Jean II Makoun loaned to Olympiakos

[Risso]

No surprise to me at all

Me either.  I think it's obvious he won't be cut out for the Premier League.  The bloke who bought him didn't play him much, and McLeish obviously doesn't fancy him either.  No pace and can't tackle.  Bannan is a far better prospect, as he showed on Saturday.

[PaulWinch again]

Not happy with this, firstly I think he's a good player and secondly I just got a shirt with his name on the back.

[UsualSuspect]

No surprise to me at all

Me either.  I think it's obvious he won't be cut out for the Premier League.  The bloke who bought him didn't play him much, and McLeish obviously doesn't fancy him either.  No pace and can't tackle.  Bannan is a far better prospect, as he showed on Saturday.

Totally agree

I think Delph and Petrov/AN other behind Bannan

It is obvious AM doesn't fancy makoun and what I have seen of makoun albeit fleetingly was that the pace of the game passed him by and he had no awareness of what was going on around him - hence caught in possession too often then the next tackle is a booking.

I liked the look of Steven N'Zonzi on Saturday, a big lump who put himself about a bit and has a good touch

[villasjf]

No great supprise to me, every manager has their own ideas on players and we keep on hearing about the wage bill needing to be lowered.

[Brend'Watkins]

Not seen enough of him to make any sort of opinion other than he's good at short passing.  AM has been watching the squad for over a month now so he will have his ideas as to who fits better where with the resources available so I'll trust his judgment as far as Makoun is concerned. 

If Makoun going out, sold or on loan means Parker comes in, well, that would be just wonderful.

[UK Redsox]

J2M out and Parker in would be a great result.

I'm afraid that J2M might be the new Mattieu Berson

[RonBurgundy]

I think it's inevitable he'll go - as mentioned above he's the purchase of a former manager and doesn't suit/fit with the new one.
I'll be sad to see him go, he's shown glimpses of being a really good player - tidy on the ball, good eye for a pass always make himself available. However in the new economic reality we find ourselves in he's a lot more attractive to other teams than Heskey or Beye so i imagine Big Eck will move on to make wage space available for a midfielder he wants - probably a tough bastard.
I think Delph and Bannan are key to our midfield - what impresses me is that they both want the ball and find space to receive it - if lost track of how many seasons we have looked like a static team with senior players hiding from the ball.

[jibba81]

Surprised by these "hasn;t really impressed"comments.  Okay he's a bit rash in the challenge but so is Delph. 

Totally agree, Delph is like Frank Spencer on roller skates in the tackle. I think people are little disappointed that Makoun isn't the sort of Essien style midfield enforcer that he was billed as, but you don't have to be overly physical to anchor a midfield. His game is to do things simply, get it, move it then offer for it and attempt to get the ball off the opposition by interceptions and positioning. I think that when he came over here he may have overcompensated and threw himself into the tackle a bit too often, but I'd give him a chance to find a way to play his natural game in this league. His performance at Old Trafford should be enough to perusade anyone that we should give him a chance to do just that.

[Risso]

Surprised by these "hasn;t really impressed"comments.  Okay he's a bit rash in the challenge but so is Delph. 

Totally agree, Delph is like Frank Spencer on roller skates in the tackle. I think people are little disappointed that Makoun isn't the sort of Essien style midfield enforcer that he was billed as, but you don't have to be overly physical to anchor a midfield. His game is to do things simply, get it, move it then offer for it and attempt to get the ball off the opposition by interceptions and positioning. I think that when he came over here he may have overcompensated and threw himself into the tackle a bit too often, but I'd give him a chance to find a way to play his natural game in this league. His performance at Old Trafford should be enough to perusade anyone that we should give him a chance to do just that.

There's a lot more to being a central midfielder than playing neat little five yard passes.  It's a lazy comparison, but he really is very similar to Berson, who also had a good game at Old Trafford I seem to recall.  Delph showed that he has the potential to be the complete midfielder on Saturday.  Full of running, passing and tackiling, he really was excellent.  Makoun is 28, and it's clear that his style is probably a lot more suited to the French league, and I just don't seem him being able to adapt.  He's not suddenly going to learn to tackle at the age of 28.

[Concrete John]

The way i see it is the main problem is that he doesn't fit into Mcleish's style.  I think he likes two combative and strong central midfielders, which Makoun isn't.  OK, he played DCM in France, but doing it in the PL is different and he'd need to play with a focused DCM behind him, when AM wants two of those.  Is he attacking enough to play the furthest forward of a three?  Not for me - more a deep lying play maker. 

Ironically the player most of us want to replace him, Parker, is the exact sort we'd need to be able to play Makoun and get the best out of him.

So if this is true I think it's more tactical than about his ability as we need to focus our now more limited resources, so having a player that doesn't fit into the formation AM wants is always going to be first out the door.   

[garyshawsknee]

Shame if true as he can pick a pass out,was hoping he'd have big season for us. If it allows us to get in Parker though,it may be worth it. Spurs won't need him now.

[PaulTheVillan]

Get rid of Makoun & Ireland, get in Barton & play Bannan.

[montague]

Not happy with this, firstly I think he's a good player and secondly I just got a shirt with his name on the back.

Are you 12  ;-)

[Zhong Yi]

considering the lightweight nature of the squad - in terms of personnel - and the fact we probably won't replace him, what is the point of selling when he has only played half a dozen times for the club? Unless he has said something to Agent Blue i cannot see the sense in flogging Jean Makoun, especially when u consider the reception he got when he signed for the club. Give him a season at least.

[Concrete John]

considering the lightweight nature of the squad - in terms of personnel - and the fact we probably won't replace him, what is the point of selling when he has only played half a dozen times for the club? Unless he has said something to Agent Blue i cannot see the sense in flogging Jean Makoun, especially when u consider the reception he got when he signed for the club. Give him a season at least.

Directly from the article you're supposed to be commenting on:-

Asked about Makoun exiting the club, McLeish admitted: “It’s possible but we wouldn’t let anybody go unless somebody came in.”

And unless I'm missing some subtle humour, then calling our manager 'Agent Blue' is just plain childish!