🇳🇬 Mikel John Obi

[CHOULO19 24,332]

And if you've noticed, we can rarely get the ball upfield from the pivot. We need good passers from all round, not just from our attackers.

It's not only that we are playing the incorrect formation, but the fact that we have the most unbalanced squad in the league, we have a zillion number 10's and then hardly any midfielders. I can't say I'm too happy with the strike force or defence either.

That's far too short sighted, I don't mean to go down this road again, but just because we won the Champions League (on a very rare and lucky occasion i might add) doesn't mean we should stick with those players. Ramires is a brutal footballer, first touch very poor, and his passing is poor also. You know my opinion on Mikel.

The main point is, if you actually think that this double pivot is good enough, you seriously need your eyes checked. What could even remotely impress anyone about our midfield? i can't even credit a single bloody thing, it's been the let down of the season, we have been so unbalanced and teams have took advantage of us so many times, simply because we have a huge weakness. Ramires-Mikel pivot is just not good enough, maybe for a midtable team sure, but i want to compete for the title here, and I'm sure we all do.

So if you can possibly believe that with those players we can be destined to have a great future then god help you mate.

Of course they shouldn't be in the team just because we won the CL, but you can't say we can't win a trophy with them in the team when they've already helped us win the biggest one. It's basic logic really.

The pivot has been mostly terrible for many reasons. One of them is the fact that we don't have someone to partner Mikel there. Another is the type of players we have in our front four. The most important, imo, is in the 4-2-3-1 and the pivot itself that is yet convince me as the best formation we can use.

We've had many problems this season, and naturally everybody starts looking for scapegoats, but that does not mean that we should get rid of Mikel who has been crucial in every trophy we won the past 4 years.

[Clevemayer 764]

I personally do honestly belive we HAVE to do something on this position, but not only there, frome the back to the front you have a declineing Quality, not Footbalwise but Positionwise.

You need 2 kind of players in a double Pivot and we have only one in Mikel and Romeu and that's the point where my opinion differs from others. Romeu and Mikel are both classic DMs but with different Attribute to they're game.

Mikel is safe on the ball, has a good vision good physique and his passing is defo second to none, he has all ranges of passes but doesnt live up to them, if this is his fault or the fault of our attack is another point to discuss about. The only passing he lacks is maybe that deadly ball played through the defenses what he does very seldom, you can see them by Gündogan, Xavi etc. but this isn't what he is expected to do.

On the other hand you have Romeu whom is sadly injured but isn't as composed as Mikel in any manner, what he has is his stamnia and his drive to get a tackle in and run at players this is sometimes a joy to watch but sometimes he plays stupid passes, risky ones that fail to be placed where they're aimed at, this is big disatvantage on his account to me.

For me the bigger Problem is that creative Counterpart that you need there, you need someone like Xavi, Gündogan ALONG one of the other both mentioned and not to replace them. We are left outnumbered and Ramires and Lampard just dont have the ability to play alongside a pure DM, watch at Khedira and Alonso they played this nearly to perfection when it was running for them, xabi was the destroyer with a wide range of passing and Khedira was a slightly bit more creative haveing a go at the goal here and then and driveing forward, this is what we need the creative part of the DM and this is not MIKELs or ROMEUs fault, thats the point and if ppl just say, oh yeah Ramires cant stop the ball and is an awfull footballer but he runs 24 hours if needed, oh yeah Lampard is leaving our DM exploited and doesen't recive the balls doesn't influence the game in an creative manner but hey hes a legend it must be Mikels fault or what?

Clearly no, Mikel or Romeu, which one is needed for to play is to be decided game by game imho, both need an creative player alongside them so Mikel can do what he does best and retain possesion, close channels down get his creative Partner whom isnt on the edge of the box of you're opposition side when you've just retained the ball against 3 Attacking opponents and want to get the pressure lowred with an pass to somebody close to you whom has an better position, hee needs one that he can play with.

Mikel has class and he has shown it many occasions but for me he is especially in this double pivot very harsh critisized, because it si MAiNLY (not in every aspect) not his fault. Ramires cant receive the ball and drive it forward with creativity, because he plain isn't creative.

