essien was never a dm, so how can he be rated as the best. he started as a defender at bastia but then moved to box to box midfielder position. at lyon too he wasnt a dm, edmilson and mohamadou diarra were the dms. he was still box to box.. at chelsea it was mikel that took over makalele while essien took over eidur's position, box to box. essien could be used in the dm position only in desparate situations. he isnt a good tackler. his first touch can be suspect sometimes. what essien has is an abundance of energy. you might not rate mikel and frankly that your opinion, as a defensive midfilder mikel is the better player. quite possibly as a midfielder overall essien might be better, but as a dm mikel takes the cake. you might not rate mikel but his past couple of manager do...does that mean the have no idea what they are doin? at the end of the day he is still young and is getting better