Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa

[ChezGiven 0]

 

 

Could do with brushing up on his football first.....

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Deschamps:

 

"I do not know if Mapou made the right choice, we will see later. I think he had no choice. If Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern were also in for him, I think he would not have chosen Newcastle. This can also be a springboard for him in the long run."

 

No shit, there are few players in the world who could resist joining Real Madrid or Juve, players at bigger and better clubs than ours. What a pointless comment.

Edited January 23, 2013 by Monroe Transfer

[Aeris 0]

Deschamps

Deschamps:

 

 

 

No shit, there are few players in the world who could resist joining Real Madrid or Juve, players at bigger and betters clubs than ours. What a pointless comment.

 

[StevenL 0]

4 of his team are playing week in, week out together. He should keep his fucking mouth shut.

[@yourservice 67]

"He's big, he's French, now Williamsons on the bench, Mbiwa!."

 

Quite like that one.

[StevenL 0]

Taylor's a crock and Coloccini will be gone by the end of the window. Enjoy that chant while you can.

[Kid Dynamite 5955]

As daft as it sounds after nearly bringing 5 good players in so far we are still going to be in trouble if we don't adequately replace Ba and Colo. Gouffran sounds canny but he's only had 6 months of being prolific in his career. Colo leaving would leave us back to square one in the centre of defence.

 

It's pretty uncharacteristic for Ashley to spend the money he has though, let alone another £10-15mil on 2 more players

[SloopJohn 0]

I think Ashley has shat his pants about relegation and decided to spend the cash so we get that extra TV money next year. he'll easily recoup these fees if we stay up.

[BigWalrus 0]

If we manage to get Sissoko in, we suddenly have a force in midfield again. Our current problems are stemming from a weak as piss midfield, not from our back four. That much is evident from the stark difference in our play when Cabaye is playing compared with when he's not.

[Christmas Tree 3997]

If we manage to get Sissoko in, we suddenly have a force in midfield again. Our current problems are stemming from a weak as piss midfield, not from our back four. That much is evident from the stark difference in our play when Cabaye is playing compared with when he's not.

 

That sounds great, but let's not forget we were pretty dog shit when Cabaye was playing earlier in the season.

 

The bottom line is that when we play the ball on the ground and play with an attacking style, we look a totally different team.

 

[Anorthernsoul 1221]

 

 

That sounds great, but let's not forget we were pretty dog shit when Cabaye was playing earlier in the season.

 

The bottom line is that when we play the ball on the ground and play with an attacking style, we look a totally different team.

 

Correct. Look at Old Trafford and The Emirates, we dominated large spells of those games when we were positive.

[StevenL 0]

That sounds great, but let's not forget we were pretty dog shit when Cabaye was playing earlier in the season.

 

The bottom line is that when we play the ball on the ground and play with an attacking style, we look a totally different team.

 

Do you just make things up? Granted we haven't been playing the best football this season but we were getting results at the begining. Only Man U, Chelsea and West Ham beat us and he was apparently playing through the pain for the West Ham game.

 

This has been pointed out to you before and you chose to ignore it.

[BigWalrus 0]

It's all about balance. The midfield we put out at Old Trafford and the Emirates was very positive, but it also relied on Tiote alone to support the defence from midfield. We were outnumbered time and time again and shipped goals.

 

Cabaye makes a difference because he works his knackers off at both ends of the pitch.

 

Marveaux and Obertan might have a bit of pace about them, but they are quite happy to meander around on the half way line and let the rest of the team do the leg work.

 

Cabaye and Tiote together form a brilliant partnership in the middle, but they've barely played together at all this season. Sissoko is more in the Tiote mould but ventures forward a little bit more. Between Cabaye, Tiote and Sissoko we can build a strong centre midfield to both protect our back four and move the ball forward to create chances.

[Tom 13883]

Do you just make things up? Granted we haven't been playing the best football this season but we were getting results at the begining. Only Man U, Chelsea and West Ham beat us and he was apparently playing through the pain for the West Ham game.

 

This has been pointed out to you before and you chose to ignore it.

 

I was pretty much going to post the same thing.

[Tooj 17]

From a year ago.

 

http://www.theelastico.com/2012/02/mapou-yanga-mbiwa/

 

Although physically defined, at 184cm (6’0) and 77kg (12stone), Yanga-Mbiwa is by some distance neither the biggest nor the broadest defender that Ligue 1 has to offer. However, blessed with pace, power and strength, the defender makes excellent use of the physical attributes that do fall in his favour to nullify the lost inches. As demonstrated in the videos below, the speed at which the Montpellier man can move across the ground makes a footrace fairly one-sided on most occasions, whist his powerful stride and toned physique mean that the man born in Central African Republic packs an impressive leap when it comes to aerial duels.

