By AD
February 3 2009

Sometimes I can be accused of being slightly blinkered on certain things to do with Coventry City, so it's always nice to get another opinion! Thanks to AD for his article on the recently departed "Misfiring Maltese Misfit Michael 'Mosquito' Mifsud"!

So ‘The Mosquito’ has buzzed off to pastures new and a few fans are in uproar at the sale of City’s highest goalscorer from last season. His early season exploits last year until his sending off against West Brom earned him the adulation of virtually every Sky Blue supporter, but just how much are we going to miss the diminutive Malteser?

His goals last season kept us up and he gave us practically our only goal threat a lot of the time. His pace worries defenders and helps take the pressure off our back four somewhat because of it, but what else does he offer a team?

Well, a physical presence certainly isn’t on the list that’s for sure. 5’5’’ and weighing about as much as a bag of sugar, the Malteser is definitely the lighter way to enjoy football! He’s easy to knock off the ball and no good in the air, so leading the line isn’t one of his strong points either.

His finishing is erratic, being capable of some sublime finishes like his first goal for the club under Micky Adams, but also lacking composure to finish off numerous one-on-ones.

One aspect he has got, and everyone knows it, is pace. Bags of the stuff. Rather than being a mosquito he’s more like a whippet that’s just been stung by one. But that in itself is both a help and a hindrance.

Most of his chances are created by his pace, but that pace also makes controlling the ball harder, and many times he can’t quite pick the ball up due to his speed. Not the worst thing in the world but if you could run the 110m hurdles in 9 seconds but only managed to finish about 1 in 5 races because you tripped over the hurdles, surely you’d slow down slightly to avoid doing so as you’d still be more than quick enough to win?

But therein lies the problem. He seems a bit of a one-trick pony. Kick it past the defender and then have a race with them. But any defender with a bit of guile can sort this out using strength, or with tactics ensuring there’s always someone covering. Mifsud tends to keep his head down and not look for others, making a defenders job a lot easier to do as they don’t need to keep such a close eye on supporting players. He doesn’t seem to have a plan B, leading to cries that he’s been ‘found out’.

A lot has been made of Mifsud’s drought since this time last year, with four goals compared to the 17 he got in quick succession at the start of last season, and what’s caused it. Some blame the sale of Adebola, meaning he didn’t have a ‘big-man’ to do the dirty work for him. Perhaps it was down to being played out wide? He still seemed to have chances to score playing there so any effect would seem to have been psychological, with his head dropping because he wanted to play down the middle.

So could it have been to do with the adulation he received after his performances against Man U and Blackburn? He got constant media attention for those and was repeatedly asked about potential moves to Premier League clubs, surely enough to turn anyone’s head. Certainly quotes from interviews from this time last year seemed to suggest Miffy believed he was better than Coventry, and I think he was expecting bigger suitors than the likes of Bristol City, Palace and Barnsley.

Mifsud is Malta’s equivalent of David Beckham, and over the last few months it’s become increasingly evident he’s got the ego to match. With his £1.5m summer move to Bristol City all but completed, Gary Johnson (Bristol manager) pulled the plug and openly criticised Mifsud for his behaviour. Another bid earlier in this transfer window was accepted but Michael couldn’t agree personal terms, and the Barnsley move nearly floundered in the same manner with him reputedly demanding wages of £20k a week (or an annual salary of £1MILLION!). In fact, it’s possible he only went on loan to Barnsley after being told if he didn’t he’d sit and rot on the sidelines.

Whatever the reason, he’d obviously decided he didn’t want to be here anymore, and that’s no good for the squad or the player, so it’s best he’s moved on.

But having said that he can be exciting to watch and it’s been far too long since we had someone who could get us up on our feet in expectation like him. But like relationships that go on that bit too long, once the initial magic wears off you realise that they aren’t exactly who you thought they were, and the resentment towards each other slowly grows until eventually you have to go your separate ways.

I would have preferred Miffy to go abroad as I’m sure he’ll score a few goals and the Barnsley fans will love him like we once did for his exciting style of play. Despite all the excitement he brought, the team will be stronger and more balanced without having to compensate for a maverick and arguably the squad could be more together without his ego.

You could have been a Sky Blue legend Miffy, but instead you’ll be remembered as the guy who scored a couple of goals against good teams in the cups but who was a greedy so-and-so completely full of himself.

That, and for a hilarious anti-racism video involving a cheese and onion pasty!