Mikel John Obi

[zolayes 14,489]

good to see Obi getting praised . I believe he is far under valued by many fans and by some pundits too

[Ollie 4,400]

Certainly stepped it up the last couple of years, i was always against him because he seemed so lazy and sluggish and seemed half asleep sometimes but he was brilliant at the back end of last season and now i can't deny that he must be the first name on the team sheet. 25 years old, perfect age now to give us the best years of his career. That video above is really nice, love it.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Yeah he was superb, he controlled the midfield and it was an amazing performance.

Not to mention his composure on the ball was....classy!

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

He seemed to me as a lazy player but since RDM arrival, mikel is a different class.

[Spike 12,049]

If we are lucky Mikel will have the longetivity that many Italians have; imagine Mikel having a 20 year career at Chelsea!

[Clevemayer 764]

LOL, this would be quite funny, mikel running away from an illegal agreement, like we all know now, between lynn oslo and Utd, where he was forced by SAF to put his name on paper (in Fact SAF followed him to the toillette where mikel did hide from them and asked him tu put pen on Papier), comes to us and plays 20 years for this club hahaha.

but seroiusly I liked him from day one, there is no reason to sing his name now, let him play, if he continues his standard he will be here for longer, if not, he will leave... as simple as that... but I have to agree he was perfect against Munich...

[capriccioso 2,545]

If we are lucky Mikel will have the longetivity that many Italians have; imagine Mikel having a 20 year career at Chelsea!

He should, as his game isn't dependent on speed/strength, which are usually the first things that leave a player when he reaches his early 30s.

[Blue Armour 4,163]

One of the worst forms of criticism leveled against Mikel in recent times, is that Oriol Romeu makes more forward passes than he does.

[Jype 6,398]

https://twitter.com/Mikel12Official

Our favourite Nigerian is now on Twitter, account is verified and followed by @chelseafc.

Gotta love the self-irony:

My official account - Chelsea & Nigeria midfielder. I don't score much...

[zolayes 14,489]

He seemed to me as a lazy player but since RDM arrival, mikel is a different class.

intelligent players often look lazy, they dont rush around like headless chickens

[Clevemayer 764]

One of the worst forms of criticism leveled against Mikel in recent times, is that Oriol Romeu makes more forward passes than he does.

I did post countless graphics from guardian chalkboards and statistics... still ppl where accusing him of makeing sidway passes mostly... this was ridiciulus...

[capriccioso 2,545]

Sidewards passes are vital. Look up Xavi's passing stats, he doesn't give that much forward penetration. Retaining the ball is the most important part of playing as a DM.

[Naked Mole Rat 437]

One of the worst forms of criticism leveled against Mikel in recent times, is that Oriol Romeu makes more forward passes than he does.

And that Romeu is more creative than him. If I'm not mistaken, he made one simple assist for us last season, and people were going insane about how he perfectly picked out Lampard, who was maybe 5 yards in front of him. The only three things Romeu is better at than Mikel currently is shooting, running and being aggressive, although the latter is not always a good thing since he's inexperienced. In almost every other aspect, Mikel is a much better player. He's more intelligent, more technical, stronger, and better at passing and defending.

[coolhead23 1,146]

For all those who have missed it. Nice chat with Mikel and Lukaku. The video has interviews with first Mikel and then Lukaku (i m uploading it in both the players pages)

[Muzchap 8,966]

Mikel is an 'un-sung' hero - does all the dirty work and yes, people could argue he should be more creative blah blah...

Simple fact is, he knows what his game plan is, he sticks to it and sticks to it well...

My only critiscism would be - sometimes gives away cheap fouls for no reason, or gets booked very early (may not be true, just from what I remember) again for silly fouls - which limit him for the remainder of the match.

[zolayes 14,489]

as a DM Mikel can give us another good 8 years .. In that position he is still young.

[Jase 43,479]

Hard to believe he's only 25. It's like he has been here forever!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I wonder, that if after 16 years at the club when he finally comes to retire, that we'll finally appreciate him?