 

However, countless defenders worldwide can boast exceptional physical attributes, thus it is in both the mental and physical dimensions of the game that the 22-year-old has shown himself to be a class apart from many of his colleagues. Whilst there are some that make more tackles per match and there are others who make more clearances, Yanga-Mbiwa is not a defender who likes to leave his job until it is simply a case of last-ditch defending. With an intelligent reading of the game that belies his age, the Montpellier captain is a master of the interception, making more than any of his colleagues and developing the artform into a defining feature of his game.

 

In this respect and physically (although more powerful than his English contemporary), the France Under-21 defender can be compared with Rio Ferdinand in his youth. Quick of both foot and mind, Yanga-Mbiwa can play the role of the last ditch saviour, but prefers instead to use his innate awareness to see-off danger before it has developed and as with Ferdinand, is trusting of his technical abilities under intense pressure. A good passer of the ball off both feet, although predominantly right-footed, the defender demonstrates great composure week-in week-out, a quality that no doubt helped draw the attention of several admirers.

 

In attack, these abilities come to fruition, as he is able to easily skip past opponents, creating time to pick out a team-mate ahead of him, or on occasion gallop forward to create the opening himself. Particularly when utilised in a full-back role, these attributes offer an added bonus to his side on top of his defensive abilities and in this respect, he has been previously likened to Les Bleus legend Lilian Thuram in the French media. Good ball control and raw pace are a lethal combination, negating the need for any real subtlety to beat even very experienced opponents. At times, as Thuram showed in his prime, these powerful drives down the flanks can prove nigh on impossible to defend.

 

As with all players, Yanga-Mbiwa does have faults and areas of his game to improve. For a player who has shown he can head the ball well and rise above opponents, the defender’s scoring record is poor and is an area he can look to improve. Four goals in 160 games is not the best return for such a talented player in many areas of the attack. At times the defender’s longer passes can be improved, with a little more refinement needed when picking out the run of an attacking colleague. However, when it comes to short, sharp passing under-pressure, it must be added that the Montpellier man is excellent (85.9% overall pass completion).

 

Besides those minor points, the player has generally been excellent in his work this season and needs simply to continue upon his current developmental path in order to succeed. By all accounts Yanga-Mbiwa is a well grounded character, with a dedication to improving himself that has been rewarded with the captain’s armband by manager Rene Girard. There is an ever-increasing maturity to his game, meaning the forward-charges from centre-back are somewhat decreased. Yet, they can be considered no less effective, as now they are in general better-judged than in previous years, giving maximum effect.

 

A good disciplinary record, demonstrated by the fact that to date, he has not received a straight red card in his career, is testament to both the temperament that so-impressed his manager and a fine technique in dispossessing opponents, aided by game-reading abilities that often mean the need to tackle an opponent is avoided. With a high-profile move on the cards, there is little doubt Yanga-Mbiwa has the qualities to succeed anywhere, although at just 22-years-old, he must be allowed time to make adjustments to a new style of play. There is room for improvement, but the Frenchman truly looks like a star in the making.

 

[David Kelly 1117]

With the news on Colo looking more positive now I'm actually starting to get really excited about this signing. We will hopefully go into the Villa game with renewed confidence and get a good result!

[The Fish 9034]

Dead happy about this. I know we're still short a striker or two, but if you take this signing on it's own, it's a shrewd and impressive signing.

[Brock Manson 0]

Wonder if this means we'll have Colo in more of a sweeper role? He's not really able to do it when alongside Willo as he has to overcompensate for the guy's shitness.

[The Fish 9034]

Wonder if this means we'll have Colo in more of a sweeper role? He's not really able to do it when alongside Willo as he has to overcompensate for the guy's shitness.

Tooj's article talks up Mbiwa's ability to intercept, so I'd imagine he'd play a little ahead of Colo.

[Rayvin 4964]

Really pleased with this one, by all accounts it seems we've signed quite a player. Nice to see some decent money thrown at our defensive problems - from here we just have to hope that he adapts quickly I guess.

 

Is he eligible for Europa? Not that I think anyone is too worried about that any more given our league standing, but even so. Montpellier must have been in CL so I'm guessing he'd be ok?

[Bictor 0]

Also now we have two CB's that have CM ability with the ball at their feet. Too often Williamson had the ball, ends up a headless chicken and kicks it 50 yards down field. Colo and Mbiwa can both play from the back, hopefully making us better on the eye.

[Tom 13883]

I suppose we'll play more passing football now that we have players who can pass. It's hard to build from the back with Williamson and Simpson as they're awful on the ball & can't pass without 50,000 people cracking themselves.

[Barney 0]

So we can only nominate one of Debuchy and Mapou to play in the Europa?

[Bictor 0]

If so, I vote Mbiwa.

[ohhh_yeah 2786]

"If he's an ass, it's not my fault, but I think his manager has a lot to do with it. Newcastle really isn't a good choice. He'll get himself moved on next year, but it doesn't bother me."

 

"We agreed that he could leave if he found a club he liked. We're not going to cry. His head was no longer at Montpellier, but it's not a problem. He's not irreplaceable. The important thing is that we get some money in."

 

 

This guy is a nutter.