The Gambling Zone organised a simply massive interview with former Blue Florent Malouda today which has questions on all sorts of topics, including an entire section on Chelsea which runs through the whole current situation of the club, from top to bottom.
Malouda is studying for his coaching badges, and is clearly watching our games (and other games) quite intently, as far more than just a casual fan. He had interesting observations on all aspects of our struggles, and said he had been at Stamford Bridge for recent games.
One topic that came up and produced interesting answers from Malouda was that of Mykhailo Mudryk. The winger is becoming something of a divisive figure at the club because he represents the silly sort of impulsive spending that characterised the new ownership’s first year in charge.
None of that would matter if he was excelling on the pitch, but in fact he’s struggling, and Malouda had some interesting thoughts on how he’s getting on:
“Every time he plays for Ukraine, he is the main man, the main character. At Chelsea, I think he is struggling with the fact that he is not the main man, but he has the right attitude, and he has shown resilience this season because he is definitely improving.
“I think he could have a much bigger impact in the team if he was a little bit more relaxed. When you watch him play, you can’t help but feel that this a player that is under pressure to deliver, so I think he needs to find a way to manage this phycological pressure and that will help him to play at the same level he plays for Ukraine for Chelsea.”
Without doubt Mudryk would do better if he was calmer. Everyone can see the pace and the flashes of skill which were what made us pay such big money for him. But he doesn’t seem to have improved his composure or the other mental aspects of his game in the year and a bit that he’s been here, which hardly convinces us that he’s about to go up a level anytime soon.
We’re glad Florent still has hope. We’re perhaps not so convinced that the future is so bright.
Maybe he needs to “relax,” but for my money he needs to work A LOT on his reading of the game and his off-the-ball movement. The biggest obstacles to unleashing his prodigious pace is that he rarely times his runs well and he constantly insists on cutting inside (and into traffic) instead of exploiting the wide spaces. It all points to a really low football IQ, but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn. For example, he seems to have no clue about how to move first move away from the space he seeks to attack and then time his run for the moment when his teammate is ready to find him with the pass in behind.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s a lot more than Mudryk just needing to “relax.”