Mikel John Obi

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

[didierforever 7,349]

good performance. brilliant block off the line, could have changed the whole game.

[Madmax 9,219]

“Look at Mikel. The first time he played was Newcastle and he was our best player. How can he be our best player if he didn’t play in three months? Because he was working every day at the top level. Sad, frustrated, not happy? Maybe. But professional. That’s what I expect from the players."

- Mourinho.

[robsblubot 3,217]

The "best player" returns to his rightful place in a club like Chelsea: the bench.

Believe in what Jose does, not what he says.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The "best player" returns to his rightful place in a club like Chelsea: the bench.

Believe in what Jose does, not what he says.

As always, so much hate!

I do think he was the best payer against Newcastle along with Didier and so did a lot of people, including, obviously, Jose. Obviously we have better options than him in that position in the team and so he is not going to be more than a squad player, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was excellent in that game and has overall done good in the last 4 matches for us.

You, and everyone, should be absolutely delighted that we have squad players who are willing to accept minor roles, cause no trouble about it and still train hard everyday, and then come up with good performances when called upon in the team. That's practically every manager's dream!

[didierforever 7,349]

The "best player" returns to his rightful place in a club like Chelsea: the bench.

Believe in what Jose does, not what he says.

huh???

after newcastle we have played hull, derby and sporting. ALL of which he has started!!!

so actually him being the "best player" has been rewarded by jose.

[robsblubot 3,217]

As always, so much hate!

I do think he was the best payer against Newcastle along with Didier and so did a lot of people, including, obviously, Jose. Obviously we have better options than him in that position in the team and so he is not going to be more than a squad player, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was excellent in that game and has overall done good in the last 4 matches for us.

You, and everyone, should be absolutely delighted that we have squad players who are willing to accept minor roles, cause no trouble about it and still train hard everyday, and then come up with good performances when called upon in the team. That's practically every manager's dream!

There is no hate from me. I think he's a shitty player, especially for a top club. That has nothing to do with hate, which honestly sounds like rhetoric to me. I don't "like" the players I consider good, and I don't "dislike" the players I deem insufficient. I don't know them and they really don't mean anything to me - the same way i don't mean anything to them.

Disagree again, a player who accepts a minor role is deadweight. A footballer without ambition doesn't belong at this level.

huh???

after newcastle we have played hull, derby and sporting. ALL of which he has started!!!

so actually him being the "best player" has been rewarded by jose.

If he has been the "best" player like he said, then Mikel will also play when all others are available, not to fill a gap. In my dictionary, the word "best" means better than the others...

You often respond without actually taking the time to understand what has been written, so you end up answering a different point altogether.

in short, if he starts today then Jose was truthful. I will disagree with Jose, but agree that he is consistent. My point was that he isn't though, and that he is playing the press.

[The Skipper 20,593]

There is no hate from me. I think he's a shitty player, especially for a top club. That has nothing to do with hate, which honestly sounds like rhetoric to me. I don't "like" the players I consider good, and I don't "dislike" the players I deem insufficient. I don't know them and they really don't mean anything to me - the same way i don't mean anything to them.

Disagree again, a player who accepts a minor role is deadweight. A footballer without ambition doesn't belong at this level.

If he has been the "best" player like he said, then Mikel will also play when all others are available, not to fill a gap. In my dictionary, the word "best" means better than the others...

You often respond without actually taking the time to understand what has been written, so you end up answering a different point altogether.

in short, if he starts today then Jose was truthful. I will disagree with Jose, but agree that he is consistent. My point was that he isn't though, and that he is playing the press.

Why would Jose go out of his way to say something like that though? Mikel was easily one of our best players against Newcastke...

[didierforever 7,349]

There is no hate from me. I think he's a shitty player, especially for a top club. That has nothing to do with hate, which honestly sounds like rhetoric to me. I don't "like" the players I consider good, and I don't "dislike" the players I deem insufficient. I don't know them and they really don't mean anything to me - the same way i don't mean anything to them.

