The only place to be

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/roberto-mancini-eyes-up-premier-1940296

Or be stuck with Essien and Mikel. Hopefully this is a show of faith in youngsters like Chalobah, and just a chance for Romeu to get a whole season under his belt after injury. Not particularly enamoured with this loan deal though.

I don't see how it tarnishes this club's image in the slightest. To me that's just more of the tabloid bullshit that most sports fans couldn't give a shit about and that's without mentioning his massive marketability which runs contrary to the suggestion you're making. As for what he brings to the football side of things, one of the great things he brings is versatility. He can play in the hole which enables us to bring Lukaku through whilst also resting someone like Mata. But as a pure striker I like the fact that he can play on the last man whilst also having the vision and ability to bring other players into the game, which is going to be key when you have players like Hazard, Mata, Oscar and possibly Schurrle playing behind him. He's strong, has a great eye for a goal and has done it at the very highest level. That doesn't mean Cavani can't do the same thing (for about £20 million more) but there's every chance he's a flop too. One more point - this talk of a decline. It seems to have been brought up by someone without any evidence or context to support it (what a fucking surprise eh?). Is Aguero also on a decline? He had a worse season than Rooney did last year, and also the year before yet no-one seems to be suggesting he's on a downwards trajectory. In fact at least one person has suggested he's a better striker than Rooney. It's amazing how people can be influenced by gossip rags and tabloid shit.

I think it's a fair point to compare him to Torres because they both play in this country and have had poor seasons.....but that's about it. Torres decline has been marked by a loss of that explosive pace that made him such a threat at Atletico and Liverpool. Rooney never relied on that. He was much more about technique and power, workrate and intelligent movement and those are things I don't see him having lost over the last year. That's why I don't see any similarities beyond the superficial. I do think Cavani could be a great player for us, but I simply think that Rooney has the potential to be better in this team and under Mourinho. i think he offers something that we might be lacking in terms of aggression and I think United know that which is why he almost certainly won't be joining us. But I think there's something more pernicious and unsavoury about some of the criticism he's faced and it's something very unique to English culture.

No, but there are people on here who are capable of making posts that are interesting, provide insight and new ways of looking at thing and don't rely simply on broad generalities and emoticons. It's nothing personal, I've just not seen anything in your posts that adds a single point to the discussion. The fact that you were looking for a comeback and not an explanation sums you up.

Oh well. Can't say I didn't give you a chance.

In decline at the age of 27? The guy has had fitness concerns but are you seriously telling me that he couldn't get himself back to his best? As for his technical skills, I don't think they're close to being in decline. But we've had this discussion before and I'm going to give you another shot to say something that interests me. If not I think we'll just knock it on the head.

Stuart Pearce is an absolute joke of a coach. Can't imagine Jose or Fergie blaming the players and not defending them to the media after a match. What an absolute joke that he's u21 manager.

I think there is a chance Mikel does turn it around, but Mourinho is going to have to change so much about him. He was an attacking midfielder when we signed him, but we stripped so much adventure out of his game to make him into a Makelele-clone and I think he needs to claw some of that back. Look at his goal contribution for instance. He isn't in the team to score goals but 6 seasons?? It's absurd that a guy with his physical gifts doesn't get the odd goal. It's not a massive point but it's just one more thing that illustrates a lack of ambition or adventure on his part. I think it's all mental because physically he has everything you could ask for, save for a bit of explosiveness over the first 5 yards. He can see a pass, he can fend off players, he's 6'2", he's got a nice touch and he can run with the ball but there just seems so much reluctance on his part to do so. Now maybe that's the coaches fault and Jose can turn it around, but he needs to really get his arse into gear and work his bollocks off because there are young guys with similar gifts chomping at his heels.

Absolutely 100% agree.

