsibility? There are very few players in the World that can actually play like Ballack did for Chelsea. Maybe AVB should look back to the role Ballack played in our midfield and see if it will be necessary to have such a player in his team.
For me, Ballack was perhaps one of the reasons why Chelsea dominated in midfield. He was a player with a great presence and power. Maybe, that is the new role AVB is trying to carve out for Lampard, but I don’t think it will help. Lampard must continue to be himself and a Ballack replacement should be brought in because that’s what we need – more than an Essien replacement.
Stan Blue
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.