Disagree again, a player who accepts a minor role is deadweight. A footballer without ambition doesn't belong at this level.

If he has been the "best" player like he said, then Mikel will also play when all others are available, not to fill a gap. In my dictionary, the word "best" means better than the others...

You often respond without actually taking the time to understand what has been written, so you end up answering a different point altogether.

in short, if he starts today then Jose was truthful. I will disagree with Jose, but agree that he is consistent. My point was that he isn't though, and that he is playing the press.

"The first time he played was Newcastle and he was our best player"

so according to you, if mikel was our best player against newcastle it should mean that he should start every game? WTF!!! u know, a player can be better than others on a particular day independent of how good he is on the other days. (this has actually got to be the LOLLEST thing i have heard on this forum)

i think you dint even read what jose said. and serious LOL at trying to spin this on me!!!

but somehow you think that only the best player can be the best performer in every match!!! hmmm, interesting!!!

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

If he has been the "best" player like he said, then Mikel will also play when all others are available, not to fill a gap. In my dictionary, the word "best" means better than the others...

You often respond without actually taking the time to understand what has been written, so you end up answering a different point altogether.

in short, if he starts today then Jose was truthful. I will disagree with Jose, but agree that he is consistent. My point was that he isn't though, and that he is playing the press.

Jose said best player in the Newcastle match, not the best Chelsea player in the squad lol.

[robsblubot 3,217]

"The first time he played was Newcastle and he was our best player"

so according to you, if mikel was our best player against newcastle it should mean that he should start every game? WTF!!! u know, a player can be better than others on a particular day independent of how good he is on the other days.

i think you dint even read what jose said. and serious LOL at trying to spin this on me!!!

but somehow you think that only the best player can be the best performer in every match!!!

Of course not... managers always replace the best players. So was he the worst against Sporting?! Because if he was the BEST against newcastle and very good against Sporting, perhaps he deserves a starting lineup position?

My point remains: either Mikel starts when all other players are available, in which case he is at least good enough (let's not even go into "best"), or he doesn't (start) and which case he isn't good enough to start. There is very little else to say. I was just calling Jose on his BS.

We will see in the following games, esp when Rambo regains match fitness.

[didierforever 7,349]

Of course not... managers always replace the best players. So was he the worst against Sporting?!

My point remains: either Mikel starts when all other players are available, in which case he is at least good enough (let's not even go into "best"), or he doesn't (start) and which case he isn't good enough to start. There is very little else to say. I was just calling Jose on his BS.

We will see in the following games, esp when Rambo regains match fitness.

how does the best player in one match have any relation to the position of mikel in the squad. do you even have the slightest idea how iditic that sounds!!!

let me explain this in another way. MIKEL WAS OUR BEST PLAYER ON THAT DAY. THAT ONE DAY. AGAINST NEWCASTLE. JOSE DID NOT SAY THAT HE IS OUR BEST PLAYER IN THE SEASON. JUST THAT PARTICULAR MATCH!!!

anyone who actually saw the match and is objective about mikel and not prejudiced would say the same thing about mikel.

against watford , if jose plays boga and he scores a brace and jose says that boga was our best player on the pitch, that means he should play boga in every match???

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Of course not... managers always replace the best players. So was he the worst against Sporting?! Because if he was the BEST against newcastle and very good against Sporting, perhaps he deserves a starting lineup position?

My point remains: either Mikel starts when all other players are available, in which case he is at least good enough (let's not even go into "best"), or he doesn't (start) and which case he isn't good enough to start. There is very little else to say. I was just calling Jose on his BS.

We will see in the following games, esp when Rambo regains match fitness.

I think the whole Jose press conference went completely over your head, not sure how either, it was pretty straightforward.

Firstly, let's put the quote in context - Jose was talking about how important the squad is to him. By squad he means all 22-24 players and not just the first XI. He was talking about how even if you don't start you need to be professional and be ready to help the team. This is when he uses Mikel as an example. Mikel, a squad player, just by mentioning him should give you a clue that he regards Mikel as a squad player and not the best Chelsea player. Then he goes on to say that this squad player never played, but when he was called upon he helped the team, so much so that he put in a MOM performance, clearly showing that squad players can be just as important as first XI.

