Mikel's tactical flaw

[BLionheart 516]

I thought this forum is a place to share our views as long as it's related to Chelsea FC and its players , sometimes you might not agree with me but that doesn't mean that i can't post my thoughts .

A hint of what i expected out of you when you told me you joined TC

I know Shecks personally and he will battle TX for the most controversial title of next year

Back to topic , As DYC said Mikel is neither great nor poor but he can be a useful player , is there better players in his position ? Sure , Will we benefit from having someone with more energy and aggressiveness playing there ? yes .

But Obi gets a job done , so he shouldn't be a priority in the replacements that should take place , before replacing our holding midfielder or getting a new one , we need to find 2 wingers , 2 creative midfielders , a RB and for me a back-up striker is needed as well since DD is leaving. That means 6 players should be brought to the club prior to replacing Mikel.

So for me it's a matter of priorities and since Mikel isn't that bad of a player we can live with him .

[BlueLyon 9,359]

"Why putting another layer of gold colour on bentley, when you lost your engine?"

Sell Mikel and Essien and see what will happen then...

[capriccioso 2,545]

Essien isn't fit to be the engine of a toy car, let alone a Bentley.

[SeB 1,281]

Expected nothing less from you here SeB. Excellent post, you should convert it into an article for the site. I'm sure we'd get tons of hits from most fans when Mikel is in a headline.

Done :blue scalf:

[Tricky 301]

Can't believe someone has raised Mikels heading ability as a plus. Guy stands at 6"2 yet has never scored a goal from a set piece for us. His lack of speed / power means he barely gets more than 6" off the ground.

He is not the most mobile of players, and this can undermine the team sometimes. Especially when it comes to covering the flanks.

His pass success rate is high, but when asked to contribute more creatively he struggles. Most of his passes are side ways or backwards. I've tried to track down his assist record but have not had much luck. (edit: 6 assists in 197 starts 45sub).

Having said that he offers strength, teamwork, stamina and very good composure on the ball. I personally find him to be very frustrating. There are certainly better DM out there but he does enough to warrant a place in the squad and is currently more reliable than Romeou (but I do see him as the future).

[Rambo 1,729]

For those who don't rate Mikel...did you see the CL final? That was the best performance I've seen from him and by far our best midfielder on the day. That performance alone should eradicate all the doubt surrounding his lack of play in the "big matches".

I'm excited to see how he can further develop under RDM and his 4-2-3-1 formation because it's evident that he cannot perform as well under a 4-3-3.