9jaGooner

Their judgement cannot be relied on? How many trophies did the four of them win all together? Since he joined Chelsea, Mikel has not played less than 35 games a season. Considering card and injury absences, I wonder how many games a season a player who is considered 'First Choice' would play. When you say 'looking at your username', do you mean because I'm a Nigerian or because I support Arsenal? Anyways, I'm not here to argue tbh. I only decided to add my views as someone who has seen Mikel excel in the free role position. I feel he will do better in that role for Chelsea or any other team for that matter. myopinion

What Chelsea fans should ask themselves is, if Mikel is as poor as many say he is, how come when he is fit, he gets into the first team of EVERY coach Chelsea has had? And we are talking about top managers - Mourinho, Scolari, DiMatteo, Benitez, etc I think only Cech has managed this feat. IMO, I think Mikel plays to instructions at Chelsea that's why the managers like him. Whether these instructions align with what the fans what to see of him is another story altogether. Trust me, Nigerian fans are also frustrated with the way/position he plays at Chelsea. I hate it when I see Mikel doing side passes when playing for Chelsea cos I know he can defintely do far better. As regards his attitude, he used to have similar attitude problems with the National team. The fans and coaches have not been tolerant and perhaps that's why he puts in a shift when playing for the Eagles.

I just thought I'ld give an insight into the Mikel debate (as a Nigerian myself). When Mikel burst into the scene back in 2005, we actually believed that we had a replacement for J.J Okocha (remember him? ). In fact, we believed we had a more disciplined player who knew when to pass and and when to dribble. In the Nigerian National team, Mikel has ALWAYS been our no.10 dictating play from the midfield. Sadly Mourinho saw him more as a defensive player (that's the impression we have back home). However, the National team coach back then was coincidentally, Mikel's coach at U20 level and he played Mikel in the position we always believed he should play - NOT DM. Those watching Mikel at the confed cup may be surprised at his performance BUT he's always been this 'good' for the National team. He is a key player for us. I've often seen/heard Chelsea fans slating him for his side passes but my belief is that at Chelsea, Mikel plays according to instructions. Why else would he consistently remain in the first team under the numerous number of coaches Chelsea has had? Now I don't know if he'll retain his first team position if allowed to play in his preferred role, but I do believe that if he'd been played in that role for the past years, he would have developed into one of the best in Europe (my opinion). I personally would like him to leave Chelsea to a team that can play him in his best position and guarantee him first team action. He's won everything with Chelsea and I think it's time for him to move on.