Let's not get into presenting opinion as fact - I wouldn't for a moment say Aguero is better after last season. Same goes for Suarez and maybe even Lewandowski and Cavani. Let's not forget that Rooney had a phenomenal season in 2012 and was then dropped into a deeper role this season, whilst also suffering a few injury/fitness woes. Well that's fair enough. He has been written off before, and then scored 34 goals the following season and I think he could absolutely do that for us. We need a striker next season. At about half the price of Cavani and with 100 goals in the last four years I think he's a fantastic option. And the point I was getting at is that some fans in this country slag off English players whilst thinking the grass is always greener on the continent. I've actually alluded to the way we build people up and then tear them down in this country, and I'll once again state that the notion he was never world class is fucking retarded. It's absolutely absurd and laughable and ridiculous and silly and......look, if a group of monkeys in a room came up with that statement then I'd commend them on the effort but you seem a smart enough chap so I'm really not going to be quite so kind about it.

People defended him because he had two bad injuries, yet he never shirked his duties or became a passenger. Has Mikel had some bad injuries that I missed?? Essien is a leader....Essien is a MAN. That's why he'll be defended because he loves this club and we love him. As for the rest of your post, he's played nearly 300 games for us now. People know who he is, what he offers and they have a fair idea what he could be going forward. They'll appreciate the job he did for us in the past but we've always been a club that has looked to the future. Quite frankly, Bayern have shown the whole of Europe what the players in the double pivot should be and I think Mikel has been left behind partly because we were so intent on turning him into the new Makelele - I don't know if Makelele would fit our team anymore in all honesty.

So Rooney was at that level in 2010 when he scored 34 goals in 44 games..... but he wasn't at that level in 2012 when he scored 34 goals in 44 games. In fact this season his stats were roughly on par with Aguero's despite playing in a deeper role (but Aguero had injury problems.....well so did Rooney). As for the rest of the random names you've chucked in there (does 'up for debate' mean 'sound foreign so why not?').....really? Kiessling? Madzukic? Lucas (I'll guess you mean Moura and not Leiva, although I'm not sure). Look, Rooney isn't the easiest player to love and it's not a transfer without risks, but the amount of shit he gets is unbelievable. I know it's not nice that a guy who is a bit thick and a bit rough earns millions of pounds but that's not a reason not to sign him. He's a fantastic talent who is woefully undervalued, underrated and overly-maligned by a certain type of English person. It's a shame his name is spelt Rooney and not Rooni. Unfortunately United probably realise this which is why they won't sell him to us.

I'm not going to criticise a young player (who is clearly talented by the way) from taking a few chances in games against weaker opposition. We're talking about a game we won 6-0 and had sewn up after about 30 minutes, which is to me the perfect game for a young guy to try some new things. Fuck knows what you're on about 'hipster' but Ake has been good in FA Cup, Europa League and Premier League games when given a chance. Maybe he can't do what Mikel does (pause to snigger) over 60 games but those three guys could share the workload in my opinion. That's if we don't sign someone like De Rossi who is a proper leader of men. It's easy to forget that Mikel is older than Mata and has been at this club for about 7 years yet people like you still baby him. We can't really talk about him in terms of potential anymore, yet he has still failed to convince a lot of supporters of his value to the club. Is that acceptable?

People have different criteria for being world class, but saying he isn't even close is fucking ridiculous in my opinion. I'd say he was certainly a worldie back in 2010 and I don't think it's inconceivable that he couldn't recapture that form in the right team and with the right motivation.