He is clearly saying Mikel is a squad player, but when called upon, he still helped the team by giving a great performance.

Now if you don't think he was good in the Newcastle match, that's a seperate discussion.

I def don't think Jose's quote was BS, if anything I it was a very very good quote supported with a clear example to motivate all other squad players.

[didierforever 7,349]

I think the whole Jose press conference went completely over your head, not sure how either, it was pretty straightforward.

Firstly, let's put the quote in context - Jose was talking about how important the squad is to him. By squad he means all 22-24 players and not just the first XI. He was talking about how even if you don't start you need to be professional and be ready to help the team. This is when he uses Mikel as an example. Mikel, a squad player, just by mentioning him should give you a clue that he regards Mikel as a squad player and not the best Chelsea player. Then he goes on to say that this squad player never played, but when he was called upon he helped the team, so much so that he put in a MOM performance, clearly showing that squad players can be just as important as first XI.

He is clearly saying Mikel is a squad player, but when called upon, he still helped the team by giving a great performance.

Now if you don't think he was good in the Newcastle match, that's a seperate discussion.

I def don't think Jose's quote was BS, if anything I it was a very very good quote supported with a clear example to motivate all other squad players.

this. thank you

[robsblubot 3,217]

I think the whole Jose press conference went completely over your head, not sure how either, it was pretty straightforward.

Firstly, let's put the quote in context - Jose was talking about how important the squad is to him. By squad he means all 22-24 players and not just the first XI. He was talking about how even if you don't start you need to be professional and be ready to help the team. This is when he uses Mikel as an example. Mikel, a squad player, just by mentioning him should give you a clue that he regards Mikel as a squad player and not the best Chelsea player. Then he goes on to say that this squad player never played, but when he was called upon he helped the team, so much so that he put in a MOM performance, clearly showing that squad players can be just as important as first XI.

He is clearly saying Mikel is a squad player, but when called upon, he still helped the team by giving a great performance.

Now if you don't think he was good in the Newcastle match, that's a seperate discussion.

I def don't think Jose's quote was BS, if anything I it was a very very good quote supported with a clear example to motivate all other squad players.

Of course, that must be the only possible explanation.

--

Now I believe in what he said; disagreeing or not wasn' the point as I dislike Mikel as a footballer. I find extremely naive to believe anything Jose says to the press, so I tend to pay attention to what he does, not what he says. Mikel starting today makes me believe Jose really thinks what he said... there is another explanation, but we will only find out in a month or so.

He also said, that "he and Fabregas knew very well what his true position is back then" which in the contest at the time, was CM. So, things change, and his positions to the press are, let's say, inconsistent.

Having a player like Mikel on the squad means youngsters will never play. I really can't agree with that.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Having a player like Mikel on the squad means youngsters will never play. I really can't agree with that.

Disagree. Mikel is a very useful player because of his experience and his specialist role. I'm all for youth integration as you know but Mikel is not blocking anyone's path. None of our youngsters have anywhere near Mikel's skill set either (maybe apart from Ake but he's just come back from injury). It's Mourinho's decision at the end of the day anyway.

[robsblubot 3,217]

Disagree. Mikel is a very useful player because of his experience and his specialist role. I'm all for youth integration as you know but Mikel is not blocking anyone's path. None of our youngsters have anywhere near Mikel's skill set either (maybe apart from Ake but he's just come back from injury). It's Mourinho's decision at the end of the day anyway.

Funny because this is one of the arguments people who defend Jose make - when he does not employ youngsters - that youngsters are lower than the fringe players in the so called pecking order.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Funny because this is one of the arguments people who defend Jose make - when he does not employ youngsters - that youngsters are lower than the fringe players in the so called pecking order.

Mikel IMO is pretty important and useful, unlike someone like Salah for example, and I don't see any youth players that have the same skill set as him as I mentioned before.