Lamps... well he may have the reativity but just isn't desceplined enough, I was pray'n for modric but we didn't get him, this is what we need.

If you think about replaceing Mikel with another DM what will you win, if his counterpart isn't existend and if the Attackers don't move so you can get you're biggest strengths (long range balls and triangle passes) played out?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Mikel and Makelele are ridiculously similar in their role and function for the team. The difference is that Makelele is a fashionable name to throw around, whereas Mikel is simply the guy that does the donkey-work. Ridiculously under-appreciated. He might offer little offensively but when you have error-prone lunatics like Luiz and Cahill that have infantile concentration spans, the guy that does the donkey-work is bloody important.

[cousin benson 76]

To me, Mikel back passes too much. He's strong and it's hard to get the ball off him, but his back passes drive me mad. Players like Busquets are in a different league to him, I think we can do much better than Obi. Dreaming of the days when we were the best with Makelele, Essien, Ballack and Lamps

[The only place to be 11,313]

Mikel and Makelele are ridiculously similar in their role and function for the team. The difference is that Makelele is a fashionable name to throw around, whereas Mikel is simply the guy that does the donkey-work. Ridiculously under-appreciated. He might offer little offensively but when you have error-prone lunatics like Luiz and Cahill that have infantile concentration spans, the guy that does the donkey-work is bloody important.

Yeah, because Makelele sounds all French and stuff.

[Santiago. 1,500]

Mikel and Makelele are ridiculously similar in their role and function for the team. The difference is that Makelele is a fashionable name to throw around, whereas Mikel is simply the guy that does the donkey-work. Ridiculously under-appreciated. He might offer little offensively but when you have error-prone lunatics like Luiz and Cahill that have infantile concentration spans, the guy that does the donkey-work is bloody important.

No where near similar in their roles.

Mikel would offer alot more with a proper holding midfielder next to him, or in a fucking 4-3-3 for that matter.

[Kojo 4,676]

I tried to sell him on FM12 , nobody gave a fuck . Seriously he was better injured -__-

LMFAO, DAT POST

[Backstreet09 499]

LMFAO, DAT POST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0DRgLGZBq4

Omg don't please , it hurts everytime xD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZl-kQ3JFNI

[CHOULO19 24,332]

To me, Mikel back passes too much. He's strong and it's hard to get the ball off him, but his back passes drive me mad. Players like Busquets are in a different league to him, I think we can do much better than Obi. Dreaming of the days when we were the best with Makelele, Essien, Ballack and Lamps

You are forgetting that pussycats plays with Barcelona who have the best off the ball movement in the world (or used to) while our front four stand behind two lines of opposition players and expect the ball to reach their feet. Mikel's job is to keep possession, and no one in front of him makes himself available he is forced to pass back instead of playing a pass that we are almost certain to lose.

[The only place to be 11,313]

[Kojo 4,676]

That's a positive, Ake was very good yesterday, looking forward to seeing more of him in the future.

edit: BACKSTREET LIKE MY POST NOW!

[Mufassir08 2,400]

We have three very promising cdm's right now in nat ake,nat chalobah and oriol romeu so mikel will face more competition in the future not to mention we may sign a new cdm in summer.

[English Freak 456]

We have three very promising cdm's right now in nat ake,nat chalobah and oriol romeu so mikel will face more competition in the future not to mention we may sign a new cdm in summer.

Either Mikel will take his game to the next level OR one of our very promising midfielders will take over his position in the team.

It's a win-win situation for Chelsea in the long term...

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Either Mikel will take his game to the next level OR one of our very promising midfielders will take over his position in the team.

It's a win-win situation for Chelsea in the long term...

Indeed!

[Clevemayer 764]

thats what mikel needs, competition... ake was playing well, really nice match of him, but I now exactly how over the moon we've been with josh against Newcastle... and I rate them higher than boro... but nontheless... Chalobah is great too, Ake is more of an terry like defender, composed and a good feet but still a defender... we will see, Drogs was a LB...