Chelsea holding midfielder John Obi Mikel has been increasingly linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in the last week or so. Some quotes have been attributed to his agent suggesting he might be tempted by a move away, with Galatasaray having a reported interesting in the Nigerian star. Since moving to Chelsea in 2006 Mikel has won every available trophy domestically, as well as helping the club lift the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. However, there is a feeling amongst some Chelsea fans that Mikel has never really hit the heights he was destined too and that he is perhaps not best suited to the two man defensive pivot. As such, would it make sense to sell Mikel? Statistical analysis Av. Passes Pass Accuracy Long Passes Interceptions Per Game Tackles Per Game Mikel 53 89% 3.3 1.5 2.3 Arteta 80.9 92% 5.3 2.9 3.2 Toure 78.9 89% 5.5 1.2 0.9 Carrick 77.1 88% 5.8 2.1 2.3 Mikel’s main role in Chelsea’s team is to be the deep lying midfield passer and as such I have compared him to the three top passers in the Premier League, all defensive midfielders (although Toure is often used higher up the pitch). The most striking observation is how few passes Mikel plays in comparison to other top players in his position with the other three playing significantly more passes per game and playing more long passes per game. Mikel’s passes tend to be sideways, rather than penetrative long balls in behind, something Michael Carrick, Toure and Mikel Arteta are very good at. Mikel is quite a large player in frame but we can also see he is not the best defensive player. Toure’s stats are skewed as he is often used higher up the field but Arteta and Carrick make a far greater defensive contribution than Mikel. In fact, Mikel is also often caught on the ball sometimes and is not the most robust in the tackle. Carrick and Arteta on the other hand often win the ball and then quickly distribute it forward. Mikel on the other hand is relatively slow in possession and often slows down quick attacks. Tactical analysis Mikel’s passing is probably the biggest issue as he is simply not particularly productive on the ball nor is he particularly proficient at keeping Chelsea’s play ticking over with sensible and quick passing. If we observe his passing from the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield (Mikel’s last Premier League appearance) we can see this trend: Mikel had a pretty poor 81% pass completion for this game and as we can see only managed to complete 39 passes, nowhere near a significant enough figure to really impact the game. In a game like this he should have been dominating but instead was relatively non-existent. Most of his passes are quite safe, either backwards or short passes in midfield with his only long passes having been failed passes. In comparison to the top Premier League passing midfielders this really isn’t good enough, as they regularly complete 70+ passes at an accuracy of around 90%. It’s also worth noting that Chelsea’s title rivals Manchester City have already strengthened this area with Fernandinho, whilst Manchester United are being heavily linked with a move for a centre-midfielder such as Fabregas. Conclusion John Obi Mikel has not been a bad signing for Chelsea but he has never really convinced as a top class Chelsea player. Since moving to the club he has been a steady performer at defensive midfield, without ever excelling. There are also doubts over whether he is of the required quality to get Chelsea back to the top of English football, especially considering that the club are weak in the defensive pivot area. If Mikel moves on it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the World as the club are set to bring in a new midfielder anyway. If the club can bring in a top class passer, or a top class combative midfielder then Chelsea would definitely be better off. http://thinkfootball.co.uk/archives/10474

I'm saying I don't know. Before being a patronising cunt why not admit that you don't know either what he's instructed....or are you part of the coaching staff at Chelsea? Why does it have to be either/or? What's with it being one-dimensional? Why not pose more questions for the opposition rather than sticking to one thing? If a player in a deeper role can throw something new in there then surely that's better for the team? Romeu had literally just turned 21 and he's still very early in his career. Fuck me what is it with 'supporters' (and yes that is in quotations) like you who have to attack young men in order to defend veterans like Mikel? If he was 300 games into his career then you'd have a fair point, but Mikel did the same thing against Juventus (costing us two points) and even against teams like Rubin Kazan when Nathan Ake showed more urgency to get back and defend a cross than Mikel did. It's fucking disgusting sometimes and makes me wonder what this club is becoming with people like you following us.

So you're saying that he's never been one of the best players of the world? Not even in 2010 when he was probably the best player in England? Again, you blame the media but there's something pernicious in this country that likes to shit on people who are successful. People see a nice car in most countries and they think well done - in this country we turn our noses up at them or key it. But yeah, he's a scouser so it's all okay.

Here's my problem with his passing range. I suspect it's good, in fact having seen some of his AFCON performances I'm fairly certain it is but it's so unambitious and lacking in urgency much of the time. Now I'm quite prepared to accept that he's been asked to do that, but other players who have come into that position over the last couple of seasons haven't played in the same way. Romeu was much more ambitious with his passing, more ready to switch wings with long passes, play harder passes through the lines to a striker or attacking midfielder (which forces teams to re-adjust) or simply bring it out of defence with a bit more urgency (a word I use a lot with Mikel). Even Ake in his matches showed a lot more willingness to hit first time balls with pace (one of which instigated the break which led to the first goal against Everton) although it's way too early to tell. Even Chalobah has shown a willingness at Watford to drive the play on, but it's a different system in a different league so again there are question marks. All this makes it a bit more frustrating with Mikel. If he has the ability to impose himself on games and drag players along with him then why doesn't he do it for Chelsea? Why is he so passive, slow and lackadaisical? Maybe Jose can stick the rocket up his arse that he so badly needs.

