Mikhi needs to improve

[gerdm07]

First, I admit I wanted to see him more and more last season. I was a big fan. However, now that he has started many matches I feel he is one of those "almost" players. He almost makes a nice through ball for a chance on goal. He almost beats his man to create a good situation. He almost has a good first touch. He almost scores a nice goal. He almost has a good idea to release someone. He almost retains possession in a tight situation. To be fair, he pulls off all those things once in a while, just not often enough.

The "almost" are happening so often that it has become a part of his game. He is consistently almost making a nice play.

The past few matches, IMHO, he has been the weakest link in our offense. Yes, his overall stats look good, but his overall play is not the standard of a quality attacking midfielder.

I still believe in him and hope he improves.

 

[shamans]

tbh, ever since we signed him I thought people were overrating his ability. He is a very good player, worthy of playing for our club but if you're gonna expect more I just don't think he has that ability in him.

That's why I am satisfied with his ability.

 

[Plato]

He thrives in a counter attacking system. He doesn't have the strength, close control, or vision to play in the sort of matches that we're typically involved in, where we have to break down a team who put 10 men behind the ball.

 

[Shiva87]

And yet Jose is starting him every game!

The reasons for the good stats is because it happens often enough. Some days it doesn't come off, some times it does. All great players have lots of almosts and some bad days.

This isn't PlayStation!

 

[gerdm07]

He thrives in a counter attacking system. He doesn't have the strength, close control, or vision to play in the sort of matches that we're typically involved in, where we have to break down a team who put 10 men behind the ball.

True to an extant. I can remember many counter attacks, though, that were halted because Mikhi almost made a good play.

 

[Ødegaard]

5 assists, second highest in the league behind David Silva.
Not to shabby.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

tbh, ever since we signed him I thought people were overrating his ability. He is a very good player, worthy of playing for our club but if you're gonna expect more I just don't think he has that ability in him.

That's why I am satisfied with his ability.

Come on man, we signed one of the most productive players in the bundesliga and at the same time you were still convinced januzaj would be a world beater.

 

[peridigm]

True to an extant. I can remember many counter attacks, though, that were halted because Mikhi almost made a good play.

You can insert the name of Martial, Rashford, Lingard, Zlatan, Mata, etc... and the statement would be true.
He's our current Nani. Best we have in his position at this time.

 

[Adebesi]

And yet Jose is starting him every game!

The reasons for the good stats is because it happens often enough. Some days it doesn't come off, some times it does. All great players have lots of almosts and some bad days.

This isn't PlayStation!

Its amazing isnt it. If we play it safe and dont take risks people (rightly) complain that we arent creating chances and are boring. But as soon as you have players that do take risks, they arent good enough because it doesnt work out every time. But that's the thing about risk, it means it wont always work. If it did it wouldnt be risk.

 

[shamans]

Come on man, we signed one of the most productive players in the bundesliga and at the same time you were still convinced januzaj would be a world beater.

Januzaj has always had more potential than Mikhi. Pretty sure I wasn't the only one that thought that given the amount of money PSG wanted to offer for him.

Like I said, Mikhi is a good player but very overrated on here when we first signed him. Just doesn't have that flair.

 

[Massive Spanner]

He's incredibly erratic, sometimes he makes the easy look difficult and the difficult look easy. A weird player.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Meh, we're playing brilliantly and he's scored 2 goals and 6 assists. I'm not complaining and so shouldn't you.

 

[groovyalbert]

I think he's made a very strong start to the season, particularly when considering where he was at this time 12 months ago.

Sure, he goes missing at points in the match but for all the times he isn't affecting the game positively with his creativity he is working hard for the team and contributing. I like how he fits in with Lukaku and Rashford/Martial; those players demand so much attention and pull defences out of position and Mkhi is - on his day - one of the best at exploiting the space opened up by this. He isn't totally dissimilar to Ozil in many ways; the obvious differences being that Ozil's passing ability is superior but Mkhi pips him on effort and general contribution.

 

[VeevaVee]

I agree that he's not quite what you want from him. Good player but the stuff that impresses seems more like an anomaly where it just happens to go right that time. If he was more consistent the rest of the time I'd be happy, but he fluffs a lot

 

[Unmutual]

Rather than dictating the tempo and rhythm of the match for 90 minutes, he just has decent moments now and again. But when he has a good moment, he usually makes a chance. He's like Mata in that respect. Im not sure his style of play will ever be in the Xavi mould, where he makes the entire front line tick. But as long as he's making chances and scoring, I'm cool with that.

 

[Smoking_Owl]

Meh, we're playing brilliantly and he's scored 2 goals and 6 assists. I'm not complaining and so shouldn't you.

When you look past the stats you can complain.

He's not nearly consistently influential enough for a player of his talent.

 

[VeevaVee]

Meh, we're playing brilliantly and he's scored 2 goals and 6 assists. I'm not complaining and so shouldn't you.

Don't really get this notion. Should we just not talk about stuff or criticise anything because we're doing quite well?

 

[Deleted member 101472]

The second he gets dropped from the team I guarantee we struggle.

 

[BigCaine]

5 assists, second highest in the league behind David Silva.
Not to shabby.

Martial last season had 4 goals and 6 assists to rashford's 5 goals and 1 assist. Did martial have a better season than rashford last season?

 

[Alexrad]

The second he gets dropped from the team I guarantee we struggle.

