Mikel John Obi

[The only place to be 11,313]

Over reacting much?

I also wrote about how emanalo was involved with the mikel deal when we first signed him in 2006.

I think it's completely irrelevant. Like I said, there's plenty of footballing reasons to object to Mikel without bringing Emenalo into it.

[Kojo 4,676]

It doesn't seem that Mikel is going to play as much. With him staying I thought Mourinho would see him as a vital player. But these pre season games Van Ginkel seems to be the star man... Of course it's only pre season, however one would think why would a youngster who is hardly going to play get so many pre season minutes?

I am definitely a critic of Mikel, but I really don't care if he stays or goes still. I still trust Mourinhos judgment on him and I will judge him during the season when he plays. If he can perform even if he's a squad player, I will be happy. However I don't think Mikel is going to be one of our starting midfielders.

[Phil Driver 503]

For Jon Obi it looks like he has been sussed ,I knew it would not take Jose long ,finally we have a manager who " does know what he is doing" not even on the bench ,even Mikel must realise he would be better off finding a new club? Rammy,Lamps,Van Ginkel and Essien all look to be in front of Obi under Jose and I reckon he would also play Luiz in front of him ,anyone think he could be at a new club before the window closes?

[The Skipper 20,593]

For Jon Obi it looks like he has been sussed ,I knew it would not take Jose long ,finally we have a manager who " does know what he is doing" not even on the bench ,even Mikel must realise he would be better off finding a new club? Rammy,Lamps,Van Ginkel and Essien all look to be in front of Obi under Jose and I reckon he would also play Luiz in front of him ,anyone think he could be at a new club before the window closes?

After one game? God.

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

After one game? God.

In which Mikel doesn't even played.

[bleed_blue 136]

Not in the starting XI, not on the bench. Good Days

[Phil Driver 503]

The message should be loud and clear now -

Ramires - Phoned personally by Mourinho in the summer and left in no doubt of his worth to Chelsea Football Club.

Lampard- Only a clown would doubt how good Mourinho knows Frank still is.

Essien - Doesnt he call Mourinho Daddy and on the bench yesterday

Van Ginkel - New to the club - but on the bench yesterday and came on.

Luiz - To my mind better in that role than Mikel .

Ake - Played against Everton last season while Mikel watched.

Chalobert - Could also be in front of Mikel now and improving by the day.

Mourinho management style is all about psycology he misses nothing and for Mikel the message was clear yesterday,he was not even on the bench and looks to be well down the pecking order,the signs are very good that we will not have to put up with Mikel for too much longer and I would hope he can find a new club and we can thank him for his efforts, hanging around and picking up that large pay cheque for five years stealing a living will not see him leave with any good will and if I were the club I would not be asking for a big fee to move him on.

As I expected it looks as though Mourinho has come to the club and is making the right calls from day one, no messing and that is part of what makes him the great manager he is as it takes a higher level of understanding of the game to see how much negativity Mikel brings to the team when he plays and obviously Mourinho has that and has been watching us diligently.

[Ainsley Harriott 2,732]

The message should be loud and clear now -

Ramires - Phoned personally by Mourinho in the summer and left in no doubt of his worth to Chelsea Football Club.

Lampard- Only a clown would doubt how good Mourinho knows Frank still is.

Essien - Doesnt he call Mourinho Daddy and on the bench yesterday

Van Ginkel - New to the club - but on the bench yesterday and came on.

Luiz - To my mind better in that role than Mikel .

Ake - Played against Everton last season while Mikel watched.

Chalobert - Could also be in front of Mikel now and improving by the day.

Mourinho management style is all about psycology he misses nothing and for Mikel the message was clear yesterday,he was not even on the bench and looks to be well down the pecking order,the signs are very good that we will not have to put up with Mikel for too much longer and I would hope he can find a new club and we can thank him for his efforts, hanging around and picking up that large pay cheque for five years stealing a living will not see him leave with any good will and if I were the club I would not be asking for a big fee to move him on.

As I expected it looks as though Mourinho has come to the club and is making the right calls from day one, no messing and that is part of what makes him the great manager he is as it takes a higher level of understanding of the game to see how much negativity Mikel brings to the team when he plays and obviously Mourinho has that and has been watching us diligently.

[Kojo 4,676]

I don't know how Mikel will fit in this system, Ramires is going to start almost every game, that's clear.

But how is Mikel going to be needed? we don't need someone who sits deep, Van Ginkel and Lampard in the other slot play very well, they go forward now and then and the team becomes more fluid and unpredictable. We work harder so we don't get caught out on the counter attack as much, and we've gotten better so where not losing the ball as much.

I just can't see Mikel getting much playing time in this team, and I'm not basing this after one game, because I hate people who do that. But I've said this pre season now. As for the Mikel supporters, Skipper and Choulo, do you think he has a place in the side?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Choulo, do you think he has a place in the side?

