1342 replies to this topic

[Bison]

Juni, on 18 October 2010 - 09:38 PM, said:

Having stood next to him, he's not that short.

My eyes must be decieiving me then! Genuinely excited by Josh. He's looked, by far, the most impressive of the young players.

[Sciatika]

Bridgejunky, on 18 October 2010 - 07:57 PM, said:

In fact I'd bet there is already a majority of fans who'd say Josh has far more technical ability than Frank

But the thing I love about Frank is that he has worked so hard to be who he is. In some ways, I prefer to see success through hard work and effort than success through just being naturally talented. If Josh turns out to have Frank's work ethic then he could be better (if a little different). Time will tell, I suppose.

[warnie_666]

Replacement for Lampard in terms of being the playmaker: YES

Similar to Lampard: NO

He is pretty much in the Xavi mould.

[ish]

bert19, on 18 October 2010 - 05:59 PM, said:

Personally, I think there are only 2 midfielders in Europe right now that could replace Lamps in terms of importance and effectiveness (I very much doubt either would score or create as many goals) and they are Schweinsteiger and Sneijder. And both of those go about their business in a different way to Lamps anyway. Frank should be appreciated as a fairly unique sort of player. When he retires, I'm really not convinced that finding a 'like for like' replacement/successor will ever really be possible.

Josh is a different sort of player - I think he'll be far more of a creator than a goalscorer. He's looked terrific so far, I just hope his actual brain is as sharp as his footballing one and he doesn't get too carried away by his progress. We really don't want a lad with his talent taking the Jody Morris route through a football career. Having said that, he's under good guidance at Chelsea and doesn't strike me as having a bad attitude. And given he doesn't play for Liverpool, United or Arsenal, the press shouldn't hype him too much either.

I think fabregas is the closest player to frank in the world, very similar ratio of goals and assists every season and young. he would never leave arsenal for us but if we got him it would nearly be a straight swap. hamsik, dzagoev and pastore have the ability to replace him as well but need to improve their game when they play further up the pitch they still more second strikers then true midfielders.

Josh isn't that short, around the same height as Essien who is also 5'10 but because 5'10 is nearly average on a football pitch and quite a few players at chelsea are taller then that he looks short, add to it he is a bean pole.
Yes mceachran does well against tired teams but he is physically not even close to matured yet, his stamina and strength will all go up as the years progress. The main thing is his technique is there now, because if it wasnt he wouldnt be getting a sniff at first team. Now comes his positional and physical training and these 15 min cameos are an important part, especially since he is coming on when chelsea are a goal down or at a stalemate because it forces maturity on to him(that stuff up against a.villa if he has the right mentality will do alot more then the sublime first touches he had in the same game) add to it getting used to playing against players faster, stronger and in some cases just plain better then him forces him to adapt into a team dynamic. He was always a team player and it shows because he has stepped up into the role faster then the strikers coming through who are too used to being the central figure.

[caspar]

Bridgejunky, on 18 October 2010 - 07:57 PM, said:

The thing about Morris is that he divided opinion. For everyone who saw a Chelsea future for Jody there was somebody else who thought he was talentless and had nothing to offer our club. With Josh it's completely different; the posts in this thread confirm that everyone recognises his ability. In fact I'd bet there is already a majority of fans who'd say Josh has far more technical ability than Frank and that, in those terms, he could replace SFL tomorrow.

With Jody I was comparing like for like I.e. after a handful of appearances and I seem to remember at that stage most were generally excited by him. I remember his debut as a sub against Middlesbrough, when he looked like he'd been playing for years, then finding out he was a local boy aswell which only made me more enthusiastic about his future at the club.

But, as a lesson for this McEachran topic, in 1996 people were calling Jody Morris the next Dennis Wise, and look how that ended up.

[steviearthur]

bert19, on 18 October 2010 - 05:59 PM, said:

I just hope his actual brain is as sharp as his footballing one and he doesn't get too carried away by his progress.

Probably not considering his suspension from the club last year and what it was for. Hopefully that has shaken him up a bit and got his head straight. It looks like he's more focussed on his football and we should see the benefits for years to come. We're all allowed one mistake and if that was his he should be stuck on the back pages for the rest of his career.

Not a replacement for SFL though and not likely to be playing wide and running at people so sitting in the middle, slipping his man, breaking and playing neat simple balls around is where he will be, great things to have on the break, something we do so well. I'm excited he's being given time on the pitch, it will do wonders for his confidence and it's great to see CA trust these guys in the team more than we've seen before.

[Bridgejunky]

caspar, on 19 October 2010 - 06:28 AM, said:

With Jody I was comparing like for like I.e. after a handful of appearances and I seem to remember at that stage most were generally excited by him.

Not me. I knew he was crap and said so, loudly. Laughed my head off when he went to Leeds and, if I'm honest, am even fairly surprised that he's getting a game at St. Johnstone.

Quote

But, as a lesson for this McEachran topic, in 1996 people were calling Jody Morris the next Dennis Wise, and look how that ended up.

You are of course right to sound a note of caution. I just feel the fact that there were Jody Morris detractors while there are, as far as I'm aware, no Josh Mceachran detractors, suggests that Josh has a better chance than Jody ever did. Not hard you might say since, in my opinion at any rate, Jody had precisely zero percent chance of making it here but I hope we can at east agree that Josh's odds are a bit better than that.

[NandoNumberNine]

caspar, on 19 October 2010 - 06:28 AM, said:

But, as a lesson for this McEachran topic, in 1996 people were calling Jody Morris the next Dennis Wise, and look how that ended up.

Not wise...literally :)

McEachran has a composure on the ball that belies his years. He is so comfortable in possession at times he's so far removed from the stereotypical English midfielder you'd swear Brazilian blood was flowing through his veins. Absolutely represents something that the much maligned youth system at Chelsea has done right. As I'm sure our French flyer Gael Kakuta will too.

The future of Chelsea.

[Sleeping Dave]

steviearthur, on 19 October 2010 - 09:33 AM, said:

Probably not considering his suspension from the club last year and what it was for. Hopefully that has shaken him up a bit and got his head straight. It looks like he's more focussed on his football and we should see the benefits for years to come. We're all allowed one mistake and if that was his he should be stuck on the back pages for the rest of his career.

McEachran was suspended from the club last year? When, for how long and for what?

[ish]

mceachran has never been suspended by the club as far as I'm aware. maybe he is thinking of kakuta.

[Mido Anwar]

He wont be Lampard's long term replacement as they are completely different players,Frank is a more direct player scoring 15-20+ Goals per season,when Lamps retires and Josh takes his place the style of Chelsea's midfield will change into something like Barca when Xavi is on the pitch,controlling the game from deep positions,picking some key passes and running the show,he is just fantastic to watch,in a few years time,Josh will be the most entertaining player to watch,I have seen him in the U-17 Euro and I fell in love with his game

[Juni]

ish, on 19 October 2010 - 12:05 PM, said:

mceachran has never been suspended by the club as far as I'm aware. maybe he is thinking of kakuta.

He was according to information I had passed to me, but I won't be going into why.

[Chelsea'Til_IDie]

Juni, on 19 October 2010 - 12:52 PM, said:

He was according to information I had passed to me, but I won't be going into why.

But that's exactly what everyone wants to know :/...

[Blue RebelZ]

Better enjoy what he's doing on pitch right now. I'm more excited to see him on pitch tonight than anything else.

[Juni]

Chelsea'Til_IDie, on 19 October 2010 - 01:13 PM, said:

But that's exactly what everyone wants to know :/...

Yeah, unfortunately, that's not going to happen though. It's history, and we should look forward rather than back.