I'm not going to say that we were in the best shape last season, because we weren't. My problem with Mikel is that he plays in a position that requires the most maturity on the pitch, is 26 years old yet is still a passenger. We have MEN in our team who have stood up to be counted, pulled the team along and made us better than we had any right to be (people like Mata, Hazard, Lamps at times, Rami, Luiz and even Torres at points). That's what people who follow this club have always respected and it's why Mikel is such a divisive character. On stats sheets he looks impressive but people who support this club know that it takes more than that, which is why people like Makelele were so well-respected. Maka played in an unfashionable, messy position but the supporters of Chelsea Football Club aren't mugs and saw exactly what he brought to the team. He was a leader who put the team first and made players around him better. Now there's one more thing about the Mikel defenders - you have to stop using the CL Final as a defence of him because we were the worse team in that game and were lucky to win. We were outfought in midfield, we lost the possession battle and Bayern created 21 shots on target - how the fuck is that an endorsement of Mikel's abilities in that position?? I'm sorry, but I want men who are proud to pull the Chelsea shirt on at any opportunity to be at this club and Mikel made people like you and Choulo look like complete mugs with performances like the one away to Rubin Kazan.

Nice player and the modern 'pivot' player. Hard-working, has a good eye for a pass and also gets some goals. To me, the era of the holding midfielder a la Makelele and even Deschamps is coming to an end and the DM has to be more like Martinez at Bayern - an all-action midfielder who doesn't just lay the ball off to a more attacking midfielder but is capable of bringing the ball out himself. Fortunately we seem to have midfielders like that coming through in Chalobah, Ake and Loftus-Cheek whilst off the current crop, Ramires seems eminently capable and maybe even De Bruyne (although that is untested at this point). Van Ginkel could come in now and compete or spend a year out on loan but it's nice to see the club once again looking to be at the forefront of these new ideas.

I still think Lewandowski is nailed-on for Bayern. Sure they're talking tough now but there's two months before the season starts and he's just got to sit tight and he'll be wearing red before long. Dortmund aren't going to lose him next summer for nothing so he has all the power.

I think it's an English thing. We tend to criticise success, especially if people like Rooney achieve it because he's a bit less intelligent than is acceptable. We tried to do the same to Beckham after the World Cup in 98 but he rebounded and is pretty much teflon now. Honestly, I'm sure there's a reason why he gets so much shit but at the moment I'm really not sure what it is. I've said it before on here but a fit and motivated Rooney could be the best striker in Europe and we could get 5 great years out of him whilst blooding Lukaku (Rooney also offers the option to move back into the number 10 position and play them both), all at half the price that we're looking to spend on Cavani.

So you're judging him by two and a half games under managers who were tactically outthought by their opposition numbers? A little unfair. No-one will argue that he didn't have massive potential as a younger man. Again, another pop at Chalobah. Why? This is a young man starting off his career who has made a fantastic start and you want to shit on him? Thank god there are many, many people there to support this guy week in and week out and he doesn't have to rely on some random bloke on the internet. :tophat:

I'm sure you've got graphs and stats to show how poor Mikel was exposed, but I'm talking about the heart and effort that he showed in some games. If you as a Chelsea supporter were happy with some of those performances then that's your choice and I'm sure Choulo will be along shortly to like your post, but I felt he did a disservice to our club and as a senior member of the club he should've been one of the people to try and lift other people's performances. People like you always treat him like a child, insisting that he needs other people around him to be better. Here's a lesson for you - the best players are the ones who make the players around them better. But yes, he was great in the CL Final. Agreed. There's a few people scared of appearing 'wrong' about him if we sell him, rather than thinking about what's best for Chelsea Football Club. It's weird to say, but at 26 it seems as though the game has moved on from Mikel. So you're writing off an 18 year old who has been one of the best players in the second tier and is very highly thought of at this club?? Is that what type of supporter we're attracting nowadays?