I think he does as he is our only geniune holding midfielder. Ramires did a very good job in that role at the weekend, but it was only Hull. And more importantly, when Rami plays that role, it restricts him and takes away his best asset which is his ability to play box-to-box and make those trade mark runs of his. Van Ginkel looked very good defensively in preseason, but he's still young, and I think his role may be restricted this season in bigger games. Not sure what Jose's plans for Essien are, but I doubt he'll be more than a squad player.

So based on the above, I think Mikel will definitely play an important role. On any account, we'll have a better idea what role each player will have a few weeks into the season.

[Phil Driver 503]

Our only genuine holding midfielder was Makelele ,Mikel is in no way a genuine holding midfielder ,he is a failed Attacking Midfielder and that is based on seven years evidence. Did anyone else notice Rammy in the Hull penalty box in the first ten minutes on Sun?

[Reddish-Blue 2,213]

Our only genuine holding midfielder was Makelele ,Mikel is in no way a genuine holding midfielder ,he is a failed Attacking Midfielder and that is based on seven years evidence. Did anyone else notice Rammy in the Hull penalty box in the first ten minutes on Sun?

That's a bit unfair on Mikel. He's still a solid midfielder, when given the chance to express himself on the pitch (as shown by his performances for Nigeria).

Very interested to see how Jose utilises Mikel's skill-set...he's not a genuine defensive midfielder...but in a 3-man midfield, he could finally show some consistency in his performances.

[haranr 485]

Sell this lazyass

[didierforever 7,349]

LOL at people saying mikel wont be used and all. its going to be a LONG season and i have no doubt we will be competing for atleast 3 ofthe 4 tournaments that we are going to play in. so mikel will get his CHANCES, and i have no doubt he ll be good.

anyways i trust in jose to make the right call.

[Kojo 4,676]

I think he does as he is our only geniune holding midfielder. Ramires did a very good job in that role at the weekend, but it was only Hull. And more importantly, when Rami plays that role, it restricts him and takes away his best asset which is his ability to play box-to-box and make those trade mark runs of his. Van Ginkel looked very good defensively in preseason, but he's still young, and I think his role may be restricted this season in bigger games. Not sure what Jose's plans for Essien are, but I doubt he'll be more than a squad player.

So based on the above, I think Mikel will definitely play an important role. On any account, we'll have a better idea what role each player will have a few weeks into the season.

Ramires wont play that role, I would say he's still playing box to box. In the Hull game he made a few runs upfield, he didn't play that deep.

I think it's always going to be Ramires in the double pivot

MVG-Ramires

Lampard-Ramires

Essien-Ramires

Mikel-Ramires

Honestly I'm expecting to see a lot more of MVG and Lampard in that pivot, just because Lampards old it isn't going to restrict him, it's clear Mourinho has huge respect for him, and he played very well against Hull. Mikel has barely played any games so far when you include pre season, I think that's very strange if hes supposed to be a key player.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Ramires wont play that role, I would say he's still playing box to box. In the Hull game he made a few runs upfield, he didn't play that deep.

I think it's always going to be Ramires in the double pivot

MVG-Ramires

Lampard-Ramires

Essien-Ramires

Mikel-Ramires

Honestly I'm expecting to see a lot more of MVG and Lampard in that pivot, just because Lampards old it isn't going to restrict him, it's clear Mourinho has huge respect for him, and he played very well against Hull. Mikel has barely played any games so far when you include pre season, I think that's very strange if hes supposed to be a key player.

Was having this same discussion about Ramires in his thread and if you look at the numbers I posted you could clearly see that Rami was playing deeper. He didn't make a single run into the box.

Lampard does brilliantly well against sides like Hull because he is so effective when it comes to scoring, but I very much doubt he's start many games in the pivot because tends to get bypassed in midfield. Defensively he contributes little to the midfield.

[bleed_blue 136]

Was having this same discussion about Ramires in his thread and if you look at the numbers I posted you could clearly see that Rami was playing deeper. He didn't make a single run into the box.

Lampard does brilliantly well against sides like Hull because he is so effective when it comes to scoring, but I very much doubt he's start many games in the pivot because tends to get bypassed in midfield. Defensively he contributes little to the midfield.

I must have been dreaming that sequence of play when Ramires pounced on a loose ball in midfield, passed it to Lampard and then almost recieved the ball back when through on goal.

This is why I keep telling you to atleast watch the game before coming here and sprouting random things.

One thing having a wrong opinion/interpretation but even your "facts" are wrong.

[Kojo 4,676]

Was having this same discussion about Ramires in his thread and if you look at the numbers I posted you could clearly see that Rami was playing deeper. He didn't make a single run into the box.

Lampard does brilliantly well against sides like Hull because he is so effective when it comes to scoring, but I very much doubt he's start many games in the pivot because tends to get bypassed in midfield. Defensively he contributes little to the midfield.

Yeah sure Lampard goes up, but you can't say that Mikel enhances the midfield completely, and if you look at the stats with and without Mikel last season it didn't look good.

He made a few runs up, but the ball didn't get played to him, one game doesn't mean he's going to stick deep. But it's not like we need him running up that much anyway, we got 4 attacking players in our formation.