How so? He was appalling lately...

 

[manunited1919]

The second he gets dropped from the team I guarantee we struggle.

Mata can cover at 10, but Jose wants someone with more pace in that position, and that’s why he is sticking with Mhikki. Lingard has the pace, but doesn’t have the vision.

 

[AdnanRED]

Sometimes I think the players we sign especially from BVB like Kagawa and Mkhi don't look as good as they did for BVB because we don't play fluid football like they do where when they attack the player has 5 or 6 options for a pass in attack or a counterattack but with us maybe 3 or 4 and our movement isn't as quick. I did expect more creative passes from him and killer through balls but I will judge him by the end of the season, still a bit early even though he does frustrate me.

 

[Shark]

Mata can cover at 10, but Jose wants someone with more pace in that position, and that’s why he is sticking with Mhikki. Lingard has the pace, but doesn’t have the vision.

Lingard doesn't just lack vision, he's just not a very good footballer, at all.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He's incredibly erratic, sometimes he makes the easy look difficult and the difficult look easy. A weird player.

Agreed, he is really weird

Meh, we're playing brilliantly and he's scored 2 goals and 6 assists. I'm not complaining and so shouldn't you.

But yeah, not complaining

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He's having a good season and is an important player for us given his creative end product.

However, everytime I watch him I can't shake the feeling that he could be doing so much better. His natural talent is great but he's been extremely erratic in the buildup. So many times he either makes the wrong decision or dribbles into defenders or over/under hits the pass. He'll end up pulling it off a few times a game and hence makes the difference, but I felt he could be a world beater for us and he isn't that. If we look at Rashford and Martial, different roles, yes, but I'd say their game is tighter than Mkhitarians this season. They look more refined which is odd.

Also he's quite timid. Doesn't seem to want to take responsibility. Very happy to just be a quiet cog in the machinery. Doesn't force the issue and take control.

Basically he's more erratic and more of an impact player than I thought. But he's contributing. Reminds me of Rooney or old Giggs who would frustrate alot but end up playing an important role in the win.

 

[YouOnlyLiveTwice]

The "almost" thing is spot on. You can see he has massive talent, but simply isn't consistent enough.

I still have hope that he will find the consistency in his game. No matter what, he is the best option we have right now for the AM position.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

I agree he needs to improve the simple things. A very good/great player on his day, but even while having a very good game, he will still misplace passes and give the ball away by overrunning. I know people will try mask over this by saying he is a flair player and it is to be expected, but I'm talking about really simple elements of his game which you think should be easy to improve. He has got good stats this season, but we will get punished if he gives the ball away to the likes of Man City, Chelsea etc. I can accept a player giving the ball away by trying some skill or by trying to dribble past a player, but it shouldn't happen regularly while running in a straight line or into a blind alley.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

The second he gets dropped from the team I guarantee we struggle.

We might. He's important to us. But I still think he can do better than he is. And I actually think he's doing well. 8 goals plus assists is an excellent return.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

How so? He was appalling lately...

Continuity. He carries the ball forward and all his replacements will slow things down.

 

[Adebesi]

We might. He's important to us. But I still think he can do better than he is. And I actually think he's doing well. 8 goals plus assists is an excellent return.

I certainly agree he will get better and better.

 

[manunited1919]

Lingard doesn't just lack vision, he's just not a very good footballer, at all.

He has good movement though, that’s why good chances fall to him almost every game. His finishing is so inconsistent though, and I am not sure he can learn to have composure. Wellbech never learned.

 

[diarm]

He needs space to operate in. It's no coincidence that his slump in form has coincided with Pogba being out.

Without the Frenchman driving forwards and pulling midfielders and defenders away from the space he wants to occupy, he has very little room to manoeuvre in - especially with the right flank being occupied by players like Mata or Lingard who are more likely to encroach into his central spaces than pull defenders wide.

On top of all that, I don't think his fitness or stamina levels are all that. Not sure he's the sort of player who can play more than two or three games on the trot without getting tired.

 

[Roux]

Hi movement is really underrated - he's one of those 'ghost' players that always seems to find space. This is a unique quality imo and is a nightmare for opposing teams. With the others who said he need to be stronger and perhaps take his chances better.

 

[MeUnited]

Don't really get this notion. Should we just not talk about stuff or criticise anything because we're doing quite well?

I don't get the notion we're playing brilliantly either. Haven't really been convinced by us this season tbh. I thought we had a lot better performances last season when we drew games.

 

[Bastian]

It's not like we have another one like him. He needs to play. His talent is there for all to see, he just lacks consistency. With consistency he would easily be world class. I wouldn't say the same applies to many others that we have, Mikhi is a class above. Imagine a Juan Mata with pace...

 

[Godfather]

He is running his socks off every game, has 6 assists and 2 goals already. I'm more than pleased. Just needs to keep it simple at times.

 

[AgentP]

He is a good player but there are flaws in his game that will stop him from being world class. But this is something we all know. He has always been inconsistent but can produce moments of brilliance.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

He seems to take a good while to get going in a game. His first half an hour seems to be littered with really heavy touches and where everything he does results in the opposition recovering the ball. He just never seems to start well, but when he grows in to the game, he is often very good.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

Try looking at him through mourinhos eyes and you'll see why he's important to the team

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

He has strangely suddenly gone off the boil