[GodZola 630]

Mikel and Makelele are ridiculously similar in their role and function for the team. The difference is that Makelele is a fashionable name to throw around, whereas Mikel is simply the guy that does the donkey-work. Ridiculously under-appreciated. He might offer little offensively but when you have error-prone lunatics like Luiz and Cahill that have infantile concentration spans, the guy that does the donkey-work is bloody important.

The term or responsibility of their role might be the same but one was world class performing it the other is leagues away from that standard, unfortunately we still got the wrong one playing for us.

[Peace. 4,352]

You are forgetting that pussycats plays with Barcelona who have the best off the ball movement in the world (or used to) while our front four stand behind two lines of opposition players and expect the ball to reach their feet. Mikel's job is to keep possession, and no one in front of him makes himself available he is forced to pass back instead of playing a pass that we are almost certain to lose.

I cannot be agree with you mate, here.

Sergio Busquets and Mikel aren't on the same page. The first one is World-Class while the latter is not. And I am a person who sparsely uses such a label. And acknowledging that does not take away anything from Mikel's abilities.

That's true that the spanish is surrounded by better teammates, but still.

Mikel has a very good accuracy in his passing game, however in my opinion Sergio's passing game is better. Into my eyes Busquets is one of the finest passer at the moment. I fail to see a lot of players better/as good as him in this department. His short passes are exceptional ; his long passes impeccable. I also believe that he has much more awarness than Mikel regarding his positioning and off-ball game — and this both from the defensive and attacking aspects (which makes him pretty good at defending). But the biggest difference, I believe, is concerning the speed of reaction and the speed of thought. Indeed. To my belief Sergio is the best one-touch passer in the game right-now. He doesn't need to take 5+ steps on the ball and 5 seconds to pass the ball. He reacts quickly and that doesn't afect the accuracy of his passes — there are nailed on.

He has played a big role into Barcelona and Spain recent success. He doesn't get the recognitions he deserves. He is significantly better than Mikel. And I do not base my judgment upon one or two games, nor upon some youtube videos. I am basing my view upon 100+ games.

Here's a showcase of what he can do.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I cannot be agree with you mate, here.

Sergio Busquets and Mikel aren't on the same page. The first one is World-Class while the latter is not. And I am a person who sparsely uses such a label. And acknowledging that does not take away anything from Mikel's abilities.

That's true that the spanish is surrounded by better teammates, but still.

Mikel has a very good accuracy in his passing game, however in my opinion Sergio's passing game is better. Into my eyes Busquets is one of the finest passer at the moment. I fail to see a lot of players better/as good as him in this department. His short passes are exceptional ; his long passes impeccable. I also believe that he has much more awarness than Mikel regarding his positioning and off-ball game — and this both from the defensive and attacking aspects (which makes him pretty good at defending). But the biggest difference, I believe, is concerning the speed of reaction and the speed of thought. Indeed. To my belief Sergio is the best on-touch passer in the game right-now. He doesn't need to take 5+ steps on the ball and 5 seconds to pass the ball. He reacts quickly and that doesn't afect the accuracy of his passes — there are nailed on.

He has played a big role into Barcelona and Spain recent success. He doesn't get the recognitions he deserves. He is significantly better than Mikel. And I do not base my judgment upon one or two games, nor upon some youtube videos. I am basing my view upon 100+ games.

Here's a showcase of what he can do.

I was not denying that that Busquets is world class, or that he is better than Mikel, much better. I don't think anyone can deny he is the best in the world at what he does and that's coming from someone who hates his cheating guts! I actually agree with everything you said above but what I was trying to say in the first post is that you can't expect Mikel (Srgio himself) to play as well as Busquets does for Barcelona. My point was that we have a serious issue in terms of off the ball movement and that Mikel, or any other DM we play is being criticized for the front four's lack of movement.

[xPetrCechx 13,570]

Another Average Player...

Like 60% of our Squad.

[zolayes 14,489]

Mikel is one of our lesser problems